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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01178 4474
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PLEASANT
VALLEY C
A HISTORY OF
ELIZABETHTOWN,
ESSEX COUNTY,
NEW YORK.
BY
GEORGE LEVI BROWN.
POST AND GAZETTE PRINT. 1905.
1239405
Copyright, 1905, by GEORGE LEVI BROWN.
Dedication.
"No father's hand caressed me I knew no father's love, If when he died he blessed me Tis only known above."
My father died when I was less than four weeks old and I owe all that I am to the virtuous care of a mother. She is now in the 85th year of her age, sharing my earthly home with me, and having rendered invaluable assistance in the prep- aration of this work, it is indeed fitting that I should dedicate the result of these efforts to her.
GEORGE LEVI BROWN.
ix.
PREFACE.
In a work of the kind here undertaken it would be idle to pretend to originality. When the writer was a boy he played at the feet of Mrs. Mary Matthews, widow of Jacob Matthews, one of Elizabethtown's pioneer shoemakers. Mrs. Matthews, locally and familiarly known as "Grandmother Matthews," lived in the home of the writer for over a year, being at that time nearly 90 years of age. She had often ridden on horseback, with a baby in her arms, following a line of blazed trees from Northwest Bay to Pleasant Valley, and her account of the hard- ships and privations of pioneer days fell upon my ears at the formative period of my life. During my boyhood there were eight men living within the present limits of the town of Elizabethtown who had served as soldiers in the War of 1812, six who had fought for the United States and two for King George III, but deserted before the Battle of Plattsburgh, eventually coming here to settle, making good American citi- zens. It was my good fortune to know all of these warriors, and to be on terms of intimacy with some of them-a case of growing up among "History Makers." Over twenty years ago I decided to write Pleasant Valley, A History of Elizabethtown. Gradually the material has been collected and arranged. The writing of the history of this town has been delayed too long, as all the earliest settlers are in their graves. A few of the chil- dren of the pioneers are yet living, at an advanced age, in town
and its vicinity, who will please accept my grateful acknowledg- ments for facts which they have so kindly furnished. I have en- deavored to relate facts, as I understood them, without preju- dice or exaggeration, and have let no opportunity escape me of rescuing from oblivion those facts which makes up the his- tory of my native town-facts which must grow in interest and importance as time passes.
I am especially indebted to the late Oliver Abel, Sr., and his sons, the late Leander Abel and the venerable Charles L. Abel, (the latter for 60 years a resident of Buffalo, N. Y.) to Richard L. Hand and his son, Augustus N. Hand, Harry Hale, the late Judge Byron Pond and his youngest son, Levi S. Pond, Wil- liam H. Roberts, Robert B. Dudley, W. Scott Brown, Judge Rowland C. Kellogg, John Drowne Nicholson, Henry Har- mon Noble, the late James W. Steele, Arthur E. Coonrod, Clarence Underwood, Solon B. Finney, Daniel Cady Jackson, William Wallace Jackson, Dr. Midas E. Bishop, the late Bain- bridge Bishop, Jerome T. Lobdell, Wallace W. Pierce, Alpheus A. Morse, Charles H. Noble, Dr. John G. Noble, the late Charles N. Williams, Milo C. Perry, Byron Pond Turner, Mrs. Ann Eliza Miller, Mrs. S. W. Osgood, Mrs. Ellen Burbank, Miss Adeline Post, Mrs. William Richards, Miss Sarah L. Calkin, Miss Annette Rowe, Miss M. E. Perry, Mrs. E. H. Putnam, Miss Alice E. Abel, Mrs. Caroline Halstead Royce, and last but not least to those venerable sons of pioneers- Dr. R. J. Roscoe and Alonzo McD. Finney, to whose sugges- tions many essential features of this work owe their existence.
I have had access to and freely used Watson's Pioneer His- tory of the Champlain Valley, Watson's History of Essex County, Palmer's History of Lake Champlain, Bessboro, A History of Westport, by Mrs. Caroline Halstead Royce, a copy of The Reveille, published at "Elizabethtown, Essex County,
xi
N. Y. Wednesday, October, 12, 1814," the files of the Essex County Times published at Elizabethtown in 1833 and 1834, and the files of the Elizabethtown Post and Gazette, Spafford's Gazetteer of the State of New York, printed and published by H. C. Southwick, Albany, N. Y., 1813, a Gazetteer of the State of New York by J. H. French, LL. D., issued in 1860, Military Papers of Daniel D. Tompkins, the Bound Volumes of the Council of Appointment, the book of original field notes of Captain Platt Rogers (1789) and the original field notes and Map of the Great Northern Turnpike, the Journal kept by Milo Calkin and a chance to peruse private papers too numerous to mention. Town and county records have been searched faith- fully and much valuable material gleaned therefrom. For the patience and forbearance exercised by friends and acquaint- ances I am grateful. I feel that biography is truly the "home aspect of history" and that such illustrations as are herein contained are helpful to a more adequate realization of the times and events recorded. I am conscious of inability to perform a perfect work, and would therefore humbly subscribe myself.
