USA > New York > A history of the purchase and settlement of western New York : and of the rise, progress and present state of the Presbyterian Church in that section > Part 3
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It has already been remarked, that the original inhabitants of Western New York, and owners of its soil, were the Indians de- nominated " The Six Nations." These were nearly the sole in- habitants, until a period subsequent to the war of the Revolution. At this period the country was an unbroken wilderness, with the exception of some small tracts cultivated by the Indians for the raising of corn and a few other vegetables, in the vicinity of their towns or places of residence. The remainder of the land was wholly unoccupied by them, except as a ground for hunting. In the war of the Revolution, the Six Nations. with the exception of the Oneida tribe, were persuaded to join the British, in opposition to the Americans. Their depredations and cruelties inflicted on the frontier settlements, were dreadful, of which the massacres at Cherry Valley and Wyoming are a terrible specimen. To check these invasions, and chastise the Indians, General Sullivan, with a considerable body of troops, was sent into their country in the summer of 1774. He proceeded with his army up the Susquehanna and Tioga rivers to Newtown (now Elmira), thence to the head of Seneca lake, and down the east side of the lake to its termination, and across the country by the foot of Canandaigua lake westward to Big Tree, on the Genesee river. In his expedition he did all that in him lay to distress the Indians, killing them when opportu- nity presented, burning their habitations, cutting down their fruit trees, and destroying all their fields of corn, and other esculent vegetables. In consequence of this infliction of chastisement upon the Indians, their subsequent sufferings were very great, and their incursions upon the frontier settlements were restrained.
After peace with Great Britain had been established, and our national independence secured, measures were prosecuted to estab- lish a lasting peace with the Six Nations of Indians. As commis- sioners to negotiate a treaty with the Six Nations, Oliver Woolcot, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, were appointed by the govern- ment of the United States. These Commissioners met the Indians at Fort Stanwix, on the Mohawk river, and on the twenty-second day of October, 1784, a treaty between the Six Nations and the United States was established. By this treaty, perpetual peace and amity between the United States and the Six Nations was de- clared, and the Six Nations ceded to the United States all their
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lands west of a line commencing at the mouth of a creek four miles east of Niagara, at a place on Lake Ontario, called Johnson's Landing, thence running southerly in a direction always four miles east of the portage or carrying-path between Lakes Erie and On- tario, to the mouth of Buffalo creek, on Lake Erie; thence due south to the north boundary of the State of Pennsylvania ; thence west to the end of said boundary; thence south along the west boundary of the State of Pennsylvania to the Ohio river. Ac- cording to the terms of this treaty, it would seem that the Indian title to all the land included in the present county of Chautauque, with some of the western parts of the counties of Niagara, Erie, and Cattaraugus, was extinguished by this contract, and yet we af- terwards find, in a subsequent treaty, this same territory included in a sale of land to Robert Morris, with the consent of a commis- sioner of the United States.
In the year 1785, the State of New York, for a consideration of $11,500, purchased of the Oneida and Tuscarora tribes a consi- derable tract of land, situate between the Unadilla and Chenango rivers ; and on the twenty-second day of September, 1784, the Oneidas sold to the State the remainder of their territory, with the exception of a small reservation for their own use ; and small tracts previously sold by them to the Stockbridge and Brother- town Indians, which tracts were confirmed to those Indians and their posterity for ever. The Oneidas also reserved to themselves the right of hunting and fishing on all the lands and waters thus relinquished, as also the joint occupancy with the whites of small tracts of land around Oneida lake, Fish creek, and Oswego river, for the purposes of fishing, trading, &c. In consideration of the lands thus acquired by this treaty, the State of New York paid to the Indians $2000 in cash, $2000 in clothing, and $1000 in provisions; with $500 additional, for the purpose of building a grist-mill on the Oneida reservation. The State also engaged to pay the tribe annually for ever the sum of $600.
On the twelfth day of September, 1788, the Onondaga tribe of Indians, by a treaty made with them at Fort Schuyler, sold to the State of New York all their lands within the boundaries of the State, with the exception of a reservation around the principal vil- lage of their tribe. They also reserved to themselves certain other privileges, concerning hunting, fishing, and making salt at the Salt lake. In consideration of this grant of lands, the State paid to the Indians one thousand French crowns in money, and five hundred dollars in clothing, and moreover, stipulated to pay to the Onondagas and their posterity for ever, the annual sum of five hun- dred dollars. This treaty was confirmed two years afterwards, at Fort Schuyler, where the tribe was convened, to receive their an- nuity, on which occasion the State bestowed on them a gratuity of five hundred dollars in addition to their annuity.
