John Brant (Ahyouwaighs)
John Brant was the son of Joseph Brant.
(1) Peggy (Neggen Aoghyatonghsera), daughter of Isaac, married Joseph Brant on July 22, 1765. They were married by Rev. Theophilus Chamberlain, a newly ordained minister. Their wedding was in Canajoharie. Samson Occum, the great Indian (Mohegan) preacher was there. Samson Occum's school would later be known as Dartmouth College.
On this same day, Young Brant Kaghnegtago/Brant Johnson, son of Sir William Johnson, was married too. He married the daughter of a Virginian gentleman. Peggy died in March 1771 of consumption (TB). Peggy was buried in an old graveyard in Canajoharie. Peggy was an Oneida. Her father was called Isaac. Isaac was the religious leader of their village. They lived in a longhouse in the white settlement at Cherry Valley (Schoharie).
(2) Suzanna (Peggy's sister) in the winter of 1773. Their children were:
..... A. Karaquantier (christened Isaac Brant), born in 1767, who died in 1796, by his own father's hand during an argument. Isaac was drinking and tried to kill his father.
(3) Catherine Crogham (Adonwentishon), daughter of George Croghan, the head of the Turtle clan, the first in rank in the Mohawk Nation, Catharine had the honor of selecting which one of her sons was to be chief. George Crognan was one of Sir William Johnson's agents at Fort Pitt. Catherine married Joseph Brant in late 1779. Their first son was born in 1784.
Joseph and Catherine had a high standard of living. When Joseph wrote his will, on October 18, 1805, he provided for all his children. Joseph Brant died on November 24, 1807. His executors were Augustus Jones and Ralfe Clench. In spite of Joseph Brant's hatred of "stinking rum." it was thought that he turned to drink later in his life. John Strachan ( a Presbyterian Scot turned Episcopalian) made comments about Brant's drinking in one of his sermons. Brant got angry with Strachan and was said to have knocked him down and said he would scalp him if he didn't retract his words.
Catharine Adonwentishon was considered a handsome woman. She was tall and robust. Although she did not speak English, she wrote her name as "Katerin." Catharine's father, George Croghan (an Irishman) has a Mohawk wife. She was the sister of Johannes Takarihogen. Catharine was the most "blue-blooded" girl in the entire Six Nations (from her mother's standing in the Mohawks). Her mother lived in Ohio Country in 1774. Catharine's uncle Johannes was killed in Newtown and he was a prominent Mohawk hereditary chief. Her older brother was named Henry Takarihogen (d. 1830). Henry was six years Catharine's senior.
John Brant was chief of the Six Nations after the death of his father. He was said to have had perfect manners and dressed in the latest Longhouse fashion. Like his father, Joseph, John was loyal to the British Crown. John fought in the War of 1812 on the Niagara frontier. Like his father, John traveled to London, England and appeared before Parliament. He was a strong supporter of the Duke of Northumberland. He met him while visiting King George in 1776. He asked Thomas Campbell a 19th century poet, to re-write his poem called "Gertrude of Wyoming." This poem painted his father, Joseph Brant, as a blood thirsty slayer of innocents at the massacre of Wyoming. History tells us that Brant was not present at that war. Poet Campbell then said that his Brant was a fictional character. However, in the next publication the poem was not changed.
In 1821 John Brant was elected as a member of the Canadian party for the county of Haldimand, where many Mohawk lived. However, whites protested his election on the grounds that the Mohawks did not really own any land in Haldimand. In his campaign to regain his authority, John Brant and his opponent both died of cholera.
..... Christina Brant was born in 1769. Suzanna died of TB in 1778. Children of Joseph and Catherine Brant were:
This page was last updated on January 8, 2015