GEORGE LEVI BROWN.
Elizabethtown, New York, 1905.
xii.
(From the E'town Post of Oct. 17, 1851.) A LAY OF OUR ANCIENT VALLEY. After Macaulay.
My tale is of a battle, Gods give it worthy rhyme ! That fell out in this valley All in the olden time: Then the stags coursed gaily Along our valley's sides; The plow had made no furrow then, In their track no hunter hides.
Tall waved the pine trees On the dark mountain side, On Boquet's glittering sheen below The dead leaves smoothly ride; For 'twas past the prime of summer, The woods were red and gold, The leaves twirl'd round with rustling sound As fast the year grew old.
Hither came bold Rogers, As who, none was so bold, With a small band of heroes All brave men of old; Chased by the yelling Indians, From Keene, in haste he comes, He hurries towards the Lake Champlain, For its shores bear smiling homes.
Scarce had they reached the river, Which before them glassy glides (Noon's sun has stilled the leafy wilds The swift deer sought the shades) When from midst the whispering leaves A storm of flint heads flew,
xiii.
The forest rung with red men's yells, Dread sounds for the sturdy few.
Then out spake bold John Rogers "There are fearful odds, my men (When forest trees bear fruits like these) Against a band of ten, But by our children's mothers, Who wait us at our homes If we must pluck this stony fruit We'll give back good as comes."
All grasp firm their rifles (Good aid for bloody work) And behind the knotty trunks around, In deathly silence lurk. For a moment from the river Comes a gentle gurgling sound, As the eddies in the current Wheel slowly round and round.
But soon, from out the thicket, With sly and stealthy tread, Came bands of tall dark warriors ; Fierce chiefs were at their head- Sharp, quickly crack ten rifles, From behind the trees around; E'en red men pale, as the leaden bail Makes ten chiefs bite the ground.
Then forth like wild cats on them spring Brave Rogers and his men, Through teeth and skulls of Indians Each drives his clubbed gun: "See," cried Rogers, bold, "the welcome Hellhounds ! that waits you here, Well, from to-day, your tribe may say They've tasted white men's cheer."
Fast through the forest, fled they With a wild and quavering whoop! Sad remnant of brave warriors, The Adirondacs' hope. With stouter heart brave Rogers Hastens towards the lake,
xiv.
His comrades shout one lusty cheer; The valley's echoes wake.
Bright shone the autumn's sun,
On our wild valley wide- On Boquet's glittering sheen below,
The dead leaves smoothly ride;
Soft run its gentle waters;
While the sedges lowly sigh;
And on its banks, with upturned face, Those dead men stilly lie.
(The lines quoted were written by the late Samuel Hand of Eliz- abethtown when he was 18 years of age.)
There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet As that vale in whose bosom our loved Boquets meet. (APOLOGIES TO THOMAS MOORE.)
"Nature, despairing e'er to make the like, Brake suddenly the mould in which 'twas fashioned."
WILLIAM GILLILAND, Essex County Pioneer.
TRADITION REGARDING Robert Rogers' Visit to Pleasant Valley.
