USA > New York > Madison County > History of Madison County, state of New York > Part 13
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ber. The prevailing soil of the town is a gravelly loam, though slate and other rock formations, cropping out here and there among the hills, change its nature locally in some degree ; also, alluvial deposits enrich the valleys.
The Unadilla river from the earliest dates was a favorite fishing stream for the Aborigines, and lay within the Oneida Nation. The "Oneida Path" which led to the river, came into Brookfield from the southeast corner of Sangerfield, passing the northeast corner of Terrytown Swamp, (called by the Indians Ska-na-wis, or Great Swamp,) and led through this town to the Unadilla Forks.
As we have seen, this township was Nos. 18 and 19, of the celebrated "Twenty Towns," or "Clinton Purchase," being a large tract of land lying partly in Chenango County, partly in Madison County, and a township in Oneida County, which were purchased of the Oneidas by Governor George Clinton, in a treaty held at Fort Schuyler (Utica) in 1788. . The sum paid for the tract was $5,500, in goods, money, and a grist mill, besides an annuity of $600. Although these things were wanted by the Indians, yet the wise heads of the Sachems foresaw the result of this wholesale cession of their lands. An incident is related which is said to have occurred when this treaty was made, aptly illustrating the final result of these treaties as they were to effect the Indian race. It was given by a sagacious Oneida Chief in the following practical manner :-
After the sale had been duly ratified, and Governor Clin- ton was sitting upon a log, the Chief came and seated him- self very close by him. Out of courtesy the Governor moved along, when the Indian moved also, crowding still closer. The Governor then made another move; the Indian hitched along again close to him; and thus the moves were several times repeated, when at last Governor Clinton found himself off the log ! Being considerably non- plussed he requested the meaning of this curious operation. The Chief sagaciously replied :- "Just so white man
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crowd poor Indian; keep crowding ; keep crowding ; by and by crowd him clear off ! where poor Indian then ?"
Previous to this treaty, in the year 1785, a traveler passing through the locality where Leonardsville now is, found nothing but a well worn path,-a branch of the Oneida trail,-to guide his footsteps, while a miserable quagmire lay where the main street of that village now passes.
We infer that the quiet of the Brookfield hills and dales was often, in that far off day, broken in upon by the wild habits of the natives as they traversed the forests, or pro- pelled their canoes and light batteaux upon the river. Joseph Brant and his followers often sailed upon the Una- dilla, even past the borders of Brookfield. Relics were found by the earliest settlers near the Forks, which go to show that that locality had been a place of rendezvous for his notorious band. Among other things of minor import- ance, a five-pail kettle, half full of wrought iron nails, rusted into one mass, was found under a log near the ford at that place. All appearances indicated that they had been there many years, and were undoubtedly a part of the plunder taken by the Indians in their depradations against the whites.
The first saw mill at the Forks, (on the Plainfield side,) built by Capt. Caleb Brown, stood on the spot where, it is said, an Indian once murdered a white man.
Upon the eastern shore of the Unadilla, opposite a portion of Brookfield, lay the Edmeston Estate. This was a large tract of land ceded to Col. Edmeston, a British officer in the French war of 1763 .* About 1770, Col. Edmeston sent Percifer Carr, a faithful soldier who had served under him, to settle upon the estate. Mr. Carr and his wife with their servants, were for a long series of years the only white inhabitants of the Unadilla valley. During the Revolution, Mr. Carr, it is believed, was friendly to the British Govern-
* The grant for this tract was obtained by Robert and William Edmeston, in 1770. See map of Susquehanna and Delaware, Doc. Hist. Vol. I.
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ment. The following letter by Brant to Mr. Carr, in the In- dian's own orthography, we extract from Campbell's Annals of Tryon County :
" Tunadilla, (Unadilla,) July 6, 1777.
M. Carr-Sir : I understand that you are a friend to Government With sum of the settlers at the Butternuts is the Reason of my applying to you & those people for some provisions and shall be glad you would send me what you can spare no matter what sorte for which you shall be paid you helping an account of the whole.
from your friend & hum'le Servt, Joseph Brant."
To M. Persafer Carr.
