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Gc 974.701 M75L 1242285
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01125 9295
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/landmarksofmonro00peck
LANDMARKS
OF
MONROE COUNTY,
NEW YORK.
CONTAINING
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MONROE COUNTY AND THE CITY OF ROCHESTER BY WILLIAM F. PECK ;
THE BENCH AND BAR OF MONROE COUNTY, EDITED BY THOMAS RAINES ;
THE GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTY, BY HERMAN LE ROY FAIRCHILD ;
. FOLLOWED BY BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE TOWNS OF THE COUNTY. WITH BIOGRAPHY AND FAMILY HISTORY.
BOSTON, MASS. : THE BOSTON HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS,
1895.
PREFACE.
1242285
County histories are not always the most entertaining reading in the world, but they are far from being the least valuable of printed books. In them is found the record of the early, if not the earliest, settlement of a country new to its occupants; the transplantation of civilisation to the wilderness, the establishment of village communities and the growth of those communities, in many cases, to prosperous cities. Where that record rests upon tradition it is of little worth, and the most pleasing narratives are entitled to small consideration unless they are fortified by tangible evidence. Thus any historical writing, how- ever unpretentious, should be convincing to the reason and satisfactory to the understanding, rather than gratifying to the taste or the imagi- nation.
In the work here offered to the public no pains have been spared to verify by more than one authority every statement of fact, and where an opinion has been expressed the judgment has been based upon in- formation that seemed to the writer preponderant if not decisive. Of the many previous histories of Monroe county and of the region of Western New York all have been consulted carefully, and where errors have been observed they have been corrected, recourse being had whenever there was any room for doubt, to official documents whose authority was beyond question. This book, as will be seen, is com- posite in its character, the various divisions being the work of different
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iv
PREFACE.
persons. If this method be open to criticism, the objection is in this instance overcome as far as possible by the effort that has been made to secure harmony of treatment as well as accuracy of detail. While no claim is made that the whole ground has been covered, or that the last word on the subject has been said, it is hoped, with some confi- dence, that this volume will be accepted as not inferior to those that have preceded it on the same theme and as offering a fair presentation of the " Landmarks of Monroe County."
ERRATA.
On page 34, fourth line from the bottom, "1795" should be "1796." On page 50, fourth line from the top the same correction should be made. On page 105, sixth line from the bottom, " 1821 " should be " 1818,"
CONTENTS.
A SKETCH OF MONROE COUNTY.
By WM. F. PECK
1-102
CHAPTER I.
THE INDIAN OCCUPATION.
The Earliest Residents-Seneca Traditions-Advent of the Iroquois-The Gen- tile Division-The Tribal Division-Formation of the League-The Council of the Long House-Descent in the Female Line-Rights of Women-Re- ligious Beliefs and Customs-The New Religion-Architecture-Trails- Indian Nomenclature-Conquests of the Iroquois-Their Cruelty to Prisoners -Population-Adoption of Captives-Extent of Territory 1
CHAPTER II. THE EXPLORERS AND THE JESUITS.
Jacques Cartier-Champlain-His Wars with the Iroquois-Etienne Brulé- Jesuit Missions Established-The Seneca Mission-Father Garnier and Father Raffeix-La Salle's Visits-Father Hennepin 15
CHAPTER III. WARS WITH THE FRENCH.
Jealousy between Canada and New York-The Iroquois incline to the English- Expedition of Governor Denonville-His Landing at Irondequoit-The March to the Interior-The Fight at Boughton's Hill-A Pyrrhic Victory __ 21
CHAPTER IV. THE STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY.
The Commission of Governor Andros-Extensive Cession from the Indians-The Fortdes Sables-Charlevoix's Travels-His Description of the Genesee River -Attempts at Settlement-Other Indian Cessions-General Prideaux's Ex- pedition-Pouchot's Works
25
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN.