Tradition asserts that Robert Rogers, the bold ranger, so famous for his exploits along Lake Champlain and at Lake George, including the act which is popularly supposed to have brought into historical existence "Rogers' Rock," once led his chosen band as far into the interior of the Adirondacks as the "Plains of Abraham," near where the Ray Brook House stands in the western part of the town of North Elba, and there attacked and destroyed an Indian village. Returning, he passed through the Valley now occupied by Elizabethtown village, where he was overtaken by the pursuing Indians and a battle ensued, in which many of the red men were slain. The chief corroboration of this tradition is that large numbers of Indian arrow-heads and utensils have been found on the east bank of the Boquet River, just below or north of the old"Camp Ground" where the battle is supposed to have taken place, and also the fact that many trees were found pierced with bullets by those who cleared that particular locality. However, if Rob- ert Rogers did visit the region afterwards so appropriately known as Pleasant Valley, he must have come here previous to the American Revolution, probably during the French and Indian War, as he did not take kindly to the cause of the Col- onists ; in fact while his former companions in arms, such as
2
HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Charles Lee, Israel Putnam, John Stark and Philip Schuyler, were doing their best to win independence for America, he, having turned his back on the country in the bosom of which he had won his great triumphs (the Champlain Valley, be it remembered, was the scene of his boldest exploits, many of which had been witnessed by the distinguished soldiers men- tioned above) was in England putting the finishing touches upon what is to-day known as "Rogers' Journal." Whether Robert Rogers or any other ranger of those early days did or did not visit this section, it is certain that the territory lying a few miles back from Lake Champlain-the highway of water which Samuel Champlain, the distinguished French navigator and explorer, first sighted on the evening of July 3, 1609, three months before Hudson sailed up the stream which to-day bears his name-escaped to a large extent the ravages of the Indians in their wars and the no less destructive campaigns of the French and English contest and the Revolutionary strug- gle.
William Gilliland's Settlement Near the Mouth of the Boquet River.
When the peace of 1762 had been ratified by the cession of Canada to Great Britain, Lake Champlain quieted down tem- porarily, so to speak. A royal proclamation of Oct. 7th, 1763, authorized the Colonial Governors to issue grants of land upon the borders of Lake Champlain to the reduced officers and soldiers who had served in the Canadian campaign. The next year after the royal proclamation, 1764, William Gilliland, who was born near Armagh, Ireland, and was then a New York merchant, decided to make extensive purchases on the western shore of Lake Champlain. February 8, 1759, Gilliland had married Elizabeth Phagan, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of his wealthy New York business partner, receiving
3
HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
as her dowry fifteen hundred pounds, which was considered a large sum in the Colony at that time. The brilliant mercan- tile success which had rewarded the intelligence and enterprise of Gilliland did not satisfy his ambition. The recollection of the magnificent baronial estates of his native land and the ob- servation of the vast manors of the southern section of New York, enkindled in his mind the purpose of securing to him- self the possession of wide domains in the wilds of America. He decided to place his first location between the Boquet Riverland Split Rock, then, to use his own language, "a howl- ing wilderness, more than one hundred miles removed from any Christian settlement, except the military posts of Ticon- deroga and Crown Point."
Wm. Gilliland's earliest purchase was from a Dr. Joseph
I Regarding the origin of the name of this river, The Elizabethtown Post & Gazette of December 13, 1900, contained the following:
ORIGIN OF THE NAME.
Dr. Franklin B. Hough in the Gazetteer of the State of New York, page 296,edition of 1860, states that the name is "Probably from the French baquet, a trough," and that "the name appears on French maps previous to his (Bouquet's) residence in the country." Watson in his "Pioneer History of the Champlain Valley," page 96, makes a similar statement.
The contention of these two eminent authorities would appear to be well founded, as there is in the State Library at Albany, in New York Colonial Mss., Vol. XCVIII at page 24, a French map of Lake Champlain from Fort Chambly to Fort Frederick, surveyed by Mr. Anger, King's surveyor in 1732 and made at Quebec in 1748, on which map it is denoted as R. Boquette. Also in documents relating to the Colonial History of the State of New York IX opposite page1022 a copy of a French map of Lake Champlain and environs procured by JohnRomeyn Brodhead from the Archives of the Marine in Paris in 1842 of date 1731 in which it is denominated R. Bauquette.
As it does not appear that Col. Henry Bouquet of the Royal Americans was ever in this country prior to 1755 or 6 and as it is conjectural as to whether he ever visited the Champlain Valley, this would appear to effectually dispose of the theory advanced by some writers that the river was named for him.
The French term "baquet," a trough, is peculiarly descriptive of that part of the river be- tween Willsborough Falls and Lake Champlain, that portion of the stream which the early French explorers would have seen in passing along the lake and from which appearance they would naturally name it.
Inasmuch as the river in question is the largest stream wholly within Essex County and as there has been much speculation concerning the origin of the name, we believe that our readers as a whole will be glad to know that the weight of evidence seems to be in favor of the derivation from the French "baquet," as stated by Hough and Watson.
.
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HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Field of 2,000 acres, for which he paid £100. Subsequently he made eleven other purchases. The late Oscar F. Sheldon of Willsboro said : "These purchases were made in 1764 and granted and surveyed the following year." Gilliland's Jour- nal says :
"1765, May 10th. This day I embarked at New York for Albany, having the following persons in company to settle that tract of land, viz :
The Rev. George Henry, minister.