That Mr. Carr was in sympathy with the cause of his countrymen and against that of the Colonies, can hardly be doubted, though there is no account that he at any time actually engaged in the struggle pending. There is no doubt, however, about one thing ; that the Unadilla bore from this estate supplies to the British and Indian armies. The subjoined seems to confirm the view taken :--
" Tunadilla, July 9, 1778.
Sir : I understand by the Indians that was at your house last week, that one Smith lives near with you, has little more corn to spare. I should be much obliged to you, if you would be so kind as to try to get as much corn as Smith can spared, he has sent me five skipples already of which I am much obliged to him and will see him paid, and would be very glad if you could spare me one or two your men, to join us especially Elias. I would be glad to see him, and I wish you could sent me as many guns as you have, as I know you have no use for them if you any ; as I mean now to fight the cruel rebels as well as I can ; what- ever you will be able to sent'd me, you must sent'd me by the bearer. I am your sincere friend and humble serv't, Joseph Brant."
To Mr. Carr.
P. S .- I heard that Cherry Valley people is very bold and intended to make nothing of us. They called us wild geese but I know the contrary. Jos. B."
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Before the close of the Revolution, a party of hostile In- dians invaded the domain, killed the hired men, burned the barn, destroyed the property, and carried Mr. and Mrs. Carr into captivity. At first they were treated with great severity and for a time were made to follow them in all their expeditions, submitting them to every degradation, of which the following is but one of the many :- During their passage to Canada, whither they journeyed, sometimes in coming to rivulets or small sloughs, M. Carr was laid prone in the mud and water, to make a bridge for the savages to walk across upon ! In the course of time, however, they became inured to the hardships of their slavery ; their cheerfulness returned, and by teaching their masters many arts unknown to the Indians, they gained their favor, when equality in all things save liberty was accorded them.
At the close of the war in 1782, they were restored to freedom, when they returned to the Unadilla to find their home in ruins, and the cleared fields they had left, covered with briars and underbrush. One relic of the life that had been, was left to them, which they scarcely expected to find -their family horse-which had been overlooked by their captors. He had managed to subsist by roaming the woods and cropping the wild herbage and buds of trees through all those winters ; and though reduced to little more than a skeleton, it was yet a sad comfort to behold the faithful animal lingering around the old home. Mr. and Mrs. Carr immediately applied their energies to the restoration of their abode to something like its original comfort, and however mistaken might have been their zeal in the beginning of the war, subsequent events gave a new direction to their sympathies ; for here, in their at last peaceful, comfortable and retired home, they dispensed many kindnesses to the travel-worn emigrants who passed this route. Mr. Carr lived to an old age, and died without property. When his employer, Col. Edmeston, died, Carr was abandoned to want by the remaining heirs, suffering from poverty in his ad-
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vanced years, until by the spirited interference of his neigh- bors, a piece of land was secured to him in fee-simple, on which his industry supported him until death.
As the agent of a wealthy family, resident in England, , Mr. Carr was supposed to have in his possession, at times, large sums of money ; to secure which, when the perils of the revolution surrounded him, he buried the treasure near his dwelling. His long captivity and absence from his farm, the growth of wood, briers and weeds, the general extinction of common marks and signs, rendered his search for the buried money toilsome and fruitless. Such was the rumor when Carr returned to his home; and like the silly tale of Kidd's money-chests, it has found believers, as ap- pears by the fact that the earth has been upturned at the supposed places of deposit.
Early in the spring of 1791, a company of families in Rhode Island, having decided on removal westward, sent out their agents to purchase land in the Government tract of the Twenty Townships. Stephen Hoxie was one of the two agents thus deputized, who, with others of that com- pany, came on the same spring. On their way they stopped at Albany, and made purchase of thirteen lots at fifty cents per acre. We have before us the original patent of the lot Mr. Hoxie chose for himself. It is dated the 3d day of May, 1791. The tract was described as situated in the County of Montgomery, on the west side of the Unadilla, distinguished as Lot No. 96, of Township 19, of Twenty Townships: This lot contained 350 acres. As in other ancient patents, the State reserved all gold and silver mines ; also, five acres in each hundred was reserved for highways. We have here also the signature of Geo. Clinton, near which is attached the ponderous "Great Seal of the State of New York," the one in use at that period, and which bears the the insignia devised by the Provisional Govern- ment of 1777.
