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 13
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It could scarcely be otherwise, than that a man of such a gentle, genial spirit should be universally beloved and respected, and his memory cherished in the recollection of all who knew him.
The following notice of Buffalo in 1806, is from Mr. David Mather, and is copied from Turner's Holland Purchase :
"I settled in Buffalo, in 1806. There were then six- teen dwelling houses, principally frame ones ; eight of them were scattered along on Main street, three of them were on the terrace, three of them on Seneca street, and two of them on Cayuga street. There were two stores- one the 'contractors,' on the corner of Main and Seneca streets, kept by Vincent Grant, on the east side .of Main street. The other was the store of Samuel Pratt,
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
adjoining Crow's tavern. Mr. Le Couteulx kept a drug store in part of his house, on (the north side of ) Crow street. David Rees's Indian blacksmith shop was on Seneca street, and William Robbins had a blacksmith. shop on Main street. John Crow kept a tavern where. the Mansion House now stands, and Judge Barker kept one on the site of the Market. I remember very well the arrival of the first public mail that ever reached Buf- falo. It was brought on horseback by Ezra Metcalf .. He came to my blacksmith shop and got his horse shod. He told me he could carry the contents of his (mail) bag in his two hands."
MR. DAVID REESE.
Mr. David Reese probably came to Buffalo in the em- ployment of the Government as the Indian blacksmith. It had been the custom to furnish the Indians a black- smith, or gunsmith to repair their guns, axes, hatchets,. hoes, steel traps and other iron implements which their intercourse with the whites had introduced among them. In 1806, Mr. Reese purchased Outer Lot, No. 176, on Seneca street and built his blacksmith shop on the corner of Washington and Seneca streets, where the Post Office now stands, and where Mr. Pratt began his improvement the year before. This shop was a frame building, one story high, painted red, and has historic importance as being one of the two buildings not burned by the British in the war of 1812, and it served as a shelter for the wounded on that occasion, and some of the bodies of the killed were taken to that building before interment.
Mr. Reese built his dwelling upon the opposite corner of
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MR. DAVID REESE.
Seneca street, on Outer Lot, No. 93, a part of John- ston's lot. It is said this lot was given him by the In- dians, or by Johnston. Mr. Reese continued to carry on his blacksmith shop after the settlement of the village of Buffalo, and up to about 1823, when it went into other hands. The old blacksmith shop stood for ten or fifteen years after the war, the marks of which it bore in numer- ous bullet holes through the clapboards which constituted its covering.
In 1815, Mr. Reese had an unfortunate collision with "Young King," then a principal chief of the Senecas, residing at Buffalo Creek. Reese with others was return- ing from cutting grass upon the south side of Buffalo Creek, when they met an Indian, (probably intoxicated) for whom Reese had promised to do some small job of work in his blacksmith shop; in the dispute which fol- lowed, Reese struck the Indian with his hand or fist, which felled him to the ground. At this moment Young King rode up on horseback, and sharply remonstrated with Reese for what he had done, which exasperated him to such a degree, that he threatened to serve Young King the same way; upon which, Young King having dismounted, struck Reese on the head with a stick or club, upon which Reese seized a scythe in the hands of a bystander and struck Young King a severe blow across the arm nearly severing it from his body. The arm was amputated the following day ; Reese was prosecuted for the maiming, but through the influence of mutual friends the matter was submitted to arbitration, as appears by the following agreement :
" Whereas, divers controversies have existed and do now exist, between David Reese, of Buffalo, and Young
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King, a Seneca Indian, of and concerning a certain assault and battery, or mayhem alledged to have been committed on the said Young King by the said David, and whereas the said parties are anxious to finally settle and determine the same :
" Therefore, be it known that we, the said David and Young King, do hereby agree to submit, all and singular, the things touching the said assault and battery, or mayhem, to Augustus Porter, Joshua Gillett and Jonas Williams, Esquires, arbitrators, by the said parties, in- differently chosen, and to abide by any award or decision that shall be made by the said arbitrators, or any two of them, concerning the said controversy, so the said award be in writing under the hands and seals of the said arbi- trators, or any two of them, ready to be delivered by the 25th day of November, instant.
In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands the twenty-third day of November, 1815.
DAVID REESE, YOUNG KING.
CHAPTER X.
ORIGIN OF AMERICAN COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION ON THE LAKES.
