USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches > Part 38
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the ground to the sacred purpose of a cemetery for the remains of Revolutionary Soldiers, who had died or might thereafter die in the valley of the Genesee.
Thus this portion of Mount Hope came to be known as Revolution- ary Hill and later Patriot Hill. But it did not prove to be the final resting place of Boyd and his fellow patriots, nor did the patriotic fervor which inspired the removal of the remains from Livingston county and the consecration of the spot to sacred uses outlive more than a score of years. In depressing contrast with the sentiment and promise of Mayor Smith of 1841: "The eminence for this hallowed purpose, and the patriotic feeling which has characterized the cere- monies thus far, afford ample guaranty that the people, not merely of Rochester, but of the whole Genesee valley, will through long ages guard with filial care the resting place of these fathers of American freedom, who boldly pledged honor and life for the defense of their country, in the times that tried men's souls," was the utilitarian spirit of the Commissioners of Mount Hope and the Common Council of the city in 1863, for in that year the hill was leveled to provide salable burial lots and the bones of our soldiers were intrusted to the tender mercies of the keeper of the cemetery for removal to the pot- ter's field, the last resting place of the homeless and unknown.
A monument erected by the Livingston County Historical Society to the memory of the soldiers who fell in Livingston County during Sullivan's campaign and were buried within the limits of the county. was completed and put in its place without formal ceremony in No- vember, 1901. The initial step in this enterprise was taken at the annual meeting of the Society held at Geneseo January 24, 1898, when the following letter addressed to W. Austin Wadsworth, Esq., Presi- dent of the Livingston County Historical Society, by Hon. Wm. P. Letchworth was laid before the Society. This was the first annual meeting of the Society after the date of Mr. Letchworth's letter:
Portage P. O., N. Y. March 19th, 1897.
To
W. Austin Wadsworth, Esquire,
President of the Livingston County Historical Society, Dear Sir:
One of the Governors of our State has said: "To preserve the mem- ory of early events, to mark the spots where they occurred, is a duty
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Monument to Sullivan's Men killed in Groveland Ambuscade Erected by Livingston County Historical Society.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
which we owe to the future and the vast multitudes who are to come after us." There are two spots of earth in Livingston County so intimately associated with important events in the history of our country that I am impressed with the conviction that they should be set apart and marked by some enduring memoriai. One of the spots to which I refer is in the town of Groveland, where were buried the men who fell while discharging the dangerous duty assigned by General Sullivan to their leader, Lieutenant Thomas Boyd, in 1779. Some of the bones of these men were removed to Rochester in 1841 : but the greater part of their remains had become incorporated with the soil where they fell, and can never be removed from the spot made sacred by their blood.
The other spot baptized by the blood of Revolutionary martyrs is that at Cuylerville, where Lieutenant Boyd and Sergeant Parker were tortured to death and afterwards buried with military honors by their companions in arms. A part of the headless remains of these brave and unfortunate men were likewise removed to Rochester in 1841. Included in what was not removed were the chambers of their minds, in which were the windows of the soul. These still remain in the soil of Livingston County. Had their remains, however, been entirely removed, these spots of earth would have still remained historic, and the same obligation would exist to mark them in memory of the dead. It has always seemed strange to me that the people of the Genesee Valley, especially of Livingston County, should have allowed these graves to be desecrated by the plow and left so long unmarked.
The policy adopted by Congress in 1779-"To carry the war into the country of the Six Nations, cut off their settlements, destroy their next year's crops, and do them any other mischief which time and circumstances will permit" was looked upon as the only means of protecting a long line of exposed frontier settlements. It was adopted after the Indians had broken their solemn treaty to remain neutral in the struggle between King George and the colonies and after the terrible massacres of Wyoming and of Cherry Valley by the Indians, aided and instigated by British troops and Tories. General Washing- ton delegated the carrying into execution of this mandate of Congress to General Sullivan, who faithfully executed it with, it is believed, as little sacrifice of life as possible and without the wanton infliction of suffering. The men under his command who fell in the Genesee Val- ley were bravely fighting for the cause of American Independence, and the peculiar circumstances under which they met death en- title their memories to lasting recognition.
The commendable spirit shown by your Society in the preservation of historical relics, especially those having a patriotic significance, leads me to suggest the propriety of your carefully considering whether it is not desirable for your corporation to secure possession of
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these spots of ground, and, after properly marking them by some enduring means, assume the responsibility of their perpetual care.
