A history of Ontario County, New York and its people, Volume I, Part 1

Author: Milliken, Charles F., 1854-; Lewis Historical Publishing Company
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: New York : Lewis Historical Publ. Co.
Number of Pages: 540


USA > New York > Ontario County > A history of Ontario County, New York and its people, Volume I > Part 1


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Gf Milliken


A HISTORY


- OF


Ontario County, New York and Its People


BY


CHARLES F. MILLIKEN


ILLUSTRATED


VOLUME 1


LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING CO. NEW YORK 1911


Copyright Lewis Historical Publishing Company 1911


Times Presses, Canandaigua, New York.


1537227


PREFACE.


Whether through some fortuitous but beneficent combination of soil and water and climate, or on account of an advantage of location, or in furtherance of a Divine plan, the people who have possessed Western New York have had a large and important influence on the country as a whole. This was true when Columbus discovered the continent, and a handful of Iroquois savages dominated the whole vast wilderness. It was true during the three centuries that followed when not even the valor of the French at the North, the enterprise of the Dutch at New York, or the chivalry of the Spaniards at the South, with sword, or cross, or coin, could make progress toward the conquest of the coveted land. It was true when at last New England soldiery, opening the way for New England thrift and New England culture, broke the proud spirit of the Indian confederacy, and when New England from its new vantage ground in the Genesee Country diffused its tongue, its political principles, and its religious faith to the uttermost parts of the land. It is true today, even if what some of the New York papers used to call the "Canandaigua rule" in politics is broken, when a Western New York Congressman makes the tariff law for the country, when the State governs its elections and controls and taxes the liquor traffic under the laws drafted by an Ontario county legislator, when the preachers in famous pulpits, the editors of great metropolitan newspapers, and world-eminent scientists claim Western New York as their birth- place, and when its sons and grandsons, its daughters and grand- daughters, it may truthfully be said, play a not insignificant part in shaping the destinies of the Great West.


The author of this History of Ontario County has made no attempt to glean the fields which have been covered by preceding writers, or to repeat in detail the story of discovery, settlement, and development. He has sought rather to give in narrative form account of the events which have served to connect the civil division known as Ontario county with the larger world, and thus to emphasize the honorable part which it has had in the development of Western New York and the important influence it has exerted


iv


PREFACE.


upon the political history of the State and Nation. For the facts upon which the narrative is founded, he is largely indebted to the original historian of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, Mr. O. Turner, to Dr. Noah T. Clarke, to Mr. George S. Conover, to Mr. Irving W. Coates, and to other writers of local history, and also to the county newspapers whose files form a mine of information as invaluable as it is inexhaustible.


To those who have assisted in preparing this record, either through material furnished, or in the writing of particular chapters or the several town histories, the author, or, more properly, editor, returns sincere thanks.


Most of the portraits with which the volume is illustrated are reproductions of oil paintings which hang on the walls of the County Court room in Canandaigua, a collection of the greatest interest to the student of pioneer days and of the later political history of the county as well. The reproductions, though in some cases exposing too plainly the ravages which time has wrought in the original pictures, depict the personal characteristics of the subjects with a faithfulness that no written description could equal.


CHARLES F. MILLIKEN,


Canandaigua, N. Y., September 15, 1911.


CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.


Page


I. THE INDIAN OCCUPANCY.


Origin of the Red Men Who Occupied Western New York at the Time of the Discovery of America an Unsolved Mystery-The Legend of Bare Hill-Three Epochs-The Seneca Capital Kanadesaga and Other Principal Towns-Strength Broken by Sullivan's Expedition in 1799 1- 11


II. COMING OF THE WHITE MAN.


French Traders and Priests the First White Men to Enter the Seneca Country-French Explorers and French Soldiers Followed-Sullivan Opened the Way for the Pioneers-Settlement Delayed by Disputes as to Title-The Phelps and Gorham Purchase-Sale of Land to Settlers 12- 20


