USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 16
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$ Mr. Morris did in one instance depart fron his fixed determination to have the boundaries of reservations established by survey. In his im- patience he yielded to the persistent importunities of Mary Jemison, the white woman, for whom the chiefs were desirous of making provision. She objected to her reservation being designated by a definite number of acres, for the reason, as she said, that she had various improved places, one of which was a patch of corn, another of potatoes, another of beans, etc., she then named certain boundaries, to which Mr. Morris assented, supposing the tract would not exceed 150 acres ; but when surveyed, Mary's farm, the Gardeau flats, proved to contain, according to the sur- vey of Angustus Porter, made in 1798, 17,929 acres and 137 rods of land of an excellent quality.
increase his own allotment and diminish that of his rival. Difficulties were also experienced before the final consummation of the treaty, prominent among which was the arrival at the council of Young King, a youthful warrior, who, as a descendant of the famous chief Old Smoke, inherited the title of Chief Sachem of the Seneca nation, and an influ- ence to which his merit did not entitle him. As Chief Sachem of the nation his signature to the treaty was necessary to make it valid; and though he was at first averse to the sale, by dint of much persuasion his objections were finally overcome. Another obstacle was presented by the instructions of Washington to Col. Wadsworth, to withhold his assent from any treaty which did not provide for the investment of the purchase money in the stock of the United States Bank, in trust for the Seneca nation. It was only with great difficulty that the Indians could be made to comprehend the magni- tude of a hundred thousand dollars, the purchase price ; while it was utterly impossible to make them understand the nature of an investment and why the dividend resulting therefrom varied in amount. As an aid to the former they were told how many casks of a given size would be required to hold the amount, and how many horses would be necessary to draw it; while their idea of the latter was, that a bank was an extensive place in Philadelphia where money was planted and produced better crops some years than others. Frequently in after years they would inquire of Mr. Morris what kind of a crop they might expect in a season like that they were then experiencing.
Pending the negotiations between New York and Massachusetts relative to their claims to the territory of Western New York, a project was set on foot by a company of Columbia county specu- lators to get possession of this entire country, with the ulterior motive of erecting it into a separate State .* In order to evade the law then existing in this State, which prohibited the purchase from the Indians of land within the State, by individuals or companies, without the sanction of the Legislature, in 1776, they negotiated a lease with the chiefs of the Six Nations of all the lands possessed by them, exclusive of certain reservations, for a term of 999 years, the consideration being $20,000 in hand and an annual rental of $2,000. Under these auspices sales were made to settlers, who took possession of various portions of the land. On the sale to Phelps and Gorham in 1788, a second lease was
*This company consisted of John Livingston, Caleb Benton, Peter Ryckman, John Stephenson, Ezekial Gilbert and others.
76
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
executed for a like period for the residue of their lands, and a reduction of one-half made in the annual rental. The Legislature, however, regarded a lease of this character equivalent to a purchase and an infraction of the law; and in order to put the matter at rest, a law was passed in March, 1788, declaring the pre-emptive right to the lands to be vested in the State, and authorizing the strongest measures to be used to remove all in- truders from the lands .* Accordingly Governor George Clinton sent the sheriff of Herkimer county, which then embraced this territory, with a posse of sixty men to eject these intruders upon the Indian lands and burn their dwellings. Though baffled in these efforts the lessee company did not abandon their project, but in 1793 developed a plan to form a new state which was to embrace the whole of Western New York. It was, however, defeated by the energetic action of the better class of citizens, although serious alarm was occasioned among those settlers who were favorably disposed towards the constituted authorities. The formid- able character of the movement is indicated by the proceedings of a public opposition meeting, held at Canandaigua in November, 1793, and presided over by Judge Timothy Hosmer, from the minutes of which the following is an abstract :-
"WHEREAS, Certain restless and turbulent char- acters from the eastern district of this State, evil disposed towards this country, have for some time past, endeavored to stir up sedition among the peaceable inhabitants thereof, and to excite them to acts both treasonable and improper; and,
"WHEREAS, They have proposed to many indi- viduals of the county that the county of Ontario, in conjunction with that of Otsego, and part of Tioga and Herkimer, shoukl immediately shake off all allegiance and dependence from the State of New York, and support their independence by force of arms, in case the state should be unwilling to ratify and confirm the same ; and,
"WHEREAS, The passions of the dishonest and disorderly, of the ambitious and the timid, have been flattered by the expectation of hav- ing laws passed for the screening of individuals from the payment of their just debts for six years, and they have been falsely told that all the Indian lands, as well as those belonging to the state of New York as those which the said State, together with Massachusetts, have guaranteed to individu- als, should become a prey to the rapacity of their hungry followers, and have engaged to support these measures by a number of armed troops col-
lected from Vermont and elsewhere, in case of opposition ; therefore,
" Resolved, That the inhabitants of Ontario, sen- sible to the many advantages that they have derived from their connection with one of the most respect- able states in the union, and desirous of the con- tinuation of the same advantages, highly resent the ill-timed and improper attempt made by the charac- ters above alluded to, to disturb their peace and harmony, and they conceive their measures are preg- nant with danger, and such as if carried into effect would introduce into our infant country all the complicated evils which anarchy and confusion can create."
