Editing Schuyler County, New York (section)

==History==
When counties were established in New York State in 1683, the present Schuyler County was part of [[Albany County, New York|Albany County]]. This was an enormous county, including the northern part of New York State as well as all of the present State of [[Vermont]] and, in theory, extending westward to the [[Pacific Ocean]]. This county was reduced in size on July 3, 1766, by the creation of [[Cumberland County, New York|Cumberland County]], and further on March 16, 1770, by the creation of [[Gloucester County, New York|Gloucester County]], both containing territory now in Vermont.

On March 12, 1772, what was left of Albany County was split into three parts, one remaining under the name Albany County. One of the other pieces, [[Tryon County, New York|Tryon County]], contained the western portion (and thus, since no western boundary was specified, theoretically still extended west to the Pacific). Tryon County's eastern boundary was approximately five miles west of the present city of [[Schenectady, New York|Schenectady]], and the county included the western part of the [[Adirondack Mountains]] and the area west of the West Branch of the [[Delaware River]]. The area then designated as Tryon County now includes 37 counties of New York State. The county was named for [[William Tryon]], colonial governor of New York.

In the years prior to 1776, most of the Loyalists in Tryon County fled to [[Canada]]. In 1784, following the peace treaty that ended the [[American Revolutionary War]], Tryon County's name was changed to [[Montgomery County, New York|Montgomery County]] in honor of the general, [[Richard Montgomery]], who had captured several places in Canada and died attempting to capture the city of [[Quebec]], replacing the name of the hated British governor.

In 1789, [[Ontario County, New York|Ontario County]] was split off from Montgomery. The actual area split off from Montgomery County was much larger than the present county, also including the present [[Allegany County, New York|Allegany]], [[Cattaraugus County, New York|Cattaraugus]], [[Chautauqua County, New York|Chautauqua]], [[Erie County, New York|Erie]], [[Genesee County, New York|Genesee]], [[Livingston County, New York|Livingston]], [[Monroe County, New York|Monroe]], [[Niagara County, New York|Niagara]], [[Orleans County, New York|Orleans]], [[Steuben County, New York|Steuben]], [[Wyoming County, New York|Wyoming]], [[Yates County, New York|Yates]], and part of Schuyler and [[Wayne County, New York|Wayne]] counties.

[[Herkimer County, New York|Herkimer]] and [[Tioga County, New York|Tioga]] counties were two of three counties split off from Montgomery County (the other being [[Otsego County, New York|Otsego County]]) in 1791.

In 1794, [[Onondaga County, New York|Onondaga County]] was formed by the splitting of Herkimer County. This county was larger than the present Onondaga County, however, including the present [[Cayuga County, New York|Cayuga]], [[Seneca County, New York|Seneca]], and [[Tompkins County, New York|Tompkins]] counties.

On March 8, 1796, [[Steuben County, New York|Steuben County]] was created, split off from Ontario County. It was larger than the present county, however.

In 1798, [[Chemung County, New York|Chemung County]] was formed from Tioga County, but the county at that time was rather larger than the present county, containing a portion of what would later become Schuyler County.

In 1799, [[Cayuga County, New York|Cayuga County]] was formed by the splitting of Onondaga County. This county was, however, much larger than the present Cayuga County. It then included the present [[Seneca County, New York|Seneca]] and [[Tompkins County, New York|Tompkins]] counties, as well as part of what would become Schuyler County.

In 1804, [[Seneca County, New York|Seneca County]] was formed by the splitting of Cayuga County. Then in 1817, in turn, a portion of Seneca County was combined with a piece of the remainder of Cayuga County to form [[Tompkins County, New York|Tompkins County]].

In 1823, Steuben County was reduced in size by the combination of a portion of the county with a portion of [[Ontario County, New York|Ontario County]] to form [[Yates County, New York|Yates County]].

On April 17, 1854, portions of [[Steuben County, New York|Steuben]], [[Chemung County, New York|Chemung]] and [[Tompkins County, New York|Tompkins]] counties were combined to form Schuyler County.