I venture to suggest the project of purchasing, say an acre of land, about the site of these graves and of erecting thereon plain, substan- tial monuments of dignified proportions, suitably inscribed, to com- memorate the services of these martyrs in the Revolutionary cause, a cause which, if unsuccessful, would have done away with the neces- sity of a Big Tree Treaty. The land acquired could be inclosed by a neat, inexpensive fence and the ground pianted irregularly in the natural order with forest trees indigenous to the soil, which would eventually grow into stately trees, and, leaving Nature to her own ways, we in time would have two small tracts as they appeared at the time of Sullivan's Campaign. The spot at Cuylerville would, of course, require somewhat different treatment from that at Groveland.
1 am,
Yours with great respect, (Signed) Wm. Pryor Letchworth.
An earnest discussion followed the reading of the letter, in which there was a unanimous expression of opinion in favor of carrying out the project suggested by Mr. Letchworth at as early a date as practic- able. A committee was appointed consisting of Hon. Wm. P. Letch- worth, William A. Brodie, Lockwood R. Doty, Chauncey K. Sanders and Charles Jones, to ascertain whether the titles to the fands desired could be secured.
At the next annual meeting of the Historical Society, held at Gene- seo Jannary 31, 1899, the committee reported that they could secure the site where the Revolutionary soldiers fell in the town of Grove- land, but were unable to obtain a proposal for the sale of the site at Cuylerville where Boyd and Parker were buried at any other than an extravagant sum. The powers of the committee were continued and a title to the Groveland site was subsequently obtained, Messrs. Brolie and Doty acting for thecon nittee. The funds to purchase the site and erect the monument were obtained by voluntary contribution, Mr. Letchworth and Mr. Herbert Wadsworth aiding with customary generosity.
The monument is situated on the Boyd farm in the town of Grove- land, about sixty-five or seventy rods from the highway leading from Genesco to the head of Conesus Lake. The memorial is reached by a farm road leading from the highway to the house of Mr. Boyd and descending into a picturesque wooded ravine beyond which, upon
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
rising ground, the monument is situated. The monument bears the following inscription on the several faces:
East face:
Sacred to the memory of "Hanyerry," a loyal Oneida. Sergeant Nicholas Hungerman, Private John Carney, William Faughey,
.6 John McElroy,
.. John Miller,
Benj. Curtin, John Putnam and several others, names unknown, who fell and were buried here.
North face:
Erected by the Livingston County Historical Society
Scene of Ambush and Massacre of Lieut. Thomas Boyd's Scouting Party of General Sullivan's Army, by British and Indians under Butler and Brant, September 13, 1779.
South face :
Sacred to the Memory of Lieut. Thomas Boyd and Michael Parker, who were captured and afterwards tortured and killed.
"Afar their bones may lie, But here their patriot blood Baptised the land for aye And widened freedom's flood."
The height of the monument is fourteen feet. It stands on a solid foundation, and consists of a base three feet square, on which rests a
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
die two feet square and four feet high. Upon this rests a shaft which is seventeen inches square at the base and gradually tapers to the summit.
It should not be forgotten that some of the soldiers whom this monu- ment commemorates were veterans in the United States service and participated in some of the hardest fought battles of the Revolutionary War.
The monument, though simple and unpretentious, reflects great credit upon the Livingston County Historical Society and the in- dividuals who were actively interested in rendering this long delayed tribute.
It was reserved for a genuinely patriotic society of women of Roch- ester-Irondequoit Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution- to secure decent sepulture at last for the remains of the Sullivan men. The following is taken from the admirable account of the ceremonies by Mrs. Mary Cheney Elwood, of Rochester:
"It is difficult adequately to express in words the weight of grati- tude and obligation that is due to Mrs. Josephine Gregg Chappell- a member of Irondequoit Chapter-for the diligent and patient search she made to locate and identify the graves. It is due to Mrs. Chap- pell, and to her alone, that, through her perseverance and untiring energy, the remains taken from Patriot Hill were identified. Those who are unfamiliar with such work, can scarcely realize what persistent labor it has taken, for five years, to complete the work she so willing- ly undertook. After fully verifying the identity of the graves, a committee was appointed by Mrs. William E. Hoyt, the Regent of Irondequoit Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, to confer with a committee from Rochester Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution. The object of this joint committee was to ascertain what could be done to rescue and suitably provide for the permanent care of the remains of these heroes who had so long lain in neglected. unmarked and unhonored graves. The Mount Hope authorities were interviewed and, after several meetings, the Commissioners of the cemetery made a deed of gift of the south half of lot 248 in section B B, to the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, provided that $100 should be paid in order to ensure the perpetual care of the lot. The deed was duly executed and recorded in the city clerk's office and at the same time a contract for the perpetual care of the
1
Graves of Sullivan's Men at Mount Hope.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
lot was executed by Mount Hope. The entire expense of disinterring and removing the bones, which was most carefully and satisfactorily done, was borne by the cemetery.
