History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 19

Author: Smith, James Hadden. [from old catalog]; Cale, Hume H., [from old catalog] joint author; Mason, D., and company, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 744

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 19

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In the broad indentation on the east side of the river, opposite the middle falls, the canal passes along the slope of the hill, which rises nearly two hundred feet higher. The lowest deposit excavated at this point consists of alternating clay and quick- sand, which, about one hundred feet lower, rest upon the rocks of the Portage group. This de- posit of clay and quicksand extends about one hundred feet above the level of the canal, when it is succeeded by sand and gravel. For more than two hundred feet from the bottom, the mass con- sists of alternating layers of sand from two to eighteen inches, with layers of clay of half an inch to two inches, each becoming thicker as we ap- proach the upper part, where the quicksand layers are fifteen to twenty feet. The upper layer of fif- teen feet thickness becomes perfectly saturated with water, and is termed liquid quicksand; and this is succeeded by the deposit of coarse sand and gravel, which is of subsequent origin, containing materials from the rocks of the south, mingled with some of the older drift deposits which have been broken up. Through this the water percolates, saturating the mass below, and giving it the char-

· See chapter Town of Avon.

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

acter of quicksand. Fragments of the trunks of trees have been found in this deposit, in a layer of clay about thirty-five feet below the gravel. The whole of the lower deposit, consisting of regularly alternating layers of clay and sand, was evidently deposited in a quiet lake, while the sub- sequent one of gravel and coarse sand was brought on by some powerful inundation from the south. The fragments of wood are doubtless such as were drifted from the higher grounds into this lake, and sinking to the bottom were covered by the subse- quent sediment. In several similar situations, bones of the mastodon have been found, and con- sequently referred to the drift period. These facts, however, offer no arguments in favor of such an hypothesis ; for in all instances which occur in Western New York, there is the strongest evidence of their having been transported from their origi- nal situation, and mingled with the more modern fluviatile or lake deposits.

Another circumstance to be noticed in connec- tion with this section, is a superficial deposit of about ten feet in depth, covering the whole slope from the base of the gravel hill to the bank of the river. This surface deposit is composed of the ruins of the gravel hill, with the clay and sand be- low. From the constant oozing of water from the lower deposit, it undermines that above, which fall- ing, carries with it something of those below, the whole constituting a moving mass, saturated with water. Its nature only became fully understood upon the excavation of the canal, when all that part above commenced sliding down, completely destroying the work, Farther examination proved that the whole hillside, for ten feet in depth, was in motion towards the river, and of course no exca- vation or fixture could be made permanent on such a foundation. In proof of this, and that such for a long time has been its condition, we find that the oaks which grow upon the hill towards the top, have slidden down the rocky margin of the river, where they stand among the hemlocks and cedars, sometimes upright, but often leaning in various directions. The whole surface for half a mile, is saturated with water, and springs gush out at every step.

In nearly all situations the muck swamps are underlaid by a deposit of calcareous marl. This is usually very finely pulverulent, and, though co- hering when wet, is very friable when dry. When this calcareous deposit is made upon the surface, or in situations exposed to the air, it becomes tufa or travatine, often preserving in a most beautiful

manner, the impressions of twigs and leaves, etc., so perfectly that the species may be determined.

This marl is derived from two sources, one being the limestone rocks themselves, and the other the calcareous particles distributed through the super- ficial detritus, the origin of which is still the lime- stone formations. The drift materials being com- posed, in a large portion, of the debris of the rocks of the district, calcareous matter is widely diffused. This is not only a constant fertilizing agent in the soil, but from the action of rains upon the surface, and the passage of water through these superficial deposits, the calcareous matter is dis- solved and carried forward into some lower situa- tion, where it accumulates in the bottom of the small lakes and marshes. Some of the most ex- tensive formations of this kind in the district are made upon the Onondaga salt group, and are de- posited from the copious springs which rise along its southern margin.

These deposits of marl usually rest upon a bed of clay or sand, and are succeeded by muck. In the greater number of localities its formation has long since come to an end, but in others it is still in progress. In many of the springs issuing from the rocks, its daily deposition can be observed; it incrusts all the vegetables growing in the stream, and, in favorable situations, forms deposits of con- siderable extent. The tufa is used for building- stone ; being soft, when first removed from its bed, it is easily cut, or hewn into blocks of convenient size. These, after drying, become comparatively hard, and form a durable material. There are, however, but few situations where there is a quan- tity sufficient to allow of its being used in this manner.

