USA > New York > Erie County > Buffalo > An authentic and comprehensive history of Buffalo : with some account of its early inhabitants, both savage and civilized ; comprising historic notices of the Six Nations or Iroquois Indians, including a sketch of the life of Sir William Johnson, and of other prominent white men, long resident among the Senecas ; arranged in chronologial order > Part 12
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CHAPTER IX.
Mr. Erastus Granger came to reside in Buffalo in 1803. Previous to the election of Mr. Jefferson, the Grangers, then young men, had been engaged in the examination and perhaps survey of Virginia lands ; they having been largely purchased by capitalists in New England, where the Grangers resided. During their sojourn in Virginia, they became acquainted with Mr. Jefferson, and on his becoming a candidate for the presidency, the Grangers having returned to New England, warmly espoused his cause, and after his election he offered to do anything in his power for them, and as an evidence of the confidence reposed in them by Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Gideon Granger was appointed Postmaster General, and Mr. Erastus Granger was sent to Buffalo to exert his political influ- ence in favor of the party which had elevated Mr. Jef- ferson to power. His mission therefore to this locality was entirely of a political character. Mr. Granger had been quite recently married and his wife had died before he came to Buffalo. He located himself at John Crow's tavern as a boarder, it being the only place where he could obtain even the scanty accommodation afforded him. He was invested with all the offices then within the gift of the Federal Government.
He was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs,
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HON. ERASTUS GRANGER-HIS FAMILY.
Postmaster, and on the organization of the Collec- tion District of Buffalo Creek, he was appointed Col- lector of Customs for that District.
Most of the leading early settlers in Buffalo belonged to the Federal party ; consequently, Mr. Granger be- came the leader of the Democratic party in Western New York-Mr. Ellicott, so far as his quaker antece- dents and proclivities would permit, acting in harmony with him ; and the early correspondence between these two prominent men, for several years, was almost exclu- sively of a political character.
It does not appear, from the records, that Mr. Granger purchased lands until some time after his first set- tlement here. The first record is the purchase of Inner Lot No. 31, in July, 1805. He subsequently purchased other lands, including Lot No. 63, Eleventh Township, Eighth Range, one hundred and twelve acres, in 1810, and Outer Lots 90, 91 and 92, in 1809. It is believed that, in every case, he took a deed instead of an article of agreement, as was then the almost universal custom.
Mr. Granger, having located himself upon his farm lot, at what was called Granger's (or Four Mile) Creek, did not identify himself so much with the business inter- ests of the village as, perhaps, he otherwise would have. done. His position, however, was a prominent and in- fluential one, and gave him a public reputation superior to that of any other man at that early day.
Several of our early settlers who became prominent in the early history of Buffalo, brought letters of introduc- tion to Mr. Granger.
He married, for his second wife, the daughter of Mr. Nathaniel Sanborn, of Canandaigua-a lady of high
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character and accomplishments. His sons were the late Rev. James N. Granger, who survived him several years, and Warren Granger, Esq., who still resides in Buffalo.
It should be said of Mr. Granger that he filled the various public offices which he held with distinguished ability and fidelity. He was highly respected during a life protracted beyond the period generally allotted to man, and died lamented by all who knew him. His death occurred in 1823.
The following are Rev. Timothy Dwight's remarks, on his visit to Buffalo in 1804 :
" Buffalo Creek, otherwise New Amsterdam, is built on the north-east border of a considerable mill-stream, which bears the same name. A bar at the mouth, pre- vents all vessels larger than boats from ascending its waters. For boats, it is navigable about eight miles. Its appearance is more sprightly than that of some others in this region. The south-western bank is here a penin- sula, covered with a handsome grove. Through it sev- eral vistas might be cut with advantage, as they would open fine views of the Lake-a beautiful object. The prospect which they would furnish, towards the west and south-west, would be boundless.
"The village is built half a mile from the mouth of the creek, and consists of about twenty indifferent honses. The Holland Company own the soil. Hitherto they have declined to sell it, and until very lately, to lease it- Most of the settlers have therefore taken up their ground without a title. The terms on which it is leased are, that the lessee shall, within nine months, build a house' thirty feet front and two stories high, and shall pay (if I
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REMARKS OF REV. TIMOTHY DWIGHT.
mistake not) two dollars annually for each lot of half an acre .*
"The streets are straight, and cross each other at right- angles, but are only forty feet wide. What could have induced this wretched limitation, in a mere wilderness, I anı unable to conceive.
