USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the Genesee country (western New York) comprising the counties of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Genesee, Livingston, Monroe, Niagara, Ontario, Orleans, Schuyler, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates, Volume I > Part 22
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But it was finally Sullivan and his Continentals who, in 1779, marching under orders of General Washington to make impossible repetition of the Wyoming and Cherry Valley horrors, opened up the country to the knowledge of white men. Entering the region from the east and south, they proceeded to the Genesee River, completely breaking the spirit of the Indians and laying waste the country from which the Tories had drawn warriors and supplies for their murderous forays on the patriot settlements. It was a ruthless task that was committed to the Colonial force, cruel but necessary from a military point of view, and it was thoroughly accomplished. But beyond and above its military value, great as was this, was the incidental disclosure to potential settlers of the beauty and fertility of the western New York lands. It turned
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out to be an enterprise of unparalleled importance, in presenting to the men of New England, who made up the little army, a field for home-making that then and there many of them resolved to cultivate, and that a little later many of them did cultivate to the incalculable advantage of posterity.
The native inhabitants of western New York, at the time its fastnesses were penetrated by Sullivan's army in 1779, were the people of the Seneca "Nation" of Indians, the most numerous and most powerful of that marvelous example of savage statecraft, the Iroquois Confederacy. The Senecas were the invincible Keepers of the Western Door of the Long House, the symbolic figure used by the Five Nations to describe the territory over which they held undisputed sway, extending from the Hudson at the east to the Niagara at the west. The Senecas constituted the buffer that, in the working out of the divine purpose, was destined to protect western New York from French occupation, and save it for settle- ment by people from New England, who laid foundations for the dominance of the English tongue, the English culture, and the English faith that has persisted in the population of western New York.
The Iroquois Indians were not nomads. Unlike their kin in the far west, they made their homes in villages or "castles" of considerable size and of comparative permanence. The Abbe Bel- mont, who accompanied the Denonville expedition in 1779, re- ported that "the Tsonnontauans Senecas have four large villages which they change every ten years in order to bring themselves near the woods and permit them to grow up again." And it is presumable that search for new game trails, for virgin land for tilling, for desirable location on which to rebuild bark houses and palisades destroyed by enemies, or to get away from places which disease or pestilence had made no longer habitable, were causes operating to the same end. However this may have been, there is abundant evidence that the villages were moved from place to place at frequent intervals. At no time, according to the best authorities, did the Iroquois number more than 20,000 souls, but their valor and the efficiency of their organization is attested by the fact that though not having a fighting force of more than 4,000 at the height of their power, they extended their conquests and levied tribute on the red peoples of the continent from New England to the Mississippi, including the Great Lakes, the "Na-
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tions" in Canada and those as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The confederacy, it appears, was more a league for offense than for defense, for war than for peace.
The Senecas were credited with having 1,000 warriors. Sir William Johnson in 1763 reported that they had 1,050; Mission- ary Kirkland in 1783, following their disastrous war with the French, estimated they had no more than 600. After the war of the Revolution, in 1794, the Federal government found there were then all told 1,780 Senecas. In 1818 Jasper Parrish, the Indian agent, said officially, "the population of the Six Nations of Indians is 1,475," the Five Nations having become six through the adop- tion of the Tuscaroras in 1693.
Remains of fortifications, burial sites, middens, abound throughout western New York, and would indicate the presence here of a large aboriginal population, but these numerous evi- dences of Indian occupation cover a long period of time, hundreds, probably thousands, of years, and, in view of the migratory habits of these people of mysterious origin, they do not discredit the figures quoted.
The story of the development of this vast domain from the time its fame was spread abroad by the returned soldiers of Sulli- van's army to this year of grace, 1925, when it comprises fifteen of the most prosperous and enterprising counties of the Empire state, is a romance whose chapters are featured by speculation, intrigue, conspiracy, sinister rivalries among the red men of the forest, strife for possession between French and English, partici- pation in the War of 1812, thrilling adventures of pioneers, trappers, and missionaries, large commercial and industrial enter- prises, political movements of national importance, the rise of religious cults of enduring influence, and the founding and growth of centers of population that figure large in history and progress. Western New York, a vast wilderness at the close of the eighteenth century, has become in a hundred and twenty-five years a verit- able empire, the home of a million and a half of the most intelli- gent and most prosperous and most happy people in all the world.
With the close of the war of the Revolution and the organiza- tion of an enduring and more perfect union of the states, western New York offered an inviting field for settlement. A region theretofore unknown save to adventurous hunters or devoted soldiers of the cross, now lay open to those ready to face the
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dangers and endure the privations that from the dawn of civiliza- tion have stood in the way of the pioneer. The fertility of its soil, the diversity and beauty of its landscapes, its streams teeming with fish, and its forests abounding in game, had become themes of unfailing interest about New England hearthstones.
