USA > New York > Jefferson County > A history of Jefferson County in the state of New York, from the earliest period to the present time > Part 5
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t The original survey bill and map are filed in the state engineer's office.
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Treaty with the Oneidas.
States. The Oneidas were represented at this treaty by two chiefs. This tribe, by a definite treaty held in September, 1788, conveyed the greater part of their lands to the state, by the following instrument, the original of which is preserved in the secretary's office; it is on a sheet of parchment about two feet square, with thirty-five seals of the parties, and appended to it is a string of wampum, made of six rows of cylindrical white and blue beads, strung upon deer skin cords. This belt is about two inches wide and nearly two feet long.
" At a Treaty held at Fort Schuyler, formerly called Fort Stanwix, in the state of New York, by His Excellency George Clinton, governor of the said State, and Wiliam Floyd, Ezra L'Hommedieu, Richard Varick, Samuel Jones, Egbert Benson, and Peter Gansevoort, Junior, (Commis- sioners, authorized for that purpose by and on behalf of the People of the State of New York,) with the tribe or nation of Indians, called the Oneidas. It is on the 22nd day of September, 1788, covenanted and concluded as follows. "First, the Oneidas do cede and grant, all their lands to the people of the state of New York, forever. Secondly, of the said ceded lands, the following tract, to wit: Beginning at the Wood Creek, opposite to the mouth of the Canada Creek, and where the line of property comes to the said Wood Creek and runs thence southerly to the northwest corner of the tract, to be granted to John Francis Pearche, thence along the westerly bounds of the said tract to the southwest corner thereof, thence to the northwest corner of the tract granted to James Dean, thence along the westerly bounds thereof to the southwest corner of the last mentioned tract, thence due south until it intersects a due west line from the head of the Tienadaha, or Unadilla River, thence from the said point of intersection due west, until the Deep Spring bears due north, thence due north to the Deep Spring; thence the nearest course to the Caneserage Creek, and thence along the said Creek, the Oneida Lake, and the Wood Creek, to the place of beginning, shall be reserved for the following uses, that is to say: The lands lying to the northward of a line parallel to the southern line of the said reserved lands and four miles distant from the said southern line, the Oneidas shall hold to themselves and their posterity forever, for their own use and cultivation, but not to be sold, leased, or in any other manner aliened or disposed of to others. The Oneidas may from time to time forever make leases of the lands between the said parallel line, (being the residue of the said reserved lands,) to such persons, and on such rents reserved as they shall deem proper, but no lease shall be for a longer term than twenty-one years from the making thereof, and no new lease shall be made, until the former lease of the same lands shall have expired. The rents shall be to the use of the Oneidas and their posterity forever. And the people of the state of New York shall, from time to time, make pro- vision by law to compel the leasees to pay the rent, and in every other respect enable the Oneidas and their posterity to have the full benefit of their right, so to make leases, and to prevent frauds on them, respecting the same. And the Oneidas, and their posterity forever, shall enjoy the free right of hunting in every part of the said ceded lands, and of fishing in all the waters within the same, and especially there shall forever re- main ungranted by the people of the state of New York, one half mile square at the distance of every six miles of the lands along the northern bounds of the Oneida Lake, one half mile in breadth of the lands on
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40
Treaty with the Oneidas.