Among the early chapters of this work we have given the account of the building of the first vessel that ever navigated Lake Erie, and a brief description of her first, (and as it proved, her last), voyage, for she never returned from her trip to Mackinac, but was lost in Lake Huron, with all on board.
We have no account of any other vessels being built by the French, but soon after the surrender of Niagara by the French to the English, they began the construc- tion of vessels for the purposes of war, as well as of commerce upon the lakes. There were probably more than one built at Navy Island, in the Niagara River. The English had several vessels upon Lake Erie in 1791, as we learn from Proctor's journal, and in 1796 they had quite a number of war and merchant vessels, as appears from the following from Mr. Weld's account of a few days' sojourn at Fort Erie, in the autumn of that year :
"Fort Erie stands on the eastern extremity of Lake Erie. It is a small stockade fort, similar to that at Chip- peway, and adjoining it are extensive stores, as at Chip- peway, and about half a dozen miserable little dwellings.
"On arriving there, I had no difficulty in discovering my companions (who had preceded him, in a boat, from
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Chippewa). I found them lodged in a small log house, which contained but the one room, and just sitting down to supper, they had procured through the assistance of a gentleman in the Indian department, who had accompanied them from Chippeway. This habitation was the property of an old woman, who, in her younger days, had followed the drum, and now gained a livli- hood by accommodating, to the best of her power, such travelers as passed by Fort Erie. A sorry habitation it was; the crazy door was ready to drop off the hinges, and in all the three windows of it, not one pane of glass was there-a young gentleman from Detroit having amused himself, whilst detained in the place by contrary winds, some little time before our arrival, with shooting arrows through them. It is not likely that these win- dows would be speedily repaired, for no glazier was to be met with nearer than Newark, thirty-six miles dis- tant. Here, as we lay folded in our skins on the floor, the rain beat in upon us, and the wind whistled about our ears, but this was not the worst. In the morning, we found it a difficult matter to get wherewith to satisfy our hunger. Dinner was more difficult to be had than breakfast-supper, than dinner. There seemed to be a greater scarcity of provisions, also, the second day than there was on the first.
" At last, fearing that we should be famished if we re- mained longer under the care of old mother Palmer, we embarked at once on board the vessel of war in which we intended to cross the lake, where although sometimes tossed about by the contrary, raging winds, we had com fortable berths and fared sumptuously every day.
"Ships lie opposite to Fort Erie, at the distance of about one hundred yards from the shore. They are
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ORIGIN OF LAKE COMMERCE-MR. WELD'S ACCOUNT.
there exposed to the violence of the westerly winds, but the anchorage is excellent, and they ride in perfect safety.
"Three vessels of war, of about two hundred tons, and carrying from eight to twelve guns each, besides two or three merchant vessels, lay wind-bound whilst we remained here.
" The little fort, with the surrounding houses, built on the rocky shore-the vessels lying at anchor before it- the rich woods-the distant hills on the opposite side of the lake, and the vast lake itself, extending to the far- thest part of the horizon-altogether formed an interest- ing scene.
" Whilst we were detained here by contrary winds, we regularly went on shore, after breakfast, to take a ramble in the woods. Oftentimes, also, we amused our- selves with the diversion of hunting squirrels, with dogs, amongst the shrubs and young trees on the borders of the lake, thousands of which animals are found in the neighborhood of the fort. The squirrels, alarmed by the barking of the dogs, leap from tree to tree with wonder- ful swiftness. You follow them closely, shaking the trees and striking against the branches with poles. Sometimes they will lead you a chase of a quarter of a mile or more ; but, sooner or later, terrified by your at- tentive pursuit, make a false leap and come to the ground. The dogs, ever on the watch, then seize the op- portunity to lay hold of them. Frequently, however, the squirrels will elude their repeated snaps and mount an- other tree before you can look around you. I have sel- dom known them to be hurt by their fall, notwithstand- ing that I have many times seen them tumble from
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branches of trees upwards of twenty feet from the ground.