Remains of the mastodon have been found within the county. In 1825, while a ditch was being opened to drain the swampy tract on which are located the springs which supply the village of Geneseo with water, a large number of bones, in- cluding several teeth of the mastodon maximus were found beneath a deposit from two to three feet deep, of muck intermingled with a sandy cal. careous marl. The animal was young, as eight molar teeth were found-old ones having only one molar on either side of each jaw .* A molar tooth of this animal, the only known remaining specimen of this collection, t was in the possession of the late C. H. Bryan, of Geneseo, and is illustrated in the Geological Reports of this State. Ten years later

* Silliman's Journal, First Series XII., 380,

t Geological Reports.

THE DANSVILLE MASTODON.

other mastodon remains were found in a swamp, about three feet below the surface, while men were engaged in straightening the road from Scottsburg to Conesus lake. Portions of this collection are now in the cabinet of the leRoy Female Semi- nary. The most important discovery of this charac- ter was made in 1874, on the farm of Edward Whiteman, in the town of Wayland, about two miles from the south corporation line of Dansville village .* The first discovery was made accident- ally by Mr. Whiteman, while engaged in digging a ditch through a long swail on that farm early in the preceding December. Two teeth, a tusk, and fragments of ribs and vertebre of the mastodon giganteus were then unearthed. The teeth weighed respectively five pounds and five pounds and three ounces. One was seven inches long and four and one-half inches wide, and, although an inch or two of the points of the roots had crumbled off, seven and one-half inches from top to bottom. The other was seven inches long and thick and four inches wide. In the spring of 1874 further ex- aminations were made under the direction of Dr. F. Perine, of Dansville, and partially in the presence of Prof. Jerome Allen, of the Geneseo Normal School. Additional portions of the ani- mal were discovered, consisting of a part of a tusk, a part of a lower leg bone, a nearly complete ver- tebra, three teeth, a part of a rib, the head of a femur and a portion of the humerus. The tusk measured nine feet two inches in length, and twenty-five inches in circumference. It is believed that it was not less than fourteen feet long before any portion of it was decayed. The piece of leg bone was thirty-five inches long, ten inches thick at the upper end and nine at the lower ; it weighed twenty-eight pounds. The piece of rib bone was thirty-eight inches long and three and one-half inches wide. The vertebra, apart from its connec- tions, was four and one-half inches thick. The largest tooth weighed five pounds, ten ounces. All the teeth were very much worn, and indicated great age. The animal is the third one of its species exhumed in this country, and its remains were the largest hitherto found.t These relics are now in the possession of Dr. Perine, of Dansville. Prof. Allen says : --

"At no very remote geological period, before the advent of man, the whole of Western New York

was covered with a great number of lakes. We see the remains of them, not only in the blue waters of the Ontario and Erie, but in the beauti- ful Chautauqua, Silver, Conesus, Hemlock, Crooked and Canandaigua. At this period ["when the mastodon roamed through these ancient forests and on the shores of these old lakes,"] the whole of the Genesee Valley was filled, with a lake which could not have had an average depth of less than three hundred feet. Into this water flowed in beautiful cascades the Genesee river, the Canaser- aga and other creeks, with many smaller streams. The surface of the land on all sides was covered with dense forests, interspersed with deep and almost impassable swamps; birch and willow grew in great abundance in the forests, the mastodon abounded, and in seeking for the rankest vegeta- tion, often sank, on account of his immense weight, when he ventured too far into the shady bogs. Such a swamp existed on the hill above Geneseo, and here a few years ago the remains of a huge monster were found. Another swamp was found near Dansville, on the road to Wayland, about six hundred feet above the bottom of this old lake. On the edge of this morass the Dansville mastodon died. ' No bones of this animal have ever been discovered in the place covered by the lakes of this alluvial period."*

CHAPTER IX.