"The spot is unhealthy, though of sufficient elevation, and, so far as I have been informed, free from the vicin- ity of stagnant waters. The diseases prevailing here are those which are common to all this country.
"The inhabitants are a casual collection of adven- turers, and have the usual character of such adventuers thus collected, when remote from regular society, retain- ing but little sense of government or religion.
" We saw about as many Indians in this village as white people. The Superintendent of Indian Affairs of the Six Nations resides here.
"New Amsterdam is at present the thoroughfare for all the commerce and travelling interchangeably going on between the Eastern States (including New York and New Jersey) and the countries bordering on the great western lakes.
"The creek is frequently said to unite with the river Niagara I should say, as I believe every other man would, who spoke from his own inspection, that it unites with Lake Erie ; and that the river Niagara begins two miles further north at, or rather just below, Black Rock.+ Here the first perceptible current commences ; while at
* It is difficult to imagine where Dr. Dwight derived this information. Nothing in the records kept by the agents of the Holland Company would justify these statements.
t He evidently mistook Bird Island for Black Rock.
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
the mouth of the creek, the waters, unless agitated by the wind, are perfectly still, and have exactly the same ap- pearance as other parts of the lake.
" At Black Rock, a town which is a mile square, is laid out by order of the State into house lots. The lots are to be disposed of at public sale, in December of this year, upon terms with which I am unacquainted. Should they be equitable, the trade which I mentioned will soon centre here. Between this rock and the shore is the only secure harbor on the American, and a much better one than on the British side of the lake, within a great dis- tance. A road is already begun from this spot to Fort Niagara, at the mouth of the river, and will not probably be completed within a year. The period is not distant when the commerce of this neighberhood will become a great national object, and involve no small part of the interests and happiness of millions. I shall consider it more particularly hereafter. % *
"The prospect presented at Buffalo, is most attractive, notwithstanding the interruption named above. Directly opposite at the distance of two miles, but in full view stands Fort Erie, a block-house, accompanied by a suit of barracks and a hamlet. This collection of houses is built on a beautiful shore, wears less the appearance of a recent settlement, and exhibits a much greater degree of improvement, than anything which we saw west of the Genesee River. Beyond this hamlet a handsome point stretches to the south-west and furnishes an imperfect shelter to the vessels employed in the commerce of the lake. Seven of these vessels (five schooners, a sloop and a pettiaugre) lay in the harbor at this time, and present- ed to us an image of business and activity, which dis-
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REMARKS OF REV. TIMOTHY DWIGHT.
tant as we were from the ocean, was scarcely less im- pressive than that presented by the harbor of New York, when crowded with almost as many hundreds. Behind this point another much more remote stretches out in the same direction, exhibiting a form of finished elegance and seeming an exactly suitable limit for the sheet of water which fills the fine scope between these arms. Still further southward the lake opens in boundless view and presents in a perfect manner the blending of unlim- ited waters with the sky. Over these points, assembled as if to feast our eyes at the commencement of the even- ing after our arrival, one of the most beautiful collection of clouds ever seen by the votary of nature. They were of elegant forms and of hues intense and refulgent. The richest crimson fading into the tinges of the pink and the rose, adorned them on the one side, and gold burnished into the brightest brilliancy on the other. Several strata of these splendors extending over one-tenth of the hori- zon, lay above each other in the most fascinating variety of fantastical beauty ; while others, single, in pairs or in small groups, vied with the larger assemblages in con- tributing to the glory of the scene. Towards the south- west and the north-east two long ranges of leaden colored clouds, with fleeces of mist hanging beneath them, reached round two-thirds of the horizon. These at inter- vals were all along changed, sometimes gradually, some- times suddenly into the gayest crimson and the most vivid purple, alternated in such a manner as to defy the utmost efforts of both the pen and the pencil. The sky above of that pure bright aspect which succeeds a storm, when it becomes clear with a soft serenity, was varied from a glowing yellow, a brilliant straw color and a wil-
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
low green into a light and finally into a dark azure, the beautiful blue of autumn. Beneath all this glory the lake, a boundless field of polished glass, glittered alter- nately with the variegated splendor of the clouds and hues of the sky, softening and improving the brilliancy of both with inimitable delicacy and leaving on the mind the impression of enchantment rather than reality. Not a breath was felt, not a leaf trembled, not a sound was heard, not a fluctuation disturbed the elegance of the surface. A lively imagination would easily have fancied that a paradise might be found beyond this charming expanse."
