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 II > Part 51
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dence in Judge Phelps & gave him a carte blanche for both of us. We have been unfortunate as it will probably be some time before another treaty will be holden."
Extract of the letter above mentioned
"I have converfed with Mr. Jones respecting the extinguish- ment of the Indian Title to the land in the Allen tract. You may not know that Mr. Jones is an Indian interpreter & is a pro- prietor of what is called the Smith & Jones flats which adjoin the Morrifon flats. Mr. Jones is of opinion that the Indian title may be extinguished without much trouble or expense; by giving the Indians a piece of land on the Allegany River, in exchange for their lands on the Genesee River. The habits of the Indians are so very different from the white people that they fell themselves very much annoyed & troubled by living in the vicinity of the latter. A piece of land on the Allegany river could be purchased of Mr. Ellicott at probably less than a Dollar pr. Acre. The title of the land would remain in Sir William Pulteney and the possession of it revert to him hereafter when the progress of settlements shall force the Indians still further westward."
On September 14th, 1805 Colonel Troup writes: "The yel- low fever has again broken out in New York and is raging with violence."
Under date of September 24th, Colonel Troup addressed Samuel S. Haight, Esq. in part as follows: "If Mr. Smith one of Mr. Hornby's agents should complain of what I engage to do for the Turnpike as not being sufficiently liberal it may not be amiss for you to contrast my intended hundred & fifty shares and my future subscription of lands with the two hundred shares with- out any lands which I. understood composed the whole of Mr. Johnston's subscription for account of Mr. Hornby. The twenty- six thousand acres of land at the prices proposed to be asked for them amount to Forty thousand and five hundred dollars. If Mr. Johnston should increase his subscription so as to equal mine in value & should offer to give further aid you are authorized to say that I will go as far as he does let the extent of his aid be what it may * * If I have been rightly informed the extent of the road across the triagle will be fourteen miles whilst it will not exceed thirteen miles across the lands of Sir William Pulteney's heir. Why does not Mr. Johnston subscribe some of Mr.
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Hornby's lands? The house of Thomas Whitney in the town of Lisle in Tioga County, is fixed upon as the place for holding the next election."
The following day he wrote John Heslop: "Some time since I requested Mr. Wadsworth to converse with Mr. Parise relative to the extinguishment of the Indian Title on the Mount Morris tract & he told me that Mr. Parish informed him he had no doubt that the Indians would be willing to sell their right. This infor- mation gave me some surprise after what I had learnt from Judge Phelps. To make the purchase of the Indians lawful it must be made at a public treaty to be held in the presence and with the approbation of a commissioner as well on the part of this state as of the United States and to bring about such a treaty will be a matter of some difficulty."
Writing to Dugald Cameron, Esq., from Albany, October 1st, 1805, Colonel Troup states: "Complaints have been made to me that the Commissioners who laid out the Susquehanna & Bath Turnpike road have widely departed from their duty, in laying out the road, on a straight line, or a line nearly so, from the head of Seneca Lake to Bath, through No. 4. It is insisted that in No. 4 in the 1st range there are deep morasses & high hills, which will render it exceedingly difficult, if not totally imprac- ticable, to make a direct road; whereas by giving the road a more northerly direction & passing it through No. 5 in the 1st range & between the two little lakes I have heard that the morasses and hills would have been avoided & ground would have been met with that is particularly favorable to a good road. As now laid out according to common report the road is well calculated to promote the interest of Sir William Pulteney's heir; but I do not wish that his interest should be promoted to the prejudice of the public good. When I was last at Bath I had a conversation with Judge Miller and Mr. VanCampen, who had just come in to get a little respite from their labors & I constantly insisted to them that I did not desire or expect that they would consult the interest of Sir William Pulteney more than any other man's and that it was their duty to lay out the road without favor or par- tiality to any person & agreeably to the best of their skill & understanding. Although I have a high opinion of the charac- ters of Judge Miller & Mr. Van Campen, yet it would be imma-
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terial for me to know from a source authentic and impartial whether there be any & what foundation for the complaint above mentioned. Let me entreat you, therefore, if you see no impropriety in it to do me the kindness to inquire into the direction of the road as laid out. *
Under date of November 15th in the same year Colonel Troup wrote * * I think it improbable that the Judge ever meant to say that the line of the road was still in such a state of uncertainty as that a new line might be adopted."
