History of Little Nine Partners of Northeast Precinct and Pine Plains, New York, Duchess County 1897

  "History of Little Nine Partners of Northeast Precinct and Pine Plains, New York, Duchess County 1897" by Isaac Huntting

This book gives information about the Fraizers that were studied by the Vassar College students. I believe that these are my earlier ancestors.. I will be constructing a family tree for these Fraziers in order to find a link between them and myself.

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ny/town/pineplains/Surnames.html

Excerpt from Book

FRAZIER family-colored people-so numerous and well known in this part of "North East Town" in the first half of this century, descended from a white man, a Scotchman by that name. Andrew, the first of the name, is said to have been born in Amenia June 14, 1743. He was in the revolutionary war from its commencement to its end in 1783, and received a pension through the influence of Judge Stephen Thorne, of Milian. Andrew settled in Milan about two miles south of Jackson Corners, and it was his home until his decease, June 2, 1846, he lacking twelve days of completing his one hundred and three years. This farm which he cleared (it was woods) for a home is now owned by his grandson, Alfred Frazier, son of Robert. The house was built about 1809. Andrew Frazier had sons Adam, John, Andrew and Robert. His daughters who married were Catharine married George Lewis, Tempe married Thomas Rowe, (lived in Amenia,) Lena married Robert Tyler. Four other daughters never married. The sons of Adam, son of Andrew 1st, were Edward, James. Sons of John, son of Andrew 1st, were Filo, Andrew, William. Sons of Andrew, son of Andrew 1st, Edward, Milton, Walter, Charles A., Jacob, John. Sons of Robert, son of Andrew 1st, Egbert, Robert, Jacob, Alfred, Lewis. Of these Alfred and Lewis were the only ones living in 1889. The three other brothers were buried in the family burial ground on the farm not far from the ancestral dwelling in Milan, and head-stones neatly inscribed stand at their respective graves. The head-stone to Andrew the ancestor stands at the head of his grave and reads "In memory of Andrew Frazier who died June 2d, 1846, aged 102 years, 11 mos. and 18 days."

Some members of these Frazier families intermarried with a family called May, of pure Indian lineage of the Mohican Shacomeco clan, and proprietors of the lands in this vicinity. Mannessah, Indian name, was a "medicine man," had a son and daughter, and they claimed to be the last of this tribe of pure blood Indian. Joanna, so called, the daughter, married a man named May, they had two daughters, half blood, who respectively worked for Mrs. Reuben W. Bostwick and Mrs. William Eno. Isaac Smith, Esq, who lived about a mile north of Hoffman's Mills, had a house near his dwelling in which Joanna lived until her decease. She is authority that three chiefs of her tribe or clan were buried on the east side of now Pine Street in the village near the old pine tree now standing there. The mounds of these graves were plainly to be seen years ago, and to that extent corroborate her tradition.

Her brother called "Prince"-Mannessah, Indian name-lived about a half mile north of Hoffman's Mills to the right of the road near the boundary line between Duchess and Columbia Counties. He acquired knowledge of the Indian medical practice by herbs and roots, from his Indian ancestry, and applied it whenever called upon. In derision the reqular medical profession called him a "quack," and his medicines "quack medicine." patrons of the regular profession and others used the epithet freely and so he was universally known as "Prince Quack." He had a son Andreas, "Dris," named for a good white friend, (Andreas Pulver,) who married and had children, sons and daughters. One or more of these sons emigrated to Michigan and settled near Grand Rapids. The old man Prince Quack went with them-they retained the name Quack-and in the '60s he was living, his hair white, his teeth gone, and his yellow face marked with deep wrinkles when I last saw him there. He did not know the year of his birth, but he must have been in or near the '90s, perhaps had turned for the hundred point. Some descendants of this Manessah family now live in the town of Washington, near Millbrook.