In due season Mr. Hoxie and his companions reached
F
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the hospitable abode of Mr. Carr, on the eastern shore of the Unadilla. Resting but a short time they eagerly pushed forward into the unbroken township of No. 19, cutting the first road, directing its course up the valley, northerly, to the location of lot No. 96. Here, between the base of the hill and the swampy valley, the stakes were struck for the first domicil in the wide wilderness of Brook- field.
In the early summer, at about the time of Mr. Hoxie's arrival, Capt. Daniel Brown, of Connecticut, with his family and a few friends whom he had induced to join him in the expedition, took up their journey for the "far west." It had been their intention to settle in the Genesee country ; but unforeseen events induced them to take a southerly route, and late in June, 1791, they reached the Carr farm. The kind invitation Mr. Carr extended to them to rest a few days at his place, and reconnoitre the surrounding country, was gladly accepted, for they had become weary and dispirited from the many obstacles unavoidably encount- ered in their long and toilsome journey, which had been performed with an ox team, and had occupied twenty-one
days. The rich lands of the Unadilla attracted their attention, and a nearer examination of the opposite shore revealed beauties and advantages more promising than they had looked for, presenting temptations which overcame . their attractions toward the Genesee. Upon inquiry they found a tract of land which had been ceded by the Indians directly to the State, of which a clear title could be obtain- ed and at an exceeding low rate. Accordingly, a few miles above the Carr farm, on the west and opposite bank of the Unadilla, on lot eigty-two, nineteenth township, Capt. Daniel Brown selected his abode, and with his wife, two sons, Isaac and Nathan, and one daughter, Desire, became the first settled family of the town of Brookfield.
Captain Brown began the first operations for his settle- ment on the fourth day of July, 1791. He and the pio-
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neers who had joined him, were men who had passed through the soul-stirring scenes of the revolution-who felt, in all its grandeur and significance, the full meaning of the word "Independence." They knew that at the old homes in Connecticut and Rhode Island, on the morning of that fifteenth anniversary of our nation's birthday, their veteran comrades of '76 and '77, would shout their joy over land and sea from their deep-voiced cannon, while here in the far off west, amid the hush of the solemn wilder- ness, what could they do to celebrate it ?- They determined to do something which should never be forgotten ; this day should begin a new era in the wilderness west of the Unadilla !
Our patriotic pioneers made preparation to usher in the day with a salute,-not of the warlike notes of thundering artillery, but of the cheerily ringing echos of the wood- man's ax, the harbinger of progress, prosperity and rural independence ! Therefore when the morning sun of that independence day shone through the woodland, Colonel Brown's ax gleamed amid its first rays, and its ringing, echoing strokes proclaimed the beginning of a new era, marked upon the tallying line of the nation's rolling years. To the booming cannon of Bunker Hill, these echoes from the heart of the dim, old woods, was the clear, silvery answer of a nation springing into life under the influence of freedom, peace, conscious power and indomitable will. This may be reckoned as the first " Fourth of July celebra- tion," which took place in Madison County.
We may here add, before dismissing this subject, that Captain Brown was a clothier by trade in his earlier days, but at the age of sixty-six years his ardor was aroused to visit and settle with his family, on the far-famed lands of Central New York. High spirited and accustomed to overcoming obstacles, they made no hesitation in setting out for that distant country as we have seen, with an ox team, following an unfrequented route and finally settling
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in an entirely unpopulated region. It would seem that Captain Brown's family were equal to the tasks generally required of youth and of early man and womanhood; for he was the father of ten robust, spirited daughters, each six feet in hight, not one of whom feared to do a man's work if it were necessary.