"In our rambles we used frequently to fall in with parties of Seneca Indians from the opposite side of the lake, amusing themselves with hunting and shooting these animals. They shot them principally with bows and blow-guns, at the use of which last, the Senecas are wonderfully expert. The blow-gun is a narrow tube com- monly about six feet in length, made of a cane reed, or of some pithy wood, through which they drive short, slender arrows by the force of the breath. The arrows are not much thicker than the low string of a violin ; they are headed generally with little tri-angular bits of tin, and round the opposite ends for the length of about two inches, a quantity of the down of thistles, or some- thing very like it, is bound so as to leave the arrow at this part of such a thickness that they may but barely pass into the tube. The arrow is put into the end of the tube that is held next to the mouth ; the down catches the breath, and with a smart puff they will fly to the dis- tance of fifty yards. I have followed young Seneca Indians whilst shooting with blow-guns, for hours together, during which time I have never known them to miss their aim at the distance of ten or fifteen yards, although they shot at the little red squirrels, which are not half the size of a rat, and with such wonderful force used they to blow forth the arrows, that they frequently drove them up to the very thistle down, through the heads of the largest black squirrels. The effect of these guns appears at first like magic. The tube is put to the mouth, and in the twinkling of an eye you see the squirrel that is aimed at fall lifeless to the ground ; no
ORIGIN OF LAKE COMMERCE-JUDGE PORTER'S PAPER. 191
report, not the smallest noise even, is to be heard, nor is it possible to see the arrow, so quickly does it fly, until it appears fastened in the body of the animal."
The following paper, written by the late Judge Augus- tus Porter, gives the best account of the origin of Amer- ican commerce, upon Lake Erie, and the upper lakes, and is inserted in full, as worthy of preservation :
" I have resided in Western New York since the spring of 1789, and on the Niagara River since the spring of 1806. I first visited Lake Erie and Niagara River, in 1795, and from an early period till within the last thirty years, have been more or less interested in the navigation of the lakes.
" It is well-known that the military posts of Oswego, Niagara, Detroit and Mackinac were not surrendered to the United States until the fore part of the year 1796, under Jay's Treaty. Boats had not been permitted to pass Oswego into Lake Ontario, and as no settlements of importance had been made previous to that time on the American shores of the lakes, (excepting the old French settlements in the neighborhood of these ports, and they were under the influence and jurisdiction of the British government), no vessels were required and of course none were built.
"In August, 1795, I left Canandagna, in company with Mr. Judah Colt, on a journey to Presque Isle, Pennsyl- vania, (where Mr. Colt afterwards settled). The country west of Genesee River, excepting a tract twelve miles in width, extending from opposite Avon, along the river to its mouth, had not then been purchased by the Indians, and no roads opened. We of course followed the Indian trail to Buffalo.
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
" At that time the only residents at that place, so far as I recollect were William Johnston, the British Indian interpreter, whose house stood on the site of the present Mansion House, an Indian trader named Winnee, a negro named Joe*, also a trader, both of whom resided on the flats near the mouth of Buffalo Creek, and a Dutchman, by the name of Middaugh, with a family, who resided some forty or fifty rods east of Johnston's.
" A large portion of the ground now occupied by your beautiful city was then an unbroken wilderness. By advice of Mr. Johnston we concluded to go down to Chippewa, Upper Canada, to take passage in a small sail boat, and row boat owned by Capt. William Lee, with which he made several voyages to Presque Isle, (where settlements were just commencing) and had taken up the family of Mr. Reed, the father of Mr. Rufus S. Reed. Capt. Lee had no crew engaged and only made trips when he could obtain passengers enough able and willing to work their passage. Mr. Colt, Mr. Joshua Fairbanks of Lewiston and myself joined Capt. Lee. Leaving our horses at Chippewa, we set out on our voyage and reached our destination in safety.
" We found several families commencing their settle- ment at Erie, and a party of surveyors laying out the town, nuder the protection of a company of Pennsyl- vania militia, commanded by Gen. Irvine of Carlisle. While we remained, we enjoyed the hospitality of Col. Reed, in his marquee, his house not being ready to occupy.
" Without entering into further details, I will merely
*Ilis name was Joseph Hodge.
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ORIGIN OF LAKE COMMERCE-JUDGE PORTER'S PAPER.
add that we had a safe and pleasant passage back to Chippewa, and Mr. Colt and myself crossed the Niagara at Queenston, on our return home. At that time, I am not aware that a single vessel was owned on the United States side of the Lakes, and I remember that Capt. Lee, who would have known, informed me that there were none.
" In 1796, I was employed by the Connecticut Land Company, to survey the Western Reserve, and I pre- pared to go on, early in the season, with some other sur- veyors and a party of men to perform the work. At Schenectady, we fitted out three batteaux, manned with four hands each, with the necessary articles for the expe- dition, such as tents, blankets, cooking utensils, groceries, &c., &c., with a quantity of dry goods designed as pres- ents for the Indians.
