USA > New York > Cattaraugus County > Historical review of Cattaraugus County > Part 5
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On February 20, 1845, Sheriff White and Judge Benjamin Cham- berlain came to the rebellious region requesting several of the indicted persons to follow them to Hinsdale, where he would be prepared to receive bail for them. The sheriff, probably because he saw no sign of his request being heeded, left the region and started for Ellicott- ville. After he left, a group of rebellious sympathizers appeared in Hinsdale to offer bail for the indicted persons.
On January 24, 1845, Alexander Chambers, William Gallagher and Henry Smith left Ellicottville for the Dutch Hill sector, having been duly authorized to make arrests. What happened the following day is explained by a newspaper of that time:
"The next morning they found the rebels ready on Dutch Hill to receive them, but in separate squads as guards to the several indicted persons. They attacked one squad of eight men and had a parley, a struggle and fight of about half an hour when, finding themselves like- ly to be overpowered, they drew their pistols, scattering the enemy, and secured their prisoners. The Indian alarm signal was soon given and the arresting party had not proceeded far before they found their road filled with men to oppose their progress and rescue the prisoners; but the speed of the horses and the determination of the party, sec- onded by their display of arms, broke the ranks of the enemy."
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This newspaper account states that they "secured their prison- ers" but gives no explanation of the fact that only one prisoner, Thomas McWilliams, was brought back to Ellicottville. Whether he was the only one captured or whether the others made their escape is not made clear.
While Chambers, Gallagher and Smith were on their expedition to Dutch Hill, Sheriff White was in Ellicottville making preparations for the return of the three deputies and their expected prisoners. Likewise, he believed it expedient to summon military assistance so as to be able to cope with any eventuality. It has been stated that the rebels threatened to destroy the courthouse and other buildings, in case any of the Dutch Hill element were brought into custody. One newspaper stated, "this combination has been variously estimated as numbering from 300 to 1,000 men, boasting their determination to resist the law and its officers at any hazard." It was also reported that the rebels had allied themselves with the Indians on the Allegany Reservation.
The mobilization of military strength which the sheriff and his aides effected at Ellicottville was swift and complete. Mounted mes- sengers left the county-seat for various sections of the county on Saturday about daybreak; at three o'clock nearly three hundred men had reported for service. Colonel Cook, of Springville, reported with over fifty men. It is stated that "singly, by twos and threes, and in squads they came. By midnight a force of about eight hundred men guarded the county-seat and its approaches from the southeast." Three pieces of cannon were placed in the courthouse yard, and troops were stationed at strategic points outside the village. It chanced that a large supply of mutton hams awaiting shipment, were being stored in the village at the time, and the high command "appropriated" these as a food supply for the troops.
It is said that some of the rebel sympathizers visited Ellicottville Saturday and Sunday; they probably were amazed and perhaps not a little flattered by the alarm which their conduct had caused. Sentries kept a watchful eye open for any sign of a march on the county-seat, but none was forthcoming.
By ten o'clock Sunday evening it had been decided that the time was ripe to take action against the rebels. Accordingly an expedition was fitted out to make its way to Dutch Hill by means of horses and sleighs, about thirty sleighs being employed. Chambers, Smith and Gallagher traveled in the first sleigh. The main body of troops fol- lowed, then the reserve forces. Col. Eldridge and Col. Dan Huntley were prominent leaders of the expedition. The total number of men making the trip, one of about twenty miles, was about three hundred, the remainder of the troops had been left to guard Ellicottville.
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It is stated that the Chambers-Smith-Gallagher trio rushed ahead, being anxious to gain distinction. Having reached the Dutch Hill region, these three proceeded to attempt the arrest of three of the rebels, one of whom put up a hard battle. Sheriff White and his guards then came to the scene and one of the guards fired a shot, either by accident or as a warning. This proved a serious blunder as the other rebels being sought fled at the sound of the gun and were not captured.
The expedition from the county-seat encountered no armed re- sistance at Dutch Hill and both Jacob and George Learn signed an agreement to take new contracts.
