A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York, Part 7

Author: Minard, John Stearns, 1834-1920; Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Alfred, N.Y., W. A. Fergusson & co.
Number of Pages: 1102

USA > New York > Allegany County > A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York > Part 7

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HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.

not purchase, as it would naturally impede the settling of these lands by enterprising men; they very naturally not wishing to associate with such neighbors, and the prospect of good society, schools, etc., would wear an unfavorable aspect. Relating to his search of minerals, etc., he says: " And also could not find any of the Lime, Granite, Free or Grit Rock, but was in- formed that there was an excellent quarry of Grit Stone on the 'Caneodeo' (another rendering) Reservation, of which I saw specimens, and makes ex- cellent Grind Stones, and used by the inhabitants of this part of the country," which was somewhat erroneous; the quarry was without doubt on the Caneadea Creek quite a distance south of the reservation.

The reader I am sure will pardon me for making just a little invasion of the town of Genesee Falls, which for years was a part of Allegany, to quote an interesting historical fact not very generally known. Quoting still from Mr. Johnson's report, "It is known to you Probable, that this Tract is Nondon Tract; or so called by the Inhabitants Living in its Neighborhood. This was the ancient Indian Name for a Large Village of Indians that Lived during the last war (the Revolution) in lots 105 and 107, it being a place where many of the American Captives were Taken. On lot 107 is a Small Hill which presents an Ancient fortification, by whom or when done is not known to the oldest Indians on the tract." This is what is known as "Fort Hill " on the Dunn and Mills place. No traverse of the river is found or even alluded to in Mr. Johnson's notes.

The allotment of Alfred was made in 1795 by one John Smith in the em- ploy it is presumed of Phelps and Gorham, and it is doubtful if the sub- division of any other town in our county preceded it. Moses Van Campen subdivided Independence in 1815. The Patterson Tract, part of townships one and two, range two Morris Reserve, was surveyed by Van Campen in 1817. In 1818 he surveyed the Cazenove Tract (West Almond). The Bond Tract (Ward), was subdivided in 1822 by Daniel McHenry, and the Willing and Francis Tract, comprising Willing, part of Wellsville and part of Ando- ver, was surveyed into lots by John M. Wilson in 1823. In 1825 L. G Shepard* subdivided the Dickey Tract in Grove.

After the subdivisions were made and the lands came to be sold, the services of the surveyor were in frequent demand, and this was met by local talent in almost every neighborhood; indeed surveyors sprang up as if by magic, some good ones, others not so good, a few, perhaps, adventurers and charlatans. Their work, compared with that the surveyors of the present day have to perform, might be said, to use a modern (?) colloquialism to be a " pic-nic." The lines they had to follow were freshly marked, the corners (or at least the " corner trees "), still standing, the facilities were good, and the work was rapidly done. The pioneer surveyor's equipment was generally very plain, a light open-sighted compass, in some instances with no levels upon the plate, in others with but one. In a few instances

*An extended notice of the subdivision of the Caneadea Indian Reservation by Joseph Jones, the Quaker surveyor, is made in the history of Hume.

EARLY SURVEY AND SURVEYORS.

two levels were attached. It is averred that one of the early Southern Alle- gany surveyors, used a compass the graduations of which were made on a circle described on a sole-leather face, and a surveyor in the northwestern part of the county, from his using a compass some part of which was made of wood, was commonly called " the wooden compass surveyor."

In looking over the records in the different town clerks' offices one frequently stumbles upon crude and elastic descriptions. "Beginning at a pine stump from a quarter to a half mile distant from the red tavern," is the way a certain road survey in Hume commences; an important road too! Many such descriptions are to be found. The compasses were all used upon a Jacob-staff, which made a good stout cane for the surveyor when going from one station to another, and the chains, (the best they had) were made of coarse iron wire. But the pioneer surveyor did his work as he must. He ran his lines, stuck his stakes, established his corners, and-died; and while his body returned to the dust from whence it came, and his spirit to God who gave it, his stakes rotted away, his corners disappeared, and, now, in most instances, the blazed trees which marked his lines are gone, and the surveyor of to-day is frequently called upon to retrace and restore those lines and re-establish those corners. This, all things considered, is the most difficult task in the whole practice of surveying.

