Died at Schell's Bush in Herkimer County.

Daughter of Johan Jost PETRIE
{born - 1689 in Germany
died - 1770
at German Flats, Herkimer, New York}
and
Cordelia DEMUTH
{born - 1690 in Germany}
Married in 1706 in Germany.

THE ANGEL AT THE FORTRESS GATE:
******************************
The Angel at the Gate of this little Schell's Bush Blockhouse was none other than Maria Petree Schell. May God Bless her!
And Maria Schell it was, who with the echo of every barking gun rushed to replace the exploded charge.
Loading muskets of that period was not the simple process of the present. To eject an exploded shell and insert a new one in the rifle of today takes no time at all. But there was nothing of that in the guns of the Schell Blockhouse.
So, Maria's job was far more complicated. First in order, the powder had to be measured out and poured in the muzzle
of the gun. Then it must be wadded and rammed down. Next, the shot had to be inserted in the same way. And that, too, wadded and rammed down. Finally a percussion cap had to replace the one exploded. With every discharge this process had to be repeated. And all of this gruelling service we owe to that great-hearted defender of her embattled home, Maria Schell. This is why the Savages were so often forced to seek safety in the forest.
The ferocious battering ram of the Savages was made by cutting down a straight sizable sappling at the edge of the forest, they lopped off the limbs and top, making a formidable weapon about sixty feet long. The fifty husky Red skins, twenty-five on each side, grabbed that log and started on a madly plunging dash for the Blockhouse door. But there was one very important factor with which the Indian failed to reckon. "The Angel at the Gate". With the savages plunging headlong, butt-ended for the door, Maria Petree Schell grabbed her ready guns and with unerring aim brought down the leading Red skins on each side of the log, fumbling things topsy turvy and forcing the rest of the onrushing mob to drop their battering ram and run. Three times that exploit was repeated and every time, Maria Schell's faithful guns proved an insurmountable barrier between her front door and the infuriated savage mob. The Indians did not pause to pick up the debris.