Following this, in 1794, the Federal government effected a treaty, guaranteeing to each of the Six Nations the right to its own reservations; so that the confederacy coukl not thenceforth dispose of any of the land of either of its members against their will; and while other Indians were restrained from selling their land, except to the United States, it conferred on each of the Six Nations, separately, the right to sell any or all of its lands to citizens of the United States whenever and however it might choose.
The following reservations were made by the Senecas at the Geneseo or Big Tree treaty in 1797 :-
I, Canawaugus Reservation, two miles square, located on the Genesee west of Avon.
2. Big Tree Reservation, two miles square, located on the Genesee, opposite Geneseo, in the present town of Leicester.
3. Little Beard's Reservation, two miles square, located on the Genesee in the town of Leicester.
4. Squakie Hill Reservation, two miles square, located on the Genesee, in Leicester, near Mt. Morris.
5. Gardeau Reservation, twenty-eight square miles, located on both sides of the Genesee in Cas- tile and Mt. Morris.
6. Canadea Reservation, sixteeen square miles, located on both sides of the Genesee, in Allegany county.
7. Oil Spring Reservation, one square mile, on the line between Cattaraugus and Allegany counties.
8. Allegany Reservation, forty-two square miles, on both sides of the Allegany river, and extending north from the Pennsylvania line.
9. Cattaraugus Reservation, forty-two square miles, at the mouth of and on both sides of Catta- raugus creek.
10. Buffalo Reservation, one hundred and thirty square miles, on both sides of Buffalo creek.
11. Tonawanda Reservation, seventy square miles, on both sides of Tonawanda creek, and mostly in Genesee county.
12. Tuscarora Reservation, one square mile, three miles east of Lewiston in Niagara county.
* " In order that not even the color of injustice towards the lessees might remain, the Legislature, five years afterwards, made a grant to them of a district of country ten miles square, in the northern part of the state, and subsequently they received grants of several large tracts in the Genesce country from Phelps and Gorham."-Life and Times of Red Facket, 135.
77
EARLY CIVIL DIVISIONS.
The titles to all these reservations in Livingston county, together with the portions of the Buffalo, Tonawanda, Cattaraugus and Canadea reserva- tions, were extinguished at a treaty council held August 31, 1826, and attended by Hon. Oliver Forward, of Buffalo, as United States Commis- sioner, Hon. Nathaniel Gorham, as agent for the commonwealth of Massachusetts, and John Greig, of Canandaigua, as agent of The Ogden Company, who had acquired the pre-emptive right of Mr. Morris, and in whose interest the treaty was held. At this date the representatives of the once lordly and powerful Seneca nation remaining in this coun- try, had dwindled to an insignificant number, who found an asylum on other reservations .*
CHAPTER VII.
EARLY CIVIL, DIVISIONS-FORMATION OF LIVING- STON COUNTY-ORIGINAL TOWNS IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY-SUBSEQUENT TERRITORIAL CHANGES- TOPOGRAPHY-BOUNDARIES, AREA AND GEO- GRAPHICAL SITUATION-IMPROVED LAND IN 1820 AND 1875-CHARACTER OF SURFACE-GENESEE RIVER - FALLS AT PORTAGE - THE GENESEE MADE A PUBLIC HIGHWAY-CHARLEVOIX'S DE- SCRIPTION OF THE GENESEE IN 1712-INDIAN NAME OF THE GENESEE-ITS PRINCIPAL TRIBU- TARIES - CANASERAGA CREEK - CASHAQUA CREEK-CONESUS AND HEMLOCK LAKES-CLI- MATE OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY -- SOIL-STAPLE PRODUCTIONS-CHIEF INDUSTRY-COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CENSUS OF 1875 -- LIVINGSTON COUNTY COMPARED WITH OTHER COUNTIES IN THE STATE-TOWNS IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY COMPARED.