Here are the names of a few of the many surveyors of pioneer days. Joseph and Benjamin Ellicott, Augustus Porter, George Burgess, Moses Van Campen, Elisha Johnson, William Peacock, Joseph Jones, John Smith, Daniel McHenry, John M. Wilson, and L. G. Shepard were all employed upon tract, township or subdivision work, as were others whose names I do not know. Then came Nicholas Van Wickle. Samuel Van Wickle. Alvin Burr, James Reed, Jonathan Rogers, Samuel Jones, Samuel Liver more, Asa Morse, Simeon Capron, Christopher Hurlbut. Samuel White. Russell Burlingame, Wait Arnold, Asa Lee Davidson, Henry W. Tracy, Hiram Draper, Wittel Larabee, Charles Collins, James P. Rounsville, Henry C. Jones, Seth Wetmore, and-, but the list must close, with many more un- named than named. Peace to their ashes!

CHAPTER XI.

ROBERT MORRIS.

R OBERT MORRIS, at one time the proprietor of all of Western New York west of Phelps' and Gorham's Purchase, thus becoming identified with the territory of Allegany county, and the source of all its land titles, was a prominent figure, and potential character, during the Revolutionary period. He was born in Lancashire, England, January 20, 1734. In 1745 his father

HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.

emigrated to America, settling at Port Tobacco in Maryland, where he en- gaged quite extensively in the tobacco trade. He met his death in a very singular manner, while Robert was yet a youth. A ship from some foreign port was consigned to him. The custom then was to fire a gun when the consignee came on board. Mr. Morris had a presentiment that the cere- mony might prove fatal to him, and requested that it be dispensed with, and the captain so ordered, but a sailor, desiring to honor Mr. Morris and sup- posing the omission accidental, seized a match and fired the gun as Mr. Mor- ris was leaving the ship. A portion of the wadding fractured his arm, mortification ensued and death resulted.

When Robert Morris was thirteen he was placed in the counting house of Charles Willing, a leading merchant of Philadelphia, and by 1754 showed so much proficiency in mercantile affairs as to recommend him to a partner- ship with a son of his employer. This firm continued in business until 1793, and at the beginning of the Revolution was the largest commercial house in Philadelphia, and when the first difficulties occurred between the colonies and the mother country, although he was to be seriously affected thereby, he was one of the patriotic merchants of Philadelphia who signed the non- importation agreement, which restricted commercial intercourse with Great Britain to the bare necessaries of life. He also opposed the stamp act. He was elected a delegate to the Congress of 1775, and served on the military and naval committees. On July 1, 1776, his vote was recorded against the Declaration of Independence, and on the 4th he declined to vote at all, assign- ing as a reason that it was premature and inappropriate but the measure having been adopted he signed it. When the news of the battle of Lexing- ton reached Philadelphia, it found him presiding at a dinner on the anniver- sary of St. George. He joined with a majority of the company in putting a sudden stop to the celebration in honor of an English saint, and helped to upset the tables that had been spread. A few days after the battle of Tren- ton it became a matter of great importance and no little concern to the com- mander-in-chief to obtain a sufficient sum of money in specie to use in keep- ing himself well advised as to the movements of the enemy. Applying to Mr. Morris for that purpose he received this answer:

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 30, 1776.

Sir,-I have just received your favor of to-day, and sent to Gen. Putnam to detain the express until I collected the hard money for you, which you may depend shall be sent in one specie or other, with this letter and a list thereof shall be enclosed herein. I had long since parted with considerable sums of hard money to Congress, and therefore must collect from others, and, as matters now stand, it is no very easy thing. I mean to borrow silver and prom- ise payment in gold, and then collect the gold the best way I can. Whilst on this subject, let me inform you that there is upwards of twenty thousand dollars of silver at Ticonderoga. They have no particular use for it, and I think you might as well send a party to bring it away, and lodge it in some safe place convenient for any purpose for which it may hereafter be wanted. Whatever I can do shall be done for the good of the cause.

I am, Sir, yours, etc., ROBERT MORRIS.

ROBERT MORRIS.

When in December, 1777, Washington had for the second time recrossed the Delaware, the time of service of nearly all the eastern troops had expired. To induce them to engage for another six weeks he offered a bounty of ten dollars each and applied to Mr. Morris for the funds. The money was forthcoming, and accompanied with a letter in which he congratulated the commander-in-chief upon his success in retaining the men, and assured him that "if farther occasional supplies of money are wanted, you may depend upon my exertions either in a public or private capacity."