There is a legend to the effect that when the troops came to the George Learn home they found only an old man sick abed and a girl doing the household work. It has also been stated that by the time the expedition arrived, the Learns had become convinced that Hoyt and Nevins did have the authority to grant clear titles; whether the "conviction" was an intellectual one based on legal advise or a prudent one based on dread of military display might be open to question. At any rate, the Learn brothers agreed to sign new contracts and the force returned to Ellicottville. By the following Tuesday, the other indicted persons agreed to surrender.
But the troubles of this expeditionary force were not yet over. The journey back to Ellicottville by sleigh on this cold January night was a trying one. They arrived in the county-seat, cold and hungry, only to find that the old adage, "an army travels on its stomach," had been ignored by the forces left to protect the village; the above-men- tioned mutton hams all had been consumed by the time of their return. There was, however, no threat of physical disturbance over this curious incident and the citizen-soldiers were mustered out of service and returned to their homes.
Many people deemed the military preparations to be altogether out of proportion to the danger the authorities faced. By comparison, the British forces at the Battle of Concord in the opening stage of the Revolutionary War numbered about eighteen hundred, or con- siderably less than triple the number of men Sheriff White had mus- tered. The cost of the campaign to the county amounted to about seven hundred dollars. The sheriff and other officials were subjected to ridicule for many years because of what many considered their needless worries. On the other hand, many people, as well as certain newspapers, complimented the sheriff and his allies for the strong and courageous stand taken. Class-struggle of a similar nature had re- sulted in the sacking of the Holland Land Company's office at Mayville as well as an attack on the Batavia office of the same firm a number of years before, and reports were current that the Dutch Hill sym- pathizers had threatened similar destruction. A report that the hill
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people had allied themselves with the Indians was also taken seriously by some, and the sheriff felt obliged to take measures which would cope with any eventuality. The spirit of the rebel-sympathizers as displayed in certain meetings held in their communities was enough to cause any law enforcement official to be prepared for the worst. At any rate, the humor which the affair engendered may well be con- sidered as worth the price of seven hundred dollars which the county found it necessary to expend.
The Dutch Hill affair later became the subject of both drama and verse. Mrs. Dan Chambers, who at present lives in the former home of George Learn, wrote a play which was based on the excitement of 1845. This drama has been produced in Olean, Salamanca and else- where. George A. S. Croaker, of Conewango, wrote a long poetic treatise, sprinkled with both humor and satire, on the Dutch Hill War and its legends. Croaker's poem concludes with a word of praise for both the sheriff and the judge:
"Lord bless, with slumber sweet and light Judge Chamberlain and Sheriff White.
'Twas their wise counsel saved us all From sack and flame and murderer's pall. Long in the hollow of the hand Preserve them, Lord, to bless the land. And when they die (E'en great men must, By nature's laws returned to dust.) We'll sacrifice two fatted rams To deck their graves-with mutton hams!"
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SECTION ELEVEN DEVELOPMENT OF NORTHEASTERN TOWNSHIPS
General Joseph McClure and family were the first white settlers in Franklinville. McClure came from Massachusetts to Angelica in 1804, and the following year he built a log cabin on his new holdings in Franklinville. He afterwards opened the first inn in the town. The community, which became known as McClure's Settlement, continued to expand until the time of the War of 1812 when the growth of the frontier country was checked by the uncertainty of the government's ability to protect settlements from Indians. The cold winter of 1816 caused much suffering to the people of McClure's settlement; it has been said that this winter was the beginning of the term "Cold Catta- raugus," afterwards used to describe the county. A carding mill was established at Cadiz at an early date, and a thriving hamlet grew up in that part of the town. John Warner, who settled in Cadiz about 1809, is believed to have been the first settler in that hamlet. A post- office was established at McClure's settlement in 1820. Four years later the name was changed to Franklinville. A financial report of the town, dated October 4, 1820, lists the following expenses: "to Joseph McClure: Damage to house at town meeting, $10."
The village of Franklinville grew into a flourishing center of trade, and the passing of a railroad through the village gave it an im- petus to expand industrially. Ten Broeck Academy gave it a reputa- tion as an educational center. The village follows the New England plan, being built around a public square or village common. Frank- linville's incorporation took place in 1874.
