USA > New York > Niagara County > Souvenir history of Niagara County, New York : commemorative of the 25th anniversary of the Pioneer Association of Niagara County > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44
OVERSIZE
Gc 974.701 N51n 1510685 1
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
>
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 00669 6113
Gc 974.70. N51n 151068!
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/souvenirhistoryo00niag
Gc 974.701 N51n 1510685
Souvenir History of NIAGARA COUNTY NEW YORK
BE&EÇO
Commemorative of The 25thANNIVERSARY' of The PIONEER ASSOCIATION OF NIAGARA COUNTY. 1902
ETT
Gc 97
N5 15
1510685
Foreword.
HIS book is issued primarily to commemorate the Twenty-fifth Anniversary of the Pioneer Associa- tion. President Peter A. Porter announced at the meeting of 1901 the intention of the manage- ment to mark the date, August 20, 1902, by pub- lishing the record of the Pioneers of the county, with the history of Old Niagara from the days of the forefathers down to the present. The idea met with favor and was cordially acquiesced in by the throng who were present. Accordingly, the work of compilation was intrusted to the publishers of the Lockport Journal, who were authorized to issue the work subject to certain specifications made in a formal contract, among which was that a committee of censorship from the directors of the Pioneer Association should have full power to examine all manuscripts and to amend, accept, or reject, any portion of them. This was a very proper stipulation, for the book was to be issued under the auspices of the Association. The idea sprang from the management of that body. The committee on censorship performed its work with the full co-operation of the pub- lishers of the Journal, which was freely given, and the completed Souvenir History of Niagara County is before the reader and the Pioneer Association. The ability and facilities of the Journal for publishing a work of this kind must be judged by the fruits of the labors which are here presented.
The compilation of the work has been a task of no small magnitude. In fact, it has been little short of stupendous, considering the length of time at the disposal of the pub- lishers, to collect, write, edit and put into cold type and on to the press, the array of historical facts presented pertaining to every nook and corner of the county. But the work was one of genuine pleasure. It was rendered so in no small degree by the co-operation of the descendants of the pioneers, who gave their aid with no unstinted hand, and contributed. of their time and information, on any and every occasion, with a cheerfulness that is worthy of all praise. We desire to express our heartiest acknowledgements to those who contributed the various sketches which are printed in this volume, with their names attached. Some of these men and women are octogenarians, and it is by no means as easy for them to wield the pen as it once was. But they have en- riched the history of the county by recalling their recollec- tions, with a high degree of public spirit, being unwilling that knowledge that ought to be given to posterity should pass away when their course of life was run. Some of the contributors are among the younger men and women, who are likewise entitled to high consideration for the investiga- tion they have made of the history of their various localities and which they are fitted to write, because of their ancestry and association, and ability to properly transcribe their thoughts to paper.
There are many beautiful views presented that serve to
illustrate the text. Besides this, there are portraits of some two hundred and fifty residents of the county, pioneers, sons of pioneers, and others, which will be regarded with interest. Allusion is made to their lives and services among the biog- raphies appended to the book or in the sketches of the towns or cities where they live. It should also be stated that to these men and women is due the credit of enabling the publishers to issue the work at a price that brings it within the reach of the masses and which could never have been afforded but for their public spirit and liberality. The purpose of the compilation of this work was not primarily financial, but to furnish a popular, readable history of all portions of the county that would be a tribute to the men- ory of the Pioneers and mark in a fitting way the Twenty- fifth Anniversary of the Association that has been engaged in the work of keeping alive the memories of the past.
These portraits, it will be observed, are generally grouped together in the histories of the towns or cities where those whose features are depicted have resided. In a few instances this has not been possible because of the necessities of typographical arrangement or because of delay in securing the photos and having the half-tones made in time to place them where they most properly belong. But in these cases the identification and locality are well marked so that the record is complete. It will be noted that the book contains the portraits of all who have served as Presi- dent of the Pioneer Association,
Our acknowledgement is due to the indefatigable efforts of the President of the Pioneer Association, Peter A. Porter. because of the energy and industry with which he has responded to every call that has been made upon him for assistance in carrying this work to a successful completion. We take the responsibility of passing this sentence through without submitting it to the inspection of this most vigilant of the little group of censors. He wrote the history of the county, which is the leading article in the book, and also the sketch of the "Pioneers of Niagara County," which com- prises a list of most valuable records that are presented in suitable form.