1 John Chislm, millwright, to work 4 shillings per day and found.
2 Robert Maclane, millwright, to work 5 pounds per mo. and found.
3 George Melson, carpenter, to work 3 pounds 12 per mo. and found.
4 John Mattoon, clerk, at 25 pounds per ann. and found.
5 James Storkner, weaver, at 40 shillings per mo. if wanted.
6 Robert McAuley, weaver, at 40 shillings per mo. if wanted.
7 John McAuley, weaver, at 40 shilllings per mo. if wanted.
8 George Belton, weaver, at 40 shillings per mo. if wanted.
9 Mrs. Belton, wife of foregoing of same name.
10 Mrs. Chislm, wife to the foregoing of same name.
11 Catherine Shepherd, hired to keep house.
12 Mary Craig, indentured for four years. May 13th arrived at Albany, all well."
Wages were to commence "payable to the whole after the arrival at Willsborough."
They came through Lake George and arrived at Ticonde- roga landing June 1st, where they secured some lumber from mills erected during French occupation.
June 8th, arrived at mouth of Boquet River, having occu- pied in their journey 30 days of arduous and incessant labor. After a brief rest they proceeded up the river to the falls and
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HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
there formed their encampment upon an island, which from the circumstances, still bears the name of Camp Island.
With promptness and energy operations were at once com- menced. By June 15th a road had been opened to the falls, ground had been cleared, timber prepared and a house 44 feet by 22 partly erected. This edifice was the first dwelling known to have been built by civilized man on the western shore of Lake Champlain between Crown Point and Canada. Gilli- land's cattle had been driven to Crown Point and there made to swim the narrow passage. Proceeding to a point opposite Split Rock, they were ferried over and thence driven through the woods to Gilliland's settlement. A part of them were con- fined and fed upon the leaves of trees but most of them were turned loose to the unlimited range of the forest.
Timber was prepared for a saw-mill, which was erected in the autumn at the lower part of the falls, the first of the many that have been operated along the beautiful Boquet River. This pioneer mill was supplied with power by a wing dam, which was projected into the current, turning the water into a flume that conducted it to the desired point.
Game was abundant ; the most delicious salmon thronged the river. The beaver meadows yielded them sufficent hay for the approaching winter. Meanwhile, as these efforts were in progress, Mr. Gilliland had visited Quebec and returned, bringing all the other necessaries to secure the comfort of his people through the winter months.
On his trip to Quebec he had examined the western shore of Lake Champlain between the Boquet River and the Cana- dian line with a vigilant eye. He ascended navigable streams, sounded their depths and explored their banks. Twelve grants had now been located by Mr. Gilliland. Eight of these were situated in the present towns of Willsboro and Essex ; two in what is now the town of Westport and two at Salmon River,
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HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
now in Clinton County. A tier of lots, intended for farms, was surveyed and numbered in this year (1765), ranging along the shore of the lake from the Boquet to Judd's patent. Many of these lots were immediately selected by settlers but were not, on account of the advanced season, occupied till the succeed- ing spring. The settlement at Willsboro Falls was named Milltown. In November Mr. Gilliland left it, with his other interests along Lake Champlain, in charge of a kinsman, whom he dignified with the title of Steward. He passed the winter in New York engaged in preparations for the removal of his family to his new estate on the western shore of Lake Cham- plain.
The first winter of these pioneers in the wilds of northern New York was passed without suffering or remarkable inci- dent. The cattle were recovered in the autumn with great difficulty, being very wild. The time of the men was occupied attending the cattle, cutting and hauling saw logs to the mill and in the preparation of timber for the construction of their buildings. In January, 1766, their hay was drawn upon the ice from a beaver meadow, near what is now known as Whal- lon's Bay, to Milltown.
April 14th, 1766, a house was erected for Robert McAuley. Others rapidly followed, "until the whole space between the Boquet and Split Rock was studded with the neat cabins of the settlers."
In June, 1766, Mr. Gilliland returned to Willsboro with his family, bearing supplies for another year. His journey had been difficult and disastrous. In passing the rapids of the Hud- son River, near Stillwater, one of the bateaux capsized, pre- cipitating part of his family into the water. One of his daughters was lost. They resumed their journey in fearful forebodings. Worn with grief and toil they finally arrived at their wilderness home on the banks of the Boquet.
