USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I > Part 52
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Chautauqua
239,480
3,551|
1,844.17
432| 1,164.78
Clymer
88,000
1,092.97|
118,835
34,840
962.08
382,585
124,735
962.08
114,600
II4,600
882.32
Ellery
Ellicott
62,120
1,742
545.82
Ellington
290.43
French Creek
Gerry
Hanover
100,000
8,978
1,329.15
103,000
1,809
1,437.46
123,010 275,000
600
1,976.91
91,800
11,055
1,340.33
Harmony .
290,230
3,500.56
Jamestown
416,500
43,520
2,290.81
Kiantone
Mina
Poland
245,000
25,000
485.02
Pomfret ..
401.03
477,980
9,951 3,767.43
50,710 149,100
410.75
Portland
479,300
7,425
4,271.68|
3,245
1,352.53
Ripley .
Sheridan
120,000 118,746
3,024
1,711.89
74,000
940.17
Villenova
Westfield
521,227
4,225|
4,591.29
II4,950
7,280|
1,034.20
Totals
983,236|
33,953| 9,469.54||1,684,815|
90,462|18,113.31 ||3,365,222
208,375 |31,382.25|
826,160
35,815| 7,242.01
Dunkirk
102,700
13,780
791.35
110,825 17,000
1,809
812.53
350,000
2,641.17
I30,000
991.93
843-40
80,000
579.88
510,000
3,584.43
175,000
1,229.95
Sherman
Stockton
49,510 164,800
4,620
1,455-58
4,753.24
59,697
4,176.71
Cherry Creek
72,165
Franchise
This table shows that seven towns-Arkwright, Charlotte, Ellery, French Creek, Kiantone, Mina and Villenova-are with- out steam railway transportation facilities. Ellery, however, has the electric road, which crossed the town along the lake, Klantone also having an electric road.
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE COMPANIES' PROPERTY IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AS ASSESSED IN 1918
Western Union
Telegraph Co.
New York
Telephone Co.
(N. Y. & P. Tel.
& Tel. Co.)
Federal Tel.
& Tel. Co.
American Tel.
& Tel. Co.
Postal Tel. &
Cable Co.
Valuation
Valuation
Valuation
Valuation
Valuation
TOWNS
Assessors
Assessors
Assessors
Assessors
Assessors
Arkwright
$
114.00 $
$
$.
Busti
1,200
3,505.00
Carroll
1,500
800.00
3,500.00
Charlotte
720.00
500.00
Chautauqua
1,200.00
Cherry Creek
825
900.00
1,650.00
Clymer
Dunkirk
23,000
4,730.00
4,000.00
1,600.00
Ellery
800.00
970.00
Ellicott .
1,285
1,180.00
300.00
75.00
Ellington
300
300.00
4,630.00
French Creek
900
600.00
1,000.00
1,200.00
Harmony
4,700
100.00
Jamestown
Kiantone
Mina
Poland
2,180
890.00
2,100.00
390.00
Pomfret
7,300
1,200.00
2,500.00
Portland
16,400
1,200.00
5,300.00
1,100.00
Ripley
17,600
650.00
280.00
Sherman
Stockton
600
280.00
Westfield
12,659
Totals
97,049
19,169.00
8,700.00
20,830.00
1,565.00
Gerry
Hanover
6,600
Sheridan
Villenova
MISCELLANEOUS
HISTORY OF THE HOLLAND PURCHASE.
By Lieut .- Comdr. W. H. Faust, U. S. N.
France originally claimed that part of the United States in which the Holland Land Purchase was located, through the pioneer discoveries of the noted La Salle. Her rights were extinguished by the Treaty of Paris in 1763, so it is only necessary to inquire into the pro- prietary rights of the States of Massachusetts, Connec- ticut and New York to determine the right and title to the lands sold to this Dutch company.
King Charles II. of England granted a charter to Connecticut in 1662 which included all the land between Narragansett Bay and the Pacific Ocean, and lying between the parallels of latitude of 41° and 42° 02'. The southern boundary of the Holland Land grant is always deseribed as along the northern boundary of Pennsyl- vania which is given as the 42° parallel of latitude. It will be seen from this that the State of Connecticut had claim to a narrow strip of land only two miles wide along the whole southern boundary of New York State. Con- necticut "sold its right to this strip of land to certain parties who erected one of the beautiful capitol buildings of the State of Connecticut as part consideration for the purchase price, and this unrelinquished but unprosecuted right to the southern border of our county is still held by their heirs." (Cent. Hist.) If this is true, then this narrow strip was claimed by the four States of Penn- sylvania, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts, and not by the latter two only. It is singular that no mention is made of this Connecticut claim in the "Deduction of the Titles of the Several Traets of Land in the State of New York Composing the Traet of Country Called the Holland Purchase", printed by S. Gould, undated, but published presumably about the time the attached map was revised in 1829. As long as this alleged claim has remained quiescent for so many years, it seems unneces- sary to look further into its validity.