The Revolutionary War-Attitude of the Iroquois-The Confederacy Divided- Raids of the Indians-The Massacre at Cherry Valley-Reprisals Ordered- Washington's Instructions to Sullivan-Advance of the Army-Destruction. of Property-Atrocities on Both Sides-Killing of Boyd and Parker-Close of the Conflict 29
CHAPTER VI SOVEREIGNTY AND PRE-EMPTION.
Surrender of Northwestern Territory-Dispute between New York and Massa- chusetts-Conflicting Royal Charters-Rights of Conquest from the Dutch -- Commissioners Appointed-A Settlement Effected: 35
CHAPTER VII.
THE PURCHASE FROM THE INDIANS.
The Lessees-Conspiracy to Defraud Massachusetts-Phelps and Gorham-They Contract for Western New York-They Extinguish the Indian Title-The Mill-Yard Piece-Remarkable Errors in the Survey-The Reversion to Mas- sachusetts-Sales to Robert Morris-The Holland Purchase-The Treaty at Big Tree-Present Location of the Senecas 40
CHAPTER VIII. CONNECTING LINKS.
The Tory Walker-His Cabin at the Mouth of the River-Erection of the Mills -Transfers of Land-" Indian" Allan-His Murderous Career - His Plurality of Wives-His Robbery from his Children-Mary Jemison, "the White Woman of the Genesee"-Her Abduction and her Captivity-Her Change of Race-Murders of her Sons-Her Admirable Character 52
CHAPTER IX. SETTLEMENT OF THE WHITES.
The Twenty-Thousand Acre Tract-The Deed to Robert Morris-Settlement of the Lusks-Settlement of the Sheffers-Visit of Chateaubriand-Of Roche- foucault-Liancourt-Of Other Frenchmen-Settlement of William Hencher -Gideon King and Zadock Granger-Kings Landing-Hanford's Land- ing-Town Meetings, Schools and Churches-Roads and Mail Service- Tryon Town-Castleton-Carthage-The Great Bridge-The War of 1812- Defense of Charlotte
62
vii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER X.
FORMATION OF THE COUNTY.
Original Counties of the State-The Evolution of Monroe-Struggle over its Formation-First Board of Supervisors-Derivation of the Towns-The First Court House-Population of the County-The County Treasurers- Representatives in Congress-State Senators-Collectors of the Port. 75
CHAPTER XI.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.
The First Deed Recorded-Lake Navigation-The Commerce of Carthage- Revenues from Customs-The Erie Canal-Its Inception, its Construction, and its Cost-The Genesee Valley Canal-River Navigation-The Jail-The Second Court House-The State Industrial School-The Deaf Mute Institute -The Almshouse-The Insane Asylum-The Bible Society-The Agricul- tural and Horticultural Societies-County Taxes 81
CHAPTER XII.
THE COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR.
The First Call-Monroe's Response-Our Regiments, Battalions and Companies of Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Sharpshooters and Engineers-Ten Thousand Men Enlisted-Their Service in the Field-General Officers-Grand Army of the Republic-The Veteran Brigade 93
A SKETCH OF ROCHESTER.
By WM. F. PECK, 103-191
CHAPTER I.
THE GENESIS OF THE COMMUNITY.
The One-Hundred-Acre Tract-Its Successive Owners-Purchased by Roches- ter, Fitzhugh and Carroll - Sketch of Colonel Rochester-Jeremiah Olm- stead-Charles Harford-Enos Stone-The First White Child-The First Log Cabin-Hamlet Scrantom-Abelard Reynolds-The Postmasters-The Early Bridges-Business Enterprises-Incorporation of the Village-Its Officers-Its Population in Succeeding Years
103
CONTENTS.
viii
CHAPTER II.
VILLAGE LIFE.
