departure of the Schramling family, many years elapsed before any
pioneers were found venturesome enough to settle in this portion of
the valley.

Abram Houghtailing, Elias Brewer and Peter Swartz became settlers here
in 1786. Houghtailing and Brewer came from Washington county, and
Swartz from Schoharie. About the same date, James Youngs settled near
the mouth of the Charlotte and Baltus Kimball settled north of the
village on the farm now owned by Jacob Morell.

About the year 1790, Thomas Morenus[A] settled on the south side of
the river. He was a German from Schoharie. About the same time
Frederick Brown came from Fulton, N.Y., and settled on the farm
formerly owned and occupied by Eliakim R. Ford. At this time Brown's
house was the only one standing within the limits of the present
village corporation. About the year 1795, one Aaron Brink built a
large log house by the mill pond, or rather between the railroad
crossing on Main street and the mill pond. Brink's house was the first
hotel kept in the village of Oneonta, and perhaps the first that was
kept in town. Between Brown's house and Brink's tavern there was only
a common wood-road, with a dense forest on either side.

[Footnote A: Thomas Morenus, before settling here, had been a captive
among the Indians, and had "run the gauntlet" at Fort Niagara. The
terrible scourging he had received at the hands of the savages left
marks which were plainly traceable when he had become an old man.]

About the same time John Vanderwerker built the first grist-mill. This
mill stood some distance east of the grist-mill now standing in the
lower part of the village.