The title to a large portion of the territory within the now acknowledged limits of the State of New York, including the whole of the Genesee country, was a sub- jeet of controversy between the provinces of New York and Massachusetts, both as to the right of property and
NOTE-This history is a compilation of references to the Holland Purchase, the Holland Land Company, and the latter's successor in Chautauqua county, the Chautauqua Land Company, taken from various his- tories and documents, and no originality whatever is claimed in its production. Whole sentences, para- graphs and pages have been taken verbatim from documents that form part of the records of the Chau- tauqua Land Office, and from the "Centennial History of Chautauqua County;" O. Turner's "Pioneer History of the Holland Purchase of Western New York" (1850) ; Andrew W. Young's "History of Chautauqua County, N. Y." (1875); Warren's "Sketches of the History of Chautauqua County;" and "Deduction of the Titles of the Several Tracts of Land in the State of New York, Composing the Tract of Country Called the Holland Purchase," by S. Gould. In referring to these histories. the names of the authors onty will be appended after each quotation and the abbreviation "Cent. His." will be made for the "Centennial History." In all quoted matter, the orthography, etc., is used as in the docu- ments from which such matter is taken.
the right of jurisdiction, prior to the Revolution; the disputed territory being claimed by both provinces in virtue of ancient grants and charters under the crown of England.
King James I. in 1620 granted to the Plymouth Com- pany, a traet of country called New England, running through the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, part of which, also extending to the Pacific, was granted in 1628 by the Plymouth Company to Sir Henry Roswell and his associate, called the Massachusetts Bay Company.
"The first charter of Massachusetts granted by King Charles I .. in 1628, appears to have been vacated by quo warranto in 1684; a second charter was granted by William and Mary in 1691, in which the territorial limits of the province. although differently bounded, are also made to extend westerly to the Pacific ocean." -{ Young).
"The province of New York was granted in 1663 by Charles II. to the Duke of York and Albany (after- wards King James II.), who subsequently granted to Berkeley and Carteret the province of New Jersey. The remainder of the country granted by Charles II. constituted the province of New York, which always claimed to extend her limits, both as to the right of property and jurisdiction, as far north as the bounds of Canada.
"Of the territory which by the Treaty of Peace of 1783 was ceded by Great Britain to the United States in their collective capacity, each of the individual States claimed such portions as were comprehended within their original grants or charters. Massachu- setts consequently laid claim to a strip of land extend- ing to the westerly bounds of the United States, thus dividing the State of New York into two parts."-(S. Gould).
"Those who are familiar with the political history of this country, will remember that, near and soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, several of the States ceded their western lands to the general government as a fund to aid in the payment of the war debt. New York ceded hers by deed dated March 1, 1781, two years before the peace. In 1783, Congress requested those States that had not already done so, to cede portions of their territory for that purpose. Virginia ceded March 1, 1784; Massachusetts, April 19, 1785; and Connecticut, September 13, 1786, transferred her claim, reserving about 3,000,000 acres in the north- east part of the present State of Ohio."-(Young).
The lands ceded by Massachusetts were transferred by the following authority : "The legislature of Massachu- setts, by two acts passed 13th November, 1784, and 17th March, 1785, authorized a session by their delegates in Congress to the United States, of such part of the terri- tory between the Hudson and Mississippi rivers as the delegates might think proper, under which authority, a deed of session was executed by the delegates, on the 18th April, 1785." By this deed all the territory lying westward of a meridian line to be drawn from the lati- tude of forty-five degrees north, through the most westerly bend of Lake Ontario, or a meridian line drawn through a point twenty miles due west from the most westerly bend of the Niagara river (whichever line should be found to be most to the west), was ceded to the United States.
FIRT O!
