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 9
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"ERASTUS GRANGER.
"Indian Agent." " Buffalo, June 29th, 1812."
The following speech of Farmers Brother, delivered at
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
a council held at Buffalo Creek, in December, 1812, is certified by Hon. Erastus Granger. It was signed by all the principal chiefs and forwarded to the Secretary of War at Washington :
' TO THE HON. WILLIAM EUSTIS, SECRETARY OF WAR :
" The Sachems and chief warriors of the Seneca nation of Indians, understanding you are the person appointed by the Great Council of your nation, to manage and con- duct the affairs of the several nations of Indians with whom you are at peace and on terms of friendship, come at this time as children to a father, to lay before you the trouble we have on our minds.
" BROTHER :- We do not think it best to multiply words ; we will therefore tell you what our complaint is:
"Brother - Listen to what we say. Some years since we held a treaty at Big Tree, Genesee River. This treaty was called by our Great Father, the President of the Uni- ted States. He sent an agent, Col. Wadsworth, to attend this treaty, for the purpose of advising us in the business, and seeing that we had justice done us. At this treaty we sold to Robert Morris, the greatest part of our country. The sum he gave us was ten thousand dollars. The com- missioners who were appointed on your part, advised us to place this money in the hands of our Great Father, the President of the United States. He told us our Great Father loved his childen, and would take care of our money, and plant it in a field where it would bear seed forever- as long as trees grow, or waters run. Our money has heretofore been of great service to us ; it has helped us to support our old people, our women and chil- dren ; but we are told the field where our money is planted is become barren.
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FARMERS BROTHER.
" Brother - We do not understand your way of doing business. This thing is very heavy on our minds. We mean to hold our brethren of the United States by the hand, but this weight lies heavy ; we hope you will remove it. We have heard of the bad conduct of our brothers, towards the setting sun. We are sorry for what they have done, but you must not blame us; we have had no hand in this bad business. They have bad people among them. It is your enemies have done this. We have persuaded our agent to take this talk to your Great Council. He knows our situation and will speak our minds."
This was subscribed by about twenty chiefs, and an appropriation of eight thousand dollars was made to pay the arrears due the Indians for dividends upon the United States Bank shares, held by the President of the United States in trust for the Seneca Nation.
It is well-known that after the peace with Great Britain, in 1783, there was a strong party in favor of extirpating the Indians, or at least driving them out of the State. Gen. Washington did not sympathize with this feeling, but recommended a more humane policy.
In this he was seconded by several influential men in this State, and elsewhere, and his policy at length pre- vailed. In an interview with a deputation of the Senecas, President Washington addressed them in a speech, in which he recommended the Indians to forsake war and hunting, and live in peace and turn to the cultivation of the soil as a means of subsistence. He urged it upon them by saying that he himself was a farmer. He addressed himself to Ho-na-ya-was in particular, calling him brother. Wash- ington was called "the great farmer," and Ho-na-ya-was was his " brother ; " hence the name, " Farmers Brother."
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Farmers Brother died March 2d, 1815, at the Seneca Indian village, on Buffalo Creek, at the age of ninety-six years, and his body was buried with military honors in the old burial ground in the then village of Buffalo, the 5th Regiment United States Infantry, then stationed at Buffalo, performing the service on the occasion. It is said to have been the largest funeral procession that had ever been witnessed in Buffalo, up to that time. When all the remains were removed from the "old burying ground " to Forest Lawn, in 1851, the grave of Farmers Brother was recognized by the mark upon the lid of the coffin, which remained perfectly distinct. The figure of a heart enclosing the letters "F. B." made with brass nails driven into the wood; this was preserved, and buried with the remains in a grave separate from the mass of those that were unknown, which were buried in one general grave, and it remains to some future genera- tion of his white .brothers to erect a suitable monument to the memory of one who was distinguished in life, hon- ored in death, and the remembrance of whose high and noble traits of character are still cherished in the recol- lection of the few now living, who knew and appreciated a truly great man-whom Washington delighted to call his "Brother."
After the death of Farmers Brother, the most consid- erable of the chiefs of the Senecas was Capt. Pollard, (or Kaoundowana). He was a warrior of distinction and is known to have been present at the battle of Wyoming, and Cherry Valley. He was a cotemporary of Farmers Brother, though something younger. His name is his- toric from its connection with that of an English trader of distinction.
.
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CAPTAIN POLLARD.
