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 38

Author: Turner, O. (Orsamus); Lookup, George E. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1851
Publisher: Rochester, W. Alling
Number of Pages: 640


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 38
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 38
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 38
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 38
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 38
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 38
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 38
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 38
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 38
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 38


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67


The author has little of the history of Major Carroll, disconnected with that of his associates, Messrs. Rochester and Fitzhugh. He died at his residence in Groveland, in 1837, aged 60 years. His living sons are : - Charles Carroll, the occupant of the homestead, recently the representative in Congress of the Livingston and On- tario district, and a State Senator; Dr. Daniel J. Carrol of New York ; William T. Carroll, a clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States. Daughters became the wives of Henry Fitzhugh, of Oswego ; Moses Tabbs, of Washington, D. C .; Dr. Hardage Lane of St. Louis. The eldest son was the private Secretary of Mr. Clay, at Ghent ; becoming soon after the clerk of his father, who held the office of Receiver at Franklin, Missouri, he was killed in an affray which occurred in that town.


There came to the Genesee country with Messrs. Fitzhugh, Rochester and Carroll, or at about the same time, Col. Jonas Hog- mire, of Washington county, Md., Wm. Beal, and John Wilson, of Frederick county. Col. Hogmire purchased of Mr. Wadsworth, on the river, in Avon, 1500 acres of land, upon which his sons Con-


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rad and Samuel Hogmire now reside. The father never emigrated. Messrs. Beal and Wilson purchased a large tract on the Canascraga, in Sparta.


AVON.


Gilbert R. Berry, was the first permanent settler in what is no Avon .* He was from Albany. He married the daughter of the early Indian trader, Wemple, who has been named in connection with the Rev. Mr. Kirkland. Engaging in the Indian trade, he located first at Geneva, and in 1789, removed to the Genesee river, erected a log house on the west side of the river, near the present bridge, opened a trade with the Indian village of Canawaugus, es tablished a ferry, and entertained the few travellers that passed through on the old Niagara trail. He died in '96 or '7, and was succeeded by his widow. The Holland Purchase being opened for settlement soon afterwards, the "Widow Berry's" tavern was widely know in all early years, west of the river; and besides fur- nishing a comfortable resting place for early Pioneers, in her prim- itive tavern, some of the best wives and mothers of the Genesee country, were reared and fitted for the duties of life. Her daughters became the wives of Geo. Hosmer, Esq., of Avon, E. Clark Hickox, the early merchant of Batavia and Buffalo, John Mastick, Esq., the Pioneer lawyer of Rochester, and George A. Tiffany, whose father was one of the early printers of Canandaigua.


Capt. John Ganson, was the pioneer settler following Mr. Berry. Holding a commission in the Revolutionary war, he had accompanied


* This is assumed from the best information the author has been able to obtain. William Rice was at Avon in the same year, and must have settled there soon after Mr. Berry. Morgan and William Desha, were upon the "Desha Flats," as early as 1769, claiming under an Indian grant ; but the title failing, they removed to Canada. There were there in that year, besides, several heads of families, who are supposed not to have been permanent settlers. The son of the Wm. Rice named above, was the first born upon the Phelps and Gorham's Purchase. He was named "Oliver Phelps Rice." Judge Phelps gave him an 100 acres of land in Livonia, which he occupied when he became of age. Mrs. Rice was a good specimen of the strong minded, ener- getic women, who were the } ioneer mothers of this region. Skilled as a midwife and nurse, she went from settlement to settlement, and from log cabin to log cabin, often supplying the place of a physician. Her many acts of kindness are gratefully remem- bered by the early Pioneers. Mrs. Gould of Lima, and Mrs. Rhodes of Geneseo, are her daughters.


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the expedition of Gen. Sullivan. Before the treaty was concluded, in 1788, he revisited the country, and selected a fine tract of land on the river, about two miles below Avon. His sons John and James wintered in a cabin in 1788, '9, upon the premises ; and the father and family came on in the fall of 1789. During the follow- ing winter they erected a rude " tub mill " on the small stream that puts into the river on the Markham farm. It was a small log building ; no boards could be had; the curb was made of hewed plank ; the spindle was made by straightening out a section of a cart tire ; the stones were roughly carved out of native rock. There was no bolt, the substitute being hand sieves, made of splints. It was a rude, primitive concern ; but it would mash the corn a little better than a wooden mortar and pestle ; and was quite an acquisi- tion to the country. It preceded the Allan mill a few months, and if we shall call it a mill, it was the first in the Genesee Valley. The buckwheat that has been mentioned, produced upon Boughton Hill, was ground or mashed in it, having been carried there twenty miles through the woods, by Jared Boughton, in the fall of 1789; and the producer, and mill boy (or man) lives to eat buckwheat cakes, now in the winter of 1850, '51. Borrowing the language of Shakspeare, and applying it to this one of the few survivors of that early period, may


" Good digestion wait on appetite, And health on both."