R
PANI HT
UPPER CANADA
PARTOF
LAKE ERIE
NORTHERN BOUNDARY OF THE STATE OF PENSYLVANIA 47 47 % MAP OF MORRIS'S PURCHASE, OR WEST GENESEO, NEW YOR .. IsInbiting parts of Lakes Enie and (ontario the State of Nisam Chautauqua Lake, and all the principal waters, the fourdays lines of the several tracts of land purchased by the Holland Land com William and John Willink, and other. Boundary lines of township- Boundary lines of New York and Indian Reservattums actual survey. Also a sketch of Upper Canada la Josephand I Elli- cott. 15Do To the Holland Land Company, their general agents Thea philus Cazenave and Paul Busti. Esqui, this map par-meetings enseribed by the authors. 1804.
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253
THE HOLLAND LAND PURCHASE
The State of New York had previously limited her western boundary by the same line, an instrument to this effect dated Ist March, 1781, having been executed by her delegates in Congress, under the authority of an act passed 19th February, 1780.
The acceptance of these cessions by the United States may be considered as a full recognition of the rights of Massachusetts and New York to such of the territories within the limits of their respective charters as were not included in the cessions, but the interfering claims of the two States as to those territories being left unsettled, they were brought under the cognizance of Congress in pur- suance of the Articles of Confederation, and a court was instituted to decide thereon according to the provisions of the 9th article; but no decision was made by that tribunal.
These conflicting claims were revived after the peace of 1783, and were finally settled by a convention hetween the two States, concluded at Hartford on the 16th De- cember, 1786. A compact was made by commissioners on the part of each State. Those of Massachusetts were appointed under an act passed 14th March, 1784, a reso- lution passed 18th March, 1784, and a supplementary act passed 5th July, 1786; those of New York under an act passed 12th November, 1784, and a supplementary act passed 28th April, 1786. By this compact, Massachusetts ceded to New York all claim to the government, sover- eignty and jurisdiction of the lands in controversy, and New York ceded to Massachusetts and to her grantees, and to their heirs and assigns forever, the right of pre- emption to the soil from the native Indians, and all other the estate, right, title and property of New York, except the right and title of government, sovereignty and juris- diction (among others), to all the lands within the fol- lowing limits and bounds, viz. :
Beginning in the north boundary line of the state of Pennsylvania, in the parallel of forty-two degrees of north latitude. at a point distant eighty-two miles, west from the north-east corner of the State of Penn- sylvania, on Delaware river, as the said boundary line has been run and marked by the commissioners ap- pointed by the States of Pennsylvania and New York respectively, and from the said point or place of begin- ning, running on a due meridian north, to the bound- ary line between the United States of America and the King of Great Britain; thence westerly and southerly along the said houndary line to a meridian, which will pass one mile due east from the northern termination of the strait, or waters between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, thence south along the said meridian to the south shore of Lake Ontario; thence on the eastern side of the said strait, by a line always one mile distant from and parallel to the said strait to Lake Erie, thence due west to the boundary line between the United States and Great Britain; thence along the said boundary line until it meets with the line of cession from the State of New York, to the United States, thence along the said line of cession to the northwestern corner of the State of Pennsyl- vania, and thence east along the northern boundary line of the State of Pennsylvania to the said place of beginning.
The meridian line which forms the eastern boundary of this cession passes through Seneca Lake, so that within the limits of the ceded territory as defined in the foregoing deed, are comprehended all the lands at any time owned or claimed by the Holland Land Company.
It is provided by the above deed of cession from New York to Massachusetts, that the latter State might grant the right of preemption, as to the whole or any part of the ceded territory, to any person or persons, who should be authorized to extinguish the claims of the native Indians, provided that all purchases should be made in the presence of and approved by a superintendent to be appointed by Massachusetts, and should be confirmed by that State.
By a treaty held with the Seneca Indians, and con- cluded on the 15th September, 1797, their claims to the whole tract of country, except small tracts reserved for their own occupation, was released to Robert Morris, who thereupon made confirmation to his grantees. This treaty was held and concluded on the part of Robert Morris, by his attorney, Thomas Morris, under a power executed to him for this purpose; on the part of the United States, by their commissioner, Jeremiah Wads- worth, Esq., and on the part of Massachusetts by their superintendent, William Shepard, Esq.
It was ratified by the Senate of the United States on the 11th April, 1708, and having heen formally confirmed by the governor of Massachusetts, under the authority of an act of the General Court, the confirmation was recorded in the Secretary's Office at Albany, pursuant to the 11th article of the deed of cession.
