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 16
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The first court in the new county was held in June, 1808, in Landon's Tavern. The Judges were Augustus Porter, first Judge, Erastus Granger, Zattu Cushing, James Brooks and Martin Pendergrast, Judges. Asa Ransom, Sheriff, and Louis Le Couteulx, clerk.
"*AN ACT TO DIVIDE THE COUNTY OF GENESEE INTO SEVERAL COUNTIES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES, PASSED MARCH 11TH, 1808.
" 6 III. And be it further enacted, That the Court House and Jail, in and for the said County of Niagara, be erected in the village of Buffalo or New Amsterdam, in the said county ; provided the Holland Land Com- pany, their agent or agents shall within three years from the passage of this act, and at their sole expense, erect in the said village a sufficient and suitable building or buildings for a Court House and Goal for the said county, aud shall legally convey not less than half an acre of land where- on the same shall be erected, together with the said building or build- ings for the use of said county.
"§ V. And be it further enacted, That the first Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, for the said County of Niagara, shall be held at the house of Joseph Landon, in the village of New Am- sterdam, and until the said Court House and Jail shall be erected and cer- tified as aforesaid (in Sec. IV) the said Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace for the said county, after the first term of the said court, shall be held at such place in the said village of New Amsterdam, as the Judges of the said County of Niagara or a majority of them shall apppoint."
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
The Court House and Jail built by the Holland Land Company were completed in 1810. Mr. Juba Storrs speaks of the jail, in a letter to his father, in July, 1810 : " I suppose it would enhance the value (of property in Buffalo) in brother Zalmon's estimation (to know) that we have a very nice stone jail building." This jail was upon Washington street, a little south of the old Court House, and although attempts were made to burn it, when Buffalo was burned by the British, in 1813, it escaped entire destruction and was repaired after the war, and used many years. It was surrounded by a picket wall, made of round sticks of timber, set deep in the ground and sharpened at the top, probably a more secure prison than the one built since, and still in use.
It is difficult to obtain the means of illustrating the period of history now under consideration, although a considerable population had settled in and near Buffalo, but as yet no newspaper was published and no public records were kept.
The war of 1812, and the burning of Buffalo, which occurred at the end of the next year, destroyed all the pri- vate papers of individuals, so that among the records and papers of several families then residing in Buffalo, to which the author has had access, no papers of a date earlier than 1813, are to be found, therefore all the informa- tion in regard to the history of Buffalo, anterior to that date, could only be found in the Holland Land Com- pany's records or the few remaining papers left belong- ing to the late Hon. Erastus Granger, which have been placed by his son, Warren Granger, Esq., in the custody of the Buffalo Historical Society, who informs the author that many of the letters and papers left by his father,
233
MR. GAMALIEL ST. JOHN.
were taken or borrowed before he was aware of their his- toric importance, and never returned.
The names of purchasers of lots in Buffalo, in 1810, are William Best, Asahel Adkins, Asa Coltrin, Eli Hart, John Mullett, Gamaliel St. John, and Nathan Toles. Asa Coltrin was a physician and the partner for a time of Doctor Chapin. John Mullett was a tailor and the partner of Mr. James Sweeney. He purchased Inner Lot, No. 10. This lot was afterwards occupied by Mr. Sweeney and also by Sweeney & Efner who were for a long time known as the leading merchant tailors in Buf- falo. Mr. Thos. Kennett succeeded to that old established firm, and still continues the business near the spot where it was originally commenced.
Mr. Gamaliel St. John appears to have been in Buffalo prior to 1810, as his name appears in the records of the Holland Land Company, as the purchaser of Inner Lot No. 53, January 24th, 1810. It was upon this lot that he built the house that escaped the general destruction by the British, December 31st, 1813. The preservation of this house was owing to the courage and intrepidity of Mrs. St. John, who was then a widow with a large family of small children. Her husband had not long before been drowned at Black Rock by the capsizing of the scow used at the Ferry, in which Mr. S. seems to have been at the time interested. This accident occur- red by the drifting of the scow, by the force of the cur- rent, upon the hawser of a vessel lying at anchor in the rapids .*
.
*The following notice of this accident is copied from the Buffalo Ga- zette, of June 8th, 1813 :
"UNHAPPY ACCIDENT.
