Little Beard's Town, also known as Jo’néhsiyoh (in Seneca), Chenussio and "Genesee Castle", was a powerful Seneca town in the

Genesee River The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...

Valley near modern

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

in Livingston County,

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, where Cuylerville stands today. It surrounded the area that is now Rt. 39, between Geneseo and Cuylerville, New York. At the time of its destruction by Sullivan, the town was located on the west side of the Genesee River. Ten years prior, it had been on the east side of the river, as the Seneca villages were generally moved approximately every 10 years. The town was named after its founder, Little Beard, a prominent Seneca ''

sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...

'' in the late 18th century. It was famous for its beautiful surroundings and the productivity of its vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, and fields of corn. It had about 130 houses-- "finely built log cabins with ample furnishings; some even had glass window panes," as well as a large council building, built around a central square. It was located near three other Seneca towns, all of which were destroyed during the

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign) was a United States military campaign under the command of General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan duri ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The Seneca and three other Iroquois nations fought on the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

side during the

. Little Beard and his warriors participated in the Cherry Valley massacre and the Boyd and Parker ambush, in which two soldiers were brought to Little Beard's Town and tortured. Subsequently, troops of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

under Major General John Sullivan attacked Little Beard's Town and other Iroquois settlements in the Genesee and Mohawk valleys, destroying buildings and crops. The residents had to flee. "Little Beard's Town was burnt by Sullivan-Clinton’s forces on Sept. 14-15, 1779." One famous resident fled with the Seneca to more secure villages, around

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

, with three children. This was Mary Jemison, a Scots-Irish

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

colonist who had been captured by the Seneca at age 15 with her family, most of whom were killed. She was adopted and married into the tribe, and lived with them all her life. A fictional account of the burning of the town is given in ''The Scouts of the Valley'' by Joseph A. Altsheler. "The Men in Sullivans Army were so greatly impressed by the 22 inch long ears of corn, the fine vegetable gardens and the fruit orchards that many determined to return and settle on this land after the war." The site was reserved as a Seneca reservation in the 1797

Treaty of Big Tree The Treaty of Big Tree was a formal treaty signed in 1797 between the Seneca Nation and the United States, in which the Seneca relinquished their rights to nearly all of their traditional homeland in New York State—nearly 3.5 million acres. I ...

, along with five other parcels on the Genesee River; they sold those parcels to the Ogden Land Company in 1826, a sale that the modern

Seneca Nation of Indians The Seneca Nation of Indians is a federally recognized Seneca tribe based in western New York. They are one of three federally recognized Seneca entities in the United States, the others being the Tonawanda Band of Seneca (also in western New ...

does not recognize as valid. In 2004, the 225th Anniversary of the Groveland Ambuscade and the Boyd-Parker Massacre, local historical societies set up a civilian camp for re-enactors at the site of Little Beard’s Town.

References

External links

* Mary Jemison's account of the burning of the town {{authority control Geography of Livingston County, New York Seneca Iroquois populated places 1779 disestablishments in the United States Former Native American populated places in New York (state)