USA > New York > Schoharie County > Broome > Historical address, relating to the county of Broome in the state of New York > Part 1
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F 127 .B839
LIBRARY ONGRESS,
Cha F127 S. . B&B9 1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
HISTORICAL ADDRESS,
RELATING TO THE
COUNTY OF BROOME
IN THE STATE OF
NEW YORK.
-
DELIVERED AT BINGHAMTON, JULY 3, 1876, BY GEORGE BURR, M. D.
PUBLISHED UNDER
THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF
ARRANGEMENTS.
BINGHAMTON : CARL, STOPPARD & CO., STEAM JOB PRINTERS. 1876.
m
HISTORICAL ADDRESS,
RELATING TO THE
COUNTY OF BROOME
IN THE STATE OF
NEW YORK. -
DELIVERED AT BINGHAMTON, JULY 3, 1876, BY GEORGE BURR, M. D.
PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS.
- CONGRESS
RAR 1876
Y
BINGHAMTON : CARL, STOPPARD & CO., STEAM JOB PRINTERS. 1876.
2130
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS
RELATING TO THE
COUNTY OF BROOME, BY
GEO. BURR, M. D.
To my Fellow Citizens of the County of Broome :
IT having been recommended by a joint resolution of the Senate and House of Representatives, addressed to the people of the States, "that they assemble in their several Counties or Towns on the Centennial Anniversary of our National Inde- pendence ; and that they cause to have delivered on such day an historical sketch of said County or Town, from its founda- tion, and that a copy of said sketch may be filed in print or manuscript in the Clerk's Office of said County, and an addi- tional copy in print or manuscript be filed in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, to the intent that a complete record may thus be obtained of the progress of our institutions during the first Centennial of their existence,"-and the same having been promulgated by the President of the United States, by procla- mation bearing date "the 25th day of May, in the year of our Lord 1876, and of the independence of the United States the one hundredth,"-at the request of the appropriate Committee for making arrangements for this celebration, I have under- taken this duty ; and I now rise to submit for your considera-
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
tion, though in a manner somewhat desultory, such historical incidents and facts as I have been able to collect, relative to the early settlement and to the subsequent development of this County.
A history of the County of Broome for the last century would include every change in its condition from that of a wild waste and an untamed forest to that of its present highly culti- vated condition. One hundred years ago to day, the area of land now included within the boundaries of this County was an unbroken wilderness-a region of solitude undisturbed by the footsteps of man, save now and then by a party of red men, engaged in hunting or intent upon the war path. Its present cultivated hills, and its rich productive valleys, were then cov- ered with the primeval forests, through which roamed the pan- ther, the bear, the wolf, the deer, and other species of wild an- imals. This entire region was then the hunting grounds of various tribes of Indians, chiefly of the Six Nations, who, as you well know, had their villages and council fires in the central portion of our State. Here likewise may have been encounter- ed parties of the Algonquin tribes, from the central portion of Pennsylvania. There were no lodges nor permanent villages in this part of the country, unless, perhaps, one at Ouquaga. We hear of the old Indian castle situate within a few miles of this place, but there is no evidence or reason to believe that it was in any way used as a permanent residence, as were the vil- lages of the Iroquois nations in another section of the State.
We cannot inquire, for we have no records or legends to in- form us, of what may have transpired in the solitude of the wilderness while the savage tribes held sway. And yet the im- agination will picture before the mind scenes of thrilling per- sonal adventure, perhaps of intense suffering, of cruel practices
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
-the torture of prisoners, and the exciting and hazardous chase, which under the shadow of the dense forest may have been enacted in localities we daily visit. Our very dwellings even may stand upon sites where some luckless Indian captive in years gone by has suffered all the tortures which the refined cruelty of the red man so well knew how to inflict.