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ITS EARLY HISTORY.
A treaty was concluded at Albany, on the twenty-fifth day of February, 1789, between the State of New York and the Cayuga tribe of Indians. By this treaty the Indians ceded to the State all their lands within the State, with the exception of a reserva- tion of one hundred square miles, exclusive of the waters of the Cayuga lake, about which this reservation was located. The tribe also reserved to themselves the privilege of the eel fishery on Seneca river, with a suitable place on the south side of the river, for curing their fish. They also reserved to themselves and their posterity for ever, the right of fishing and hunting on every part of the ceded territory. As a proper consideration for the lands thus purchased of the Indians, the State paid them $500, and agreed to pay them on the first day of June ensuing, the fur- ther sum of $1,625, and in addition, engaged to pay to them and to their posterity for ever, the annual sum of $500. In 1790, this treaty was confirmed at Fort Schuyler, on which occasion the State made them a gratuity of $1000.
Thus the Indian title to all the lands in the State of New York east of the pre-emption line which constituted the eastern boundary of the territory ceded to Massachusetts, was extinguished, with the exception of some comparatively small reservations.
On the twenty-fifth day of July, 1782, the Legislature of the State of New York passed a law, setting apart a certain portion of its western lands for the payment of military bounties to the soldiers of the State who had served in the army for a certain period du- ring the war of the Revolution. The tract which was set apart for this purpose, is bounded northwardly, by Lake Ontario, Oswego river, and Oneida lake ; west, by the east line of the tract ceded to Massachusetts ; south, by a line drawn due east from the south- ern extremity of Seneca lake; and east, by a line drawn from the most westerly boundary of the Oneida or Tuscarora country, on the Oneida lake, through the most westerly inclination of the west bounds of the Oneida or Tuscarora country. This tract, including 1,680,000 acres of land, has been denominated, " The Military Tract," and embraces the present counties of Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Cortland-the greater part of Tompkins, with smaller parts of Oswego and Wayne. At the time of the passage of this act, the Indian title to the lands in question was unextinguished, nor was it until 1788 and 1789, as has already been shown, that the soil was purchased of the original proprietors. The Indian title being at length extinguished, an act was passed by the Legis- lature of the State, Feb. 28th, 1789, for surveying the land and appropriating it to the use of the soldiers. In accordance with the provisions of this act, the Military Tract was surveyed into twen- ty-eight townships, containing each one hundred lots of six hun- dred acres. Each private soldier and non-commissioned officer of the State troops, had one lot assigned him. The officers re-
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WESTERN NEW YORK.
ceived larger shares in proportion to their rank. The soldiers, in many cases, realized very little from this arrangement. Many of them, in the long period which elapsed previous to the assignment of their lands, and in view of the uncertainties connected with the subject, had sold their patents for a mere pittance ; in some in- stances, it is said, for a sum not exceeding eight dollars. Many of them, however, lived to settle upon their lots, and thus secured to themselves a competence in old age. The survey and appropria- tion of the Military Tract prepared the way for the speedy settle- ment of the lands, and the population rapidly increased.