III. THE FIRST SETTLEMENT.


A Party of Pioneers from Massachusetts Enter the Genesee Country by an All-Water


Route-Their Settlement at Canandaigua-Israel Chapin Appointed Indian Agent by President Washington-A Period of Apprehension-The Pickering Treaty of 1794 21- 35


IV. "THE MOTHER OF COUNTIES."


The Organization of Ontario County Cotemporaneous with the Election of Washington as President of the United States-Its Original Princely Domain-Unsuccessful Effort to Set It Off in a New State -Other Counties Erected from Its Original Territory-Rapid Settle- ment and Development 36- 50


V. THE COUNTY BUILDINGS.


They Reflect the People's Respect for Law and Regard for the Unfor- tunate-In the Court House Centers the County Consciousness- Successive Jails-The County Alms House-The County Laboratory and the County Tuberculosis Hospital, the First Institutions of the Kind in the State 51- 61


VI. ONTARIO'S FIRST HALF CENTURY.


Her Politics and Politicians-Early Elections-Snap Methods-Ontario Firm in the Federalist Faith-The County's Representation in Con- gress and the Legislature-Succession of County Officers-Oliver Phelps a Candidate for Lieutenant-Governor 62- 69


VII. POLITICAL CRISES.


Ontario County in the War of 1812-Building of the Erie Canal-Western New York Rejoices at Completion of the Great Work-Abduction of William Morgan-Resulting Excitement in the "Infected District" .. The Anti-Masonic Campaign-Francis Granger a Candidate


for Governor


70- 78


vi


CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.


Page


VIII. RISE OF ANTI-SLAVERY FEELING.


William H. Seward Defeated as the First Whig Candidate for Governor -"The Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" Campaign of 1840-The "Rais- ing" of a Log Cabin in Canandaigua-An Honored Ontario County Citizen Named as Postmaster-General in President Harrison's Cabinet


79- 86


IX. POLITICAL REVOLUTION AT HAND.


Ontario County's Protest against Repeal of the Missouri Compromise- -Conscience Whigs Obtain a Newspaper Organ-A Roll of Honor -Call for County Anti-Nebraska Convention-Delegates Elected to State Convention-Resolutions against Slavery Extension 87- 96


X. MYRON H. CLARK ELECTED GOVERNOR.


Mr. Clark's First Public Office That of Sheriff of Ontario County-Gained Prominence in the Senate as an Advocate of the Maine Law- Gubernatorial Nominee of the Seward Whigs, Free Soil Democrats, and Prohibitionists-Beginnings of the Republican Party 97-107


XI. THE FIRST FREE SOIL CONVENTIONS.


The New Coalition of Free Soilers Adopt the Name Republican-Men Identified with the Movement-A Tangled Local Campaign-Union Ticket Put in the Field by Republicans and Democrats-Opposing Know Nothing Candidates for County Offices Win at the Election. 108-117


XII. ONTARIO IN THE 1856 CAMPAIGN.


Growing Strength and Confidence of the New Party-Fremont the Stand- ard Bearer-Free Soil Democrats Unite with the New Political Organization-John C. Fremont Nominated for President-District and County Conventions-Republicans Name a Complete Ticket . . 118-124


XIII. THE NEW POLITICAL LEADERS.


The Campaign in Ontario County for "Free Speech, Free Press, Free Men, Free Labor, and Fremont"-Clubs Organized and Meetings Held-Joshua R. Giddings Speaks in Canandaigua, His Native Town -Success Won in the County and State, but the National Ticket Defeated 125-134


XIV. THE LINCOLN-HAMLIN CAMPAIGN.


Ontario County a Center of Political Interest- Organization of the "Wideawakes"-One of the Candidates for the Presidency Formerly a Resident of Ontario County and a Student in the Canandaigua Academy-Speaks at a Big Meeting near Clifton Springs-Loyal in the Hour of Defeat 135-141


XV. OLD ONTARIO IN WAR TIME.


Twice Invaded by Armies of Civilized Powers, First by Denonville, then by General Sullivan and His Continentals-The Simcoe Scare- Ontario Militia in the War of 1812-The Whole County in a Tumult -Relief for the Refugees-The Troublous Days of 1861-5 142-148


vii


CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.


