USA > New York > Erie County > Sardinia > History of the original town of Concord : being the present towns of Concord, Collins, N. Collins, and Sardinia, Erie County, New York > Part 4
USA > New York > Erie County > Collins > History of the original town of Concord : being the present towns of Concord, Collins, N. Collins, and Sardinia, Erie County, New York > Part 4
USA > New York > Erie County > Concord > History of the original town of Concord : being the present towns of Concord, Collins, N. Collins, and Sardinia, Erie County, New York > Part 4
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In July, 1788, Messrs. Gorham and Phelps, purchased of the Indians, by a treaty at a convention held at Buffalo creek, the Indian title to about two millions six hundred thousand acres of the eastern part of their purchase from Massachusetts. This purchase of the Indians being bounded west by a line running due south from the mouth of Canaseraga creek to the Pennsyl- vania line, and northerly from the mouth of said creek along the waters of the Genesee river to a point two miles north of Cannawagas village, thence running west twelve miles, thence running northwardly so as to be twelve miles distant from the west side of said river to the shore of Lake Ontario.
On the 21st day of November, 1788, the State of Massachu- setts conveyed and forever quitclaimed to Gorham and Phelps, their heirs and assigns forever, all the right and title of said state to all that tract of country of which Messrs. Phelps and Gorham had extinguished the Indian title. This tract, and this only, has since been designated as the " Phelps and Gor- ham purchase."
Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, who had paid about one-third of the purchase money of the whole tract purchased by Massa- chusetts, in consequence of the rise of the value of Massach- setts consolidated stock (in which the payments for the land were to be received) from twenty per cent. to par, were unable further to comply with their engagements on their part and Massachusetts commenced suits on their bonds. After a long
31
THE MORRIS RESERVE.
negotiation between the parties, the whole transaction relative to the purchase of those land was settled and finally closed on the 10th day of March, 1791, Phelps and Gorham relinquished to Massachusetts that portion of the land since known as the "Holland Purchase" and the " Morris Reserve," and Massa- chusetts relinquished to the said Phelps and Gorham their bonds for the payment of the purchase money therefor.
The whole of said lands, released by Phelps and Gorham to the State of Massachusetts, as above stated, were sold by said state, to Robert Morris on the 11th day of May, 1791, in five different deeds. The first deed included all the land on said tract lying east of a meridian line beginning at a point in the north line of Pennsylvania, twelve miles west of the southwest corner of Phelps and Gorham's tract and running due north to Lake Ontario, supposed to contain about five hundred thousand acres. The above tract took the name of "The Morris Reserve," from the fact that he retained that tract in the sale which he afterwards made to the Holland company.
32
THE HOLLAND COMPANY.
CHAPTER VIII.
Historical Deduction of the Holland Company's Title-A Curious Fact- Indian Council at Geneseo-Indian Reservation-Joseph Ellicott the Principal Surveyor-Other Surveyors-The Transit Instrument-Run- ning the East Transit Line-Running the Mile-Strip Line a ong the Niagara River-Buffalo Creek-Williamsburg-" Transit Store House" - The First Wagon Track on the Holland Purchase-Buffalo in 179 S- First Crops Raised on the Holland Purchase -The Three Taverns Located-The First Woman on the Holland Purchase.
The last four tracts described in the conveyances of the land purchased of Massachusetts, by Robert Morris, were con- veyed by him, by four separate deeds, as follows: First deed from Robert Morris and wife, to Herman Le Roy and John Linklaen, for one and a half million acres, dated December 24, 1792. Second deed from Robert Morris and wife, to Herman Le Roy, John Linklaen and Gerrit Boon for one million acres, dated February 27, 1793. Third deed from Robert Morris and wife, to Herman Le Roy, John Linklaen and Gerrit Boon, for eight hundred thousand acres, dated July 20, 1793. Fourth deed from Robert Morris and wife, to Herman Le Roy, William Bayard and Matthew Clarkson, for three hundred thousand acres, dated July 20, 1793.
These tracts were purchased with the funds of certain gen- tlemen in Holland, and held in trust by the several grantees for their benefit, as they, being aliens, could not purchase and hold real estate in their own names, according to the then existing laws of the State. After several changes in the trus- tees, and transfers of portions of the land, sanctioned by the Legislature, the whole tract was conveyed by the trustees, by three separate deeds to the Holland company, or rather to the individuals in their own names, composing three separate branches of the company.
