History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 10

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I > Part 10

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wango above Kennedy Mills. Below Ken- nedy's, two of these rafts were usually coupled together, one behind the other. Manned by two men, they would run down to Warren. At Warren, six of these Conewango rafts, contain- ing about sixty platforms, would be united by "coupling planks" and made to form one solid raft which was called an "Allegheny fleet." An "Allegheny fleet" was usually manned by a pilot, ten men and a cook. When the raft arrived at Pittsburgh, two and sometimes as many as five of those large Allegheny fleets would be coupled together to form an Ohio fleet.

To guide a raft, strong athletic men were needed for a crew-those who could pull quickly at the heavy oars when required. Much skill and a thorough knowledge of the river was necessary for the "pilot," or person in charge of the raft. The want of these quali- fications often resulted in shipwreck, and the loss of lumber to the owners. Pilots were picked men who made it the business of their lives to run the river during the rafting season. They all knew its windings, its channels, and its shallows. The Indians of the Allegany reservation were good raftsmen, and often made good pilots. Among the many good pilots whose services were in constant requisi- tion, were James Young, Freedom Morey, John Sheldon, John Fenton, Luther Clerk, "Joe" Tennison, "Hank" Johnson and Jesse Dean. Harrison Persons, familiarly known as "The Old General," a fine typical specimen of a river pilot, lived to a great age in the town of Ellery, which was his home for over sev- enty years. His first voyage down the Alle- gheny upon a raft was made in 1827. For fifty years he followed this vocation without a single year's omission. In one year he went down the river as many as nine times. After the third year he went in charge of the rafts as pilot, receiving from one hundred to two hun- dred dollars for his services each trip. His last voyage was made in 1876, when he was sixty-eight years of age. He made in all two hundred forty-seven trips down the Allegheny and Ohio. Before the period of railroads and stage coaches, raftsmen were accustomed to walk to their homes at the headwaters of the Allegheny after their trips. On his return journey, Mr. Persons walked from Beaver, be- low Pittsburgh, to Chautauqua county, one hundred forty-three different times. In 1840 he walked from Wellsville, Ohio, to his home in Ellery, in three days, averaging sixty miles a day. When in his prime he was a powerful

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EARLY FARMING PERIOD-1825-1835

and resolute man, six feet six inches in height, straight and well proportioned.

The business of lumbering in its various branches, from cutting the trees in the forest until it was marketed down the river, was a school in which a host of energetic business men were educated. The prosperity of James- town and all the southeastern part of the county is due to the active enterprise of these men. Commencing with Dr. Thomas R. Ken- nedy, Edward Work, James Prendergast, John and James Frew, a long list of names follows, which stand for business talent and energy : The Fentons, Garfields, Silas and Jehiel Tif- fany, the Budlongs, the Halls, Alvin Plumb, and Myerses, the Dexters, Joseph Clark, Dol- loff, Aiken, and many others. The reputation of these enterprising men of the county who received their business training in the lumber trade, often extended beyond the limits of the county. Many of them were known in West- ern New York, in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Some acquired a State and even a national reputation in other fields. Reuben E. Fenton, Governor of New York, and United States Senator. gained his first success as a ltimber- man. Philetus Sawyer, United States Senator rom Wisconsin, in early life worked as a hand n the sawmills at Kennedy and at Jamestown.

The business of the county in 1831 had rown so great, especially in the lumber sec- ion, that the people began to feel the need of bank to facilitate commercial transactions. amestown had then nearly one thousand in- abitants, eleven stores, one woolen factory, ne grist mill with three runs of stone, one ang sawmill, three common sawmills, two rinting offices, and a number of mechanical stablishments. It was the commercial center f a tract of country as large as Chautauqua ounty, which included a part of Cattaraugus nd Pennsylvania, that was exporting annually ,000,000 feet of boards, plank and sawed mber, $50,000 worth of lath, shingles, sash nd other merchandise to southern markets. · was estimated that about $250,000 worth of merchandise was annually imported into it.

The United States Branch Bank at Buffalo nd a State Bank at Lockport were the near- st banking institutions. There was no bank the southern tier between Orange on the udson and Lake Erie. Lumbermen were oliged to send to Buffalo, Canandaigua, and sometimes even to Catskill, to procure cash to hy their hands, and other expenses of ship- Ing their lumber. Judge E. T. Foote was at tis time a member of Assembly for Chautauqua ounty. Through his energetic efforts, assisted

by those of J. E. and Benjamin Budlong, Sam- ttel Barrett, Alvin Plumb, Ilenry Baker, Guy C. Irvine, Silas Tiffany, Samuel A. Brown and others, the first bank was established at James- town.

