USA > New York > Ontario County > Gazetteer and business directory of Ontario County, N.Y., for 1867-8 > Part 3
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
Exe. The seeker after the quiet and beautiful in landscape bestry. tved go no further than Seneca Lake and the charming country surrounding it, to find a realization of the most enthusiastic antici- pxCions. Canandaigua Lake lies almost wholly within the County. I: is about 16 miles in length and its shores slope gradually down 1 . the edge of the water, except toward the head of the lake. wiper tiny rise in steep bluffs 300 to 800 feet high. Its surface is this. feet above tide, and like Seneca Lake it affords the tourist a rare spectacle of natural beauty. Honeoye, which takes its name from: the Indian, Hane-a-yeh, lying like a finger; Canadice, from the lu- dian, Skane-a-dice, long lake, and Hemlock Lakes, are smaller bodies of water, and are each surrounded by hills and bluff's rising to a height of 500 to 700 feet above them.
The soil for the most part consists of a clay, sand and gravel loam, the result of the drift deposits ; and in the valleys and beau- tifully rolling uplands extending through the central and northern portions of the County, the loam is deep and extremely rich, form- ing a soil of great productiveness, and making this one of the finest agricultural regions in the State. Upon the hills in the south part of the County, the soil is made up principally of disintegrated shale and slate, forming a fine fertile grazing region. Upon the drift hills in the west, are some small sections covered with a deep, light sand, which is moderately productive. The geographical and geological features of this Co ty combine to render it eminently adapted to the various der ments of agricultural skill and labor, and few counties in the State excel it in the progress of scientific improvement as applied to the pursuits of agriculture. With that better understanding of the composition and wants of the soil. which is indispensable to a correct system of cultivation, the far- mers of Ontario County are improving on the methods of their fathers, and are keeping up and increasing the fertility of their lands. For many years wheat was the staple crop, but of late more attention has been paid to the production of the coarser grains, to stock growing and the cultivation of fruit. Grapes and hops are extensively cultivated in various parts of the county, Wool growing is receiving considerable attention, in some parts, and the fine breeds of sheep were introduced at an early period. As is usually the case in rich agricultural districts, the mannfac- tures are chiefly of a domestic and local character. Within a few years some attention has been paid to the improvement of the wa- ter power afforded by the Canandaigua Outlet and other streams, and important manufactories have been established, to which refer- ence will be made in the appropriate place.
The county seat is located at the beautiful village of Canandai- gua, at the foot of Canandaigua Lake, where several fine public buildings have been erected. In 1793, soon after the organization
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
of the County, a court house, jail and county clerk's office were built ; and in 1858 a splendid edifice was erected at the joint ex- pense of the County and the U. S. Government, containing a United States and County court room. jury and supervisors' rooms, U. S. District Clerk's and County Clerk's offices, Surrogate's office and post office. The building is of substantial and imposing appear- ance, being built of brick with iron and tile floors, and is entirely fire proof. The County Poor House is situated on a farm of 212 acres in the town of Hopewell, four miles east of Canandaigua vil- lage. It was established in 1826, and is capable of accommodating 250 persons, though the average number of inmates is 136. The present value of the property is about $25,000, and the receipts from the farm and the labor of inmates, in 1864, was $2,500. The main structure is of wood and brick, 40x84 feet, two stories and basement, with two wings, one of which is two stories, 32x60 feet, and the other one story and a half, 25x30 feet. There are also connected with the institution a large wood and wash house. two barns, corn house and all necessary outbuildings. A school house, 18x24 feet, has been put up, where a school supported by the interest of a fund donated by a private individual, is taught during the whole year. The building is in a pleasant yard, and is surrounded by fine trees. The sanitary arrangements and gen- eral management of the establishment are creditable to the County.
The principal works internal improvement in the County are the Erie Canal, which passes through the north-east corner of the town of Manchester, the N. Y. C. R. R., which runs through the northern and central portions of the County, the Canandaigua, Batavia and Tonawanda R. R., a branch of the Cen- tral, extending west to Tonawanda, and the Northern Central Railway, which connects with the New York and Eric R. R., at Elmira. There are several lines of plank road in the County, but as they were not made to pay, most of them have been abandoned. According to the census report of 1865, the population at that time was 43,316, the whole number of voters being 10,487, of whom 8,785 were native, and 1,702 naturalized. Out of the en- tire population, according to the same report, the number unable to read and write was 858.
