transcribed by suscat from The Oneonta Herald
December 14, 1882, by W. E. Yager:
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UNCLE JEREMY AND HIS TIMES

Soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, the
fear of the Indians having been dissipated by the crush-
ing defeat they had met at the hands of Sullivan, em-
igrants from Albany and the country east began to seek
homes in the fertile valley of the upper Susquehanna,
at that time an extreme frontier.

Among the earliest of these was Thomas Morenus.
The title to the lands in this quarter of the state was
originally in great patentees, owning thousands of acres
which they had obtained from the government on easy
terms. One of the chief of these land owners was
Goldsbrow Banyar, whose grant comprised a very con-
siderable portion of the lands opposite this village on
the other side of the river. To Banyar Thomas More-
nus made application for a tract of one hundred acres,
which was accorded him in consideration of the pay-
ment of one hundred and twenty-five dollars.

Making his way west, about the year 1793, from Al-
bany county to the junction of the Schenevus and Sus-
quehanna, the emigrant journeyed thence, by an Indian
trail whose line was probably not far from that of the
road between Oneonta and Colliers, to the other side of
the river, where, leaving the trail, after a preliminary
settlement higher up the mountain he finally located
his purchase on the bluff opposite the Red bridge and
to the east of the present Amsden place. Here for the
remainder of his life he dwelt, and there was passed
the life of his son, Jeremiah T., who died on the morn-
ing of Wednesday, in his eighty-ninth year, having
been born in June, 1794.

A grand tho' sombre scene must this valley have
been at that time. Dense forests of evergreen lined
the hillsides, while the interval was thickset with a
heavy growth of hard wood. There was still an In-
dian village at Colliers. Through the forest yet
roamed herds of deer, bear were not uncommon, while
at night might be heard the long drawn howl of the
wolf or more rarely the strange cry of the catamount.
If the wood teemed with game, no less did the streams
abound with fish ; not such as in these days serve to al-
lure the truant schoolboy, but trout, pike and shad in
size and number beyond the wildest dream of a modern
sportsman.

Mid surroundings such as these did Thomas Morenus
hew out his humble home, and in a cabin built of logs,
with clay and moss, to stop the crevices, a great yawn-
ing fire-place, the loom and spindle standing near, Uncle
Jeremiah first saw the light.

The family were not without neighbors. Over on
the flat was the VanDerwerker saw mill. Beyond on
what is now Main street, was a little story-and-a-half
hotel, whose proprietor, by dint of industrious culti-
vation of a tract of land stretching along the western
side of what now is Dietz street, managed to obtain a
comfortable living. There was also a house at the
Oneonta Plains and another, possibly more, at Col-
liers. As years passed, additional settlers came.
Houghtaling, Hubbard, Seacraft, Adams, Brewer,
Brink, Whitmarsh, are among the names thus added to
the list of pioneers.

Soon the forest began to show here and there great
gaps ; game grew scarcer ; cornfields appeared ; a small
stock of goods was placed in a little building not far
from the hotel.

Not unpleasant was the life of these sturdy frontiers-
men. The soil was productive, and of corn and wheat
there was enough. If cane sugar was unknown, there
was maple in abundance, and tho' coffee and tea were
unheard of at that date, they found a tolerable substi-
tute in the leaf of the wintergreen and other herbs.
Game and fish were generally to be had for the taking,
while the few cattle and sheep driven along with them
in their pilgrimage, grew apace in number, despite the
foray now and then of a stray wolf. Perhaps the
greatest privation in the bill of fare was from the dearth
of fruit. It was not until Uncle Jeremy was a lad of
fourteen that an orchard was planted, with seed brought
by his sister from an eastern locality. As for clothing,
there was little "store cloth" to be seen, but the home-
spun prepared from the flax and wool of the farm
proved quite as serviceable; and so habituated had the
old gentleman become to it, that he continued its use
at intervals to the end of his days.