In order fully to comprehend the mighty change which a cen- tury has wrought, we must not confine our view to the com- paratively small space which our County only occupies ; but we must remember that one hundred years ago the entire settle- ments and population of the State of New York were confined to a belt of Counties on each side of the Hudson River, extend- ing from the Island of Manhattan to the mouth of the Mohawk. and from thence extending up the valley of that river a distance not exceeding sixty miles. From the mouth of the Mohawk. northwardly, there was a chain of communication to the head of Lake George, thence down the Lake through Lake Champlain to Montreal. This communication was the old route during the French war, and at first was strictly a line of military posts. such as Fort Edward, Fort William Henry and Fort Ticonda- roga. After the close of the French war, settlements to a great- er or less extent were scattered along the route, though they were very feeble, and in many respects defenceless.
Passing up the Mohawk, standing on what is now the village of Rome, was Fort Stanwix, then the farthest outlying, and the remotest military post in the State. It guarded the portage be- tween the Mohawk river and the Oneida Lake, so that commu- nication might be kept open between the settlements and Lake Ontario.
In the region south of the Mohawk and west of the Hudson river tier of Counties, extending to the Lakes, an unbroken
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
wilderness-one waste of woods and sky-was only to be seen. True, there was at Cherry Valley, and I think at Harpersfield, now in Delaware County, small settlements, which had recently been commenced, but they were early in the war destroyed by the Indians under Brandt. In no other portion of this vast re- gion could a white man be found.
The County of Broome was organized by an Act of the Leg- islature passed March 28th, 1806, and was formed from Tioga County. It was named in honor of JOHN BROOME, then Lieut. Governor-Morgan Lewis being Governor of the State. In re- sponse to this compliment, Lient. Governor Broome had de- signed, prepared and presented to the County, the silver seal long in use at the Clerk's Office, and which I in common with other former Clerks, have so often employed in attesting papers. The beantiful design still remains the seal of this County, though I believe it became necessary some years ago to have it engraved upon a new block.
I have said that our County was taken from a portion of Tioga County, of which. until that time, it had formed a part. The better to understand the manner and order in which the coun- ties were organized, it may be well to call attention to the fact that at the beginning of the Revolution the County of Mont- gomery, then called Tryon County, extended westwardly and south westwardly to an indefinite extent ; the whole territory of Central and Southern New York being included in its unde- fined limits. From the southwestern portion of this region the County of Tioga was erected in 1791. At the time of its organization it included within its territory all of what is now the County of Broome, a portion of the County of Chenango. a portion of Tompkins, and the whole of Chemung. It will be seen from this statement that the two principal cities in the Southern Tier were once in the same County ; and it may be
HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
further stated that courts were held for the County in both places, a part of the time at Chenango Point, now Binghamton, and at other times at Newtown, now Elmira. In 1806 the County of Broome was erected from the eastern portion of this territory. At that time it not only included the territory now within its boundaries, but also the towns of Owego and Berk- shire in Tioga County. These two towns remained attached to the County of Broome until 1821, when they were set back to the County of Tioga. It was while these two towns were a part of Broome County that the following incident occurred : A citizen of Chenango Point was a candidate before the people for some County office, and desirous of success as a matter of course, he sent a friend over into Berkshire for the purpose of advancing his interests by calling upon the voters and asking their support. After an absence of three or four days the friend returned and reported that he had seen all the voters, that the prospect was very favorable, and that everything was all right. The election took place, and when the returns were received it was found that the candidate in this place had received but one vote in the entire town. Meeting his quondam friend the next day he dryly observed to him that " there must have been one man over in Berkshire that he did not see."
At the time of the organization of the County, the territory now comprising it consisted 'only of the towns of Union, Lisle and Chenango. The town of Union extended from the Penn- sylvania line to the south line of the town of Lisle and com- prised what are now the towns of Vestal, Union and Maine. The town of Lisle was wont to be called the State of Lisle, on account of its great extent of territory. It included the present towns of Nanticoke, Lisle, Triangle and Barker. The remain- ing portion of the County was known as the town of Chenango. This, for a single town, was a large territory, for it included
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
every acre east of the Chenango river and a strip of land on its west side a mile or more in width, and which extended to the Pennsylvania line. One year thereafter, however, the town of Windsor was erected. This new town included within its limits what are now the towns of Windsor, Colesville and San- ford. The towns of Colesville and Sanford were formed from Windsor on the 2d day April, 1821. Vestal was next separated from Union in January. 1823, and Conklin from Chenango in March. 1824. A part of Windsor was taken off in March, 1824, and a further portion was annexed to Conklin from Wind- sor in 1851. Nanticoke, Triangle and Barker were formed out of the old State of Lisle in 1831 ; Maine from Union in 1848 ; the towns of Binghamton and Port Crane (the latter now changed to Fenton) from Chenango in December, 1855 ; and Kirkwood from Conklin in November, 1859.