As weeks passed by, their isolated life grew wearisome. One autumn afternoon, the young lady, Desire, wandered out in the woods ; sitting down upon a rock her thoughts soon annihilated space between herself and dear old Con- necticut. Haunted with a yearning for other faces and voices, her oppressed feelings found relief in listening to her own voice as it floated out clear and strong over the valley, calling for nothing, but simply to hear the variations of the echo. Presently through the leafy arches of the woodland, mingling with the echo, came the faint sound of a voice. Again she called, and breathless with wonder, distinctly heard the answer. As her calls were repeated the answer drew nearer and nearer. Satisfied that the voice was human and was approaching the settlement, she wept for joy. It proved to be John I. Morgan, and his party of surveyors, who were rejoiced to find there was a human habitation near, where household comforts, not to be found in camping out, would be theirs to enjoy. They went home with the young lady and abode with Captain Brown during the term of their surveying. On his return to New York City, Morgan often told the story of his romantic introduction to Miss Desire Brown, the handsomest girl (because the only) of the Unadilla.
Stephen Hoxie, who, as has been seen, arrived before Capt. Brown, erected a small cabin and opened a clearing around it. In the autumn he returned to Rhode Island, and early in the spring of 1792, came back to Brookfield, while several of the thirteen lot holders, with their families, came with him and took possession of their lots. Among these lot holders were John and Elias Button, Thomas
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and James Rogers, and Peleg Langworthy, whose posses- sions, contiguous to each other, spread over the hills west- ward and northward of Leonardsville, in the 19th township ; while Elder Simeon Brown, Phineas Babcock, Elder Henry Clark and others had their farms in the immediate vicinity. Most of the farms taken up by these pioneers are now owned by their descendants.
This year (1792), considerable progress was made in the settlement. Capt. Brown built the first saw mill upon Mill Creek. John Button, who had located on lot eighty-two, adjoining Capt. Brown, purchased land some distance south on the same stream, on account of the water power, and here erected the first grist mill of the town. These facili- ties made this section famous far and near, and consequent- ly emigration poured in and rapidly settled the immediate neighborhood. Samuel H. Burdick, Samuel Billings, David Maine, Stephen Collins, Paul and Perry Maxon, Nathaniel and Eleazer Brown, and Robert Randall, came in this year and settled in various localities. Asa Frink, Ethan and Oliver Babcock, Ira and Nathan Burdick, and Yeoman York, were soon added to the settlement, as were also Ja- bez Brown, John Clark, and Capt. Samuel Babcock.
Stephen Hoxie again returned east in the fall of 1792. He had, on his last return here been accompanied by his son, John Hoxie, a youth of seventeen, whom he now left, with two comrades, on his farm for the winter, to look after the premises, take care of the one cow they had driven from Rhode Island, and to make the quarters comfortable for the arrival of the family. It is easily inferred that these young fellows busied themselves most industriously in studying the habits of those curious architects, the beavers, arranging and watching their traps, and dressing the furs of those they captured, and that their industry was re- warded with success ; for with the money realized from the sale of his furs, John Hoxie afterwards purchased the first fifty acres of his own farm. In this and kindred employ-
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ments, and in neighborly calls at the Brown's and Button's on the hill, they comforted themselves, and were tolerably successful in keeping off homesickness till the long and anxiously looked for emigrants should arrive, which event, the coming of Stephen Hoxie and his family, duly trans- pired early in the spring of 1793.
Between this period and the year 1800, many other fami- lies located, some of whom only made a temporary residence. In the southeast part of the town were several families by the name of Coon ; their settlement was known as Coon- town. In the north part were the Terrys, and their settle- ment was called Terrytown; there were the Welchs who came from Stonington, Conn. This family consisted of the father and mother, and thirteen children who located around them. The eldest, Charles, was married in Stonington, and himself brought a family of wife and two children. His son, Hosea W. Welch, lives near the Welch family burial ground and owns the farm on which it is situated. Numer- ous descendants of the Welch family live in Brookfield ; they are generally thrifty farmers and are worthy and use- ful citizens. The pioneer Welch and his wife, and other members of their family, died during the great epidemic of 1813, being some of its first victims. (Note b.)
