History of Ontario county, New York : with illustrations and family sketches of some of the prominent men and families, Part 6

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass, comp; Conover, George S. (George Stillwell), b. 1824, ed
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1002

USA > New York > Ontario County > History of Ontario county, New York : with illustrations and family sketches of some of the prominent men and families > Part 6

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After destroying everything that could be of value to the Indians, and after sending all the wounded soldiers and cumbersome artillery back to Fort Sullivan, the victorious Americans, in the lightest possible marching order, again resumed their journey. About midnight on the first of September the army arrived at Catherinestown, situated on the inlet about three miles from the head of Seneca lake, near the site of the present village of Havana. This was the residence of the famous Catherine Montour, by many writers confused with Queen Esther, no- torious as the " Fiend of Wyoming," and also with Madam Montour, who were, respectively, probably her sister and grandmother. After camp-

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

ing one day at this village and destroying all the cabins and growing crops, the army proceeded northward along the east side of Seneca lake, destroying the little settlements at Peach Orchard and North Hector, arriving on the fifth at the Indian town of Kendaia, or Appletown. The village here was located on lot 79 in the present town of Romulus. The most important event in connection with the arrival at Kendaia was the rescue of Luke Swetland, who had been a prisoner among the Indians for a year. On the afternoon of the sixth the army resumed its march and encamped that night on the lake shore, near a ravine former- ly called "Indian Hollow," on lot 64 in the town of Romulus. Here was found a large quantity of pea vines which afforded excellent fodder for the horses, and from the camp the men looked across the lake into the Indian village of Kashong where they saw a number of Indians driving horses.

On the morning of September 7 the invading army made an early start, following substantially the lake road, and after marching about eight miles arrived at the foot of Seneca lake. Here a halt was ordered and scouts sent forward to reconnoiter, as it was expected that in this vicinity the Indians would make a determined stand to defend the Old Castle and their chief village of Kanadesaga. However, no ambuscade or other defence was attempted by the Indians, and the march was re- sumed across the outlet and close to the lake shore, between the main body of water and the almost impassable swamp to the northward of it. After proceeding about half a mile between the lake and the swamp, the outlet was reached and crossed, the same being about twenty yards wide, and from " knee " to " middle " deep, according to the accounts of various writers.

Although Sullivan's scouts reported no Indians in sight, the com- mander prudently approached Kanadesaga with the greatest caution. After crossing the outlet the men marched through a dangerous defile and across a morass, nearly a mile west of the old outlet, the locality now known as the " Soap Mine." Half a mile still further on they crossed Marsh creek and soon reached " Butler's Buildings," located in a beau- tiful situation at the northwest corner of the lake, in the vicinity of the present canal bridge. These buildings and the adjacent corn-field were destroyed, after which the army proceeded in three divisions to the

THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.

"Seneca Castle," or Kanadesaga, the capital of the Senecas, located on Kanadesaga or Castle Brook, about two miles northwesterly from the foot of the lake. It was Sullivan's intention to surround the village and endeavor to cut off a retreat on the part of the Indians, but when the army arrived they found that all the inhabitants had fled and not a per- son was found, except a little white boy about three or four years old, who was entirely naked and almost starved. The child was tenderly cared for and afterward adopted by Captain Thomas Machin, and was given the same name as his adopted father, but lived only a few years. It was never known who his parents were. Kanadesaga was found to contain about fifty houses, with thirty more in the near vicinity. A few of these were framed buildings, but all were irregularly located around a large open space, the center of the latter containing the stock- ade fort and block houses built by Sir William Johnson in 1756, and which at the time of the invasion were substantially in ruins; yet their ground outlines were plainly discernible. In the immediate vicinity of the village were large apple orchards and extensive fields of growing corn, while half a mile to the northward was a large peach orchard. Wild plums, mulberries, hickory nuts, walnuts and butternuts likewise grew in great abundance. In the houses was found considerable corn, many skins and Indian trinkets and curiosities.

