History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 4

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In our synopsis of the history relating the change of title from nation to Stato, the absence of leading chiefs of the three nations has not been noted, and now the lessees, loyalists, and the other nations, bringing their influence to bear, ap- pealed to prejudice and fear to prevent the Indians from observing their contracts; but the governor, promising protection, persevered and attained his purpose-to throw open to sale and settlement the country, and in liberal reservations secure protection to the Six Nations. The lands lying east of the Genesee country, now acquired by the State, were surveyed into townships, and re-surveyed into lots dur- ing the year 1790. These lands were known as the Military Tract, and were conveyed by warrant to soldiers of the State for services rendered from 1779 to 1782. The soldiers sold their warrants for mere trifles, and some of them made many sales to different parties, and there was so much of speculation and fraud

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that correct titles were scarcely known; the result was an avoidance of the tract, and a journey farther on to the fertile lands and undoubted title of the Genesee country.

Robert Morris, well known as the financier of the Revolution, was a resident of Philadelphia. Major Adam Hoops, who had served as aid to General Sullivan on his Indian campaign, was an intimate acquaintance. Oliver Phelps, of Wind- sor, Connecticut, was acquainted with both, and from them, and others, learned much of the Genesee country. The inducements presented for the purchase of land in that region were such that he resolved to turn his attention to that object. Accordingly, in unison with Messrs. Skinner and Chapin, Judge Sullivan, Wil- liam Walker, and others, he arranged for the acquisition of one million acres. Meanwhile, Nathaniel Gorham had proposed to the Legislature a purchase of a part of the Genesee lands. Mr. Phelps proposed that Mr. Gorham should join the association, and the proposition being favorably received, the measure before the Legislature was regarded as emanating from the company. The House passed a concurrent measure which was not supported by the Senate. The offer of Gor- ham, and the rumors of the great value of the lands, brought forward other bid- ders prior to the meeting of the Legislature in April, 1788. All who desired to purchase were admitted into the association, which was represented by Messrs. Phelps and Gorham. Their proposition to buy all the land ceded to Massachu- setts was accepted, and that great purchase known as that of Phelps and Gorham was consummated, by which the pre-emption right to six millions of acres of land in Western New York was vested in Nathanial Gorham and Oliver Phelps, as representatives of an association, which contracted to pay the State, therefor, the sum of one million dollars, in three annual instalments, using for the purpose Massachusetts scrip, then depreciated in value. A meeting was now held, and General Israel Chapin was sent to explore the country. Oliver Phelps was made general agent to treat with the Indians and purchase their title to the soil. . Nathaniel Gorham was delegated to confer with the New York authorities in reference to running the pre-emption line, and William Walker was appointed local agent of survey and sale.

Aware of the law in their favor, but the lessce influence opposed, the associa- tion determined to compromise. At Hudson, Mr. Phelps consulted with the principal lessees and secured their alliance. A treaty was appointed at Kanade- saga, which was to be conducted by John Livingston, chief agent of the " Long Lease." Mr. Phelps set out with agents, surveyors, and assistants, to complete preliminaries and begin settlement. The party reaching Schenectady about the 1st of May, embarked their baggage upon bateaux, and set out on horseback so far as a road could be found towards Fort Stanwix. Kanadesaga was reached in June, and Livingston was at hand, but Brandt and Butler, assembling the Indians at Buffalo Creek, kept them back from the treaty. On June 4, in a letter to Samuel Fowler, a member of the association, Mr. Phelps says, " I am well pleased with what I have seen of the country. This place (Geneva) is situated at the foot of Seneca Lake, on a beautiful hill which overlooks the country around it, and gives a fine prospect of the whole lake. Here we propose building the city, as there is a water-carriage to Schenectady, with only two carrying-places of one mile each." Mr. Phelps had not entered upon his business to suffer defeat, and while waiting at Kanadesaga for the aid of the lessees, secured a letter of intro- duction to the Senecas from Dominique Dabartsch, the French Indian trader, who, at Cashong, had aided the lessees, and was now as ardently engaged in behalf of Mr. Phelps. It was apparent that the New York and the Niagara companies were at variance, and Phelps, journeying to Niagara, met and secured the co- operation of Butler, Brandt, and Street, who promised to assemble the Indians at Buffalo Creek to hold a treaty. Returning to Kanadesaga, he there remained until a party of chiefs headed by Red Jacket arrived to conduct him to the coun- cil. Negotiations began about the 4th of July. There was present, as a counsel for the Indians, Rev. Kirkland, who had been appointed by Massachusetts to superintend the treaty. He was assisted by Elisha Lse, of Boston. Quite a number of interpreters were present. Both lessee companies were on the ground by representation, and chiefs of the Mohawk, Cayuga, and Onondaga nations were lookers on.