Five newspapers are now published in the County. The follow- ing is a succinct account of the history of the Ontario Press :
The Ontario Gazette and Genesee _Advertiser was the first paper published in the present County of Ontario, and was started in Geneva in April, 1797, by Lucius Carey, and removed to Canan- daigua in 1792. The Impartial American, or Seneca Muscum, was published in Geneva in 1800, by Lucius Eaton. The Ex- positor was started in Geneva, Nov. 19, 1806, by James Bogart,
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
who, in 1809, changed it to the Geneva Gazette, and continued its publisher till Dec. 4, 1833. In 1827 it assumed the name of The Gazette and General Advertiser. It was published by John Greves and J. C. Merrill until 1837; by J. Taylor Bradt till 1839. and by Stone & Frazer a short time longer, when it was dis- continued. It was revived in Jan. 18-15, by Ira and S. H. Par- ker. Geo. M. Ilorton was at one time interested in its publi- cation, but it subsequently passed into the hands of S. H. Par- ker, who continued its publication till May 1, 1862, when it passed into the hands of Edgar Parker, by lease, who continued to issue the paper up to May 1, 1866, when S. H. Parker, the present publisher, again assumed its publication. It is now called The Genera Gazette.
The Geneva Palladium was commenced in 1816, by Young & Crosby, and was published successively by S. P. Hull, John T. Wilson and Connely, until 1828, when it was discontinued. The Geneva Chronicle was started in 1828, by - - Jackson, and continued two years.
The Independent American was published by C. Strong, in 1831.
The Geneva American was published by Frank Cowdry, in 1830.
I'he Genera Courier was established by John C. Merrill in 1830, and continued till 1839. Its publication was continued by Snow & Williams, Ira Will, Howlett & Van Valkenburg. Cleveland & Hook, and winthrop Atwell, successively, till Oct. 1854, when it passed into the hands of William Johnson, who soll to Look & Fay, Feb. 13, 1866. Look & Fay sold to J. W. Neighbor July 26, 1866, who in turn sold to R. L. Adams & Son. Sept. 5, 1866, by whom it is now published. It was published as a daily paper about six months in 1845-46. On the 15th of July, 1867, Messrs. Adams & Son commenced the publication of a monthly magazine of 32 pages, entitled "The Busy World." which is devoted to business interests and general literature.
The Herald of Truth (Universalist) was started at Geneva, in 1834, by Prescott & Chase, and continued till 1837, when it was removed to Rochester.
The Genera Democrat was issued by Stone & Frazer, during the campaign of 1840.
The District School Journal (monthly) was started at Geneva in 1840, by Francis Dwight, and removed to Albany in 1841.
The Genera Advertiser and Mechanics' Advocate, semi-weekly, was started by S. Merrill & Co., in 1811, and continued one Year.
The Genera Budget was commenced in' 1852, by Sproul & Tanner, and continued two years.
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
The New York State Intelligencer was published in 1848, and in 1850, a semi-weekly, called The Ontario Whig, was com- menced at Geneva, by William C. Busted, and continued till 1852.
The Geneva Independent and Freeman's Gazette was established in 1851, by W. K. Fowle, and continued by him till 1855, and by H. S. Moore till June 1857. It was afterward published by W. K. Fowle as The Geneva Ledger, but was discontinued a few years since.
The Gencra Daily Union was published several years by W. K. Fowle, by whom it was established in May 1858.
The Ontario Gazette and Genesee Advertiser was removed from Geneva to Canandaigua in 1799, and published by Lucius Cary till 1802. John Keep Goold then becoming the publisher, changed its name to The Western Repository and Genesee Advertiser ; and in 1803 it was again changed to The Western Repository. Jas. D. Bemis became interested in its publication in 1801, and in 1808 he issued it as The Ontario Repository, and continued it till 1828. It was published by Morse & Ward, Morse & Wilson, Morse & Harvey, up to 1835, and till 1840 by Chauncey Morse, who was succeeded by George L. Whitney, who in Jan. 1855 sold to H. G. Moore. The following month the office was burned, and the paper suspended. In the following May it was revived as The National New Yorke and Ontario Repository, by H. G. Moore and Dr. B. F. T , and in May, 1857, it passed into the hands of George L. Whitney & Son, by whom it was published till 1862, when it was purchased by J. J. Mattison, and merged in The Ontario Repository and Messenger.