Mr. Edward Pollard came out from England to this country about 1760. He appears to have been a man of business, and with his first shipment of goods for the In- dian trade he brought out several young men with him - some to be engaged in his service, and others to seek their fortunes in other pursuits.
One of the young men in Mr. Pollard's employ was Mr. F. Goring. It appears from letters of Mr. Goring to Mr. Pollard, preserved by the Historical Society of St. Catherines, C. W., that Edward Pollard was not only the father of " Capt. Pollard," by a Seneca woman, but that he also had at least three children by the celebrated Catharine Montour.
In a letter of Mr. Goring to Mr. Edward Pollard, dated at Niagara, Sept. 12th, 1779, is the following passage* :
" Yesterday Capt. Powell came in from Canawagoris, where he left Col. Butler, two days before, in perfect health and spirits. He informs me their first attack with the rebels was about fifteen miles from Shimargo, where Col. Butler made a breast-work, which the rebels ob- served, and with two six, and four three, pounders, and small mortars, in half an hour obliged Col. Butler to re- treat. On the same day, a few miles from this, Col. Butler attempted again to stop them, but in vain. In this attack, the Col. lost four Rangers killed, two taken prisoners, and seven wounded ; three Senecas and one Cayuga killed. Your son, John Montour, (not Roland) was shot in the back, and the ball lodges in hint ; how- ever, he is likely to do well ; for, in a few days after, he,
* See Appendix No. 5.
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
with twenty Indians, stopped the pass of the advance guard of the rebels, which was upwards of one thousand, and obliged them to retreat. In this action, Col. Butler and all his people were surrounded, and very near being taken prisoners."
It will be remembered that Roland and John Montour, two sons of Catharine Montour, commanded the party that captured the Gilbert family, as has been already re- lated, in 1780.
It seems that in 1774, Mr. Edward Pollard was in cor- respondence with Messrs. Phyn and Ellice, merchants of Schenectady ; and in their letter, addressed to him at Niagara, dated August 15th, 1774, they say : .
" As to your sons, we fear they have not been so for- ward in learning this year as we expected, owing to two causes that could not be foreseen. We intended sending them to the Jerseys last fall, if Mr. Parton, the clergy- man at Trenton, had wrote in time. We then deferred it, because of Mr. Doty's coming here, who is really a good and careful master. * * John is now under preparation for the small-pox."
And under date of Sept. 25th, 1774, they say :
" Agreeable to our last, your sons went to Albany in the morning, on their way to New York. Mr. Ramsy, of that city, is to put them to school in Elizabethtown. John had the small-pox favorably, and is perfectly recovered."
Under date of Dec. 28th, 1774, they write :
" Your children were well the 17th, when Mr. Ellice left New York." June, 1775 -"Your sons at Elizabeth- town were well last week." December, 1775 .- "Your
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CAPT. POLLARD.
sons were well when I was in New York, although I did not see them,"
It is evident that these were the two sons of Catharine Montour, who it would seem were sent to Schenectady to school, prior to 1774, and remained at school at least up to 1776.
It would seem that in March, 1780, Mr. Pollard had returned to England as we find a letter written by him to Mr. Goring, dated London 27th March, 1780 in which he says :
" By this conveyance I send Mr. Douglass to assist you. He supplies the place of Mr. Hamilton, who leaves you in June. He is recommended as a very worthy young man and dare say you will find him a good help- mate."
In the correspondence of the house of Phyn and Ellice, deposited with the Buffalo Historical Society by John T. Hudson; Esq., Mr. Pollard is spoken of under date of December, 1767, as a " suttler at Niagara," and from that correspondence extending through a period of eight or nine years, we learn that he had a wife and chil- dren at Niagara. He it would seem from that correspon- dence became pecuniarily embarrassed in his circum- stances and left the country probably before Sullivan's expedition in 1779. Whether his family accompanied him does not appear. That he had other children than those by Catherine Montour is certain. Edward and Robert were at school in Schenectady and his daughter Nancy, in New York, in 1772.
A young man of the name of Pollard was admitted to
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Episcopal orders, in Canada before 1800, is remembered by the oldest residents now living.
The following is the copy of a letter written by Mr. Pollard to Mr. Goring, to whom the business at Niagara appears to have been transferred :
" LONDON, 27th March, 1780.
"MR. GORING: - Inclosed you'll receive a letter from your uncle. I am sorry for the misfortunes that hap- pened your family. We must have resignation to bear up against such tribulations.
