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The name Otsego is from an Indian word meaning "place
of the rock."
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the
present Otsego County was part of Albany County. This was an
enormous county, including the northern part of New York State
as well as all of the present State of Vermont and, in theory,
extending westward to the Pacific Ocean. This county was
reduced in size on July 3, 1766 by the creation of Cumberland
County, and further on March 16, 1770 by the creation of
Gloucester County, both containing territory now in Vermont.
On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split
into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County.
One of the other pieces, Tryon County, contained the western
portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified,
theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). The eastern
boundary of Tryon County was approximately five miles west of
the present city of Schenectady, and the county included the
western part of the Adirondack Mountains and the area west of
the West Branch of the Delaware River. The area then
designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New
York State. The county was named for William Tryon, colonial
governor of New York.
Map of Otsego County, at its formation
Map of Otsego County, New York, by Simeon De Witt c. 1792-1793
1829 map of Otsego County, New YorkIn the years prior to 1776,
most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to Canada. In 1784,
following the peace treaty that ended the American
Revolutionary War, the name of Tryon County was changed to
honor the general, Richard Montgomery, who had captured
several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the
city of Quebec, replacing the name of the British governor.
In 1789, Ontario County was split off from Montgomery. The
actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger
than the present county, also including the present Allegany,
Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe,
Niagara, Orleans, Steuben, Wyoming, Yates, and part of
Schuyler and Wayne Counties.
(from
www.wikipedia.org)
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County Seat: Cooperstown
Year Organized: 1791
Square Miles: 1,003
Courthouse Info:
County Office Building
197 Main Street
Cooperstown, NY 13326-1128
Phone: (607)547-4200
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©2006 Melissa Allen
Rodriguez
Genealogy Trails
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