The Ontario Freeman was established at Canandaigua, by Isaac Tiffany, in 1803. In 1806 it became the property of John A. Stevens, who changed its name to The Ontario Messenger. It was successively published by Day & Morse, L. L. Morse, B. W. Jones, and T. B. Hohn. The latter was succeeded in Nov., 1845, by Jacob J. Mattison, who. in 1562. added to it The Ontario Re- pository, and changed its name to The Ontario Repository and Messenger. It is now published by Mr. Mattison under the above title.
The Republican was started at Canandaigua in 1824, and was afterward published a short time by T. M. Barnum.
The Ontario Phanie was issued in Canandaigua by W. W. Phelps, in 1827. R. Royce soon becoming its publisher, changed its name to The Freeman. In 1836 it was united to The Reposi- tury.
The Clay Club, campaign paper, was issued in Canandaigua in 1844 ..
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The Seminarian, a literary monthly, was published in Canen. daigua, in 1851.
The Ontario County Times was established Jan. 1, 1852, by N. J. Milliken, and in 1855 sold to Wilson Miller, who changed it to The Ontario Times. In Feb. 1856, the office was burned. It was re-established May 1, 1856, by N. J. Milliken, and up to 1568- 1. was called The Ontario Republican Times, when it again assumed 1 the name of I'he Ontario County Times, and as such is now published by Mr. Milliken.
The Vienna Republican was started at Vienna, (now Phelp -. ) in Jan. 1831, by C. H. Lowre, and A. Kilmer. In 1832, it was published by J. O. Balch, and in 1834, changed to The Phelps Journal, E. N. Phelps, publisher, and soon after to The Pintus Journal and Vienna Advertiser ; in 1838 to The Phelps Democra! ; in 1845 to The Western Atlas. From 1845 to 1856, it was pub lished by Washington Shaw, Dillon & Phelps, and W. W. Red- field. It was changed to The Ontario Free Press, and is now pub- lished by A. V. Cooper, as The Ontario Citizen.
The Naples Free Press was commenced at Naples, in 1832, by Waterman & Coleman, and continued two years.
The Neapolitan was started in 1840, by David Fairchild. In 1845 it was sold to - Phelps, who changed its name to The Naples Visitor, soon after which it was discontinued.
The Village Record was published in Naples, in 1842, and The Naples Journal was published by R. Denton in 1851.
The Phelps New Der atic Star was started in Phelps, Sept. 3, 185S, by E. N. Phelps, but has been discontinued.
The territory included within the limits of Ontario County was originally occupied by the Senecas, the most numerous and powerful tribe of the Six Nations. Their chief village was Kanadesega, upon and just west of the present site of Geneva, at the foot of Seneca Lake. In the wars waged by this renowned Indian League, the Senecas bore a conspicuous par:, and especially incurred the bitter enmity of the French ovu- pants of Canada. In 1687, De Nouville, then Governor of " New France," at the head of 1,600 French soldiers, and 400 Indian allies, invaded the Seneca country by way of the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. An engagement took place in a defile near the present site of the village of Victor, resulting in the defeat of the Indians, though not without severe loss on the part of their enemies. De Nouville, marched onward, burned several In- dian villages, and soon retired from the country. The Indian tra- ditions state that but a detachment of the Sonecas was engaged in the conflict, the French retreating before the warriors could be rallied from the different villages. In the following year the Sene- das and their allies invaded the French settlements in Canada, and
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
took a bloody revenge on the despoilers, 1000 of the French being killed, and 26 taken prisoners and burned at the stake. In the progress of ensuing wars, the Six Nations were sometimes neutral, and sometimes allies of the English, and during the Revolution the Senecas espoused the cause of Britain. In 1779, Gen. Sullivan in- vaded their country from the south, and laid it waste, burning the villages, and destroying the crops. In a letter dated at More's House, Oct. 17, 1779, and containing General Orders, Gen. Wash- ington, says : "The Commander-in-Chief has now the pleasure of' congratulating the army on the full and complete success of Maj. Gen. Sullivan, and the troops under his command, against the Sene- ca and other tribes of the Six Nations, as a just and necessary pun- ishment for their wanton depredations, their unparalleled and in- numerable cruelties, their deafness to all remonstrance and en- treaty, and their perseverance in the most horrid acts of barbarity. Forty of their towns have been reduced to ashes, some of them large and commodious. Their crops of corn have been entirely de- stroved, which, by estimation, it is said would have amounted to. 160,000 bushels-besides large quantities of vegetables of various kinds. Their whole country has been over-run and laid waste; and they themselves compelled to place their security in a precipitate flight tothe British fortress at Niagara." In a succeeding letter to Gen. La Fayette, the Commander-in-chief says: "These unexpee- ted and severe strokes have disconverted, humbled and distressed the Indians exceedingly." ' ''ith the return of peace the force of
the Indians seemed ann" und, and their spirits completely sub- dued, and they gradually yielded to the eneroachment of the whites, till the last acre of their benatiful huntinggrounds, and the very graves of their fathers, passed out of their possession.