" I acquainted you from Canada of the uncertainty of my going into business, nor can I determine on this mat- ter till the fall, as it must depend upon the situation of things in your quarter, and the commissions I may have from thence. If the trade is safe and open, I shall wish to have you home next year ; till then, I should have you remain where you are.
" By this conveyance I send Mr. Douglass to assist you. He supplies Mr. Hamilton's place, who Jeaves you in June. He is recommended as a very worthy young man, and I dare say you will find him a good helpmate.
"For news, I refer you to Mr. Garner, my nephew, and the papers, for news from this part. I send out Mr. Garner, in hopes of his making something at Niagara. I wish him to go into the house kept by Mr. Clarke, the managing of which you can best inform him, and hope your good offices will not be wanting in promoting his interest.
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CAPT. POLLARD.
"My sons Edward and Robert will be at Niagara this season. I hope you'll all be happy. I shall expect from you all that's worth notice in the upper country. I have the pleasure to acquaint you that we are all well. The bearer will tell you where we are and shall be, and believe. me to be, with wishing you every happiness,
" Your Friend,
"EDWARD POLLARD." " MR. GORING."
CHAPTER VII.
Our history now approaches the period when Buffalo began to emerge from savage to civilized rule, The fol- lowing is the description of a visitor in 1792.
" We arrived at the mouth of Buffalo Creek the next morning. There was but one white man there. I think his name was Winney, an Indian trader. His building stood first as you descend from the high ground. He had rum, whiskey, Indian knives, trinkets, &c. His house was full of Indians. They looked at us with a good deal of curiosity. We had but a poor night's rest. The Indians were in and out all night, getting liquor."*
If the following statement is correct, there was no other white settler here until three or four years after this date.
Mr. Oliver Culver joined the company of surveyors and settlers bound to the newly purchased Connecticut lands in Ohio, at Irondequot Landing, in 1796.
The company had come by water, and were coasting along the south shore of Lake Ontario. On arriving at Queenston, they took their boats over the portage, pro- ceeded up the river to Buffalo Creek, "and coasted along the south shore of Lake Erie, finding no white in- habitant after they left the mouth of Buffalo Creek,
*Mr. Hinds Chamberlin-Turner's Holland Purchase.
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JOHN PALMER.
where there was one solitary family, until they reached Erie, where they found Col. Seth Reed."
It would seem, however, that Mr. Chamberlin must have been mistaken, as Judge Porter speaks of three houses in 1795, "Johnston's, Winney's and a Dutchman of the name of Middaugh." The latter occupied a house on Johnston's lot, near Exchange street, as we learn from other sources than those already quoted. Middaugh came from the North River to Lewiston, soon after the Mohawks removed from there to the Grand River, in Canada. There were two brothers of that name; they occupied one of the old houses left by the Mohawks "at Lewiston, and kept a kind of tavern there. From there they removed to Chippawa, in Canada, and from thence Michael Middaugh removed to Buffalo, his brother re- maining in Canada.
John Palmer, built his house here before 1795, accord- ing to Laincourt, who spent a night under his "inhospi- table roof." There were some other residents here at that time, as according to his statement, " milk was pro- cured from the neighbors." Palmer was undoubtedly the first inn-keeper in Buffalo. He came here from Fort Erie, as an Indian trader, when the principal article of trade consisted of rum and whiskey. He remained in Buffalo until 1802, as it appears from the public records, that the road was recorded as leading " from Batavia to the mouth of Buffalo Creek, near John Palmer's house." He was appointed one of the seven path masters, west of Genesee River, in 1801. He removed from Buffalo about the time of the first survey by the Holland Land Company. His wife was a daugliter of Lewis Maybee, who resided a few miles below Black Rock, on the
9
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Canada side of the River -a brother of Sylvanus or Sulphenus Maybee, who was an early settler in Buffalo. After the death of his first wife, which took place in Buffalo, Palmer married another daughter of Maybee, a sister of his first wife, with whom he lived until he removed to Fort Erie. After Palmer's death, his wife surviving him, went to live with her father, and kept what was long known as Mother Palmer's Tavern, five or six miles below Fort Erie, on the Niagara River. It is believed the property is still in the hands of the family.
The following letter to Mr. Ellicott, was written by a brother of John Palmer, who resided with him at the time, and not by the " worthy tavern-keeper " himself, as stated by Turner, in his " Holland Purchase : "
" BUFFALO, 11 August, 1801.
