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down, by this sign “burying it” forever with
Ephraim. “You no enemy, my brother,” he reportedly said, and the man threw his arms around my son’s neck and, Ephraim said, the man then "wept like a child." From that day, they were as brothers. My son often claimed that his Indian brothers would 'go through fire and water for him and would not do any business without his orders'."
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sat down, Ephraim said, one on each side of him. I can't even imagine his fear when one Indian held his arms and the other took the hatchet and told him that he was going to sing his 'death song' and kill him. However, on reflection, it is true that each of my children had extraordinary strengths and weaknesses, and in
Ephraim's life, they were one and the same -- no fear.
190:. The trip was a distance of 2 miles (3.2 km) and took place in the late autumn when the water was already quite cold. The two soldiers departed one evening and feared they would not make it alive. Webster completed the duty, however, nearly lost his life and had to be rescued by his companion, Wallace of Thetford.
506:, who served as tadadaho, the highest position in the Iroquois Confederacy in 1991, said that as a boy, listening to his elders in the longhouse, he heard the old chiefs talk of how Webster would invite Onondaga leaders to his house in an attempt to get them drunk whenever he needed a new piece of land.
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wife, which include him divorcing her, or the possibility that she died. According to Joel
Cornish, who served on a trial in a property dispute filed by Harry Webster in 1837, the woman balked at a divorce, but was finally forced to leave. Several historical accounts maintain Onondaga chiefs accepted
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settler, thirty years previously. The state deeded the acreage to
Webster as "a free and voluntary gift", a reward for acting as a translator for the Onondagas. The property was located in an area later called the hamlet of Onondaga Hollow, which was located on the future site of the Seneca Turnpike,
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Ephraim understood their culture as well as their language, and he motioned as if requesting a taste of their rum for a final drink. He took the cup and drank a toast to their chiefs, naming them in turn, beginning with Brant Buller. This caused great emotion, and the Indian with the hatchet threw it
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The treaty had a clause that required the
Onondagas to give Webster 300 acres (1,200,000 m) of their diminishing territory, which was not viewed favorably by the tribal leaders. Disagreements over the acreage prompted the Onondagas to accuse Webster of betraying them. Webster had been leasing
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Indian named Peter Gain. He went with Gain to his home on West Canada Creek and spent three months there without speaking a word of
English during the entire time. By the time he left there he was fluent in the Indian language. Webster learned to speak or write a total of six Indian languages, and
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Ephraim also became adept with the Indian language, another instinct which saved his life. One night after drinking with a few
Indians, he understood them to say they were going to kill him, because they believed he was a man who had, in the past, destroyed their wigwams. Soon two of them came and
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At age 21, in 1783, he tried his hand at shoemaking, a skill his father, a tailor, insisted he learn, however, he tired of it after a year. According to his brother, "He seemingly inherited my dissatisfaction with leaving a destiny to a father's whim, and he left to seek his fortune. He tried his
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According to documents at the
Onondaga Historical Association from reports by other pioneers such as Calvin Jackson, interviewed in 1837, who relayed that in 1793 he saw Webster "dressed in an Indian costume and painted (with) a jewel in his nose and ears. Had a squaw with him with one eye and a
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Harry's relation to
Ephraim Webster was the subject of debate several for years. In a letter to the Syracuse Herald in 1899, Orris D. Webster, one of Webster's descendants, insisted Ephraim Webster never fathered any Onondaga children and claimed that Harry Webster had filed a "bogus lawsuit"
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His will left all his possessions, including $ 2,000 worth of personal property, a large fortune for that time, to his second wife, Hannah and to their children despite the
Onondagas belief that the land should naturally return to them. Some members of the family lived on the 300 acres
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He married a young white woman named Hannah Danks on November 19, 1795, just months after he received his square mile of land. She was the daughter of Captain Isaac Danks and Lucy Danks. With his caucasian wife, he built a home in the square mile on the banks of
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land from the Onondagas for a decade prior to the treaty. Their dispute was settled when Webster surrendered his ownership of a saw mill he owned located on the Onondagas' land, with the Onondagas agreeing not to pursue any land claims against him.
