USA > New York > Otsego County > History of Otsego County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 78
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In the year 1755, John Tunnicliff resided in Derby. England, where he owned a large and valuable estate, with extensive forests in which were preserved a variety of gaus. for the diversion of himself and numerous friends. Lise nearly all his descendants, he was extremely fond of il ... sports of the chase ; and on one occasion he pursued an I shot a deer in the forest of an English nobleman, who prosecuted him for the offense. This circumstance, it : said, together with the onerous tax imposed by King to II. on all gamesters, so incensed him that he at one. .. solved to emigrate to the American colonies, where he ede i be at liberty to enjoy the pleasures of the forest unrestraatt i by stringent laws or the caprice of titled nobility.
Accordingly, the following year he arrived in Phi !.. 1. !.
£
299
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
glia. Extensive tracts of publie land had already been granted to individuals and companies by the English colo- sul government in the eastern part of the colony of New York, and Mr. Tunuicliff visited this portion of the State in March of land, with a view of making it a future home Or his family. Proceeding westward from Albany, he at knuth reached Cherry Valley, where he learned of the ex- Mence of a region of beautiful lakes and numerous mill- Arvais a few miles farther to the west. He was desirous of seuring a location that would resemble, as far as pos- ,Me in its topography, his estate in England, and, amid the unlimited diversity before him, finally selected a tract of twelve thousand acres,* about two miles southwest of Canadaragot lake, in the patent just granted the same year to David Schuyler and others. Here he creeted a cabin and commenced the work of clearing away the forest. Other adventurers had already occupied claimus in the vicinity, and it doubtless required no small degree of forti- tude and courage to endure the privations and dangers in- cident to frontier life; and especially when we take into consideration the peculiar exigencies of the times. The French and English nations were at this time contending for the mastery of the continent. The latter occupied the Atlantic slope, while Canada was in the possession of the former, who were making vigorous efforts to control the western lakes and rivers south to the mouth of the Missis- sippi, and thus confine the English to the Atlantic coast. The French had vast hordes of Indian allies, who were constantly on the alert to perpetrate acts of hostility on their foes. Frontier settlements were frequently destroyed, and isolated cabins and unprotected families fell into the hands of the savages, who burned their homes to the ground.
Mr. Tunnicliff had frequently been apprised of the danger that surrounded hin, and resolved to leave until the close of the French war. His farming utensils were buried in the forest, and he returned to his family in England. Soon after his departure his buildings were burned by the Indians, and in consequence of this circumstance he re- maimed in England several years, during which time he old his estate there, bestowing, according to the English custom of primogeniture, a large portion of his property upon his eldest son, John, Jr., who had arrived at the years of manhood, and preferred to remain in the land of his birth. Mr. Tunnicliff had three sons and two daugh- ters. The two younger sons were at this time lads of Twelve and fourteen years, and the eldest daughter was sixteen.
Mr. Tunnicliff was possessed of a large property, and verupied a high social position.
At Liverpool he purchased a vessel fully manned, and with a considerable number of passengers on board (several families of which we shall have occasion to notice in this worki, he sailed for Philadelphia, where he arrived in the summer of 1758.
farm, previously purchased, on the banks of the Schuyl-
" The lands of this purchase extended easterly to the stream known
1. " Fly creek," and the region of the headwaters of this stream are & mignated as the " Twelve Thousand" to the present day.
! This name was pronounced by the Indians Con-da-ja-ne-yo.
kill, was now occupied by the family, where they remained until the year 1764,t when they removed to Dutchess county, in the colony of New York.
Although peace had been restored the year previous, Mrs. Tunnieliff refused to accompany her husband to his lands in Schuyler's patent. Accordingly, a farm was leased for five years at Schenesborough, near Lake Champlain, where the family were located with the two sons, Joseph and William. Mr. Tunnieliff now returned to his frontier estate, and found the ruins of his cabin that had been burned by the Indians. He at once caused new buildings to be erected, also a saw-mill on the stream near by, that was kept incessantly at work to answer the requirements of the now growing settlement. His eldest danghter re- mained with her father at The Oaks,§ as it was called, from the circumstance that a large portion of the lands in the purchase were thickly covered with gigantie oak-trees. This name was subsequently given to the stream that forms the outlet of Canadarago lake, which it still retains. At this early day there were few or no roads in this section of the country, and traveling was done mostly on horse- baek or on foot.
A deep and well-beaten Indian trail led from Cherry Valley to the western lakes, as they were called, passing nearly over the route of the present turnpike (a branch de- fleeting to Otsego lake) to the hill one mile cast of Rich- field Springs, thence to the lake, aud down its castern shore to the outlet. ||
It was the work of several days to travel between Lake Champlain and Lake Canadarago. The boundless and un- broken forests at this time were filled with a great variety of wild animals. The elk and deer were found in great numbers, and were so unaccustomed to the presence of man that they were easily caught. The common black bear, wolves, foxes, and beavers were also found in abundance. and the rustie dams of the latter could be seen in almost every stream. The nights were usually rendered hideous by the incessant howling of hungry wolves on the mountain- tops, the utmost precaution being at all times necessary while traveling through the dark and gloomy forest. The numerous !kes in this region were filled with a great variety of fish, and gregarious waterfowl swarmed in their waters, or flew screaming and territied at the approach of the Indian or the hunter.
" At the time of the discovery and settlement of the val- ley of the Mohawk by the Europeans it was occupied by five distinct nations or tribes of aborigines, all speaking a language radically the same, and practicing similar customs, who had united in forming a confederacy, which for dura- bility and power was unequaled in Indian history. They were the Mohnicks, Oucidas, Onondagas, Cayugas. and Senecas, called by the French Iroquois, and the Five Nations by the English." (Campbell's " Tryon County.")
Mr. Aurelius Tunnicliff, of Richfield Springs, has in his posses- sion at the present Time a perder-horn, with a variety of devices neatly graven upon it, with The name John Tunnielitf. Philadelphia, August 30, 1761.
¿ The " orchard" on this estate was the first in Otsego County.
" On the banks of the stream forming the outlet of the like the Indians were known to assemble annually for council.
300
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The great events of the Revolution were now impending, and a warlike spirit had already been engendered among the several tribes of the frontier by their participation in the French and Indian wars ; and an appeal to their cupidity by extravagant offers of reward soon made them willing allies of the British, who immediately incited them to the most fiendish acts of hostility against the defenseless colonists. The leader of the savages in this vicinity was Joseph Brant, who was a Mohuick of pure blood. His father was a chief of the Onondaga nation, and Joseph was the youngest of three sons. His Indian name was " Thayendanega," which signifies strength.
" Early in the spring of 1778, Brant and his warriors, with a large number of Tories, appeared at Oquaga, his headquarters the previous year. There he organized sealp- ing parties, and sent them out upon the borders. The set- tlers were cut off in detail. Marauding parties fell upon isolated families like bolts from the clouds, and the blaze of dwellings upon the hills and in the valleys nightly warned the yet secure inhabitants to be on the alert. Their dwellings were transformed into block-houses. The women were taught the use of weapons, and stood sentinels when the men were at work. Half-grown children were educated - for scouts, and taught to discern the Indian trail, and every man worked armed in his field. Such was the condition of the dwellers of Tryon county during almost the whole time of the war. The first hostile movement of Brant in this region was the destruction of the first settletuent in Spring- field, near the head of Otsego lake, in the month of May, 1778 .*
" Every house was burned except one, and into this the women and children were collected by the order of Brant, and kept unharmed; but the men were either killed or taken captive, and carried away by the Indians." ( Lossing.)
From an aged citizent of Springfield, I learn that in the eastern part of the town, iu 1778, there were two log houses standing near together, and on hearing of the de- struction of Cherry Valley the occupants of these houses fled to the Mohawk, driving their cattle with them. Soon the Indians came and burnt their houses, and it was three years before these families returned. There was one house south of East Springfield, occupied by a family, that fell into the hands of the savages.
An Indian seized a child by the feet and dashed its head against the door-post. There was also one house just south of Springfield centre, and a grist-mill near the head of Otsego lake. The Indians threw the large stone from the mill, but did not burn the building.
During this time Braut's visits were frequently extended to the remotest settlements and cabins in the valleys of the Susquehanna and Canadarago, and he was well known to the Tuunicliff family at The Oaks, who treated him and his comrades on all occasions with the utmost kindness, being actuated by policy under the peculiar circumstances of the times. Being a firm adherent to the cause of Great
Britain, Mr. T. refused to renounce his original allegiance to the crown.
