The Montour family was a family of
Native-American and French descent which was prominent in
colonial 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 Unit ...
and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
before and during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. Because of the
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
practice of reckoning descent through the female line, the family is known as "Montour" after the
matriarch
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
While those definitions apply in general E ...
.
Madam Montour
Madam Montour (1667–c.1753). Information on Madam Montour is fragmentary and contradictory. Even her given name is uncertain.
According to her own account:
Current research indicates that she was born Élisabeth (or Isabelle) Couc around 1667, in
Trois-Rivières, Quebec, the daughter of Pierre Couc and Marie Mitouamegoukoue, an
Algonquin
Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to:
Languages and peoples
*Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia
**Algonquin la ...
.
She was apparently married three times, the last to an
Oneida
Oneida may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Oneida people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois Confederacy
* Oneida language
* Oneida Indian Nation, based in New York
* Oneida Na ...
named Carondawanna (Karontowá:nen—''Big Tree''), who later took the name "Robert Hunter" after the
Governor of New York
The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...
whom he met at the Albany Conference of 1711. By Carondawanna Madam Montour had at least several children:
* Andrew (''Sattelihu'')
* Margaret, known as ''French Margaret''
* a daughter, who may have been named Catherine
* Lewis (''Tau-weson'')
* Henry (most sources say Henry and Andrew were the same person: "Andrew Montour who by the name of Henry Montour,"—from his land grant)
Her husband was killed about 1729 in battle with the
Catawba Catawba may refer to:
*Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas
*Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family
*Catawban languages
Botany
*Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other N ...
;
after the death of her husband the family moved to Otstonwakin, on the Lawi-sahquick (
Loyalsock Creek
Loyalsock Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River located chiefly in Sullivan and Lycoming counties in ...
), now
Montoursville,
Lycoming County
Lycoming County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 114,188. Its county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
.
She served as interpreter on several occasions, notably
Albany in 1711, and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
in 1727. Her skills were highly valued such that in 1719 the
Commissioners for Indian Affairs
The Commissioners for Indian Affairs were a group of officials of colonial Albany, New York charged with regulating the fur trade and dealing with the Iroquois.
History
Originally the local magistrates, functioning informally, performed these ta ...
in Albany decreed that she should receive "a man's pay."
Andrew Montour
Andrew Montour (c. 1720–1772) was the eldest son of Madam Montour. He was commissioned a captain by the British in 1754 during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
. Later he commanded of a raiding party in Ohio in 1764 during
Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's War (also known as Pontiac's Conspiracy or Pontiac's Rebellion) was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of Native Americans dissatisfied with British rule in the Great Lakes region following the French and Indian War (1754–176 ...
(1763-1766). He was granted land in Pennsylvania by the colonial government. He married
Sally Ainse. His son John served on the side of the
colonists in the American Revolution. Another son,
Nicholas
Nicholas is a male given name and a surname.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
, became a wealthy businessman and landowner in Canada.
Margaret Montour
Margaret Montour, (1690–), also known as French Margaret, the eldest daughter (some say niece)
of Madam Montour, was married to an
Iroquois
The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...
named Katarioniecha (''Peter Quebeck''), a
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 ...
. They resided at a village called on a 1759 map "French Margaret's Town" (''Wenschpochkechung''), on the west branch of the
Susquehanna at the mouth of
Lycoming Creek
Lycoming Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River located in Tioga and Lycoming counties in Pennsylvan ...
(now
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...
). The couple had at least five children:
* Catherine (''French Catherine'')
* Esther (''Queen Esther'')
* Nicholas
* a son who was killed around 1753 fighting the
Creeks
* Mary, or Molly.
Like her mother, Margaret attended treaty conferences and often interpreted.
Lewis Montour
Lewis Montour, the son of Madam Montour, was killed during the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
.
Catherine Montour
Catherine Montour (1710–c.1780), or French Catherine, was the daughter of French Margaret. She married Thomas Huston or Hudson (Telenemut). Their children were Roland, John, Amochol(son), and Belle. Catherine died c. 1780-81.
Her home was a large village at the head of
Seneca Lake, New York
Seneca Lake is the largest of the glacial Finger Lakes of the U.S. state of New York, and the deepest glacial lake entirely within the state. It is promoted as being the lake trout capital of the world, and is host of the National Lake Trout Der ...
called Shequaga, or
Catherine's Town Catherine's Town was a Seneca village, (''Queanettquaga,'' or ''Sheoquago'') named informally for a prominent Seneca woman, Catherine Montour. It was located at the south end of Seneca Lake, near present-day Watkins Glen (and the towns of Cathari ...
.
Esther Montour
Esther Montour, (c.1720–
), called Queen Esther, was the eldest daughter of French Margaret. She married Echogohund, chief of the
Munsee Delawares, and became their leader following his death. Her home was at Sheshequin (now
Ulster Township, Bradford County, Pennsylvania
Ulster Township is a township in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 1,337 at the 2010 census.
It was named after the province of Ulster in Ireland.
Geography
Ulster Township is located in n ...
). During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, she is reported to have led a war party at the
Battle of Wyoming
The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militiamen and a mixed force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois raiders. The clash took place in the Wyom ...
in 1778. According to some sources, enraged by the death of her son on the previous day, she participated in the
torture and murder of thirty or so of the enemy; as one puts it "she was the most infuriated demon in that carnival of blood."