Mr. Dwight evidently obtained his information in regard to the policy pursued by the Holland Land Com- pany in regard to the survey, settlement and sale of their land in New Amsterdam from some one who either did not possess the means of giving correct information or who had imbibed a strong prejudice against the company or their agent.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL PRATT.
Mr. Samuel Pratt, or as he was familiarly called, Capt. Pratt, came to Buffalo in 1804. He left his home in New England, in 1801, on a trip to Canada and the West , to purchase furs. On arriving at Montreal, he was taken sick, and was compelled to return home. But he started the next year, taking the same route, and coming up the St. Lawrence to Niagara, he pursued his way to Detroit, stopping on his way at Buffalo Creek. Having accom- plished the object of his journey, he commenced his return in the fall of 1803. Having been favorably
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CAPT. SAMUEL PRATT.
impressed with the appearance and commercial advan- tages of Buffalo, the impressions he received had been deepened by a visit to the West, which convinced Mr. Pratt, that here, was the key to the commerce of these vast inland waters, and on a second visit lie determined to establish himself here in the fur trade.
He decided to locate himself on the high bank, or ter- race, upon a lot extending from the top of the bank to the Little Buffalo Creek. This lot upon the Holland Land Company's survey of New Amsterdam, was desig- nated as Inner Lot No. 2, but upon most of our modern maps is designated Inner Lot No. 1. It is the same upon which the Mansion House now stands, embracing the land extending to what was then Little Buffalo Creek, now the Hamburgh Canal. In 1804, Mr. Pratt started with his family in an old fashioned two-horse coach for Buffalo. This coach long remained an object of curiosity, being the first ever seen in Buffalo. This journey was con- sidered by his friends and relatives as the height of folly and recklesness. The idea of taking a family of small children into a remote wilderness, beyond the pale of civ- ilization, and among savages too, was considered little short of desperation, and there were those who did not. hesitate to tell him he was crazy.
It is said he first commenced to make an improvement upon the corner of Washington and Seneca streets where the Post Office now stands, but being himself mistaken as to the location of lots 99, 100, 101, 102 and 103, which he had purchased, he removed to the corner of Seneca and Ellicott streets, where he built a large barn. At the burning of Buffalo, a frame, it is said, had but recently been erected; the timber being green,
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
it did not readily ignite and escaped the general confla- gration, and after the war, the frame was covered, and served many years as a place to pack and store furs It was subsequently used as the stable to the Franklin House, and quite recently gave place to a new brick structure, to be used for the same purpose.
Capt. Pratt had a large family of children. Two sons and three danghters still survive-Mrs. Hon. Orlando Allen being the youngest. Samuel Pratt, Jr., Paschal P. Pratt, and the late Hon. Hiram Pratt, all died in Buffalo, leaving families-Messrs. S. F. Pratt and P. P. Pratt, of the firm of Pratt & Co., and Mr. Lucius H. Pratt, being sons of the former, and grand-sons of Capt. Samuel Pratt.
The following notice of the death of Capt. Pratt is from the Buffalo Gazette of Sept. 1st, 1812 :
"DIED .- In this town, yesterday morning, Capt. Sam- uel Pratt, aged forty-eight years.
" Capt. Pratt was among the first inhabitants of this place. With them he cheerfully encountered all the pri- vations and hardships incident to the first settlers of a new country. The public spirit displayed by him, in whatever related to the improvement of the village and the convenience of the early settlers in its vicinity, will render his memory dear to all who knew him. It may, in truth, be said of him that to the wants of the indi- gent his hand was ever open-to their distresses, his heart was never closed. Ile has left a numerous family and many friends to mourn his loss."
Captain Pratt was a man characterized by great business enterprise and activity ; and his descendents have exhibited the same traits of character in an emi-
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CAPT. SAMUEL PRATT-HIS DESCENDENTS.
nent degree. The name of Pratt has stood conspicuous among the names of the business men of Buffalo, in all its history, from its earliest settlement down to the present time. They have identified themselves with its interests and its enterprises, and shared in all the vicissi- tudes of its prosperity and adversity, contributing largely to the development of its mercantile, commercial and mechanical resources.