The men of Massachusetts and Connecticut and New Hamp- shire, as well as those of the eastern part of New York State, who had made up the army that, under Major General John Sullivan, had broken the spirit of the red men in its punitive march to the valley of the Genesee in 1779, had carried back to their firesides in the east absorbing stories of the land of promise they had penetrated and alluring visions of what might be their part in its development. But for years following there was no one of whom they could legally buy the newly discovered lands, no authority on which they might rely for protection. Disputes as to ownership and control, arising from conflicting grants in the charters given the original colonists, operated to make entry into western New York impracticable, if not unsafe for would-be settlers.
As early as 1628, Charles I of England had granted to the colony of Massachusetts Bay a charter that covered all the terri- tory between 40 degrees, 2 minutes, and 44 degrees and 15 min- utes, extending from the Atlantic Ocean clear across the continent and including, of course, the whole of western New York. In 1164, Charles II of England granted to his brother, James, Duke of York, large possessions in the New World, which, with additions made later, covered the country from the Connecticut River west- ward to the Pacific. These overlapping and conflicting grants gave rise early to controversies which, following recognition of the independence of the United States, were continued between the commonwealths of New York and Massachusetts. The last named state petitioned the Continental Congress in 1784 to take action toward an adjustment of the dispute under the provisions of Article IX of the Articles of Confederation, which provided that the United States in Congress assembled shall be "the last resort on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting, or that hereafter may arise between two or more states, concerning boundary, jurisdiction or any other cause whatever."
The Congress took the preliminary steps in accordance with this provision to effect a settlement, but, before the Federal Court created for the purpose acted in the matter, and in actual viola-
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tion of the article quoted, the legislatures of the two states gave their respective commissioners full power to settle the dispute without resort to the duly constituted national authority.
As a result, these commissioners, at a convention held at Hart- ford, Connecticut, opening on November 30, 1786, in deliberations occupying only a little over two weeks' time, while confirming New York's sovereignty over its territory, ceded to Massachusetts title to the land in the state lying west of the meridian line extend- ing north from the eighty-second milestone on the Pennsylvania boundary.
The agreement entered into at the Hartford convention was a bad bargain for New York State, and just how it was brought about cannot now be determined. No records of the proceedings of the convention can be found in the archives of either Massa- chusetts or New York. We only know that the representatives of the two states, having assembled at Hartford and having re- ceived briefs on the claims of their respective states, compromised the questions at issue. The dispute as to the boundary line be- tween the two states was determined in favor of Massachusetts, through admission of its claim of title to everything east of a line twenty miles east of the Hudson River, as conceded by the Dutch in their brief occupation of the colony. The second question, that concerning ownership of lands lying east of those which New York in 1781, and Massachusetts in 1785, had ceded to the United States, was settled also in favor of Massachusetts so far as title to the tract lying west of the preemption line was concerned.
The agreement thus entered into, at the city of Hartford afore- said, the sixteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six, and the eleventh year of the independence of the United States of America, was made by commissioners representing the two states as follows: John Lowell, James Sullivan, Theophilus Parsons, and Rufus King, representing Massachusetts, and James Duane, Robert R. Living- ston, Robert Yates, John Haring, Melancton Smith and Robert Benson, representing New York.
The agreement provided :
"First, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts doth hereby cede, grant, release, and confirm to the State of New York forever, all the claim, right and title which the Commonwealth of Massachu- setts hath to the government, sovereignty and jurisdiction of the
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lands and territories so claimed by the State of New York as here- inbefore stated and particularly specified.
"Secondly, The State of New York doth hereby cede, grant, release and confirm to the said Commonwealth of Massachusetts and to the use of the Commonwealth, their grantees and the heirs and assigns of such grantees, forever, the right of preemption of the soil from the native Indians and all other the estate, right, title and property (the right and title of government, sovereignty and jurisdiction excepted) which the State of New York hath of, in or to two hundred and thirty thousand and four hundred acres to be located by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and to be situate to the northward of and adjoining to the lands granted respectively to Daniel Cox and Robert Lettice Hooper and their respective associates, and between the rivers Owega and Chanango:
"And also of, in or to all the lands and territories within the following limits and bounds, that is to say: Beginning in the north boundary line of the State of Pennsylvania in the parallel of forty-two degrees of north latitude at a point distant eighty- two miles west from the northeast corner of the State of Pennsyl- vania on Delaware River, as the said boundary line hath been run and marked by the commissioners appointed by the states of Penn- sylvania and New York, respectively, and from the said point or place of beginning running on a due meridian north to the boun- dary line between the United States of America and the King of Great Britain; thence westerly and southerly along the said boun- dary line to a meridian which will pass one mile due east from the northern termination of the straight or waters between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie; thence south along the said meridian to the south shore of Lake Ontario; thence on the eastern side of the said straight by a line always one mile distant from and parallel to the said straight to Lake Erie; thence due west to the boundary line between the United States and the King of Great Britain; thence along the said boundary line until it meets with the line of cession from the State of New York to the United States; thence along the said line of cession to the northwest corner of the State of Pennsylvania and thence east along the northern boundary line of the State of Pennsylvania to the said place of beginning; and which said lands and territories so ceded, granted, released and
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confirmed are parcel of the lands and territories described in the said Petition.
