Mohawk – Wyandot Ancestry of Lt. John Young's ... - Davidkfaux.org

name – “the Elder” and “the Younger” are also seen. However names such as say“Gideon young” and “Gideon old” being employed to identify two individuals with thesame first name appear to be rare, recalled by the author in only one document where in1795, “Young Brant” was written as “Brant Young” (Wisconsin State Historical Society,Lyman Draper Manuscripts, Series F, Vol. 15, p.215) so there is at least precedent.However if Peggy was writing her own name, it is difficult to know what she meant.There were other women with the name Margaret apparently alive at the time. The mostlikely candidate is Margaret the widow of Captain Daniel (possible daughter of MargaretCrine and Aaron Hill). Five years earlier at Lachine in 1784 she submitted her claims forwartime losses, including 72 acres at Ft. Hunter. Unless she had died in the interval shewould surely have signed the 1789 deed. In addition she was one of the few Mohawkswho could write in English (Sivertsen, 1996). Hence it is reasonable to assert that Peggywas more likely Captain Daniel’s widow (who she may have married circa 1768 after thedeath of her husband Nicholas Brant). As noted above, Captain Daniel separated fromhis wife Margaret in 1766 to take up with one of his wife’s close kin. This “new person”could have been Margaret “the younger”, mother of Catharine. The circumstances hereare far from clear.Also found in the Seth Newhouse Manuscript noted earlier is Kayadontyi (the Nativename used by “peggy” in the 1789 Ft. Hunter deed) – but the name is also claimed by oneTurtle Clan and one Wolf Clan family. Reg Henry translated the name as, “Her BodyFloats By”. Hence the conclusion here is that the mother of Catharine Young wasMargaret (Hill) Brant Kayadontyi. This statement gains further momentum whenrecalling that David Hill’s sister selected her son as the successor to her brother (vizCampbell Diary). Thus she was alive in November 1790. Margaret Kayadontyi is theonly Mohawk with the baptismal name Margaret to sign the 1789 Ft. Hunter Deed.If Catharine was in attendance at Niagara when the principal men and women of bothvillages sold their interest to Jelles Fonda, as would be likely, she will probably be foundamong those from Canajoharie (her place of residence at the time of the Revolution).There is no Catharine with a name found among the Astawenserontha family on the Ft.Hunter deed. Among the Canajoharie Upper Mohawks there is a Katharin Kayakhonwhose name is beside a symbol (totem) of the Bear Clan. Click here to view this item.All of the women’s names were written by a clerk, so even if she did write, there will beno surname. This was true for other Mohawks such as the first female signator,Gonwatsijayenni Wari (Wolf totem). This is Mary Brant Johnson (see DCB,Konwatsiatsiaienni, online). The next individual was Hester Davis Sakagoha of the WolfClan on the same list but again no suranme. It turns out the Kayakhon is a name from theAstawenserontha Bear Clan family. Thus, while the evidence is not direct, it wouldappear reasonable to assert that the wife of John Young, Catharine, was Catharine(Brant) Young Kayakhon. Based on the translation of the name by Philip Henhawk(personal communication, 7 March 2011), Kayakhon means, “She Breaks / Cuts All ofThem”. Click here for the specifics of the translation.46