each side of Fish Creek,* and a convenient piece of land at the fishing place in the Onondago River, about three miles from where it issues out of the Oneida Lake, and to remain as well for the Oneidas and their posterity, as for the inhabitants of said state, to land and encamp on, but, notwithstanding any reservation to the Oneidas, the people of the state may erect public works and edifices as they shall think proper, at such place or places, at or near the confluence of Wood Creek and the Oneida Lake, as they shall elect, and may take or appropriate for such works or buildings, lands to the extent of one square mile at each place. And further, notwithstanding any reservation of lands to the Oneidas, for their own use, the New England Indians, (now settled at Brotherton, under the Reverend Samson Occum,) and their posterity forever, and the Stock- bridge Indians and their posterity forever, and to enjoy their settlements on the lands heretofore given to them by the Oneidas for that purpose, that is to say, a tract of two miles in breadth, and three miles in length, for the New England Indians, and a tract of six miles square, for the Stockbridge Indians. Thirdly, in consideration of the said cession and grant, the people of the state of New York do at this treaty pay to the Oneidas two thousand dollars in money, two thousand dollars in clothing, and other goods, and one thousand dollars in provisions, and also five hundred dollars in money, to be paid towards building a grist mill, and a saw mill at their village, (the receipts of which moneys, clothing, goods and provisions the Oneidas do now acknowledge,) and the people of the state of New York shall annually pay to the Oneidas, and their posterity for- ever, on the first day of June in every year, at Fort Schuyler, aforesaid, six hundred dollars in silver, but, if the Oneidas or their posterity shall at any time hereafter elect, that the whole or any part of the said six hundred dollars shall be paid in clothing or provisions, and give six weeks previous notice thereof to the governor of the said state for the time being, then so much of the annual payment shall for that time be in clothing or provisions, as the Oneidas and their posterity shall elect, and at the price which the same shall cost the people of the state of New York at Fort Schuyler, aforesaid, and as a further consideration to the Oneidas, the people of the state of New York shall grant to the said Jolin Francis Pearche, a tract of land; Beginning in the line of property, at a certain cedar tree, near the road leading to Oneida, and runs from the said cedar tree southerly along the line of property two miles, then westerly at right angles to the said line of property two miles, then north- erly at right angles to the last course two miles, and thence to the place of beginning, which the said John Francis Pearche, hath consented to accept from the Oneidas, in satisfaction for an injury done to him by one of their nation. And further the lands intended by the Oneidas for John T. Kirkland, and for George W. Kirkland, being now appropriated to the use of the Oneidas, the people of the state of New York shall there- fore, by a grant of other lands, make compensation to the said John T. Kirkland, and George W. Kirkland. And further, that the people of the state of New York shall, as a benevolence from the Oneidas to Peter Penet, and in return for services rendered by him to their nation, grant to the same Peter Penet, of the said ceded lands, lying to the north ward of the Oneida Lake, a tract of land ten miles square, wherever he shall
* This reservation gave rise to many apprehensions on the part of the pur- chasers, as it was supposed to extend into the Boylston Tract, in Lewis County . The author is not aware how this affair was settled. The reservation would, it is said, have covered 40,000 acres, if it extended the source of that stream. The patent to Macomb made no reservations in this point, so that the difficulty lay between the state and the Indians.
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Macomb's Purchase.
elect the same. Fourthly, the people of the state of New York, may, in such manner as they shall deem proper, prevent any person, except the Oneidas, from residing or settling on the lands so to be held by the Oneidas and their posterity, for their own use and cultivation, and if any person shall, without the consent of the people of the state of New York, come to reside or settle on the said lands or on any other of the lands so ceded as aforesaid, except the lands whereof the Oneidas may make leases, as aforesaid, the Oneidas and their posterity shall forehwith give notice of such intrusions to the governor of the said state, for the time being. And further the Oneidas and their posterity forever, shall, at the request of the governor of the said state, be aiding to the people of the state of New York, in the removing of all such intruders, and in apprehending not only such intruders but also felons and all other offenders, who may happen to be on the said ceded land, to the end that such intruders, felons and other offenders may be brought to justice.
In testimony whereof, as well the sachems, chief warriors, and others of the said Oneidas, in behalf of their tribe, or nation, as the said governor and other commissioners of the people of the state of New York, have hereunto interchangeably set their hands and affixed their seals, the day and year first above written.
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Odaghseghte, Kanaghweaga, Peter Utsiquette, Toyohagweanda, Shonough- lego, alias Anthony, Thaghniyongo, Tekeandyahkon, Olsetogou, Oneyanha, alias Beech Tree, Thaghtaghguisea, Gaghsaweda, Thougweaghshale, Ojis- talale, alias Hanquarry, Thaghneghtolis, alias Hendrick, Kanaghsalilgh, Thaghsweangalolis, alias Paulus, Agwelentongwas, alias Domine Peter, Kahiektotan ; Teyoughnihalk, Konwagalot, * Joneghflishea, alias Daniel, Alawistonis, alias Blacksmith, Sagoyontha, Kaskonghguea, Kanawgalet,* Thaniyeandagayon, Keanyoko, alias David, Hannah Šodolk,* Hononwayele .*
George Clinton, Rich'd Varick, Peter Gansevoort Jr., Wm. Floyd, Samuel Jones, Skenondonga, Ezra L' Hommedieu, Egbert Benson.
At a treaty held at Kon-on-daigua, N. Y., Nov. 11, 1794, the United States confirmed this treaty of the Oneidas.