" These boats were put under the eye of Mr. Joshua Stow, uncle of Judge Stow, of Buffalo. Understanding that the military posts of Oswego and Niagara, were to be given up to the United States early this spring, under a stipulation in Jay's Treaty, Mr. Stow took the route by way of Oswego and Niagara, to Queenston.
"On his arrival at Oswego, that port had not been surrendered, and the boats were not permitted to pass. Determined not to be delayed, Mr. Stow took the boats a mile or two up the river, and the night following, ran them past the fort into the lake, and pursued his voyage, and before he reached Niagara, that port had passed into the possession of our troops.
"He landed at Queenston, had his boats and lading taken to Chippewa, where he took in provisions to com- plete his cargos, which had been purchased at Canandai-
13
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
gua, and forwarded by way of Irondequoit and the lake, in open boats, and arrived a day or two before. At Buf- falo, he was met by others of the party, who had came on by land. Among these, Gen. Moses Cleveland, one of the directors of the Connecticut Land Company, (from whom the city of Cleveland took its name), who by way of securing the good will of the Indians to the expedi- tion, held a council and distributed presents among them.
"The expedition went on from here, part by boats and part by land, with pack horses, and arrived at the mouth of Coneaut Creek, on the 4th of July, 1796, and cele- brated the day. The party then consisted of fifty-two persons.
"At this time we ascertained there was not a white person residing on the Reserve, excepting a French fam- ily, just within the mouth of Sandusky Bay.
" One of our boats was employed during the season in bringing up provisions from Chippewa ; and in October, on her up trip, was wrecked in a gale off the mouth of Chetanque Creek, and Tinker, the master, drowned.
"No American vessels had yet been built, and some of the baggage and stores for the troops at Detroit had been transported from Western Pennsylvania, by the contractor, Gen. O'Hara, up the valley of the Big Beaver and through the wilderness, to Detroit, on pack- horses.
" One of the horses, that had strayed from the cara- van, and brandedl with the letters ' O. H.,' was taken np by one of our surveying parties, far up the river on the Reserve.
"The first America : craft that I know of as navi- gating Lake Ontario, was a Schenectady batteaux, fitted
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ORIGIN OF LAKE COMMERCE-JUDGE PORTER'S PAPER.
out for a trading expedition to Canada, in 1789, by John Fellows, of Sheffield, Massachusetts-its cargo mostly tobacco and tea. On arriving at the Oswego river, he ascertained that he would not be permitted to pass the British post at Oswego, and he manifested no little in- genuity and enterprise in overcoming the difficulty. He took his boat up the outlet of Canandaigua (lake), to what is now called -Clyde, where he built a small log house, (long known as the block house) to store his goods until he cleared out a sled road to Sodus Bay, whither he transported boat and goods, and pursued his voyage ; and, by the aid of some secret friends, disposed of his cargo to great advantage, and brought his boat back to Irondequoit Creek and sold it to a man by the name of Lusk, who had that year began a settlement at that place.
"In 1798, a small schooner of thirty tons, in which I had an interest, was built at Hanford's Landing, on the Genesee river, about three miles below Rochester, by Eli Granger, and called the Jemima.
" Between the years 1796 and 1800, (I am unable to particularize the year) the schooner Gen. Tracy was built at Detroit, and in August, 1808, purchased by Porter, Barton & Co., and thoroughly repaired, and on her second or third trip, was wrecked on the Fort Erie reef, in 1809.
"The brig Adams, a government vessel, was built about the same time as the Gen. Tracy, and was sailed by Capt. Brevoort for a number of years. She was built at Detroit.
" A small vessel, called the Good Intent, was built at Presque Isle by Capt. Wm. Lee, and I believe was
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IIISTORY OF BUFFALO.
partly, and perhaps wholly, owned by Rufus S. Reed. She, I think, was built about 1800, and was wrecked near Point Abino in 1805.
"In 1802 or '3, the schooner Gen. Wilkeson, of sev- enty tons, was built at Detroit, and, in 1811, thoroughly repaired and her name changed to the Amelia. One half of her was purchased of Solomon Sibley by Porter, Barton & Co., in 1811. She was sold to the United States during the war.
"In the winter of 1802-3, the schooner Contractor was built at Black Rock, by the company having the government contracts for the supply of the military posts, under the superintendence of Capt. Wm. Lee, by whom she was sailed until 1809, and afterwards by Capt. James Beard.