It was called the Chautauqua County Bank, and was incorporated by an act of the Legisla- ture passed in 1831. It was organized under the safety fund act, with a capital of $100,000, with the privilege of issuing bills to twice the amount of its capital. Elial T. Foote was the first president, and Arad Joy the cashier. This bank is the oldest in the county.

The Legislature in April, 1831, passed an act abolishing imprisonment for debt. This change in the law produced a most favorable effect upon the business conditions of the county.

The defeat of the State road by the Legisla- tuire was the beginning of the agitation of the construction of a railroad. Long years of doubt and despondency were destined to pass, however, before the consummation of this great enterprise. Nearly twenty years later the road was completed and another era of prosperity commenced, like that when the Erie canal opened to commerce. Walter Smith was one of the first projectors of the New York & Erie railroad, and the leading and most efficient man in the State to promote it. He spent the greater part of the winter of 1831-32 in Albany, bringing the importance of the road to the attention of the Legislature, and it was largely through his efforts that the railroad was char- tered, April 24, 1832. By his influence a clause was incorporated in the charter requiring the running of a certain number of trains into Dun- kirk daily, thus securing to it permanently and beyond contingency the benefit of the road. The wisdom of this provision is now apparent. Hon. Richard P. Marvin was also one of the first citizens of the county to appreciate the importance of a railroad and one of the first to make efforts to secure it. He addressed a meeting held at Jamestown as early as Sep- tember 20, 1831, of which Judge Elial T. Foote was chairman, at which it was resolved that application should be made to the Legis- lature for a charter. This was the first pub- lic movement made in reference to the New York & Erie railroad. It was through his efforts that the important provision was incor- porated in its charter, that the termination of the road at Lake Erie should be at some point between Cattaraugus creek and the Pennsyl- vania State line. The preliminary survey was made in 1832, by DeWitt Clinton, Jr. At that

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE

time there were but five thousand miles of rail- road in the world.

In 1832 the county poorhouse was erected. A farm had been purchased near Dewittville and near the east shore of Chautauqua Lake for $900. A substantial brick countyhouse ninety-four feet long and thirty-five feet wide was erected upon it at the expense of $3,500. December 21, 1832, it was opened to paupers. Its first boarder was Jacob Lockwood, a luna- tic, who remained there a permanent boarder for over thirty years. The first keeper of the poorhouse was William Gifford. He was suc- ceeded by William M. Wagoner, of Gerry. John G. Palmiter, Nicholas Kessler, A. M. P. Maynard and Willard Wood were early keep- ers of the poorhouse. Abiram Orton, William Prendergast, Solomon Jones, Thomas B. Campbell and Jonathan Hedges were appoint- ed the first superintendents of poor-all men of worth and prominence.

The prison rooms in the old court house were too contracted, had become dilapidated and insufficient for the detention of prisoners, so that by an act of the Legislature passed March 22, 1832, the board of supervisors was required to raise the sum of $3,500 for the pur - pose of building a jail; and $1,500 was subse- quently added to this amount, and a building erected in Mayville of brick, sixty feet in length, thirty-five in width and two stories high. It was well constructed and was then believed to be "impervious alike to assaults from without and pentup knavery within."

Twenty years had now elapsed since the court house was erected, and many of the citi- zens felt the need of a larger and better struc- ture. Upon their suggestion an act was passed directing the building of a new court house. By this act Thomas B. Campbell, William Feacock and Martin Prendergast were ap- pointed commissioners to contract for and superintend its erection, and the board of supervisors was required to assess and collect $5,000 for the purpose. The commissioners contracted with Benjamin Rathburn, of Buf- falo for erecting the exterior of the building. This work was done the same summer, and was accepted by the commissioners. The board of supervisors at its adjourned meeting in December, 1834, by a resolution, "disap- proved of the act of the commissioners in ex- pending the whole sum of $15,000 upon the exterior of the building." and asked the Leg- islature to "remove William Peacock and Mar- tin Prendergast from the commission, and ap- point Elial T. Foote and Leverett Barker in their stead." The Legislature thereupon

passed an act requiring the raising of an addi- tional sum of $4,000 to complete the building, and instead of removing the two commission- ers, appointed Mr. Foote and Mr. Barker as additional commissioners. With this appro- priation the court house was completed.