All of which seems to indicate that the construction of im- proved highways over a century ago brought about practically as much discussion as the same problem meets with at the present time. The board of directors, who were chosen at a meeting of the stockholders of the Susquehanna and Bath Turnpike, were:
John Johnston of Ontario County, president.
Philip Church of Genesee County.
Henry A. Townsend and Samuel S. Haight of Steuben County. Vincent Mathews of Tioga.
Benj. S. Carpenter, Benj. Jones, Solomon Warner, Jotham Parker, Joseph Julliand and Isaac Miner, of Chenango.
Frederick A. Denzeng of Ulster.
William W. Morris of Saratoga County.
Elisha Smith, secretary and treasurer.
In a letter written from Chatham August 29th, 1805, Samuel C. Seeley states "In my last I forgot to mention that I had removed my family on to Elk Forest. I am for that reason forty miles from any Post town, which renders it both inconvenient to convey and get letters." And indeed forty miles seems a long ways to go for mail.
The following is taken from the Gazatteer and Business Directory of Steuben County, New York, for 1868 to 1869, com- piled and published by Hamilton Child :
"Among them was a jolly old Virginian, Judge H-, a sportsman of the old school of buff breeches and fair top-boots, well known throughout the country for genial habits and gen- erous hospitality. He had been appointed a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Though little versed in legal technicalities, he possessed a fund of genuine common sense, which made him a good judge. On one occasion, in the absence of the first Judge,
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it fell to him to charge the Grand Jury. The substance of the charge, so characteristic of the man and of his opinions, is here given :
" 'Gentlemen of the Grand Jury: In the absence of the first Judge, it becomes my duty to address you. If you expect much of a charge, you will be disappointed, as it will be nothing but a squib. I see among you many gentlemen who understand the duties of Grand Jurors much better than I do. I need only say then, you know your duties, go ahead and perform them. The Sheriff has handed me his criminal calendar, by which it appears he has five poor devils in jail for various offenses; two of them are for horse-stealing. Now gentlemen, there are grades in crime and common sense would indicate that the punishment should be in proportion to the criminality of the offense, as exhibited by the circumstances of each case. That I suppose is the law; if it is not, it ought to be. You will understand what I mean by this, when I inform you that one of these scamps stole a slab-sided Yankee mare, while the other took a Virginian blood-horse. Two others are indicted for mayhem. One of them for biting off a negro's nose, which I think exhibits a most depraved appetite; the other for gouging out an Irishman's eye, a most ungentle- manly way of fighting. I hope you will look well to these fellows. The last is a poor cuss who stole a jug of whiskey. The article is so plenty and cheap that it may be had by asking anywhere and stealing it is the meanest kind of offense and deserves the severest punishment that the law will permit. The great men at Albany have made it our special duty to charge you in regard to private lotteries. What is the mighty crime involved in this business I cannot see, when hustling and pitching coppers is tolerated; but I suppose they know, and as the law makes it our duty, I charge you to look out for them. Sheriff, select two constables, and march these men off to their duties.' "
CHAPTER L.
THE COUNTY OF WAYNE.
Early settlement in what is now Wayne County was influ- enced to a large extent by the "New State Road," which was opened up across the county and northern New York in the early part of the last century. This highway encouraged settlers to come here. In the part of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase which later became Wayne County, township 12, range 1, was bought by William Bacon and others; township 13, range 1, by Elijah Austin or George Joy, his assignee; township 12, range 2, by John Swift and John Jenkins, and township 12, range 3, by Warner, Comstock and others.
In township 12, range 2, Wayne County settlement began. John Swift and Colonel John Jenkins surveyed it into farm lots in March, 1789. Colonel Jenkins was a practical surveyor, and built his cabin home on the Ganargwa Creek, two miles below the site of Palmyra. John Swift moved into the township in the summer of 1789, and constructed his log house at "Swift's Land- ing," a short distance north of the lower end of Main Street in Palmyra. Before the close of the year, Webb Harwood, from Massachusetts, accompanied by Noah Porter, Jonathan Warner and Bennett Bates arrived. In the years 1790, 1791 and 1792 the following settlers came in: Lemuel Spear, David Jackways, James Galloway, Jonathan Millet, the Mattisons, Gideon Durfee and his sons, Gideon, Edward, Job, Pardon, Stephen and Lemuel, Isaac Spring, William, James and Thomas Rogers, John Reeves, Luther Sanford, and in what was then also in Palmyra, but now in Macedon, Messrs. Reed, Delano, Packard Barney, Broan, Adam Kingman, Hill, Lapham, Benjamin and Philip Woods. The section which later became East Palmyra was settled in 1791 by the so-called Long Island Company, through its agents Joel Foster, Elias Reeves and Luke Foster.