The office of Land Commissioners was created in 1786, and they were clothed with discretionary powers in selling the unappro- priated lands of the state. The manner in which they exercised this trust has been made the subject of severe censure. On the 22d of June, 1791, Alexander Macomb, of the city of New York, acting as the agent of a company said to consist of himself, D niel McCormick, and Wm. Constable, all of New York, ap- plied for the purchase of a tract of land since known as MACOMB's PURCHASE,{ embracing the greater part of Franklin, the whole of St. Lawrence, excepting the "ten towns" and Massena, the whole of Jefferson (excepting Penet's square and Tibbet's Point), the whole of Lewis, and a part of Oswego counties. This pro- position included the islands in Lake Ontario and the St. Law- rence, fronting the tract, and excepted five per cent for roads, and all lakes of greater area than 1000 acres. The proposed price was eight pence per acre. One sixth part was payable in
* Women.
/ Full details of this purchase, with a copy of his applications may be found in the Hist. of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 252, et seq.
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42
Penet's Patent.
one year, and the residue in five equal annual instalments. If one-sixth were secured by satisfactory bonds, and paid, and another sixth in like manner secured, Macomb was to receive a patent for a sixth part, in a square, in one of the corners of the tract, and the same rule was to be observed throughout, until the whole was paid. Carlton, or Buck's Island, and the Long Sault Island, were expressly reserved to the state. This pro- position was accepted, and the surveyor-general was directed to survey the tract at the expense of Macomb. On the 10th of January, 1792, he reported that the conditions had been com- plied with, and on that day a patent* was issued to Macomb, for 1,920,000 acres, reseserving 800 acres to be located by the sur- veyor-general.+ This included the whole of the tract not in the present counties of Franklin and St. Lawrence, an uncertainty existing in relation to the islands in the St. Lawrence, these were patented after the national boundary had been determined, and to other parties. The reservation stipulated to Penet, was confirmed by the following proceedings of the land commissioners.
" At a meeting of the Commissioners of the Land Office of the state of New York, held at the secretary's office in the city of New York on Saturday the 8th day of August, 1789. Present, His Excellency, George Clinton, Esquire, Governor, Lewis A. Scott, Esquire, Secretary, Richard Varick, Esquire, Attorney General, and Gerardus Bancker, Treasurer.
Resolved, That the surveyor-general be directed to lay out for Peter Penet, and at his expense, the lands ceded by the Oneida Nation to the people of this state, by their deed of cession dated the 22d day of September last, lying to the northward of Oneida Lake, a tract of ten miles square, wherever he shall elect the same; and further, that he lay out for John Francis Pearche, and at his expense, a tract of land stipulated by the said deed of cession to be granted to him," &c., referring to a tract two miles square in Oneida county .- Land Ofice Minutes, Vol. 2, p. 56.
On the 19th of Nov. 1789, the following action was taken: " The Surveyor-General, agreeable to an order of this board, of the 8th of August last, having made a return of survey for Peter Penet, of a tract of ten miles square, as elected by John Duncan, his agent (of the lands ceded by the Oneida Nation of Indians to the people of this state, by their deed of cession, dated the 22d day of Sept. 1788), lying to the northward of Oneida Lake, as by
* Sec. Office Patents, b 23, p. 160.
¡ This was selected on Tibbet's Point in Cape Vincent, at the outlet of the lake, which was patented to Capt. John Tibbets of Troy, and never formed a part of Macomb's Purchase. It embraced but 600 acres, as surveyed by John Campbell in the fall of 1799.
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T'itles of Penet Square.
the said return of survey filed in the secretary's office, will more fully appear. And the said John Duncan, having as agent as afore- said, made application to the board for letters patent for the same, Resolved, therefore, that the Secretary do prepare letters patent, to the said Peter Penet, for the said tract of ten miles square, accordingly, and lay them before the board for their approba- tion .- Land Office Minutes, vol. 2,. p. 80.
Peter Penet, by an instrument dated January 23, 1729,* made John Duncan his attorney, and the latter received, November 19th, 1789, a patent,; for a tract ten miles square, which on the 13th of July, 1790, he conveyedt for the nominal sum of five shillings to James Watson, and James Greenleaf of New York. February 26, 1795, Watson released§ to Greenleaf his half of the tract for £1000; the latter having, September 4th, 1797, conveyed by deed the 64,000 acres to Simon Desjardines || for £19,400.