FIRST SETTLEMENTS AND MEASURES LEADING THERETO - MILITARY TRACT - MILL - YARD TRACT -CENSUS OF 1790 - FIRST SETTLE- MENTS IN LIVINGSTON COUNTY - COMMUNICA- TION OPENED WITH THE SETTLEMENTS IN PENN- SYLVANIA-ARKS-CHARLES WILLIAMSON-BE- COMES AGENT OF THE PULTNEY ESTATE-PRO- GRESS OF SETTLEMENTS UNDER HIS ENERGETIC EXERTIONS - THE VILLAGE OF WILLIAMSBURGH FOUNDED-SETTLEMENTS RETARDED BY WAR WITH THE WESTERN INDIANS AND UNFRIENDLY ATTITUDE OF THE BRITISH IN CANADA-"SIMCOE WAR" - REMARKABLE PROGRESS OF SETTLE- MENTS-SCOTCH COLONY AT CALEDONIA-ROB- ERT MUNRO'S DESCRIPTION OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY-1804 - SETTLEMENTS INTERRUPTED BY WAR OF 1812-POPULATION AT DIFFERENT PERIODS - HOMES AND PRIVATIONS OF THE EARLY SETTLERS.

IN the events connected with the Colonial strug- 1 gle for independence, especially that which wit- nessed the devastation of the Iroquois country by the invading army of General Sullivan in 1779, we trace the immediate agencies which opened up * Ibid.

* These remains, though found just over the line, in Steuben county, are commonly denominated the "Dansville Mastodon." The accom- panying description of them is gleaned from The Dansville Advertiser, of May 7 and 14, 1974.

t The Mastodon and his Cotemporaries, Prof. Jerome Allen, from The Dansville Advertiser, of June 11, 1874.

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

to eastern and southern immigration the whole of Western New York, for until after the close of that struggle, as we have seen, the whole of that vast extent of country west of the Line of Property was a reserved Indian domain. Having thrown off the oppressive burdens imposed on them by the mother country, the mind of the colonists expanded with the new and invigorating thought of liberty, and they were stimulated to the development of new enterprises and new industries. It is fair to pre- sume that those who had been favored during the war with a view of the beauty and fertility of this country, as were the soldiers who accompanied Sul- livan's expedition, bridged with prophetic vision the interval which must elapse ere the return of peace should enable them to make this fair land their future home, which many of them did, and that the favorable reports given of it to their associates in arms and their neighbors at home, gave direction to the minds of many who subsequently took up their abode in this wilderness, which, however, then abounded in extensive tracts of cleared land which had been subjected to the rude cultivation of the Indians ; certain it is that the extinction of the Indian title and the immediate subsequent opening of these lands by survey and sale to settlement, was the signal for a vast hegira from the New England States, and a little later from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, with a lib- eral representation from the more intelligent and industrious classes of the pauper-ridden countries of Europe.

In 1789, the year after the extinguishment of the Indian title to the reserved tract known as Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and extending from the Old Preemption Line, or in general terms from the Military Tract to the Genesee River, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham commenced a settlement and opened a land office on the tract at Canandaigua, and in 1789 had completed the survey of their purchase, including the Mill-Yard Tract,* into lots, generally six miles square and containing 23,040 acres. The tract was divided into seven ranges,

* The Mill-Yard Tract, lying on the Genesee River, mostly in Monroe county, extending from Lake Ontario into the north edge of Livingston county, and embracing a territory twelve by twenty-four miles in extent, was given by the Seneca Indians to P'helps and Gorham, pending the negotiations for the extinguishment of their title to the Phelps and Gor- ham Purchase, for the purposes of a mill-yard, for which, it was repre- sented, a tract as large as this would be required. Messrs. Phelps and Gorham conveyed one hundred acres of this tract-known as the " Hun- dred Acre T'ract"-where the city of Rochester now stands, for the erec- tion of a mill at the Genesee Falls, to Ebenezer Allen, a notorious char- acter in ibis vicinity and the pioneer settler of Mt. Morris, who, in 1789, erected a small mill. When the Indians saw the diminutive size of the mill, they were not a little astonished that so large a tract should be needed for its accommodation.

numbered from east to west, and extending from the Pennsylvania line to Lake Ontario. These ranges were six miles wide, and were subdivided by parallels six miles apart. The squares thus formed were designated townships and were num- bered in ranges from south to north. The portions of this tract embraced in the present limits of Liv- ingston county are townships 6, 7, 8, 9 and 1o in range 7, (corresponding with the present towns of Ossian, West Sparta, Groveland, Geneseo and Avon,) townships 7, 8, 9 and 10 and the north- west quarter of 6 in range 6, (corresponding with Sparta, Conesus, Livonia, Lima and North Dans- ville,*) and 7 and the western part of 10 in range 5, (corresponding with the eastern parts of Spring- water and Lima.) The survey was made under contract by Col. Hugh Maxwell, who completed most of the northern portion of the purchase in 1788, and the remaining portion in 1789, with the assistance of Judge Porter.