"SIR: - The inhabitants of this place would take it as a particular favor if you would grant them the liberty of raising a school house on a lot in any part of the town, as the New York Missionary Society have been so good as to furnish them with a school-master, clear of any ex- pense, except boarding and finding him a school house - if you will be so good as to grant them this favor, which they will take as a particular mark of esteem.
"By request of the inhabitants.
"JOS. R. PALMER. " Jos. ELLICOTT, ESQ."
"N. B .- Your answer to this would be very accept- able, as they have the timber ready to hew out."
This was undoubtedly the first movement in relation to schools in this city, and speaks well for the few "in-
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FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE IN BUFFALO.
habitants " here at that early day. This application was promptly complied with on the part of Mr. Ellicott, as we find an entry in his journal, under date of August 14th, 1801, of which the following is a copy :
" Went to Buffalo, alias New Amsterdam, to lay off a lot for a school house, the inhabitants offering to erect one at their own expense."
This school-house was erected on the ground near where the present dwelling of Mrs. Henry R. Seymour now stands, on Pearl street, which was then covered with oak trees, and shrubs, weeds and winter-greens. It was, when surveyed in 1803, included in Inner Lot No. 73. The school-house stood until Buffalo was burned, in the war of 1812-13. Application was made, under the law of Congress allowing compensation to the sufferers on the Niagara frontier, and an appropria- tion was made for the payment of seven hundred dol- lars to the school district ; but, in the mean time, the district had been divided, and a controversy arose as to the distribution of the money, which ended in a protracted law suit that absorbed the entire appro- priation in costs.
The name of young Palmer was Joseph Richards Pal- mer, and, it is said, he taught a school at Fort Erie for the children of the garrison. He died in Buffalo in 1813.
The following letter, written to John Palmer by Mr. Ellicott, is among the Holland Land Company's papers, . deposited with the Buffalo Historical Society :
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
COPY OF A LETTER FROM MR. ELLICOTT TO JOHN PALMER.
" PINE GROVE, May 4th, 1801. " MR. JOHN PALMER, Buffalo :
" SIR :- Should there be any of our batteaux intrusted to your especial care the fore part of the winter, 1799, now in your possession, I have to request of you, in con- sequence of the alinost continued demand we have for one, that you will deliver it to Mr. Asa Ransom.
"Should you, however, have disposed of them, or should they not be in your possession, or so situated that they are not to be had, please to pay him the amount your were authorized to receive for them, being twelve dollars apiece. We can then procure one for ourselves. His receipt for, thirty-six dollars shall be your dis- charge. Your compliance will oblige
" Yours, to serve, "JOSEPH ELLICOTT."
The following is Duke de Rochefocauld Laincourt's (a French nobleman) description of Buffalo in 1795 :
"We at length arrived at the post on Lake Erie which is a small collection of four or five houses, built about a quarter of a mile from the Lake.
" We met some Indians on the road, and two or three companies of whites. This encounter gave us great pleasure. In this vast wilderness, a fire still burning, the vestiges of a camp, the remains of some utensil that has served a traveller, excite sensations truly agreeable, and which arise only in these immense solitudes.
" We arrived late at the inn, and after a very indiffer- ent supper, we were obliged to lie upon the floor in our
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A FRENCHMAN'S IDEA OF BUFFALO IN 1795.
clothes. There was literally nothing in the house ; nei- ther furniture, rum, candles nor milk. After much trouble, the milk was procured from the neighbors, who were not as accommodating in the way of rum and can- dles. At length, some arriving from the other side of the river, (Fort Erie) we seasoned our supper with an ap- petite that seldom fails ; and, after passing a very com- fortable evening, slept as soundly as we had done in the woods.
" Everything at Lake Erie-by which name this col- lection of houses is called-is dearer than at any other place we visited, for the simple reason that there is no direct communication with any other point.
"Some were sick with fever in almost every house."
Judge Augustus Porter passed through Buffalo, on his way to Presque Isle, (Erie) in 1795. The following re- marks are taken from a paper prepared by him, at the request of a committee of the Buffalo Young Men's Association, and deposited in the archives of that society :
"We traveled on horse-back from Canawagas (now Avon) to Buffalo, and were two days in performing the journey. At Buffalo there lived a man of the name of Johnstone, the British Indian interpreter ; also, a Dutch- man and his family, of the name of Middaugh, and an Indian trader by the name of Winne."
