One may dwell without malice upon the eccentricities of this singular
man, for they are qualities that set him forth from his more staid
contemporaries, without detracting from the virtues which gave
permanence to his work. Hartwick was a lover of God and men. Although
rough and unpolished, he was a man of learning, being well versed in
theology, and as familiar with the Latin language as with his own.

The great purpose of Hartwick's career was the founding of a community
for the promotion of religion and education, the building in the
wilderness of a Christian city whose halls of learning should influence
the coming ages. The roving life that brought Hartwick into contact with
the Indians awakened his desire to Christianize and educate them, and
the influence which he gained among them opened the way, through the
acquirement of land, for the carrying out of his favorite project. The
patent that he obtained from the Provincial government in 1761 covered a
tract of land, substantially the present town of Hartwick, which he had
purchased from the Indians for one hundred pounds in 1754. In settling
the land Hartwick required each tenant to agree to a condition in the
lease by which the tenant became Hartwick's parishioner, and
acknowledged the authority of Hartwick, or his substitute, as "pastor,
teacher, and spiritual counsellor." Owing to his desultory business
methods and the weight of advancing years, Hartwick after a time found
himself unequal to the management of this estate, and in 1791 William
Cooper, the founder of Cooperstown, became his agent, with authority to
dispose of the property to tenants. By this arrangement Hartwick was cut
off from his original design of being the spiritual director of his
tenants, and came to the end of his life without building the city of
which he dreamed.