The first settler in the town of Machias is believed to have been Timothy Butler, a native of Maine, followed by two others from the same state, Jeremiah Ballard and a man whose last name was Tiffany. In 1815 Joseph Kinne and his three sons also settled in the town. The outlet to Lime Lake was the chief source of water-power, and the first saw-mill, built by Andrew McBuzzell, was probably opened along its banks in 1820. In 1823 Daniel Potter opened the first grist-mill in the town. In the summer of 1820 Amarilla Brown taught the first school in Machias.
In the fall of 1828, the community was seized with alarm over the plight of the three Arnold girls. The three girls, the eldest seven- teen and youngest ten, had become lost in the woods while searching for wintergreen berries. After they had been missing for several hours, neighbors and friends joined in searching the countryside. The approach of evening was accompanied by a drenching rain, and as the evening twilight slowly faded into the weird darkness of night, the searching party was reduced in numbers to two, who continued search-
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ing for several hours after the others had left the forest. About ten o'clock the two searchers heard a scream coming from a distance and, not concluding whether the cry was that of a panther or one of the lost girls, they went to a home in Dutch Hollow where they stayed for the night. The break of day was accompanied by the renewal of the search by the two men. Members of a company of militia, sched- uled to drill in Machias that day, also joined in the search. Heading toward the spot from whence they heard the cry the night before, the two men soon found the three wanderers cold, hungry, drenched with rain, and overcome with exhaustion, but otherwise unharmed.
In 1830 the population of the township was quoted as 735; this. with less than 1500 acres of improved lands. Machias has become notable for the almshouse and insane asylum which were established there, which will be discussed in the chapter on social and educational conditions.
It has been claimed by one commentator on this section's history that the counterfeiting of money was practiced in Machias township at an early date but no details are given with regard to this law- lessness.
Lime Lake, according to local tradition, is the result of combin- ing three ponds into a body of water in substantially its present form, during the early days of settlement. A textile mill and both a lumber and grist mill have been operated by the power derived from its out- let, while the lake itself has been a source of a considerable volume of ice harvesting.
The earliest settlers in Freedom were largely natives of New Hampshire and Vermont. Among the early pioneers in this township who established permanent residence were Enoch Howlett, Rufus Met- calf, Earl Sawyer and Jonas Irish. Elihu Dagett, one of the pioneers who left the township soon after settling, is said to have dug up the recently planted potato seeds, so short was he and his family on pro- visions. Josiah Mead came to Freedom in 1823 and established a card- ing mill the following year. He later established a second carding mill, both of which probably were operated by water power.
Sandusky, Elton and Freedom are hamlets which grew up in the 1 town. Sandusky owed its origin to its position at the junction of Clear Creek with two of its tributaries.
Town meetings in the early days often were spectacular and demonstrative occasions. The following resolution, passed at the home of Gillet Hinckley of Freedom in 1821, while crude in its spelling and capitalization, nevertheless shows an understanding of local govern- mental administration which is one of the greatest bulwarks of Amer- ican democracy :
"Voted to have two roads layd out by Nathan Holmes last year recorded. Voted that swine should be free commoners if they ware
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yoked and Rung with a good and sufficient yoke and Ring. Voted, to raise $250 Road Money. Voted, to raise double the amt. of school money received from the State. Voted, to raise $10 on every bear killed by actual residents of the town. Voted, to raise fore Dollars to buy a Town Book.
Signed by :
William Price, Moderator Enoch Howlett, Clerk.
Benjamin Felch and Bethual Bushop were probably the first settlers in Yorkshire. In 1822, Isaac Williams built what appears to have been the first house in the town, at York's Corners. In 1825 the town board passed a resolution as follows:
"Aney Person Drawing lumber across aney Bridge in the town of Yorkshire, with a chain, without aney carriage under it, shall pay the sum of one Dollar for every such offense."
An early settler stated that one inducement which influenced his family in settling in Yorkshire was the number of pigeons which could be killed there. He stated that after his arrival, one of the principal articles of food was pigeons, which had been killed by attacking them with poles.
Two villages, Yorkshire Corners and Delevan, grew up in the town. A small hamlet also existed at West Yorkshire, the sight of a carding mill established by Lewis M. Fisk. Delevan, known as York- shire Center for many years, grew into a flourishing center of trade, especially after the completion of the Buffalo branch of the Penna. Railroad. It had been the sight of a distillery operated by Col. Hib- bard at an early date, and in more recent times it became the sight of a foundry manufacturing types and supplies for printing.