N 1638, the Dutch gave to all that part of New York lying west of Albany its first specific designation-Terra Incognita.t
The Province of New York was divided into coun- ties November 1, 1683, and the counties then formed, twelve in number, were named from the titles of the Royal family .¿ Albany county, one
of the twelve, was the first civil division to which Livingston county belonged, and then embraced " the Manor of Rensselaerwyck, Schenectady and all the villages, neighborhoods and Christian plan- tations on the east side of Hudson's river, from Roeloffe Jansen's Creek ; and on the west side, from Sawyer's Creek to the outermost end of Sa- raghtoga." By subsequent statutes it was made to include everything within the colony of New York north and west of its present limits, and, at one time, the whole of Vermont. March 12, 1772, Tryon* county was formed from Albany county and comprised the country west of a north and south line extending from St. Regis to the west bounds of the township of Schenectady, thence running irregularly south-west to the head of the Mohawk branch of the Delaware, and along the same to the south-east bounds of the present county of Broome ; thence in a north-westerly direction to Fort Bull, on Wood Creek, near the present city of Rome ; all west of the last mentioned line being Indian territory. In 1788, all the region west of Utica was known as Whitestown. At the third town meeting of that town, in 1791, Trueworthy Cook, of Pompey, Jeremiah Gould, of Salina, and James Wadsworth, of Geneseo, were chosen path-masters. Ontario t county was formed from Montgomery, January 27, 1789, and included all that part of the State lying west of a north and south line drawn through Seneca Lake, two miles east of Geneva. March 30, 1802, Genesee # county was formed from Ontario, and originally comprised all that part of the State lying west of Genesee River and a line extending due south from the point of junction of the Genesee and Canaseraga Creek to the south line of the State. Livingston county was formed from Genesee and Ontario counties, February 23, 1821, and named in honor of Chancellor Robert Livingston, an eminent jurist and statesman and a distinguished patron of agriculture. It originally contained twelve towns, eight of which formerly belonged to Ontario county§ and four to Gene- see. || In February, 1822, the north-west quarter of the township No. 6, in the 7th range, then in the town of Dansville, Steuben county, including the
* The materials for this chapter have been drawn mainly from : Life and Times of Red Facket ; Stine's Life of Brant ; 'Turner's Phelps and Gorham's Purchase ; Turner's Holland Purchase. Address of Hon. B. F. Angel, of Geneseo, before the Livingston County Historical Society, 1878 ; Contributions to the Local Press by Dr. M. H. Mills, of Mt. Morris ; French's State Gazetteer ; McMaster's History of Stou- ben County ; The Historical Magazine ; and other documents. t Pioneer History of Phelps & Gorham's Purchase, 126.
# These original counties were : Albany, Cornwall, (now in Maine,) Dukes, (now in Massachusetts, ) Duchess, Kings, New York, Orange, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester.
* Named from William Tryon, Colonial Governor, and changed April 2, 1784, in consequence of Tryon's manifest disloyalty to the colonies dur- ing the Revolution, to Montgomery, in honor of General Richard Mont- gomery, who fell at the capture of Quebec.
t Named from the lake of the same name, which then formed its northern boundary.
# Named from the Genesee River which formerly was partly within its limits.
§ Avon, Freeport, (Conesus) Geneseo, Groveland, Lima, Livonia, Sparta and Springwater.
Il Caledonia, Leicester, Mount Morris and York.
78
HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.
village of that name, was annexed to Sparta in this county. The towns of Nunda and Portage were annexed from Allegany county in May, 1846; and Ossian in March, 1857. These, together with North Dansville and West Sparta, which were formed February 27, 1846, by the division of Sparta, con- stitute the present seventeen towns of the county.
Livingston county lies upon the Genesee River, and occupies a central position in the region com- monly called Western New York. It is centrally distant two hundred and five miles from Albany ; and is bounded on the north by Monroe county, on the east by Ontario and Steuben counties, on the west by Genesee, Wyoming and Allegany counties, and on the south by Allegany and Steuben counties. It contains 380,665 acres .* It is geographically situated between 42º 29' and 43 north latitude, and 44' and I' 4' west longi- tude from Washington.t Its greatest length, front north to south, is 33.8 miles; its greatest width, from east to west, 27.3 miles.
