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Note: N2398 Centennial address relating to the early history of Schenectady and its first settlers, delivered at Schenectady, July 4th 1876 by Hon.John Sanders, pub 1879 Albany, NY; p 131; Ancestry.com
Jillis Fonda, son of Douw Jellisse, of Albany, born in 1670, married,December 11th, 1695, Rachel, daughter of Peter Winne, of Albany. He came to Schenectady in 1700, and was a gunsmith. He died in 1737, and left surviving him a numerous and historic family of children, who have contributed much to the healthy and respectable population of Schenectady, Montgomery, and Fulton counties.
Douw, the oldest son of Jellis, born September 1st 1700, married,October 21st, 1725, Maritje, daughter of the heroic Adam Vrooman. He removed from Schenectady in 1751, and settled at Caughnawaga. In October, 1780, he was an aged widower, residing there, with a few domestics, in a large stone dwelling, with wings, which stood on the Flats between the present turnpike and the Mohawk river, His three sons, John, Jellis, and Adam, were living in the neighborhood.....Border Wars, etc., of New York." After writing of the murderous descent of Sir John Johnson, with his tories and Indians, upon the Mohawk Valley, and Caughnawaga particularly, he adds: "When the alarm first reached the family of Douw Fonda, Penelope Grant, a Scotch girl living with him, to whom the old gentleman was much attached, urged him to accompany her to the hill, whither the Romeyn family were fleeing; but the old patriot had become childish (more likely feeling the blood of Holland tingling in his veins), and seizing his gun, he exclaimed: 'Penelope, do you stay here with me --I will fight for you to the last drop of my blood.' Finding persuasion of no avail, she left him to his fate, which was, indeed, a lamentable one; for soon the enemy arrived, and he was led out by a Mohawk Indian, known as one-armed Peter (he having lost an arm), toward the bank of the river, where he was tomahawked and scalped. His murderer had often partaken of his hospitality, having lived for many years in his neighborhood. Mr. Fonda had long been a warm personal friend of Sir William Johnson,and it is said Sir John much regretted his death, and censured the murderer. With the plunder made at Douw Fonda's were four male slaves and one female, who were all taken to Canada." This statement was derived from Mrs. Penelope Forbes, formerly Grant.
Major Jellis, son of Douw, born March 24th, 1727, at Schenectady, married January 16th, 1750, Jannetje, daughter of Hendrick Vrooman. He early removed to Caughnawaga. He was the first merchant in the Mohawk Valley west of Schenectady, and a man of great enterprise and extensive business for the times, trading with the white citizens of the valley, and the natives of Western New York. Many of his goods he imported directly from London. He always accompanied Sir Wm. Johnson on his military expeditions as commissary, and they were upon terms of great friendship, and in many respects possessed similar sporting tastes....Major Fonda died June 23rd, 1791, leaving a son, Douw, who died at Albany, September 11th, 1836, without issue, aged 80 years; also a son Henry, who died at Caughnawaga, April 4th, 1815, aged 49 years, leaving a son and a daughter.
Margaret, daughter of Douw and sister of Mary Jellis, born in 1764, married John R. Yates, Esq., brother of Robert Yates, long a distinguished Chief Justice of the (p134) Supreme Court of the State of New York, and himself many years Surrogate of the county of Schenectady. Margaret Fonda was the mother of the late Giles F. Yates, and the grandmother of Mrs. Judge Austin A. Yates.
Margaretta, a daughter of Douw, born November 10th 1734, married Barent M. Wemple.
Peter, another son of Jellis, the first settler, born March 6th, 1711, married, June 27the, 1735, Maria, daughter of Daniel Van Antwerpen,and left only one child, born October 19th, 1736, named Rachel.
Caughnawaga or Kahnawake can refer to:
• Caughnawaga, a village of the Mohawk nation inhabited from 1666 to 1693, now an archaeological site near the village of Fonda, New York.
• Caughnawaga, New York, established in 1788 and named after a local Mohawk community, was a large town, constituting much of Montgomery County north of the Mohawk River until its subdivision eliminated it. The division of Caughnawaga also created the Fulton County Towns of Broadalbin, Johnstown, and Mayfield.
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