As Judge Porter merely passed through Buffalo, at this time, on horse-back, apparently without stopping, it is not likely he mentions all the houses then erected.
Michael Middaugh, and his son-in-law, Ezekiel Lane, came to Buffalo from Canada, probably in 1794-5, and
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
built a house upon Johnston's land, by his permission, near what is now the corner of Washington and Exchange streets -east of Washington and north of Exchange. This house they gave up to the Holland Land Company's surveyors in 1798. It is believed Michael Middaugh had no male descendants, and that the name became extinct, so far as this locality is con- cerned, at his death. Lane had several daughters, who are remembered by our early inhabitants.
After leaving the "double log house," on Johnston's lot, Middaugh " squatted " upon the south side of Buffalo Creek, above the foot of Main street, probably by per- mission of Mr. Ellicott, where he remained until his death, in 1825.
The descendants of Ezekiel Lane claimed the land upon which Middaugh lived, on the west side of the Creek; and their contest with the heirs of Mr. Ellicott, ·or those who claimed to be the legal owners, gave rise to what was known as the " Middaugh land suit," which occupied our courts for many years, and was finally de- cided adversely to the heirs of Middaugh.
Some circumstances attending the death of Middaugh, led to an investigation by a coronor's jury, but no facts were developed to show that his death was attributable to any but natural causes.
Sylvanus Maybee came to Buffalo as an Indian trader, in 1796 or 7. Heis said to have " kept a little Indian store, in a log building on the west side of Main street, about twenty rods north of (the line of ) Exchange street." He bought Inner Lot, No. 35, in 1804, which is probably where he located himself at the time he is said to have kept a little " Indian store."
BLACK JOE-MR. ASA RANSOM. 135
Maybee came from Canada here, and it is probable that the Maybees, of whom there were two families, came from the Mohawk Valley, with others who adhered to the Royalist party. Sylvanus Maybee did not remain long at Buffalo Creek, but removed to the mouth of Cat- taraugus Creek, soon after 1800. James McMahan took the deed of Inner Lot, No. 35, which Maybee took up soon after the survey of New Amsterdam was completed.
Black Joe, a colored man, was an early resident at Buffalo Creek. His house, or cabin, stood near the bank of the Little Buffalo Creek, a little west of Win- ney's. He had an Indian wife by whom he had children. A son of his was killed in the war of 1812. He spoke the Seneca language extremely well, and was frequently em- ployed as an interpreter. Nothing is known of his early history, but he was supposed to be a runaway slave, as great numbers were held in the State of New York at that period. Joe removed to the Cattaraugus Creek Res- ervation, where he died at a very advanced age. It is be- lieved that none of his descendants are now living.
Mr. Asa Ransom appears to have settled in Buffalo, in 1798. He had emigrated from Sheffield, Massachusetts, in 1789, and established himself at Kanadesagea, (Gen- eva), where he had a shop "and was engaged in manu- facturing Indian trinkets." He could not have remained long in Buffalo, for in 1799, he appears to have been one of three persons who accepted of Mr. Ellicott's offer of a liberal donation of land to seven persons who would agree to open houses of entertainment for travellers at their several locations, " about ten miles asunder," "on the road from the Eastern Transit, to Buffalo Creek." Mr.
4
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HISTORY OF BUFFALO.
Ransom located himself, September 1st, 1799, on one hundred and fifty acres in township, No. Twelve, range six, at what is known as " Ransom's Grove," or Clarence Hollow.
The surveyors of the Holland Land Company made their head quarters at Ransom's, and it was a noted stop- ping place for emigrants passing from the States to Can- ada, which constituted the principal travel at this early period.
Turner says:
"As soon as Ransom had built his house at Pine Grove, Mr. Ellicott made it his head quarters. * * His appointment as local agent, took effect October 1st, 1800, at which time he commenced sales of land-a por- tion of Mr. Ransom's house being appropriated for his office, and Mr. James W. Stevens, whom he had brought on from Philadelphia, for that purpose, acted as his clerk ; Mr. Brisbane, occasionally acting in that capacity, though his duties were mostly at the Transit store- house."*
A daughter of Col. Asa Ransom, was born while the family resided in Buffalo, and is supposed to be the first white child born here. She became the wife of F. B. Merrill, Esq., who was an early clerk of Niagara county.
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