One of the last trials held in the old court house was the most celebrated that ever took place in the county. On April 24th, 1834, North Damon came into Fredonia in great haste and requested Doctors Walworth and Crosby to go immediately to the residence of his brother Joseph, about three miles from that village, not far from where now is Norton's station, on the D. A. V. & P. R. R. Upon en- tering the house they saw the dying wife of Joseph Damon lying upon a bed in the corner of the room, her hair, face, and the pillow upon which her head was laid clotted with blood, while Damon stood by, red-stained with the evidence of his guilt. A fire-poker which stood by the fireplace bore unmistakable signs that it had been made the instrument of the bloody deed. The bystanders, by the direction of Dr. Walworth, who was a judge of the county court, immediately took Damon in custody. He was indicted, and at the September term in 1834 was arraigned for trial for murder. By the evidence given, it appeared that Joseph Damon and his brothers followed the business of quarrying and cutting stone at a place still known as Damon's quarry ; that he was a rough, drinking man, and there was some evi- dence that he at times cruelly treated his wife. Late in the afternoon on the day of the murder, Joseph went to the house of his brother Mar- tin, who lived with their father and mother a few rods away, and upbraided them for mak- ing disturbance in his family and upholding his wife. He soon went out, and a few minutes later called to Martin and said, "For God's sake come in, I am afraid I have killed my wife." Martin immediately went into the house, and found Mrs. Damon lying upon the floor, bleed- ing profusely from wounds on her head. This was substantially all that was known about the murder. The two children of Damon. one a little girl aged eleven and the other a boy somewhat younger, were just outside the house, or near by, but were not sworn on the trial.

No tragedy that ever occurred in the county made so deep and lasting an impression. Over thirty years had passed since the first settle- ment, and no great crime had been committed by any citizen. The people were simple- minded and uncorrupted. Their moral sense was greatly shocked by Damion's crime. The

EARLY FARMING PERIOD-1825-1835

eloquent plea of James Mullett in defense of Damon contributed to render the case memora- ble, and the public execution that followed the jury's verdict, and which was witnessed by a great crowd of people, deeply branded it upon their memories. Addison Gardner, circuit judge of the Eighth Circuit, presided at the trial. Philo Orton, Thomas B. Campbell, Ben- jamin Walworth and Artemus Hearic, county judges, were associated with him. The jury- men were Solomon Jones, Thomas Quigley, Aretus Smith, Walter Woodward, Don S. Downer, Anson R. Willis, Daniel S. Rich- mond, Thomas R. Treat, Samuel S. Forbush. Isaac Cornell, Harvey Eggleston and Nathan A. Alexander. Samuel A. Brown, the district attorney, opened the case to the jury. Shel- don Smith, also of Jamestown, made the clos- ing plea in behalf of the people. Ten years before, in the city of Buffalo, was witnessed the remarkable spectacle of the public execu- tion at the same time of three brothers, Nel- son, Israel and Isaac Thayer, for the mur- der of John Love, a tragedy that has been cele- brated in prose and doggerel verse, and is as memorable in the annals of Erie county as is the hanging of Damon in Chautauqua. Shel. jon Smith, then a talented young lawyer of Buffalo, had assisted in the successful prose- cution of the Thayers, and was now the prin- cipal counsel in the prosecution of Damon. Jacob Houghton opened the case for the pris- ner, and James Mullett closed the case in his behalf. Mr. Mullett's address to the jury is probably the most eloquent and powerful one hat has ever been delivered at the bar of Chautauqua county, and will compare favor- bly, even in grace of style, with the best fforts of forensic oratory.

The lucid charge of the judge, the able argu- nent of the counsel for the people, and the ommon sense of the jury, rendered the power- ul effort of Judge Mullett to save the life of a uman being unavailing. Damon was con- icted of murder. The exceptions taken to ome of the rulings of the court on the trial rere reviewed by the Supreme Court, without favorable result to the prisoner. Sentence f death was pronounced at the Oyer and Ter- uner held in March, 1835, and the 15th day of lay following was appointed for his execu- on.