Page


XVI. THE COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR.


A Patriotic Pulpit-Citizens Make Large Financial Contributions in Sup- port of the Union Cause-Recruiting the Armies-Canandaigua Academy's Part-Treasonable Utterances-The Ontario Volunteers and Their Gallant Record-The County Represented in Twenty-nine Different Regiments 149-157


XVII. VICTORY CROWNS THE STRUGGLE.


Ontario County Heroes-The Boy Who Never Returned to Claim His Scythe or His Betrothed-The Board of Supervisors in the War- The Women's Aid Organizations-The News of Richmond's Fall and How It Was Celebrated-Memorials of the Great Struggle . .... 158-164


XVIII. THE LAST HALF CENTURY.


Ontario County's Influence in State and National Politics Perpetuated- The State Statutes Known as the Blanket Ballot Law and Liquor Tax Law, and the National Tariff Act Known as the Payne Law, the Work of Its Representatives-The Later County Officers .... 165-177


XIX. THE ONTARIO COUNTY COURTS. By Major Charles A. Richardson.


Their Organization-First Sessions Held at Patterson's Tavern in Geneva and at Sanborn's Tavern in Canandaigua-Anecdotes of Judges, Lawyers and Jurors-The Morgan Abduction-Fugitive Slave Law Case-Conviction of Susan B. Anthony-Other Celebrated Civil and Criminal Trials. 178-204


XX. THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. By John H. Jewett, M. D.


Dr. Moses Atwater, the First Physician to Settle on the Phelps and Gorham Purchase-A Pioneer Physician Who Took Strong Ground Against Bleeding-A Physician's Diary-Dr. Edson Carr, Skilled in Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, and an Excellent Musician as Well -The Later Physicians 205-220


XXI. THE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. By William H. Warfield.


Ontario County Settled by Men Attracted by Its Agricultural Opportuni- ties-The First Wheat Grown on the Genesee Tract-Pioneers Organize a County Agricultural Society in 1819 -- The First County Fair, Cattle Show, and Plowing Match-List of the Officers-The Grange 221-228


XXII. THE TOWN OF BRISTOL. By Sarah G. P. Kent .. 229-242 XXIII. THE TOWN OF CANADICE. By Albert H. Tibbals ... 243-253 XXIV. THE TOWN OF CANANDAIGUA. By Charles F. Milli- ken 254-265


XXV. THE VILLAGE OF CANANDAIGUA. By Charles F. Milliken 266-309


viii


CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.


Page


XXVI. THE TOWN OF EAST BLOOMFIELD. By Carolyn


Buell 310-320


XXVII. THE TOWN OF FARMINGTON. By Albert H. Steven- son 321-327


XXVIII. THE TOWN OF GENEVA. By Sidney B. Reed. 328-330


XXIX. VILLAGE AND CITY OF GENEVA. By Charles D. Vail, L. H. D 331-379


XXX. THE TOWN OF GORHAM. By Lewis C. Lincoln. 380-393


XXXI. THE TOWN OF HOPEWELL. By Irving W. Coates .. 394-405 XXXII. THE TOWN OF MANCHESTER. By John H. Pratt, M. D. 406-424


XXXIII. THE TOWN OF NAPLES. By William R. Marks 425-440


XXXIV. THE TOWN OF PHELPS. By Edwin F. Bussey 441-449


XXXV. THE TOWN OF RICHMOND. By George W. Patter- son, Jr. 450-463


XXXVI. THE TOWN OF SENECA. By Levi A. Page. 464-472


XXXVII. THE TOWN OF SOUTH BRISTOL. By George E.


Richards 473-483


XXXVIII. THE TOWN OF VICTOR. By George Simonds.


484-498


XXXIX. THE TOWN OF WEST BLOOMFIELD. By Rev. New- ton W. Bates 499-505


ILLUSTRATIONS.