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The trust the Onondagas held for Ephraim Webster was broken in 1817 after he acted as the state's agent and translator for them. In the treaty dated July 28, 1795, Onondagas sold 4,000 acres (16,000,000 m) to the
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In 1795, Webster was elected the supervisor of Onondaga and in 1798, he was justice of the peace. He served as a lieutenant and captain in the New York militia and was later appointed inspector of beef and pork.
150:. He was the son of Ephraim Webster Sr. and Phebe Tucker. He had nine siblings. His mother died when he was a teenager and his father, son of Samuel Webster and Mary Kimball, remarried on January 8, 1778, in
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divorce in instances where wives were accused of drunken behavior. His Onondaga wife, called "Nance" by white settlers, returned to live among the Onondagas with their son Harry and died not long after.
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an area of land approximately 70,000 acres (280,000,000 m). This amounted to 75 percent of their original, 100-square-mile (260 km) reserve which they traded for a $ 410 down payment.
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Even after he rejoined white society, he was on good terms with the Onondagas, and was appointed as the state's agent to live with the tribe in 1811. He offered Onondaga troops to President
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After Webster's wife died, his son Harry Webster filed a suit in April, 1837 against Webster's family for some of the land inherited by his white half-siblings, however, he did not win.
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In a 1962 article for the Onondaga Historical Association, historian Richard Wright said Webster gave up the Indian lifestyle on the urging of his newly arrived brother, Asahel Webster.
440:, who had settled in Onondaga Hollow a few years earlier, for $ 6,250 on October 18, 1805. Forman was the father of a young lawyer named, Joshua Forman, who later founded the
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A lawsuit was filed and the trial began during which time, with Orris Webster not winning the lawsuit and later writing "they were beaten, lost their money and their case."
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The Onondagas wanted Governor Clinton to appoint a new agent, however that never occurred. In 1822, Webster acted as the interpreter at Onondagas' last treaty with
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to give them a square mile of the land that they had sold to the state so Webster could build a home on it. It was the site of the fort built by William Johnson,
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Webster eventually sold the majority of the square mile in small parcels for $ 9,000 each. The last parcel was purchased by Joseph Forman, a merchant from
740:. Glynn Patrick & Associates, 2010 and Dorothy & Allistair Frasier of British Columbia family document by Henry Webster, Ephraim’s son, of
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The Onondagas refused to part with any more land and were left with 7,300 acres (30,000,000 m), which they still have possession of today.
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533:(1,200,000 m), later called the "Half-Mile" until the late 19th century. He left nothing in his will to his son Harry Webster.
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Webster's first Native American wife died shortly after marriage and he married a second time to another Native American woman.
277:. According to his father, he became accostumed to Indian traditions and made a career off of trading them rum and ammunition."
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at Onondaga. For the next four years, to his belief, he was the only white man in the area. He adapted well.
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In the spring of 1788, Webster used his influence with the Onondagas to get their consent to bring Major
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little boy with them. (They) called the boy William, but (he) has since gone by the name of Harry."
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Although he could make a living off of city jobs, Webster a wanted to be a frontiersman and went to
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to Onondaga. Danforth was the second white man to settle in the area. While on a hunting trip in
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By 1796, Webster was so well liked by the Onondagas, they were able to convince the governor of
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262:. Webster eventually became the first white person to permanently settle in what later became
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Iroquoian language. In 1793, he acted as translator at treaties where the Onondagas sold
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Ephraim Webster. Written by his son, Henry Webster of Jericho, Vermont, March 11, 1847
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woman named "One-Eyed Nancy" late 1780s, named so because of how she was blinded by
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Original home of Ephraim Webster on Valley Drive in Syracuse during the late 1890s
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The original family home Webster built stood for many years at Valley Drive in
718:. Daughters of the American Revolution, Volume 11, July–December, 1897. 1897.