Desjardines conveyed to Nicholas Olive of New York, Jan- uary 29th, 1796,T and the latter to Herman LeRoy, William Bayard, and James Mc Evers, 44,000 acres of this tract, ** in trust as joint tenants for certain heirs, of whom Mallett Prevost, was entitled to 8,000 acres; John Lewis Grenus to 12,000 acres; Henry Finguerlin, Jr., 8,000 acres. At the time of this conveyance Olive held these lands in trust, and 16,000 acres in his own right. A deed of partition between the proprietors was executed May 17th, 1802,77 according to a division by bal- lot, as follows: N. Olive 16,000; J. L. Grenus 1,200; H. Fin- guerlin, Jr., 8,000; A. M. Prevost 8,000 acres, making 44,000 acres, which with 8,000 to Louis Le Guen, and 12,000 to John Wilkes previously conveyed by Olive,tt made 64,000 acres on the whole tract. After the deed of partition, and on the 11th of June, 1802, the proprietors released to one another the quan- tity allotted to each, as follows: John Wilkes and Louis Le Guen, to Le Roy, Bayard, and McEvers, of 44,000 acres; L., B., & M., and Louis Le Guen, to John Wilkes of 12,000; and L., B., & M., and J. Wilkes to L. Le Guen of 8,000 acres.§§
Nicholas Olive, in his will, made his wife and Henry Cheriot his executors, and his widow afterwards married Simon Louis Pierre, Marquis de Cubieres of Paris, who with his wife did, May 9th, 1818, appoint L., B., and M to convey to Provost Grenus and Finguerlin, their several shares. The latter, May
* Sec. office deeds 22, p. 277. || Sec. office deeds 38, p. 344.
¡ Ib. patents 21, p. 407. TIb. deeds 38, p. 352.
# Not recorded.
** Ib. deeds 33, p. 165.
§ Sec. office deeds 38, p. 350. tt Jeff. Co., deeds rec. Dec. 14th, 1824.
# Olive conveyed, Oct. 15th, 1800, 8,000 acres to Henry Cheriot (sec. deeds
38, p. 347), and C. to John Wilkes the same, Oct. 16th, 1800 (ib. p. 432). §§ Jefferson Co. deeds, rec. June 18th, 1825.
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Macomb's Purchase.
20th, 1817,* directed L., B., & M. to convey to Joseph Russell and John La Farge. Le Roy and Bayard deeded to John, Henry, and Edmund Wilkes, 16,000 acres September 23d, 1818,; and the latter to John La Farge, April 14th, 1823,; having received May 9th, 1818, from the Marquis de Cubieres, and wife, a power of attorneyt for the purpose. Le Roy and Bayard conveyed 12,000 acres Nov. 23d, 1818, and§ to Russell and La Farge 8,000 acres Sep. 23d, 1818.§ Joseph Russell released his half of these 8,000 acres Dec. 12th, 1818.§ John Wilkes to Charles Wilkes Jan. 1st, 1818,|| sold 8,000 acres, and the latter the same to La Farge June 3d, 1825.|| By these con- veyances Mr. La Farge became the owner of the greater part of Penet Square; but he allowed the lands to be sold for taxes, and his claims were subsequently confirmed by a comptroller's deed, from Wm. L. Marcy, May 13th, 1828.
On the 23d of Nov., 1819, Francis Depau bought fifteen lots (21 to 25, 41 to 45, 56 to 60), for $12,000,17 excepting parts sold to Samuel Ruggles. In our account of Orleans, will be given a detail of the irregularities growing out of occupation without title, and the conflicting claims which continued many years, and produced much difficulty.
The whole of Macomb's contract was estimated to contain, after deducting five per cent., 3,670,715 acres, and was divided into five tracts. Tract No. I contained 821,819 acres, and is wholly in Franklin County. No. II embraced 553,020 acres, or the present towns of Parishville, Colton, Hopkinton, Lawrence, Brasher, and a small part of Massena, in St. Lawrence County. No. III, the remainder of St. Lawrence County south and west of the ten towns, or 458,222 acres. No. IV contained 450,950 acres in Jefferson County, it being, with the exception of Penet's Square and Tibbet's Point, all of that county north of a line drawn from the southwest corner of St. Lawrence County, north 87° west, to Lake Ontario. No. V (26,250 acres) and No. VI (74,400 acres) formed the rest of the purchase; the division line between which numbers was never surveyed. Soon after per- fecting his title to a portion of his tract, Macomb employed William Constable (who is said to have been with Daniel McCormick the principal proprietor) as his agent to sell lands in Europe; and, on the 6th of June, 1792, he released, and October 3d, 1792, conveyed to him the whole of tracts IV, V, and VI, for £50,000 .** Macomb had become involved in specu-
* Jeff. deeds N. 477.
§ Ib. rec. Oct. 5, 1819.
t Ib. deeds, rec. June 23d, 1821.
|| Jeff. Co. rec. June 18, 1825.
¿ Ib. rec. Oct. 23d, 1818. T Jeff. Co. deeds, N. 605.