With Benjamin Franklin and others Mr. Morris was in March, 1777. chosen to represent the assembly of Pennsylvania in Congress; and the next November was associated with Mr. Gerry and Mr. Jones as a commission to repair to the army for a confidential consultation with the commander-in- chief upon the best plan for the conduct of the winter campaign. In August, 1778, he was appointed a member of the standing committee on finance. The years 1778-79 were the most distressing time of the war, and in the attending emergencies, Mr. Morris not only advanced his money freely, but he also put in requisition an almost unlimited credit. During a period of nearly hopeless despair, Mr. Morris in addition to money and credit fur- nished several thousand barrels of flour to the famishing armies. This aid came very timely, as it was being seriously contemplated to authorize the seizure of provisions wherever found, a measure which would have been unpopular with all sections of the country and might have turned the tide of popular feeling, then flowing so strongly in favor of the Revolution. The public records show many transactions similar to those just related. Gen- erals of divisions as well as the commander-in-chief turned to Mr. Morris as a last resort when money and provisions were wanted. To his large pri- vate means and credit were added financial abilities of the highest order. and when no other resource seemed available he would fairly compel others to use money and credit for the colonial cause.

With him in financial negotiations to will a thing was to do it. So he was appointed by the Continental Congress "Financier," or what we now term Secretary of the Treasury, and perhaps in no country was ever a finance minister placed in charge of a treasury whose condition was worse. Not a dollar in it, and a debt of $2,500,000 staring him in the face. To this duty of financiering for Congress and the country and its cause was Mr. Morris called in such a terrible serious crisis. When apprised of his appointment to this important office he said: "In accepting this office I sacrifice much of my interest. my ease, my domestic enjoyment, and inter- nal tranquillity. If I know my own heart. I make these sacrifices with a dis- interested view to the service of my country. I am willing to go further. The United States may command anything I have except my integrity, and the loss of that would disable me from serving them more."

He began his official career by establishing confidence and restoring credit. Among the financial expedients to which he resorted was the estab- lishment of the Bank of North America. Bonds signed by wealthy individ-

HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.

uals were given as collateral security for the performance of the engage- ments of the institution, and he headed the list with a subscription of £10,- 000. At a time of the gloomiest depression Mr. Morris interviewed Gen. Washington. The subject of an attack on New York was broached. To this Mr. Morris dissented, claiming that it would be too great a sacrifice of men and money, that its success was quite doubtful, that even if successful it would be barren of results as the enemy having command of the sea could again land fresh troops and retake it. Conceding these objections Washing- ton said: "What am I to do? The country calls for action, and moreover the army cannot be kept together unless some bold enterprise is undertaken." Mr. Morris replied, "Why not lead your forces to Yorktown? there Corn- wallis may be hemmed in by the French fleet by sea, and the American and French armies by land, and will ultimately be compelled to surrender?" "Lead my troops to Yorktown !" said Washington, appearing surprised at the suggestion. " And how am I to get them there? One of my difficulties about attacking New York arises from want of funds to transport them thither; how then can I muster the means required to enable them to march to Yorktown?" "You must look to me for funds," rejoined Mr. Morris. " And how are you to provide for them?" said Washington. "That " said Mr. Morris "I am unable at this time to tell you, but I will answer with my head that if you will put your army in motion I will supply the means of their reaching Yorktown." After a few moments reflection Washington said: "On this assurance of yours, such is my confidence in your ability to per- form any engagement you make, I will adopt your suggestion."

The army soon arrived at Philadelphia, and Mr. Morris experienced considerable difficulty in furnishing the promised supplies. At last he hit upon the idea of borrowing twenty thousand crowns from Chevalier de Luzern, the French minister. The Chevalier objected that he had only funds enough to pay the French troops, and could not comply unless two expected vessels loaded with specie arrived from France. About the time the troops were at Elk, preparing to march on Yorktown, the ships arrived, the money was received and especial pains taken to parade the specie in open kegs before the army. The men were at once paid and cheerfully embarked on the expedition which resulted in the crowning triumph of the Revolution.

John Hancock in one of his letters to Mr. Morris during a severe crisis says: "I know however you will put things in a proper way; all things depend upon you, and you have my hearty thanks for your unremitting labor." Gen. Charles Lee, in a letter addressed to Mr. Morris when he assumed the duties of secretary of an empty treasury, wrote " It is an office I can not wish you joy of; the labor is more than herculean; the filth of that Augean stable is in my opinion too great to be cleared away, even by your skill and industry." Paul Jones appointed Mr. Morris his executor, and as a token of his high esteem bequeathed to him the sword he had received from the king of France. Mr. Morris presented it to Commodore Barry,

ROBERT MORRIS.

with a request that it should fall successively into the hands of the oldest commodore of the American navy.