Although these deeds of conveyance were given to three distinct companies of proprietors, their interests were so closely blended, several ot the same persons, having large interests in each of the three different estates; they appointed one general
33
THE DUTCH PROPRIETORS.
agent for the whole, who managed the concerns of the tract generally, as though it belonged to the same proprietors, making no distinction which operated in the least on the settlers and purchasers, but simply keeping the accounts of each separate, when practicable, and apportioning pro rata, all expenses when blended in the same transaction, for the benefit of the whole. The general agent likewise appointed the same local or resident agent for the three companies owning this tract in Western New York. The only difference between its consisting of one or more tracts discernable by the purchaser of lands, was, in executing contracts or conveyances, the agents used the names of the respective proprietors of each tract. Under this state of things, we shall denominate the whole of the proprietors holding under these three deeds, "The Holland Company," and the lands conveyed by those deeds the "Holland Purchase." It is a curious fact that when the Dutch proprietors were par- celing out the tract among the three different branches of the company, it was mutually agreed among the whole, that Messrs. Wilhem Willink, Jan Willink, Wilhem Willink the younger, and Jan Willink the younger, should have three hundred thousand acres, located in such part of the whole tract as they should select. In making their selection they located their three hundred thousand acres in nearly a square form, in the south-east corner of the tract, for the reason that it was nearest Philadelphia, the residence of their general agent. This selection contained the territory now comprising the towns of Bolivar, Wirt, Friendship, the east part of Belfast, Genesee, Clarksville and Cuba, in Allegany county; Portville and the east parts of Ischua and Hinsdale, in Cattaraugus county. This location will give the reader who is acquainted with the geography of the country, some idea of the knowledge, or rather want of knowledge, of the Dutch proprietors, of the situation and relative advantages of the different portions of their vast domains.
This sale by Robert Morris to the Holland company was made before the Indian title to the land was extinguished, accompanied by an agreement on his part to extinguish that title, with the assistance of the company, as soon as practicable ; therefore at a council of the Seneca Indians, held at Geneseo,
2
34
INDIAN RESERVATIONS.
. on the Genesee river, in the month of September, 1797, at which Jeremiah Wadsworth attended as commissioner for the United States, and William Shepherd as agent for Massachusetts, Robert Morris in fulfilment of his several contracts with the Holland company, and to other persons to whom he had sold land on this tract, acting by his agents, Thomas Morris and Charles Williamson, extinguished the Indian title to all the land, the pre-emption right of which he had purchased of Mas- sachusetts, except the following Indian reservations, viz; The Cannawagus reservation, containing two square miles, lying on the west bank of Genesee river, west of Avon. Little Beard's and Big Tree reservations, containing together four square miles, lying on the west bank of the Genesee river, opposite Geneseo. Squakie Hill reservation, containing two square miles, lying on the north bank of the Genesee river, north of Mount Morris. Gardeau reservation, containing about twenty- eight square miles, lying on both sides of Genesee river, two or three miles south of Mount Morris. The Canadea reserva- tion, containing sixteen square miles, lying each side of, and extend eight miles along the Genesee river, in the county of Allegany. The Oil Spring reservation, containing one square mile, lying on the line between Allegany and Cattaraugus counties. The Allegany reservation, containing forty-two square miles, lying on each side of the Allegany river and extending from the Pennsylvania line northeaswardly about twenty-five miles. The Cattaraugus reservation, containing forty-two square miles, lying on each aide and near the mouth of the Cattaraugus creek, on Lake Erie. The Buffalo reserva- tion, containing one hundred and thirty square miles, lying on both sides of Buffalo creek, and extending east from Lake Erie about seven miles wide. The Tonawanda reservation, containing seventy square miles, lying on both sides of Tonawanda creek, beginning about twenty-five miles from its mouth, and extending eastwardly about seven miles wide; and the Tuscarora reservation, containing one square mile, being about three miles cast of Lewiston on the Mountain Ridge.
Theophilus Cazenove, the general agent of the Holland company, resident at Philadelphia, in July, 1797, had engaged
35
THE SURVEY COMMENCED.
