JOHNSTOWN - What a difference two-plus centuries make.
Sir Guy Johnson, a direct descendant of a loyalist blamed for laying waste to a large swath of New York during the American Revolution, is being feted this weekend in the upstate community another of his ancestors founded in the 18th century.
Continuing a tradition started by his grandfather, Johnson is getting the royal treatment in this former tannery town in the Mohawk Valley, 40 miles northwest of Albany. Here, the Johnsons are considered “local royalty,” said Wanda Burch, manager of the Johnson Hall State Historic Site.
The parade and other events mark the 250th anniversary of the settling of Johnstown by Sir William Johnson, a major figure in 18th-century America who was awarded the hereditary title of baronet by King George II.
Sir Guy, the 8th baronet, will be grand marshal of a Saturday parade that will end at Johnson Hall, the Georgian mansion built by Sir William in 1763. Sir Guy first visited the mansion eight years ago during a business trip.
“It took me back in time,” Sir Guy said Friday from Boston, where he was visiting before heading to Johnstown. “It's quite moving to see that after hearing so much about it over the years from my father.”
Sir Peter Johnson, the 7th baronet, visited Johnstown in the early 1990s, and his father, Sir John Johnson, toured the region 40 years ago.
“Both times they got fantastic welcomes,” said Sir Guy, 41, of Winchester, England.
More of the same is expected Saturday in Johnstown, a city of 8,400 where Sir William's influence is still apparent nearly 235 years after his death, from the downtown county courthouse he built in 1772 to the nickname of the local high school sports teams: the Sir Bills.
The Irish-born William Johnson was a military officer and Indian affairs diplomat who spurred the settlement of the Mohawk River Valley and helped the British win the French and Indian War.
“He was one of the big players in that period of time,” Burch said.
But less than a generation after the end of that conflict in 1763, many of the settlements Sir William had fostered lay in charred ruins, destroyed by loyalist and Indian raiders during the Revolutionary War. Many of the raids were carried out under the command of Sir William's son, John, and a nephew, Guy Johnson.
Sir John inherited his father's wealth and land after Sir William died on the eve of the American Revolution. A staunch loyalist, Sir John lost everything after fleeing to Canada in 1776, along with other local Tories and Mohawk Indians.
They returned with a vengeance, burning and killing their way across the Mohawk Valley and nearby Schoharie Valley from 1778 until the war's last battle, fought at Johnstown in October 1781, a week after the British surrender at Yorktown. Many of the Johnsons' former neighbors fell victim to the brutal frontier warfare.
“There were accusations of slaughters and realities of slaughters,” said Laurence M. Hauptman, history professor at the State University at New Paltz. “This was total war where civilian populations were part of it. There's a lot of neighbor versus neighbor in this war.”
The Johnsons were vilified for years after the war ended in 1783. Sir Guy said if his grandfather or father encountered any lingering bitterness during their visits here, they didn't mention it.
Harriet Grady, a parade organizer and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said “the burning of the valleys” remains ingrained in local lore.
“It was horrible and I'm related to some of the people who didn't make it during that time,” she said. “But you know, it's 1777, 1778, 1780s. I don't show any animosity toward the British.”
She expects Sir Guy to receive the same kind of welcome given to the previous two Johnsons.
“We've always welcomed them,” she said.
----
On the Net:
http://nysparks.state.ny.us
AP-ES-09-12-08 1329EDT
Continuing a tradition started by his grandfather, Johnson is getting the royal treatment in this former tannery town in the Mohawk Valley, 40 miles northwest of Albany. Here, the Johnsons are considered “local royalty,” said Wanda Burch, manager of the Johnson Hall State Historic Site.
The parade and other events mark the 250th anniversary of the settling of Johnstown by Sir William Johnson, a major figure in 18th-century America who was awarded the hereditary title of baronet by King George II.
Sir Guy, the 8th baronet, will be grand marshal of a Saturday parade that will end at Johnson Hall, the Georgian mansion built by Sir William in 1763. Sir Guy first visited the mansion eight years ago during a business trip.
“It took me back in time,” Sir Guy said Friday from Boston, where he was visiting before heading to Johnstown. “It's quite moving to see that after hearing so much about it over the years from my father.”
Sir Peter Johnson, the 7th baronet, visited Johnstown in the early 1990s, and his father, Sir John Johnson, toured the region 40 years ago.
“Both times they got fantastic welcomes,” said Sir Guy, 41, of Winchester, England.
More of the same is expected Saturday in Johnstown, a city of 8,400 where Sir William's influence is still apparent nearly 235 years after his death, from the downtown county courthouse he built in 1772 to the nickname of the local high school sports teams: the Sir Bills.
The Irish-born William Johnson was a military officer and Indian affairs diplomat who spurred the settlement of the Mohawk River Valley and helped the British win the French and Indian War.
“He was one of the big players in that period of time,” Burch said.
But less than a generation after the end of that conflict in 1763, many of the settlements Sir William had fostered lay in charred ruins, destroyed by loyalist and Indian raiders during the Revolutionary War. Many of the raids were carried out under the command of Sir William's son, John, and a nephew, Guy Johnson.
Sir John inherited his father's wealth and land after Sir William died on the eve of the American Revolution. A staunch loyalist, Sir John lost everything after fleeing to Canada in 1776, along with other local Tories and Mohawk Indians.
They returned with a vengeance, burning and killing their way across the Mohawk Valley and nearby Schoharie Valley from 1778 until the war's last battle, fought at Johnstown in October 1781, a week after the British surrender at Yorktown. Many of the Johnsons' former neighbors fell victim to the brutal frontier warfare.
“There were accusations of slaughters and realities of slaughters,” said Laurence M. Hauptman, history professor at the State University at New Paltz. “This was total war where civilian populations were part of it. There's a lot of neighbor versus neighbor in this war.”
The Johnsons were vilified for years after the war ended in 1783. Sir Guy said if his grandfather or father encountered any lingering bitterness during their visits here, they didn't mention it.
Harriet Grady, a parade organizer and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, said “the burning of the valleys” remains ingrained in local lore.
“It was horrible and I'm related to some of the people who didn't make it during that time,” she said. “But you know, it's 1777, 1778, 1780s. I don't show any animosity toward the British.”
She expects Sir Guy to receive the same kind of welcome given to the previous two Johnsons.
“We've always welcomed them,” she said.
----
On the Net:
http://nysparks.state.ny.us
AP-ES-09-12-08 1329EDT
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.