Mr. Crowley draws upon the stores of almost half a century of public life to pen the " Political History of Niagara County." His portrait is the only one that has been taken of him in nearly a quarter of a century. It was no easy matter to lure Mr. Crowley to the photographers and we record this triumph with some degree of complacency.
Judge Millar is peculiarly fitted to write the " History of the Bench and Bar" in which Niagara County has had so many worthy representatives, and his sketch will be perused with no little interest by those who know the judge who has presided over the Niagara County Court with such ability.
Mr. Atwater's paper on the "Schools of the County" comes from a veteran schoolmaster who has taught for twenty years in our county schools and was for twelve
18. 76487
SO
4
SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
years superintendent of the schools of Lockport, and will be appreciated by all who value our educational institutions.
The "Reminiscences of Lewiston," by Rev. Joshua Cooke, who gave Mr. Atwater his appointment to the State Normal School, and who has been also the life long friend of Judge Millar, will be read with keen interest, for they are in narrative form and very entertaining. Mr. Cooke was requested to write the history of the Town of Lewiston, with considerable reference to chronology and sequence of events. But his active brain is not easily chained and he wandered off into a strain of delightful reminiscence and produced a sketch of peculiar interest, hence his production has a conspicuous place, and the details of writing the history of the town were attended to by the editor, with the assist- ance of George C. Hayward, of Lockport, a former resident of Lewiston, and of Mr. Cooke. Mr. Cooke is now busy completing a romance connected with the early history of the county.
"Niagara County in the Wars," by Mr. LeVan, will be a valued record to all those who took part in the "irresistible" conflict," and to their families. Too much honor cannot be given to those who sacrificed life, or health and business prospects by responding to their country's call, and in Mr. LeVan's article, as well as in others, in fact permeating the book, the record of these patriots will be found preserved.
One clergyman of each denomination has contributed the history of his sect throughout the county. If it had been possible the publishers would have been glad to have extended an invitation to the pastor of every church to con- tribute the history of his parish, but that plan would have involved delays and hence one well informed clergyman of each denomination was intrusted with the task of writing the history of all the churches in his denomination.
The history of the Home for the Friendless, one of our most beneficent institutions, has been written by Mrs. E. Ashley Smith, who, having been for many years its secre- tary, is excellently equipped for her task.
Joshua Wilber has contributed a chronology of Lock- port that he has been collecting for many years, much of which would have passed out of knowledge of man but for his staying hand. Mr. Wilbur is one of Lockport's oldest citizens, is yet in the enjoyment of good health and is still engaged upon the compilations of his records. His chro- nology is supplemented by some anecdotes of "ye olden time" by James B. Hill, which make entertaining reading.
Orrin E. Dunlap, the former editor of the Niagara Falls Gazette, does full and ample justice to the history of Ni- agara Falls and the majesty of its possibilities for the future. His article is enriched by records and incidents that he has been collecting for years and which he has now prepared for the press for the first time.
George W. Millener writes the history of North Tona- wanda with the piquancy of the writer of fiction and the faithfulness of the historian and sets forth the past and present of his community in a way that leaves no doubt in the reader's mind of Mr. Millener's belief that North Tona- wanda will have a great future.