The subjoined table shows the number of acres of improved land in each town in 1820 and 1875 ; also the aggregate number of acres in 1879, indi- cated as farm, village and railroad lands, the village lands including, in addition to incorporated vil- lages, mill property, factories, and lots of four acres or less having buildings thereon which enhance their value as compared with farm lands :-
1820.
1875.
Farm.
Village R.R Aggreg'te
Avon.
12,933
21,134
22,867
1,946 119
24.932
Caledonia
8,205
21,777
25,883
143 204
26,230
Conesus t
3,611
15, 187
13,798
136
61
19,995
Geneseo .
6286
21,590
24,784
1,514
23
26,361
Groveland
5.301
17,274
24,402
45
44
24,491
Leicester
4.685
17,130
20,096
134
.... 20,230
Lima
8,073
17,347
18,799
767
. .
19,566
Livonia
10,915
19,134
22,415
392
69
22,876
Mt. Morris.
2,500
25,056
28,425
469
64' 28.958
No. Dansvilles
...
3,578
4,252
1,296
1 2
5,560
Nunda
3,192
15,4401
21,818
594 :16
22,528
Osstan
2,939
14,772
25,094
IO6
54
15,298
Sparta.
6,229
12,987
17,100
103
8
17,221
Springwater
2,790
22,343
31,649
188
81
31,918
West Sparta
.....
14,238
19,599
51
42
19,692
York ..
7,609
25, 377
29,458
235
....
29, 693
84,359 295,232 1371,577 8, 141 937 380,665
The surface of the county is diversified, and the soil variable and adapted to a wide range of crops.
* Report of the Committee on Equalization of the Board of Super- visors, 1879. The Census ot 1875 says it contains 374, 188 acres ; and French's State Gazetteer, $19,200 acres (555 square miles. )
t The meridian of Washington corresponds with the seventy-seventh west of Greenwich.
$ Originally named Freeport. Name changed to Bowersville, March 26th, 1825 ; and to Conesus, April 15th, 1825.
§ Included in Dansville, Steuben county, in 1820.
Not given in 1820.
· Included in Sparta in 1820.
The surface has a general inclination toward the north, and consists of two terraces, separated by the broad, deep valley of the Genesee, and broken in a transverse direction by the streams which flow over them. West of the Genesee the country is level till we reach its ancient banks, which descend by a series of ledges from one to two miles in width. The eastern terrace rises similarly to a correspond- ing height, attaining its greatest altitude in the well- defined ridge which separates Conesus and Hem- lock lakes, the former of which is about six hundred feet above Lake Ontario, and about one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet above Canandaigua lake, to which the land descends. The slopes are generally smooth and arable, except along the banks of the streams, and nearly every acre of land in the country is arable. The Genesee Valley varies in width from two to four miles, and in the south part of the county, where the highest eleva- tions are ten to twelve hundred feet above the val- leys and twenty to twenty-two hundred feet above tide,* its depth is more than four hundred feet. "In a comprehensive view it will be included in the great western plain, forming part of the great St. Lawrence basin, and probably once part of the bed of the lake which covered the wide spreading of Ontario and Erie when those inland seas had no distinctive existence."t
Genesee river is the principal stream. It divides the county into two unequal portions, and in its upper course through it, forms a portion of the western boundary. It rises in Potter county, l'enn., on the great western table-lands of that State, at an elevation of nearly two thousand feet, and in- terlocks the head waters of the Allegheny, the west branch of the Susquehanna and French Creek. Its entire length is about one hundred and forty- five miles, one hundred and twenty-five miles of its course being in this State. It is a small stream in its upper course, and runs sluggishly through a rich country to its first series of falls in the town of Portage, where it is precipitated over four ledges, which are respectively eight, sixty-six, one hundred and ten, and thirteen feet in height.§ The entire
* French's State Gazetter, 1865.
Gordon's Giazetter of New York, 1836.
# At Angelica its bed is 1291 feet above tide, according to the report of engineers on the Erie railroad. At the head of the great falls at Portage it is 1103 feet ; at Gardeau Flat», 650 feet; at Squakie Hill, 574: at Eric Canal, Rochester, 506. Vatural History of New York.
§ Gordon's Gazetteer of New York. Stafford's Gazetteer (1824) mentions only two falls at this point, near each other, and of sixty and ninety feet respectively. Disturnell ( Gazetteer of the State of New York, 1842, ) mentions three, respectively sixty. ninety ard one hundred and ten feet, within the space of two miles, "each, " he says, "differing in charac- ter and each having peculiar beauties." He adds, "although the cas- cades are highly admirable, they are almost disregarded in the wonder and fear caused by the stupendous perpendicular walls of the river," be- tween which it flows, "in turns as short and graceful as if winding through the softest meadow."