Settlements were speedily begun at various dif- ferent points in the tract, principally at Geneva, Sodus, Bath and the Friends' settlement at the outlet of Crooked lake, and in 1790 the popula- tion of the preemption lands, or Ontario county, which then embraced all the State west of the Old Preemption Line, had increased to 1,047, only 51 of whom were west of the west line of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase. This attempt at settlement, t however, says Charles Williamson, the first agent of the Pultney estate, referring to that at Canan- daigua, in a letter addressed to a friend in 1799. "was attended with great and almost insurmount- able difficulties. There was no access to the country but by Indian paths, and the nearest set- tlement was above one hundred miles distant ; the Allegheny Mountains, then never passed, lay on the south, and Lake Ontario to the north ; to the west was one boundless forest. It is not to be wondered at, that, under such circumstances, the country made little progress in population and improvement for some years."#

· The west part of Sparta is included in No. 7 of range 7; the western part of Springwater, a little more than a third of that town. in No. 7 of range 6 : and that part of Lima lying between Honcoye Outlet and a line in pro. longation of the cast line of Liviona, was included in No. 10 of range 5.

t This census was taken in December, 1790, by Gen. Amos Hall, and is given in tabulated form in Doc. Hist. 11., 1114. It included, says Mr. Williamson, "all travelers and surveyors, with their attendants, who happened at that time to be within the bounds of the country." (Doc. Hist. 11., 1130.) It appears that township 10, range 5 (part of Lima, ) then contained seven families, numbering twenty-six individuals ; No. 10, range 6 ( Lima, ) four families, numbering twenty three individuals ; No. 6, range 7 (Ossian, ) one family, numbering five individuals : No. 9, range 7 (Geneseo, ) eight families, numbering thirty-four individuals ; and No. 10, range 7 (Avon, then Hartford, ) eight families, numbering fifty-nine individuals Two additional settlements, on what were then Indian lands, existed within the present county of Livingston : one opposite No. 8 (Groveland, ) in the town of Mt. Morris, and the other opposite No. 9 (Geneseo,) in the town of Leicester ; which together with a settlement opposite No. 5 ( Burns,) contained four families, numbering seventeen individuals.

$ Doc. Hist. II., 1130.

EARLY DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GENESEE COUNTRY.

Happily the pioneer settlers of the Genesee country were not perplexed by those distressing litigations which environed their contemporary set- tlers on the Military Tract, and the soil of the country possessed a fertility which was unknown to the lands further east. It responded generously to the moderate exertions of the husbandman ; and during the many years while his less fortunate neighbor could only by the most pinching industry coax from an almost sterile soil a scanty subsistence, he had acquired a title of undoubted validity to his property, and was enjoying the blessings which flow from a moderate competence. A writer in describing the country between Albany and Niagara in 1792, speaks in glowing terms of this country. He says :---

" The famous Genesee flats lie on the borders of the Genesee river ; they are about twenty miles in length, and about four miles wide; the soil is remarkably rich, quite clear of trees, and producing grass near ten feet high. I estimate these flats to be well worth 200,000 { as they now lie. They are mostly the property of the Indians. Taking a view of this country altogether, I do not know an extent of ground so good. Cultivation is easy, and the land is grateful. The progress of settle- ment is so rapid, that you and myself may very probably see the day when we can apply these lines to the Genesee country :-

" 'Here happy millions their own lands possess, No tyrant awes them, nor no lords oppress.'

" Many times did I break out in an enthusiastic frenzy anticipating the probable situation of this wil- derness twenty years hence. All that reason can ask may be obtained by the industrious hand ; the only danger to be feared is, that luxuries will flow too cheap."

The same writer adds :--

" From Canandaigua I traveled about twenty-six miles through a fine country, with many settle- ments forming ; this brought me to Genesee river. On this river a great many farms are laying out ; sixty-five miles from its mouth is a town marked out by the name of Williamsburgh, and will in all probability be a place of much trade ; in the pres- ent situation of things it is remote, when consid- ered in a commercial point of view; but should the fort of Oswego be given up, and the lock navi- gation be completed, there will not be a carrying place between New York and Williamsburgh. * * *

" After I had reached the Genesee river, curi- osity led me on to Niagara. ninety miles-not one house or white man the whole way. The only di- rection I had was an Indian path, which sometimes was doubtful. The first day I rode fifty miles, through swarms of mosquitos, gnats, etc., beyond all description."*

The comparative advantages attending a settle- ment in the Genesee country were enumerated in * (Massachusetts Historical Collection 1.) Col. Hist. II., 1105-1109.