The history of the towns has been well covered. The records of the Towns of Lockport and Niagara have been included in those of the cities of Lockport and Niagara Falls. Elisha B. Swift, who was one of the first to propose the compilation of such a work as this by local talent and published in Niagara County, where the work would be done with a tinge of local pride, has contributed a wealth of in- formation relative to the older settlers of the Town of Cambria and their descendants. Esek Aldrich was the choice of every one as the historian of Hartland and he draws upon his memory of the past in entertaining form. Mrs. Jacob Haight and Mr. Swain give a good account of the good people of Somerset. Mrs. Ruby F. Cooper, the oldest resident of Newfane, sends some reminiscences that she had written before this book had been projected, to hand down to her descendants. Captain Mesler and Miss May H. Mesler, of Royalton; "Squire" Kinne, of Pendleton; George H. Loveland, of Wheatfield, and Miss Adelaide L. Harris, of Porter, have dealt, in an excellent way, with the story of their respective towns. But we would hardly do full justice to this public acknowledgement not to make special mention of the complete, orderly and entertaining sketch of the Town of Wilson, written by William H. Holmes. None of the historians of the towns will begrudge Mr. Holmes a word of merited praise. His history of Wil- son is a masterpiece of its kind and we believe will long be regarded as the authoritative record of the settlement and development of that beautiful section of our county.
The editor and the writers of the various sketches herein contained have drawn at times upon some of the works that have been published in previous years, especially the old standard, the "History of the Holland Purchase," written by Orsamus Turner. In many instances credit has been given, in others this has not been deemed essential ex- cept in this general way. Published history is public prop- erty and the historian of a quarter of a century hence has our full permission to draw upon these pages wherever it is necessary to complete his records. The publishers also de- sire to record their indebtedness to the press of the county for its effective cooperation in behalf of the successful publi- cation of this book.
An edition of five thousand of this volume will now go out to the citizens of Niagara County, from Somerset to the Tonawandas and from Fort Niagara to Royalton. Many will be sent by thoughtful friends to former citizens who are now living at a distance and who treasure the memories of a childhood and youth spent in this garden spot of earth. Let all who read these pages endeavor to emulate the ex- ample of the sturdy pioneers, to whom difficulty was but an incentive, and who regarded obstacles as only meant to surmount. And when the history of the present generation shall be written, let it be said that the men and women of 1902 were worthy descendants of the strong men and noble women who bore such a historic part in the subduing of the wilderness and in the making possible the beautiful county of Niagara today.
niagara County in History.
BY PETER A. PORTER.
HERE is probably no civil division in the State of New York, certainly none west of the Hudson River, whose history more correctly typifies the mutations that have taken place, during the past three centuries, in the possession and control of her soil, than does that of the acreage embraced within the limits of the present Niagara County.
In the aboriginal relics so frequently turned up from its soil by the plow ; in the even yet tracable remains of its an- cient Indian fortifications or villages ; and on the printed page of history, its story carries us back, prior to the date when a white man, whose name is all unknown, first set foot upon its sod, and gazed in awe upon the now world-known cataract, from which it takes its name.
In the oral records of the Red Men, handed down by
national, waged hereabouts, on whose outcomes hinged the destinies of North America.
To the economist, it represents the greatest natural store-house of power on the globe.
To the electrician, it recalls the greatest development of that force in one locality on this continent.
To the ecclesiastic, it brings up memories of some of the earliest, but eventually unsuccessful, missions of the Roman Catholic Church among the Indians.
To the manufacturer, it speaks of one of the greatest and the most rapidly enlarging of the industiral centres of America.
To the engineer, whether civil, electrical or hydraulic, it recalls many notable achievements in the various branches of that science.
NIAGARA FALLS-FROM WHICH THE COUNTY DERIVES ITS NAME.
them through many generations, until appearing upon the printed page they came also within the knowledge of the white man; in the annals of France, of Great Britain and of the United States, the name Niagara is not only an import- ant, but is an integral part.
It is a privilege to live in such a famous region ; it is a noble heritage to be a descendant of its pioneer settlers.
WHAT NIAGARA SUGGESTS.
The mere mention of the word Niagara, the world over, instinctively suggests various trains of thought to persons engaged in divers occupations.
To the lover of nature, it recalls one of the scenic won- ders of earth: "for the day when one's eyes first rest upon the cataract, marks an epoch in the life of any man."
To the traveler, it represents the one spot above all others in America that he wants to visit.
To the geologist, it unfolds a vista of thousands, yes, perhaps millions, of by-gone years.