Auspiciously dawned the settlement of Brookfield, which now bid fair to become early populated by a religious, in- telligent and industrious people. But the spirit of specula- tion came also. The same year that Stephen Hoxie and Capt. Brown came in, Michael Myers, Jedediah Sanger and John I. Morgan, purchased all the unsold lands of Brookfield, together with Sangerfield. The following is a copy of the record of this sale from Doc. Hist. of N. Y. Vol. III. page 1082 :
" The application of Michael Myers, Jedediah Sanger, and John I. Morgan, for the purchase of Townships No. 18 and 20, and the parts unsold by the Surveyor General of Township No. 19, being three of the Twenty Townships surveyed by the Sur- veyor General, pursuant to an act passed the 25th day of Febru-
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ary, 1789. The two first Townships, to wit: Nos. 18 and 20, at the rate of three shillings and three pence per acre, and the parts of No. 19, unsold as above mentioned, at the rate of three shillings and one penny per acre, one-sixth part thereof to be paid on the Ist day of October next, and the residue in two equal payments, the one-half on the Ist of April. 1792, and the re- maining half on the Ist of January, 1793, being read and duly considered. (Accepted.)
Acres-67,130=£10,908 15S."
Some of these lands were sold at first to settlers, but sub- sequently much of it was settled under perpetual leases, or » leases of one, two or three lives. This method had a ten- dency to retard, in some measure, the progress of improve- ment. Competition, " the life of business," had no foothold among a tenantry who toiled from year to year, without hope of becoming owners of the soil they had subdued and brought under cultivation ; and is it surprising if some parts of this productive town should fall behind some of her sister settlements in progress ? Do we wonder that the unyield- ing grasp by which the rental system held them, producing often great distress, should foster in the sufferers a spirit of retaliation and cupidity, and that in the course of genera- tions that system should become the nursery of criminal offenses, such as have disturbed the quiet citizens within the precincts of these townships for the past few years ?
On the death of John I. Morgan, a few years ago, Morgan Dix, of New York City, became heir to these lands. They, however, passed into the hands of Gen. John A. Dix, ex- ecutor of Morgan's will, by whom the farms were sold to actual settlers at reasonable rates, the improvements being deducted therefrom, which placed a large class of people, long of doubtful status, in a condition of independence, and of unlimited permanency as families, if they willed it ; and from which, we may trust, will flow all the blessings of high civilization.
Mr. Wait Clark of Clarkville, being agent for General Dix, much of the business pertaining to the final disposition of these lands has been transacted by him ; although much
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has been sold, there still remains a considerable proportion unsold under his supervision.
The first saw mill built in the town was erected by Captain Brown, in the year 1792, and the same year John Button built a grist mill on the same stream, some distance south of the saw mill, which gave the stream the name of "Button's mill Creek." A short time after, Jabez Brown built the second saw mill on the same stream.
There is an anecdote told of an encounter with a bear, which took place on the day the frame of the last named saw mill was put up, at a point on the creek a short dis- tance above Button's Mill. Bears and panthers were plenty in Brookfield, and although no person dared venture out far at night without a flaming torch to frighten these animals from the path, yet a man felt safe in the day time, especially if his rifle accompanied him. However, this day John Button started for the raising, leaving his rifle hang- ing idly upon the rough ceiling of his kitchen. He followed up Mill Creek by a foot path that wound its way among the stumps and over fallen trees. A few rods from his dwelling and at the head of his mill-pond a large log lay stretched directly across his path, one end of it lying in the stream. As Button mounted the log in his passage, a ferocious looking bear rose up from behind it and boldly confronted him. He was not yet much accustomed to these savage foresters, but having heard it remarked that a bear could be easily frightened in the day time by a shrill yell, he gave a most terrific one, swung his hat and dashed it into "Bruin's face ! Undaunted, the black monster rose upon his haunches and made a move as though he would embrace his opponent, but was so worried by a little dog which had accompanied his master, as to give Button time to shout to his wife to "let out the big dog and bring the two guns." In quick time these arrived, and Button in his haste grasped one and shot the bear, only wounding him in the side. The next instant he caught the other gun which
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his wife was about to use, and not knowing she had raised the hammer, pulled it vehemently and broke the lock. With the breech of the gun he now fought the enraged beast, while his wife ran for the ax. Meanwhile the bear though worried by the small dog-the large one having' cowardly ran off-made his best endeavors to injure his foe, pausing at intervals to staunch the flow of blood from the wound, which he effected by crowding into it tufts of hair drawn with his teeth from other parts of his body When the ax arrived, a few well aimed blows quelled Bruin's fierce wrath, and being near the bank of the creek he plunged in and shortly after breathed his last. His body was secured and found to weigh four hundred pounds.
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