The suggestion has been ventured that a settlement was made in the town of Farmersville before the War of 1812, it probably being abandoned because of fear of the Indians. There appears to be no certainty regarding this reproduction of Raleigh's Roanoke Island colonization, however, and in view of the fact that the New York State Indians did not join in the hostile demonstrations of other tribes along the frontier, it would seem that the flight of these settlers was unnecessary. A fear of attack by Indians on the frontier was general, however, and this feeling retarded settlement in Cattaraugus County.
The first permanent settlement in Farmersville was made in February, 1817; Richard Tozer and wife, Peter and Cornelius Ten Broeck, Pegleg Robbins and Levi Peet being among its earliest set- tlers. When Richard Tozer and his wife came to their holdings, the framework of a cabin which had been erected proved insufficient to shelter them from the heavy snow storm which visited the region al- most simultaneously with their arrival. The snow soon reached a
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depth of about three feet and Tozer proceeded through the wilderness to McClure's Settlement, ten miles distant, where he obtained a few boards which aided him in finishing his cabin. Later Tozer built an addition on the cabin and opened a tavern in it; later he tore it down and built a hotel. He subsequently became the first supervisor of the town.
Farmersville Center and Farmersville Station were the only ham- lets of any size to grow up in the township, the latter owing its exist- ence chiefly to the B., R. & P. Railroad. The township never assumed importance in manufacturing. Citizens of Farmersville were to play an important part in the promotion of the temperance movement, the essence of which will be discussed in a later chapter.
In 1808 Solomon and William Rawson and their wives migrated from Cuba westward into Cattaraugus County, where they became the first settlers in the town of Lyndon. The Rawsons cut a road through the wilderness from Cuba, and it followed that these and subsequent settlers carried on most of their trade with the business places of Allegany County. Robert Brooks had in 1806 contracted with the Holland Land Co. for a tract of land in Lyndon, but it does not appear that he became a settler until the summer of 1815. The first school in the town was taught by Sally Brooks in 1815, the school being located "on the creek." The fact that the first saw-mill was compar- atively late on the scene indicates that the northeastern townships did not take an important part in the great lumbering industry which dominated the southern half of the county during the early nineteenth century.
There are indications of the early inhabitants of Lyndon suffer- ing from want of food during the years 1817-1818. The price of flour had risen until it became from $14 to $16 a barrel, and many of the Lyndonites are said to have subsided on milk, greens and leaks.
No hamlet of any size or importance ever sprang up in Lyndon. The surveyor-general's map of 1839 indicates a post-office being kept at Hopkins, but this was probably little more than a cross-roads stop- ping point. In the course of time Lyndon grew into a thriving dairy- ing community, the early difficulties having been overcome. Cuba and Franklinville both profited by the trade which the lack of business places in Lyndon brought in their directions.
As previously mentioned, the sight of the present village of Elli- cottville was selected by a commission as the most desirable location for the county-seat. This fact, in addition to the establishment of an office by the Holland Land Co. and later the general headquarters by the Devereux Land Co., greatly influenced the growth and importance of Ellicottville. In 1817 Baker Leonard completed a tavern at Ellicott- ville for the Holland Land Co., the expense of which was so great that
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the company refused to accept it. Upon their refusal, Leonard pro- ceeded to operate it himself. He also operated the first store in the village.
The Holland Land Co. office was opened in 1818 with David Good- win as agent. The new courthouse (later to become the town hall, which it still remains) was built in 1829. A small brick building which also still stands, was built next to the courthouse as a County Clerk's office.
A politico-social organization known as the "Independent Bach- elors of Ellicottville," was organized in 1848. At an early meeting, evidently when a local election was approaching, the following pro- ceedings took place :
"Resolved, that we, the unmarried men of Ellicottville, being un- encumbered with wives and the resultant attentions of married life, deem it our duty to lighten the burdens that have devolved upon the married men of this township by taking upon our shoulders the offi- cial duties of said township for the ensuing year.