The late Hon. Hiram Pratt, the youngest of the sons of Capt. Samuel Pratt, was twice elected Mayor of the city, after Buffalo received its charter. He was exten- sively engaged in the commerce of the lakes in the early history of steam navigation-was a banker of eminent ability, and a man highly esteemed by all who knew him. Like multitudes of others of our young, enter- prising men, he fell an early sacrifice to an over-worked mental and physical nature. The terrible pecuniary revulsions and disasters of 1837-8-9 proved too much for him, and he sank down under their weight-and died, almost without disease, in 1840, aged but a little over forty years.
The following is from the manuscript letter of Mr. Wm. Hall, of Cleveland, Ohio, written with his own hand in 1863, he being then eighty-five years of age. He visited Buffalo on horse-back in 1804 :
" At Buffalo there were perhaps twenty houses, of which only three or four were frame, one of which was occupied by a Mr. Pratt, who kept a small store. He had his aged parents with him, whom I saw.
"Some streets were partially laid out, but the whole were full of stumps, and no fences. We rode up the
12
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
creek some mile or two, and crossed to see a Mr. Leech, who was from Connecticut. Saw no craft, but one or two small boats, in one of which we crossed.
" Leaving Buffalo, we went to Black Rock, through woods-a small path-way, trodden mostly by Indians, with some appearance of wagons having passed that way. We crossed the river in a scow, with our horses to the Canada side, and found a good road, on the bank of the river, all the way to Chippewa, having spent the night a few miles previous to reaching there."
" LOUIS STEPHEN LE COUTEULX."
" Louis Stephen Le Couteulx de Caumont was born at Rouen, in France, on the 24th of August, 1756. He was the only son of Anthony Le Couteulx, a counselor at law, and delegate to the Parliament of Normandy. He was the head of the eldest branch of the Le Coutenlx family.
"This family, which originated in Normandy, was en- nobled in 1505, on account of some service rendered the government, with the privilege (usually denied to the no- bility) of engaging in commerce. It always enjoyed high distinction, and formed many alliances with distin- guished families in France, particularly with that of La Fayette.
" He was destined for the magistracy, but, having no taste for that occupation, entered the commercial house of his relations, who had establishments in France and many other parts of Europe. Understanding the Eng-
*From Turner's History of the Holland Purchase.
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MR. LOUIS STEPHEN LE COUTEULX.
lish and Spanish languages, he was sent to London and Cadiz, where he passed several years.
" In September, 178€, he married, in Paris, Miss Clouet, whose father held an honorable office in that city. She was a neice of Gen. Tonzard, who came to America with Gen. La Fayette, during the revolutionary war, and lost an arm in our service. This did not pre- vent him from remaining in the employ of our govern- ment until his death, which occurred in 1811.
" Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Le Couteulx was sent to the United States, to negotiate a settlement of accounts with the house of Robert Morris. He ar- rived, with his wife, at New York on the 15th of De- cember, 1786, and repaired to Philadelphia, whither his business called him.
" Having arranged the accounts with Mr. Morris, and being pleased with this country, he rented a house in Trenton, New Jersey, where he remained until the July following. He then purchased an estate in Bucks county, near Philadelphia, of about two hundred acres, called " La Petite France."
" Wishing to become a citizen of the United States, he made his first declaration on the 7th day of July, 1787, and eventually obtained his certificate of natu- ralization.
"The climate of this country not agreeing with his wife, he accompanied her to France, the 17th of Octo- ber, 1789, with his two sons, and returned alone to Phil- adelphia, the 17th of February following.
"He was among the first who introduced merino sheep into the United States, having imported a pair from Spain, in 1789, which he presented to Robert
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Morris. They were sent from Cadiz by the house of Le Couteulx-not without great difficulty and risk, as the Spanish government had forbidden their exportation, un- der severe penalties.
" Having arranged his business with Mr. Morris, and being fond of traveling, he set out on horse-back, accom- panied with a servant, and visited the greater part of the United States. This occupied him two years, a part of which time he spent among various tribes of Indians, for the purpose of studying their manners and customs. During this sojourn among the Indians, he was adopted by the Senecas. He wrote an interesting journal of his travels, which, unfortunately, has been lost.