The Newspapers of Rochester-The Gazette and the Telegraph-The Principal Journals to the Present Time-German Newspapers-Sunday Journals-Vil- lage Churches-St. Luke's, St. Paul's and St. Patrick's -- The Second Pres- byterian-The Friends, the Methodists, the Baptists and the Unitarians- Lafayette's Visit in 1825-Canal Celebration-Commerce and Transporta- tion -- Travel by Canal and Stage -- The Bank of Rochester -- The Bank of Monroe-The Morgan Abduction-The Village Divided into Wards-Direc- tory of 1827-The Village Fire Department -- Sam Patch-Beginning of Mormonism-The Cholera in 1832, and in Other Years-Incorporation of the City-List of the Officials and their Successors
112
CHAPTER III.
CITY LIFE.
Changes in the Charter-Extension of the Limits-The City Fire Department- The Volunteer System-Change to the Paid Department-Notable Fires- Amusements -- Early Theaters -- The Museum -- Corinthian Hall -- Early Schools -The Old High School-Catholic Schools-The Free Academy -- Early Bury- ing-Grounds -- Mt. Hope -- Catholic Cemeteries -- Railroads -- The Tonawanda -- The Auburn and Rochester-The New York Central and Others-The Carthage Road-The First Telegraph-The Western Union and Specula- tion therein-The Patriot War-The Civil War-Anti-Slavery and the Un- derground Railroad-The Rochester Knockings-Disastrous Floods-Water Works-Our Semi-Centennial
128
CHAPTER IV.
THE LAST DECADE.
Cannibalism in the Greely Relief Expedition-Foundry Strike in 1885-The Bell Telephor.e Struggle-Sketch of Henry O'Reilly-The Naphtha Explosion Dis- aster-Awful Loss of Life at the Lantern Works Fire-Death of Gen. A. W. Riley, Hiram Sibley and Seth Green-Street Car Troubles and Changes- Sketch of Henry E. Rochester-And of President Anderson-Church Build- ing in 1891-Sketch of Josiah W. Bissell-Dedication of the Soldiers' Monu- ment-Charitable Relief Work in 1894-Introduction of Individual Com- munion Cups-Dedication of a Jewish Temple-Sketch of Darius Perrin- Diphtheria and Anti-Toxine-Sketch of Frederick Douglass and of William S. Kimball
150
ix
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
THE PRESENT DAY.
The Female Charitable Society-The Society for the Organization of Charity- Orphan Asylums-The Industrial School-Infant's Summer Hospital- Home for the Friendless-The Church Home-Home of Industry-The Hu- mane Society-Children's Aid Society-Young Men's Christian Association -University of Rochester-The Theological Seminary-Wagner Memorial College-Mechanics' Institute-Public Schools-The Reynolds Library- Academy of Science-The Historical Society-The Churches-Clubs of all Kinds-The Chamber of Commerce-The Banks-The Parks-The Bridges -The Railroads-Municipal Government-The Fire and Police Department -The City Expenses-Sewers and Water Works-Miscellaneous Statistics __ 167
.
THE GEOLOGY OF MONROE COUNTY.
BY HERMAN LE ROY FAIRCHILD
192-195
THE BENCH AND BAR.
By L. C. ALDRICH, edited by THOMAS L. RAINES 196-220
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
BY L. C. ALDRICH 221-232
THE TOWNS OF MONROE COUNTY.
BY L. C. ALDRICH
233-441
CHAPTER I.
The Town of Brighton --- - 233
CHAPTER II.
The Town of Chili
24g
CHAPTER III.
The Town of Clarkson 254
x
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
The Town of Gates
CHAPTER V.
The Town of Greece
269
CHAPTER VI.
The Town of Hamlin
283
CHAPTER VII.
The Town of Henrietta
290
CHAPTER VIII.
The Town of Irondequoit
299
CHAPTER IX.
The Town of Mendon
305
CHAPTER X.
317
CHAPTER XI.
The Town of Parma
333
CHAPTER XII.
The Town of Penfield
- - 351
CHAPTER XIII.
The Town of Perinton
.359
CHAPTER XIV.
The Town of Pittsford
CHAPTER XV.