Imlay's Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America. After some prelimi- nary references it says :-

" But the peculiar advantages which distinguish these lands over most of the new settled countries of America, are these following :- t. The uncom- mon excellence and fertility of the soil. 2. The superior quality of the timber, and the advantages of easy cultivation, in consequence of being gen- erally free from underwood. 3. The abundance of grass for cattle in the woods, and on the extensive meadow grounds upon the lakes and rivers. 4. The vast quantities of the sugar maple-tree, in every part of the tract. 5. The great variety of other fine timber, such as oak, hickory, black walnut, chestnut, ash of different kinds, elm, butternut, basswood, poplar, pines and also thorn trees of a prodigious size. 6. The variety of fruit-trees, and also smaller fruits, such as apple and peach or- chards, in different places, which were planted by the Indians, plum and cherry trees, mulberries, grapes of different kinds, raspberries, huckle-ber- ries, black-berries, goose-berries, and strawberries in vast quantities ; also cranberries, blackhaws, etc. 7. The vast variety of wild animals and game which is to be found in this country, such as deer, moose deer, and elk of very large size, bea- vers, otters, martins, minks, rabbits, squirrels, rac- coons, bears, wildcats, etc., many of which furnish excellent furs and peltry. 8. The great variety of birds for game, such as wild turkeys, pheasants, partridges, pigeons, plover, heath-fowl, and Indian hen, together with a vast variety of water-fowl on the rivers and lakes, such as wild geese and ducks, of many different kinds, not known in Europe. 9. The uncommon abundance of very fine fish, with which the lakes and rivers abound, among which are to be found excellent salmon of two dif- ferent kinds, salmon-trout of a very large size, white and yellow perch, sheep-heads, pike, suckers and eels of a very large size, with a va- riety of other fish in their different seasons. Io. The excellence of the climate in that region where these lands are situated, is less severe in winter, and not so warm in summer, as the same latitudes nearer the sea. The total exemption from all periodical disorders, particularly the fever and ague. which does not prevail in the Genesee country, on account of the rising grounds and fine situations. 1 1. The vast advantages derived from navigable lakes, rivers and creeks, which intersect and run through every part of this tract of country, affording a water communication from the north- ern parts of the grant by the Genesee river one way, or by the Seneca river ancther way into the great lake Ontario, and from thence by Cataraqui to Quebec, or by the said Seneca river, the Oneida lake and Wood creek, to Schenectady on the Mo- hawk river, with only a short land carriage, and from thence to Albany, with a portage of sixteen miles : affording also a water communication from almost every township of the southern part of the grant by means of the different branches of the

HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY.

Tioga river, which joining the Susquehanna, affords an outlet to produce, through an immense extent of country on every hand, to Northumberland, and all the towns upon the great branch of this river, down to Maryland and Virginia ; and (with a port- age of twelve miles) even to Philadelphia with small boats; and when the improvements are made in the Susquehanna, and the projected canal cut between the Schuylkill and that river, there will be an uninterrupted good water communication for boats of ten or fifteen tons from the interior parts of the Genesee country all the way to Philadelphia. 12. But above all, the uncommon benefits these lands derive from the vicinity to the thickly settled countries in New York and New England govern- ments on the one hand, and Northumberland coun- ty in Pennsylvania on the other, from all which quarters, from the great advantages which are held out, there must be an over-flow of emigrants every year, until these lands are fully settled, which ex- pectation is already completely evinced, from the rapid population that has taken place on the east boundaries of the grant upon the Tioga river, and between the Seneca and Cayuga lakes up to On- tario, where, in the course of three or four years, above eight hundred families have fixed themselves in this fertile country, most of whom having emi- grated from the Eastern States of New England, New York and Pennsylvania, have all the advan- tages which are to be derived from a perfect knowl- edge of the country, and from that kind of educa- tion and local resource, which soon renders the situation of a new settler comfortable and happy, enabling them, at the same time, to assist new comers, who may be less acquainted with the na- ture of the country."

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History of Livingston County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 19

Author: Smith, James Hadden. [from old catalog]; Cale, Hume H., [from old catalog] joint author; Mason, D., and company, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co. Number of Pages: 744

Author: Smith, James Hadden. [from old catalog]; Cale, Hume H., [from old catalog] joint author; Mason, D., and company, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 744