USA > New York > Monroe County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
USA > New York > Allegany County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming > Part 33
USA > New York > Livingston County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
USA > New York > Yates County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
USA > New York > Ontario County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
USA > New York > Wyoming County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
USA > New York > Steuben County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
USA > New York > Genesee County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
USA > New York > Wayne County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
USA > New York > Orleans County > History of the pioneer settlement of Phelps and Gorham's purchase, and Morris' reserve; embracing the counties of Monroe, Ontario, Livingston, Yates, Steuben, most of Wayne and Allegany, and parts of Orleans, Genesee, and Wyoming. To which is added, a Supplement, or Extension of the pioneer history of Monroe county > Part 33
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NOTE .- The conversation that passed between Mr. Williamson and Lieut. Sheaffe, as copied from Mr. Williamson's autograph, is as follows : -
LIEUT. SHEAFFE. - "I am commissioned by Governor Simcoe to deliver the papers, and require an answer."
MR. WILLIAMSON. - "I am a citizen of the United States, and under their authori-
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The news of this hostile demonstration on the part of one, seem- ing to act by authority from the British government, was soon spread through all the backwoods settlements of the Genesee coun- try. At no period since the settlement commenced, had the con- duct of the Indians so much favored the worst apprehensions. Har- mar and St. Clair had in turn been defeated and repulsed by the western Indians, and the issue that Wayne had made with them was pending ; his defeat being not improbable, in view of the for- midable enemy with which he had to contend. Evidences of British aid to the western Indians, against General Wayne, was furnished by returning adventurers from the west, and every travel- ler that came through the wilderness from Niagara, confirmed the worst suspicions of all that was going on at that focus of British machinations, against the peace of the defenceless border settlers. It was, too, ominous of danger, that the Senecas in their immedi- ate neighborhood, in their midst, it may almost be said, had armed and moved off in considerable numbers, to become confederates against General Wayne, bearing upon their persons the blankets, the broad cloths, calicoes, and war decorations, served to them from the king's store house at Niagara, by the hands of one whose very very name* was a terror, for it was mingled with the chiefest horrors, and the darkest deeds of the Border Wars of the Revolution. Wayne defeated, it was but natural to suppose that the Senecas who had gone west and made themselves confederates against him, would bring back with them upon their war path, allies from the western tribes, to renew the bloody scenes that had been enacted upon the banks of the Mohawk and Susquehannah. Such being the cotemporary state
ty and protection, I possess these lands. I know no right that his Britannic Majesty, or Gov. Simcoe, has to interfere, or molest me. The only allegiance I owe to any power on earth, is to the | nited States ; and so far from being intimidated by threats from people I have no connection with, I shall proceed with my improvements ; and nothing but superior force shall make me abandon the place. Is the protest of Gov. Simcoe intended to apply to Sodus, exclusively ?"
LIEUT. SHEAFFE. -- " By no means ! It is intended to embrace all the Indian lands purchased since the peace of 1783."
MR. WILLIAMSON. -- " And what are Gov. Simcoe's intentions, supposing the protest is disregarded ?"
LIEUT. SHEAFFE .-- "I am merely the official bearer of the papers ; but I have a further message to deliver from Gov. Simcoe ; which is that he reprobates your con- duct exceedingly for endeavoring to obtain flour from Upper Canada ; and that should he permit it, it would be acknowledging the right of the United States to these In- dian lands."
* Col. John Butler.