Charles Williamson, whose activities on behalf of the Genesee
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Country have been described elsewhere, was one of the first to perceive the natural attractiveness of the "Gore," surrounding the region of the confluence of the Ganargwa Creek and the Can- andaigua outlet. He saw a similarity of the junction of the Rhone and the Saone, and so gave the name Lyons to the spot. In May, 1789, a group composed of the families of Nicholas Stan- sell, William Stansell, and a brother-in-law, John Featherly, had come by the water route, and built their cabins half mile south of the site of Lyons. William Stansell had been through this territory with Sullivan's Expedition. Williamson had perfected his title to this region and began operations in the sale of real estate in the summer of 1794, with Charles Cameron, his agent at Lyons. The first frame house in this district was built for Cameron, together with a barn. Nearly one thousand acres was reserved and sold to Judge Tower; Henry Tower, later agent for Williamson, built Tower's mills at "Alloway." Williamson thought that Sodus Bay would be a great commercial center, and he advertised his plans and dreams with liberal enthusiasm. Williamson cannot be accused of being afraid to back his ideas, for he spent money lavishly. He built a costly hotel, for the time, at Sodus, and otherwise made it attractive for the new- comers. When we reflect that this was just a part in his num- erous activities extending over western New York, we may understand that he was an extremely busy man. He was backed with ample capital and his backers seemed to be imbued with the same spirit as he.
Most of the settlers who came into the county prior to 1800 selected home sites along the Ganargwa Creek. In addition to the Long Island colony, some of the chief settlers along this stream were: Thomas Goldsmith, Philip Lusk, Jacob Lusk, Isaac Lusk, John Tibbits, Oliver Sanford, Luther Sanford, Oliver Clark, James Parshall, Thomas Cornell, James Galloway, Hum- phrey Sherman, and Reuben Starks. John Spoor settled where "Lockpitt" was founded. The Lusks settled on the site of Newark. In old Palmyra other settlers were: Thaddeus Taft, Joshua Bridge, Weaver Osborne, Cyrus Foster, Jeremiah Smith, Caleb McCumber, Israel Parshall, Joseph Shoemaker, Oliver Booth, Ahaz Aldrich, Samuel Millet, John Sherman, Silas Hart, Thomas Glover, Joseph Tinkum, James Galloway and William
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Starks. The present town of Walworth was first settled in 1799 by the. families of Andrew, John, Samuel and Daniel Miller, and in 1801 Stephen and Daniel Douglass moved in. The town of Williamson was settled shortly before 1794 by Timothy Smith and Henry Lovell. Macedon was settled in 1789 and 1790 by Webb Harwood, Ebenezer Reed, Israel Delano, Darius Comstock and Paul Reed. Settlement in Huron began in 1796, when Colonel Peregrine Fitzhugh and William Helms settled in the town.
The settlers of Wayne County really did not feel safe from Indian attack until after the Pickering treaty in 1794. We have noted upon another page how Governor Simcoe, of Canada, threat- ened an invasion of the Genesee Country, his message to William- son, and the latter's reception of the same.
Ganargwa Creek was made a public highway in 1799, with other streams of this section; highways along advantageous routes were opened; a desultory mail service was established; grist mills began to appear in numbers; schools, churches and other appurtenances of civilization came into existence. It is said that population of Wayne in 1810 was 1,140. Some of the pio- neers brought slaves with them. Thomas Helms, who settled in the town of Huron in 1800, brought seventy black men from Maryland. Col. Peregrine Fitzhugh, from Maryland, also brought slaves to his settlement at Sodus Point. His family and slaves numbered forty people. He freed his slaves within a few years and they formed a colony of their own.
