Cornplanter was born between 1732-1746 at the Seneca town of Canawaugus, now present-day Caledonia, New York. His mother was a woman of the Wolf Clan, and his father, Johannes Abeel, was a Dutch fur trade from Albany with some relation to the powerful Schuyler family. Thus, Cornplanter had connections on both sides. His Native name Gyantwachia meant, the planter or someone who plants, which English sources later translated as Cornplanter. He would have received his warriors training from the men of his mother's family and was already a war leader of the Seneca during the Seven Years War (1755-1763). During that War, the Seneca allied with the French against the British and may have been present at Braddock's Defeat in 1755.Having had plenty of experience at it, he wanted the Seneca to remain neutral during the American Revolution, opposing Joseph Brant's aims of bringing the Iroquois Confederacy to the side of the British. Brant eventually persuaded most of the Iroquois tribes to ally with the British. Both Guyasuta and Cornplanter voted for neutrality during counsel meetings, but honored the majority. Cornplanter and Sayenquaraghta were appointed as war chiefs of the Seneca and joined the Mohawk, Cayuga and Onandoga as allies of the British. Cornplanter was present at the Battle of Wyoming in 1778, his men serving as auxiliaries to a Loyalist regiment, Butler's Rangers. Patriot forces burned Tioga and other Seneca towns in retaliation for the encounter at Wyoming, deemed in American public opinion as a massacre. He was also present at Cherry Valley in 1778. Living in the area was his own father, Johannes Abeel. Cornplanter offered his father the chance to remain with the Seneca or stay in White society. Johannes chose the latter, and Cornplanter saw to it that his father was escorted to safety. He was also present at the Battle of Newtown (August, 1779), as Iroquois and Loyalist forces tried to stop General Sullivan's scorched earth invasion of Seneca territory. As Sullivan's forces advanced, Cornplanter's men harassed and delayed them long enough for Seneca families to escape the devastation with nothing but what they could carry. As his people struggled to survive the winter with no shelter or provisions, Cornplanter and his warriors remained in the field.
Following the Revolutionary War, Cornplanter believed that diplomacy was the only path forward for the Iroquois. He signed the Treaty of Fort Stanwix in 1784 and met with both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. He also proved instrumental in keeping the Iroquois out of the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795). During his many trips to Philadelphia to meet with government officials, he became interested in the work of the Quakers. He welcomed Quaker missionaries to educate his own children and open schools on Seneca land. Realizing that fur trade was no longer viable, he encouraged his people to learn better farming methods. Along with his brother, Handsome Lake, he worked to oppose liquor sales or consumption among the Seneca.
Like many Native leaders, he became disillusioned with the poor working relationship with the Americans. He would later become a proponent of Handsome Lake's religious movement, urging his people to return to their original traditions. He was given a tract of land in Pennsylvania along the Allegheny River. He also successfully fought the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's attempts to make him pay land tax. He died in 1836 and was buried, at his request, in an unmarked grave. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania installed a monument over his grave in 1866. In 1965, the Kinzua Dam flooded all but a small portion of the Cornplanter Tract. Cornplanter's remains were removed to Elk Township, Warren County, Pennsylvania. The Seneca residing on Cornplanter's land removed to the Allegheny Reservation in New York. Seneca artist Jesse Cornplanter (188-1957)
is his direct descendant.
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