History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 8

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 840

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this fact to the Spaniards, who, supposing it to be silver, came here in search of it and passed down the Oswego River. If they came here by the waters of the Susquehanna, as may be supposed, it is quite likely that they would ascend to the height of land to find the water courses in the opposite direction, or to discover the lake in the valley below them, which may account for their finding their way to Pompey. This is all supposition, it is true, but is quite as rational as any other, inasmuch as the Spaniards were the only Europeans at that period on the continent who could have left such a relic as this singular stone.

Mr. William Haskins, who was the fifth inhabit- ant in the township of Pompey, on lot No. 13, (now in Lafayette) in 1792, informed Mr. Clark, that on first plowing the lands, almost every variety of im- plement used in agriculture and the common arts was found in that neighborhood. They consisted of knives supposed to be of French manufacture, axes, with the English stamp, gun-barrels, some of them with a portion of the stock remaining, quanti- ties of ship spikes, pump hooks, a spy glass, trammel hooks and chains. In one instance a large quantity of musket balls was plowed up by the side of a rock. The remains of a wheel-barrow, with the iron entire, also anvils and vises, unfinished gun-barrels and gun-locks, indicating that the art of making these had been carried on, hand saws, files and fragments of church bells.

On this ground the graves were arranged with great regularity, side by side, in rows of ten or fifteen rods in extent. In the vicinity were other groups of graves, but not in regular order. Upon examination the bodies appear to have been enclosed in wooden or bark boxes. In one grave was found two glass bottles. In plowing, fragments of glass bottles, earthen and China ware, and a stone, cut in imitation of a watch, were found.

On Butternut creek south of Jamesville in the town of Lafayette, (formerly lot 3 in the town of Pompey) on the farm of Mr. O. M. Watkins, are the remains of an ancient fort and burying ground. The land here formerly belonged to Mr. Isaac Keeler. When he settled here the site of the old fort was an opening of about fifty acres, bearing grass with clumps of plum trees and a few scattering trees of the natural forest. Mr. Keeler left some of these plum trees standing and cultivated them, and found that they yielded very excellent fruit. On this open- ing was paraded the first regiment of militia organ- ized in the County of Onondaga, commanded by Major Moses De Witt. At that time the outlines of the fort were distinctly traceable. It had been

* Clark's Onondaga, 2 vol., p. 263.

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

enclosed with palisades of cedar, and contamed about ten acres of land. The plan was that of a plain parallelogram divide l across the shortest way in the middle by two rows of palisades running east and west. The space between the rows was about twelve feet At the northwest corner was an isolated bastion and embrasure.

This spot has been identified by General Clark as the home of the Onondagas from 16 80 to 1720, and the spot on which stood the famous citadel burned by the Indians on the approach of Frontenac's army in I'M). After the French invasion they returned and rebuilt upon the same spot, and the next spring planted the same corn fieldls which had been laid waste by their enemies. The situation of this an- cient fort was on an elevation gradually rising for ne.uly a mile in every direction, and at the time of its occupancy several hundred acres of land in the vicinity must have been cleared ; giving to the gar- rison an extensive prospect. Says Clark in his Onondaga: " Here in ancient times have undoubt- edly been marshaled with nodding plume and rat- tling cuirass, the troops of the French side by side with the dusky Onondagas, singularly contrasting their polished European weapons with the hickory bows and flint arrows of their allies."

Among the relics found upon the site of this fort and in its vicinity, was a portion of a brass chial plate, engraved in Roman characters with the numerals from one to eight, a brass compass box minus the needle, another more beautifully wrought, having on one side a representation of our Saviour and on the other Mary, the mother of Jesus, a balance beam eighteen inches long, a lead, oval shaped crucifix, an iron horse shoe, steel corked, with three elongated nail holes en each side, the workman- ship, probably, of some Canadian blacksmith, a brass shield, sword blades, sword guards, fragments of sword blades, gun locks, saws, surgical instruments, bracelets of brass three inches broad and highly orna- mented, and many other relics indicating the pres- ence of the French and the Jesuit missionaries. In 1813, Mr. Isaac Keeler felled an oak tree near the site of the fort in which was found a leaden bullet covered by a hundred and forty-three cortical layers, -probably lodged there from a gun as early as 1667. There are evidences that light cannon were used at this and other similar places of fortification. On the land of Mr. Samuel A. Keene was plowed up an iron bombshell about the size of a six pound ball, weighing two and three-fourths pounds. Can- non balls of small size have been found in the east- ern part of Pompey.

In the town of Elbridge were numerous evidences

of ancient occupancy by the French. On lot 81, originally the farm of Squire Munro, was a fort situated on the high ground back of Mr. Munro's house. This fort was square, except on the west side, where the line was curved a little outward, and when examined by the first settlers in 1793, the ditch and embankments were covered with heavy timber. It enclosed about an acre and a quarter of ground, having a gateway on the west side about twelve feet in width. A very singular fact was ob- served by the carly settlers, viz: That the ground in this vicinity, and in some other parts of the town, was literally covered with pitch pine knots, which lay strewn on the ground apparently in the same order in which they had fallen with the trees. Hun- dreds of wagon loads of these knots have been gathered for the purpose of making torches for fishing in the Seneca River. This is singular, as but one pitch-pine tree was known to the carly set- tlers to exist in the town, and that was left standing for several years on account of its singularity.

Northwest from the fort above mentioned, about one mile and a half, on what has been called the Purdy lot, is situated Fort Hill, containing another of these ancient works of much larger dimensions, having an area of about four and a half acres and embank- ments, when first discovered, about three feet high. It is situated on the highest elevation in the town. On this ground was disinterred an oaken chest in a decayed state, which upon examination was found to contain a quantity of silk goods of various colors. The folds and colors were easily distinguished, but after a moment's exposure to the air, the fabrics crumbled to dust. Several copper coins were found with the silks which were deposited in some museum in Albany or New York The discovery of these ar- ticles occurred about the year 1800. On lot 84, farm of Mr. Caleb Brown, about forty rods south of the road, in the town of Elbridge, was a circular fort which covered about three acres of ground. Pieces of timber were found here having upon them marks of iron tools. In a well about fourteen feet deep, which bore evidence of having been timbered up, was found a quantity of charred corn of the variety called Virginia corn ; and in another fort on the site of Mr. Brown's house and garden, including a por- tion of the highway, were found evidences of a blacksmith shop, such as cinders, charcoal, &c. The French, undoubtedly, had a trading post or missionary station in this neighborhood at an carly time, no written record of which has been preserved.

In the town of Salina, on lot 106, is found the ruins of an old fortification, probably that established in connection with the Mission of St. Marys of

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Ganentaha, founded in 1656. When the white people came to settle in the neighborhood of Salina, this ground was covered with small trees, apparent- ly a second growth, which had sprung up after the mission was abandoned. Judge Geddes, as reported by Mr. Clark, says : "In the summer of 1797, when the Surveyor-General laid out the salt lots, I officiated as deputy-surveyor, and when traversing the shores of Onondaga Lake, I found between Brown's pump works and Liverpool, the traces of an old stockade, which I surveyed and made a map of. Our opinion was, from the truth of the right angles, and other apparent circumstances, that it was a French work. A fine spring of water rises near by." The map made by Judge Geddes is in the Surveyor General's office at Albany, but a cut of the fort appears in Clark's Onondaga, page 147, second volume.

On this ground have been plowed up brass ket- tles, gun barrels, musket balls, axes, grape shot, and a variety of other relics. In 1794, the ditch was easily to be traced, and some of the palisades were standing. The work embraced about half an acre of land, and from its location was a place of beauty, convenience and strength. Cultivation and time have removed all traces of its existence. There was an ancient burying ground at Green Point.

When the first settlers came to the town of Onon- daga the pickets of an old fort were still standing and places visible where others had stood. At the corners were evident marks of a chimney and fire places, and also the ruins of a blacksmith shop. Cinders and a variety of tools belonging to the trade have at different times been plowed up, among which was a large and excellent anvil. Major Dan- forth once received a letter from an old Frenchman stating that he would find in the bank of the creek not far from his (Danforth's) house, a complete set of blacksmith's tools. Search was made for them, but they have never come to light.