Mr. Phelps presented his commission, indicated the object of the assembly, and made known the right he had acquired of Massachusetts. The majority of the Seneca chiefs favored a sale, but had determined to make the Genesee the eastern limit of their cession. Days passed, and the Indians finally yielded, and only the matter of price remained. John Butler, Elisha Lee, and Joseph Brandt, as ref- crees, decided that five thousand dollars should be paid for the purchase, and a perpetual annuity of five hundred dollars thereafter. These lands, thus acquired, constituted what has since been known as the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, and were estimated to contain two million six hundred thousand acres. The lessees, who managed to embarrass where they could not control, received for their for- bearance four townships of land; a further claim for assembling the Indians was

made of fifteen one hundred and twentieths of the purchase. The origin of the dif- ficulty was the ill-understood rights of the State and general government, and mis- chievous influence of the British. The field being clear for the surveyor, Mr. Phelps contracted with Colonel Hugh Maxwell to divide the country into townships about six miles square. He first ran the pre-emption line to Lake Ontario, and then ran seven parallel lines distant from each other six miles, the seventh line being marked by a large elm tree near the mouth of Caneseraga Creek, where it joins the Genesee. The river was then taken as the line as far as two miles north of Avon, thus forming a right angle. Then ran twelve miles west of Caledonia, and hence directly north to the lake. These lines were the limit of the lands ob- tained by the treaty. East and west lines were now run, and the townships num- bered. The seven divisions were denominated ranges, and count westward, while the townships count from the south, northward. Several township lines were run during the fall of 1788; and in the year 1789, assisted by Judge Augustus Porter, Maxwell completed the work. The survey into farm lots, where entire townships were sold, was done at the purchaser's expense. One Jenkins and Frederick Saxton were also early surveyors connected with the subdivisions. On his return East, Mr. Phelps reported his work, pronounced the country good, and the purchase as large as was likely to be profitable. William Walker remained in the country till the approach of winter, and returning, reported at a January meeting of the associates the sale of nearly thirty townships. The division of lands took place, and the early sale of entire townships was generally to shareholders. The bulk of the estate remained with Phelps, Gorham, and a few others. All the first settlers of this country were from New England-a fact explained by the difficulty of access from any other quarter, and the circumstance of the pro- prietors being from that locality. Until the opening of the road over the Alle- gheny Mountains to Pennsylvania, there was scarcely an exception ; but when this avenue was furnished, and the nature of the country made known, quite an emigration came from the other Middle States, and some from Maryland. The New England settlers, noted for enterprise, and aware of the difficulties of travel, and the danger when arrived, regarded themselves as the only class that would remove so far from their homes. They, as we shall see, came not as individuals but as colonies, and, in association with accustomed neighbors, experienced only the hardships of the commencement without the loneliness of interrupted asso- ciation. During 1796 or 1797 a law was passed by the Legislature enabling alien foreigners to hold real property in New York State. The Genesee country in- vited settlement of old-country men by the opportunity of arranging their farms to suit themselves, and continuing their own manners and customs. The route of travel varied with the season and inclination. The primitive method was by bateaux, following the course of lake, creek, and river; but when a State road was cut through by way of Auburn, from Whitestown to Geneva, in 1796, and the celebrated bridge was built over the foot of Cayuga Lake in 1800, this be- came the great pathway of Western emigration. To ride to-day in a handsome car, with cushioned seat, upon a smooth track, at a fare of two cents per mile, and to pass pleasurable and safely from Albany to Buffalo, unconscious of the speed, greeting friends at villages during momentary stoppages, and resuming perusal of the daily paper sold upon the train while yet damp from the press, and filled with ovents noted but yesterday in distant regions,-to travel in this luxurious manner conveys no idea of the journeys to the Genesee country in 1790, and a few years later. The road above indicated was, in 1792, but an Indian trail improved but little, and upon its route at varying intervals for many miles but few log cabins were scattered, occasionally inhabited by cleanliness and comfort, but generally, as we learn from travelers of that period, far the reverse. Time, like distance, mellows the past remembrance, and few, having choice, would desire a return of pioneer days. While some adhered in travel to the water, others came through on horseback, with wagons often drawn by ox-teams, and some on foot. During winter the sleigh was run, and the frozen, snow-covered earth made the travel not disagreeable unless the dissolving snow should, as some- times happened, abruptly leave them stranded. If the settler came from Long Island, he launched his bateau upon the Sound, and came to New York, thence up the Hudson River, whence transporting boat and effects to Schenectady, he passed up the Mohawk to Fort Stanwix; thence a brief portage to Wood Creek, and by that reaching Oneida Lake. Traversing the lake to the Oswego River, along that stream to the Seneca River, and the Genesee country beyond.