** Secretary's Office, Deeds 24, pp. 300 and 332, August 2, 1792.
45
The Chassanis Purchase.
lations, by which he lost his property, and was lodged in jail ;* and his name does not subsequently appear in the transfers of land. He had been a fur trader in Detroit, afterwards became a merchant and capitalist in New York, and was the father of the late General Macomb of the war of 1812.
The first direct measure taken for the actual settlement of the section of the state embraced in Jefferson County, was in 1792. On the 31st of August, William Constable, then in Europe, executed a deed to Peter Chassanis, of Paris, for 630,000 acres south of Great Lot No. IV, which now constitutes a part of Jefferson and Lewis Counties. A tract in Leyden, previously conveyed to Patrick Colquhoun and William Inman, was excepted. Chassanis acted as the "agent for the associated pur- chasers of lands in Montgomery County," and the lands were to be by him held in trust for the use of the said William Constable, and disposed of by sections of one hundred acres each, at the rate of eight livres Tournoist per acre; in which said conveyance it is declared, that the said Chassanis should account for the pro- ceeds of the sales to Constable, according to the terms of an agreement between them, excepting one-tenth thereof. The state reservations for roads, &c., were stipulated. A deed for 625,000 acres having been made from Constable to Chassanis, and delivered as an escrow to René Lambot, to take effect on the payment of £52,000, it was agreed that the price for this land should be one shilling per acre. Constable bound himself to procure a perfect title, to be authenticated and deposited with the Consul General of France, in Philadelphia; and. Chassanis agreed that the moneys received by Lambot should be remitted to Ransom, Moreland & Hammersley, in London, as received, subject to Constable's order, on presenting the certificate of Charles Texier, Consul, of his having procured a clear title. If the sales shall not have amounted to £62,750, the balance should be paid in six, nine, and twelve months, in bills upon London. Constable granted, for one month, the right of pre- emption to Tract No. IV, at the rate of one shilling sterling, payable in three, six, and nine months from the date of the deed, as above.
The plan of the association contemplated by this company is set forth in the following document, which we translate from an original copy printed in Paris in 1792, in the possession of Hon. Wm. C. Pierrepont, who has kindly permitted it to be used for this work. It is very probable that the stormy period of the French revolution that soon followed prevented its execution:
* See History of St. Lawrence and Franklin Counties, p. 242.
t Equal to $1.50.
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The New York or Chassanis Company.
" ASSOCIATION for the purchase and settlement of 600,000 acres of land. granted by the State of New York, and situated within that state between the 43d deg. and 44th deg. of latitude, upon Lake Ontario, and 35 leagues from the city and port of Albany, where vessels land from Europe.
Many details suggested by the consideration of the internal and-ex- ternal advantages of this vast and rich domain, of which we have direct knowledge, has led to a plan of developing its resources, and of present- ing the speculation to Europeans. It is to be noticed that this tract pre- sents in its fertility, all the wealth of agriculture; by the fine distribution of its waters, the facilities for an extended commerce; by its location in the immediate vicinity of a dense population, security to its inhabitants; and by the laws of a people independent and rich with their own capital, all the benefits of liberty without its drawbacks. These incontestible facts, developed without art, and declared in a public notice, may be easily proved by simple inspection of the geography, and a general acqaintance of the state of New York. Believing that the value of this vast domain would be enhanced by the activity of cultivation and settle- ment, the proprietors have united in attempting the formation of a family, in some way united by common interests and common wants; and to promote the success of this measure, they here offer an account of the origin, and plan of their association. To maintain this essential unity of interests, the projectors have devised a plan that renders each member directly interested in the property, and require that a division shall be made by lot, that shall give at once a title to fifty acres individually, and to fifty in a portion that shall remain common and undivided until a fixed period; and that these subdivisions inay operate in a ready and economical manner, they have adopted a form of certificate [forme d' Action], to the bearer, as best combining the desired features, and advantages of being evidences of the first title of purchase, and the undivided portion, and of partaking of the nature of an authentic title. In consequence, they have purchased this estate, and agreed that it should be done in the name of Sieur Chassanis, in whom they have united their confidence, and whom they have authorized to sign the certificates. He is to receive the funds to be credited to each, as titles of property, and furnish declarations to those who desired. Subsequent to the purchase, the parties interested have established the following rules, which shall be the common law of the holders of certificates, as inseparable from the title resulting. These rules are divided into two sections, the one including the articles essen- tial to title, and the unalterable law of the proprietors, the other embracing the provisional rules and regulations of the common interest.
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