The Town of Riga
396
CHAPTER XVI.
The Town of Rush
395
260
375
The Town of Ogden
CONTENTS.
xi
CHAPTER XVII.
The Town of Sweden 402
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Town of Webster
424
CHAPTER XIX.
The Town of Wheatland
. - -
432
JUDGES AND ATTORNEYS.
442-492
PART II.
Biographical
1-103
PART III.
Family Sketches
1-310
INDEX, PART I 311
INDEX, PART II 328
INDEX, PART III 329
INDEX, PORTRAITS
338
1
A SKETCH OF MONROE COUNTY.
BY WILLIAM F. PECK.
CHAPTER I.
THE INDIAN OCCUPATION.
The Earliest Residents -- Seneca Traditions -- Advent of the Iroquois -- The Gentile Division-The Tribal Division -- Formation of the League -- The Council of the Long House -- Descent in the Female Line -- Rights of Women -- Religious Beliefs and Cus- toms -- The New Religion -- Architecture -- Trails -- Indian Nomenclature -- Conquests of the Iroquois -- Their Cruelty to Prisoners -- Population -- Adoption of Captives -- Extent of Territory.
No one knows how long ago this region was first inhabited by human beings, or what manner of men first had their permanent settle- ment in this locality. The natural disposition to refer the source of any historical sequence to the earliest possible antecedents has led many writers to advance the conjecture that the "mound-builders," who have left such evidence of their existence in Ohio, were here at some remote period, and this theory has possessed so much attraction that others have endeavored to improve upon it by maintaining that there was a race here prior to those pyramidal architects. But nothing has been found to establish either proposition, for nobody knows, or probably ever will know, to whom belonged the rude utensils, the fire- brands and the split wood that are turned up, occasionally, in the lowest excavations. If any race was here before the red Indians it died and left no sign that can be understood, and the only safe position on which to stand is that the first people known to have dwelt here were the Iroquois, the immediate predecessors of the Anglo- Saxons, who
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LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.
scarcely a century ago followed up the work of war and starvation and began to occupy the ancestral soil of the dusky savages.
Of course the Iroquois, and particularly the Seneca nation, which dwelt in this immediate locality, had plenty of traditions about their own origin and about those who lived in this region before them and who had, according to the best elaborated story, all been devoured by a great serpent near Canandaigua lake, whereupon the Senecas, by a kind of special creation, came forth out of the mountain near the head of the lake and entered upon the possessions of those who had gone down the throat of the monster. To speculate, as some have done, upon the allegorical or typical meaning of this legend is worse than idle, as it bears not the remotest resemblance to the known facts in the case. As far back as they can be traced, and that not with much cer- tainty, the Iroquois came, many centuries ago, from some region west of the Mississippi and settled along the St. Lawrence river, whence they made their way into New York, stopping first at the mouth of the Oswego river. Remaining there for many generations, they broke up their encampment and separated into three distinct tribes-the Mohawks, the Onondagas and the Senecas.
It was probably long before this that another line of division was made, which is kept up to the present day, viz., that into clans-or gentes, as Morgan calls them, using the Latin word, which is more exact-when the whole nation was marked off into eight groups, each named for some animal, like the wolf, the beaver or the hawk. All belonging to one gens were considered as own brothers and sisters, descended from a common ancestor, though whether that forefather was really the beast or bird whose name they bore, or whether the title was recognised as only emblematic, has always been a matter of conjecture. It is quite possible that at some time in the remote past there were eight distinct families or tribes known by these zoological names, and that when they were united into one nation they chose to preserve the tradition of their origin by retaining for each one its old cognomen and to perpetuate their integrity by forbidding marriage between members of the same gens. This positive restriction was continued after the nation had been divided into tribes, so that, while there was no objec- tion to general intermarriage among members of the same tribe, as well
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THE INDIAN OCCUPATION.
as among those of different tribes, no union was possible between a Seneca Wolf, for instance, and a Mohawk Wolf, even though they had always been separated by hundreds of miles and the real parents of one had never seen those of the other. At a later period the tribal forma- tion was made, as has been shown, on lines crossing the gentile or clan lines, but without weakening the bond of unity.