In a book of travels written by the Marquis de Chastellux, who was in the United States from 1780 to 1782, a major general of the French army serving under the Count de Rochambeau. he writes of Mr. Morris, after visiting him at his home in Philadelphia, "He was a very rich merchant and consequently a man of every country, for commerce bears everywhere the same character. Under monarchies it is free; it is an egotist in republics; a stranger, or, if you will, a citizen of the universe it excludes alike the virtues and the prejudices that stand in the way of its interests. It is scarcely to be credited that amidst the disasters of America Mr. Morris, the inhabitant of a town just emancipated from the hands of the English, should possess a fortune of $8,000,000. It is however in the most critical times that the greatest fortunes are acquired. The fortunate return of several ships, the still more successful cruises of his privateers have increased his riches beyond his expectations if not beyond his wishes. He is in fact so accus- tomed to the success of his privateers that when he is observed on Sunday to be more serious than usual the conclusion is that no prize has arrived the

preceding week. * * Mr. Morris is a large man, very simple in his manners; his mind is subtle and acute, his head perfectly well-organized, and he is as well versed in public affairs as in his own. * * * He lives with- out ostentation but not without expense, for he spares nothing which can contribute to his happiness and that of Mrs. Morris to whom he is much attached." Quite likely this account of the wealth of Mr. Morris, is not exaggerated. The translator of a London edition of the above work speaks of the great money-making facilities which Mr. Morris enjoyed, his relations being such as to enable him to obtain special permits to ship cargoes of flour, etc., in a time of general embargoes. At one period, says the translator, he circulated his private notes throughout the country as cash. So the close of the Revolution must have left him in the possession of wealth far exceeding that of any other citizen of the new republic.

With the return of peace the energies of the people were directed into other channels. The somewhat congested population along the seaboard became restive and sought opportunities for expansion. This led to the appropriation of lands farther inland, and the development of the interior regions. Mr. Morris was quick to perceive the possibilities of the situation, and turned his attention to land 'speculation and soon became the largest individual land holder in America. He had great credit, not in the least impaired by the business of the Revolution. He borrowed money to replace funds he had borrowed during the war, sometimes in large sums, and offer- ing and giving security on his city property and immense estates. A reac- tion soon followed this, what in our days would be called " boom," and when it came it found Mr. Morris possessed of an immense landed estate and largely in debt for the purchase money. Reverse followed reverse in quick succession, and Mr. Morris was swept from opulence to poverty, and

HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.

merciless creditors made him for a long time the tenant of a prison. It has been supposed by some that his reverses were owing in part at least to large advances he made the young republic. His son, Thomas, however is author- ity for this statement: "My father's pecuniary losses were not owing to his public engagements in the war of Independence. Heavy as those engage- ments were, the last years of the war having been supported almost entirely by his advances and by his credits, he was eventually reimbursed by the public." It was very saddening to those who were enjoying the fruitage of his labors, and sharing in the blessings they received as the direct result of his wonderful financiering, that his last years should be clouded with adver- sity, even to the darkness of abject penury, so plainly intimated in this extract from a letter to the late Benjamin Barton:

You have now the clearest information I can give you. I have been frequently applied to about this affair, but hope there is an end of it. If however you should find it necessary to write again, be good enough to pay the postage of your letters for I have not a cent to spare from the means of subsistence.

I am sir, Your very obt serv't, ROBERT MORRIS.

Mr. Morris died at Morrisania, N. J., Nov. 6, 1806. His name and public services will be long and gratefully remembered.

CHAPTER XII.

BOUNDARIES OF ALLEGANY COUNTY.

FOR ten or twelve years subsequent to 1772 the territory included within the present boundaries of Allegany county, formed a part of Tryon county, which was that year erected out of Albany county, and was made to comprise all the country in the state of New York west of a north and south line extending from St. Regis to the west bounds of the township of Schenectady; thence running irregularly southwest, to the head of the Mo- hawk branch of the Delaware river, and along this stream to the southeast corner of the present county of Broome, thence in a northwesterly direction to Fort Bull on Wood Creek, near the present city of Rome, all west of the last mentioned line being then Indian territory. In 1784 this same territory took the name of Montgomery, and five years later (1789) all of the state west of Phelps and Gorham's pre-emption line was set off as Ontario. In 1796 Steuben was erected from Ontario, to consist of all of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase south of the parallel of latitude which now bounds most of that county on the north, including therefore the township which now form the eastern range of towns of Allegany county.