To the student of anthropology, it suggests the ques- tion of the ancestry of the Red race, that, ages before a white man reached its shores, roamed this continent, and knew of the existance of the waterfall.
To the historian, it tells of wars, inter-tribal and inter-
No other single spot on earth is so universally known as Niagara ; no other location recalls more and more varied recollections.
IN EARLIEST DAYS.
At the commencement of the seventeenth century, when we find the first printed reference to this locality, the Neuter Nation of Indians lived, and owned all the territory, hereabout.
Fifty years later they were annihilated by the Senecas, who, thereby, in 1651 became the owners of the lands now embraced in our county. Another fifty years and the French, who in the meanwhile had forcibly occupied this sec- tion had been ejected, and the Senecas again controlled their own. Still another fifty years, and the French, through their friendly and absolute control over the Senecas, were in com- plete military possession hereabouts. When yet another fifty years had elapsed, France had disappeared from this continent. Britain, her conqueror, was then, even as now. secure in the possession of the northern portion of North America ; but after an ownership of over a century and a half of its central eastern section, and of a score of years of the Niagara Frontier, had been compelled to recognize a new Nation, formed of her own descendents, the United States
6
SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIA GARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
of America, whose flag then floated over the lands east of the Niagara River. And in the twice fifty years that next passed, even until now, the Stars and Stripes have never been dispossessed hereabouts by any other emblem, save for a brief period during the War of 1812.
HISTORICAL EVENTS.
Tradition, which is Indian history, tells us that the Abori- gines made annual pilgrimages, often from great distances, to the Cataract, in order that, at His abode, they might offer up their sacrifices to the Great Spirit of I-a-ga-ra, and these traditional sacrifices may date back many hundreds of years ; the principal one being that of the fairest maiden of the tribe who voluntarily went to her death over the Falls in a white canoe that was decked with fruits and flowers.
Within the boundaries of Niagara County, in 1626, was said the first mass in Western New York.
On our soil, in 1651, began the onslaught by the Senecas upon the Neuters, which ended in the anni- hilation of the latter.
On our territory, where the Ni- agara River enters Lake Ontario, was the one site in the western country, watched and coveted by both France and Britain for over four score years, 1670 to 1759, as the location for a fort, which being on the Niagara route to the far off Indian countries, would thus dom- inate this shortest and all important waterway to and from the then al- most unknown West; and here in 1679 was built the first white man's fort in the then occidental country,
Within our confines, in 1679, was the first located Mission in the State of New York, where a priest of the Catholic Church ministered to white men.
On our western border, also in 1679, was built the first vessel, other than an Indian canoe, that ever floated on the Upper Lakes.
Along our western line and wholly on our soil, was the most famous "portage" or carrying place in America, the key to the western country from all the east.
THE MAIDEN'S SACRIFICE.
On our soil was the only permanent foothold that France ever secured within the boundaries of the State of New York, outside of the northern wilderness.
Within our borders, in 1719, was erected the first "Trading House" in the west; conducted by a white man, ostensibly for the accommodation of the savages, but of course with tremendous profit to himself, and with far reach- ing effect on the great struggle between France and Britain for the control of the western territory and of the fur trade of North America.
On our shore, at the mouth of the Niagara River, in 1725, was commenced a permanent fortification, which (in- creased, strengthened and twice rebuilt) was, during the eighteenth century, next to Quebec, the most important fort in all America, and which stands today as the best pre- served ancient fortress in the United States.
Within our borders Father Piquet, in 1751, delivered the first temperance exhortation ever heard in this section.
On our sod, through the capture of Fort Niagara by the British, in 1759, the prestige of France on this continent was forever destroyed: and the control of all Western North America passed into the hands of the Anglo-Saxon race.
On our extrême western border, in 1764, was built an inclined plane, the earliest adaption of the crude principle of the modern railroad in America.
Our western frontier, from Lake Ontario to Gill Creek has seen the erection of more permanent forts than probably any territory of equal length on this continent. In a dis- tance of fifteen miles, between 1678 and 1813, no less than twenty-five such structures were ereceted by France, Great Britain and the United States, though only one of them ex- ists today.