At the time fixed, a great crowd of people, stimated at from eight thousand to fifteen tousand, assembled at Mayville; one-fourth the population of the county, including any women, were present. The execution ok place in the open field at Mayville, on the

west declivity of the hill, not far from the Union School building, and on the easterly side of the street extending westerly from near the court house. The sheriff, William Saxton, called out the 207th Regiment of militia, com- manded by William D. Bond, to serve as guard on the occasion. Elder Sawyer, at the request of Damon, preached the funeral sermon. He preached at the gallows from Proverbs xi:19: "So he that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death." At the gallows, Damon had con- siderable to say ; among other things he claimed he was unconscious at the time he committed the crime. When the drop fell, the fastenings of the rope gave way, and Damon fell to the ground. He appealed to the sheriff to suspend his punishment, but the rope was readjusted, and the hanging completed.

It was a subject of so much discussion at the time and since, that a few more facts concern- ing Damon and his relatives may be of some interest. Joseph Damon was born at Worces- ter, Mass., March 18, 1800, the son of Stephen and Hannah Damon. He came with his par- ents and his three brothers, Stephen, Martin and North, to Chautauqua county in 1816. They all lived upon a farm in Pomfret, near the residence of Elisha Norton. Little is known about Stephen ; he was a half-brother of the others. Martin was a stone cutter, and fash- ioned many of the gravestones in the early burial places of the county, particularly in the old cemetery at Fredonia. These gravestones are recognized by the style of the work as well as the material out of which they are made. They are usually in a good state of preserva- tion, and are valuable as fine specimens of early skill.

The cholera for the first time visited Chau- tauqua county in 1832, and three persons died from the disease. It appears from the proceed- ings of the board of supervisors in 1834 that two certificates had been granted by justices for killing wolves, evidence that wild beasts had not ceased to contest the rights of occupa- tion with man. In 1834 Elijah Risley & Com- pany commenced raising garden seeds in Fre- donia. At first they used but six acres of land, putting up but seven hundred boxes of seeds. Their business increased so that for many years it was a leading industry of the county, and they became extensively known through the country as leading seed men.

In other chapters we noted the beginnings of the Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist churches, and also the early work of the Con- gregationalists. During the frontier and pio- neer periods these denominations carried the

CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE

Gospel to the remotest settlements, by mis- sionaries and ministers especially fitted for the work. It is true that these itinerant preachers were seldom learned men, but they had vigor- ous, practical minds, and were usually well versed in the Scripture. They were accus- tomed to a life in the backwoods and familiar with the ways of the pioneers. They labored unceasingly and unselfishly.

The traveling Methodist minister from 1800 to 1816 was entitled to receive but eighty dol- lars a year and his traveling expenses. His wife was allowed eighty dollars a year. An allowance was made to him of sixteen dollars annually for each child under seven years of age, and twenty-four dollars for each child be- tween seven and fourteen years of age. It is said, in fact, that he received not more than two-thirds of that amount, and yet for this pit- tance these men labored summer and winter with unremitting zeal.

Many of the early settlers were from New England or were of Puritan descent, and thor- oughly imbued with the old and established Calvinistic doctrines of that people. Between them and the Methodists, who were of a later and more liberal faith, there existed a strong antagonism, and a polemic warfare was waged for many years. The zealous and aggressive spirit of Methodism prevailed against all oppo- sition ; they made converts everywhere. For years the itinerant Methodist minister, mount- ed on horseback, with Bible, hymn book and saddle bags, followed forest trails, guided by marked trees, forded bridgeless streams, often camping in the woods at night, tired and hun- gry, enduring all the hardships and privations of the backwoods, to carry the Gospel to the pioneers. The remarkable scenes at their re- vivals and camp meetings, the great crowd of people who came to listen, the burning words of the preacher, awakening them to their lost condition, were long remembered and are prominent among the early events.

Not until the Early Farming Period, were there religious denominations other than those we have mentioned, established in the county. The first Episcopal (Trinity) Church was organized August 1, 1822. at Fredonia. Rev. David Brown (he who delivered the excellent address on the occasion of Lafayette's visit to the county), was its first pastor. The historic and interesting little church edifice of this de- nomination at Fredonia, the first in the county. was completed and consecrated in 1835. St. Paul's Church at Mayville was organized by the Rev. David Brown in April, 1823. St. Peter's Church of Westfield was organized

January 20, 1830; Rev. Rufus Murray was its first rector. St. Luke's Church of Jamestowr was organized by the Rev. Rufus Murray or the 5th of May, 1834; and St. John's Episcopa society was organized in Dunkirk in 1850, by Rev. Charles Avery. Two years later a church building was erected.