Mr. Joseph Ellicott, as principal surveyor of the company's lands in Western New York, whenever their title should be perfected and possession obtained, and likewise, to attend the before-mentioned council, and assist Messrs. W. Bayard and J. Linklaen, who were to attend and act as agents for the com- pany (sub rosa) for the purpose of promoting the interests of their principals in any treaty which might be made with the Indians. Mr. Ellicott attended the council accordingly, and rendered valuable services to the purchasers. This period was the commencement of upwards of twenty years' regular active service rendered by Mr. Ellicott to the Holland company, in conducting their affairs and executing laborious enterprises for their benefit.
As soon as the favorable result of the proceedings of this council was known, Mr. Ellicott proceeded immediately to prepare for the traverse and survey of the north and northwest bounds of the tract. As soon as the necessary preparatory steps could be taken, Mr. Ellicott, as surveyor for the Holland company, and Augustus Porter, in the same capacity, for Robert Morris, for the purpose of estimating the quantity of land in the tract, started a survey at the northeast corner of Phelps and Gorham's tract, west of Genesee river, and trav- ersed the south shore of Lake Ontario to the mouth of Niagara river, thence up the eastern shore of Niagara river to Lake Eric, thence along the southeast shore of Lake Erie to the west bounds of the State of New York being a meridian line running due south from the west end of Lake Ontario, which had been previously established by Andrew Ellicott, Surveyor-General of the United States, assisted by Joseph Ellicott. All which was perfected by the middle of Novem- ber following.
Before Mr. Ellicott left Western New York for Philadelphia. he contracted with Thomas Morris to deliver on the Genesee river or shore of Lake Ontario near the mouth of that river, one hundred barrels of pork, fifteen barrels of beef, and two hundred and seventy barrels of flour, for the supply of the surveyors and their assistants the ensuing season. Mr. Ellicott, at the request of the Agent-General, made a list of articles to be provided for the next season's campaign, consisting of a
36
SUBDIVISION OF TOWNSHIPS.
diversity of articles, from pack-horses to horse-shoes, nails and gimlets-from tents to towels-from barley and rice to choco- late, coffee and tea, and from camp-kettles to teacups ; esti- mated to amount to $7,213.33. This statement, however, did not include medicine, " or wine, spirits, loaf-sugar, &c., for headquarters." Mr. Ellicott likewise calculated the wages of surveyors and other hands, for six months of the next season, at $19,830.
Although the great divisions of the Holland Purchase was intended to consist of townships six miles square, the division of the tract among the three sets of proprietors, the Indian reservations which were not included in the townships, as well as the offsets and sinuosities existing in most of the boundaries, prevented a large portion of the townships conforming to this standard. The townships are situated in ranges running from south to north. The townships in each range of townships beginning to number one at the south, rising regularly in number to the north, and the ranges of townships beginning to number one at the east, and proceeding regularly west, to fifteen.
The first plan of the Agent-General of the company, relative to the subdivision of the townships, was to divide each town- ship, which was six miles square, into sixteen portions one and a half miles square, to be called sections, and each section again subdivided into twelve lots, each lot to be three-fourths of a mile long (generally north and south), and one-fourth of a mile wide, containing about one hundred and twenty acres each ; presuming that a wealthy farmer would buy a section, whereon to locate himself and his progeny. Twenty-four townships were surveyed or commenced to be surveyed in con- formity to that plan, although the uniformity of the size and shape of lots was often departed from, where large streams, such as the Tonawanda, running through the townships, were, for convenience, made boundaries of lots. From experience, however, it was ascertained that, in the purchase of land, each individual, whether father, son, or son-in-law, would locate him- self according to his own choice or fancy. That this formal and regular division of land into farms, seldom was found to be in conformity to the topography of the country, nor to the
37
THE SURVEYORS.
different requirements as to quantity, likewise that the addition of sections to townships and lots, rendered the description of farms more complex, and increased the liability to err in defin- ing any particular location ; for which reasons, the practice of dividing townships in sections was abandoned, and thereafter, the townships were simply divided into lots of about sixty chains or three-fourths of a mile square, which could be divided into farms to suit the topography of the land and quantity required by the purchasers. In those townships which the sur- veys had commenced to divide into sections, and not com- pleted, the remaining sections were divided into four lots only of three-fourths of a mile square each. These lots conse- quently contained about three hundred and sixty acres each, but could not be laid off exactly uniform in shape and area, for the same reason heretofore given in a note, why the townships could not be laid off exactly uniform.