"On Sunday last, a boat upset by running foul the United States ves- sel Caledonia, anchored in the Niagara River at Black Rock. There
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Upon the approach of the British, Mrs. St. John, with her children remained in her house, and sent a message to the officer in command, who immediately visited her. She represented her situation to the officer as a helpless woman with a family of equally helpless children. This appeal to his humanity was successful, and a guard was placed over her house, and it was preserved from destruc- tion, the only dwelling spared in the town. Mrs. St. John was a woman of extraordinary energy and force of character. She lived to educate her children, (most of them daughters) and to see them well settled in the world. One of her daughters was the second wife of the late Judge Samuel Wilkeson, another married the late Doctor Foote, long the editor of the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser ; another married the late Capt. Jonathan Sidway-Mrs. Sidway is still a resident of Buffalo-an- other married Mr. Asaph S. Bemis ; she is the mother of Mr. E. S. Bemis, and Mr. A. S. Bemis, well-known citi- zens of Buffalo. One of the sons of Mrs. St. John resides in Lockport, Niagara County, and another is a resident of Buffalo.
Mr. Eli Hart was an early merchant in Buffalo. He purchased Inner Lot, No. 41, September 1st, 1810, and built a store upon it. His brother-in-law, Mr. John Lay, then a young man, had charge of the store and soon be- came a partner, under the firm of Hart and Lay. It is believed that Mr. Hart came to Buffalo from Oneida
were nine men in the boat ; one got on board the Caledonia, three saved themselves by swimming, and the remaining five were drowned, viz : Gamaliel St. John, (inn-keeper of this village), Elijah St. John, (son of the above), Adam Rhoades, of Swift's United States Volunteers, and two Regular soldiers."
235
MAJOR FREDERICK MILLER.
County, in this State. He did not remain permanently but subsequently removed to New York, where he became a prominent flour mer chant.
Mr. Lay remained in Buffalo and continued in the mercantile business under the firm of Hart and Lay, many years, but taking a fancy to travel in Europe, his place was filled for several years by a young man from New York, of the name of Cunningham, and the busi- ness was conducted under the firm of Hart and Cunning- ham. Mr. C.'s health failing him, he went to the West Indies, where he died. Mr. Lay died in this city leaving a wife and children. Mrs. Chas. Ensign is a daughter.
Mr. Frederick Miller came to reside at Black Rock at a very early period, but did not come to reside in Buffalo until 1810. His name appears as the first licensed ferry- man at Black Rock Ferry, when the State first began to exercise jurisdiction over it, in 1805-6. He kept the ferry, and a tavern at the ferry landing, until 1810, when he removed to Buffalo, as has been already observed. He remained however but a year, when he removed to the " Cold Spring," where he kept a tavern. During the war, he removed to Williamsville, and remained there till his death, which occurred in January 1836. Mr. Miller served during the war of 1812, in the army of the United States, in the capacity of Major of Artillery, hence his title by which he was afterwards known as " Major Miller." It was said that his men gave him the nick-name of " Major Squat," from the following circum- stance :
A battery had been erected upon the high bank of the river near the ferry, nearly upon the ground now occu-
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
pied by the Niagara Street Railroad building. The British had a battery directly opposite, and the two were hotly eagaged in bombarding each other. Major Miller stood upon the breastwork directing the firing, and with a glass watching the effect of their shots upon the ene- my's works, and at the flash of their guns, would order his men to squat behind their breastwork. The Major noticed that some of his men, in their excitement did not promptly obey the order to "squat;" he reiterated the order with emphasis, saying, " squat d-n you, or I'll squat you."
The Major was an uneducated man, but an energetic and useful officer, and much esteemed by the officers of the army. He left a large family of children ; Mrs. Gen. H. B. Potter, was a daughter, the late Capt. Wm. T. Miller, and Capt. Fred. S. Miller, were sons. It is believed that all his sons became sailors-the fruit of their early training on the river-and rose to distinction as masters of vessels, and steamboats. Major Miller's descendants are still numerous in Buffalo and have been active and influential, in all the stages of its history, in contributing in their several spheres of action to its growth and prosperity.