The tradition of the Senecas, regarding their origin is as fol- lows: They state that they broke out of the earth from a high mountain near the head of Canandaigua Lake, which is still venera- ted by the remnant of the tribe as the place of their birth. Thence they derive the name "Ge-nun-le-wah," or "Great Hill," and hence are called " The Great Hill People," which is the significa- tion of the word Seneca. At this hill. called Genundewah, the Senecas have always met in council, to holl intercourse, and offer up prayers, on account of its being their birth-place, and also be- cause of their miraculous delivery from total destruction by a huge serpent, which they say completely surrounded the fort at the top of the hill, its head and tail coming together at the gate. It lay there a long time, to the terror and amazement of the dwellers in- side, who at length attempted to escape, some with their imple- ments, others with their household furniture; but in marching out at the gate, all walked down the throat of the serpent. Two orphan children escaped this destruction by being left at the oppo-
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
site side of the fort, and they were informed by an oracle how to destroy the monster. They were to take a small bow and a qual- soned arrow, made of a species of willow, and shoot his snakeshift under the scales. They did so, and as the arrow pierced the shi. the monster became sick, and, extending itself, rolled down the hol, destroying all the timber in its way, disgorging itself and break !. : wind greatly as it went. At every movement a human head was disgorged and rolled down the hill, to its foot, where they lit . .. . day in a petrified state, having the hardness and appearas .. . stones. The pagan Indians believe that all the smaller serp !! sprang from the blood of the devastating monster which surround-i the fort. The two children who escaped, repopulated the earth. The traveler, in passing through Canandaigua Lake, as he approaches the great hill, will observe a sort of a ditch, or gully, extending from the base to the summit, which the Indians claim was the track left by the serpent in his ascent; and stones, resembling a head in shape, may be seen near the bank of the lake in great numbers. il to be the heads disgorged by the traditionary monster. The Safe- cas also had a tradition that previous to their origin, the country was occupied by a civil, industrious and enterprising people, who were also victims of this insatiate serpent, assisted by others of the same species. They believe that the Indians were then all of one nation. and spoke one tongue, but the same serpent, by an unknown influence. confounded their language, and thus occasioned their division- mto tribes.
By the terms of the chanter granted to the colony of Massachu- setts, the regions between its north and south boundaries. evner i. ing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, was embraced, and at the car. of the Revolution, Massachusetts laid claim to the title of this v. territory. The subsequent charter of New York conflicted w.h this claim, and hence difficulties arose which were finally set a meeting of commissioners held at Hartford, Conn., Dec. 16. 1; It was there agreed that Massachusetts should cede to New } the sovereignty of all the territory claimed by the former .: within the limits of the latter, and that New York shoul ! Massachusetts the property of the soil, or the right of pr .. of the soil from the Indians. This agreement covered all that of the State lying west of a line running north from the " ** 1 ; stone," on the line between New York and Pennsylvania, through Seneca Lake to Sodus Bay. This line is what is known as the " oli Pre-emption Line," to which constant reference is mole in ad the carly histories of this section of the country. 1. 1; - 2. Massachu- setts sold the whole of this tract, comprising 6,000.000 deres, to oli- ver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, for $1,000guy. In the follow- ing spring, Mr. Phelps left his home in Granville, Mass,, with men and means to explore the country thus acquired. Having collect-
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
ed, with considerable difficulty, the sachems, chiefs, and warriors of the Six Nations at Kanedesega, (now Geneva,) in July 1778, he concluded with them a treaty of purchase of a tract of 2.250,000 acres, bounded east by the pre-emption line, west by a line 12 miles west of and parallel with the Genesee River, south by the Pennsyl- vania line, and north by Lake Ontario. That part of the tract to which the Indians still held title, consisting of about two-thirds of the original purchase, was relinquished by Phelps and Gorham, and hav- ing reverted to Massachusetts, was re-sold by her to Robert Morris, in 1796, and subsequently formed what is known as the Holland Land Purchase. In 1789, at Canandaigua, Mr. Phelps opened the first regular land office ever opened in America, for the sale of land to the settlers. The system he adopted for the survey of his land into townships and ranges, after slight modifications, was adopted by the Government