Page


Bare Hill, Canandaigua Lake


3


Talk with the Indians at Buffalo Creek in 1793 25


Pickering Treaty Memorial 33


First Ontario County Court House 52


Old Ontario County Jail 58


Sullivan Memorial 143


MAPS.


Map of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase Page


19


The Original County of Ontario, 1789-1796


The County of Ontario, 1796-1802 37


The County of Ontario, 1802-1821 40


42


The County of Ontario, 1821-1823 44


Present County of Ontario, 1823-1911 46


First Plotting of Canandaigua Village, 1789 269


ix


CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.


PORTRAITS.


Page


Page


Adams, William H. 161


Lamport, William H. 103


Adams, William H., elder 185


Lapham, Elbridge G. 105


Atwater, Dr. Moses 206


Lincoln, Cyrillo S. 175


Barnard, Daniel D. 197


Marks, Walter


159


Barlow, Abner 222


Mason, Francis O. 176


Beals, Thomas 59


Matthews, Vincent 179


Bemis, James D. 289


Mattison, Jacob J. 116


Brooks, Micah 77


McLouth, Thomas J. 95


Brunson, Edward


122


Metcalf, Jabez H. 199


Burnett, Jean L.


172


Milliken, Nathan J. 88


Callister, John 202


Murray, Albert G.


85


Church, Captain Philip 69


Parker, Stephen H.


355


Clark, Myron H. 100


Clarke, Dr. Noah T. 153


Cole, Henry S. 194


Porter, Augustus


22


Comstock, Harlow L.


166


Dewey, Jedediah


94


Pottle, Emory B. 126


Raines, John 170


Rochester, Nathaniel 75


Sa-go-ye-wat-ha, or "Red Jacket". 31


Sherrill, Colonel Eliakim 155


Fitzhugh, William


223


Sibley, Mark H. 64


Smith, James C. 128


Smith, William H. 131


Spencer, Ambrose 60


Spencer, John C. 73


Granger, Gideon


76


Granger, Francis


81


Granger, Gideon, 2nd 226


Greig, John 225


Hicks, Edwin 139


Howell, Nathaniel W. 65


Howell, Alexander H. 66


Howell, Thomas M. 113


Howey, Joel M.


111


Hubbell, Walter


67


Wadsworth, William 224


Welles, Henry 55


Whiting, Bowen 189


Williams, George N. 163


Williams, Dr. William A.


209


Willson, Jared


84


Wood, William


56


15


Porter, General Peter B. 71


Douglas, Stephen A. 274


137


Duncan, Alexander


Dwight, Rev. Henry


361


Folger, Charles J.


168


Foot, Samuel A.


115


Garyan-wah-gah, or "Cornplanter". 29


Gibson, Henry B. 282


Gorham, Nathaniel 17


Stoddard, Robert W. 191


Taylor, Henry W. 119


Wadsworth, James 145


27


Parrish, Captain Jasper


Phelps, Oliver


HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY


I.


THE INDIAN OCCUPANCY.


Origin of the Red Men Who Occupied Western New York at the Time of the Discovery of America an Unsolved Mystery-The Legend of Bare Hill-Three Epochs -- The Seneca Capital Kanadesaga and Other Principal Towns-Strength Broken by Sullivan's Expedition in 1799.


"In the unremembered ages, Ages nearer the beginning, In the days that are forgotten, From a cloud above this mountain, Came the voice of Ha-wen-ne-ya, Came the call of the Great Spirit. Greatly seemed the earth to tremble, Trembled in the throes of labor, From her womb sprang forth a people, Sprang the brave Nun-do-wa-o-no.


. On her bosom then he nursed them, Till they grew a mighty nation, Taught them words to form a language, Raised up great men for their chieftains, Gave them totems for their tribe signs, Gave them names by which he knew them, Called them all the Great-Hill People." -Charles T. Mitchell.