On the occasion of the first visit of Brant to the bone. of Mr. Tunnicliff, and while standing near the daughter : he twined the heavy ringlets of her hair through his brawny fingers, and remarked, " What a beautiful sealp this woall make to adoru the belt of a young warrior!" Inquiring for her father, he was directed to a distant meadow, where Mr. Tunnieliff was at work with his scythe. As he ap- proacled him, Brant inquired, " Is this Tunnicliff ?" Being answered in the affirmative, he asked, "Tory or rebel ? ' Being assured that his affiliations were with the former. he appeared satisfied, and said, " Then you are a friend of the red man, whose scalping-knife is ever ready to inflict von. geance on its enemies." Thus saying, he brandished it- gleaming blade over his head, and struck its point into the breast of Mr. Tunnicliff with sufficient force to draw blood, remarking, with an expression of murderous earnestnes., " If you are truly a friend of my race, remain quietly in your cabin, and I, as chief of the Mohawks, will protect you and your family in the day of battle." Thus saying, he immediately departed, and quickly joined his war- painted comrades, and they soon disappeared in the gloom of the forest, in the direction of Canadarago lake. During the progress of the Revolution many of the settlements west of Albany were either broken up altogether or their growth entirely suspended through fear of Indiau hostilities. When we look upon the beautiful scenery of this region at the present day, we cannot avoid the reflection that all over these rugged hills and deep valleys Indian warriors and hunters seouted for ages before the pale-face made his advent among them, and the stumbering echoes were often awakened by the loud whoop of the Iroquois and Mohawk. who prowled through these forests in search of wild game. or, still fater, to fall upon the defenseless settlers and imbrue their savage hands in innocent blood. Immediately upon the return of peace by provincial emancipation, and the establishment of a liberal form of government in the State -; they at once became the asylum for thousands of Europeans, who sought homes on the shores of the New Workl. Regions that had hitherto been solitary wilds for unknown ages were soon transformed into flourishing towns and in- telligent communities. The fertile valleys and plains of Otsego County were now taken up by ambitious, frugal. and industrious emigrants, who purchased lands at merely nominal prices of those who still held claims or patent- obtained under colonial authority. The northern portion of Otsego County was regarded with especial favor in con. sequence of its beautiful lake scenery, fertile soil, diversity of timber that composed its rich forests. eligible mill -- ites and water privileges, aside from the salubrity of the elim de. and pure streams of running water that abound so extent- sively, and are so essential to our farming interests at the present day.
# This beautiful daughter of Mr. Tunnieliff afterward. married br. Jones, of Broekville, Canada, on the north bank of the St. Lawrence river. Their son. Hon. Punham Jones, now resides upon the ori?" ". estate of his father, and has for many years held offices of letue . " under the British government. Near the close of the last century, Mr. Tunuicliff built a church near his residence t lipiscopaliaus, hat it was destroyed by me in 1:40. He died in 1800.
* I am unable to ascertain the exact location of this first setllement in Springfield, thus destroyed .- B.
t Mrs. Burnham, who has been a resident of Springfiell seventy- eight years, and is now ninety-five years of age ( 1871). (Z. E. Lay, Eng.
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
· 301"
In the year 1774, John Tunnicliff purchased 600 acres of land in the northern portion of Schuyler's patent, com- mencing near the mouth of Fish creek,* and running northerly to the present line of Herkimer county.
The line erossed what is now Main street in this village, near where now stands the National hotel, and ineluded the western half of the present corporate limits. The trees on about 200 aeres of this land were " girdled" at this time, preparatory to a permanent settlement and the erection of mills on Fish ereek. Canadarago lake at this time was skirted by a dense forest, and its shores were bedecked by a profusion of lacustrine plants and flowers. A howling wilderness enveloped the mountains and deep valleys in every direction ; gigantie forest-trees east their long shadows far over the waters of the lake that lay in wild seclusion in the midst of the primeval forest. This was indeed a wild and picturesque region, but possessing all the natural ele- ments that have sinee contributed to its present state of material prosperity so abundantly enjoyed by us.