Early in the Spring of 1788, Mr. Ellicott dispatched Adam Hoops, jr., a nephew of Major Adam Hoops, from Philadelphia, to Western New York, with general powers to prepare for opening the approaching campaign of surveying the Holland Purchase, and to co-operate with Augustus Porter, who had previously been engaged to procure horses, employ hands, and transport stores from the places of their delivery by the con- tractor, Mr. Morris, to the places where they would be required for consumption.
The principal surveyors engaged during the active season of 1798, in township, meridian line and reservation surveys, and in lake and river traverses, were as follows: Joseph and Benjamin Ellicott, John Tompson, Richard M. Stoddard, George Burgess, James Dewey, David Ellicott, Aaron Oakford, jr., Augustus Porter, Seth Pease, James Smedly, William Shepherd, Geo. Eggleston. In addition to these, were two Frenchmen, MM. Haudecaur and Autrechy, who were employed in some surveys of Niagara river and the Falls. The last were rather engineers than surveyors. Mr. James Brisbane, then in his minority, came from Philadelphia, with Mr. Tompson, as clerk and store- keeper.
Mr. Ellicott and his assistants having arrived on the territory, his first business was to ascertain and correctly establish the
38
THE "TRANSIT INSTRUMENT."
east line of the Purchase. He caused the Pennsylvania line to be accurately measured from the southwest corner of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, on the eighty-second mile-stone, twelve miles west, and there erected a stone monument for the south- east corner of the Holland Purchase. The whole company was then divided into parties, to prosecute the undertaking to advantage. The principal surveyor, Joseph Ellicott, assisted by Benjamin Ellicott, one other surveyor and the requisite number of hands, undertook to run the eastern boundary line. The other surveyors, each with his quota of hands, were assigned to run different township lines.
A line running due north from the monument established as the south-east corner by Mr. Ellicott, to the boundary line between the United States and the dominions of the King of Great Britain, in Lake Ontario, according to the deeds of con- veyance from Robert Morris to the company, constitutes the east line of their purchase. To run a true meridian by the sur- veyor's compass Mr. Ellicott knew to be impracticable, he there- fore determined to run this line by an instrument, having for its basis the properties of the " Transit instrument " (an instru- ment made use of to observe the transits of the heavenly bodies), improved for this purpose by a newly-invented manner of accurately arriving at the same; to effect this object, an instrument possessing all these qualities, was manufactured in Philadelphia by his brother, Benjamin Ellicott, as no instru- ment possessing all the qualities desired, was then to be found in the United States.
This instrument had no magnetic needle attached to it, but its peculiar qualities and prominent advantages are, that by means of its telescopic tube and accurate manner of reversing, by it, a straight line can be correctly, and comparatively speak- ing, expeditiously run. But such an instrument, by reason of its magnifying powers, is as ill calculated to run a line through the woods and underbrush, as would be a microscope to observe the transits of the satellites of Herschel. Therefore it became necessary to cut a vista through the woods on the highlands and on level ground, sufficiently wide to admit a clear and uninterrupted view.
Mr. Ellicott having provided himself with such an instrument,
39
SURVEYORS ARRIVE AT WILLIAMSBURG.
caused the vista to be cut, some three or four rods wide, ahead of the transit instrument, in a north direction as indi- cated by the compass, which sometimes led the axmen more than the width of the vista from the meridian sought ; there- fore the true meridian line, called the transit line, from the name of the instrument with which it was run, being of no width, runs sometimes on one side of the middle of the vista cut in advance, and sometimes on the other.
Thus prepared with a suitable instrument, Mr. Ellicott assisted by his brother, Benjamin Ellicott, together with sur- veyors and their assistants, established a true meridian line north from the corner monument, by astronomical observations, and pursued it with the transit instrument, taking new astronomical observations at different stations, to guard against accidental variations.