To those who performed that journey, looking back after a period of weeks, the lengthened route, the wearisome labor, the distant home, made the speedily erected log cabin a pleasant dwelling. Few now remain of those who experienced the effort required for the travel to the West, and to them it comes as a thing doubly of the past. Within a period of six weeks three thousand people sought homes in Ontario, at a time when the communication had been 'facilitated. The cause of this heavy influx of pioneer population deserves notice. The tales of wonder- ful fertility and beauty of the Indian home wrought on the mind. The weather

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was reported mild, and wheat would produce enormously with slight labor. The independent New Englander could be no renter, and the offer of a lease was more of an indignity than an accommodation, and, in instances, with little else than his axe, he passed on to share with others in the difficulty and danger, the labor and fatigue, of cutting and clearing roads and making bridges to the Indian country, and then, making a road to a place where he could settle down with his family upon a native tract, made his own by virtue of an investment of former hard earn- ings, he rose each morning to follow the plow or gather the harvest, all his own, with none to demand tithes for occupation, and none to intimidate. The fall of 1788 saw a commencement at Canandaigua, and an occupation of Geneva. When the vast field lay open to settlement, and many in their Eastern homes were gathering their effects for an exodus in the coming season, Kanadesaga, at the foot of Seneca Lake, became known as Geneva, and the isolated outpost of oocu- pation; here were taverns and huts, here were traders and surveyors, explorers and speculators-some of them men of influence and character, others, a desperate and worthless class, the spume upon the crest of the pioneer wave.

CHAPTER IV.

LINE OF ORGANIZATION-CONCURRENT EVENTS-EARLY OCCUPANTS PRIOR TO PURCHASE-ADVENTURE-PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT WEST-REDUC- TION OF AREA-LOCAL SELECTIONS AND ACQUISITIONS DURING 1789.

ONTARIO is descended from an original county, and from her, keeping pace with the increase of population, many another has been formed. Primarily of indefinite extent, the eastern border held the population of Albany, and all to the westward was an unknown land. Succeeding a denser settlement came desire for local government ; and not without strong opposition, resulting at times in defeat, but eventually in securing their object, did the various counties sprung from On- tario secure their independent existence. Albany was organized November 1, 1683, as one of the original counties of the province of New York, and was made to include all territory north and west of the present limits, and at one time the whole of Vermont. Albany was the centre of Indian trade, the rendezvous of expedition against Canada, and became the State capital in 1797. It was at this city that the first colonial Congress met in June, 1754, to concert measures of union and defense, in view of approaching hostilities with the French and In- dians. Eight colonies were represented, and a plan of union drawn by Dr. Franklin then adopted, and later rejected by king and by province, each refusing to yield so much to the other of freedom and power.

Tryon County was formed from Albany, on March 12, 1772, and derived its name from the royal governor of the province at that time. Its territory embraced all lands in the colony west of a north and south line through the centre of Schoharie County. The name Montgomery was substituted for Tryon in April, 1784, and now the swarms of individuals, families, and colonies began to move out into the wilderness northward and westward, and speedily required new divisions of coun- ties for convenience of jurisdiction and just representation of interests. Ontario was formed from Montgomery January 27, 1789, and derived its name from the lake which at that time constituted its northern boundary. In May, 1784, the first adventurous pioneer, with his family, setting out from Middletown, Con- necticut, advanced beyond the then bounds of civilization into the forests of Mont- gomery. Trusting in the future, and self-reliant, this man, Hugh White, clearing away the trees, built of their trunks a habitation upon the great central Indian trail from Albany westward. Here, where two years later had grown the village of Whitestown, he toiled at improvement, endeavored to ingratiate himself with the Indians, and found relaxation and enjoyment in the society of wife and children.

One afternoon, White being absent, a party of Indians were seen by his wife advancing along the trail towards her cabin. According to custom and a natural impulse, cordial greeting met the visitors, and food was placed before them. The object of the embassy was then made known by their leader, who asked to take the white man's daughter on a visit to their forest home. Memories of cruelties and life captivities rushed upon the mind, and to permit her loved child to de- part among savages seemed a hard requirement. While, troubled by appre- hension from acquiescence or refusal, the mother hesitated, and the Indians awaited a reply, a step was heard, and White came in. Pleased at the visit, he gave a cordial welcome, and, learning the purport of their mission, gave immediate con- sent, and directed his child to go with them. The Indians withdrew, and anxiously the family awaited the issue. The evening of another day drew near, and the time for the return of the child was at hand. Finally, the plumes of the chief were seen nodding in the distance, and by his side tripped the elated girl, bedecked

in the finery of a savage toilet. The test of confidence had been made and sus- tained; henceforth the settler White knew no friends more trusty than were his red brethren. Following White during the same year, James Dean located near the site of Rome, upon a tract presented by the Indians as remuneration for services as interpreter. In 1787, the later pioneer of Wheatland, Monroe County, Joseph Blackmer, advanced a few miles west of Judge Dean and settled. Ass Danforth and family in May, 1788, moving by water for lack of a road far beyond predecessors, landed at the mouth of Onondaga Creek. The log tavern opened for the early pioneers by Major Danforth was long a favorite resort, and the com- forts there obtained were in marked contrast with the wayside campe in the forest. With Danforth came Comfort Tyler, a man prominent in early history of Western New York. A teacher and surveyor upon the Mohawk, he was with James Clinton when the boundary between New York and Pennsylvania was established. He was connected with initial improvements, and held many offices in Onondaga County. Tyler and Danforth engaged in making salt in those early years, and the commencement of works, which, in 1792, produced a daily yield of sixteen bushels, was made by the latter, carrying a five-pail iron-kettle, from Onondaga Hollow to the Salt Springs, upon his head. Tyler, while a member of the Legis- lature, in 1799, became acquainted with Aaron Burr, who, with General Swartout, subscribed the entire stock for building the Cayuga bridge. Tyler was commis- Bary in Burr's ill-fated expedition, and was arrested for connection therewith, but never tried. Settling at Montezuma, he became active in promoting the con- struction of the Erie Canal.