Capt. Ganson had claimed title either under the Indian grant, or under the Lessees, which failed, and Col. Wm. Markham became his successor. He resided for several years afterwards, four miles east of Avon, on the main road. As early as 1788, about the period of the commencement of surveys upon the Holland Purchase, Capt. Ganson, had pushed on to the west side of the river, and purchased the pioneer tavern stand of Charles Wilbur, on the then verge of civilization, one mile east of the present village of Le Roy. In this location he was widely known in early years. His house was the home of early land agents, surveyors, explorers and pioneer settlers. He was both loved and feared by the Indians; they came to him for counsel and advice ; and when they became turbulent in their drunken frolics and threatened outrage, he would quell them by his determined will, or with his strong arm. He was even ultra in his Revolutionary principles. When he came upon the river, he and the Butler Rangers -the tories of the Revolution, were far from


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being agreeable neighbors ; he was impatient to see the last of them on their way to Canada.


Township 10, R. 7, (Avon,) was sold by Mr. Phelps to " Wads- worth, Lewis & Co." Those interested in the purchase, were : - William Wadsworth, of Farmington, Conn., (a cousin of James and William,) - Wells of Hartford, Isaiah Thompson, Timothy Hosmer, and - Lewis. The price paid was Is 6d, N. E. cur- rency per acre ; "a high price at the period, in consequence of the large amount of open flats." Dr. Hosmer, and Thompson, were the only ones of the proprietors who became residents. Major Thomp- son, who had not brought his family, died the first season, of billious fever. His son Charles afterwards became a resident, and died in Avon, many years since. Mrs. Tompkins, of Batavia is a grand- daughter of Major Thompson.


Dr. Timothy Hosmer was a native of West Hartford, Conn. With a little more than an ordinary academieal education, he be- came a student of medicine with Dr. Dickinson, of Middleton. But recently settled in practice in Farmington, at the breaking out of the Revolution, he entered the service of the colonies, as a sur- geon, in the Connecticut line. Serving in that capacity through the eventful crisis, he retired, happy in the recollection of its glori- ous result, but like mnost of those who had achieved it, poor and pennyless, a growing family dependent on his professional services for support. In the army he had acquired a high reputation in his profession ; especially for his successful treatment of the small pox, at Danbury, where an army hospital had been established for patients. The discovery of Jenner, having been but recently promulgated in Europe, its efficacy was a mooted question ; with a professional boldness which was characteristic of the man, he espoused the new discovery, and used it with great success. His mate, in the army, was Dr. Eustis, afterwards Secretary of War.


Personally acquainted with Mr. Phelps, and hearing of his pur- chase in the Genesee country, partly from a love of adventure and


NOTE. - James and John Ganson the sons, were early landlords at Le Roy and Stafford. Mrs. Warren residing near Lockport, isa daughter. James Ganson is still living, a resident of Jackson, Michigan ; his sons, are John S. Ganson, of Buffalo, President of the Bank of Attica; Joseph Ganson, a merchant of Brockport, Hiram, Cornelius and Corneil, residents of Michigan, and another son resides in Milwaukee. The sons of John Ganson, are Dr. Holton Ganson of Batavia; John Ganson, an Attor- ney in Buffalo; and James Ganson, Cashier of the Marine Bank of Buffalo.


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new enterprise, and partly to escape from a large practice that was requiring too much of constant toil, in 1790, he visited this region in company with Major Thompson, with whom, for themselves and associates, he made the purchase of a township. Spending the summer of '90 in Avon; in '91 he brought on his two sons, Fred- erick and Sydney ; erecting a log house, the first dwelling on the present site of Avon, where Mr. Merrill's house now stands. His whole family joined him in 1792. Coming into the wilderness, with other objects in view, he was forced by necessity -by the absence of others of his profession, to engage in practice, which he contin- ued until relieved by others. Among the old pioneers who in those primitive days, were in detached settlements throughout a wide range, you will hear him spoken of; and especially do they remem- ber his disregard of fatigue, his long, night, wood's rides, prompted more by a spirit of benevolence than professional gain ; his good humor, and the kind words he always had to cheer the desponding settler, who was wrestling with disease, or the hardships of pioneer life. The Indians early learned to appreciate his professional skill, and personal good offices. They named him " At-tta-gus," the healer of disease. In a period of doubt as to their relations with the new settlers, he helped to reconcile them and avert a threatened danger.


