The discovery of several tall, 7 and 8 foot skeletons in multiple burial mounds around Western New York
Near the top of a high ridge of sand hills, in the town of Pittsford, south of the Irondequoit valley, and about one mile east of Allen's creek, stands a great heap of limestone boulders, evidently of drift origin. They are the only stone of that character in that vicinity, measure from two to three feet in diameter, and are heaped one upon the other in a space about twelve feet square. They occupied the same place and position sixty or seventy years ago, and old residents say the heap existed in the same form when the ground was cleared. Indians who passed that way in early days regarded the stones with superstitious awe, stating, when questioned, that a people who lived there before the Indians brought the stones to the hilltop.
"On the shore of Lake Ontario, on a high bluff near Irondequoit bay, in 1796," says Oliver Culver, "the bank caved off and untombed a great quantity of human bones, of a large size. The arm and leg bones, upon comparison, were much larger than those of our own race."' The bluff mentioned by Mr. Culver was the seaward side of an elevated spot that might properly be termed a natural mound. It was one of the outlying range of sand hills or knolls, then existent along the shore of the lake in that locality, and long years ago succumbed to the never-ceasing encroachment of the lake waters. Its location was immediately west of the angle formed by the present west line of Irondequoit bay and Lake Ontario; as late as 1830 human bones of an unusually large size were occasionally seen projecting from the face of the bluff, or lying on the beach where the undermined soil had fallen. The tribe of Seneca Indians living in Irondequoit in 1796 could give no information concerning these bones, stating their belief that they were the remains of a people who dwelt about the bay before the Indians came there.
In 1880 a sand bank was opened in the side of the ridge, and that part covered by the mounds has since been entirely removed. During the course of excavation a laborer came upon human remains. Parts of eight skeletons were exhumed, each surrounded by fine black soil. These were concealed and all evidence of the find destroyed; but the discovery of a bone of unusual size, together with a curious pipe, was brought to the attention of Mr. Brewer. The laborer could remember few details of the position in which the remains were found, and the opportunity for careful investigation was lost. The Mound-builders were inveterate smokers, and great numbers of pipes have been found in their mounds. The skill of the makers seems to have been exhausted in their construction, and no specimens of Indian art can equal those of the lost race. Many pipes of a shape similar to those discovered in the mounds of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys have been found in various parts of the country.Figure 1 is a greatly reduced representation of an article of stone, evidently intended for a pipe, but unfinished, found near Mount Morris, in the Genesee valley, and sent to the New York state cabinet at Albany by Mr. Squier, who says: "It is composed of steatite or 'soap-stone,' and in shape corresponds generally with the pipes of stone found in the mounds of the Mississippi valley. One or two pipes of stone of very nearly the same shape have been found in the same vicinity, but in point of symmetry or finish they are in no way comparable to those of the mounds."' The pipe taken from the ridge mound in Rochester is of the distinctively characteristic, or primitive form^ peculiar to the Mound-builders, and is represented in figure 2.It is, or was originally, five and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths wide, and one inch and seven-eighths from bottom of base to top of bowl. The lines are slightly irregular, but very perfect for a hand-made article. The material is steatite, very close grain and quite brittle.
In the color it is a deep, rich brown, with blending patches of lighter shade, and every particle of the surface is so beautifully polished that it might easily be mistaken for marble. It was the only article of any description found with the human remains, though other relics may have been unnoticed. Close questioning elicited the fact that nearly all the graves were near the south slope of the ridge, and from two to two and a half feet below the original surface, while the large bone, a humerus, was nearer the surface and perhaps more directly beneath the center of the west mound; from which it may be inferred, though not definitely proven, that the mound was built over that particular bod)' with which the pipe was buried, and the other bodies interred in the side of the mound at a subsequent period. The condition of the remains would seem to fivor this view, the humerus being the only remaining part of the body to which it belonged, while several portions of skeletons from the other graves were, though very much decayed. quite firm in comparison; one skull (figure 3 being preserved entire.)Mr. Brewer presented this skull and pipe to Professor S A. Lattimore of the Uni- versity of Rochester, to whom we are indebted for their use. In March, 1882, a human skeleton of large proportions was unearthed near the former location of the east mound. The laborers, astonished at the great size of the bones, engaged in a discussion as to whether it was or was not the remains of a human being, and, with true Hibernian method, broke the skele- ton into fragments to prove the ease.