Others dispute this, saying either that reports of atrocities were propaganda, or that Esther did not participate. According to
one story
''One Story'' is a literary magazine which publishes 12 issues a year, each issue containing a single short story. The magazine was founded in 2002 by writers Hannah Tinti and Maribeth Batcha. Smith, Dinitia. They offer up to $500 and 25 consumer ...
she was killed by
Thomas Hartley
Thomas Hartley (September 7, 1748December 21, 1800) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician from York, Pennsylvania.
Early life and education
Hartley was born in Colebrookdale Township in the Province of Pennsylvania. At 18 years of ...
later that year, although other sources state that she died around the year 1800 on
Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake (,,) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and it is ...
in New York.
Mary Montour
Mary Montour was the daughter of French Margaret Montour. She married Kanaghragait (John Cook), called "The White Mingo" (died 1790). Mary was baptized in Philadelphia by a Catholic priest. In 1791, on the removal of the
Moravian mission from New Salem (
Petquotting
Petquotting (pronounced "pay cutting" ) was the name that the Moravian Missionaries gave to their two settlements on the Huron River (Ohio). The first Moravian Christian Indian village of Petquotting was established in 1787, on the east side of t ...
) to Canada, Mary accompanied them. She was fluent in "English, French, Mohawk (her mother tongue), Wyandot
uron Ottawa, Chippewa, Shawnese, and Delaware."
Roland Montour
Roland Montour (–1780?), also spelled ''Rowland'', was the eldest son of Catherine Montour. He was married to a daughter of the
Seneca
Seneca may refer to:
People and language
* Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America
** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people
Places Extrat ...
chief
Sayenqueraghta
Sayenqueraghta (1786) was the war chief of the eastern Seneca tribe in the mid-18th century. His name in the Seneca language, meaning "Disappearing Smoke", is phonetically rendered as Kaieñãkwaahtoñ, and was spelled in a variety of ways, inclu ...
, known as "Old King" or "Old Smoke," by his Cayuga wife.
He was active in the American Revolution on the British side. He participated in the raid that captured
Benjamin Gilbert.
He is reputed to have died in September, 1780, in
Painted Post, New York
Painted Post is a village in Steuben County, New York. The village is in the town of Erwin, west of the city of Corning. The population was 1,809 at the 2010 census. The name comes from a Seneca carved post found by explorers at the junction ...
of wounds received in the
Sugarloaf Massacre
The Sugarloaf massacre was a skirmish that occurred on September 11, 1780, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania when a number of Natives and a handful of loyalists attacked a small detachment of militia from Northampton County. According to pens ...
at
Little Nescopeck Creek, Pennsylvania.
However sources say he lived for several years after the massacre.
"Stuttering John" Montour
John Montour (–c.1830; also known as "Stuttering John") was the son of Catherine Montour, the younger brother of Roland. He died about 1830 at
Big Tree, New York.
John Montour
John Montour (1744–1788) was the son of Andrew Montour. He fought on the British side in the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
until 1778, when he was imprisoned in Detroit by
Henry Hamilton for helping some prisoners escape. After this he switched sides and supported the Colonists.
His mother was a
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, the granddaughter of Sassoonam.
Nicholas Montour
Nicholas Montour (1756–1808) was the son of Andrew Montour and Sally Ainse.
He was a fur trader, seigneur, and political figure in Lower Canada.
Simplified family tree
Many details are unclear and contradictory. This chart shows two possible identifications for Madam Montour (green boxes), and two possible lines of descent for French Margaret and Andrew Montour.
Place names
The following places are named for members of the Montour family:
*
Catharine, New York
Catharine is a town in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 1,656 at the 2020 census. The town is one of two in the county named after Catherine Montour, a Native American interpreter and leader in the area. The Town of ...
*
Catharine Creek
Catharine Creek is a roughly stream that flows through Chemung and Schuyler counties in New York. The creek, named after Catharine Montour, is a major tributary to Seneca Lake.
Course
While the other waterways of Chemung County are part of ...
*
Montour County, Pennsylvania
Montour County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 18,136. Its count ...
**Montour Ridge, Montour County
*
Montour Township, in
Columbia County, Pennsylvania
Columbia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,727. Its county seat is Bloomsburg. The county was created on March 22, 1813, from part ...
*
Montour, New York
Montour is a town in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 2,305 at the 2020 census. The town is one of two towns in the county named after Catherine Montour.
The Town of Montour is in the southern part of the county and ...
*
Montour Falls, New York
Montour Falls is a village located in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 2,714 at the time of the 2020 census. A waterfall at the end of West Main Street gives the village its name. The name "Montour" is derived from ...
*
Montour Run, a creek in Columbia County, Pennsylvania
*
Montour's Island
Neville Township is a township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its land area consists entirely of Neville Island, which is an island on the Ohio River. The population was 1,084 at the 2010 census.
History
The island was form ...
, in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County () is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, following Philadelphia Co ...
*
Montoursville, Pennsylvania
Montoursville is a borough in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. The 2020 census reported its population as 4,745. It forms part of the Williamsport, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Williamsport Regional Airport is in Montoursville.
...
* Queen Catharine's Marsh, New York
* Queen Esther's Rock, village of
Wyoming, Pennsylvania
Wyoming is a borough in the Greater Pittston area of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located north of Wilkes-Barre, along the Susquehanna River. The population was 3,097 as of the 2020 census.
Etymology
The name "Wyoming" de ...
, site of
Wyoming Massacre
The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militiamen and a mixed force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois raiders. The clash took place in the Wyomi ...
See also
*
History of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania
References
{{Reflist
Native American history of Pennsylvania
People of New York in the French and Indian War
People of Pennsylvania in the French and Indian War
Native Americans in the American Revolution
Native American people from Pennsylvania
Montour