"Thirdly, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts doth hereby cede, grant, release and confirm to the State of New York and to the use of the State of New York, their grantees and the heirs and assigns of such grantees forever, the right of preemption of the soil from the native Indians, and all other the estate, right, title and property which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hath, of, in or to the residue of the lands and territories so claimed by the State of New York as hereinbefore stated and particularly specified."
The agreement further provided (4) that the lands ceded to Massachusetts should, during the time the same should so be and remain the property of that state, be free and exempt from all taxes whatever and that upon transfer of said lands to others their occupants or proprietors should be subject only to town or county charges during a period of fifteen years following con- firmation of the agreement.
(5) No rents or services should be reserved in any such grants by Massachusetts. It was also agreed (6) that occupants of said lands should have and enjoy the same and equal rights respecting the navigation and fishery on and in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and the water communication from one to the other of said lakes, and respecting the roads and portages between the said lakes as should be had and enjoyed by the citizens of the State of New York.
(7) No adverse possession of the said lands for any length of time should be adjudged a disseizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The State of New York agreed (8) not to relinquish govern- ment and jurisdiction of said lands, without consent of Massachu- setts. Massachusetts was given the further right (9) to hold treaties and conferences with the native Indians relative to the property or right of soil with the employment of "such armed force as may be necessary for the more effectual holding of such treaty and conference."
It was provided (10) that the last mentioned commonwealth should have the right to grant the right of preemption of the whole or any part of said lands to "any person or persons who by virtue of such a grant shall have good right to extinguish by purchase
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the claims of the native Indians," provided that such purchase should be made in presence of and approved by a superintendent to be appointed by said state.
The final paragraph of this historic agreement (11) provided that grantees of the said lands under the Commonwealth of Massa- chusetts should be entitled, within six months after confirmation of their respective grants, to have certified copies of the same filed and recorded without fees or charges, with the secretary of the State of New York, without which formality every such grant should be adjudged void.
The commissioners, having been granted by their respective states, power, "legal and sufficient," "to settle and extinguish in- terfering claims and controversies between the two states, as well as in respect of jurisdiction as to property," to the end "that peace and harmony might be forever established between them on the most solid foundation," assumed by this agreement to bind their states independently of the loosely bound federation of states and its rights in the matter, and their right and authority to do so, however irregularly exercised, has not been legally questioned.
So far as can now be ascertained, the agreement thus entered into was never formally ratified or confirmed by the Congress, but it has been tacitly recognized by the courts and has been accepted as the basis of titles in transfers like that of Massachusetts to Phelps and Gorham.
CHAPTER XII. THE PHELPS AND GORHAM PURCHASE.
BY CHARLES F. MILLIKEN.
Eight years elapsed after the surrender of Cornwallis at York- town, and six years after England's formal recognition of the independence of the States, before the dispute as to possession and title was adjusted and a stable government set up so that an organized settlement of the Genesee Country could be undertaken.
It was then that enterprising citizens of Massachusetts and Connecticut, informed of the incalculable riches of the country through reports of those who, under Sullivan, had penetrated the wilderness, and recognizing the opportunities it afforded for speculation, instituted negotiations for the purchase of the state's preemption right to secure releases from the Indians. A number of rival interests sought to avail themselves of these opportunities and there was prospect of competition that might affect their value.
Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps were among those who sought to advantage themselves in this way through the state's need of funds and its consequent desire to realize on its newly acquired western New York lands. These two men, through whose vision and enterprise great things were destined to come to the region, were particularly qualified to steer the negotiations for the purchase through shoals and quicksands to a safe legis- lative harbor, and later to bring its advantages to the attention of potential settlers.
Nathaniel Gorham was a distinguished citizen of Massachu- setts, born in Charlestown, that state, May 27, 1738, and had taken an active part in public events preceding the Revolution. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress (1782-83 and from 1785 to 1787), and was made the president of that body in June, 1786. He was an influential member of the convention that framed the
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national constitution and exerted great influence in securing its ratification by Massachusetts. He never was a resident of the tract which he, in conjunction with Oliver Phelps, purchased of Massachusetts. His interests in the Genesee Country were repre- sented by his son, Nathaniel Gorham, Jr., who settled in Canan- daigua in 1789, and acted as the agent of his father in the imme- diate management of the company's business. Nathaniel Gorham, Sr., died in Charlestown, Massachusetts, June 1, 1796.
Oliver Phelps was a native of Windsor, Connecticut. He served in the commissary department of the colonial army, and, settling at Suffield, Massachusetts, at the close of the Revolution, he held successively the offices of member of assembly, state sena- tor, and member of the governor's council. He assisted in the organization of the Phelps and Gorham syndicate, in 1788, and acted as the representative of that company in the exploration of the Genesee Country and in negotiations for the extinction of the Indian title to the land. He removed to Canandaigua in 1802, and, although disappointed in the failure of the land enterprise to yield the expected returns, he had a large part in the develop- ment of the region. He served as first judge of Ontario County from the date of its organization, in 1789, until 1793, and he represented the western district of the state in the Ninth Con- gress, 1803-5. Jesse Hawley wrote of Mr. Phelps: "He was the Cecrops of the Genesee Country. Its inhabitants owe a mau- soleum to his memory in gratitude for his having pioneered for them this Canaan of the West." If the tradition is well founded, which ascribes to the first king of Attica credit for the division of that country into states, and for the introduction of agriculture, navigation and commerce, the comparison would not be far fetched, for Oliver Phelps was all this in organizing and develop- ing the Genesee Country. He died at Canandaigua in 1809, aged sixty years.
Oliver Phelps, while using his business talents in providing supplies for Washington's army, had been brought into touch with Robert Morris, to whom belongs credit for financing the struggle for independence, and with Mr. Morris' friend, Major Adam Hoops, who had served as an aid to General Sullivan in his expedi- tion against the Iroquois Indians. The information Mr. Phelps gained from acquaintance with an officer who had himself visited the Genesee Country, and from other veterans similarly qualified
(From oil painting in courthouse at Canandaigua)
NATHANIEL GORHAM
Born at Charlestown, Mass., 1738. Purchased with Oliver Phelps all that part of the State of New York lying west of the pre-emption line. A delegate from Massachusetts to the convention to form the first constitution of the United States. Died in Boston, Mass., 1769.
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to vouch for its advantages, inspired him with the conviction that fortunes were waiting for those who would adventure in Genesee lands, and, associating himself with Judge Sullivan, Messrs. Skin- ner and Chapin and William Walker, he laid plans for acquiring possession; but, before these plans could be matured, Nathaniel Gorham had made a concrete proposition for purchase of a million- acre tract to the Massachusetts Legislature. This was at the ses- sion of 1787, but his project failed, or was postponed, in expecta- tion that the ardor of possible competitors might cool and the different parties unite for the venture. This association of inter- ests, for which Phelps and Gorham were constituted agents, was effected, and proposed to the Legislature at its succeeding session "to purchase for the consideration of 300,000 pounds in consoli- dated securities of the Commonwealth, or 2,000 pounds specie, together with 290,000 pounds in like securities, the right of pre- emption which this Commonwealth has in and to the western territory, so called, lately ceded by the State of New York to this Commonwealth."
This offer was accepted by the Legislature through the pass- age of an act reading as follows:
"COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, in the House of Representatives, March 31, 1788.
"On the proposal made to the General Court by the honorable Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps Esquires to purchase for the consideration of Three Hundred Thousand pounds in consolidated securities of this Commonwealth, or Two Thousand pounds specie together with two hundred and ninety thousand pounds in like securities, the right of pre-emption which this Commonwealth has in and to the Western Terri- tory, so called, lately ceded by the State of New York to this Commonwealth as appears by Deed executed by their respective Commissioners at Hartford the 16th day of December, A. D., 1786. RESOLVED that the said proposal for purchasing the Land aforesaid for the consideration of three hundred Thousand pounds in consolidated securities of this Commonwealth be and hereby is accepted And this Commonwealth doth hereby agree to grant, sell and convey to the said Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps, Esquires, all the Right, Title and demand which the said Commonwealth has in and to the said Western Territory by the Deed of Cession aforesaid. To have and to hold the same to the said Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps, Esquires, their heirs and assigns, forever, upon the Conditions hereafter expressed; and the said Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps are hereby authorized to extinguish by purchase the Claims of the Native Indians holding the fee or right of Soil in the Territory aforesaid, and it is hereby RESOLVED that the Reverend Mr. Samuel Kirkland be and hereby is appointed to superintend and approve at the Expense of the said Grantees the purchase which the said Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps, Esquires, shall make of the Claims of such native Indians. And it is hereby further resolved that all such pur- chases as the said Nathaniel Gorham and Oliver Phelps shall make of the Claims of the said Indians in presence of the said Superintendent shall be confirmed by this Com- monwealth, provided the said Gorham and Phelps shall give security to the Satisfaction of the Supreme Executive of this Commonwealth separate obligations to pay the
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