Sayenqueraghta "Old King" Smoke

Seneca War Chief
Gai Yen Gwa "Old Disappearing Smoke"
Kaieñˀkwaahtoñ

• Great grandfather of Brig. General Ely Parker
• The Life of General Ely S. Parker Preface F.H
• https://archive.org/details/cu31924028676694

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"Late in the summer of 1779 several thousand Continental soldiers under John Sullivan, supported by artillery, invaded the Iroquois homeland. Butler, Brant, Kaieñˀkwaahtoñ, and others marshalled a small force to oppose them. Butler and Brant advised harassing the invaders while retreating slowly. Other, less wise, heads prevailed, and an attempt was made to block the enemy’s path. The rebel artillery and a strategic blunder by the Indians led to a rout, and Sullivan proceeded to burn his way through the Cayuga and Seneca country, devastating 40 villages including Ganundasaga. His army destroyed 160,000 bushels of corn, “a vast quantity” of other vegetables, and extensive orchards. The agricultural base of the Indian economy had been ravaged. With winter at hand the Iroquois, including Kaieñˀkwaahtoñ, fled to Niagara to subsist on British rations.

The devastation of their homeland did not break the spirit of the Senecas or their ancient chief. He was on the war trail again in July and August 1780 as a leader in the expedition that destroyed the Canajoharie and Normans Kill district, netting 50 or 60 prisoners. In October he was in the field again, joining Sir John Johnson* in a raid into the Schoharie valley. He may have shared command with Brant of the force which during this expedition captured 56 rebels who sallied forth from Fort Stanwix. The raiders also destroyed some 150,000 bushels of grain and burned 200 houses." http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/kaienkwaahton_4E.html

"Sayenqueraghta (c. 1707 – 1786) was the war chief of the eastern Seneca tribe in the mid-18th century. His name in the Seneca language, meaning "Disappearing Smoke",is phonetically rendered as Kaieñãkwaahtoñ, and was spelled in a variety of ways, including Gayahgwaahdoh and Kayenquaraghton. In historical records he is most often known as Sayenqueraghta (or Sayengaraghta), which was his name in the Mohawk language, or by nicknames such as Old Smoke or the Seneca King. It is also said that he was called Old Smoke because he held the official position as the "smoke-bearer".

He was born the son of Cayenquaraghta, a prominent Seneca chief of the Turtle clan in western New York. He lived most of his life at Ganundasaga, near the present day town of Geneva, New York. He obtained his rank of war chief in 1751. Before the American Revolution he was referred to as chief of the Senecas.
He was described by General Frederick Haldimand as "by many degrees the most leading and the man of most consequence and influence in the Six Nations". In 1783, a British officer said "He is a sensible old man and has been a very good warrior in his day, but like the rest is very much addicted to liquor".
He died in 1786 in Smoke Creek, Lackawanna, New York
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayenqueraghta

"He served on the British side during the French and Indian War and was present at the Battle of Fort Niagara.

During Pontiac’s Rebellion he was the Seneca war-chief who defeated the British at the Battle of Devil’s Hole. A portion of the Seneca fought the British during Pontiac’s Rebellion of 1763. In 1764 the Seneca came to Fort Niagara where they made peace and Sayenqueraghta “buried the Axe”.

In 1765, he along with Handsome Lake and about one hundred other Seneca warriors went on an expedition against the Cherokee and Choctaw. This expedition was remembered nearly a century later for the loot of scalps and other trophies obtained.

American Revolution

Early in the American Revolution, Sayenqueraghta tried to keep the Iroquois neutral. He attempted in June, 1777 to retrieve Seneca warriors who had joined Butler at Fort Niagara. In July, 1777, the Iroquois decided to enter the war on the British side and he was named, along with Cornplanter, to be the war chiefs of the Iroquois confederacy."
https://www.revwartalk.com/sayenqueraghta/

Two other unknown children