On their migration from the Oswego, the Mohawks went eastward, leaving a portion of their tribe behind, who became the Oneidas; the Onondagas settled in the central portion, and the Senecas west of them, while the Cayuga tribe, which was located between those two, was a later offshoot of one or the other, it is not known which. Some time between 1400 and 1450, according to their own traditions, but probably a few years after the latter date, these five independent tribes were formed into a confederacy-a reunion, to some extent, of the original nation, but with a constitution, elaborate though oral, which preserved the independence of the separate tribes, the local territory of each, the representation of each at the grand council of fifty sachems that met at intervals near the present site of Syracuse, and the relation of the various tribes to each other. This constitution, which was the work of the greatest of Indian statesmen, Ha-yo-went-ha-or Hiawatha, as Longfellow has immortalised and fixed his name-joined the tribes to- gether in a civil union that was cemented by the social tie of gentile relationship, so that the league formed a compact mass, elastic and yet cohesive, which was perfectly irresistible. The Ho-de-no sau-nee they called themselves, or " Children of the Long House," from their great council hall; the Iroquois the French called them-from " hiro," an Indian word, equivalent to "I have spoken," with which they always ended their discourses-while the English usually spoke of them col- lectively as the Five Nations. This name endured till 1715, when it was changed to the Six Nations, in consequence of the Tuscaroras com- ing up from North Carolina and being, as their language showed them, of the same lineage with the others, admitted into the confederacy and wedged in between the Mohawks and the Oneidas, where lands were set apart for them from the domain of the latter tribe.
While the grand council consisted by law of fifty sachems, and there were always that number of seats at the council fire, yet in reality there
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LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.
were, after the death of Hiawatha and his leading adviser, only forty- eight living persons present, for the seats of those founders of the con- federacy, though vacant to mortal eyes, were always filled by the spirits of their original occupants. The sachemships were hereditary, accord- ing to the Indian conception of heredity, not according to ours-that is, they were not hereditary in the family, but only in the gens, so that the successor to a deceased sachem could never be his son, for, descent be- ing in the female line, the son would belong to a different gens from his father, but the new sachem must belong to the same gens with the old one and be chosen by the members thereof. While the sachems were the law- makers and rulers of the league, they had no military power ; no sachem could become a war-chief, no war chief could be- come a sachem. Red Jacket, the Seneca, and Brant, the Mohawk, were chiefs, but not sachems, and Ely S. Parker, for some time a resident of Rochester, was a sachem but not a chief. Each tribe had its own war- chiefs, chosen for merit only, who had control over the forces of their respective tribes when in battle or on the warpath, and in addition to these there were two principal war- chiefs of the whole confederacy, always chosen from among the Senecas, the "keepers of the western door of the Long House," because on that side lay the only anticipated danger of attack.
In spite of the rights of women among the Iroquois, preponderating so far above those of the sex in our own community, their condition was very low. As has been observed already, descent was in the female line, and all children belonged to the gens of the mother-a not unrea- sonable provision, which largely prevails at this day among the Turks and other semi-civilised people, where maternity is a matter of cer- tainty, paternity only of belief. It was the same way with inheritance; at the death of the mother the children took all her property, but on the demise of the father his goods passed to his brothers and sisters. Women had the elective franchise, voting on terms of equality with the men for sachems and war-chiefs, and their voice was largely potential in the disposition of prisoners, any of whom could be adopted by them to take the place of husbands or relatives lost in battle, and the rest would be enslaved or tortured, according to the feminine caprice, which was seldom on the side of mercy. An illustration of this malignant
5
THE INDIAN OCCUPATION.