It has been already stated in the history of the settlement of the controversy between the State of New York and the State of Mas- sachusetts, that to Massachusetts was ceded the pre-emptive right to all that part of the State which lies west of a meridian drawn through the Seneca lake ; also the possession of the tract called " The Massachusetts Ten Townships," on the Chenango river. Soon after the period of this arrangement, the State of Massachu- setts sold the Ten Townships to Samuel Brown, and fifty-nine associates, for the sum of $3,333. This transaction paved the way for the speedy settlement of the territory. The pre-emptive right of the State of Massachusetts to the vast territory west of the me- ridian line drawn through the Seneca lake, and containing about six millions of acres, was, in 1787, contracted to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, citizens of Massachusetts, for the sum of $100,- 000, payable in three instalments .*
Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, having purchased the pre-emptive right to the territory, immediately began to make preparations for extinguishing the Indian title to the lands included in the purchase. Accordingly in the summer of 1788, Mr. Phelps left Granville, in the State of Massachusetts, with men and means proportionate to the hazardous undertaking, as it was then supposed to be. Such was the apprehension of hazard in this expedition in the minds of many of the community, that, it is said, on the setting out of the party from Granville, the neighborhood assembled to bid them adieu, and, as many of them believed, a final adieu, supposing it very improbable that any of them would live to return. And though, in the present condition of the country, with the facilities for travelling, some may perhaps smile at the idea of danger in such an undertaking ; yet, when it is considered that the whole country from the Mohawk river westward, was an unbroken wilderness, destitute of any white inhabitants, that no roads ex-
* Some authors, in speaking of the sale of land made by the State of Massachusetts to Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, state the sum which these gentlemen agreed to pay for the land purchased, at $1,000.000 ; while others state it at $100,000. These seemingly different statements are reconciled when it is understood that the contract was for £ 300,000, Massachusetts currency, payable in consolidated securities of the State, which securities were in actual value worth two shillings in the pound.
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IT'S EARLY HISTORY.
isted except Indian trails, that the country through which they must pass (about 130 miles from Herkimer to Canandaigua), was in the possession of the Indians, who were jealous of the whites, and had mostly, at a late period, been in a state of hostility to them, and, especially, that the Senecas with whom they were de- sirous to negotiate, and into whose territory they were about to enter, were still smarting under the chastisement which they had received during Sullivan's expedition into their country-it must certainly appear to the reflecting mind that the expedition was indeed one of difficulty and danger. Under such circumstances the company set off from Granville upon their expedition, attended by the good wishes, and, no doubt, by the fervent prayers of, at least, some of their friends. In due time they arrived at Canandai- gua, accompanied by a commissioner on the part of the State of Massachusetts, and Rev. Samuel Kirtland, the Missionary to the Six Nations, who was employed as interpreter in the negotiation with the Indians. Mr. Phelps speedily succeeded in collecting the Indian chiefs and warriors, and a council was held on the banks of the Canandaigua lake, when Mr. Phelps made a proposition to them respecting the sale of their lands. The subject was debated in the council for two or three days, during which period it is said that some remarkable specimens of eloquence were exhibited, particularly in the speeches of Red Jacket and Farmer's Brother. Red Jacket was decidedly hostile to the sale of any land to the white men; Farmer's Brother, on the contrary, advocated the sale. On the third day of the council, which was the eighth day of July, 1788, a treaty was concluded, by which a territory, em- bracing more than two millions of acres of land, was sold to Messrs. Phelps and Gorham. The land purchased on this occa- sion is described in the treaty in the following manner, viz .- Beginning in the northern boundary line of the State of Pennsyl- vania, in the parallel of 42º north, at a point distant eighty-two miles from the north-east corner of Pennsylvania, on Delaware river ; thence running west upon said line to a meridian passing through the point of land made by the confluence of the Shanahas- guaikon (or Canaseraga) creek with the waters of the Genesee river ; thence north along the said meridian to the point last men- tioned ; thence northwardly along the waters of the Genesee river to a point two miles north of Canawagus village ; thence due west twelve miles; thence in a direction northwardly so as to be twelve miles distant from the most westward bend of the Genesee river, to Lake Ontario; thence eastwardly along the said lake to a meridian which will pass through the place of begin- ning ; and thence south along the said meridian to the place of beginning. This tract was confirmed to Messrs. Phelps and Gorham by an act of the Legislature of the State of Massachusetts, passed Nov. 21st, 1788, and the whole of the territory to which
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WESTERN NEW YORK.
by this treaty the Indian title was not extinguished, was by agree- ment between Messrs. Phelps and Gorham and the Legislature of Massachusetts, relinquished to Massachusetts, and a proportional sum was deducted from the price to be paid for the pre-emptive right.