Read the Rest, including the discovery of a skeleton over eight feet in height at Samuel Truesdale's farm in Greece, in 1878
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was a intimidating red-haired woman who stood over 6 feet tall. Her face was scarred from getting smallpox when she was younger. She was also hard-headed and could stand up to and swear with the best of men. Due to this, she became notorious in her area and also respected by many. Before the Revolutionary War, she learned to shoot well and to do the job of a doctor, treating her family members and neighbors when needed. She grew a garden of medicinal herbs to help her in her doctoring. She was also a very patriotic women and was very anti-Tory. She ran her farm as her husband spied on the Tories . She'd also done the same on a few occasions by playing a role of a stupid person and spying on Tories in their own camps. Another time, she gained information, for the Continental Army, while posing as a seller peddling houseware and eggs. She also got information for Major General Benjamin Lincoln and Henry Lee III.
was on a day when she was doing work around their homestead, along with her 13-year-old daughter Sukey, when some Tory soldiers showed up at their home and demanded to be fed. Nancy went on to tell them that they only had one living turkey since previous Tory soldiers came and took turkeys. So, in response, the Tories took her last turkey and shot it and told her to cook it. She had no choice but to cook the turkey since it was clear that they were not leaving. As she cooked, she told stories to the Tories to put them at ease as they drank. While eating and drinking some more, Nancy saw that they relaxed enough and sent her daughter out to get water from their well. Before her daughter left the home, she whispered to her to blow their conch shell horn by the well to alert their neighbors that they needed some help. The sound alerted her Nancy's husband Benjamin, who was at work nearby, It also alerted their neighbors at the same time.
(Gannett)
, who was her good friend of hers, heard about their situation and had the Massachusetts government give her a back pay of 37 pounds. Though it wasn't enough to help them with all their debts. So she began to travel and do lectures. Which was another great achievement since she was the first female to do so in the colonies. She would travel around cities speaking about her experiences during the Revolutionary War. It still wasn't enough to pay off debts but she was given a veteran's pension in the early part of the 1800s. A pension that afforded her $4 a month. After her death on April 19, 1827 in Sharon, Massachusetts (at 67 years old), her pension was passed on to her husband and he was paid monthly until his death.
passed through Rochester from Farmington. From Rochester, they would either continue on to Gaines and on to Lockport or to Elba on to LeRoy. These escaped slaves would make their way to stop points under the cover of night. Marking these stops, one such stop being in Elba, were tree branches. The branch markers would be around 2 feet in height and inconspicuously stuck in the ground near a fence near a roadway. They were also stuck on a street corner in such a way to also tell the direction for them to turn and head to find their stop.
's house and arrived at Logstown in the evening. At George Groghan's trading post, he made it into his headquarters for as long as he was was in Logstown. During his stay, he'd reached out to the Kuskuskies near Sauconk. He'd also met with Queen Aliquippa again between the end of August and September 19th (the day he left Logstown).
had also visited Queen Aliquippa in 1753. At this time, she was living in the area of present-day McKeesport, in Allegheny County. Washington traveled three miles to the mouth of the Youghiogheny River to visit her. During the visit, her presented her with a match coat and a bottle of rum. Washington expressed in his journal, about the gifts, "...which latter was thought much the better present of the two." He visited her out of his appreciation for her, her son, and warriors from her Mingo band for traveling to Fort Necessity to aid him. Though they did not play an active role in the Battle of Great Meadows.
, is not know to most. On the night of April 26, 1777, word got out that British troops were preparing to invade Danbury, Connecticut. The 16-year-old Ludington took off on horseback that and traveled first to Danbury to warn its citizens. From there, she continued on to alert the militiamen under her father's leadership. The whole trip was around 40 miles and more than twice the distance that Paul Revere had to travel on horseback.
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tribe. Though Susquehannocks referred to themselves as Andastes. When the tribe settled at Conestoga, they gave up war and disagreeing members left the tribe and joined other tribes. Shikellamy was one of the individuals to leave the Andastes and joined up with the Oneida. He became a part of the Oquacho (Wolf Tribe). It's said that he rose quickly within the tribe and was a leader amongst the tribe. By the year of 1728, he was the representative of the Six Nations in dealings with the proprietary colonial government. He even became favorable amongst the English.
and the 
. Furthermore, the trail is one section of the massive, 1,800 mile 
, Buford's Massacre and the Waxhaws. It was a battle that occurred while the Revolutionary War was in full-swing, on May 29, 1780. The battle took place around the area of Lancaster, South Carolina. Abraham Buford was the leader of the Continental Army forces and Banastre Tarleton led the Loyalist forces. British officer Tarleton sent forward a demand for Buford and his forces to surrender and Buford refused. Tarleton's calvary attacked Buford's men and some of them began to surrender. There was a truce and Buford tried to surrender. That truce ended when a shot hit Tarleton's horse and Tarleton was trapped under his now dead horse. The shot caused the Loyalists and the accompanying British troops to begin an attack. This kept going as Tarleton was still trapped and had no control over his men. Continental soldiers, including those who previously surrendered, were attacked by the Brits. 113 Continental soldiers were killed with sabers, 150 other Continentals were severely injured and were left where they were, and 53 were taken as prisoners by the British forces.