Within our borders, about 1775, was built the first per- manent Episcopal Church in Wes= tern New York, outside of Fort Niagara. And it was erected not by a peace-loving white man, but by a notoriously bloodthirsty In- dian warrior ; and not as an act of contrition, but at the commenc- ment of the most inhuman period of his life.
On our soil stood Fort Niag- ara, which was a plague spot to the Colonists, being the headquar- ters of what is known as the " Bor- der Warfare of the Revolution." There were planned and from there started out all those marauding and devastating expeditions, which carried death and destruction to so many colonial settlements within a radius of some 200 miles. That was also the most important of those five forts, all concededly on United States territory, that were retained by Great Britain during the thirteen years of the "Hold Over Period," 1783-1796.
Through our section, at the close of that war, went the most of that vast tide of emigration, formed of those British subjects who were too loyal to their King to take the oath of allegiance to the New Re- public of the West; from our shores thousands of those "United Empire Loyalists" en- tered the Province of Ontario, then known as "Upper Can- ada," and settled there to the gain of that province and to their own, as well as their descendant's satisfaction.
In our county, in 1826, occurred the confinement and disappearance of William Morgan, from which occurrences sprang the "Anti-Masonic" agitation, that entered so largely into the politics of the Nation.
Within our limits, a part of the Falls themselves as it were, lies Goat Island, the fabled burial ground of Indian chiefs, which was aptly described by an early European trav- eller, as "the most interesting spot in all America."
On our borders occurred the early hostilities of the war of 1812, and the futile invasion of Canada during that sum- mer ; and no other section of our country felt the devastating effects of that struggle more than did the Niagara Frontier.
On our shore in 1837 occurred the forcible capture and destruction of the steamer "Caroline," which high-handed
2
SOUVENIR HISTORY OF NIAGARA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
the 1as
action, on the part of Great Britain, so nearly involved the United States in a third war with the mother country.
Within our borders, in 1885, in order that the surround- ings of the greatest natural wonder on earth might be .for- ever preserved, and made free to all mankind for all time, the Empire State exercised its power in establishing the New York State Reservation at Niagara.
And on our territory, in later years, brains and capital have united in constructing hydraulic works, mainly devoted to the generation of electric power, in amounts unequalled on this continent ; and by furnishing this power to many sections, within, as well as beyond, our county, have aided, and are aiding, in further developing a section already rich in commerce, manufacturies, and agriculture.
Can any other county in the whole Empire State show a more diversified, a more notable, or a more honorable rec- ord on the page of history ?
THE NEUTER NATION,
We have no knowledge of when the Neuters came into existence as a separate tribe. It was certainly as early as 1600, for in 1615 Champlain speaks of them as well estab-
ecas, who thereby became the owners of the Neuter's lands.
FIRST WHITE VISITORS.
The first recorded visit of a white man to the present Niagara County, was in 1626, when Father Joseph de la Roche Dallion, in his mission to the Neuters, crossed from the western to the eastern bank of the Lower Niagara, and during his visit, probably on the site of the village of Lew- iston, said the first mass ever heard in this western country. Still it is by no means impossible, that before that date, French traders or "Coureurs de bois," had been on the Ni- agara.
The next well authenticated visit of white men was in 1640, when Fathers Brebouef and Chaumonot, on another mission to the Neuters, were in this territory; though they then recorded that French traders had been here before them.
LA SALLE AND HENNEPIN.
But the autumn of 1669 witnessed the advent of a man whose name will forever be associated with this region, the man who erected the first white man's fort in the West, Robert, Cavelier de La Salle. In company with the priests,
OLD FORT NIAGARA.
lished. Their lands extended from the Detroit to the Ni- agara River, and easterly from that river to the Genesee. They were so called because living between the Iroquois on the east, and the Hurons on the west, they were at peace with both; and in the villages and wigwams of the Neuters even the warriors of these two bitterly hostile tribes met in peace.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.