for the survey of all new lands belonging to the United States. When organized in 1789, Ontario was the first coun- ty set off from Montgomery, and embraced all that portion of the State lying west of the east line of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and included what is known as "The Genesee Country." Settle- ment commenced at the Indian village of Kanedesaga, (now Geneva,) in 1787. Two years thereafter, the land office at Canandaigua was opened, and settlement was soon commenced in various parts of the County. From this time onward settlers came in rapidly, being attracted by the beauty of the country and the fertility of the soil. Many of the heads of these > ioneer families had borne part in the Revolution, and, inheriting de the principles and firmness of their forefathers, whatever in reason and propriety they wished to accom- plish, their energy and perseverance was sufficient to secure. The vast forest was subdued, avenues of social and commercial inter- course opened, dwellings and temples of worship erected with unex- ampled rapidity, and in about seven years from the entrance of the first settler, a number of towns in Ontario County were fur- nished with well chosen public libraries. The spirit of these pion- eer fathers has descended to their children, and in the pursuits of business life, in intellectual culture and public spirit, the people of Ontario County are to be found in the advance guard of the army of Progress. Few incidents of general interest have occurred to in- terrupt the steady and continued progress of peaceful industry. The most notable of its later historical events, is its being the scene of the birth of Mormonism. Joe. Smith resided several years in Man- chester. and there occurred the pretended discovery of the gold plates of the Book of Mormon, Sept., 22. 1827. Brigham Young was a resident of Canandaigua for a long time, and the first regular Mor- mon society was formed at Fayette, in the adjoining county of Sene- ca, in the year 1830.
The present sketch of Ontario County would be incomplete
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ONTARIO COUNTY.
without some allusion to that strange person, Jemima Wilkinson, or "The Universal Friend," as she was called by her followers, who was the founder of a religious sect and the pioneer of all the Genesee country. She was the daughter of Jeremiah Wilkinson, of Cumberland, Rhode Island, and was one of a family of twelve children, her father being an ordinary New England farmer .- When she was in her twentieth year the entire family except her, had a severe attack of fever, during which she cared for them, and after their recovery was herself attacked and her life despaired of. In the extremity of her illness, according to her own account, when friends had assembled at her bedside to witness her death, it was suddenly revealed to her that she must "raise her dead body." She arose from her bed, and after offering a fervent prayer, called for her clothing and announced that her carnal existence had ended; that henceforth she was divine and spiritual, and gifted with the power of prophecy. She soon commenced traveling and exhort- ing, and her followers multiplied, many of them being good and prosperous New England farmers. After traveling through New England and Eastern New York, she spent several years near Philadelphia, with her followers, making proselytes wherever she went. Her authority over them was absolute, and on one occasion she proclaimed a fast of thirty days on bread and water, which was strictly obeyed. A writer in the "New Haven Gazette and Connecticut Magazine," of March, 1787, thus describes her : "She is about the middle size of women, not genteel in her person, rather awkward in her carriage; her complexion is good, eyes re- markably black and brilliant, hair black and waving, with beautiful ringlets on her neck and shoulders ; her features are regular and her whole face thought by many to be perfectly beautiful. As she is supposed to be of neither sex, this neutrality is manifest in her attire. She wears no cap, letting her hair hang down as has been described, and wears a neck-cloth like a man ; her chemise is but- toned at the neck and wrists, and her outside garment is a robe. under which it is said she wears an expensive dress, the fashion of which is made to correspond neither with that of a man nor woman. Ifer understanding is not deficient, except touching her religious fanaticism. She is very illiterate, yet her memory is very great ; artful in discovering many circumstances which fall out among her disciples." She required the greatest personal at- tention, one of her disciples generally performing her most menial service. Her preaching had but little connection and was lengthy, but, at times, zealous, lively and animated. She assumed to have two " witnesses," in all respects corresponding to those spoken of in Rev .. Chap. XI, 3d to 13th verse. In 1786, she sent out three of her followers to seek some unsettled region far from towns and cities, where she and her colony might locate. They accordingly
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