The title to this vast tract of rich and fertile land being secured to Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, these gentlemen speedily began the survey of the territory, in order to put it in a situation for sale and settlement. The land was surveyed into tracts, denomi- nated " Ranges," by lines running north and south through the whole purchase, and these were numbered from east to west. These Ranges were designed to be six miles in width. They were subdivided by lines running east and west at the distance of six miles from each other, into distinct portions, denominated " Townships," which were numbered from south to north. The Ranges were seven in number, and the Townships in each full Range were fourteen. These Townships, to prepare them for actual settlers, were mostly subdivided into lots of 160 acres each. Mr. Phelps opened a land office at Canandaigua, for the sale of lands to actual settlers, and the sale and settlement of the country commenced in a prosperous manner. After selling out to actual settlers or speculators about one third of the tract to which the Indian title had been extinguished, Messrs. Phelps and Gor- ham sold nearly all that remained to Robert Morris, being about 1,264,000 acres. The price of the land was eight pence per acre. This sale was made in 1790. Mr. Morris sold his contract to Charles Williamson, who conveyed his title to Sir William Pul- teney, an English gentleman. Col. Williamson then acted as Agent for Sir William Pulteney, to manage the sales of the lands to the settlers. To facilitate the sale of the lands, offices were established at Geneva and Bath. The property thus sold to Sir William Pulteney, has been generally known by the designation of "The Pulteney Estate."
On the 12th day of March, 1791, a committee of the Legislature of Massachusetts, by authority from the State, executed a contract of sale in the form of an indenture, with Samuel Ogden, by which, on behalf of the State of Massachusetts, they covenanted on certain conditions to convey to him or his assigns, all the estate and inte- rest of that commonwealth in the lands lying in the State of New York, west of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, excepting there- from one equal undivided sixtieth part of the same. In accord- ance with the terms of this contract, the same committee, on the eleventh day of May of the same year, conveyed by deed-poll to Robert Morris, the assignee of Samuel Ogden, a tract of land con- taining about 500,000 acres, extending from the Pennsylvania line to Lake Ontario, and bounded on the east by Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and on the west by a meridian line drawn from a point
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ITS EARLY HISTORY.
in the north line of the State of Pennsylvania, twelve miles distant from the south-west corner of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and extending to the Canada line. This tract was, at a subsequent period, by Mr. Morris sold to different individuals or companies in separate parcels, and in due time was brought into a state to be sold in convenient farms to actual settlers.
On the same day in which the above named deed was executed, the same committee by four separate deeds conveyed to Robert Morris, with the approbation of Samuel Ogden, the residue of the lands which had been contracted to Ogden. The three first of these deeds convey each a separate tract of land, supposed to con- tain 800,000 acres, bounded on the south by Pennsylvania line ; north by the boundary line between the United States and Cana- da ; and east and west by meridian lines, sixteen miles distant from each other. The land conveyed by the fourth deed included all the residue between the last meridian and the west line of the State of New York. In each of these four conveyances there was a reservation to the State of Massachusetts of one equal undivided sixtieth part, which, at a later period, was also conveyed to Mr. Morris. In the three first of these conveyances the con- sideration in each instance was £15,000. In the last it was £10,000. The currency of Massachusetts, it is supposed, was to determine the value of the pound. All the lands included in the several tracts comprised in these four deeds, were, at a subsequent period, conveyed by Mr. Morris to Trustees for the benefit of a company in Holland, and from this circumstance, the tract re- ceived the appellation of " The Holland Purchase." It includes all that part of the State of New York which lies west of a meri- dian line drawn from a point in the south line of the State, distant twelve miles west from the south-west corner of Phelps and Gor- ham's purchase, and extended north to Lake Ontario, with the exception of a narrow strip along the Niagara river. Under the Holland Company, through their agents, the land has been surveyed into ranges and townships, and divided into convenient lots, the greater part of which have been sold to actual settlers.
The title which Mr. Morris acquired from the State of Massa- chusetts to that vast territory included in his deeds of purchase, was merely the right of pre-emption. The lands were still the property of the Seneca tribe of Indians, and it is pleasing to the heart of every good man, that neither the laws of the land, nor the common feeling of the community, permitted the Indian to be despoiled of his property by force, or driven from his possessions without his consent, or without an equivalent. It does not appear that Mr. Morris, after having purchased of the State of Massachu- setts in 1791, the pre-emptive right, attempted to obtain the ex- tinguishment of the Indian title, or, if he did, the attempt must have been abortive ; for it seems that the Indian title to the lands
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WESTERN NEW YORK.