Mr. Ralph Pomeroy had traded in Detroit as early as 1808, but had formed so favorable an opinion of the lo- cality of Buffalo, that he determined to establish himself here, which he did in 1810. Samuel Tupper had taken up Inner Lot, No. 7, corner of Main and Seneca streets, in 1805 ; this lot Mr. P. purchased, and began the erec- tion of a house which he designed to keep as a public house or hotel. He completed his house and brought his
237
MR. RALPH POMEROY.
family on from Boston, where his wife then was, in the fall of 1811, and commenced to keep the hotel. His house became very popular, and was considered to be the best in all the country at that time. On the breaking out of the war, the next year, it became the resort of the officers of the army, and others who visited Buffalo, on business, or in pursuit of a place for settlement.
A call was made by the Government for volunteers, and troops of all ranks and arms, were hurried on to the Niagara frontier. Amongst the troops sent to Buffalo, was a company from Baltimore, called the " Baltimore Greens." It is said this company was composed almost entirely of men who were engaged in the great riot, in that city, a few months previous ; that they had been en- listed by the citizens of Baltimore for the double purpose of aiding the Government in the war, and to get rid of a very dangerous and troublesome body of men. This company came to Buffalo in the Summer of 1812 ; feel- ing but little the restraints of discipline, they visited the houses demanding food and drink of the inhabitants, as a right which they claimed as the defenders of the place against a foreign enemy.
Pomeroy being a man of stalwart frame, and not easily influenced or intimidated, peremptorily refused their un- reasonable demands, and in consequence became very obnoxious to the "Greens," and they threatened to help themselves to what they wanted. But Pomeroy, not in the least daunted by their threats, entirely disregarded them and ordered them out of his house. The few that were present left the premises threatening him with ven- geance. While the guests were at dinner, among whom were several officers of the army, an assault was com-
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
menced upon the Seneca street front by hurling an axe through the window, which fell directly upon the table. Instantly all in the room sprang to their feet. The mob rushed in from the Main street front, armed with clubs, bayonets, &c., and met with but little resistance from the unarmed company within.
An indiscriminate destruction of everything in the house immediately commenced. The mob helped them- selves to the viands upon the table, the liquors in the bar, and appropriated whatever they could eat, drink, or carry away. Tables, chairs, furniture of every descrip- tion, were demolished-the stairs torn down, the win- dows in the whole building, from bottom to top, were broken, and, to render the destruction more complete, the broken furniture in the upper story was piled in the middle of the floor and set on fire.
Among others at the table was Col. McClure. He ran to the stable, mounted his horse and rode into the house from the rear, and passing through into the front hall, in a loud voice commanded the rioters to disperse.
Col. Moses Porter was then in command here ; and while the mob were engaged in their work of destruction, some one ran down to Landon's (now the Mansion House) to notify him. He came up immediately, rushed in at the front, drew his sword-but apparently discovering the desperate condition of things, returned it to its scabbard, and hastened to the head-quarters of his men in the vicinity of the Court House.
He ordered out a company of artillery, with a six pounder loaded with grape-each man armed with a sword, and a pistol in his belt. They were ordered down Main street on double-quick time, and drawn up
239
MOB AT POMEROY'S HOTEL.
in line in front of the hotel, the gun being brought to bear directly upon the building and the matches lighted.
He then detached to the front a squad of men, under a subordinate officer, to enter the building and expel the mob. The first order given by this young officer was to " draw sword." In an instant, twenty blades flashed in the air. The next order, " forward quick !" followed immedi- ately. As they approached within a few feet of the door, the officer leaped in. Instantly the report of one or two pistols was heard. Soon the rioters began to jump from the windows; and, as the distance to the ground was · some ten feet, some would hang by the window sills and drop to the ground. Swords were seen hacking their fingers as they clung to the windows ; and the building was soon cleared of the mob-such of them, at least, as were able to escape.
Some were known to have been killed; others wounded ; but no inquiries were ever made into the affair-the action of "Old Blow-hard " (as Col. Porter was familiarly called) being generally approved.
Mrs. Abell, the sister-in-law of Mrs. Pomeroy, was confined to her bed in a back room of the house, and it was with difficulty that she was removed. She had been confined but a few days previous. Mrs. P. caught the babe and fled to a neighboring house on Seneca street. Mrs. A. was taken on the bed, by four men, and carried to the same place of safety.