On the 8th of September the main body of the army was employed in destroying the houses, orchards, fields and gardens at Kanadesaga, and on the same day a detachment of riflemen and volunteers, four hun- dred in number, under command of Major Parr, was sent to destroy the Indian village and settlement known as Kashong, located seven miles south of Geneva on the lake shore, in the northeastern portion of the town of Benton. The village contained about fifteen or twenty houses, all of which were destroyed, together with large quan- tities of corn, beans and other vegetable products, and as well large apple and peach trees with which the locality seemed to abound. At this place there was said to have been taken also five horses and a nun- ber of fowls. Major Parr found the vicinity of this little village so ex- tensively cultivated that his force was unable to complete the work of destruction in a single day, and he was compelled to send to Kanadesa- ga for an additional detachment of two hundred men ; and it was not

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

until the evening of the ninth that Parr's men rejoined the main army while the latter was in camp at Flint Creek. On the 8th a detachment of troops under Col. John Harper was sent down the Seneca river about eight miles to destroy a Cayuga village called Skoiyase, on the site of the present Waterloo in Seneca county.

While Sullivan's army was camping at Kanadesaga there was much discussion among the officers as to the advisability of pushing the work of destruction further westward into the heart of the Seneca country, and it was finally decided that the sick and wounded, together with all useless and cumbersome baggage, should be sent back to Tioga under an escort of fifty men. This being done, the invaders supplied themselves with all things necessary for temporary maintenance and de- stroyed the surplus *. On the morning of the 9th they set out upon their westward march, following substantially the Indian trail along which the old turnpike was afterward laid out, and in the evening encamped at Flint Creek, where was discovered evidence showing that the Indians had been there a few days before. Early the next morning the march was resumed and on the same day the army reached the Indian town of Canandaigua, located in the western part of the present village of that name. "At Kanadague," says General Sullivan's report, "we found twenty-three very elegant houses mostly and in general very large. Here we also found very extensive fields of corn." These houses are mentioned in the journals (kept by a number of Sullivan's men) as very substantial, better than any ever seen before in the Indian country and constructed mainly of hewn planks or logs, and from their general ap- pearance indicated occupancy by white people. A few of the houses had very neat and well built chimneys.

The army halted at Canandaigua only long enough to destroy the buildings, and then proceeded a mile further to the corn-fields, which were located on a ridge north of the town. Here they camped and at once set about destroying the crops growing in the vicinity. At sun-

*Sergeant Moses Fellows says in his journal: What Corn, Beans, Peas, Squashes, Potatoes, Inions, Turnips, Cabage, Cowcumbers, Water-millions, Carrots, Pasnips, etc. our men and horses, cattle, etc. could not Eat was Distroyed this Morning Before we march." As an indication of the great number of fruit trees that were girdled at this place by Sullivan's army, it may here be stated that sprouts from the roots soon sprang up and in 1797, only eighteen years later, one hundred bushels of peaches were sold to a distillery and cider to the amount of $1,200 was sold, the product of these orchards.

THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.

rise on September II the army was again in motion, retracing their steps back to the town and thence in a southwesterly direction, follow- ing substantially the line of the present road through Bristol to the foot of Honeoye Lake, where was located another Indian village of about ten or twelve houses, built of hewn logs, which, together with the corn-fields of the locality, the invaders destroyed. At this place Sullivan estab- lished a post with a garrison of fifty men under Captain Cummings, and here was left all the heavy stores and one field piece, and all the sick and infirm men, about two hundred and fifty in number, together with a large number of pack- horses which were allowed to roam in the woods.

About noon on the 12th of September the army resumed its march, traveling in a southwesterly direction about eleven miles, and camped in the woods two miles from the village called Kanaghsaws, the resi- dence of Big or Great Tree, situated near the head of Conesus Lake. Being somewhat uncertain as to the location of the large western town, Sullivan directed Lieutenant Thomas Boyd to take a detail of men and make a reconnoissance during the night. The detachment, comprising about twenty-seven men were surrounded by the Indians, many of them killed, and only a few succeeded in effecting an escape. Boyd and Sergeant Parker were among the captured and were taken to Little Beard's Town where they were horribly tortured and put to death.