In 1798, on the west part of the farm after- wards occupied by Gilbert Pinckney, in the town of Onondaga, could be seen a trench about ten rods long, three feet deep and four feet wide at the top, on the border of a steep gulf and par- allel with it, apparently a work constructed for defence. In this locality have been found every vari- ety of Indian implement-arrow heads, spear points, knives of flint, stone axes, etc., and here also several burial places were known to the early settlers. In IS15, on the farm of Joseph Forman, at Onondaga Hollow, was plowed up an oaken pail containing about four quarts of leaden bullets, supposed to have been buried during the Revolutionary war.

On the premises of Judge Strong there was an old French burying ground, and several bodies were exhumed in excavating for the cellar of the Judge's residence in 1816. Webster told Judge Strong that the Indians had a tradition that in one of their bat- tles with the French in the Hollow, which had been protracted and severe, the French removed their wounded to this spot, and here buried such as died.

Among the most interesting relics of antiquity discovered in this county is the Dutch medal, so called, described by Mr. Clark in the following passage : " In July, 1840, was found on the farm of Mr. William Campbell, by his son, on lot No. 3, La- fayette, a silver medal about the size of a dollar and nearly as thick. On one side is a device surmounted by an angel on the wing, stretching forward with its left hand, looking down upon those below with a resolute, determined and commanding countenance. Far in the background is a lofty ridge of moun- tains. Just beneath and away in the distance is seen an Indian village or town, towards which the angel is steadily and earnestly pointing. Above this overhangs a slight curtain of cloud or smoke. Between the village and the mountains are scatter- ing trees, as if an opening had just been made in the forest ; nearer are seen various wild animals sporting gaily. In bolder relief are seen Europeans, in the costume of priests and pilgrims, with staves, exhibiting by their gestures and countenances hilari- ty, gladness and joy, winding their way up the gentle ascent towards the mountain, decreasing in size from the place of departure, until lost from view. Among them are wheel carriages and domestic animals, intermixed. On the right is a fair representation of a cottage, and a spacious commercial warehouse, against which are leaning sheaves of grain. The whole is surrounded by the following inscription in Dutch : GEHE AUS DEINEM VATTER LAND, I b. N., XII., V. I, and at the bottom across, LASST HIER DIEGVTER. On the opposite side there is a figure of the sun shining in meridian splendor, casting its noontide rays over a civilized town, represented by churches, stores, dwellings, &c., with various domes- tic animals and numerous persons engaged in hus- bandry and other pursuits. In bolder relief stand Europeans in the costume of the fifteenth and six- teenth centuries, engaged as if in animated and joyful conversation and greetings, and by various attitudes manifesting happiness and joy. On the right is represented a section of a church, at the door of which stands a venerable man with head uncovered, with his hands extended as if welcoming these persons to a new and happy habitation. This side is surrounded by the following inscription :

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

VND Dy SOLLT EIN SEEGEN SFYN, 1 b Mos., XII., v. 2, and across the bottom as follows : GOTT GIBT SIEWIEDER.

The interpretation of the first side is : Get thee out from thy country and friends, thou shalt be truly a blessing. On the reverse side, which should be read in connection : Leaving thy goods behind thee, God will restore them to thee again. The small letters and figures on the right refer to the Ist book of Genesis. XII chap., verses ist and 2d, which inscription on the medal was taken from those verses in the Dutch Bibles.

It is in this chapter that God calleth Abraham and blesseth him with a promise of Christ : promiseth him the land of Canaan in a vision, to which he departed with his kindred and friends and servants and there builded an altar unto the Lord.

" This medal must have been none other than one given by his countrymen, in Fatherland, to a devoted missionary, with a party of followers, in- tending to spend their days in America, the land of promise, the fruitful Canaan of modern times, who in the goodness of his heart, bent on doing the work of his divine master, at some early day wandered into the wilds of the Onondagas, set up the cross (the Bethel of Abram, and left this memento of his mission in the hands of some Neophyte, which by some unaccountable circum- stances has been buried we know not how long, but now comes to light to prove to us that the aborigines of our country were a people whose spiritual welfare was regarded as sincerely by the Dutch as by their more ostentatious neighbors, the French. It is much to be regretted that on this and all other medals there is no date whereby to establish their particular-period of antiquity. This is by far the most singular and interesting relic of the kind which has come under our notice, and goes positively to establish the hitherto doubtful point, to wit : The early establishment of missionaries by the Dutch among the Onondagas."

The suggestion of Mr. Clark in a foot note that this medal may have been a relic of the Zeisberger Mission of 1750, is worthy of weight as being probably the true solution of the problem.

The presentation of medals to the Indians was undoubtedly a very common practice among the missionaries and traders. A valuable cross of gold was several years ago found in the west part of Pompey, and was sold for thirty dollars. It had upon it the significant " I. H. S.".

CHAPTER IX.

INTERNAL NAVIGATION-THE OLD CANAL-ORI- GIN OF THE ERIE CANAL-PART TAKEN IN IT BY EMINENT MEN OF ONONDAGA COUNTY - ITS COMPLETION AND ADVANTAGES.

T HE old system of internal navigation origi- nated by Mr. Christopher Colles, of New York, in 1785, and completed under the auspices of the Western Inland Lock and Navigation Company in the year 1800, was a great work for its day. It consisted of the construction of a canal and locks around Little Falls on the Mohawk River, the open- ing of a canal from the Mohawk at Rome (then Fort Stanwix) to Wood Creek, connecting thence with Oneida Lake, and the improvement of naviga- tion in the Oswego and Seneca Rivers. The Com- pany, in order to complete this work, borrowed of the State in 1796, fifteen thousand pounds, and in 1797, two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. What is now known as the " Old Canal" in some locali- ties is the remnant of this ancient improvement, which fell into disuse when the Erie Canal was built. It was in its day a very useful improvement and aided greatly in the settlement and development of the resources of Central and Western New York. Many a pioneer and his family were conveyed over that old thoroughfare to their new homes among the lakes and sylvan seclusions of the western wil- derness ; many a cargo of merchandise was shipped over it and freight of produce sent to market, till the growing population and commerce demanded ampler and more extended facilities for transporta- tion.

From 1807 till after the war of 1812-14, the pro- ject of a new canal connecting the navigable waters of the IJudson with Lake Erie was extensively agi- tated. The origin of the idea of this magnificent enterprise is attributed to Gouverneur Morris, who in a conversation with the Surveyor-General, Simeon DeWitt, in 1803, remarked : " Lake Erie must be tatted and its waters carried over the country to the Hudson."

So great was the interest of the people of Onon- daga in this proposed canal, that in 1 807 they elected Judge Joshua Forman to the State Legislature with express reference to his introducing the subject be- fore that body. He was a man eminently qualified for the work, and by his able and indefatigable sup- port of the measure from its very inception, did more than any other man to bring it to a successful consummation. While in the Legislature in Feb- ruary, 1808, he secured the passage of a joint reso- lution ordering a survey and the appointment of a

* Jejus If m num Salvat r, or Jesus Savior et Men.

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

joint committee of both houses, consisting of Messrs. Gold, Gilbert, German, Hogeboom and Forman, of the House, and Messrs. Taylor, Nicholas and Ward of the Senate. This committee being pre- disposed in favor of the Oswego route, left it op- tional with the Surveyor-General to either adopt that or any other route he might deem proper. The result was that three routes were surveyed and re- ported upon by the Engineer, Judge James Geddes, whose connection with the survey of this great en- terprise is briefly as follows :

On the 11th of April, 1808, a law was passed authorizing the Surveyor-General to draw upon the Treasury of the State for such an amount as might be required to prosecute the survey contemplated by the joint committee, not exceeding in the whole the sum of six hundred dollars ; and this was all that was appropriated for the first exploration and survey of the grand Erie Canal! Upon this the Surveyor-General appointed James Geddes, Esq., of Onondaga, to make the survey, and in his com- mission and instructions to Mr. Geddes, makes these remarks : "As the provision made for the expenses of this business is not adequate to the effectual exploring of the country for this purpose, you will, in the first place, examine what may appear to be the best route for a canal from Oneida Lake to Lake Ontario, in the town of Mexico, and take a level and survey of it ; also whether a canal cannot be made between the Oneida Lake and Oswego by a route in part to the west of the Oswego River, so as to avoid those parts along it where it will be impracticable to make a good navigation. The next object will be the ground between Lakes Erie and Ontario, which must be examined with a view to determine what will be the most eligible track for a canal from below Niagara Falls to Lake Erie. If your means will admit of it, it would be desirable to have a level taken through- out the whole distance between the lakes." The Surveyor-General refrains from instructing Mr. Geddes to make an interior survey, because of the insufficiency of the appropriation for that purpose. Mr. Clark says in a note : "Mr. Geddes' expenses exceeded the appropriation by seventy-five dollars, which sum was afterwards allowed by the Legisla - ture, so that the whole engineer's expenses for this exploration cost the State of New York only six hundred and seventy-five dollars, an investment made by the State which, for profit and importance, will probably never be exceeded."