Wayne County had a part in the War of 1812. Military stores had been placed at Sodus Point and in 1813 a small force was placed there to guard them. Enoch Morse was captain of the company, Noble Granger, lieutenant, and Lilton Granger, or- derly sergeant. In June, 1813, a fleet of British ships threatened the Point, but quickly retired. The militia then started home. However, on the same day, the fleet returned, augmented to about ninety ships. A hasty call was given for the militia and settlers, many of whom were at a logging bee, to return to the Point. An old account of the affair is quoted as follows:
"The space of cleared land was limited to a small area, and a dense growth of trees and brush came across the public square. This was almost impassable, save by one road north to the present
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lighthouse, thence west along the lake bank, bearing south and intersecting the present road. A foot path from near the site of the Methodist Church led off southwest. Part of the stores had been taken from the warehouse and lay concealed in a ravine be- tween what is now West and Ontario streets. During the early evening, Elder Seba Norton was the leader, but Col. Elias Hill, of Lyons, arriving, he took command. The night was dark and a slight rain was falling, when it was agreed to form in the skirt of the bushes and advance upon a reconnaissance. If the enemy was met a volley was to be fired, and then each for himself. On the high ground they heard the enemy advancing and displaying a few lights. Amasa Johnson shot down one light and drew the British random fire. A volley from the militia and then followed a British retreat of marvelous celerity. The enemy reembarked, having captured two men, a Mr. Britton and Harry Skinner, whom they set on shore the next day. Nathaniel Merrill and Major Farr each thought the other the enemy. The major got entangled in fallen timber and brush and could not extricate him- self until daylight. George Palmer passed Elder Norton, who had been at Monmouth and Saratoga, and the veteran refused to run. Chester Eldridge from the bushes shouted, 'I am killed; I am killed.' Examination showed that a bullet had cut a gash in his throat which bled profusely. One Knight was wounded, and a Mr. Terry was so badly injured as to die from the effects of a shot. Next day the enemy threw a few cannon shot, landed a small force, and took away the contents of the storehouse. The British evidently feared the presence of a heavy force, and dared not venture from the landing. Mr. Warner was mortally wounded by the British soldiers. All the buildings save one were burned. The tavern of Nathaniel Merrill, the store of Mr. Wickham, with its contents, his dwelling, the Fitzhugh House, the house of Wil- liam Edus, a warehouse, and perhaps others, were destroyed. The building saved was a part of the Mansion House, then recently erected by Barakins & Hoylarts. In this house Mr. Warner was placed and there he died. It is said that the British placed a pitcher of water near him, and that the officers twice extinguished a fire kindled by the men to destroy the building. Following is a list of those at the Sodus skirmish : Elder Seba Norton, George Palmer, Byram Green, Timothy Axtell, Freeman Axtell, Knight,
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Terry, and Warner, Lyman Dunning, Elias Hull, Alanson M. Knapp, Amasa Johnson, Nathaniel Merrill, Major Farr, Isaac Lemmon, Robert Carrothers, John Hawley, Joseph Ellis, Alanson Corey, Galusha Harrington, Chester Eldridge, Ammi Ellsworth, Isaac Davis, Payne, Pollock, Benjamin Blanchard, Robert A. Pad- dock, Britton, Jenks Pullen, Daniel Norton, John Holcomb, Thomas Johnson, Lyman Seymour, Harry Skinner, Daniel Arms, and Alexander Knapp." Others of Sodus who engaged generally in military activities were Alexander Morrow and Doctor Gibbs. Lyons had a militia company as early as 1808, with Capt. William Paton in charge. Most of this company, then under Capt. Elias Hull, went to the Niagara frontier during the war. Micajah Harding, of the town of Marion, raised a company of sharp- shooters and went to the front. A skirmish occurred also at Pulteneyville during the war, resulting in a few casualties to the British.
The momentary effect of the war was to stop immigration. Hardships and danger, however, were somewhat counteracted by the high prices obtainable for commodities and produce. Wayne County, like other parts of western New York, showed the after effects of the war, but quickly recovered, and the tide of immigra- tion moved onward, ever increasing. New roads were laid out, old highways improved, and bridges constructed. Then came the grand event-the building of the Erie Canal! When in October, 1825, the boats first passed along by the villages of Newark, Pal- myra, Lyons and Clyde, there was great rejoicing and celebration. "Clinton's ditch" did increase trade and brought prosperity to many.