The town of Kanaghsaws was destroyed, and on the same day, Sep- tember 13, the army pushed forward to Gathtsegwarohare, a village located on the east side of Canaseraga Creek, about two miles above its confluence with the Genesee. This town comprised twenty five houses, of then recent construction, all of which, with the extensive corn- fields in the region, were destroyed. About noon on the 14th, having com- pleted the devastation of the village, the westward march was resumed, and at sunset of the same day the army reached the Genesee Castle, commonly called by the whites Little Beard's Town, and which was the original western door of the famous Long House of the Iroquois con- federacy. It was located on the west side of the Genesee River, and near the site of the present village of Cuylerville, in Livingston county. According to General Sullivan's report. Little Beard's Town contained 128 houses, many of them very large and elegant, while the village it-

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

self was beautifully situated and almost encircled in a cleared flat sev- eral miles in extent, and scattered over the latter were vast fields of corn, grain, vegetables and other earth products. On the morning of the 15th the whole army began the work of destruction of every thing that could be available to the recent occupants of the village, it being estimated that between 15,000 and 20,000 bushels of corn alone were destroyed at this place.

The work of destruction being completed, the army faced about, fol- lowing the same general line of march as before, diverging slightly how- ever, to destroy isolated dwellings and cornfields, and on the evening of September 19 arrived at Kanadesaga. From this point Sullivan sent out various detachments of troops who destroyed every Indian village and all growing crops that could be found. On the 20th the main army took final leave of Kanadesaga, crossed the outlet of Seneca Lake and encamped on the shore. The next day, following the course by which they came, the troops proceeded to Newtown, thence to Tioga and finally to Easton, arriving at the latter place October 15th, where the men went into winter quarters.

In summing up the results of the expedition under his personal direc- tion, General Sullivan's report says : " The number of towns destroyed by this army amounted to forty besides scattering houses. The quan- tity of corn destroyed, at a moderate computation, must amount to 160,000 bushels, with a vast quantity of vegetables of every kind. Every creek and river has been traced, and the whole country explored in search of Indian settlements, and I am well persuaded that, except one town situated near the ' Allegana,' about fifty miles from ' Chinesee,' there is not a single town left in the country of the Five Nations."

The other detachments of troops which were sent to destroy Indian villages in other directions than that taken by Sullivan, were equally successful in accomplishing the work assigned to them. The result was that the Indians, now bereft of all means of maintaining themselves, were left to the mercy of the British. A large number from various of the interior tribes betook themselves to Montreal, where they joined the army commanded by Sir John Johnson and his equally cruel subordi- nates. The Senecas, however, fled in great dismay before Sullivan's conquering host and found refuge and protection at Fort Niagara. The

THE REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD.

Senecas, moreover, were the tribe who were chiefly feared and against whom the vengeance of the Americans was chiefly directed.

Another result of Sullivan's expedition was that it substantially de- stroyed the bond which bound the Six Nations together, and while the league for a time afterward retained its form, it had lost its binding power. By this separation the Oneidas and Tuscaroras became still more frindly to the Americans, while the tribes whose possessions had been destroyed were completely subservient to the British power, thereby weakening the whole intertribal relation ; and the spirit of the Senecas, the most powerful and warlike of all the tribes, was much broken by their recent punishment. It was a more serious matter with them than had been the destruction of their villages in earlier times, for they had learned to depend more on agriculture and less on the chase, and possessed not only corn-fields, but gardens, orchards, and sometimes comfortable houses. In fact they had adopted many of the customs of civilized life, though without abating their primitive pleasures, such as tomahawking prisoners and scalping the dead.

After taking up their temporary abode at Fort Niagara, the Senecas remained there during the winter of 1779-80, which was of unusual severity, and they were scantily sustained by the British authorities.

Of the severity of the winter Mary Jemison says : "The snow fell about five feet and remained so for a long time ; and the weather was extremely cold, so much so, indeed, that almost all the game upon which the Indians depended for subsistence perished, and reduced them almost to a state of starvation through that and three or four succeed- ing years. When the snow melted in the spring deer were found dead upon the ground in vast numbers, and other animals of every descrip- tion perished from the cold also and were found dead in multitudes. Many of our people barely escaped with their lives and some actually died of hunger and freezing."