In 1851, prior to the completion of the New York & Erie railroad, a small frame building was purchased by the Catholics in Dunkirk The Rt. Rev. John Timon, Bishop of Buffalo liad at times before that visited the few scat tered Catholic families in the county. The arrival of many Catholics during its building and before the completion of the road mad greater church accommodations necessary The cornerstone of a spacious brick church o Gothic architecture (St. Mary's) was laid il Dunkirk by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Timon il July, 1852, which was dedicated in November 1854, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Young, under th invocation of the Seven Dolors of Mary. It first pastor was the Rev. Peter Colgan. Late a German Catholic and a Polish Catholi church were erected in Dunkirk. Catholi churches have since the completion of the Eri railroad been erected in Westfield, Jamestowr Silver Creek and in other villages in the county

In the Early Farming Period, Free Wil Baptist, Universalist and Christian Societie were organized. Elders Bailey, Barr and Hal liday were among the early popular minister of the latter denomination. Rev. S. R. Smit was perhaps the earliest promulgator of th Universalist faith in Chautauqua county. Rev Lewis C. Todd was a preacher of that denom nation, the editor of the "Genius of Liberty, a Universalist paper published in Jamestowi and also the author of several books on Un Versalism.

Religious organizations of the many othe existing denominations have been formed sinc the Early Farming Period. First Church c Christ, Scientist, was erected by the Christia Scientists in Jamestown upon a site donate by Mrs. A. M. Kent about the year 1894.

During the early periods, churches and mee- ings were as well attended and the sober dutie of life as fully performed as at the preser time, yet the people were not Puritanical. O the other hand, they were social and fond ( indulging in the few simple amusements tha the times afforded. An old paper advertise that "a living African lion will be exhibited : the tavern of Jediah Tracy in Mayville, Oct ber II, 1819: the only one of its kind in Ame ica. No apprehension of danger need be ente tained as he is secured in his substantial irc

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EARLY FARMING PERIOD-1825-1835

cage. Admittance 25 cents, children half price." Sometimes a single elephant was ex- hibited. It would be driven to the place of ex- hibition in the night, covered with a canvas so as not to be seen by the people on the way. These unpretentious shows excited much inter- est ; they were the forerunners of the caravan, a little later of the circus and finally the mam- moth hippodrome. Now and then a puppet show, a performance of sleight of hand tricks, and occasionally a public lecturer on some popular subject, would visit the little settle- ments. These entertainments were enjoyed with greater zest than the more pretentious amusements of the present day.

Dancing assemblages, or balls of the young people, were common and were simple and hearty affairs. Contra dances, as the monie- musk, Virginia and opera reels, and French four were the usual dancing figures performed. Square dances were uncommon, and round dances unknown. Roger De Coverly, Monie- Musk, McDonald's reel, the Arkansas Trav- eler, Rosin the Bow, and other ancient and lively tunes, played upon a single violin by a local fiddler, constituted the music.

The young men were an athletic, scuffling, wrestling race who delighted in nothing more than those ancient sports by which the backs and limbs of all stout-hearted youth have been tested since the days of Hercules. Wrestling was the popular outdoor amusement. practiced at every house and barn raising, town meeting and public gathering. During school days, a high school in athletics was always established outside the schoolhouse, where morning, noon and night, the boys quite as diligently plied and studied the wrestling art, as their books within its doors. Graduates from these old physical culture schools would come out on election and town meeting days to contest in the ring for honors of the town. Every school district had its champion, and no puny cham- pion was he. When General Training Day would come at Westfield, Sinclairville and James- town, strong and active young men would gather from far and near. Where the crowd was the thickest, some athletic young man of spirit accomplished in the art, would mount a peddler's cart and announce by way of chal- lenge that "of all the men he could see, there was not one that he could not lay on his back ; that he would be at the Boat Landing at one o'clock." Promptly on time the crowd would be there, and as promptly the dauntless young man himself, and boldly walk into the ring. No sinecure it was to hold one's own against all comers there, for ready for the fray were the

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History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 10

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc. Number of Pages: 649

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649