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of things, it is hardly to be wondered, that the landing of a small body of British troops upon the soil of the Genesee country ; though they came but small in numbers, their errand but to bring a threat- ening protest, was a circumstance of no trifling magnitude. And the reader will not fail to take into the account, how feeble in numbers, how exposed, and how weak in all things necessary to a successful defence, was the then new settlements of the Genesee country. In all this he will be aided by a brief retrospect of the commencement and progress of settlement; and added to what this will show, should be the consideration, that the settlers came into the wilder- ness unprepared for war. They came, relying upon a treaty of peace. Wearied with war and all its harrassing effects, they had more than figuratively beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. They had come to subdue the wil- derness, and not to subdue their fellow men. The rumors of war came to the sparse settlements, and the solitary log-cabins dotted down in the wilderness, like the decrees of fate, to be added to all the sufferings and endurances of pioneer life. But a few weeks previous to all this, there had been, as if by concert, a far more than usual emigration of New York Indians to Canada. They went from most of the Six Nations, in detatched parties, and a very large pro- portion of the Onondagas had emigrated in a body. The demeanor of the Senecas had undergone a marked change. By some unseen but suspected influence, they had become morose and quarrelsome. A far more than usual number of outrages were committed upon the new settlers ; in fact, the principal ones that are now remem- bered, happened about this period. These facts were not without their influence in converting the circumstances of the landing of an armed force at Sodus Bay, into a preliminary measure, the sequel of which might prove the breaking out of a general war, having for its object the recovery of the soil of the Genesee country by the Indians, and the bringing of it again under British dominion
It will surprise those who are not familiar with early events in the Genesee country, when they are told that as late as 1794 - eight years after settlement had been commenced, there was but little of intercourse or communication with Albany and New York ; Phila- delphia and Baltimore, and especially the latter, had far more inti- mate relations with all this region. To the papers of those cities, the settlers in those then backwoods looked for news, and in them
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events transpiring here were generally recorded. On the first of September, the affair at Sodus was announced in the Maryland Gazette, in a letter from Philadelphia, accompanied by the intelli- gence that an express had arrived at the then seat of government, with despatches for the War Office.
Immediately after the departure of Lieut. Sheaffe, Mr. William- son, with the co-operation of other prominent citizens, adopted the most energetic measures, as well for the purpose of preparing for the contingency, which he had good reasons for supposing would occur, after what had transpired at Sodus, as to give assurances of safety and protection to the inhabitants.
He not only despatched an express rider to the seat of govern- ment, as indicated by the correspondent of the Maryland Gazette, but he also despatched one to Albany. He forwarded by these mes- sengers letters to Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State, to Gen. Knox, Secretary of War, and to Gov. George Clinton. In these letters he detailed all that had transpired, suggested some measures of protection, and gave asurances that the mandate of Gov. Sim- coe would be disregarded. In the letter to Gen. Knox, he says : - " It is pretty well ascertained that for some time past, quantities of military stores and ammunition have been forwarded to Oswego. This makes me think it not improbable that Lieut. Sheaffe will take a forcible possession of Sodus on his return. I shall, however, with- out relaxing, go on with my business there, until drove off by a superior force. It is heedless for me to trouble you with any com- ments on this unparalleled piece of insolence, and gross insult to the government of the United States."
Mr. Williamson wrote a letter to Sir William Pulteney, in which he says :-
" I shall make no further comment on this business, than to observe, that any thing short of actual hostilities, it completes the unequalled insolent con- duct of Mr. Simcoe toward this government. Mr. Simcoe's personal of my- self and you, I treat with the scorn it deserves, but I beg leave to give you a sketch of his political conduct. On his first arrival in this country, by deep laid schemes he has prevented every possibility of an accomodation between this country and the hostile Indians, and this summer, by his intrigues, he has drawn several tribes of friendly Indlans from the territory of the United States to the British side of the lines, and left nothing undone to induce the Six Nations, our neighbors, to take up the hatchet the moment he gives the word. You must be acquainted with his marching a body of armed troops, and erecting a Fort at the Rapids of the Miami seventy miles within the territory
J
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of the United States, but this being an extensive wilderness, seemed of less importance.
"Not content with this, he has now interfered with our settlements, in a manner so unlike the dignity of a great nation that it must astonish you. If it is the intention of the British ministry, by low and underhand schemes, to keep alive a harrassing war against helpless women and children, or by murders on this frontier, to add to the list of murders already committed by the influence of their servants here, and to treat this government with the most unwarrantable insolence and contempt. I allow that Mr. Simcoe is the most industrious and faithful servant the British government ever had. But if it is their intention to cultivate a friendly intercourse with this country, it never can take place while such is the conduct of their Governor here. For my own part. I think it would be doing the government of Great Britain a most essential service, should their intentions towards this country be friendly, to show to their min- istry the conduct of Gov. Simcoe; and I write this letter that you may show it to Mr. Dundas, or Mr. Pitt, if you think proper. Their knowledge of me, I am convinced, will give it sufficient weight. If these transactions are in con- sequence of orders from Great Britain, and their views are hostile, there is nothing further to be said."
While all this was progressing, in four days after the affair at Sodus in fact, before Gov. Simcoe would have had time to execute his threats, the great measure of deliverance for the Genesee country and the few scattered border settlers of the west, had been con- summated. " Mad Anthony, "- [and there had been " method in his madness, "]-had met the confederated bands of the hostile Indians of the west, and almost under the walls of a fortress of their British allies, achieved a signal victory ! Those upon whom Gov. Simcoe was relying for aid, (for it is evident that he looked to a descent of the western Indians upon the Genesee country in case the war was renewed,) - were humbled and suing for peace. This alone would have averted his worst intentions, and added to this, was the consideration that Mr. Jay had sailed for London on the 12th of May, clothed with ample powers from our government to arrange all matters of dispute.
Those familiar with the history of our whole country in the earliest years of its separation from England, are aware how im- portant was the well planned and successful expedition of General Wayne. Important in its immediate consequences - the putting an end to protracted, harrassing Indian treaties, and the founding of that great empire of wealth, prosperity, and unparralleled progress, our western states. But few can now realize its local consequence, in the Genesee country. It gave security where there was little of it before, inspired hope and confidence with those who were half
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determined to retrace the weary steps that had brought them into the wilderness, for they felt that if war was to be added to all the sufferings and privations they were encountering, it were better to abandon the field, if not forever, to a period more propitious. The news of Wayne's victory was communicated by Brant to Gen. Chapin, and it circulated briskly among the backwoods settlements. Here and there was seen small gatherings of Pioneer settlers, con- gratulating each other upon the event, and taking fresh courage to grapple with the hardships of Pioneer life. All was confirmed, when in a few days, the Senecas were seen coming back upon their war path, humbled, quaking with fear at the mere recollection of the terri- ble onslaught that Mad Anthony had made upon the dusky legions that had gathered to oppose him, and uttering imprecations against those who had lured them from home to take part in the contest and then remained far away from danger, or shut themselves up in a strong fortress, but spectators in a conflict in which they and their confederates were falling like autumn leaves in a shower of hail.
The haughty spirit of the descendants of the warlike Iroquois, was humbled within them, and chagrined by the terrible discomfit- ure they had witnessed, and been partakers of, as well as by the bad faith of their advisers and abettors at Niagara, they resolved to settle down quietly in their villages, and renew their peaceful and amicable relations with their white neighbors.
As early as the 3d of July, preceding the visit of Lieut. Sheaffe, to Sodus, a representation had been made to the War Department, of the exposed condition of the new settlers in the Genesee coun- try, the danger of Indian disturbances promoted by British agents at Niagara, and the necessity of some means of defence. To which, Gen. Knox, the Secretary of War, had replied in substance, that some official use had been made of the communication, by the Sec-
NOTE. - There are some amusing aucedotes of the relations that the returning Indi- dians gave of the battle. In its conduct, Wayne had made himself in their imagina- ations, more than human. His was a warfare they had been unused to : - impetuous, crushing : inspiring a terror that conquered as effectually as his arms. A Seneca, who came away in an early stage of the battle, having seen quite enough to gratify his curi- osity and love of adventure, gave to an informant of the author, the reason for his precipitate retreat. He said in his graphie description of the opening of the light : -"Pop, pop, pop,-boo, woo, Woo-0-00,-wish, wish. wish-e-ce,-boo, woo !- kill twenty Inguns one time ; no good, by d-n!" This the reader will at once perceive, was an attempt to imitate the firing of small arms and cannon, and the whizzing of the fuse, and the bursting of bombs.
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retary of War, in his correspondence with the British Minister, that a conference was to be held with the Six Nations at Canandai- gua, in September, for the purpose of conciliating, and establishing finally a peace with them if possible. In reply to an application for arms, the Secretary says, that an order had been issued in favor of the Governor of New York, for one thousand muskets, cartridge boxes, and bayonets.
The following copy of a letter from President Washington to Mr. Jay, our then minister in London, possesses much of a general historical interest, and will aid the reader in a full understanding of the questions then at issue, so far as this local region wasconcerned :
" AUGUST, 30, 1794.
" As you will receive letters from the Secretary of States' office, giving an official account of the public occurrences as they have arisen and advanced, it is unnecessary for me to retouch any of them; and yet I cannot restrain my- self from making some observations on the most recent of them, the commu- nication of which was received this morning only. I mean the protest of the Governor of Upper Canada, delivered by Lieutenant Sheaffe, against our oc- cupying lands far from any of the posts, which, long ago, they ought to have surrendered, and far within the known, and until now, the acknowledged limits of the United States.