As Mrs. P. was returning, she saw one of the mob breaking in the kitchen door. As the door opened and he was on the point of entering, she saw the arm of a
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
man, grasping a sword, thrust out, and the rioter fell dead on the spot, and was dragged away by his comrades.
Pomeroy escaped, and, by the advice of friends, re- mained several days at the Seneca village, on Buffalo Creek, a few miles from the town.
A guard of soldiers occupied the front part of the building for several weeks.
The fire was extinguished in the upper story by " Hank Johnson," who was a white man, and had lived with the Indians from childhood. A ladder was procured during the progress of the destruction, and placed upon the out- side of the building. Hank ascended it, and had just got his hands upon the sill of the upper window, when the mob discovered it and jerked the ladder from under him. He clung to the window and drew himself up, entered, and threw the already burning combustibles out of the window with his hands. He was rewarded by a present of ten dollars from the by-standers.
CHAPTER XIII.
-
We now enter upon a new era in the history of Buf- falo. Hitherto we have had no guide but the scanty records of the Holland Land Company. All the records, public and private, that existed in families or in the hands of private individuals, were destroyed when Buf- falo was burned at the close of the year 1813, and it is a noticeable fact, that in all the collections of papers, letters, &c., of families residing in Buffalo, which the author has examined, there is nothing to be found that dates prior to 1813, showing how sudden and complete the destruction of Buffalo was. But in 1811, the Buffalo Gazette began to be published by Messrs S. H. & H. A. Salisbury. A pretty full and perfect file of that paper, from the first number, which was published on the first day of October, 1811, has been preserved and deposited in the fire-proof vault of the Buffalo Historical Society.
Buffalo received a very important accession to its pop- ulation too, in that year, in the Grosvenors, Gen. Potter, Stocking & Bull, R. B. Heacock, and many others who became permanent residents here, in that year, and exerted a decided influence upon all the material inter- ests of Buffalo, thenceforward.
Mr. Abel M. Grosvenor, purchased the article for Inner Lot, No. 38, of David Mather, who took up the
16
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
lot in 1806, but the store of Grosvenor & Heacock, was at first opened upon the opposite side of Main street, not far from the present site of the store of Messrs. Sherman, Barnes & Co. Mr. Grosvenor had married the sister of Mr. Hleacock, and he reciprocated the compliment by marrying the sister of Mr. Grosvenor. A large family connexion was attracted hitler by . these families. Per- haps they had been induced to come by the Holts and the Cottons who had preceded them. These families had been connected by marriage before they came here. They all came from Columbia County, in this State- Indeed many of the emigrants that came in 1811, appear to have been from that neighborhood. Mr. Grosvenor was a large athletic man, and his resemblance in this re- speet to Mr. Ralph M. Pomeroy, the well-known keeper of a leading hotel on the corner of Main and Seneca streets, where " Brown's Buildings" now stand, nearly cost him his life.
Early in the war of 1812, Pomeroy had given offence in his hotel to some of the members of a company of volunteers from Baltimore, calied the "Baltimore Greens," (it is believed they were Irish), and the whole company were incited to resent the affront by mobbing and murdering Pomeroy in his own house, and they as- sembled to carry their threats into execution. As they were tumultuously passing down through Main street, Mr. Grosvenor happened to be on the street, and was mistaken by some of the mob for Pomeroy ; immediately a ery was raised, "There he is, kill the d-d Tory !" Instantly a rush was made after Grosvenor, who ran down upon the east side of Main street, toward his own store. Just before he reached it, his foot tripped and be
243
MR. ABEL M. GROSVENOR-MR. II. B. HIEACOCK.
fell ; the mob came upon and would have despatched him in a moment, had not some one shouted, " Don't kill him, it is not Pomeroy." It is said Mr. Grosvenor received a wound at the time which cansed his death, but the better authenticated account is that he lett Buf- falo soon after the riot, with his family, to escape the epidemie which was raging on the frontier, and died at the place of his former residence, by an attack of the disease he attempted to escape. Ile left two sons, Abel M. and Seth II. Grosvenor, now both deceased. Ilis widow still survives and is a resident of Buffalo, she having married Mr. Isaac Kibbe-Mr. George R. Kibbe being a son.
