Where did cobleskill get its name from?

Answer 1

In 1711, Jacob Kobel was one of the many Palatines along with British and Indian troops sent to Canada to conquer the French, the expedition failed. Then in 1712, New York Governor Hunter ordered the end of subsistence, which along with other complications and shortage of food caused the Palatines to seek opportunities elsewhere.

IN 1712 and 1713, some Palatines started journeying to Schoharie Valley with Jacob Kobel and his family settling in Brunnendorf. Being a miller, he became involved in a milling activity at the junction of the Schoharie and what later became known as Cobleskill Creek. Prominence came from this activity and also in the help of building roads. Parts of his name became used in identifying these locations. In 1797 official records of the Town of Cobleskill state Town of Cobus Kill and the creek as Cobus Kill. Several maps and surveys dating from 1752 to 1804 used the name changes similarly.

When complications of land ownership obtained from the Indians, the State authorities self interests and that of prominent individuals, together with misunderstand caused some of the settlers to journey to Pennsylvania where acceptance was more favorable. In 1726 assessment list in Tulpehocken, PA records Jacob Kobel's name. In 1727 his name appears on a list for road builders at the settlement just west of today's Reading, Pa. In 1731 he made a will, naming his wife Anna Marie and son Henry along with 8 other children. He died in that year and is buried in Tulpehocken Lutheran Cemetery.

There are other stories of how Cobleskill got its name, but we chose to go with the one connected to official papers of the time.

Answer 2

Cobleskill in New York got its name from the creek that flows through the area called Cobleskill Creek. The name "Cobleskill" is believed to come from an Algonquian word meaning "place of the wild geese."