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Tryon County NY Genealogy

County seat: Renamed Montgomery 1784

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Tryon County History

Tryon County was a county in the colonial Province of New York in the British American colonies. It was created from Albany County on March 24, 1772. It was named for William Tryon, the last provincial governor of New York. Its county seat was Johnstown, which is today the county seat of Fulton County.

Tryon County was divided into five districts which include: Mohawk, Palatine, Canajohorie, German Flatts, and Kingsland. The County court house and jail were erected in Johnstown in 1772 establishing Johnstown as the county seat. Three of the seven original judges were relatives of Sir William Johnson: Sir John Johnson (son), Guy Johnson (nephew), and Daniel Claus (son-in-law) with a fourth judge being close business associate and neighbour, Colonel John Butler. The remainder of the original seven judges were Peter Conyne, Jelles Fonda and John Wells. Guy Johnson, John Johnson, Daniel Claus and John Butler sided with Britain during the American Revolution while Fonda, Wells and Conyne supported the American cause.

In August, 1774, shortly before the outbreak of the American Revolution, some members of the county formed the Tryon County Committee of Safety to harass their loyalist neighbors, eventually causing many to flee to the safety of Canada. Guy Johnson and a large party of supporters left in May, 1775. Sir John Johnson and a large party of his supporters left in May, 1776. By 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County had fled.

On April 2, 1784 the new state's legislature voted to change the name to Montgomery County, in honor of General Richard Montgomery, a Continental Army General slain during the Battle of Quebec. The Legislature stated, “From and after the passing of this act, the county of Tryon shall be called and known by the name of Montgomery, and the county of Charlotte by the name of Washington.

Tryon County NY Genealogy And Family History Records Online

Tryon County Militia: