History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 68

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920

USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 68

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According to Dr. Bagg, lots Nos. 90 and 91 belonged to the heirs of General John Bradstreet; Nos. 92, 93, and 94 to Rutger Bleecker; Nos. 95, 96, and 97 to General Bradstreet's heirs ; Nos. 98, 99, and 100 to General Schuy- ler. Mr. Jones states, in his " Annals," that lot No. 82 also belonged to J. R. Bleecker; Nos. 83, 84, and 85 to J. M. Scott; Nos. 86, 87, 88, 98, and 99 to General Schuy- ler ; and Nos. 89, 90, 91, 95, 96, and 97 to General Brad- street's heirs.

Bleecker's map of 1786 shows a clearing on lot No. 86, which was designated as " McNamee and Abm. Broome'st improvements." This clearing was upon both sides of the stream called the Plate Kill, and the " old fort" was desig- nated on lot No. 93. Two houses then stood on the east side of the road, now Genesee Street, and one on the west side, all ncar the fording-place. Improvements had also been made a little farther to the west, and slight ones near the present eastern limits of the city. According to the statement of Mr. Justus Ackley, a venerable pioneer who died in Rome in March, 1874, at the age of one hun- dred and three years, made to Dr. Bagg, there were but two log houses on the site of Utica in 1785. These he described as being built of split basswood, with the inter- stices covered with bark. Their fronts were from twelve to twenty feet high, according to the taste of the owners, and they were covered with a shed roof, the lower end being only a few feet from the ground.

Moses Foote, who commenced the settlement of Clinton in 1787, on his way out stayed over night with one of the settlers at Utica, who stated to him that he had half an acre of land cleared in 1785. This statement Dr. Bagg copied from the journal of Dr. Alexander Coventry.

The two dwellings spoken of as standing on the eastern side of the road, near the river, were occupied by John

Cunningham, who lived nearest the river, and George Damuth. The house on the west side of the road was owned by Jacob Christman. An emigrant who passed through the place in 1787, says there were also three log houses near the old fort.§ The house farthest west was owned and occupied by the man MeNamee. A settler arriving in 1788, adds the name of Hendrich Salyea to the list of settlers. The name of Mark Damuth occurs among those of several settlers who located at Deerfield Corners in 1773, but who were subsequently driven out by the war.

John Cunningham appears to have been a peculiar being, assuming Indian habits and dress, and making his home among them for months together. He remained only a short time in Utica, having sold out his betterments to John Post and removed previous to 1793. Jacob Christ- man seems to have followed the business of boating on the Mohawk, and it is doubtful if he ever had any title to land in the place. Abraham Boom had a life-lease from General Schuyler, and after his death his son disposed of it to the Christmans. Salyea seems to have been a tradiog charac- ter. He had a twenty-one years' lease, dated on the 28th of July, 1787. This he sold to John Cnoningham. Other improvements he sold to Peter Smith for £5. After this he squatted on a part of lot 90, and lived in a log house for several years.

The Cosby Manor formed a part of the upper district of the Mohawk Valley, included up to the year 1784 in Tryon County, which was subdivided into four districts,- Mohawk, Kingsland, Canajoharie, and German Flats, the latter including the Cosby Manor. The name of the county was changed to Montgomery in 1784. On the 7th of March, 1788, the district of German Flats was divided, and a new town, called " Whitestown," was set off. The east line of this new town crossed the Mohawk River at the ford near Cunningham's house, and extended thence, north and south, to the British dominions and the State of Penn- sylvania, and included within its limits all the western portions of the State.

The site on which now stands the city of Utica was originally ill adapted for the location of a large town. In speaking of this, Mr. Jones, in his " Annals of Oneida County," uses the following language : "Nearly all the ground now (1851) built upon was then (at the time of first settlement) an almost impassable swamp. All that was then anticipated was to make the place a ' lauding' upon the Mohawk, and as the adjoining county was cleared up, and this stream became smaller, its prospects were greatly improved by its being at the head of navigation. The first business men of the place could only hope that the vil- lage of ' Old Fort Schuyler' would be the port of the cities of Whitestown and New Hartford."

It is recorded by Dr. Bagg that, when Whitestown was erected into a separate township, the east line was located with the view of cutting off the Dutch inhabitants of Deer- field, leaving them still in the original district of German Flats. The line was located through the influence of

# This block-house was occupied for some time between 1700 and 1800 by Moses Bagg, Sr., as a blacksmith-shop.

t Dr. Bagg writes this name " Boom."

+ Written also Demeetb, Demuth, Dimoth, Demet, etc.

2 This was the father of Hen. Pomroy Jones.

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Whitestown, which was settled by Yankees. When Oneida County was organized, in 1798, the east line was located where it is at the present time.

The first settler who arrived in 1788 was Major John Bellinger .* This gentleman was one of the gallant soldiers who followed the ill-fated Herkimer to the bloody field of Oriskany, eleven years before. Major Bellinger was a native of the Mohawk Valley. His arrival at Old Fort Schuyler was in the month of March, and it is stated that the snow was four feet deep. His first shelter was a " hut of hem- lock-boughs," and was located near where is now the corner of Whitesboro' and Washington Streets. In this primitive habitation he dwelt for the space of four months, in the mean time clearing a portion of his land and getting mate- rials for a more commodious frame dwelling, which he erected the same season by the labor of his own hands. It is claimed by some that this latter building is still standing on the south side of Whitesboro' Street, in the rear of the third building from Washington Street.

In this building the major " kept tavern," which must have been the first hostelry in the place. At a later period he erected another and larger building on the opposite side of the street, which was also a tavero, and known as the New England House. Here the major presided until his death, in 1815. He was evidently quite a noted personage in the hamlet, having taken part in the organization of the first bank in the place. He accumulated a handsome prop- erty, and before his death donated a lot upon which to build a Presbyterian church. His family, on both sides, was respectably connected.

Mr. Jones states that during this season (1788) also came William Alverson, the father-in-law of T. S. Faxton, along with his father, Uriah Alverson, who leased and lo- cated upon a part of lot No. 98. He also says that a squatter family, consisting of Philip Morey and his sons Solomon, Richard, and Sylvanus, from Rhode Island, were living upon lot No. 97, and another, named Foster, on lot 96. Dr. Bagg states that the Alversons came in 1789 and leased land from General Schuyler in what is now West Utica, and built a house on the ground now occupied by the church of St. Joseph.

But the most noted arrival of the year 1789, was that of Peter Smith, the father of the noted Gerrit Smith, who came from Rockland County, where he was born in 1768. The father, as well as the son, was a remarkable man. He had learned the mercantile business in the importing house of Abraham Herring & Co., and at the age of nineteen years had commenced business as a merchant on his own account at a place called Fall Hill, near Little Falls. At this place he remained only a year, when he removed to Utica, then Old Fort Schuyler. Here he built a log store, as nearly as can be known on the site of the present Bagg's Hotel, where he opened a general stock of merchandise. . Not long after he put up another store building of the same materials, near the lower end of Main Street. He also erected a fine two-story dwelling afterwards, on the corner of Main and Third Streets. Mr. Smith prospered in busi-

ness and accumulated a very large property, a portion of which consisted of a farm of two hundred acres lying east of the village, beyond the Gulf, upon which he resided when his son Gerrit was born, in March, 1797. The foundation of his business prosperity was laid when he began trading with the Indians. Subsequently the famous John Jacob Astor, of New York, became his partner in the fur trade, which made the latter one of the wealthiest men in America.

It is said that these two men often made the journey on foot between Schenectady and Old Fort Schuyler, carrying their packs on their backs, and trading with the Indians for furs at their villages on the way. Subsequently they were partners in extensive land speculations. Mr. Smith, in his early years, became perfectly conversant with the language of the Indians, and by fair dealing, together with the exercise of great judgment and shrewdness, acquired an influence over the natives akin to that possessed by Sir William Johnson and Colonel Peter Schuyler in former years.

Mr. Smith and Mr. Astor watched and attended diligently the various sales of public lands, and made many profitable ventures, and the former became the owner of many tracts in various parts of the State.

About 1794, Mr. Smith, through his great influence over the Indians, persuaded the Oneidas to execute to him a lease, running for a period of nine hundred and ninety-nine years, of a tract of land comprising about fifty thousand acres, reaching from the town of Augusta, in Oneida County, across Madison County to the east line of Onondaga County.

There was then in existence a law of Congress prohibit- ing the Oneidas from selling lands to white settlers, but Mr. Smith evaded this by taking a lease which amounted to about the same as an absolute title. There was a division in the nation on the advisability of disposing of the land to Mr. Smith, but his knowledge of their language was greatly to his advantage, and when Congress sent Colonel Timothy Pickering to counteract his influence, there was a great gathering at the well-known " Butternut orchard" to hear the respective speakers. Colonel Pickering made a long and able address, which was translated and delivered to the Indians by an interpreter ; but when Mr. Smith arose and addressed them in their own tongue his influence was irre- sistible, and he was subsequently confirmed by the State in the quiet possession of his lands. The tract was at first called New Petersburgh, and afterwards Peterboro'. Mr. Smith was Sheriff of Herkimer County in 1795, when it included Oneida. He removed from Utica, and resided at Wetmore's Mills, now Yorkville, for a short time, and in 1806 again removed and settled on his new Indian tract.

Madison County was organized the same year, and he was appointed one of its judges, and in 1807 became first judge, which position he held until 1821, filling it to the satisfaction of the people.

As an illustration of his business capacity and extreme shrewdness, we copy the following incident in his life from Dr. Bagg's work :

# Judge Jones and others make his arrival three years later, in 1791. We follow Dr. Bagg.

t It is possible that he came in the autumn or early winter of 1788.

" His readiness of resource and his promptness to circumvent a rival are well illustrated in a story that has already appeared in print, and

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

which I give as it has been told to me. He was lodging one night at Post's tavern, at the same time that Messrs. Phelps and Gorham were also guests. Mr. Smith occupied a room that was separated from the other land speculators by a very thin partition. In the night he heard them whispering together about a certain valnable piece of land which they were on the point of buying. Rising from his bed and summoning the landlord for his horse, he was soon on his way to the land-office at Albany. When Messrs. Phelps and Gorham had finished their night's rest and taken their breakfast, they jogged on leisurely to the same destination. What was their surpriso when near the end of their journey to encounter, on his way back, Mr. Smith, whom they had so recently seen at Old Fort Schuyler, and how much more astonished to learn, on reaching the office at Albany, that the coveted prize was his."

He left his great estates to his son Gerrit. His death occurred at Schenectady, where he was then residing, in 1837.

From all accounts Mr. Smith was the first merchant in Utica.

Succeeding him, in the spring of 1790, came John Post, who was of Dutch extraction, born in Schenectady in 1748. He had served through the war of the Revolution in the ranks of his country's armies, and is said to have been present at the surrender of both Burgoyne and Cornwallis. He had been engaged in trade with the Iroquois nations for several years previous to his settling at Utica, and removed here for the purpose of pursuing the same calling. He had purchased from Hendrich Salyea, the previous year, his interest in a tract of land leased of Rutger Bleecker for the sum of £100. He had also purchased the interest of John Cunningham and a part of that of George Da- muth. On a small clearing, probably made by Cunning- ham, he had, at some period during the season of 1789, erected the first framed house in the county. It stood on the west side of Genesee Street, and not far from Whites- boro' Street.

As before stated, he came from Schenectady in the spring of 1790, bringing his family, household furniture, pro- visions, and a stock of merchandise in a batean up the Mohawk River, and, after a voyage of eight or ten days, landed at his new home.

During the first year his house served the triple purposes of dwelling, hotel, and store, and up to the year 1794 his dwelling and that of Colonel Bellinger were the only places of entertainment in the place.

In 1791, Mr. Post erected a building adjoining his dwelling and near the present northwest corner of Genesee and Whitesboro' Streets, into which he removed his mer- chandise, and carried on quite an extensive trade with the Indians. The commodities which the Indians brought in to exchange for his goods were principally furs and ginseng, the latter a medicinal plant, which then abounded in the country, and for which there was quite an extensive deniand for the Chinese trade. He had plenty of Indian customers, and sometimes as many as thirty or forty, including women and children, made his premises their stopping-place through the night ; in summer sleeping on the grassy lawn and be- side the fences, and in winter occupying the kitchen floor around the blazing chimney fire. Among other articles he kept, as was customary in those days, a stock of liquors, and these were most probably among the principal attrac- tions to the children of the forest.

Mr. Post's tavern had the distinguished honor of housing for a brief period, in November, 1793, several members of the French Castorland Company, among whom were MM. Desjardines, Pharoux, and the afterwards famous engineer, Mark Isambart Brunel. M. Pharoux was drowned the succeeding year at the falls of Black River, now in the city of Watertown. The party were on their way to explore the new French purchase on Black River, called by them Castorland .*

It would seem that these travelers found little to their tastes in this frontier " tavern," and the description which they gave of it was anything but flattering to the pride of mine host.

" Mr. Post," says the writer, " keeps the dirtiest tavern in the State of New York, which is not saying little. Fol- lowing the custom of the country, the linen is changed only on Sundays, to the misfortune of those who arrive on Saturday; and I therefore resolved to sleep on the couch they gave me with my clothes on. The common table had little to my relish, so that I was obliged to live chiefly upon milk, a proceeding which shocked the self-esteem of Mr. Post, who could not conceive how, with the cheer hie pro- vided his guests, they could call for milk in preference."

It seems that this French company purchased certain supplies at Utica, though not without experiencing con- siderable difficulty. Mr. Post and Mr. Kip controlled the pork and salt trade of the place, the former having all the pork and the latter all the salt. Not being able to make a satisfactory bargain with Mr. Post, who they thought asked too much for his pork, they went and purchased Mr. Kip's entire stock of salt, and this speedily brought Mr. Post to terms.

According to Dr. Bagg, it appears that Mr. Post did not like the business of hotel-keeping, and only continued it until other accommodations had become established. The business of general merchandising and the transportation of goods was more suited to his inclinations, and within a few years he erected a large three-story wooden warehouse on the bank of the river, and building or purchasing a number of the boats then in use on the Mohawk, he car- ried on an extensive business for those days in the trans- portation of produce, merchandise, goods, and passengers, to and from Schenectady.t He soon after erected another warehouse, of brick, which stood a few rods above the bridge.

His business increased and prospered, and he purchased and owned some of the most valuable lands in the vicinity of the town, including about ninety acres of lot No. 95, belonging to the estate of General Bradstreet. But in the midst of his prosperity, and when on the eve of retiring from the cares of active business, the tide of fortune changed, and within a few years he was reduced from com- parative affluence almost to penury. He had several daughters, the second one of whom attracted the attention of a young man named Giles Hamlin, who had been clerk to Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, and was considered a good

# For interesting extracts from this journal see History of Jefferson County.

t For a description of these boats and the navigation of tho river, see Chapter XVI., Internal Improvements.

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business man. The couple finally married, and Hamlin was taken into partnership with his father-in-law in May, 1803.

He was very ambitions, and the firm soon enlarged its business to wholesale dimensions. Hamlin was intrusted with the purchase of goods in New York, and took advan- tage of the confidence reposed in him to lay in an immense stock upon Post's credit, which was speedily disposed of to small country dealers upon long credits, the firm taking notes for the goods.

The house again filled up with new goods, and the busi- ness went on as before. As a sample of the way in which they carried on trade it may be stated that in the year 1803 the firm advertised five tons of candles for sale by the ton, box, or pound, and one thousand pounds of cotton yarn. But when the time of meeting their New York paper ar- rived it was found that collections among their country ens- tomers were slow and difficult, though they took in exchange large quantities of wheat, pork, and other produce, which they stored for a favorable market. But in the midst of this stirring business a terrible calamity overtook them, and there was an end of the firm and its operations together. Early on the morning of the 4th of February, 1804, a fire broke ont in the store and destroyed everything except a part of the books and papers and a little silver money. There is no mention of insurance, and we take it for granted that the loss was total. Mr. Post behaved in a very honorable manner, selling off his property to pay his indebtedness, and becoming in a few months comparatively penniless. He subsequently removed with his large family to a small farm at Manlins, in Onondaga County, where he died in 1830. In closing his notice of Mr. Post, Dr. Bagg uses the following words : " Nothing now remains of Mr. Post but a wretched street called by his name, on lands which he once owned, unless it be the large box-stove which once heated his store, now to be seen in front of one of the hardware establishments, and which, perchance, was the instrument of his ruin."*

The following additional items regarding this prominent settler we find in Mr. Jones' work :

" While here, and under the influence of rum, the Indians frequently engaged in bloody fights, were often turbulent and troublesome, and sometimes showed their knives when none but Mrs. Post and her children were in the house. About 1792, the celebrated . Sancy Nick' entered the dwelling-store with another Indian, and, learning that Mr. Post was absent, they demanded in most imperious and insulting tones of Mrs. Post, pipes, ' backer,' and rum; Nick at the same time drawing his knife, struck it into the counter, handle up, and also shut the door of the room. As they were about compelling Mrs. Post to draw more rum, she found an iron rod upon the floor, and seeing a hired man, named Ebenezer Henderson, passing the window, she called him in. Nick would not permit him to enter until he told him that he was called to get more rum. Mrs. Post then directed the man to throw the Indians out of the house, she at the same instant striking the knife beyond their reach with the rod; and with her assistance the order was literally obeyed. Niek ever afterwards treated the family with proper respect. At another time Mrs. Post interfered to put an

end to a fight among several Indians, who had passed the night by the kitchen fire, when one of them rushed towards her with his knife. She seized a chair, with which she defended herself until another Indian came to her relief by attacking her adversary.

" While Mr. Post kept tavera, upoo one occasion the celebrated In- dian chief, Joseph Brant, hecame his guest for a night. Brant was on his way to Canada from the seat of government, where he had been to transaet some business with Congress. A Mr. Cbapio and au- other gentleman were also guests at the same time. The chief called for one bottle of wine after another, until they were all in a pretty happy mood, when the two gentlemen declined drinking more. After being repeatedly urged to drink, and as often declining, they were told by Brant sportively that unless they drank he would pour it down their neeks. Becoming somewhat nettled at their decided refusal, Brant made some other proposition to Mr. Chapin, and from some- thing said or refused to be done by the latter the Indian flew into a towering passion. Angry words passed, and Brant dared Chapin to fight him, which the latter refused, and then tried by fair words and persuasion to satisfy the chief that no insult was intended; but fail- ing in this, he made an effort to leave the room, and the rest of the company also attempted to calm the excited passions of the great Mo- hawk warrior. Brant, however, drew his sword, and drove Chapin ioto a corner of the room, and there by the most hitter taunts and re- proaches, by making passes at him with his weapon, and by rushing furiously towards him, attempted to compel him to fight. Chapin coolly bared his breast, and said, ' I will not lay hands on you, but here is my bare brcast ; pierce it with your sword if you wish a vic- tim.' Mrs. Post, at this erisis, recollecting to have heard that an In- dian could be moved by the sight of an infant, instantly took her youngest child, but a few months old, and holding it in her arms, placed herself in front of the infuriated Brant, telling him that he must destroy her and her child before he injured their guest and friend. ' How would it have looked,' she continued, 'if several ladies had met here for a social visit, and they had coded it in strife? Put up your sword, and, here, take my babe and hold it, as you often have the others. See, it smiles, and you look so angry !' The heart of the savage Thay-en-dan-e-gea was touched ; he who had reveled in scenes of blood and cruelty at Oriskaoy, and in the whole extent of the Mo- hawk Valley, was now conquered by the smiles and innocence of an infant. The expression of his features was instantly changed, and laughing, he exclaimed, 'What a fool I have been ! Chapin, let us forgive each other.' After this reconciliation they retired. Mr. Post was not present."

Mr. Post was the first citizen who held the commission of postmaster ; but the exact date of his appointment, and the length of time he continued to hold it, cannot be precisely determined. He was probably appointed about 1793, and held it until 1799.

Among the settlers arriving in the year 1790 were Captain Stephen Potter, his son-in-law, Benjamin Plant, the three brothers-Samuel, Peter, and Cheney-Garret, Matthew Hubbell, and Benjamin Ballon.

Captain Potter was a native of Connecticut, born Jann- ary 12, 1739. He was a soldier in the American army during the Revolution, and held the several commissions of ensign, second and first lieutenant, and captain, issued by Governors Jonathan Trumbull, John Hancock, John Jay, and Samuel Huntington, which would indicate that he served in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey regiments. It is supposed that he also served in the old French war. He was at one time second lieu- tenant in the regiment known as " Congress' Own," in which also served the lamented Captain Nathan Hale, who was executed by the British as a spy in 1776.

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History of Oneida County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 68

Author: Durant, Samuel W Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss Number of Pages: 920

Author: Durant, Samuel W
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 920