[Szt-newsletter] SZT Reunion Fall 2025 NewsLetter

[kjorrey at yahoo.com]

Snell-Zimmerman-Timmerman Family Newsletter

Fall-Winter 2025

Hello

Fall is here, but it seems like winter with the cold temperatures and
flurries of snow.  Mark your calendars for Sunday August 30, 2026 for our
next annual SZT Family Reunion.  We will again hold an ice cream social, our
only fundraiser, on Saturday 29 August 2026 at 6 pm.  Help us celebrate the
250 years celebration of America.  

            Snells Bush Church looks nice sitting on the hill, overlooking
the Mohawk Valley.  A little upkeep is needed on the cemeteries as some on
the stones need to be straightened.   Some work is needed on the outside of
the church as the weather is tough on the northern side of the building.
These will be addressed in the spring. The newly painted interior ceiling
and repairs to the ceiling look great. There is always something to work on
in our historic church. 

 We had our fall board meeting in October. It was reported that we had three
weddings this year and one baptism this past spring. A new sign is posted at
the lower cemetery as there was no signage there and we want to let the
public know that this cemetery is part of Snells Bush. The reunion was well
attended, and everyone had a good time. The Tryon County Militia presented a
program on firing the cannon, and everyone had a chance to shoot the cannon
off. We also had one of our members present a program on the book she wrote
entitled "Best Land" by Sue Brewer. This book talks about two families
living next to each other, an Oneida Indian woman, "Two Kettles" and
"Honjost Doxstader".  On Saturday we held our ice cream social which was
well attended and is our only fund raiser event of the year.  Donations are
needed to keep the church and cemeteries in good condition.

 Donations can be sent to our mailing address:

Treasurer, SZT Reunion, Inc. P.O. Box 623, Little Falls, NY 13365

  

 We would like to hear from you. Please send us any updates on your family
members, updates on e-mail addresses and change of mailing addresses. We try
very hard to keep our records up to date. 

 

Please contact us:

Sarah Israel             sarahtisrael at yahoo.com
<mailto:sarahtisrael at yahoo.com>          518-489-2725

Nancy Cioch          ncioch at yahoo.com <mailto:ncioch at yahoo.com>
315-866-3419

Kevin Jorrey             kjorrey at yahoo.com <mailto:kjorrey at yahoo.com>
972-689-5297        

 

We have genealogy books that are for sale. These books have very interesting
stories of the families homesteading on the frontier and traveling west to
settle on the plains. They make great gifts--especially the genealogy
history of the various families.

 

There is little written about the War years (1778-1783) after the Battle of
Oriskany.  Frank Bellinger in his little booklet entitled "The War Years of
the Mohawk Valley" is for sale at Snells Bush and it covers some of this
history.  He presents the highlights of that time period and one person
stands out during this time;

Colonel Peter Bellinger

Colonel Peter Bellinger was adjutant to General Nicholas Herkimer as well as
his brother-in-law, was put in charge of Fort Herkimer and was the
commanding officer of the area. It was a difficult job that Colonel
Bellinger faced to keep the valley safe and still responsible for sending
produce to Washington's army.  After the Battle of Oriskany most families
had lost fathers, sons and other family members. Now the women and children
were responsible for keeping their homesteads safe from constant raids from
the Tories and Indians. Constant skirmishes were being fought between the
Indains/Tories and the residents.  It was said that one could not travel to
church service without being attacked. 

 At the request of Colonel Bellinger, General Washington in 1781 finally
sent help to the area.  Colonel Willett was made commander of all New York
State, and he was stationed in Fort Plain to maintain the safety of the
residents living under constant Indian and Tory raids. New York state had
passed a law in 1779 to confiscate all the Tory and Loyalist property in the
state.  However, the public still needed protection from the raids in the
Mohawk and Cherry Valley.

The famous Clinton-Sullivan campaign was established in 1779 to rid the
state of the Indian problem. Hundreds of Indians fled to Fort Niagara to the
English while others in the valley ravished the Mohawk valley almost
depopulating many areas including Manheim. St Paul's Church (Snell Bush)
which was a fort at the time was destroyed. 

Frank Bellinger states that in 1781---"-in fact there was no longer much of
anything left in the valley to destroy; the inhabitants had lost their
farms, the landscape reduced to wilderness waste except in the vicinity of
protective forts"

Today, we at Snell-Zimmerman-Timmerman descendants are proud to have a
historic Snells Bush church as a living memory to those terrible years after
the Battle of Oriskany. We also honor Colonel Peter Bellinger for keeping
the valley safe. 

 

We want to wish everyone a great holiday season and hope you will be able to
attend our next family reunion at our historic Snells Bush Church on August
30, 2026

 

Google Map of church
<https://www.google.com/maps/place/Snells+Bush+Church+and+Cemetery/@43.03837
2,-74.774425,736m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x89deb946c3e9a7af:0xd1c6c6fa56d8a
d94!8m2!3d43.0383016!4d-74.7732882!16s%2Fm%2F09v6lb9?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1
MTEzMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D> 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Sincerely,

Bill Timmerman                            President

Sarah Timmerman Israel                       Corresponding Secretary

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