Cornelia Clarrisa Pootman

Cornelia (Arent, Victor, Johannes)

    Cornelia Putman was born 29 January 1751 and baptized 19 January 1752 by a missionary of the New York Trinity Church.  She was best known as Clarissa the subject of the book Clarissa Putman of Tribes Hill by John Vrooman. 

Mary Jo Marks of New York wrote a paper on Clarissa's life, which was used for the following sketch:
Clarissa was born as Cornelia Putman on January 29, 1751,
the daughter of Arent Putman and Elizabeth Peek. The Putmans lived in a stone house in Tribes Hill. A few miles away was the home of Sir William Johnson, superintednent of Indian Affairs for King George III of England. Sir William had a son John, who was later to succedd to his father's vast estate of 240,000 acres of land and his title of Baronet. In 1765 at 23 years of age, John was sent to

England to broaden his social contacts and represent his  father in business affairs.  While in England, John was presented at court and knighted by the King.  After tow years abroad, Sir John returned home, but to his father's disappointment he had not met a lady he wished to marry and had not acquired any special assignments or employment.  After his return to the Mohawk Valley, John meet and fell in love with the daughter of Arent Putman.  Clarissa was just 15 years old when she went to live with Sir John Johnson at Fort Johnson.  By 1772, children were born to John and Clarissa--a daughter, Margaret, and a son, William.  This relationship fell heir to Sir William Johnson's political concerns.  Sir William Johnson foresaw future event which were to lead to the American Revolution and felt that a marriage between his soldier son and the Putmans would be disastrous to his ties to England because of the rebellious views of Clarissa's father Arent and her brother Victor.  Clarissa and her children were removed from Fort Johnson. 

Sir John was encouraged to look for a suitable wife among the prominent families of New York. In 1772, he spent the Christmas holidays there. During the winter, he became engaged to Mary Watts, the daughter of John Watts, a banker and merchant. In 1775, the American Revolution began. Sir William Johnson had died shortly before, so his son was now Director of Indian Affairs. Sir John was a Loyalist and in the insuing years led many raids upon the Mohawk Valley, in which two-thirds of the inhabitants were killed.
Clairssa's father was amongh the dead as were many other Putman men. When the war was finally over, Sir John and his family were captured and returned to Johnstown where they were placed under house arrest. Before he could be brought to trial, however, he and his entire household and tenants fled to Cornwall in Upper Canada.
In 1784, after the signing of a peace treaty with England, Sir John Johnson made contact with a former friend in Schenectady, NY, merchant, Daniel Campbell. Johnson then sent money to Campbell to assist in the care and schooling of his American children. When his son William was a young man, Johnson had Campbell persuade Clarissa to allow their son to come to Canada to lived where he promised to find William a suitable job. Clarissa relented, and William made the journey through Niagara, where he stayed with Johnson relatives and later went on to Cornwall. William married a Margaret Clark, a Canadian, and had six children, one of whom was named Clarissa Ann. William died in 1836 at age 66 years. Johnson also tried to persuade Clarissa to part with their daughter, Margaret, but she refused. Margaret married into the Van Horne family of Schenectady. From an unsigned article comes the following:
Clara Putman's daughter was a famous beauty who married Jame E. Van Horne, son of Abraham Van Horne founder of VanHornesvile. The marriage displeased the Van Horne family, and the young couple went to Stone Arabia where they ran a store.
In 1809 at age 67, Sir Johnson sent for Clarissa to come to Montreal. According to the present Sixth Baronet, Sir John Johnson, "She arrived in the summer of 1809 and was ushered ito the presence of her former lover with fitting ceremony . . . .. The baronet stated his reasons for requesting her presence, which were to settle on her an annuity for life, a cash payment of $1,000, and a house." When the house was finally finished, it was a large brick building, which was later known as Van Horne Hall. Clarissa deeced the property to her son-in-law, J. E. Van Horne, a few years before her death. James Van Horne married Mary Conant, and their son, William, ran a hat store in the VanHorne Hall Buildling. He was the mayor of Schenectady from 1848-49. The building burned in 1934 (now the site of the Schenectady Savings and Loan Association.) Both Clarissa and John Johnson lived to an old age. Johnson died in Canada in 1830 at the age of 88. Clariisa died in Schenectady, NY, 1 July 1833. She was 82 years old. She was buried in Vale Cemetery in Schenectady on the the Van Horne Plot. One can only guess at the difficulties that Clarissa Putman must have faced as she tired to make a life for her and her children during time of the American Revolution and afterward. (Mary Jo Marks, 1991)
Children:
1. John.
2. Margaret.

GEDCOM Source

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. <i>Find A Grave</i>. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::62759871

GEDCOM Source

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. <i>Find A Grave</i>. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::62759871

GEDCOM Source

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. <i>Find A Grave</i>. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::62759871

GEDCOM Source

@R1050710867@ Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s Genealogical Research Library, Ontario, Canada Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7920::0

GEDCOM Source

1,7920::241411

GEDCOM Source

@R1050710867@ Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s Genealogical Research Library, Ontario, Canada Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7920::0

GEDCOM Source

1,7920::241411

GEDCOM Source

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. <i>Find A Grave</i>. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi. 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::62759871

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@R1050710867@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

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Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=113334805&pi...