vindictiveness, more destructive in its consequences than any other in- stance known to history, is found among the kindred nation of the Eries. This tribe had taken prisoner a chief of the Onondagas and had concluded to let him be adopted by one of their young women who had lost a brother at the hands of the Iroquois. The girl was absent at the time, but when she returned she utterly refused to consent, all the en- treaties of her chiefs were in vain and she insisted that the Onondaga should be burned alive to appease her vengeance. Inexorable custom made her will supreme, the prisoner was sent to the stake and a few weeks later all the Eries, men, women and children, to the number of some thousands, were slaughtered by the enraged confederates. But, to offset all these privileges, the Indian squaw, as long as she lived with her husband, was a mere drudge, subject to all his brutal whims, liable to be abandoned at any moment, almost certain to be beaten frequently, and never secure against a fatal blow, for which reparation could easily be made by the presentation of gifts to her gentile kindred.
. Of the religious beliefs of the Iroquois before their very partial con- version to Christianity, but little can be said with accuracy. Polythe- ism prevailed, a belief in different gods, as personified by the forces of nature, very much as among the Greeks and Romans, only in a cruder and coarser form, but oftentimes with a wealth of poetic fancy far sur- passing the myths of the classic nations. At the same time they car- ried the idea much further, for they not only had deities for the streams, the mountains, the forests, fire, wind and weather, but each production of the earth had its own genius, and there was a spirit of the squash, a spirit of the maize, a spirit of tobacco, and so on. The everlasting con- tention between good and evil found as full recognition among them as among the ancient Persians, both powers being placated by feasts and offerings, but their supreme veneration was for the mighty Manitou, the spirit of eternal beneficence, and in his honor were held their prin- cipal festivals. He was the master of life, the controller of the nation's fortunes in this world and of their individual destiny in the next, to which their abiding belief in the immortality of the soul taught them to look forward. Their religious observances and ceremonies, which were marked by superstition and cruelty, usually took place in or around the lodge of the " medicine man," that combination of priest and physician
6
LANDMARKS OF MONROE COUNTY.
for whose interest it was that the fears and baser passions of his clients should have full sway and should never yield to the loftier aspirations, the kindlier feelings, that might be engendered by a purer worship of nature. With them the dance, which was never a pastime but always a religious act, was, while not so graceful or so rhythmic as among the white races, more studiously developed than elsewhere, each step, each movement being fraught with its peculiar meaning. Sacrifices were common among them, the slaughter of their captives being tinctured with that element, though usually animals were chosen, a white dog be- ing peculiarly desirable for that purpose, and this ceremony endured till 1813. In that year the last solemn sacrifice of the white dog among the Senecas took place in Rochester, when the animal was strangled and then burned, on the eminence on the south side of Troup street, near Caledonia avenue.
Having mentioned this event, so far out of its chronological relation to other matters treated of in this chapter, it may be as well to allude, in the same connection, to a singular phase of religion that came to the Indians in this part of the state about 1800, when it was declared that a new revelation had been received from heaven. Handsome Lake, or Ga ne-o-diyo, who was born near Avon in 1734, was a sachem of the · highest class, belonging to the Turtle gens of the Seneca nation. After he had reached maturity he was deeply impressed with the degradation of his people and with the unmistakable signs of their decadence through their addiction to strong drink. To counteract this frightful evil, as well as to regenerate, as far as possible, the morals of the com- munity in other respects, this wise counselor, perceiving that exhorta- tions delivered from a common plane would be ineffective, announced that, after being sick for a long time, he had been visited by three spir- itual beings in the form of men, who had cured him of his illness by means of herbs which they had brought. Subsequent calis from these unearthly visitants were stated to have resulted in the revelation of a new religion, which he proceeded to expound. While the guiding mo- tive of Handsome Lake is clear, the source from which the idea of his scheme emanated is matter of conjecture. The story of the three an- thropomorphic visitors, so similar to the experiences of Abraham, is suggestive of the Old Testament; the prophet's later narration of his
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