" After finishing his travels, he established himself in business at Albany, in the spring of 1795, where he con- tinued to reside for many years.
" He set out in the month of September, 1800, with a large quantity of merchandize, destined for Detroit, where he had determined to reside, in case he found it a good market for his goods.
"The usual route of travel to Detroit, at that early period, was by way of Fort Niagara, Fort George and Queenston, to Chippewa and Fort Erie, where shipping could be obtained direct to Detroit.
" On landing at Fort George, on the 7th day of Octo- ber, 1800, he was arrested by the English, on suspicion of being a French spy, and sent (a prisoner) to Quebec, where he endured a rigorous captivity from the 4th day of November, 1800, until the 29th day of July, 1802, when he was released, in consequence of the ratification of peace between Great Britain and France.
"During his detention, strenuous exertions were made
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MR. LOUIS STEPHEN LE COUTEULX.
by his friends to procure his release, and the government of the United States in vain claimed his discharge as an American citizen.
" His affairs experienced sad derangement during his long captivity; but, with what he could save from the wreck of his fortune, he soon after purchased, from the Holland Company, several lots in the then village of. New Amsterdam (now Buffalo).
"Mr. Le Couteulx came to reside in Buffalo in the year 1804. Soon after, he employed some Canadians to construct him a frame house, opposite Mr. Crow's, on the site of the building now known as the 'Le Couteulx Block,' in which he lived until the burning of Buffalo, with his second wife, whom he married a short time after his release from his captivity.
" He was. soon after employed by the Holland Com- pany as an agent for the sale of their lands in Buffalo and its vicinity, and was appointed first Clerk of Niaga- ra county, the 26th of March, 1808, which office he con- tinued to hold until the war of 1812. He then removed to Albany, where he had still a small property, and re- established himself in business in that city.
"He received the appointment of Forage Master, in the service of the United States, towards the close of the late war, which he held until June, 1815.
" IIe was elected Sergeant-at-Arms by the Constitu- tional Convention of 1821, and also by the New York Senate.
" Ile soon after returned to Buffalo, where he resided until his death, which occurred October, 16th, 1839, at the age of eighty-four years. IIis wife had died the year previous.
*
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
"Thus have we sketched the prominent events of the life of Louis Stephen Le Couteulx, one of the earliest pioneers of Buffalo.
"He died regretted by all who were capable of appre- ciating his good qualities. As a private citizen, no one was more worthy of the general esteem and considera- tion in which he was held. He was a kind father, affectionate husband, and firm friend. He was honest beyond suspicion. As a Catholic, he strictly observed all the requirements of his religion, and especially those of the Gospel, which induced him to regard all the un- fortunate as his brethren, and to afford them assistance without reference to their religion. In the discharge of this public duties, he was distinguished for his integrity, his zeal and his affability.
" Although a foreigner by birth, no one excelled him in love of his adopted country, or more highly appreci- ated its institutions, and he was ever ready to sacrifice his personal interest for the general good. Some proofs of this may be found in the donations he has made to the city of Buffalo, and other corporations, for benevo- lent purposes. He was the founder of St. Louis Church. erected by the Catholics, on a large lot fronting on Main street, in the city of Buffalo, which he presented to the . Bishop of New York and his successors in office for that purpose, and for the construction of which he con- tributed a large share of the funds. He also gave an- other lot to the Irish Catholic congregation, on which they have recently erected a church.
" In acknowledgment of these benevolent acts, and to perpetuate his memory, the Common Council of the City of Buffalo procured his portrait to be painted, a
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MR. LOUIS STEPHEN LE COUTEULX.
short time before his death, and have placed it among those of the Mayors of the city, in the Common Council Chamber."
Mr. Le Couteulx was the local agent and confidential correspondent of Mr. Ellicott, in Buffalo, for several years, and his letters to Mr. Ellicott are marked with the pecu- liar characteristics of the writer. He was a gentleman of the old school, and a Frenchman in his manners and address. He acted as clerk of the county in the old county of Niagara, at a very early period, and the beauty of his chirography has scarcely been equaled by any incumbent of the office since. He purchased Inner Lot No. 4, and kept a small drug store. This lot was con- vey ed by deed of the Holland Land Company to his wife in 1815, and a portion of it still remains the property of his descendants.
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