In the following spring the officers made efforts to persuade them to make new settlements and plant crops, but the red men were anxious to keep as far as possible from their dreaded foes and would not risk their families again at their ancient seats. A considerable body of Senecas with a few Cayugas and Onondagas established themselves on Buffalo Creek, about four miles above its mouth. Among the Senecas,

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

and one who had been their leader, was Old King (Sayenqueraghta) then an aged but influential chief. Among the Indians were several members of the Gilbert family, Quakers who had been captured on the borders of Pennsylvania in the spring of 1780.

Meanwhile the war had gone forward with varying fortunes. Sir John Johnson, Col. Guy Johnson, the Butlers and Brant kept the In- dians as busy as possible marauding upon the frontiers, devastating par- ticularly the Mohawk Valley, the vicinity of the Johnsons' former home, but the Indian spirit had been so thoroughly broken that the maraud- ers were unable to produce such devastation as at Wyoming and Cherry Valley.

In the fall of 1783 peace was formally declared between Great Britain and the revolted colonies, and the latter were thenceforth to be known as the United States of America. By the treaty the boundary line was established along the center of Lake Ontario, Niagara River, and Lake Erie. Although the forts held by the British on the American side of the line were not given up for many years afterward, and they thus re- tained a strong influence over the Indians located on this side. Thus the unquestioned English authority over the territory of Ontario county lasted only from the treaty with France in 1763, to that with the United States in 1783, a little more than twenty years.

CHAPTER VII.

Condition of the Six Nations at the Close of the Revolution - Their Treatment by the State Government - Treaty at Fort Stanwix -- Land Grants Sought to be Secured - Operations of the New York Genesee Land Company and the Niagara Genesee Land Company - The Long Leases - How Obtained - Controversy Between New York and Massachusetts - Its Settlement - Annulled by the State - The New State Project - Its Promoters - How Regarded in Ontario County.

IN the treaty of peace between the British government and the United States no provision whatever was made for the Indian allies of the former living in the State of New York, but the English authorities of- fered them land in Canada, which was accepted by the Mohawks alone.

INDIAN LAND GRANTS -- LAND COMPANIES.

However, the United States treated them with great moderation, and that notwithstanding the fact that the Six Nations had violated their pledges, and without provocation had plunged into a war against the colonies. Still they were readily admitted to the benefits of peace, and were even recognized as the owners of all the land in New York over which they had ranged before the Revolution. The property line pre- viously drawn between the whites and Indians ran along the eastern borders of Broome and Chenango counties, and thence northwestward to a point seven miles west of Rome.

In October, 1784, a treaty was made at Fort Stanwix between three commissioners of the United States and the sachems and chiefs of the Six Nations. The Marquis de La Fayette was present and made a speech, though not one of the commissioners. It is quite certain that Red Jacket, then a noted young Seneca, who afterward claimed to have been there, did not take any part in the council. Brant was not pres ent, although he had been active in a council with Governor Clinton only a short time before. Cornplanter, too, was there and spoke on be- half of the Senecas, but Sayenqueraghta, or Old King, was recognized as the leading Seneca chief. The eastern boundary of the Indian lands does not seem to have been in question at this time, but the government commissioners desired to extinguish whatever claim the Six Nations might have to Ohio and other western territory, and also to keep open the right of way around Niagara Falls, which Sir William Johnson had obtained for the British ; and it was accordingly agreed that the west- ern boundary of the Indian lands should begin on Lake Ontario, four miles east of the Niagara River. All the territory of the Six Nations west of this boundary line was ceded to the United States, and the In- dians were to be secured in the peaceful possession of the lands they in- habited east of the same, except six miles around Fort Oswego, which was reserved to the United States.