"On October 31, 1903, a committee from the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, with the Superintendent, John W. Keller, were present at the opening of the graves and supervised the transfers to the new lot. The martyrs of the Sullivan campaign, with the Rev. Mr. Vining's remains, had been carefully preserved in boxes, showing that they had had proper care in the removal from Patriot Hill. The bones were critically examined and were unmistakably human, forever setting at rest the absurd story as to their being other than human bones. The other three graves were easily identified as those of soldiers for, in transferring them, ancient army buttons were found. The bones were carefully transferred to strong boxes and were gently and tenderly borne to the resting place where it is devout- ly hoped and believed they may never again be disturbed until time is no more and the grave shall give up its dead.
"The following day, Sunday, November 1, 1903, being All Saints' day, was that set apart for the commemorative service at Mount Hope, and it was a day never to be forgotten by those who took part in its simple service. It was the culminating act of many years of patient search. It was the fruition of all that had been long before conceived and undertaken and had been so unfalteringly and earnestly carried to its successful issue. "1
An act was passed on the 5th of May, 1841, to promote agriculture, by the appropriation to the various counties of the State of an annual sum, which should become available upon the formation by any county of an agricultural society and the raising by voluntary subscription of a sum of money equal to the amount of such appropriation; the amount apportioned to Livingston County was one hundred seven- teen dollars. The farmers of Livingston County were quick to take advantage of this act, and twenty days after its passage a largely signed petition requested Samuel P. Allen, then County Clerk, to give notice of a meeting to be called on July 1st at the court house in Gen- eseo, for the purpose of forming a society in this county. The meet- ing was accordingly held, Gen. William A. Mills being chosen Chair-
1. See Appendix 14 for account of celebration of the Sullivan Centennial at Geneseo.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
man, and Col. Samuel W. Smith, Secretary. It was determined to be expedient to form the Livingston County Agricultural Society, and Gen. Micah Brooks, Col. Holloway Long, Felix Tracy, Calvin H. Bryan and John Holloway prepared the draft of a constitution, which was duly adopted at this meeting. The following named officers were then chosen: Wm. A. Mills, President; Holloway Long. James S. Wadsworth and Daniel H. Fitzhugh, Vice Presidents; C. H. Bryan, Recording Secretary; C. R. Bond, Corresponding Secretary; Al- len Ayrault, Treasurer; Micah Brooks, Mt. Morris, S. W. Smith, Sparta, C. H. Carroll, Groveland, W. H. Spencer, York, W. W. Wadsworth, Geneseo, W. W. Wooster, Leicester, Hector Hitchcock, Conesus, Edward A. LeRoy, Caledonia, Asahel War- ner, Lima, HI. S. Tyler, Springwater, Leman Gibbs, Livonia, and John E. Tompkins, Avon, Managers. These persons became members by the payment of a fee of one dollar: David Shepard, Chas. Shepard, Holloway Long, J. B. Harris, W. W. Wooster, J. Worthington, D. Warner, Jr .. P. E. Baker, J. W. Merrill, J. White, Jr., Samuel Vance, P. Goddard, C. 11. Bryan, Robert Crossett, O. D. Lake, R. L. Blake, S. P. Allen, M. Brooks, Wm. A. Mills, O. Skin- ner, Cornelius Shepard, Reuben Squirer S. W. Smith and John Hol- loway. At a meeting of the executive committee held August 3, 1841, the following town committees were appointed: Gencsco, Cornelius Shepard, Jr., Reuben Squirer, Chas. Colt; Mt. Morris, Alfred Hub- bard, Wm. D. Morgan, Moses Barron; Sparta, Charles Shepard, Wmn. Scott, Wm. Fullerton, Morgan Hammond; Groveland, W. W. Mc- Nair, John White, William Ewart; Lima, Asahel H. Warner, Jasper Marvin, Samuel Stevens; Livonia, James Campbell, John Adams, Ruel L. Blake; Springwater, Parker H. Pierce, Horatio Dyer, Zenas Ashley; Conesus, John Henderson, Timothy DeGraw, Jotham Clark; Leicester, W. T. Cuyler, Jeredial Horsford, Allen Smead; Caledonia, Ephraim Lacy, Th. H. Newbold, John McKay; Avon, John Kelsey, Asa Nowlen, Ira Merrill; York, John Holloway, James Dow, Wm. Craig, John Russ, Wm. Stewart, James B. Harris, Angus McVean. It was determined at this meeting to hold the first fair at Geneseo on the 22d of October, 1841, and to award forty-five cash premiums in amounts from two to fifteen dollars to exhibitors. An additional amount of forty dollars was appropriated as premiums for articles not enumerated.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