As to the origin of the people who first possessed the land which is now comprised in Ontario county, we know nothing. These first inhabitants left no record in mysteriously carved monu- ment or on clay tablet. We do not even know whether they came from the north and reaching what is now the county's geographical center caught the first glimpse of Canandaigua lake and its beauti- ful environs from the lowlands at its foot; or from the east and through the portal of what is now Vine Valley stood enraptured before the glories of a Canandaigua sunset ; or perchance from the west or south and from the foothills of the Alleghanies had spread before their eyes the marvelously beautiful vista of lake and valley and undulating hill and plain which make up its diversified area.


2


HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY


We do not know whence these mysterious people came, or by what way they came, but we do know that the magic of the scene entered their souls as it has the souls of their pale-faced successors and that they afterwards made it their Chosen Spot.


The only mementos we have of the red man's occupancy in this region are numerous flint arrow heads, plowed up here and there in the fields, remains of a number of forts, specimens of uniquely dec- orated pottery, pipe-bowls, pots of red ochre, strings of wampum- from which we may read that the original inhabitants lived by the chase, fought in deadly conflict one with another, had tasted of the fruit of good and evil that grows on the tobacco stem, had the com- mon human weakness for adornment and sought to tone down their high cheek bones and ornament the coppery sheen of their com- plexions by adventitious means, had food to store and wealth to barter.


But it is doubtful if the oldest of these trivial records go back much before the time when the Spanish sovereigns, blind to the misfortunes which the enterprise was destined to bring upon their country, employed the Genoese navigator to explore the realms of Far Cathay.


Tradition, the only form of history known to the red man, is unreliable as to dates, but the best authorities agree in placing the organization of the famous Iroquois confederacy at not earlier than the discovery of America by Columbus. Back of that was chaos- or, perhaps, the Mound Builders. Following it was a development among the Indians of what is now known as Central and Western New York that was nowhere else paralleled by men of their race.


It was not until the beginning of the sixteenth century that the Iroquois, or Five Nations, became known to the European pioneers. They were then found occupying the whole of Northern New York, from the Hudson on the east to the Genesee on the west. By the year 1700, they had extended their dominion over half the continent, and, by the adoption of the Tuscaroras, had become the Six Nations. But, while we recognize the genius of the Iroquois for political organization, unique among savage peoples, and their prowess in war, we may safely doubt whether they would have ever developed a civilization worthy the name.


However that might have been, we know that after carving out an empire from the red peoples of the continent, and after having for a century played French against English and English against


3


THE INDIAN OCCUPANCY


French with a skillful diplomacy, they easily succumbed to the white man's gold and the white man's rum, and, within twelve years after the close of the Revolutionary War, had been practically dis- possessed of their rich domain and were settled on widely scattered reservations.


BARE HILL, CANANDAIGUA LAKE.


Nun-da-wah, the Great Hill from which, Legend says, the Seneca nation of Indians had their origin. Hence their name Nun-do-wa-o-no, or Great Hill People. Elevation, 855 feet above the lake, 1,540 feet above the sea.


Western New York was possessed by the Seneca branch of the Iroquois confederacy, their dominion, following the conquest of the Neuter and Erie tribes by the Six Nations about the year 1650, extending to the Niagara river at the west. They were the Keepers of the Western Door. They were the Nun-do-wah-gaah, or Nun- do-wa-o-no, the Great-Hill people, ascribing their origin to Nun-do- wah or Bare Hill, on the east shore of Canandaigua Lake, where their progenitors lived and where they were put in imminent peril of utter destruction by a monstrous serpent, which circling itself about the fort lay with its mouths open at the gate.