In 1791, William Tunnicliff. the youngest son of John Tunnicliff, built a saw-mill at Richfield Springs. The mill- dam that now forms " Lake Clement" was built the same year. The following year a grist-mill was ereeted on the opposite side of the ereek (cast side), which answered the purposes of the townspeople for several years, except in low water, when they had to go to great distances. Says Levi Beardsley, in his Reminiseences, " There were no stores near us, and if there had been, we had nothing to pay for goods.
.
"Our nearest mill, while we lived at the lake near Herki- mer's ereck, was Tubbs', on Oaks ereek, near Toddsville, some three miles from Cooperstown. After we went to Richfield, we sometimes went to this mill, sometimes to Walbridge's in Burlington, and sometimes to Fort Plain, the latter at least thirty miles as the road then ran." The old building in which was the first grist-mill, just eighty-one years ago, is still standing, near the present mill of Mr. John Dana in this village.
The same year that William Tunnicliff built the mills at Richfield Springs, Isaae Freeman emigrated from New Jer- sey, and built two mills on the premises now owned by Mr. B. A. Weatherbec, about one-half mile north of this village, in the town of Warren. One of the mills was built on the upper dam, on what is known as the " trout pond." Por- tions of this dam still remain.
One year previous to the date of Schuyler's patent, Kon- rath Mattes secured a patent of 1000 acres, lying directly gust of Tunnicliff's purchase, and embraced the greater por- tion of the present village, as will be seen by the following communication :
RICHFIELD SPRINGS, May 1, 1873.
W. T. BAILEY :
Dear Sir .- In reply to your request for a biographical sketch of my grandfather, Nathan Dow, and for such information as may have come within my knowledge as regards the early settlers in this region, and the original owners of the land (the present site of the village of Richfield Springs), I have the Ideasure to give you the facts ns I find them from an examination of old deed- as I papers in my possession, and from the accounts which I have heard iny grandfather from time to time give of his early life. Nathau Dow traced his descent from the
elder of two brothers who arrived in Boston in June, 1635. His father settled in Windham county, Conn., where Nathan was born. He was a hoy of fourteen years when the stirring news from Lexington and Bunker llill sent a thrill of sorrow and rage throughout the length and breadth of the land. The State of Connecticut poured forth her full proportion of hardy yeomanry to man the lines around Boston. while among the few that remained at home the project was con- ceived of surprising Ticouderoga, a fortified post on the western shore of Lake Champlain.
They communicated their design to Colonel Ethan Allen, and a body of men, among whom was Nathan Dow, as yet only a boy, enrolled their naines among the Green Mountain boys, and hastened to Ticon- deroga.
More than once have I heard my grandfather quote the words of Colonel Allen, as he heard them, when asked by the commander of the fort hy whoso authority he demanded its surrender. "In tho uaine," said Allen, " of the Great Jehovah and the Continental con- gress."
But I do not propose to follow Nathan Dow through the war of the Revolution. It will be sufficient to say that he served with dis- tinction, and that when peace was declared he returned to his home, carrying with him many honorable scars received in this desperate struggle for liberty and independence. After his marriage be settled in Voluntown, Conn., and devoted his time to agriculture, until the year 1800. In the summer of this year, having paid a visit to this rogion, accompanied by his wife, the journey being made on horse- back, he determined to make this his future residence, and in IS02 made his first purchase. Ile lived in his new home long enough to sec a great portion of the country cleared, and a thriving village grow up on his well-cultivated farms, and when, in ISHI, he was gathered to his fathers, he left behind an unsullied name, and a repu- tation respected for integrity, firmness, and liberality.
In regard to the original ownership of the lands in this vicinity, [ find that in 1754 letters pateut were issued, as the document expresses itself, " by his most Catholic Majesty of Great Britain and the reahu, King George the Second, defender of the faith, granting unto Kon- rath Mattes, yeoman, a certain tract of land situate, lying, and being in the County of Albany, Province of New York, on the south side of the Mohawk river, at a certain lake called by the Indiaus Can-ja-da-ra-go." (I would remark here that the name belongs only to the lake, and not to the Indians.)