"That the candidates presented by this caucus are worthy of the support of our citizens.
"That we will elect this ticket in spite of the opposition of mar- ried men and lamentation of spinsters.
"That every candidate who shall marry during the term for which he was elected shall give an oyster supper for the benefit of all the bachelors of said town.
" (Hereupon one of the candidates arose and expressed a desire to decline the nomination, when upon motion it was resolved that no candidate should be excused unless he make affidavit of his intention to marry within one year, and that the proceedings of this meeting be put in the papers of the village.)"
The bachelor organization proved a failure as far as political power was concerned, and the movement was short-lived.
Ellicottville was long considered the most important village in the county, and it was the first scene of a three-story brick building, the building occupied at present by the Masonic Lodge. It has been said that people came to Ellicottville from miles distant to see this sight, something previously unheard of in these parts. The movement of the county offices to Little Valley in 1868 was a great blow to Elli- cottville, but it partially made up for the loss by the promotion of in- dustrial enterprise. It became the scene of two last block factories, Murphys and Fitzpatrick & Wellers. The village was incorporated in 1837.
On May 11, 1890, a disastrous fire occurred which destroyed the Crawford House and caused considerable damage to other buildings.
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Bryant Hill was settled at an early date and was probably the first region to be cleared. A large number of Irish settled in the township, especially after the completion of the Erie Railroad, and established themselves in what grew into a thriving farming district. The hamlet called Ashford, or Ashford Junction, in the northern part of Ellicott- ville township, owed its importance largely to its location at the junc- tion of the two forks of the B., R. & P. Railroad. The name Ashford was given to the station because it was donated by the people of Ash- ford township, a few miles distant.
In the town of Ashford, the Shultus brothers, William and George, and Henry Frank and his two sons, were among the earliest settlers. The latter family were noted for their hospitality to travelers, pos- sessing a log dwelling at which those on their journey stopped for lodging. According to the census figures, the population of the town increased from 275 in 1825, to 1201 in 1835.
Villages in the town included West Valley, situated in the valley of Buttermilk Creek, and Riceville, sometimes called East Ashford, on Gooseneck Creek. A small settlement called Ashford Hollow, in the western part of the town, was known simply as Ashford in the early . days, that name later being applied to the hamlet at the junction of the B., R.& P. Railroad in the town of Ellicottville. At Riceville, Eugene Williams operated an ink manufacturing establishment for some time, thus adding another product to the county's list of small scale manu- factured articles.
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SECTION TWELVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTHWESTERN TOWNSHIPS
The earliest settlements in the town of Perrysburg took place along the road which had been opened by the Holland Land Co. It is quite probable that John Clark and his wife located along this high- way in 1816. Mrs. Clark was the only white woman in the town for several years and it is said that she did the baking for all the white inhabitants of the town. The Clarks left Cattaraugus County a few years after their arrival and went to the West. The first school in Perrysburg was taught by Olive Barton at an early date.
The village of Perrysburg, located in the south-central part of the town, became the scene of a factory manufacturing agricultural machinery, established in 1860 and swept by fire in 1882. A grape box factory also aided in giving Perrysburg an air of activity.
The first permanent settler in Persia was Ahaz Allen, a native of Lancaster, N. Y. He had settled in the Zoar valley, evidently intend- ing to dam the creek so as to have power for a mill, but he decided that the stream was unfit for a dam, consequently he settled elsewhere. Allen employed John Russell to build a log house in the present town of Persia and allowed Russell to occupy it until the following spring, at which time Allen and his wife left the Zoar for their new home, descending the creek in a canoe. During the War of 1812, Allen was drafted for military service, but Russell, taking into account the plight Allen would be in if he left his family in this wild country inhabited by Indians, agreed to substitute for him. Allen showed his apprecia- tion by paying Russell twice the price he had asked for. Col. Water- man, a native of Vermont, likewise settled in Persia, part of his hold- ing being within what is now the village of Gowanda. The Colonel, perhaps taking advantage of his military training, built a large double house, which he surrounded by a stockade, making a corral in which pigs, cattle and sheep could be safely kept from the ravages of wild animals. This curious lay-out was built near the point at which Thatcher Brook empties into Cattaraugus Creek.
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