"On this irregular and high handed proceeding of Mr. Simcoe, which is no longer masked, I would rather hear what the ministry of Great Britain will say, than pronounce my own sentiments thereon. But can that goverment, or will it attempt, after this official act of one of their governors, to hokl out ideas of friendly intentions towards the United States, and suffer such con- duct to pass with impunity ?
"This may be considered as the most open and daring act of the British agents in America, though it is not the most hostile and cruel : for there does not remain a doubt in the mind of any well informed person in this country, not shut against conviction, that all the difficulties we encounter with the Indians, their hostilities, the murders of helpless women and children, along our frontiers, result from the conduct of agents of Great Britain in this country. In vain is it then for its administration in Britain, to disavow having given orders which will warrant such conduct, whilst their agents go unpunished ; while we have a thousand corroborating circumstances, and indeed as many evidences, some of which cannot be brought forward, to prove that they are seducing from our alliances, and endeavoring to remove over the line, tribes that have hitherto been kept in peace and friendship with us at a heavy expense, and who have no canses of complaint, except pretended ones of their creating ; whilst they keep in a state of irritation the tribes that are hostile to ns, and are instigating those who know little of us, or we of them, to unite in the war against us ; and whilst it is an undeniable fact, that they are furnishing the whole with arms, ammunition, clothing, and even pro- visions to carry on the war. I might go farther, and if they are not much belied, add, men also in disguise.
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" Can it be expected, I ask, so long as these things are known in the United States, or at least firmly believed, and suffered with impunity by Great Britain, that there ever will or can be any cordiality between the two countries? I answer - No. And I will undertake, without the gift of prophecy to predict, that it will be impossible to keep this country in a state of amity with Great Britain long, if these posts are not surrendered. A knowledge of these being my sentiments, would have but little weight. I am persuaded, with the British administration, or perhaps with the nation, in effecting the measures, but both may rest satisfied, that if they want to be at peace with this country, and to enjoy the benefits of its trade, to give up the posts is the only road to it. Withholding them, and the consequences we feel at present continuing, war will be inevitable."
CHAPTER V.
JAMES AND WILLIAM WADSWORTHI - PIONEER EVENTS IN WHAT IS NOW LIVINGSTON.
THE advent of these two brothers to the Genesee country, marks an era in our early local history. They were from the first, large landholders and patroons of new settlements, and for many years intimately and conspicuously blended with the progress of improvement. The connection of their family with Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth, of Hartford, Conn., was the primary cause of their early enterprise ; of whom, as he was an early and large proprietor of land, by purchase from Phelps and Gorham, it will not be out of place to speak, incidentally. He was the son of the Rev. Daniel Wadsworth, of Hartford. Entering upon a sea-faring life in early years, for the benefit of his health, first as a sailor before the mast, and afterwards as mate and captain, he finally settled down in Hartford, where he resided upon the breaking out of the Revolution- ary war. He received the appointment of commissary of the Con- necticut line, and following that appointment, he had important trusts committed to his charge, not only by Connecticut, but by the Con- gress at Philadelphia, having reference generally to the pay, clothing
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and subsistence of the Continental troops. Soon after the arrival of Rochambeau, with the French army, their subsistence was en- trusted to his charge, jointly with John B. Church. Ile was one of those with whom Gen. Washington made an early acquaintance when the great crisis arrived, and in whose hospitable mansion, at Hartford, he was wont to meet, and have social intercourse and consultation with its owner, and other prominent men of the Revo- lution. It was the taking down and removal of this old mansion, that suggested the following beautiful lines of Mrs. Sigourney :-
" Fallen dome, beloved so well, Thou could'st many a legend tell Of the chiefs of ancient fame, Who, to share thy shelter came :--- Rochambeau and La Fayette, Round thy plenteous board have met, With Columbia's mightier son, Great and glorious WASHINGTON. Here with kindred minds they plann'd Rescue for an infant land ; While the British Lion's roar Echo'd round the leagur'd shore."
Annals of Conn., by R P. Hinman.
" The services of Col. Wadsworth, during some periods of the war," says a biographer, " were incalculable." He was a member of the 1st, 2d, and 3d Congress. He died in 1804, aged 61 years.
Mr. Phelps having been in the commissary department during the Revolution, he had made the acquaintance of Col. Wadsworth, and soon after he obtained title, induced him to make investments in the Genesee country .* He purchased T. 6, R. 9, a part of T. 11, R. 7, and one 12th of "Big Tree."t Being a man of wealth, and con- siderably advanced in years, their purchases were for investment and and re-sale, rather than with any intention to emigrate.