The county of Wayne was erected on April 11, 1823, from Ontario County, and was named for Gen. Anthony Wayne. The organization act provided that William D. Frost of Jefferson County, Samuel Strong of Tioga County, and Oliver P. Ashley of Green County should locate the sites of the court house and jail. The village of Lyons was chosen. A new sense of importance came to the people with the organization of their own civil di- vision. An account of the formation of the several towns of the county is given in later paragraphs.
The first railroad was built through the county in 1853 and the first passenger train was in operation on May 30th. This was
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the Rochester & Syracuse Railroad, which later became a part of the New York Central System. The Lake Ontario Shore Rail- road was completed through the northern part of the county in 1876.
The town of Palmyra, including Macedon, originally formed a portion of the district of Tolland in Ontario County. Macedon was set off January 29, 1823, and upon the organization of Wayne County in that year the town of Palmyra had the same area as at present. The first town meeting was held at the house of Gideon Durfee in April, 1796, when John Swift was elected super- visor. The first highway was Canandaigua Street, leading south- ward from the village of Palmyra. It was opened about 1793, and for many years was a plank road. The town was first known as Swift, after John Swift, the first settler, then was called Tolland; on January 4, 1796, the name was changed to Palmyra. A reference to the early settlement of the town already appears in the first paragraphs of this chapter. John Swift returned to New England and worked to induce settlers to join him; he was prominent in the town and held several positions of trust. In 1810 he built the first grist mill in the town and donated land for the first school house, cemetery and church in the village of Pal- myra. His son, Asa, was the first male white child born in the town. His death occurred during the War of 1812 in dramatic fashion. He was a brevet general and at Queenstown Heights led a force against Fort George, where he captured a picket post with about sixty men. In some manner the prisoners retained their weapons, and one of them inquired as to the identity of General Swift. He replied, "I am General Swift." Thereupon some of the prisoners fired and Swift was mortally wounded.
In 1793 two log school houses were erected in the town of Palmyra, one in the village and one in East Palmyra. Abigail Foster, Ira Selby, and a Mr. Blackman were early teachers. A brick school house was later constructed, and in 1835 the district was divided into three parts, with a stone school house in each. The Palmyra classical union school was formed by the consoli- dation of these districts in the winter of 1846-47.
The village of Palmyra, incorporated March 29, 1827, grew up around the settlement of John Swift, who, in addition to other activities mentioned, had built a wool carding machine and an
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ashery in 1791, laid out Main Street in 1792, and established a boat landing at the mouth of Red Creek in 1793. In the same year he divided the south side of Main Street into four acre village lots. In the rear of these ten acre lots were laid out. The first village property was sold to James Galloway; Stephen Phelps was also a purchaser. Swift sold nearly all his village property in 1796 to Sarah Brockway for $2,000, and regained it in 1799 for $2,500. Capt. John Hurlburt, John Russell, Theodatus Sawyer, Constant Southworth, William Howe Cuyler, and Joseph Colt bought village land before 1800. Zebulon Williams had the first store' at the Landing. By 1812 the village consisted of three streets, Main, Canandaigua and Church, and a respectable num .. ber of business houses. The first merchant within the village was Joseph Colt. The first tavern was opened about 1792 by Dr. Azel Ensworth, on the site of the later Methodist Church. Stephen Phelps had the second tavern, where the Powers Hotel afterward stood. Palmyra postoffice was established in September, 1806, with Dr. Azel Ensworth postmaster. The first trustees, chosen February 4, 1828, were: Joseph Colt (president), Joel Thayer, Thomas Rogers, Nathaniel H. Beckwith and James White. The first fire company was organized in 1828. The Palmyra Gas Light Company, an early public utility, was formed October 29, 1856. The Palmyra Electric Light & Power Company was incor- porated in March, 1894.
The Wayne County Bank of Palmyra was organized April 30, 1829, with A. Strong, president. The Palmyra Savings Bank was incorporated April 12, 1842. On Christmas day, 1865, Lyman Lyon and S. B. Gavitt started a private banking business; Lyon bought out Gavitt two years later and continued alone until his death in August, 1887, when the business of the bank was closed. The First National Bank of Palmyra is the successor of the busi- ness carried on for many years by Pliny Sexton and George W. Cuyler. In 1844 Sexton established the Palmyra Bank and, soon after, Cuyler started Cuyler's Bank; later the two were merged, and, in January, 1864, were incorporated as the First National. The State Bank of Palmyra was organized in 1922, with J. H. Walton as president.
The village of East Palmyra was first settled by Humphrey
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