This region belonged, as far as the division of the country was concerned, among the " Iroquois," to the Five Nations, one trihe of which, the " Oneidas," ranged through this section. I might further say that, as we adopt local Indian names only because they are In- dian, it would be wise, in naming our streets and public buildings, to continue the proper orthography and pronunciation. Bounding Mattes' patent ou the north was Young's patent, on the west Schuy- ler's patent or purchase, as it was called. The present corporation is, I believe, confined to these three grants, the greater portion, how- ever, being on Mattes' patent. A subject that may interest the opera- tors in real estate is the consideration then paid as the property changed hauds.
The first consideration paid by Mattes was "one barley-corn" for 1000 acres. This patent was divided into ten lots of 100 acres cach. It is upon lots Nos. 6, 7, 8, and 9 that the present vil- lage stands, with part of lot No. 1 of Schuyler's patent, and a nar- row strip of Young's patent, which lies mainly in Herkimer county. In 1771. Mattes deeded to Deoball Zimmerman, for five shillings sterling, 133 acres 1 rood and 13 perches of land, being all of lot No. 8, and one-third of lot No. 6. In the same year, Mattes, for the consideration of $0 pounds sterling, deeded to Franz Freba lots Nos. ; and 9, and two-thirds of lot No. 6, in all 266 neres 2 roods and 2% perches of land. Frauz Freba, in 1791, purchased from the heirs of Zimmerman the one-third of lot No. 6, and lot No. S. for Sil pour 1. sterling. In this deel the land is described as being in the distri t and county of Cooper. Thus we see that in 1991, Franz Praha ongel lots No. 6, 7. 5, 9. In 1-02, F. Freba soll to Nathan In w. for $1_ d (silver), 40 acres iu lot No. 8, 50 acres in No. 5, aud 20 acres in It No. 6. In 1803, 8 neres in lot No. >, for $50. In I>Io, Nathan Dow bonght of Walter Waterman, who had purchased from Franz Freis. 50 acres ; part of the's was in Young's patent, and a small part of lot No. 6. In 1-17, Nathan How bought of tivorge Freba Ison uf Franz . for $2500 (silver). 79 acres 2 roods and 1; perches, part of which is in lot No. 6. In this deed the property is described as being in the
# This st: enm was called by the lucians the " Vequionis."
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HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
town of Richfield," Otsego County. Thus, in 1817, we find that Na- than Dow owned 257 acres of the original sale of Mattes to Freba, for which he had paid $1480. The original cost to Freba for $00 seres being about $800, or, in other words, the property had increased in value from $2 to $19.50 per acre in forty-six years. Without refer- ence to the papers filed in the office of the secretary of state in Albauy, it is impossible to get the exact boundaries of these lots, but from some fixed points mentioned in the deeds, we know that the larger portion of the proseut village stands upon lot No. 6 of Mattes' patent.
In connection with this matter, I shall take this opportunity to allude to one fact relating to the sulphur spring. Nathan Dow at a very early day looked forward to the time when the spring would become a great public benefit, and be often and positively stated, both in his family and to his personal friends, that when the spring passed from his possession he should so dispose of it that it should ever remain free and open to all. Why this arrangement failed to be eon- summated I am unable to state ; nor do I wish to discuss the ques- tion of the policy of making it a free spring, but merely to say that he retained at least one old-fashioned idea that seems at the present day to be almost entirely lost, namely, that it was the duty of every man to contribute something for the publie good.
This idea led him to present to this town a cemetery for the benefit of the general public, and building sites-at least two-for churches. So he desired to present the sulphur spring to the people. In bring- ing my letter to a close, I can only regret that the information con- veyed is so meagre; but, taken in connection with facts procured from other sourees, I trust it may assist you in your forthcoming history of Richfield Springs and surroundings.
Very truly yours, L. D. GOULD, M.D.
In the year 1783, John Tunnieliff, Jr., eame to this country from England, and located at Albany as a gold- smith, his former employment. He remained there but a , few months when he purchased a farus about one mile south of Little Lakes, in the town of Warren. which he continued to occupy until his death in 1814. His family consisted of seven sons and five daughters. Joseph Tunnieliff, of War- ren, is now the only surviving son. His son, William Tun- nieliff, ereeted a store near his father's residence, where he conducted a successful trade for many years, and died in 1836, leaving an ample fortune to his six children, some of whom are now residents of this village.
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