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HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
The return of the proprietor infused a fresh spirit and im- parted a vigorous impulse to the little commonwealth. A smithery had been erected. Various seeds had been sown to supply vegetables. The government, political as well as moral, of the community was in the exclusive guidance and control of the proprietor. Its administration was eminently patriarchal. The appointment of Justice of the Peace, which had been con- ferred on Mr. Gilliland, in his primitive jurisdiction, endowed him with a plentitude of powers, embracing all functions of counsellor, Judge, etc. The ample limits of Albany County at that period embraced the whole region of Northern New York.
In the winter of 1767 the first horse introduced into the set- tlement was brought over the ice from Canada for Mr. Gilliland. Schools were established and the colony gradually enlarged.
In 1770 Edward Raymond, one of Gilliland's colonists, set- tled on the patent of Bessboro, at the mouth of the stream now called Raymond Brook, within the limits of the present town of Westport, building a saw-mill and a grist-mill upon the fall, which, according to the affidavit of one Udny Hay, was "on the west side of Lake Champlain, about eight miles north of Crown Point and about three miles south of Great West Bay." Raymond lived in that charming spot about six years and is said to have been driven from his secluded home by In- dians shortly after the breaking out of the American Revolu- tion.
Albany County was divided in 1772, the northern section, embracing both sides of Lake Champlain, being organized into a new county, which received the name of Charlotte, after a daughter of Mr. Gilliland.
In 1775, it is said, Mr. Gilliland was figuring with Major Skeene of Skeensboro (now Whitehall) to erect a large prov- ince, to extend from the St. Lawrence to the Connecticut, resting at the north on the Canadian line and with an unde-
1
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HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
fined line at the south. Major Skeene was to receive the ap- pointment of Governor and Crown Point was to be constituted the capital. However, a blow struck within the limits of Essex County (at Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775) vibrated through- out the colonies, was felt within the palace walls of St. James and forever dissipated the erstwhile scheme of Skeene and Gil- liland.
Ethan Allen's capture of Fort Ticonderoga was followed by the surrender of Crown Point.
A proclamation was issued by the Governor of Canada in June following the surrender of the Champlain fortresses, offering a reward of $500 for the arrest and rendition of Gilli- land to the government. The allurements of this reward overcame the patriotism and fidelity of some of his tenants, who engaged in unsuccessful attempts to seize and convey him to Canada. Abortive attempts were made to seduce his house- hold servants into schemes for his betrayal. Moreover a sheriff of Tryon County penetrated into the settlement "with four tories and three savages" but without avail. Gilliland not only escaped capture himself but succeeded in capturing "the whole party with all their arms and sent them prisoners to Crown Point."
This was, however, the beginning of the end so far as the sturdy pioneer's peace of mind and happiness were concerned. He withdrew with his family to the vicinity of Crown Point. Many families embraced Carleton's offers of amnesty, joined the British forces and in some cases adopted the interests of England. Strange and unexpected trials gathered about the path of Gilliland, accumulating additional cares and anxieties. His patriotism had been the most zealous ; he had organized a company and rendered efficient services. Nevertheless jeal- ousies arose. Formal charges were preferred against him in July. Again when Benedict Arnold was cruising on Lake
DR. ASA POST, Pleasant Valley's Pioneer Physician.
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HISTORY OF ELIZABETHTOWN
Champlain the soldiers and sailors attached to the fleet were permitted to land at the plantations of Gilliland, commit destructive ravages upon his crops and the crops and property of his tenants. September 1st he addressed a letter to Arnold which was clothed with the most courteous and respectful language, submitting a statement as to property destroyed, etc. Arnold did not reply. Gilliland, impetuous and resolute and revolting at injustice, appealed to General Gates. The letter was then communicated to General Washington, accom- panied with charges by Arnold against Gilliland of disloyalty
and fraud upon the government. Gilliland presented a memo- rial to Congress, alleging "Arnold sent a party of soldiers to tear your memorialist from his property." Arnold was at the zenith of his fame and influence when Gilliland wrote in that same memorial: "If temerity, if rashness, imprudence, and error can recommend him to you, he is allowed to be amply supplied with these qualities and many people think they ought to recommend him in a peculiar manner to Lord North, who, in gratitude for his having done more injury to the Amer- can cause than all the ministerial troops have the power of doing, ought to reward him with a generous pension." With what a fearless and unfaltering hand Gilliland delineated the character of Arnold and what a spirit of prophecy was wrapped in the eloquence and vehemence of his language.
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