The progress in running this line was slow, as it could not be otherwise expected, considering the great amount of labor nec- essary to be performed in clearing the vista, and taking other preparatory measures, and, above all, the vast importance of having it correctly established, which rendered anything like precipitance or haste, an experiment too hazardous to be per- mitted. June 12th, the party on this line had advanced so far north, that they established their store-house at Williamsburg (about three miles south of the village of Geneseo), and soon after Mr. Ellicott made it his headquarters at Hugh M'Nair's, in that vicinity. On the 22d day of November, following, eighty-one and a half miles of the line was established, which brought them within about thirteen miles of the shore of Lake Ontario. The precise date of its completion is unknown.
This line defined the west bounds of Mr. Church's one hun- dred thousand acres, but passed through the Cotringer, Ogden and Cragie tracts, about two miles from their west boundaries, as described in the deeds of conveyance from Robert Morris to the several grantees ; but as their titles were of a later date than the conveyance to the Holland Company, no deviation from the first established meridian was made by Mr. Ellicott.
On arriving at the south line of the one hundred thousand acre tract, conveyed by Robert Morris to Leroy Bayard and M'Evers, now called the Connecticut tract (the conveyance of
40
DIFFICULT WORK ACCOMPLISHED.
which, from Robert Morris, claimed seniority over that to the Holland Company). Mr. Ellicott found that his meridian inter- sected the south line of that tract, one hundred and sixty-six chains thirty links east of its southwest corner, on which he moved his position that distance to the west, from which point he ran the transit due north to Lake Ontario.
Although the eastern bank of the Niagara river had been traversed, the east bounds of the New York mile strip had not been ascertained, and the state would participate in it no further than to give the proprietors of the land adjoining, to wit : the Holland Company liberty to run the line at their own expense, and if so run as to be approved by the Surveyor Gen- eral of the state, it should be established as permanently located, and passed a law to that effect. This was undoubtedly the most difficult piece of surveying ever performed in the state.
At the north end where the river disembogued itself into the lake, at almost right angles with its shores, there could no doubts arise, but at the south end of the straits or river, a dif- ferent state of things existed, Lake Erie narrowed gradually and became a river ; where the lake ends and the river begins may be considered a difficult question, but it was finally agreed between the parties interested, the river should be deemed to extend to where the water was one mile wide and there cease ; the line of the strip east of this point extending to the shore of Lake Erie, on an arc of a circle of one mile radius, the center being on the eastern bank at the termination of the lake and head of the river, giving to the strip all the land lying within a mile of the river, whether east or south.
For this arc of the circle, which could not be practically run, a repetition of short sides, making a section of a regular poly- gon, was substituted. Seth Pease, a scientific surveyor and astronomer, was engaged in the fall of 1788, to run this line, who executed the survey in a masterly manner, and to the satis- faction of all the parties concerned.
During the year 1799 and 1800, few events transpired relative to the settlement of the Holland Purchase, which require a cir- cumstantial detail, or would admit of one which would be inter- esting to the reader. The surveyors and their assistants, under the direction of their principal, Joseph Ellicott, continued the
41
CAPT. WILLIAM JOHNSTON.
sanie steady routine of encamping in the woods, pitching their tents, transporting provisions, surveying lines and striking their tents and removing to new positions ; and although at times many individuals, undoubtedly, suffered pain and endured hard- ships, such incidents must have been caused by accidental occurrences, unforeseen events or carelessness and imprudence in themselves or their companions, as the well-supplied coffers of the company, accompanied by their liberality, furnished sufficient means, and the provident care of Mr. Ellicott kept their storehouses well supplied with the best kind of provisions for that service, as well as other necessaries and many of the comforts of life.
This might be seen from Mr. Ellicott's catalogue of items for the outfit of the first campaign, and its cost. heretofore referred to, which was adopted and its contents provided.
Of those events, however, the following deserve notice:
The Indian treaty of 1797, in which the Indian title to the Holland' Purchase was extinguished, except to certain reserva- tions, as has been before stated, prescribed the quantities con- tained in, and general shape and location of each reservation, leaving the precise locations of the boundary lines to be deter- mined thereafter.
The Indians reserved 200,000 acres, one indefinite portion of which was to be located on Buffalo creek, at the east end of Lake Erie, and the remainder on Tonawanda creek.
As the New York reservation excluded the Holland com- pany's land from the waters of Niagara river, and from the shore of Lake Erie one mile southerly from the river, it became very important to the company to secure a landing place and harbor at the mouth of Buffalo creek, and sufficient ground whereon to establish a commercial and manufacturing village or city.
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