When Ontario was organized he became one of its Judges, and succeeded Mr. Phelps as first Judge, which office he held until he was sixty years of age, the constitutional limitation. He possessed naturally a fine literary taste ; and his well selected library was an anomaly in the backwoods. In his correspondence with Messrs. Wadsworth and Williamson, which the author has perused, there are indications of the scholar, the poet,* and always, of ardent, enlight- ened patriotism.


He died in November, 1815, aged 70 years. His surviving sons,


* His early poetic effusions may be found in the, files of the old Connectieut Courant. In a letter to James Wadsworth, intended to reach him on the eve of his departure from New York to Europe. after wishing him "a happy and prosperous voyage," he congratulates him on the "pleasing prospect." then "opening to the cause of freedom ;" and adds : - " May the resplendent day of Liberty pervade the universe, and radiate every region where mau is found. It has ever been my opinion that the spark of freedom, which was kindled in Boston, in 1775. and spread with great rapidity throughout the United States, would not be circumscribed in its limits to the shores of the Atlantic. The men of reflection, in Europe, find that the extensive territory of the United States, can be governed with the greatest facility, and with a degree of hap- piness, unknown to eastern countries, without the pompous nothing, called a King, the dissipated pageantry of a licentious court, or the enormity of a civil list computed by millions ; and it is therefore not a matter of surprise, to see France, whose armies


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most of whom came to the country as junior pioneers, are William T., of Meadville, Pa .; George, of Avon, who in early years occu- pied a conspicuous position at the bar of W. N. York, the father of Wm. H. C. Hosmer, the author of " Yonnondio," "Themes of Song," and other poems ; who is justly entitled to the position that has been awarded him in the front rank of American scholars and poets. Geo. Hosmer pursued his early studies under the tuition of the Rev. Ebenezer Johnson of Lima; in 1799 entered the law office of the Hon. Nathaniel W. Howell, as a student ; and in 1802 was admitted to practice, opening his office in Avon, then the only lawyer west of Canandaigua. In the war of 1812 he was upon the frontier as the aid of Gen. Hall. He is now 69 years of age. Timothy, the early and widely known landlord at Avon, resides at the Four Mile creek, near Fort Niagara; Sylvester, in Caledonia ; Albert in Hartland, Niagara co. An only daughter of Judge Hos- mer is the wife of the Rev. Flavel F. Bliss, of Churchville. Fred- erick Hosmer, deceased, was a son of Judge Hosmer; he was the first merchant at Avon ; another son, A. Sydney Hosmer, was long known as a tavern keeper at Le Roy; he emigrated to Wisconsin, where he died in 1835.


Colonel William Markham, who had first settled at Bloomfield, moved to Avon in 1790. In Bloomfield he had purchased an hundred acres of land, and paid for it with the proceeds of one acre of po- tatoes. With the proceeds of that land, he purchased and paid for the fine farm on the river, now owned by his son, Guy Markham, which has rented for $1,000 per year. He became a useful, public spirited citizen, and his name is mingled with the reminiscences of the town, in all early years. He died in 1827, or'8. His surviving sons are : Guy and Ira, of Rush, Wayne, on Ridge Road, near Clarkson, Vine, in Michigan. Daughters : - Mrs. Whitney, Michigan ; Mrs. Boughton and Mrs. Dr. Socrates Smith, of Rush.


Gad Wadsworth was a distant connexion of James and William, and came in with them, in their primitive advent in 1790, in care, personally, of the stock. James and William having become, by purchase from first hands, land proprietors in Avon, he settled


have fought the battle of Independence, in America, victorious over the minions of des- pots. And if I may be allowed the privilege of a prediction, I shall have but little hesitation in pronouncing, that the extirpation of tyrants and tyranny from Europe, is but a small remove from the present era."


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there in 1792, his farm being what are now the farms of his son, Henry Wadsworth, and Asa Nowlen, upon which are the Avon springs. He died soon after 1820, nearly 80 years old. Another son of his, Richard, inhabited that part of the farm upon which the springs are situated, and sold to Mr. Nowlen. He emigrated to Sandusky.