The first fair was held at the time appointed. David Smith of Avon received the highest premium, fifteen dollars, for the best bull, two years old and over; Gen. Mills received premiums for the best pair of fat oxen and the best pair of matched horses; David Brooks of Avon received a premium for the best cow and another for the best stallion ; Roswell Root of York received a premium for the best pair of work- ing oxen.
At the second annual meeting the highest premium of ten dollars was awarded to Angus Mclean of Caledonia for the best cultivated farm of fifty acres or more.
The fair for the year 1846 was held September 24th at Avon. At this meeting "the display of working cattle was very large and high- ly creditable to the farmers of the county."
At the meeting of 1848, held in Mt. Morris, it was determined that the interests of the society "would be better promoted by the selection of a suitable place as a permanent location for the annual fair." The number of members this year was one hundred forty-one.
In 1849 Geneseo was selected as the permanent location for the society exhibitions, and in the following year James S. Wads- worth offered the society the use of eight acres of the property long occupied by it, rent free for five years, on condition that the society would build a fence and put the grounds in proper order. A trotting course was this year constructed on the new grounds. The society membership at this time had increased to two hundred fifty-three.
The society was reorganized June 30, 1855, under the act of April 13 of that year; the incorporators were: Z. Longyer, Richard Peck, Jas. T. Norton, William A. Mills, H. Allen, E. B. Chase, Aaron Bar- ber, L. S. Chamberlin, H. E. Rochester, C. C. Chapin, James Gil- man, Jehial Freeman, D. H. Bissell, Chas. Colt, Geo. W. Root, Fort Benway, O. D. Lake, Jasper Barber, Henry Simpson, Andrew Sill, Leman Gibbs, E. R. Hammatt, David Brooks, N. Robinson, Chas. E. Whaley, Jos. Kershner, John S. Wiley, Ezra Morehouse, John White, Henry V. Colt. W. S. Fullerton, J. W. Vrooman, B. F. Parker, J. Horsford. The officers for the term expiring December 31, 1855 were: President, Aaron Barber; Vice President, George W. Root; Secretary, Joseph Kershner; Treasurer, Edward R. Hammatt; Directors, first year, Charles Colt, R. Peck ; second year, Henry Simp- son, Wm. A. Mills; third year, John S. Wiley, Samuel W. Smith. In
-
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
this year Lyman Turner, Charles Jones, Isaac Allen, David Skinner, Henry V. Colt and William Cushing were appointed a committee to secure grounds for the society and ascertain the cost of fencing the same and erecting the necessary buildings; they were authorized to proceed at once with the work if the expense did not exceed eighteen hundred dollars. The committee obtained a twenty-one years' lease of the grounds then in use with adjacent lands north and east, com- prising about fourteen acres, at an annual rental of thirty dollars. The land was enclosed at a cost of $676.63, and the agricultural hall yet standing was erected at a cost of $1393.53; a trotting course one- third of a mile long was also laid out at a cost of $316.17, and every- thing was in readiness for the fair of 1855.
A horse fair was held under the auspices of the society on the 4th of July, 1865, and prizes were offered for the best trotting and running horses. The first prize of $150 in the sweepstake trotting race was taken by D. Mahoney of Geneseo; the second of $50 went to George W. Pond of Rochester, and the third of $25 to O. C. Seymour of Rochester, and Craig W. Wadsworth of Geneseo won the first prize of $50 in the running match.
