| Notes |
- Birth: Feb. 14, 1728
Montgomery County
New York, USA
Death: Aug. 5, 1827
Owasco
Cayuga County
New York, USA
Conrad Pickard was born either born on February 14, 1728/28 or March 5, 1727 at Palatine, across the Mohawk River from Canojohary, Tryon (now Montgomery) County, New York. He was the son of Nicholas and Anna Barbara (Weiser) Pickard. His mother was the sister of the famous Conrad Weiser who was an Indian interpreter for the Mohawk nation.
Conrad married Anna Mary Margaret Walrath on June 30, 1751, in St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Stone Arabia, Tryon (now Montgomery) County, New York. Anna was born about 1730 in Cayuga County, New York, the daughter of Johann Adolph and Anna Barbara (Ridder or Ritter) Walrath.
They had the following known children:
1. Nicholas Pickard (1752-1825) FAG #5623337
2. Catharine (Pickard) Bradt (1754-?)
3. John Conrad Pickard (1756-1836)
4. George N. Pickard (1758-1831)
5. Adolphus Pickard (1761-1846)
6. Leah (Pickard) Stansel (1764-1831)
7. Mary (Pickard)Cook 1769-1859)
8. Sarah (Pickard) Stocker (1770-?)
9. William Pickard (1772-?)
10. Abraham Pickard (1776-1860)
Conrad's name first appeared in Tryon County as early as 1750 in the records of the Lutheran Church of Stone Arabia. He was a member of the Committee of Vigilance for the town of Springfield in 1779. Conrad served in the Tryon County Militia in Colonel Samuel Campbell's First Regiment of the Revolutionary War.
Following is a transcription form several pages of The History of Springfield New York by Kate M. Gray. Note the error in his birth year and location of birth:
Conrad Pickard was born in Germany in 1740 (date on tombstone) and owned the farm known as the Menzo Edick farm, later owned by Geo. B. Flint and now by Ralph Lunhdolm. Back of the barn there is a large spring of excellent water, unfailing and clear as crystal. Doubtless that was the reason Conrad Pickard built his little log cabin nearby.
On the Pickard farm, in a hillside field there is at present time, a small plot of ground containing a few graves. It is all that remains of the first cemetery in Springfield where many of the early settlers were buried. An old deed given by Conrad Pickard soon after 1800, reserves 12 acres of land on the farm mentioned as belonging to the town for a burying ground. As years passed the markers crumbled and those of wood decayed, and the plot decreased in size. A few years ago it was discovered that the burying ground belonged to the town, and the local D.A.R. Chapter succeeded in getting it cleared and reset the remaining markers.
At that time, the D.A.R. also erected a new headstone for Conrad which I took a photo of in 2006.
Anna died about 1776 in Springfield, Otsego County, New York. According to page 307 of The Schempp Family History by George Christian Schempp, there's a story about Conrad that says he plowed a field on his 100th birthday. Conrad died August 5, 1827 at the home of his great-grandson, Abram in Owasco, Cayuga County, New York. Following is a transcription of an obituary for him:
From Cayuga Republican
In Owasco, on the 5th inst. Mr. Conrad Pickard aged 100 years and 5 months. He was born on the Mohawk River, in the town of Palatine, Montgomery CO., N.Y. was one of the first settlers in the county of Otsego and lived to see four American Wars. The deceased was a member of the Lutheran Church for eighty years and has seen the fourth generation after him...has a number of offsprings which cannot be ascertained at present. He lived a Christian. His last words were these:
Now I lay me down to sleep
Pray the lord my soul to keep
If I should sleep and could not wake
I pray the lord my soul to take
Another Find A Grave member, Denise Haviland had also created a FAG Memorial for Conrad and was kind enough to transfer management of the duplicate one to me. Below are some of the comments from that memorial and her comments:
The cemetery is not in Cherry Valley, though, but in Springfield Township. Just north of the hamlet of East Springfield and the historical marker for the old log schoolhouse that served the old pioneers so well. Conrad's name is listed on the Springfield town Revolutionary War Memorial.
I too saw the article about Conrad's death in Owasco but could never find that final proof that he and his GGGgrandson's bodies were transported all the way to Otsego County for burial.
In 1827 it would have been quite a trip! No trains yet, only the Erie Canal and lots of bumpy roads! You'd think the parents would want them closer to home in Cayuga County. But I've not found them out there in the western part of the state either. Have queried the local historian and will see if I get an answer!
http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=145352133 viewed September 16, 2016
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1728 - 1827 (99 years)
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