Major Isaac Smith was the early and widely known landlord, four miles west of the river, commencing there as early as 1800. Un- der his roof, a large proportion of the Pioneers west of the river, have found rest and refreshment ; and from under it, it may also be added, have come not less than half a dozen excellent wives and mothers. They were : - Mrs. Isaac Sutherland, and Mrs. E. Kim- berly, of Batavia, Mrs. John M'Kay, of Caledonia, Mrs. A. Sidney Hosmer, formerly of Le Roy, Mrs. Faulkner, of Dansville, and Mrs. Sylvester Hosmer, of Caledonia. S. W. Smith, of Dansville, and Nelson Smith, of Michigan, are sons of the early landlord.


The next landlord at Avon, after Gilbert R. Berry, was Nathan Perry. He built a framed house, north side of square, on the site now occupied by the dwelling of Mr. Curtis Hawley. Perry emi- grated to the Connecticut Reserve, and was succeeded by Sydney Hosmer, who made additions to the house. In 1806 James Wads- worth built the hotel ou the corner, and soon after sold it to Sidney and W. T. Hosmer, after which it was long known as the Hos- mer Stand .* During the war, and for many years after, it was kept by Timothy Hosmer. The old landlord and landlady are still alive, the owners and occupants of one of the finest farms, in that region of fine farms, Niagara county. The first school house was a log one, erected a little north of the Episcopal church. Judge Hosmer and the Wadsworths, built saw-mills on the Conesus, as early as 1796. The first meetings were held in the log shool house. Judge Hosmer usually reading the Episcopal service. Mr. Crane, an Episcopal clergyman, and Rev. Samuel J. Mills, were early itinerant ministers.


Jehiel Kelsey yet survives, of the early Pioneers of Avon. He has reached his 80th year. The old gentleman speaks familiarly of early events, of the period when not over twenty or twenty-five


* Previous to the sale, however, David Findlay and Joshua Lovejoy were occupants. Lovejoy removed to Buffalo. See account of the massacre of Mrs. Lovejoy, at the destruction of Buffalo, in History of Holland Purchase.


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men could be raised in all the Genesee valley, to put a log bridge over Deep Hollow, in the now city of Rochester. In 1798 he brought the first cargo of salt that came from Onondaga, by water, and around the Portage, at Genesee Falls. He paid for each bushel of salt, a pound of pork, and sold his salt at $10 per barrel. He well remembers seeing companies of surveyors fitting out, and load- ing their pack horses at Avon, to break into the Holland Purchase.


In 1805, a Library was established at Avon. The trustees were : A. Sidney Hosmer, Job Pierce, Joshua Lovejoy, Jehiel Kelsey, Elkanah Whitney, James Lawrence, Wm. Markham, George Hos- mer, Stephen Rodgers.


In 1810, " a number of persons being stated hearers of Rev. John F. Bliss. of Avon," met and organized " Avon Religious Society." Samuel Bliss and Asa Clark presided. Trustees :- John Pierson, George Hosmer, Nathaniel Bancroft, John Brown, Ezekiel Mosely, William Markham.


AVON SPRINGS.


The rapidly increasing celebrity of Avon Springs, as a summer resort for invalids, pleasure parties, and tourists ; invited as well by the healing waters, as by charming scenery, the broad, cultivated fields, and beautiful forests, that surround them, will perhaps render some early reminiscences of them not ull- interesting :- They were known to the Jesuit Missionaries, and Joncaire, un- der French dominion, and they recognized their use by the Indians, for medi- cinal or healing purposes. The Seneca name for them was " Can-a-wau-gus," (fœtid, bad smelling water,) and thence the name of their village, in the im- mediate neighborhood. When settlement commenced, sixty years since, they were surrounded by a dense cedar marsh. The waters of the springs flowed into a basin or pond, covering a space of several acres, the margin of which, was pure white sand, thrown up by the action of the water. The waters were clear and transparent, and shaded by the dark forest, the spot had a secluded and romantic aspect. It was first noticed as a resort of the wild pigeon. Indian paths were found leading to the spot, from the old Niagara trail, and from the branch trails; and the Indians told the earliest settlers of the efficacy of the waters in cutaneous diseases. At an early period in the settlement of the country, as many will remember, the measles, (as it was called*) was


* If the medical faculty will excuse a non-professor for the introduction of a new name, in their vocabulary, it was the " Genesee itch," to which men as well as animals were subject in this region, when first coming here - endemical in its character - or rather incidental to forest life here. The Jesuit missionaries were afflicted with it.


