29 Facts About Cornplanter

Cornplanter helped ensure Seneca neutrality during the Northwest Indian War.

Cornplanter had the schools closed and embraced his half-brother Handsome Lake's movement to return to traditional Seneca ways and religion.

Cornplanter was born about 1752 at Canawaugus on the Genesee River in present-day New York State.

Cornplanter was the son of a Seneca woman, Gah-hon-no-neh, and a Dutch trader, Johannes "John" Abeel II.

Cornplanter, who had once gone as a young man to meet his father, recognized Abeel and offered apology.

Cornplanter invited Abeel to go with him or return to his European family.

When his father chose the latter, Cornplanter had Seneca warriors accompany him in safety.

Cornplanter was relatively inactive for the remainder of the war.

Cornplanter was a signatory of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, although this treaty was never ratified by the Iroquois.

Cornplanter convinced the Seneca to remain neutral in this conflict.

Cornplanter extracted an agreement from Washington and Mifflin to protect Seneca land.

Cornplanter made a number of trips to Philadelphia, and later Washington, to strengthen relationships and meet with those who were interested in his people.

Cornplanter tried to understand Euro-American culture, as he felt it necessary for successful relations between the Iroquois and the United States.

Cornplanter was particularly impressed by the beliefs and practices of the Quakers.

Cornplanter invited Quakers to the Cornplanter Tract to help the Seneca learn new skills such as animal husbandry, carpentry and smithing as they could no longer rely on hunting or the fur trade as a way of life.

Cornplanter encouraged Seneca men to become involved in growing crops, a task which traditionally was done by women.

In 1794, Cornplanter was a signatory to the Treaty of Canandaigua.

Cornplanter heeded Handsome Lake's prophecy that they should return to traditional ways and turn away from European assimilation.

Cornplanter burned his military uniform, broke his sword, and destroyed his medals.

Cornplanter closed the schools but did not completely break relations with the Quakers as he retained his respect for them.

Cornplanter died in 1836 at his home in the Cornplanter Tract.

Cornplanter had an older half-brother, Handsome Lake, who later became a Seneca religious leader.

Cornplanter was the uncle of the influential sachem Chainbreaker, and the nephew of Guyasuta, a leader of the western Seneca during Pontiac's War.

One of Cornplanter's sons had an intellectual disability and is only referred to as "The Idiot" in primary sources.

Cornplanter was impressed enough to send his son Henry to the Quaker school the following year.

In 1821 Warren County, Pennsylvania tried to force Cornplanter to pay taxes for his land, which he protested on the basis that the land had been "granted" to him by the US government.

Cornplanter was a dauntless warrior and wisest statesman of his nation, the patriarch of this tribe and the peacemaker of his race.

Cornplanter's grave was moved with the Cornplanter Monument, to higher ground, at the Riverview-Corydon Cemetery, located in Elk Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania.

The State of Pennsylvania erected an honorary marker at the site in 1966, after the original Cornplanter Tract was being submerged.