The treaty at Fort Stanwix was finally accomplished after many dif- ficulties, and only after several adjournments. The British officers at Fort Niagara used every endeavor to prevent the Senecas from attend- ing the council, and Brant was also charged with using his influence in the same direction, and it is believed that had he been present no treaty would have been concluded. However, the document was finally signed

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY.

by Cornplanter and two other Seneca chiefs, and by two each of the Mohawks, Onondagas, Oneidas and Tuscaroras, and one Cayuga. Among the names of the witnesses were three Pennsylvania commis- sioners, Missionery Samuel Kirkland, and James Dean. Although the attempt to procure a cession of lands by the State of New York from the Indians was not successful at this time, in consequence of the United States commissioners persisting in holding a treaty at the time ap- pointed by the State for that purpose, the situation of affairs made it necessary that a grant should be obtained from them as speedily as pos- · sible, and in pursuance of that fact the next Legislature passed an act directing the governor and commissioners of Indian affairs to obtain a cession or grant of such lands as the Indians should be willing to dis- pose 'of on reasonable terms, on or before the first of October, 1785.

The treaty just mentioned as having been made with the Indians at Fort Stawix was followed by others of like character, but that re- ferred to above was the first that covered any portion of the broad Genesee country, and consequently was within the boundaries of Ontario county as originally created. The granting of lands by the Indians, except as they included portions of the region of which we write, was of frequent occurrence and has no important relation to the subject. While the Indians had no rightful claim to any of the lands within the State, they were nevertheless regarded as owners of the territory west of the property line, and the State sought only to acquire title through the recognized channels and upon the payment of ample compensation. There was, however, a class of persons, land specu- lators, who were organized as corporations, or as parties, and occasion- ally acting in an individual capacity, whose aim was to obtain Indian titles for the least possible consideration, often using liquor as a domi- nant factor in bringing about results and without the payment of adequate compensation for the lands they obtained.

To put an end to operations of this character the Legislature passed a law which forbade the purchase of Indian lands by corporations, parties or individuals, reserving the purchase right to the State alone or subject to its approval. To avoid the provisions of the law, the specu- lative capitalists of the region, many of them residents of the Mohawk and Hudson River valleys, thereafter sought to obtain at least a quali-

INDIAN LAND GRANTS-LAND COMPANIES.

fied title to the lands by negotiating leases for long terms of years, in the hope that after being possessed they might persuade the Legis- lature to confirm them in their titles. Such a lease was made to run for a period of 999 years, covering a vast area of territory, being the same region that was afterward in part erected into Ontario county. About that time, however, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State of New York, through their respective authorities, were engaged in dispute regarding the title to the lands now of Ontario county, and as well of the whole western portion of the State. As a matter of fact this controvery began previous to the Revolution, but the outbreak of the war united the otherwise opposing elements in the defence of com- mon interests. After the overthrow of the British dominion in Amer- ica, and after the several colonies had taken upon themselves the char- acter of statehood, the discussion was renewed with much warmth and some bitterness, and it was only after mutual concessions that an amicable settlement of the difficulty was reached. This is a subject, however, that has a special bearing upon the early history of Ontario county, and therefore calls for a brief review of the claims of the con testing States from the time of the origin of those claims, an hundred years before.

In 1628 Charles I of England granted a charter for the government of Massachusetts Bay. It included the territory between 40 degrees, 2 minutes and 44 degrees, 15 minutes north, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, making a colony 154 miles wide and 4,000 miles long. Ontario county was included with its boundaries, as was the whole of Western New York.

On the 12th of March, 1664, Charles II of England conveyed by royal patent to his brother James, Duke of York, all the country from the river St. Croix to the Kennebec in Maine; also Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and Long Island, together with all the land from the west side of the Connecticut River to the east side of Delaware Bay. The Duke sent an English squadron, under Admiral Richard Nicolls, to secure the gift, and on the 8th of September following Governor Stuy- vesant capitulated, being constrained to that course by the Dutch colonists, who preferred peace with the same privileges and liberties accorded to the English colonists, to a prolong and perhaps fruitless

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History of Ontario county, New York : with illustrations and family sketches of some of the prominent men and families, Part 6

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass, comp; Conover, George S. (George Stillwell), b. 1824, ed Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1002

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass, comp; Conover, George S. (George Stillwell), b. 1824, ed
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1002