The City of Binghamton was included in the old town of Chenango, and for all town purposes was a portion of that town and the more recently erected town of Binghamton, until it was chartered a city. It was first incorporated a village, with certain municipal powers, in May, 1834, since which time, under various amended charters, it remained an incorporated village until April 9, 1867, when, by an act of the Legislature. its corporate character was changed to that of a city.
The County of Broome is centrally situate in the southern tier of Counties in the State of New York, bordering on the State of Pennsylvania. Its southern boundary is the Pennsyl- vania line ; on the east it is bounded mostly by the County of Delaware ; on the north by the Counties of Chenango and Cortland ; and on the west by the County of Tioga. Its area contains about eight hundred square miles.
Topographically considered, it has a southern inclination. Its surface is a succession of hills and valleys. The ranges of
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
hills and most of the valleys have a direction from south to north. The hills are what are known as the Alleghany table lands-the dwindling away of that range of high mountains in the State of Pennsylvania, in a north-easterly direction, to dis- appear at the southern border of the Mohawk valley, or to terminate in the Catskill range, on the west of the Hudson river.
The drainage of the County, with the exception of a part of the Town of Sanford, is to the Susquehanna river. This river enters the County from the north-east, and takes a southerly direction for about twenty-five miles, when it leaves the County as well as the State, and enters Pennsylvania. It soon, how- ever, as if conscious of its inability to break through the barrier of mountains which stand directly in its way, changes its direc- tion to the west for some ten miles, when, as if discouraged likewise in that direction, it turns again to the north, and re- enters the County of Broome. This is the Great Bend of the Susquehanna River.
The Susquehanna now seems better satisfied, for after keeping a northerly course for about ten miles it changes again to the west, when after being reinforced by the Chenango River at the point where we are now assembled, and farther on by the Nan- ticoke and Owego Creeks, it at length receives the Chemung River, when, as if conscious of its increased volume and power, it boldly approaches the mountains through which it now makes its way to the Wyoming Valley.
The other principal rivers and streams of the County are the Chenango River from the north-east, the Tioughnioga River from the north-west, the Otselic River, which occupying a mid- dle situation, empties into the Tioughnioga at Whitney's Point, and the Nanticoke Creek in the western part of the County. 2
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
The settlement of the County by the whites did not begin until some years after the close of the Revolutionary War- and then there seemed to be a simultaneous movement to occupy lands in different parts of the County.
Capt. Joseph Leonard has the reputation of being the first white man who settled within its boundaries. He came into the Chenango valley in the year 1787. It is true that some years before this, three or four white persons had been sent out by Rev. Jonathan Edwards, then I believe of Northampton. Mass., among whom was his own son, to the Indian settlement at Ouqnaga, now Windsor, for the purpose of studying the hab- its, acquiring the manners, and learning the language of the Indians, with a view to future missionary efforts in their behalf ; and that they remained at Onquaga for two or three years. These persons, however, were not settlers in any sense of the word.
Following the settlement of Chenango by Capt. Leonard in 1787. Ouquaga, Lisle and Union appear to have been settled the year after. At Ouquaga the first pioneers were John Doolittle, David Hotchkiss and John Garnsey. At Lisle, or its vicinity. the first settler seems to have been one Lampeer. fol- lowed the next year by Gen. John Patterson, one of the original members of the Boston Company, and shortly after by Ebenezer Tracy, Edward Edwards and David Manning. At Union and its immediate neighborhood came Joshua Mersereau, John Mer- serean, Gen. Oringh Stoddard, Capt. William Brink, Moses Chambers. Ezekiel Crocker, Oliver Crocker, Amos Patterson. Medad Bradley, Elisha Bradley, Daniel Seymour, David Barney, Daniel Price, and others.