The legend by which they thus explained their birth as a nation, constitutes one of the most interesting of the stories by which primitive peoples have sought to explain the why and how of existence. Handed down from father to son, and from father to son again, among the Senecas themselves, it has been as oft told by writers of the white race, in prose and in verse and with many variations. Some of the versions are romantic in the extreme, but


4


HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY


that given by Henry R. Schoolcraft, the eminent American anti- quarian, in his "Notes on the Iroquois," published in 1846, is vouched for by that author as from a native source and is probably as near to the original as any that has been written. Mr. School- craft wrote :


"While the tribe had its seat and council fire on this hill, a woman and her son were living near it, when the boy one day caught a small two-headed serpent, called Kaistowanea, in the bushes. He brought it home as a pet to amuse himself, and put it in a box, where he fed it on bird's flesh and other dainties. After some time it had become so large it rested on the beam of the lodge, and the hunters were obliged to feed it with deer ; but it soon went out and made its abode on a neighboring hill, where it maintained itself. It often went out and sported in the lake, and in time became so large and mischievous that the tribe were put in dread of it.


"They consulted on the subject one evening, and determined to fly next morning; but with the light of the next morning the monster had circled the hill and lay with its double jaws extended before the gate. Some attempted to pass out, but were driven back; others tried to climb over its body, but were unable. Hun- ger at last drove them to desperation, and they made a rush to pass, but only rushed into the monster's double jaws. All were devoured but a warrior and his sister, who waited in vain expec- tancy of relief.


"At length the warrior had a dream, in which he was showed that if he would fledge his arrows with the hair of his sister, the charm would prevail over the enemy. He was warned not to heed the frightful heads and hissing tongues, but to shoot at the heart. Accordingly, the next morning he armed himself with his keenest weapons, charmed as directed, and boldly shot at the serpent's heart. The instantaneous recoiling of the monster proved that the wound was mortal. He began in great agony to roll down the hill, breaking down trees and uttering horrid noises, until he rolled into the lake. Here he slaked his thirst, and tried by water to mit- igate his agony, dashing about in fury. At length he vomited up all the people whom he had eaten, and immediately expired and sunk to the bottom.


"The fort was immediately deserted, and all who had escaped


5


THE INDIAN OCCUPANCY


went with their deliverer to, and fixed their council fire on, the west shores of Seneca Lake, where Geneva now stands."


There is usually added, in verification of the legend, mention of the fact that the blackened trunk of the oak tree from which the Seneca youth fashioned the arrow which was destined to save his people from entire destruction, stood an unimpeachable wit- ness on the otherwise barren crest of the hill within the memory of men yet living; that the path which the dying reptile cut through the forest as in his death struggles he rolled down its side has never since borne tree or shrub, whence the name "Bare Hill"; and that the petrified heads of his victims, foolishly called geodes by modern scientists, are found to this day along the shores of the lake.


Mr. Irving W. Coates, the eminent Indianologist, divides the period of the Seneca occupancy of the territory now embraced in Ontario county into three separate epochs, which he designates as the Ancient, the Middle and the Recent.


What particular period of time was covered by the Ancient epoch he does not attempt to state, but the fact of that epoch, he asserts, is attested by ruins of old fortifications, strange and often elaborate burial places, rude weapons that almost partake of the forms of the paleolithic, with faint traces of village sites in remote locations. To this epoch, says Mr. Coates, belong the old village site and burial place of Genundawah at the foot of Bare Hill on the east side of Canandaigua lake; the singular palisaded town on the Moffat farm on a bend of the Canandaigua outlet in the town of Phelps, where portions of a ditch and earthworks yet remain; the ancient village, which was also palisaded, a short dis- tance south of Clifton Springs; also the one about one mile west on the Jackson farm, slight traces of which are left; another, a small fishing village on the south bank of the outlet near the ham- let of Manchester Center in the town of Manchester. Also must we class in this early Indian occupancy the work described by Squier, situated about three and one-half miles northwest of Ge- neva, east of the Old Castle road, which was three hundred feet long, built on high ground and easily defended. In addition to these, irregular works called "forts," on prominent elevations in many towns of the county, as well as many camp sites more or less permanent along nearly all the streams and lakes, have been discovered, while skeletons of an early age, including many of un-




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