Join The Walkabout - Palatines, Weiser, And Their Mohawk Neighbors

MIDDLEBURGH – Historian and author Jeff O’Connor of Turning Point 1777 will lead a walkabout in the Village of Middleburgh on Saturday, August 8.  The early years of Palatine settlement and their unique relationship with the local Mohawk people will be explored on the roughly 1-mile loop, which will take approximately 1.5 hrs to complete. The walkabout begins in front of the Middleburgh High School at 10:00am. Free of charge. No reservations are needed.  Rain or shine. Inquiries can be made by emailing colonialny@turningpoint1777.com or through Facebook.com/turningpoint1777 

The walkabout narrative will explore the experiences of the Palatines in the Schoharie Valley and their relationship with the Mohawk people who already lived there.  O’Connor states, “connecting these neighbors was young Conrad Weiser, Jr. who learned the Mohawk language and culture that became the foundation of a lifelong career as a prominent interpreter in Pennsylvania.”

Weiser’s father, Johan Conrad Weiser, was the catalyst for about 170 Palatine families moving into the Schoharie Valley beginning in late 1712.  The circumstances behind their arrival, and the events that led to many leaving the valley, will be featured.  

The Palatine story is a Mohawk one as well.  The historian points out, “Mohawks provided these 

desperate families land, food, and support that meant the difference between life and death.”  The Palatines were the first large European group to live among the Haudenosaunee, or Five Nations.  The circumstances behind Mohawks returning to the Schoharie Valley after a period of vacancy, and why land was set aside for the Palatines not long after, will also be presented.  The course of the walkabout will highlight places and natural landscapes that were familiar to both the Palatine and Mohawk people.  

The walkabout pulls from O’Connor’s “Skohere and the Birth of New York’s Western Frontier 1609-1731” trilogy book series and is meant to provide a preview of it.  As he says, “The series plotted a course toward this unique Palatine and Mohawk shared experience as the finale, merging so many compelling stories into one great one.”  O’Connor adds that the walk narrative, like the books, “challenges accepted history.”

Jeff O’Connor is an accomplished historian who has a deep connection to the Schoharie County historical community.  He and his wife Pam team up as Turning Point 1777 to provide guided walking and driving tours in Schoharie County, authentic historic flag reproductions, and publications.  For more information, please visit www.turningpoint1777.com or Facebook.com/turningpoint1777