These points formed the nuclei of more extended settlements and larger improvements. Slowly and by degrees, as the years
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
passed by, the number of settlers in the vicinity of these places increased, the forests gave way before them, and improved land began to be seen. The smoke, rising from the log huts of set- tlers, could be observed above the tree tops in different directions, and the resounding blows of the woodman's axe and the crash of falling trees, gave evidence of a sturdy purpose to overcome the obstacles of the forest, and to bring out and utilize the re- sources of the land.
One might here stop and inquire, what influences induced so many to leave the comparatively cultivated portions of the east- ern States, and take up with the rude manners, the great in- conveniences and the imminent dangers of a frontier life, such as the first settlers of our own County encountered. In answer it may be remarked, that a man usually turns his face from the old to the new. Some indescribable influence excites him to ad- venture, and in this way large masses of men are impelled for- ward to bring about results, or. if you so please to term it. the designs of Providence, without their knowing why or wherefore, or being aware of the consequences, however momentous, that may depend upon their movements. The tide of humanity from its earliest period has been directed from the rising towards the setting sun. The Asiatics went west to people Europe ; Eneas went west when, after the sack of Troy, he sought a new home. and laid the foundations of the lofty walls of Rome : the Saxons went west to conquer the Britons ; Columbus also sailed west to discover America ; and the people of this country have, from its first settlement, been pushing forward in the same direction, until now their progress has been arrested only by the waves of the Pacific Ocean. The idea of " go west, young man," is thousands of years older than the life-time of Horace Greeley.
The most efficient cause that invited immigration into this County was undoubtedly the efforts of those who had obtained
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
grants or patents of land. It had been, many years before, the policy of the Home Government, for the Crown to issue grants of extensive tracts of land-the Van Rensselaer and the Living- ston grants being examples. The Colonial Government did the same, and the State, after assuming the functions of an Inde- pendent Power, followed the same practice. Grants or patents of large tracts of land were consequently issued to various per- sons, who after having procured the proper surveys, invited pur- chasers to buy and to settle upon their lands. It is from these sources-these land patents-that the land titles in our County are derived.
The most extensive grant of land in the County was to an as- sociation of men in Massachusetts, called the Boston Company, who purchased a tract situate between the Chenango River and the Owego Creek, containing about 230,000 acres. This tract has been known and referred to in deeds of conveyance as the Boston Purchase. There were several townships into which a part of the purchase was divided-the townships of Chenango and Nanticoke being within the County of Broome. The north ern portion of the purchase is known as the "Grand Division," so that the deeds of the present landholders in that part of the County describe the land as such and such lots either in the Chenango township, the Nanticoke township, or in the Grand Division of the Boston Purchase. A large proportion of the settlers upon the Boston Purchase were Massachusetts people. and were induced undoubtedly to take up lands there through the influence of the proprietors, one of whom, Gen. John Pat- terson, set the example by locating at or near what is now Whit- ney's Point.
The next patent, and perhaps the first in importance on ac- count of its location, was that granted to William Bingham, a merchant of Philadelphia. This was a strip of land one mile
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
wide on each side of the river, extending up and down the val- ley of the Susquehanna. The City of Binghamton is built upon land included in this patent, and the City bears the name of the original patentee. Bingham-ton is the name of this City. The interpolation of the odious p, which is often made in writ- ing the word, does injustice to the original proprietor of the land, and to a certain extent a benefactor of the place. Hence the sensitiveness of our people upon this point.
Mr. Bingham, as has been remarked, when he came into possession of this patent, was a merchant of Philadelphia, but. about the year 1800, he left there and returned to England. where he shortly after died. By his will his lands were placed in the hands of five trustees, who assumed the charge, and they have since executed the deeds of conveyance to purchasers. Two of these trustees were the firm of Baring Brothers, in London, Alexander Baring, afterwards Lord Ashburton, and Henry Baring, his brother. They both married daughters of Mr. Bingham.