Plowing matches were early features of the society's work, and these and other competitions, relating more particularly to agricultural matters, were frequently arranged apart from the annual meetings. In later years very successful stallion shows were conducted by the society, and were usually held in the early summer. These exhibi- tions attracted the best breeders in the county and adjoining counties. Among the prominent exhibitors were William A. Wadsworth, Samuel S. Howland. C. O. Shepard, Jacob Fisher, Henry Snyder, Morgan Shaffer, J. T. Trewer, Andrew Gardiner, Samuel Culbertson, A. L. Wyman, Dr. O'Dell, George A. Pitcher and many outside of the county.
No intermission occurred in the annual meetings, until they finally ceased in 1896. A vast amount of good was done by the society from the beginning, in the development of first class stock and the im- provement of farming methods. Here were shown, year after year. the unsurpassed herds of Short Horns of Aaron Barber, which had taken the highest premiums in nearly every State in the Union; the no less valuable Wadsworth herds of Short Horns and those of George W. Root, Judge Carroll and the Ayraults; the Spanish Merinos of
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
Abram Stocking, of York, owner of the famous rams Cornwall Chief, Kilpatrick and Tom Sayers; and of John S. Beecher and John P. Ray ; S. N. Chamberlain & Sons, and Frederick Barrett's splendid flocks of Southdowns; James W. Wadsworth's and L. Perrin's Shropshires; the superior herds and flocks of George D. Dooer. William A. Wads- worth, Matthew Wiard and Arthur Cummings, and the high class swine of Charles P. Armstrong, B. C. Nichols and Samuel Donnan ; and here General Wadsworth, David Brooks, Richard Peck, C. H. Carroll and others elsewhere mentioned found in an earlier day the opportunity to introduce to the farmers of the valley improved strains
of cattle, horses and sheep. Here, too, the breeders of adjoining counties were permitted to come into competition with those of Liv- ingston, and the excellent displays of sheep by Wellman Brothers of Wyoming County and Frank Ward of Genesee County, the fine cattle and sheep of William G. Markham, our near neighbor of Rush, and the magnificent herd of Holsteins of Captain Howard of Fairport will be remembered. An interesting circumstance may be recalled in con- nection with the effort to secure high grade stock. A prominent farmer in the town of Leicester purchased a Spanish Merino ram for $5,000.00; he paid $2,000.00, in cash, and gave a second mortgage on his farm for $3,000.00, to secure the balance of the purchase price. The second mortgage represented about the whole of his equity in the property, and the amount that he had paid was substantially the amount of the first mortgage, so that he had practically given the price of his farm for the ram. Before he had proceeded very far in paying the balance of the debt his buildings burned and with them the ram. Such incidents as these, however, did not deter the farmers of this county from continuing the effort to develop the best quality of stock without much regard to price. The best products of the field, the garden, the orchard and the vine were brought here and carefully examined and earnestly discussed. The housewife here dis- played her skill in the domestic arts, and the son and daughter of the household found many fields for honorable strife. It is much to be deplored that so serviceable an institution and one affording so great a stimulus in so many different directions should have been aban- doned, and regret is still expressed at its untimely taking off.
The following explanation of the reasons which led to the abandon-
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
ment of the society meetings is taken from the Livingston Republi - can, shortly after they were discontinued:
"Officers of the Livingston County Agricultural Society are fre- quently asked why they don't hold the annual county fair as has been the custom for more than fifty years. The reason is obvious. It is because, for the last few years the fairs have been running the asso- ciation into debt, and the officers are tired of assuming the responsi- bility and finding the means to pay it. It should be remembered. too, that for seven successive years one or both of the fair days have been wet enough to keep back the natural attendance, and consequently no gate money has been received to meet the bills. £ Such a succes-
sion of ill luck could not be otherwise than ruinous, but there are other causes. It is a matter of general observation, that at the pres- ent time the purposes for which fairs were established, and for which they received the legislative sanction are almost entirely lost sight of, for the reason that a purely agricultural exhibition, such as used to be held on these grounds, will no longer pay. There have been on these
grounds, and there can be at any time, if the farmers and breeders of the county will bring out their stock, a better exhibition of cattle, sheep and horses than is usually shown at the annual State fair. But
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