in question was not extinguished until 1797. In that year a coun- cil of the Indians was held at Big Tree, on the Genesee river, near the site of the present village of Geneseo, at which were pre- sent Jeremiah Wadsworth, as a Commissioner of the United States, and William Shepherd, agent for the State of Massachu- setts. By a treaty made on that occasion, the Indians sold to Robert Morris all their remaining lands in the State of New York, west of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, with the exception of the following reservations, viz .- Two square miles at Cana- wagus, near Avon ; Two square miles at Big Tree ; Two square miles at Little Beard's town ; Two square miles at Squakie Hill ; The Gardow reservation on the Genesee river, containing four square miles : The Caneadea reservation, extending eight miles along the Genesee river, and two miles in breadth; A reservation at Cattaraugus creek and Lake Erie ; Another on the south side of Cattaraugus creek ; Also forty-two square miles on the Alle- ghany river, where Corn-planter resided ; and two hundred square miles, to be laid out partly at Buffalo, and partly at Tonawanda creek. The Indians also reserved the right of fishing on every part of the ceded territory.
The reservations of tracts of land named in the preceding treaty with the Seneca Indians, together with those which have been noticed in the account of treaties with other tribes of the Six Nations, have since, at different periods, been sold by the Indians to the State of New York, or to persons possessing the right of pre-emption, with the exception of two or three small tracts yet retained by the original possessors. The comparatively small remnants of the different tribes have gone from the land of their fathers. Some have removed to the British possessions in Upper Canada , others to the far West, to a territory assigned them by the government of the United States, beyond the settlements of white men. This territory is twenty-seven miles in width, and about one hundred and six in depth, adjacent to, and west of the State of Missouri. A few only remain within the State of New York, , lingering a little longer around their ancient council fires, and the graves of their ancestors. Wherever they are, their power is gone, their number is small, and their possessions are very limited. They are no more a terror to the white man, nor do they exercise a despotic sway over their red brethren. Should the chastisement of God upon them lead them to acknowledge his hand, and to em- brace the Lord Jesus Christ as their only Saviour, as it is believed has been the case with a small number of them, they might yet be saved from utter extinction, and might yet become a happy com- munity, rejoicing in the possession of the arts of civilized life, and the glorious hopes of the gospel of the Son of God. Christians should bear them on their minds, and labor for their conversion and salvation.
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CHAPTER II.
The Genesee County Settled at an earlier period than the Military Tract : Reasons for this Commencement of Settlement on Phelps and Gorham's Purchase. Or- ganization of Ontario County. Settlement of the Military Tract. Settlement of the Territory west of the Genesee river. Rapidity of Settlement; Causes for it. Some Hindrances, Sickness, Disturbance with the Indians. Treaty between the United States and the Six Nations. Construction of Roads. State Road from Utica to Genesee river. First Stage from Utica westward. Road from Genesee river to Buffalo. Ridge Road from Rochester to Lewiston. Some other Roads. Cayuga Bridge. Erie Canal. Railroads. Civil Divisions of Western New York. Notice of Whitestown, Geneseo, Northampton. Table respecting the Progress of Population.
IN the preceding chapter we have narrated the preliminary measures, which prepared the way for the immediate actual settle- ment of Western New York, with the exception of that part of the territory which lies south of the Military Tract, and includes the counties of Broome, Tioga, and Chemung, and a part of the county of Tompkins.
The settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, called the Genesee country, commenced somewhat earlier, and progressed with greater rapidity, at least for a season, than the settlement of the Military Tract. The Indian title to this purchose was ex- tinguished on the eighth day of July, 1788, whereas the extinguish- ment of the Indian title to the Military Tract was not completed till a period somewhat later. The regular settlement of the Mili- tary Tract could not commence till the whole territory had been surveyed into townships and lots, and these lots assigned to the officers and soldiers of the army who were entitled to them. On the contrary, the lands of Messrs. Phelps and Gorham required them to bring on settlers and dispose of their lands as speedily as possible. No person possessed such a personal interest in the set- tlement of the Military Tract. That portion of the United States, which was best prepared and most ready to furnish emigrants to a new country, was the States of Massachusetts and Connecticut. Mr. Phelps was a native of Connecticut, and extensively acquainted with its inhabitants ; but, at the time of his purchase, was a citizen of Massachusetts. Mr. Gorham was a native and citizen of Mas- sachusetts. The influence of these men would naturally be effica- cious in bringing on to their lands settlers from those states. The title to the lands of Messrs. Phelps and Gorham was indisputable, being established to them by the highest authority ; whereas, as it
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