The State of Massachusetts, by a resolution of the Legislature, passed Ist April, 1788, contracted to sell to Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham the right of pre- emption in all the tract of country ceded by the conven- tion of 16th December, 1786. On the 8th July, 1788, Gorham and Phelps purchased the Indian title to about 2,600,000 acres of the eastern part of the purchase from Massachusetts. The part so released is thus described in the treaty :
Beginning in the northern boundary line of the state of Pennsylvania, in the parallel of 42º N. at a point, distant 82 miles from the N.E. corner of Pennsylvania, on Delaware river, thence running west upon the said line to a meridian, passing through the point of land made by the confluence of the Shanahasgwaikon creek, with the waters of the Genesee river. thence north along the said meridian, to the point last men- tioned, thence northwardly along the waters of the Genesee river, to a point two miles north of Canawa- paras village, thence due west twelve miles, thence in a direction northwardly, so as to be 12 miles distant from the most westward hend of the Genesee river to Lake Ontario, thence eastwardly along the said lake to a meridian. which will pass through the place of beginning, and thence south along the said meridian, to the place of beginning.
This tract, the Indian title to which had been extin- guished by Gorham and Phelps, was confirmed to them by an act of the legislature of Massachusetts, November 2Ist, 1788, and is that tract which has been designated as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase.
Gorham and Phelps having afterwards failed to fulfil their terms of the contract, on the 15th February, 1790, made proposals in writing to the Legislature of Massa- chusetts, offering to surrender two-thirds in quantity and value of the whole of the contracted lands, two of their three bonds of $100,000 each, given for the purchase money, being cancelled; the tract released by the Indians being retained by Gorham and Phelps, although the con- tents should exceed one-third of the whole, and in such case the surplus was to be paid for in money, at the average price of the whole.
"Further proposals were submitted by Gorham and Phelps, on the 26th February, and on the Ist March, 1790, which taken together were accepted by the Leg- islature, but reserving to themselves the right of ac- cepting in preference, at any time within one year, the previous proposals of 15th February, 1790. An inden- ture was accordingly entered into between Massachu- setts and Gorham and Phelps, dated 9th June, 1790, by which, after reciting the proposals of 15th and 26th February and 1st March, 1790, and the proceedings of the Legislature thereon. Gorham and Phelps released to Massachusetts two equal undivided third parts of the whole tract of country ceded by New York, pro- vided, that in the participation thereof, Gorham and Phelps' one third should be assigned to them within the limits of their purchase of the Indians, and if that purchase should include more than one third of the whole that they, Gorham and Phelps, should pay for the surplus. The deed contained also covenants for the
254
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
purchase by Gorham and Phelps of two fourths of the two thirds so released pursuant to the proposals of 26th February, 1790; but it was neverthless provided and mutually agreed that Massachusetts or her assigns should and might at any time within one year next ensuing, the 5th day of March, then last past, assume and hold (giving notice thereof to Gorham and Phelps.) the whole of the two-thirds parts of the lands thereby released, subject only to the claims of Gorham and Phelps, to the said surplus, according to the proposals of the 15th February, 1790. In pursuance of the right thus reserved to Massachu- setts, the Legislature by a concurrent resolution. passed in the Senate on the 17th, and in the House of Representatives, on the 18th February, 1791, and ap- proved by the Governor, declared their election, that the two-thirds parts of said lands should remain the exclusive property of the Commonwealth, of which resolution notice was given to Gorham and Phelps, on the 19th February, 1791, by the secretary of the Com- monwealth, and certified to the Legislature. It is understood that the tract described in the Indian release exceeded both in quantity and value one third of the whole territory. That tract, with the exception of the parts sold, and two townships reserved hy Gor- ham and Phelps, was subsequently sold by them to Robert Morris. and is described in the conveyance, dated 18th November, 1790, as containing 2.100.000 acres. The whole transaction in relation to Gorham and Phelps' purchase was finally settled by an inden- ture entered into between them and Massachusetts, dated 10th March, 1791, in pursuance of which the balance due from Gorham and Phelps, in respect to their retained portion of the entire territory, was paid on the 6th April. 1813, and entered in the Treasurer's books" .- (S. Gould).