ยท The patent bordering on Mr. Bingham's on the east, or up the valley, is known as Thomas' Patent ; on the west, down the river, we come to a tract purchased by Hooper and Wilson, and the patent bears their name. This extends to the Tioga County line.
On the north of Bingham's Patent, and east of the Chenango River, is the traet known as Clinton and Melcher's Patent. Farther north is that granted to Jay and Rutherford. Harpur's Patent is situate in and about the villages of Nineveh, Harpurs- ville and Centerville, and down the river beyond is Hammond's Patent. Nichol's Patent lies east of the Susquehanna, between Windsor and Deposit. There are other and smaller patents of land granted by the State situate in this County, but the fore- going constitute the most important ones.
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
Mr. Robert Harpur, the proprietor of Harpur's Patent, like- wise set the example of living upon the lands he had purchased, and which he offered to settlers. The grant of land containing 20,000 acres was made to him in 1786, and in 1795 he removed with his family from the City of New York, where he had been a Professor in King's (now Columbia) College, to take up his residence in the rude settlements of the frontier. He had like- wise filled the office of Deputy Secretary of State, and he is usually spoken of as Secretary Harpur. He was the father of the late John Warren Harpur, Robert Harpur and Mrs. Rev. Dr. Andrews. all of whom were well known to our older citizens.
The first settlers of this County came from different parts of the country. Those who took up land in the Boston Purchase were, as has been remarked, generally from the State of Massa- chusetts, Connectiont, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Vermont each had their representatives here. Another class came from the eastern counties of this State, and from New York City.
The character of the early settlers of this County did not vary much from that which usually characterizes all frontiersmen. Almost every locality had its " Billy Kirby," and very many each its "Squire Doolittle :" and occasionally one would meet with a " Richard Jones." The great mass of those who first settled the County came for the purpose of "bettering their condition." and were men and women of strong determination and will. The land they had taken up they proposed not only clear and fit for cultivation, but to pay for it, and to own the homes they had chosen in the new settlements. Their houses and barns were generally built of logs ; but these, when they were proper- ly constructed, were very warm and comfortable. The honses usually were built with but one room, which answered the pur- poses of parlor, bedroom and kitchen. A large fire-place usually ocenpied the whole of one side of the house. This, when well
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
filled with blazing wood, as was always the case on a winter's evening, cast a cheerful glow and a pleasing warmth over the entire honschold, and often afforded sufficient light for the various employments of the family. One of my first essais in life was to teach a common school in a district which had not then put off its frontier character. The school house was built of logs, and so were most of the dwellings of the residents, and as usual constructed with only one room. In one corner of the room was the bed occupied by the husband and wife; in the corner opposite was the bed of the schoolmaster ; and between the two was a trundle bed for the children.
The houses of the settlers were seldom in close proximity to each other ; often there would be a distance of a mile or more between the nearest neighbors. The means of communication between neighboring dwellings at first were only foot-paths through the woods, or if any attempt had been made towards constructing a road, it was only to cut away the trees and brush so that a team of oxen could pass.
The settler, on taking up his land, first made an opening in the forest, whereon he could ereet his " log cabin." This ac- complished, he proceeded to enlarge the opening by falling the surrounding trees, and in due time sufficient space was obtain- ed. or, in the parlance of the day, a " clearing " was commenced. To get rid of the superfluous wood, the trunks of the trees were cut into suitable lengths, drawn together into large piles and set on fire. This was the process of logging.
While the husband and father was thus engaged in subduing the forest, the wife and mother had no less important duties on her hands. It was her province to bear the children, to take the best care of them she could, to prepare the food, to manufacture the material of which their clothing was made.
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HISTORICAL ADDRESS.
and generally to make the garments for the entire family. These garments probably were not always of a quality and fashion to excite the admiration of a Chesterfield or of a Beau Brummell : but they answered every necessary purpose, and long before one of them was cast aside as worn out. it presented. from frequent Patching of its most exposed parts. a decidedly variegated ap- pearance : and very often. from this cause, the attire of both men and women assumed as great a variety of hues as did Joseph's coat of many colors.
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