Mr. R. B. Heacock continned the business many years. after the death of Mr. Grosvenor, generally in connection with a partner. He was distinguished for great energy, enterprise and activity as a business man. He was prin- cipally instrumental in developing the hydraulic power in the eastern part of the city by means of a canal from the rapids of the easterly branch of the Buffalo Creek, which before the general use of steam, was used for manufacturing purposes. For many years he was a lead- ing and influential man in politics, having represented the county in the State Legislature. During a period of nearly a quarter of a century, Buffalo had few as active and influential men. His activity continued up to a period near his death, which occurred in 1853. Ile had a large family of children. Rev. G. W. Heacock of Buffalo, is a son, and the only one now living. Another son. Capt. R. B. Heacock, was killed in the War of the. Rebellion in 1864.
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Gen. H. B. Potter also came from Columbia County at the same time with Messrs. Grosvenor and Heacock. He had studied his profession in the office of the Hon. Elisha Williams of Hudson. Gen. Potter immediately opened a law office in Buffalo, and continued the prac- tice of his profession for a longer period than any other lawyer in Buffalo, and the records of his office exhibit the evidences of a regular, uninterrupted course of busi- ness hardly to be found equaled anywhere.
Gen. Potter became early identified with all the inter- ests of Buffalo, especially with the moral, religious and educational interests of society. In respect to these he was consulted more than any other man, and although he had an extensive law-office business during the whole period of his residence in Buffalo, and no man kept his business more snug and under his own control, he always found time to discharge all his public duties, and to attend to all the demands made upon his time in the dis- charge of the social duties of life. IIe was proverb- ially faithful and punctual in all his engagements, and possessed the confidence of all who knew him. He mar- ried in Buffalo in 1812, his wife being a daughter of Major Miller, of whom we have already spoken. He had several children, one of whom only survives, Mrs. Hon. Geo. R. Babcock. Gen. Potter, survived his wife, but a short time and died in 1854, at the age of 67.
Messrs. Stocking & Bull, came to Buffalo, in 1811, and .established themselves in the hatting and fur business, Mr. Joseph Stocking being the senior partner of the firm. He was the brother of Mr. Samuel Stocking, of Utica, in whose business Mr. Bull had been brought up. They
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MESSRS. STOCKING AND BULL.
bought Inner Lot, No. 11, on the corner of Main and Swan streets, which had been taken up by Daniel Lewis, and built a hat manufactory on the rear end of the lot, on Washington street ; their factory was just completed when the war broke out. This was considered an important business in Buffalo, at that time, and was the first of the kind established here, and has continued to be the leading house in that trade from 1811, down to the present time ; M. L. Comstock, 202 Main street being the present owner and representative of that old and respectable house.
Mr. Stocking was a widower, and somewhat advanced in life, when he came to reside in Buffalo. He was a man of an exceedingly mild and amiable disposition. He was one of the first elders in the First Presbyterian Church, and an active leading member of that society up to the time of his death, in 1832. He contributed, pecuniarily and in labor, more than any other individual to the erection of the old brick church, erected in 1828, and now occupied by that society. After his settlement here in 1811, he became the co-laborer with Deacon Cal- lender in sustaining public worship and establishing Sunday Schools, to which he devoted himself with a quiet, self-sacrificing zeal, up to the period of his death.
He had several children ; two only survive-Mr. Thomas R. Stocking and Mrs. E. A. Lewis.
Mr. Joseph Bull remained in Buffalo during the war or up to the time of the burning of Buffalo. He was appointed Captain of a military company, organized by Col. Chapin at the beginning of the war, upon the ap- pointment of Dr. Chapin to the office of Major of Vol- unteers by the Governor of the State.
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Capt. Bull gave satisfaction in the office to which he had been appointed, and proved an active, vigilant and brave officer. The company which he commanded, com- posed entirely of citizens of Buffalo, had to perform a great deal of guard duty, in the absence of any regular troops, in the early part of the war; and at every alarm, which were then frequent, he was always found prompt to respond to every call.
This company participated in several skirmishes with the enemy. It was in the engagement at Black Rock, the night before the surrender and burning of Buffalo. In this engagement, Capt. Bull was slightly wounded.
After the destruction of their manufactory in Buffalo, Stocking & Bull removed the manufacturing part of their business to Canandaigua, supplying their store in Buffalo from there. Capt. Bull never returned to Buffalo to reside.
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