By a concurrent resolution of the Legislature of Mas- sachusetts, passed in the House of Representatives on the 5th, and in the Senate on the 8th March, 1701, and duly approved by the Governor, a committee of each branch was appointed with power to negotiate a sale to Samuel Ogden of all the lands ceded to that State by the State of New York, excepting such parts thereof as then belonged to Nathanial Gorham and Oliver Phelps, their heirs or assigns, by virtue of any grant or con- firmation of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and reserving one equal undivided sixtieth part of the unex- cepted lands. (The first of these exceptions refers prob- ably to the cession of 19 April, 1785, by which Massa- chusetts ceded to the United States all her claims to lands lying west of a meridian line to be drawn from latitude 45° N. through the most westerly bend of Lake Ontario. The second exception refers to a tract of land within the bounds of the territory ceded by New York, which had been previously granted and confirmed to Gor- ham and Phelps.) The one sixtieth reservation in the original sale to Morris, was caused by a contract made by Gorham and Phelps, (prior to the surrender of their claims to Massachusetts) for the sale of the one sixtieth of the entire territory to John Butler; Butler subse- quently assigned his right to this one sixtieth to Robert Morris, who was thus enabled to acquire a title from Massachusetts.
"The committee was composed of Samuel Phillips, Nathaniel Wells, David Cobb, William Eustis and Thomas Davis, who in pursuance of the powers thus delegated to them, concluded, and on the 12th March. 1791, entered into and executed a written contract of sale in the form of an indenture with Samuel Ogden, by which, on behalf of Massachusetts, they covenanted upon the terms and conditions therein specified, to convey to him or to his assigns all the estate and inter- est of the Commonwealth in the lands referred to in the foregoing resolution.
"In pursuance of this contract, the above named committee by deed poll, dated 11 May, 1791, conveyed to Robert Morris, as the assignee under Samuel Ogden, of the covenants contained in the deed of 12 March, 1791, a tract of land containing about 500,000 acres, bounded westerly by a meridian line drawn from a point in the north line of Pennsylvania, distant twelve miles west from the southwest corner of the land con- firmed to Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps, to the
line in Lake Ontario which divides the dominions of Great Britain and the United States; northerly by said dividing line: easterly by land confirmed to Gorham and Phelps; and southerly by the north line of Penn- sylvania.
"This tract, known as The Morris Reserve, forms no part of the land subsequently purchased of Robert Morris for the benefit of the Holland Land Company. but as its westerly bounds form the easterly bounds of those purchases, it is so far connected with the com- pany's titles."-(S. Gould).
The lands of the Holland Land Company are embraced in four deeds of conveyance executed to Robert Morris by the above named committee, all dated 11th May, 1791, each reciting the contract with Samuel Ogden, as con- tained in the instrument of the 12th March, 1791, together with his release of the covenants contained in that instru- ment, and his agreement that the lands therein described should be conveyed to Robert Morris, each reserving one undivided sixtieth part of the premises therein descrihed, and severally conveying each a distinct tract of land supposed to contain 800,000 acres.
The instrument of release and agreement here referred to is recorded at large in the office of the Secretary of Massachusetts, and is mentioned in a report made to the General Court by the committee who negotiated the sale to Morris, as one of the documents accompanying that report; which documents were ordered to be filed in the treasurer's office, where the original release probably remains. A previous assignment appears to have been made by Ogden to Morris, dated 26th April, 1791; this instrument is set out at large in a brief of Morris' title made in the year 1792 by Miers Fisher, Esq. The con- currence of Samuel Ogden in the conveyances to Robert Morris, as a valid execution on the part of Massachu- setts of their contract with him, is further shown by his signature, as an instrumental witness to the exectition of each of these conveyances. The following are the tracts so conveyed :
"1. The first tract begins on the north line of the State of Pennsylvania, at a point distant twelve miles west from the southwest corner of land confirmed by the commonwealth of Massachusetts, to Nathaniel Gor- ham and Oliver Phelps, (this point in the Pennsylvanla line, as may be seen in the description of the lands conveyed to Gorham and Phelps by a treaty with the Indians on 8th July, 1788, is due south from the con- fluence of the Shanahasguaicon creek with the Genesee river: this creek, now called the Canaseroga, empties into the Genesee river near Williamsburgh, in Livings- ton county ), thence running west, on the Pennsylvania line, sixteen miles: thence north, on a meridian line, to the dividing line between the United States and the dominions of Great Britain; thence easterly on said dividing line until it comes to a point from which a meridian line will fall upon the point of beginning. and thence on the same meridian line to the place of
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