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prevalent among the hogs. It was observed, that when thus afflicted, they would go and wallow in the mud and sulphur water, penetrating the forest appa- rently for that object. In early years, Miss Wemple, a sister of Mrs. Berry, upon the recommendation of Dr. Hosmer, bathed in and drank the waters, and was relieved ; and other similar cases occurred. Soon after the war of 1812, visitors from abroad began to resort to the Springs, and Richard Wadsworth, at the suggestion, and with the aid of George Hosmer, Esq., erected a small bathing establishment, and shower bath. After the purchase of the property by Mr. Nowlen, and the erection of a boarding house by Mr. Houghton, a new impetus was given to improvements; visitors began to increase, from year to year, improvements have been progressive; until sick or well, there is no spot more inviting in western New York. But a pioneer history was only intended.


REMINISCENCES OF GEORGE HOSMER.


Mr. Hosmer confirms the position, that the domestic hog will go back to his native state, soon after he has re-entered a forest life. In early years of settlement, there were droves of hogs, generally roaming over the uplands, along the Genesee river, the immediate progenitors of which had been those domesticated by the Indians, and those brought here by Butler's Rangers. They were wild, as are those now seen by California adventurers in crossing the Istlimus of Panama. They were untameable, and when wanted for pork, or when ravaging badly feneed fields, were hunted and shot like other wild game.


In 1795, Frederick Hosmer, at the instance of Mr. Williamson, went to reside at the mouth of the river. Erecting a log shantee, he kept a few goods to barter with the Indians for furs, and trade with the batteaumen that used to make that a stopping place. George Hosmer was frequently with him. British deserters from Niagara would frequently come down the Lake. Upon one occasion, some deserters were followed by a young Lieutenant and a guard of 8 men in a boat. Arriving at the mouth of the river, and hear- ing nothing of the refugees, the Lieutenant hunted and fished; lending his fowling piece to two of his soldiers who were going up to the Falls, they too deserted. The Lieutenant pursued them to Orange Stone's, in Brighton, where he heard of them, but they were fleeing to some new settlement in the " land of liberty," so rapidly, that he gave up the chase, and returned to Fort Niagara, minus two of his guard, added to the deserters. The unfortunate Lieutenant was the afterwards Lord Hill of the Peninsular war, the hero at the storming of Badajos.


Desertion from the then British Fort, Niagara, was frequent as soon as the soldiers knew that there were new settlements in this quarter - places of re- fuge ; - Indians were hired by the British officers to pursue them, and failing to arrest, to shoot them. White hunters, and citizens visiting the Fort,


The French soldiers of De Nonville's army, were attacked with the "rheum." The families of early settlers in some localities, before the forest was cleared away would be attacked with a cutaneous disease, more inveterate, and otherwise materially differ- ing from the common " itch."?


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and intending to pass through the wilderness to the eastward, were furnished with a medal, or a token, to show the Indians thus employed, to prevent ar- rest. "Tuscarora," or "Stiff-armed George," was thus employed, and he was one of the worst specimens of his race; a terror wherever he was known. He shot and scalped several deserters, carrying his trophies to Fort Niagara for reward. Upon one occasion, when George Hosmer was left to take care of the shantee in the absence of his brother Frederick, George demanded rum, which being refused, the Indian pushed him back against a post, and striking at his head with his tomahawk, the blow was averted, making an impression upon the post which evidenced the intention of the revengeful savage. Mr. Hencher and his hired man came to the rescue. *


Ebenezer Allan was rather imposing in his appearance, usually mild and gentlemanly, but he had a bold and determined look; could easily put on the savage character. He had acquired a distaste for civilized life. Mrs. Dugan, his sister, was mild and amiable - somewhat accomplished.


The "On-ta-gua," or Horse Shoe Pond, a mile and a half below Avon village, abounded in fine fish, especially large black bass, in an early day; and it was also the favorite resort of ducks, geese, and other wild water fowl. Speckled trout were plenty in the river, and in all the tributary streams. There was no pickerel, or pike, above the Genesee Falls, until 1810, when William Wadsworth, and some others, eanght pickerel in Lake Ontario, and other Lake fish, and put them into Conesus Lake; and pickerel abound there now; have been taken weighing 20 lbs. As the pickerel came down from the Lake into the Genesee river, the trout disappeared.


The most troublesome wild animals in early days, other than bears and wolves, were the foxes and wild eats preying upon the fowls, pigeons preying upon the newly sowed erops, chipmucks, ravens, hawks, owls, wood chucks, and black squirrels. There were a few turkey buzzards upon the river, and a few turkeys upon the uplands; several panthers were killed. The crow, the grey squirrel, the quail, came in with civilization. New species of birds have been coming in almost yearly. The opossum is a new comer.




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