The Village of Whitesboro seal has been called into question for decades, over

the years, minor adjustments have been made, but the theme remains that of a
friendly wrestling match between Whitesboros Founder, Hugh White and a
Native American.
This friendly wrestling match, which was a normal occurrence during that
time period, is what helped foster good relations between the settlers and
Native Americans. It is documented that the two shook hands after the
wrestling match took place. While there were various depictions of the seal
over the years, the original seal dates back to the late 1800s.
Of course, all of the media attention our village seal is getting has caused us to
do extensive research into the accuracy and roots of the village seal. While the
friendly wrestling match was being used as our village seal since the late
1800s, this particular depiction was a drawing from a parade float during the
Villages Sesquicentennial in 1963. Soon after the Sesquicentennial, the
drawing began appearing as the official village seal.
While our village board has changed regularly over the years, comments
surrounding the seal seem to come up every 5-10 years. With the
development of social media, its very easy to take a seal from a small town of
3,400 residents, and make it national news. Months ago, the village board was
contacted by both the Daily Show and the Nightly Show from Comedy
Central. Realizing that it was inevitable that our community was going to be
the focus of such a controversial issue, the village board felt that it would be
more beneficial to participate in the process as opposed to running the risk of
having anything and everything be said about our village, its residents, and its
history in a one-sided, comedic barrage. As a result of their participation, the
Daily Show offered the assistance of its extremely skilled graphics department
to create the viable choices that were to be voted on as alternatives to our
current seal.
While some of the seals were clearly created for comedic relief, there were
several exceptional and viable choices for the residents to choose from,
including a drawing from a local resident, which was the intention of the
informal vote from the very start. This vote was not legally binding as it was
just an opinion poll to help us understand how our residents feel.

We are in the process of forming a committee to look at options for modifying

the current seal to create a more modern, professional, and culturally
acceptable option that will reflect the historic relationship between our
founder Hugh White and the Oneida American Indian he befriended. We
expect this to be a lengthy process, but ultimately it may include an updated
depiction of the friendly wrestling match, that appears less offensive, while
still representing the original encounters of our settler with Native
Americans.
The history of the Village of Whitesboro Seal, as written by historians:
The seal goes back to the late 1800s and depicts a pivotal moment in the
founding of our town and village. When Hugh White came here in 1784, the
area was populated by Native Americans. One of their favorite pastimes was
wrestling. The local chief challenged our founder, Hugh White, to a wrestling
match which Mr. White dare not refuse and look weak so they wrestled. By
Chance Hugh White managed to win the match and gain much respect from
the chief and the whole of the Native Americans and thus they were able to
live quite peacefully together for many, many years. Whitesboro views this
seal as a moment in time when peace was made.
On a side note, a story published in the January 13th edition of Utica's
Observer dispatch is a reprehensible compromise of journalist integrity, as it
did not reflect what occurred at the Village Board meeting one night after the
informal vote. A reporter took the opportunity to take an already national
issue and put a further incendiary spin on an already sensitive issue for her
own personal gain and the benefit of her publication to gain national
attention.
Thank you,
Patrick J. O'Connor
Village of Whitesboro Mayor
10 Moseley Street
Whitesboro, NY 13492