William and James Wadsworth were natives of Durham, Conn., the sons of John N. Wadsworth. James Wadsworth graduated at Yale College, in 1787, and spent the winter of '87 and '88, in Mon- treal, employed in school teaching. The father had died before James graduated at College, and left the homestead in Durham, which would have been called a " fair estate" in New England, to his three children, the care of which had devolved upon the elder brother, William. In the Spring of 1790, at a period when James, then 22 years of age, was undetermined as to the pursuits of life --
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hesitating between the alternatives of seeking his fortune in the south- ern states, and acquiring the profession of law, and settling down in New England, his kinsman, Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth, proposed to him emigration to the Genesee country, the sale to him of a part of his tract at "Big Tree," upon advantageous terms, and an agency that would embrace the care and sale of his remaining lands. After consulting with his brother William, making it a condition of the proposed emigration that he should accompany him, the two brothers agreed jointly to accept the proposition.
In June, after a work of preparation which was of no little mag- nitude in New England, preliminary to an advent to this then far off and secluded wilderness; amid the farewells of kindred and friends, in which were mingled sad forebodings of the dangers and vicissitudes the bold adventurers were about to encounter, they com- menced their journey. William, the practical working man of the two, so far as manual labor was concerned, started with an ox team and cart, two or three hired men and a colored woman, a favorite slave belonging to the family .¿ James came via the Sound, and the Hudson, and the water route from Schenectady to the head of navi- gation on Canandaigua outlet, in charge of provisions and a small amount of household furniture. William, with his oxen and cart, made slow progress. The winter sleigh road west of Whitesboro, had to be adapted to wheels as they progressed ; logs had to be cut and moved out of the track, and small streams and sloughs had to be cause-wayed. Arriving at Cayuga Lake, there was no ferry scow, and the party chartered two Indian canoes, which they lashed together, and making a deck of poles, succeeded in crossing. Be- tween Whitesboro and Canandaigua their average progress was but twelve miles per day. The parties reunited at Canandaigua, James having arrived three days in advance.
After making some necessary preparations, the whole party start-
* Or, as is quite probable, Col. Wadsworth may have had an interest, originally, with Messrs. Phelps and Gorham.
t To which, James and William afterwards added a tenth, making the original Wadsworth tract at Geneseo, about 5,000 acres.
# The identical "Jenny." She was for a long time almost the only one of her race, in that region ; and an object of curiosity with the younger portion of the back- woodsmen. Turning to the travels of Liancourt, we find that on the morning he left "Big Tree," she was queuing and powdering "Capt. Wadsworth's" hair, preparatory to his departure for Caradaigua to "revi w a party ef soldiers, over whom he is captain."
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ed from Canandaigua, with all the effects with which they had left Durham, to which had been added a small stock of cattle, purchased upon the Mohawk. They took the Indian trail and Sullivan's route, clearing their road for the passage of their cart, as they went along, camping the first night at "Pitt's Flats," and the next, at the foot of Conesus Lake. Breaking up their encampment in the morning, James, on horseback, with one companion, preceded the rest of the party, and pursued the Big Tree trail; William, with the oxen, cart, and other effects, following after, took the Branch trail that led to a large Indian village of the Oneidas, which was two miles below Big Tree, on the river. Wandering from the obscure trail, the party got lost, and brought up at night in a swamp about two miles north-east from Big Tree, tied their cattle to trees, and encamped. James, having spent the night at Big Tree, with his companion, in the woods, with no means of making an en- campment, took his back track in the morning ; arrived at the point where the Oneida trail branched off, followed the track of the cart wheels, and found the lost party, groping in the wilderness, un- determined as to the course they should pursue. He conducted the whole party to Big Tree, (Geneseo, the reader will bear in mind,) where they slept in the cart and upon the ground, for two or three nights, until they erected a rude cabin on the table land, a little be- low the present village, on the old River trail. On their arrival, they found, of their race, but one man, Lemuel Jennings, who had a cabin, and was herding some cattle on the flats for Oliver Phelps. James, returning to Canandaigua on the day he had located the party, on his way back, got benighted, but was attracted by a light, and pursuing the direction from which it proceeded, found the negro woman, Jenny, holding a light for his brother William, who was hewing some plank for their cabin floor.
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