The First Citizens of the City of Montgomery
Last month we addressed how our city got to be named Montgomery, this month we will learn who the first citizens of Montgomery were. Did you know, that Montgomery’s founders were from Montgomery, Orange County, New York?
Traditionally, Montgomery’s founding families are known to be Cronimus, Jacob, and David Felter, (although no records have been found that show David Felter in Hamilton County before 1808) Cornelius Synder, Jacob Roosa, Nathaniel Terwilliger, and Christian Crist. All of these families were of a Dutch or German descent.
It was around 1795 when the first families settled here in Montgomery, some records show families such as the Roosa’s not arriving in Montgomery until the years of 1798-1799. These founding families settled around the present site of Bethesda North Hospital. Many of the rich history that you see within the city began with these founding families.