Mr. Geddes entered with zeal and earnestness upon his duties, and in 1809 submitted his report of three different routes : the first, a communication

between Lake Oneida and Lake Ontario; second, the Niagara River route ; and third, an interior route, without descending to, or passing through, Lake Ontario. .

In comparing the Ontario with the interior route, the report was strongly in favor of the latter. In addition, Mr. Geddes was directed to examine by inspection a canal route from Lake Erie to Genesee River, and thence to the waters running east to the Seneca River, and gather all the information in his power for the prosecution of the great work, should the Legislature think best to provide for it. The report was favorable on the practicability of an inte- rior route from Lake Erie ; and it is worthy of re- mark that Judge Geddes' plan and route were mainly followed in the final location of the canal .* The country from the Seneca River, in the Cayuga Val- ley, to the Mohawk River at Rome, and thence to the Hudson River, was so well known as to leave no apprehension of insuperable difficulties. Thus by the operations of 1808, through the instrumen- tality of the true men of Onondaga, the fact was satisfactorily established that a canal from the Hud- son River to Lake Erie was not only practicable, but practicable with uncommon facility. } In Jan- uary, 1809, in company with William Kirkpatrick, then member of Congress from Oneida county, Judge Forman waited on President Jefferson and informed him that in view of his proposition to ex- pend the surplus revenues of the nation in making roads and canals, the State of New York had ex- plored the route of a canal from the Hudson River to Lake Erie, and had found it practicable ; and when Mr. Forman had laid all the estimates, plans surveys, descriptions and anticipated advantages before Mr. Jefferson, and portrayed its commercial prospects and the advantages which would accrue to the United States as well as to the State of New York, the President very coolly replied : "It is a splendid project, and may be executed a century hence. Why, sir," said he, " here is a canal of a few miles, projected by General Washington, which, if completed, would render this a fine commercial city, which has languished for many years because the small sum of two hundred thousand dollars neces- sary to complete it cannot be obtained from the general government nor from individuals ; and you talk of making a canal three hundred and fifty miles through a wilderness. It is little short of madness to think of it at this day."#

The favorable and satisfactory reports of Judge

* See Biography of Hon. James Geddes.

+ Clark's Onondaga.

į Hosack's Life of Clinton, P. 347.

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK

Geddes secured in 1810 the appointment by the Legislature of a Board of Commissioners composed of Gouverneur Morris, Stephen Van Rensselaer De Witt Clinton, Simeon De Witt, William North. Thomas Eddy and Peter B Porter, to whom were afterwards a Ided Robert R Livingston and Robert Fulton. These gentlemen were instructel to ex- plore the mland navigation route, and they reported favorably the next year. The next point was to obtain a competent engineer to lay out the Erie Canal Where should they apply > Sup posing there was not a suitable man in America to accom- plish the great task, they applied through an American gentleman at London for the services of William Weston, then considered the most accom- plishel engineer in Europe, offering as a maximum salary seven thousand dolars a year " Fortunately, Mr. Weston's engagements were such that he thought proper to decline In this dilemma James Geddes and Benjamin Wright, Esqis, held a con- sultation and agreed to go before the Board of Canal Commissioners and offer to survey the canal route provided they would give them their confidence. The proposition was accepted, and they were en- gazed on a salary of fifteen hundred dollars a year. " It may be considered," says Clark, " a fortunate circumstance that Mr. Weston did not accept the offer of the Canal Commissioners. Because, from the ostentation usually displayed by foreign engi- neers and the great expense attending their move- ments, the people of this frugal and republican country would have become discouraged, and it is more than probable the work would have been abandoned or at least indefinitely deferred. It is worthy of remark that the engineers employed on the Enie and Champlam Canals were Americans, except in two instances, where a French and an Irish gentleman were employed in subordinate stations for less than a year "

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History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 8

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 840

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 840