....
10,868
15,138
22
25,116
Portage||
79
THE GENESEE RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES.
fall within a distance of two miles, is two hundred and seventy-four feet. At the lower fall the bed of the stream is bounded on either side by cliffs three hundred feet high. Upon the left bank is a table rock which was formerly the river bed; and upon the right, is a small conical island of rock, between which and the table on the other side, the stream now flows. Within the memory of the ear- liest observers the river flowed almost wholly over this table rock, and the isolated mass was joined with the right bank of the river. This table rock is ninety-six feet above the level of the river below the falls, and was formerly continuous to the small conical island, which is separated from the main bank by a recent gorge, whose bed is about inter- mediate between that of the present narrow chan- nel and the table rock above, which is composed of a fine sandstone, less than two feet thick, resting on softer strata beneath .* The upper fall is a mile be- low Portageville, and is known as the horse-shoe fall, deriving its name from the curve in the face of the cliff over which the water flows. Below this is the middle fall, which pours an unbroken sheet one hundred and ten feet into a chasm bounded by perpendicular cliffs. In the west bank, near the foot of the falls, an excavation known as the devil's oven, has been worn in the rocks, large enough when the water is low to seat one hundred persons within it. Two or three miles below this point the hills approach the river closely, and are separated only by a deep chasm, with perpendicular banks of aluminous slate four hundred feet high, almost as regular as if a work of art, through which the river passes in a rapid winding course for a distance of three miles, after which it descends by a succession of steps nearly as regular as a stair-case, and emerg- ing from the narrow channel beneath the shelving rock, makes a perpendicular descent. The water strikes the base of high rocks and is hurled back at nearly right angles into a deep pool overhung with shelving rocks, the conical column of rock, or sugar- loaf as it. is called, receiving nearly the full force of the stream. Thence by a tortuous course of ninety miles it flows to Rochester, forming the western boundary of the town of Portage and the south half of Mt. Morris, and separating that town, the north-west corner of Groveland, Geneseo and Avon on the east, from Leicester, York and Cale- donia on the west. From the head of the falls at Portage the descent to Rochester is about seven hundred and thirty-six feet, nearly the whole of which is between Portage and Mt. Morris. At * Geology of New York, Part IV., James Hall, 1843.
Rochester another series of falls commences, over which by leaps of twelve, ninety-seven, twenty and one hundred and five feet, the river attains the level of the lake, which is two hundred and thirty- one feet above tide. From thence it is navigable for sloops and steamboats about five miles to its recipient.
The Genesee is subject to an annual overflow, the water often covering the entire flats which bor- der upon it .* This frequently causes destruction of property ; but it is a source of constant fertility to the soil. In its course through the county it has innumerable small curves, which embrace, sometimes on the east and others on the west side of the valley, fine tracts of alluvian, covered with deep. rich and inexhaustable soil. These flats rest upon quicksand, twenty feet below the surface, and are generally from one to two miles wide. The river frequently mingles its waters with the quick- sand, and occasionally cuts the base of the hills which skirt the valley. Its scenery is both beauti- ful and sublime. The views from its banks are everywhere beautiful and agreeable, and are fre- quently of unsurpassed beauty.
By an Act of the Legislature passed April 18, 1828, the river from Rochester to the Pennsylvania line was declared a public highway, without preju- dice to mills and dams previously erected. Previ- ous to the construction of the Genesee Valley canal, it was navigated by boats between that city and Mt. Morris. and an extensive traffic, which was absorbed by that artificial commercial artery, was carried on by that means. Both have now succumbed to a more expeditions method of trans- portation.
The principle streams tributary to the Genesee, which are generally bordered by steep, and some- times precipitous, hillsides, are Canaseraga creek, Conesus and Honeoye outlets and Fall Brook on the east, the former of which receives as confluent near its junction with its recipient, Cashaqua creek ; while numerous small streams indent its western margin, the principal of which are Beard's and White creeks.
Canaseraga creek rises in the town of Nunda and flows thence in a circuitous course, first south- east and then north-east, crossing the town of Os- sian into Steuben county. It again enters this county on the south line of North Dansville, receiv- ing near the west line of that town, Mill creek, a small but important mill stream. It thence flows * In March, 1865, the city of Rochester suffered from a flood, which did great damage to private property, and to the streets, sewers, bridges and public works.
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