836:"Plan to Place More Tablets To Mark Spot Where First White Settler Lived".
96:(June 30, 1762 - October 16, 1824) was the first Euro-American settler in
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Campbell, Wallace Hamilton (July 25, 1964). "Historic Central New York".
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for $ 1,000 and annual payments of $ 430, along with 50 bushels of salt.
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402:, the gift of land to Webster carried an obligation and meant that the
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229:"My brother wandered about in this fashion until he fell in with the
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and was instrumental in the eventual settlement by white pioneers of
631:. The Post-Standard, Syracuse, N.Y., August 11, 2000. Archived from
174:. During his time in service, he was called on by the commanders of
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and carry dispatches to General Lincoln near Mount Independence,
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believed he would become a permanent member of their community.
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served as an interpreter for a salary of two dollars a day.
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emigrated to the county and erected a home in the county.
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in which they sold more of their reservation for $ 1,700.
218:, before heading out into the wilderness where he met an
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Although he had the trading post on the south shore of
650:. Glynn Patrick & Associates, 2010. Archived from
789:"Old Records, The Early History of Onondaga County".
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There are conflicting reports of what became of his
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Webster was a translator and acted as agent for the
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778:. The Post-Standard, Syracuse, N.Y., May 22, 1991.
451:until it was destroyed by fire in the late 1890s.
211:, but his fortune was not to be found in a city."
108:trusted him more than any other non-tribe member.
517:Webster died on October 16, 1824, at age 62 of
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422:in Syracuse. Together, they had five children.
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884:"The Onondaga Indians and their Reservation"
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776:"Pioneer hero left bitter Onondaga legacy"
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859:. Shades of Oakwood, 2010. Archived from
842:. Syracuse, New York. September 12, 1915.
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668:. Ancestry.com, 2009. Archived from
539:Harry Webster went on to become the
795:. Syracuse, New York. June 6, 1894.
162:In 1777, at age 15, he served as a
254:In 1786, at age 24, he arrived in
115:on several land treaties with the
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295:, Webster was afraid of getting
346:, and became acquainted with a
925:People from Syracuse, New York
338:during the last period of the
138:was born on June 30, 1762, in
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666:"Descendants of Hugh Sargent"
886:. Rootsweb, August 28, 1998.
629:"First a friend, then a foe"
127:later felt betrayed by him.
857:"Early History of Syracuse"
648:"Ephraim Webster Biography"
475:on two separate occasions.
322:that Danforth's family and
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340:American Revolutionary War
280:Webster was married to an
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342:when he was stationed at
104:. For three decades, the
288:. They later had a son.
225:In his brother's words;
140:Hampstead, New Hampshire
40:Hampstead, New Hampshire
792:Syracuse Evening Herald
738:"Ephraim Webster Story"
570:, was named after him.
258:to make trade with the
744:, 1847. Archived from
699:Syracuse Post-Standard
547:Familial ties disputed
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318:. Webster's praise of
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152:Chester, New Hampshire
736:Glynn Patrick, Jody.
702:. Syracuse, New York.
646:Glynn Patrick, Jody.
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199:luck in the towns of
810:"New York, Syracuse"
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527:Tonawanda, New York
442:village of Syracuse
344:Greenbush, New York
316:Johnstown, New York
863:on August 30, 2010
568:Syracuse, New York
455:Friendly relations
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330:Indian interpreter
250:Settler and trader
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308:Montgomery County
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469:War of 1812
467:during the
391:Family life
297:swamp fever
273:, close to
231:Six Nations
170:during the
909:Categories
574:References
513:Later life
194:Early life
73:Occupation
32:1762-06-30
404:Onondagas
400:Onondagas
260:Onondagas
131:Biography
125:Onondagas
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380:New York
320:Onondaga
286:smallpox
282:Onondaga
180:New York
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473:British
384:British
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166:in the
164:private
559:Legacy
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235:Albany
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84:Spouse
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