In occupation there was variety. "They farmed it
summers and lumbered it winters." All thro' the cold
months the pioneers were busy with their axes, felling
the great pines on the hillsides, which, cut into logs
and rolled into the stream, were in springtime rafted
down the river. The trip to Havre de Grace was not,
however, the only way out of the wilderness. As the
roads improved, a steady, tho' not very extensive, trade
grew up with Albany. What grain could be trans-
ported thither found a ready sale at remunerative pri-
ces. The money obtained, with that derived from lum-
bering, was applied in payment of the farms, many of
which had been purchased on time. There was like-
wise another source of revenue ; among the first build-
ings to appear along the line of Main street were two
"asheries." They were located below the present road,
and were used for the manufacture of potash from wood
ashes. At the ashery the ashes to be had for the
burning from farms whence the owners wished to clear
the hard wood, could be disposed of at ten cents a
bushel.

Thus matters stood at the breaking out of the second
war with England. Uncle Jeremy was then a stout
boy of twenty, with a healthy love of adventure, which,
as the day of the "Tories and Injuns" was for this part
of the country passed, he gratified by enlistment in com-
pany with several of his companions against the "Brit-
ishers." The experience of the recruits was by no
means exciting, however, as most of their time was
passed in camp on Manhattan Island.

Returning from the war, he shortly exchanged the
sword for the scythe, and marrying a few years later,
settled down upon the old place to his former life of
farmer and lumberman, the latter pursuit passing into
desuetude, as the forests melted away.

Quietly he toiled. A family came to him, Cares
increased. Busied in his daily labor, did he notice
how every day the scene about him changed? How the
meadows widened, how the cornfields broadened, how
the farm houses grew thicker and thicker? Still he was
the same. Still he lived in the house which his father
had built years before, to take the place of the cabin
where he was born. Still he went every day to his
honest work in the good old-fashioned manner. But
"the village" was changing. Store after store, house
after house, was added to the little hamlet of his boy-
hood. New roads were built. Turnpikes brought
trade and travel. Oneonta began to be heard of. Then
came the struggle for a railroad. He could remember
well when a trail thro' the woods was all they wanted.
Locomotives were undreamt of when he was a boy.
What next? Well, the railroad came, and with it de-
pendent industries. Then followed the marvelous
growth of the last decade — all these changes within the
lifetime of this one man.

Of German descent. Uncle Jeremy was short and
rather slight in build, but hale and hearty to a remark-
able degree. So keen was his eyesight, that up to the
time of his death it was his habit to read the papers,
in which occupation he took great pleasure, by the light
of a candle and without the aid of spectacles. No less
vigorous in mind was this hardy pioneer, than in body.
His memory was most remarkable, extending to minute
particulars of his early days, and ranging thence with
more or less distinctness, thro' all the leading events
in his after life and the history of the community in
which he so long has been a landmark. Doubtless his
kind heart and cheerful, easy-going disposition had
much to do in keeping hale and sound both mind and
body.
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and the following was added by contributor Melissa Stickles (47285848):
Jeremiah T. Morenus died at his home in Oneonta, Otsego county, last week from injuries received by the recklessness of two young men who were under the influence of liquor. Deceased was the father of O. Morenus, of this place, and was 30 years old at the time of his death. He has visited Cleveland several times, and was highly respected by all who knew him. The following are some of the circumstances attending his death: He was returning afoot from a little village near Oneonta, when overtaken by two strangers with a team. He was invited to ride, and willingly accepted. As soon as he had taken his seat in the wagon, his companions who apparently very much under the influence of strong drink, spying another team ahead, began to lash their horses and made an effort to pass. The challenge was accepted, and soon both teams were racing recklessly. The old man becoming afraid requested them to let him off. They turned a deaf ear to his entreaties; he even offered them money if they would stop, but they would not. As they reached a point near the old man's home, the driver slackened the pace, but refused to stop. Mr. Morenus attempted to get off, and in doing so he slipped as his feet touched the ground, and falling, the wheel ran over his body. This caused his death. The drunken men who had been instrumental in causing the fatal accident, passed on regardless of the aged victim. They will be punished to the full extent of the law.
http://tree.clevelandhistoricalsociety.com/getperson.php?personID=I1470&tree=CHSTree01#cite1