"In 1803-4, a small sloop called the Niagara, of about thirty tons, was built at Cayuga Creek, on the Niagara River, by the United States government, but not put in commission. She was purchased by Porter, Barton & Co., in 1806, and her name changed to the Nancy, and sailed by Capt. Richard O'Neil.
"In 1806, the schooner Mary, of one hundred and five tons, was built at Erie by Thos. Wilson, and pur- chased, the one-half by James Rough and George Bueshler, and the other half by Porter, Barton & Co., in 1808, and sailed by Capt. Rough until the war, and then sold to the United States.
" In 1808, Porter, Barton & Co. purchased the schoon- er Ranger of George Wilber, then several years old. She was repaired and sold by Capt. Hathaway.
"In 1810, the sloop Erie was built at Black Rock by Porter, Barton & Co., and sold to the United States in time of the war.
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MIR. JOIIN DESPAR-JUDGE TUPPER.
" The schooner Salina, sailed by Capt. Dobbins, and the schooner Eleanor-and probably others that I do not recollect-were built and sailed before the war; but I am unable to say when they were built or by whom owned.
" Messrs. Rufus S. Reed, Bixby and Murray, of Erie, and others whose names I do not recollect, built and owned vessels on the lake. Mr. Reed was largely interested in transporting over to Waterford and Pittsburgh. * *
" A number of vessels on both lakes, owned and armed during the war by the United States, were after- wards sold and employed in the commerce of the lakes."
Mr. John Despar, a Frenchman, came to Buffalo about the same time as David Reese, and probably was employed to furnish the Indians with bread. He was the first baker in Buffalo, and is undoubtedly the person spoken of by Seneca White. Despar's bakery was upon Johnston's lot, a little south of Reese's dwelling house, on what is now Washington street. He, like Reese, was probably permitted to build there by Johnston.
Despar remained in Buffalo until after the war of 1812, pursuing his business as a baker. Becoming quite dissipated in his habits, he removed a little out of town. He purchased Outer Lot No. 21, in 1807. He removed to a lot on what is now High street, after 1820, where he died soon atter.
Judge Samuel Tupper was an early settler in Buffalo. He purchased Inner Lot No. 7, in 1805. He had settled here a little previous to that time, it is probable. He took up Outer Lot No. 17 in 1808, and built a house upon the corner of Tupper and Main streets. He was
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
appointed a Judge at an early period, and it is believed he held the office until his death, in December, 1817. He had no children. An adopted daughter of his be- came the wife of Mr. Manly Colton, who occupied the old homestead many years after the death of Judge Tupper.
Mr. Vincent Grant was an early merchant, or trader, in Buffalo. He probably came here in 1805, and kept what was called the "Contractors' Store." He pur- chased Inner Lot No. S, in 1808, and built a store upon it, which was burned, with the rest, when Buffalo was burned. After the war, he re-built a cheap building upon the old foundation, on the corner of Main and Sen- eca streets-south side of Seneca and east side of Main. He continued there until after 1820, and died a few years after, at an advanced age, leaving no family.
Judge Zenas Barker, came to Buffalo, prior to 1807, as it appears from the books of the Holland Land Com- pany, that he took up Outer Lots, Nos. 76 and 77, July 1st, 1807.
Judge Barker kept tavern at a very early period, on the Terrace, near where John Palmer had kept before him. His house was on the corner of Main street and the Terrace. Mr. Barker had a large family of children. One of his sons, Jacob A. Barker, Esq., continued to reside in this city up to the time of his death, in 1859. HIe was well and favorably known among our business men, particularly upon the dock, being for a long time engaged in the commerce of the lakes. He possessed public confidence and respect in an eminent degree, hav- ing been frequently honored with the confidence of the people, by being elected to offices of trust and distinction,
JUDGE WALDEN. 199
among which was his election to represent the county in the Legislature of the State, which office he filled with credit to himself and the satisfaction of his constituents.
A daughter of Judge Barker became the wife of Major John G. Camp, who was an officer of distinction in the army of the United States, in 1812; he subsequently settling in Buffalo. Another daughter married the son of William Johnston, as has already been stated ; another married Capt. Hull, of the army of 1812, and another became the wife of Mr. Lyon. Mrs. O. G. Steele, it is believed, is the only descendant of Judge Barker, now living in Buffalo.
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