The next settlement was by John Hardenburgh, at what was known as " Harden- burgh Corners," the present site of Auburn. James Bennett and John Harris settled in 1789, on opposite sides of Cayuga Lake, and there established a ferry. In 1788 the country west of Utica was known as Whitestown, whose first town meeting was held in April, 1789, at the barn of Daniel White, and Jedediah San- ger was elected supervisor. At the third town meeting, held in 1791, True- worthy Cook, Jeremiah Gould, and James Wadsworth were chosen pathmasters. The latter had, in 1790, attempted a road from Whitestown through the wilder- ness to Canandaigua, and, as the supervisor of Indian trails, may be noted as the first pathmaster west of Cayuga Lake. At the commencement of settlement in the Genesee country, Jemima Wilkinson, with her colony, was located on the west bank of Seneca Lake; a family or two had settled at Catherine's Town, at the head of the lake, while at its foot was a cluster of huts inhabited by traders and settlers. Upon the Genesee River were a few Indian traders; on the flats were several families of squatter whites; individuals lived at Lewiston, Schlosser, Tona- wanda Creek, Buffalo Creek, and the mouth of Cattaragus. Prior to the permanent occupation of Ontario lands, various persons, as missionary, trader, and captive, had lived among the Senecas or traversed their territories, and from the parts they played or the information their recollections furnish are deserving of present record. The first Protestant missionary among the Senecas was Samuel Kirkland. He had made the acquaintance of young men of the Six Nations in a mission school at Lebanon, Connecticut, and conceived the idea of laboring among them to secure their spiritual welfare. In company with two Seneca companions, he set out on January 16, 1765, to visit all the settlements of the Iroquois. The snow lay deep, and the party traveled upon snow-shoes, and rested at night upon a spot cleared for the purpose. Ignorant of the language of his guides, he could only converse by signs, and, loaded with his pack of books, clothing, and supplies, he yet made resolute progress. A letter from Sir William Johnson brought him a welcome at Onondaga, where a day's rest was taken. Proceeding to Kanadesaga, a halt was made near the village to observe Indian ceremonies, and then the party was escorted to the presence of the head sachem, where every kindness was shown. the missionary, and his continued residence with them considered and determined. Free communication was had by means of a Dutch trader, and within a few weeks a council was held for his formal reception into the family of the sachem. The occasion was marked by cordiality, and Kirkland was moved to shed tears of glad- ness and thanksgiving. He applied himself to learn the Seneca speech and ad- vanced rapidly, but . cloud soon gathered over his prospects. Adopted by a sachem of prominence, but few days elapsed ere the Indian grew ill and died. There were not wanting enemies to employ the event against the missionary, they alleging that the white man had used magic to destroy his Indian father, or that the Great Spirit was offended at his presence and required his death. A council assembled daily. The head sachem became his intercessor, an ambitious chief his accuser. Speeches followed. Kirkland's papers were examined and the widow questioned. She gave as part of her testimony that "in the evening after we were in bed, we saw him get down upon his knees and talk with a low voice." A final speech from. Kirkland's friend was followed by loud applause, and the accused was acquitted as innocent. A famine followed; the failure of a corn crop and privation was endured unflinchingly. He was driven to dispose of a garment for a few Indian cakes, in all sufficient for a meal, but of which he made one

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suffice for a meal, while his fare for days was of acorns fried in bear's grease. A journey was made to the banks of the Mohawk, where he obtained a supply of pro- visions. Allied by time and interest to the Seneca Nation, he became instru- mental in restraining many from war. He was active in the various treaties, and employed by New York and Massachusetts in that connection.

Few but have some knowledge of "The Universal Friend," Jemima, daughter of Jeremiah Wilkinson, of Rhode Island, whose followers were pioneers of the Genesee country before the advent of Phelps and Gorham. It is said of this woman, that when twenty years of age, succeeding an attack of fever which pros- trated the rest of the family, she herself was taken down and friends assembled to witness her death. A revelation required a resurrection, and she arose from her bed, knelt by its side in fervent prayer, and, saying that her physical life had terminated, assumed the role of a prophetess. Setting out upon a round of travel and exhortation, followers accompanied and converts were made wherever she went. In authority absolute, obedience was devoted. Her drees was strictly of neither sex, her mind uncultivated, and her memory excellent. For twenty years this woman traversed Pennsylvania, New York, and New England, and, grown confident in her deception, finally assumed that the spirit of Jemima Wilkinson had gone to heaven, and that the present inhabitant of the same body was the Saviour, the friend of man. In 1786 the " Friends" assembled in Connecticut, and resolved to migrate to some distant, unsettled region, where in peace they could enjoy their religion. Abraham Dayton, Richard Smith, and Thomas Hathaway were appointed to find a location. Their journeys brought them to Philadelphia, whence they traveled on horseback through Pennsylvania along the valley of Wy- oming, where, meeting a man named Spaulding, they learned of the region about Seneca Lake. By his directions they struck the track of Sullivan's army and proceeded to the foot of Seneca Lake, where, having become satisfied with the land, the return was made and the result announced.

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History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 4

Author: Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 391

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 391