Genesee county was formed from the portion of New York bounded on the east by the Genesee river from its mouth to the mouth of Canaseraga

BOUNDARIES OF ALLEGANY COUNTY.

ALLEGANY COUNTY, SHOWING THE

PROPRIETARY TRACTS

INTO WHICH ITS TERRITORY WAS DIVIDED, PRIOR TO ITS FORMATION APRIL 7. 1806.

WYOMING COUNTY.

LIVINGSTON

COTTRINGER TRACT.

COUNTY.

CANEADEA INDIAN

RISERVATION

OUNTY.

HOLLAND PURCHASE.

MERIDIAN.

CHURCH TRACT.

200000 AS

RESERVE.

HARRISON AND STERRETT

PHELPS AND

GORHAMS PURCHASE

0 U

InCAZENOVE LE-ROY

RIS BAYARD& MCEVERS.

BEN

TRANSIT

STERRETT 25000 AS.

FRANCIS. 34560 AS.

8220 MILE STONE

STEU

STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA.

JNO. S. MINARD DEL.

NTY.

CATTARAUÇUŞ

OIL SPRING RESERVATION.

HISTORY OF ALLEGANY COUNTY, N. Y.

creek, and from thence by a line running south to the Pennsylvania line. This last-mentioned line at the same time marked the western boundary of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase of Steuben county as originally defined, and today is the western boundary of the towns of Burns. Alfred, Almond, Andover and Independence. The act erecting the county of Genesee was passed March 30, 1802. Its name was singularly appropriate, comprising as it does so large a part of the widely and favorably known "Genesee County." then "far west."

An immense tide of immigration about this time flowing hitherward from the east, it was not long before projects for other new counties were put on foot. In 1806 numerous petitions were presented to the Legislature asking for the formation of Allegany, Cattaraugus and Niagara counties from the southern and western parts of Genesee. These petitions were ex- tensively circulated, and received the signatures of some 750 citizens of the territory to be affected by the proposed legislation, including the Ellicotts and many other leading men of the western part of the state. It seems the Legislature heeded the prayer of the petitioners, for on the 7th of April, 1806, an act was passed creating the new county of Allegany, and James W. Stevens, Philip Church, and William Rumsey were named in conformity with the prayer of those petitioning as Commissioners to locate the site for the county buildings. The northern boundary of the county thus formed is the same parallel of latitude that now forms the north line of the greater part of Steuben county, and included the towns of Eagle, Pike, and Genesee Falls in the present Wyoming county, and Portage, Nunda and Ossian in Livingston county as now defined, the first five set off in 1846, and Ossian in 1856. To gratify the curiosity of close students of early local history, it is thought best to quote quite freely from the Act.

CHAPTER CLXII. OF THE LAWS OF NEW YORK FOR 1806.

An act to erect part of the county of Genesee into a separate county by the name of Alle- gany: Be it enacted by the people of the state of New York represented in Senate and Assembly, that all parts of the county of Genesee, beginning at the southeast corner of said county and running thence northerly forty-two miles along the western boundary of Steuben and Ontario counties, thence westerly thirty-eight miles, along the dividing lines of townships numbered seven and eight, to the northwest corner of township number seven in the fifth range of the Holland Land Company's land, thence southerly forty-two miles along the western boun- dary of the 7th, 6th, 5th, 4th, 3d, 2d, and Ist townships of the fifth range of the Holland Land Company's land to the Pennsylvania line, thence easterly thirty-eight miles along the Pennsyl- vania line to the place of beginning, shall be, and hereby is erected into a separate county, and shall be called and known by the name of ALLEGANY.

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A Centennial Memorial History of Allegany county, New York, Part 7

Author: Minard, John Stearns, 1834-1920; Merrill, Georgia Drew Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Alfred, N.Y., W. A. Fergusson & co. Number of Pages: 1102

Author: Minard, John Stearns, 1834-1920; Merrill, Georgia Drew
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Alfred, N.Y., W. A. Fergusson & co.
Number of Pages: 1102