Johan Jost Herkimer (Herchmer or Hercheimer c. 1732 – August 1795 ) was a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

born in 1732, the second of five sons of Johan Jost Herkimer and Anna Catherine Petri of

German Flatts German Flatts is a town in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 13,258 at the 2010 census. The town is in the southern part of Herkimer County, on the south side of the Mohawk River, across from the village of Herkimer. T ...

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

. He was the younger brother of the American Patriot General

Nicholas Herkimer Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer (also known as Nikolaus Herchheimer; – August 16, 1777) was an American military officer who fought during the Revolutionary War. He died of wounds after the Battle of Oriskany. Early life and career Herki ...

Loyalist

Like his brother Nicholas, Johan was an established landowner and an officer in the Tryon County militia. Unlike his brother, he decided to stand for the British King when the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

broke out. This decision alienated him from his elder brother Nicholas who sided with the new

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

and he was sorely tested by

social ostracism Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

. Because of his actions, Johan spent time in patriot jails between 1775 and 1777, and was subjected to

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

. In March 1777 he managed to escape and made his way to

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

. His popularity with the Indians and his knowledge of native customs resulted in his being attached to the

Indian Department The Indian Department was established in 1755 to oversee relations between the British Empire and the First Nations of North America. The imperial government ceded control of the Indian Department to the Province of Canada in 1860, thus setting ...

with the rank of captain.

St. Leger's expedition

In the summer of 1777 he returned to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

as part of St. Leger's expedition under the command of General Barry St. Leger. He participated in the expedition as overseer of boats, and he and Captain Rouville of the Canadians successfully broke up the Patriots' blockade of Wood Creek. He was also present at the

siege of Fort Stanwix The siege of Fort Stanwix (also known at the time as Fort Schuyler) in 1777 began on August 2 and ended August 22. Fort Stanwix, in the western part of the Mohawk River Valley, was then the primary defense point for the Continental Army against B ...

and the

battle of Oriskany The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the bloodiest battles in the conflict between the Americans and Great Britain. On August 6, 1777, a party of Loy ...

on 6 August 1777 where the British and their

Mohawk Mohawk may refer to: Related to Native Americans *Mohawk people, an indigenous people of North America (Canada and New York) *Mohawk language, the language spoken by the Mohawk people *Mohawk hairstyle, from a hairstyle once thought to have been t ...

allies ambushed American forces on their way to relieve

Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix was a colonial fort whose construction commenced on August 26, 1758, under the direction of British General John Stanwix, at the location of present-day Rome, New York, but was not completed until about 1762. The bastion fort was built ...

. His Brother, Nicholas, was severely wounded at this battle as he commanded the American Militia and died ten days later.

Refugee in Canada

Johan Jost Herkimer found permanent refuge in Canada. His wife, Mary, applied for permission to join him in his new country but New York Governor George Clinton refused, saying that no Loyalist women or children would be permitted to leave until the captives taken by Butler and Brant in their raids had been returned. The

New York Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official t ...

passed laws in October 1779 confiscating the property of Loyalists. Johan Jost Herkimer was through a

Bill of Attainder A bill of attainder (also known as an act of attainder or writ of attainder or bill of penalties) is an act of a legislature declaring a person, or a group of people, guilty of some crime, and punishing them, often without a trial. As with attai ...

declared a traitor and his lands declared forfeited to the state. He was banished from New York. In February 1780, at the command of the governor of the

Province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...

, General

Frederick Haldimand Sir Frederick Haldimand, KB (11 August 1718 – 5 June 1791) was a military officer best known for his service in the British Army in North America during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. From 1778 to 1786, he serve ...

, Herkimer served as boat-master in the

Commissariat A commissariat is a department or organization commanded by a commissary or by a corps of commissaries. In many countries, commissary is a police rank. In those countries, a commissariat is a police station commanded by a commissary. In some ar ...

Coteau-du-Lac, Quebec Coteau-du-Lac is a small city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. The name of the town comes from the French word ''Coteau'' which meant " ...

, providing stores and supplies for the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

posts. Despite an inauspicious start, where he hired the wrong people for the job and allegedly spoke too familiarly with an American prisoner regarding affairs of state, it was reported that he rendered good service. Captain Herkimer and his family settled at Cataraqui (modern

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

) in the mid-1780s and served in the Frontenac Militia. For his service to the Crown he was granted a land allotment of 3,450 acres in the township west of the town, and two in the town. The lots in the township west of the town included what is now

Lemoine Point In geometry, the Lemoine point, Grebe point or symmedian point is the intersection of the three symmedians (medians reflected at the associated angle bisectors) of a triangle. Ross Honsberger called its existence "one of the crown jewels of m ...

, which at one time was known as "Herkimer's Nose". The rest of his days were spent in prosperity and peace and he and Mary had seven children. His four sons were George, Lawrence, Nicholas, and Jacob; and his three daughters were Mary, Jane and Catharine. He died in Kingston in 1795; his wife Mary died ten years later.

Legacy

Today, Herkimer Street in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

bears his

family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. This came about when his daughter Mary married Robert Hamilton of

Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponymo ...

and thereby became the stepmother of John George Hamilton, the founder of the city of Hamilton, Ontario. When George Hamilton was building the city that bears his name in the early 1800s, he named one of the new streets Herkimer Street in her honour.Margaret Houghton, Hamilton Street Names. James Lorimer & Co. Publishers, Toronto. 2002

References

Notes Bibliography * W.D. Reid, "Johan Jost Herkimer, U.E., and His Family", Ontario Historical Society Papers & Records, 31(1936): 215-27. * Margaret Houghton, Hamilton Street Names. James Lorimer & Co. Publishers, Toronto. 2002
Truax Family Descended From Truitt: Information About Johan Jost Herkimer
Retrieved April 26, 2015
The Loyalist Collection
Retrieved July 3, 2015 *Armstrong, Alvin. ''Buckskin to Broadloom - Kingston Grows Up''. Kingston Whig-Standard, 1973. No ISBN.

Loyalist

St. Leger's expedition

Refugee in Canada

Legacy

References

Further reading