Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 2

Author: Hakes, Harlo, 1823- ed; Aldrich, Lewis Cass. cn
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1180

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For a period of nearly half a century after the discoveries of La Salle the French maintained a nominal though not substantial ascendency in this region of country. They gained favor with a few of the Senecas, but the great body of the tribe, true to their league, were little inclined to forget, much less to forgive, the wrongs done by Champlain, and every movement of the French was watched with suspicious interest. During this period the Iroquois invaded Canada and plundered Montreal, and in retaliation Denonville visited vengeance upon the Seneca country in 1687, burned the villages and destroyed much property. This victory was a great achievement for the French, for it gave them a strong foot- hold in the lake region and made them for the time masters of the country, and the Indians concentrated their population in the eastern part of their domain. This advantage, however, was only temporary, and upon the withdrawal of the French troops the Senecas repossessed their former territory.

Repeated invasions by the French and Canadian Indians at last awakened the English colonists to the conviction that they must unite in an effort against the enemy, and accordingly a convention was held in New York in 1690, at which it was resolved to combine their strength for the subjugation of Canada; but through lack of efficient organiza- tion the expedition for the first year was a failure. During this period, known as the English revolution, the Iroquois continued their incur- sions against the French and were perhaps more dreaded than the Eng- lish. The Jesuits were driven from the Seneca country and for many years abandoned the field through fear of the thoroughly maddened Indians.

The war was terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, and while it established a peace between the French and English, it practically

GROWTH OF FRENCH INFLUENCE.

left unsettled the status of the Iroquois, and there were no certain pro- visions concerning the land of the Senecas, which were directly in dis- pute between the contending nations. Both claimed sovereignty over the whole Iroquois country, and treaty indentures were offered in sup- port of the claims of each ; but the Iroquois themselves repudiated alike the claims of Yonondio and Corlear, as they denominated the respective governors of Canada and New York. When France disputed the claims of England and appealed to the council at Onondaga, a stern, savage orator exclaimed : "We have ceded our lands to no one; we hold them of heaven alone." Thus the powers wrangled over the country which was but a little time before the undisputed domain of the Iroquois.

Whether much importance should attach to the treaties in which these untutored savages were pitted against the intelligent Europeans, either French or English, is questionable, and especially so when we consider the methods often adopted in later years to induce the Indians to sign away their domain. Be this as it may, it is now generally be- lieved that in the intrusion of France upon the possessions of the Iro- quois, " at the sacrifice of so much blood and treasure, justice and the restraints and faith of the treaties were subordinate to the lust of power and expediency." (Watson.)

On the accession of Anne to the British throne as successor to King William, in March, 1702, what was known as Queen Anne's War was soon begun. It continued until the treaty of Utrecht, April 11, 1713, but though felt in the colonies, the province of New York fortunately escaped its bloody consequences. During this conflict, the Iroquois maintained a strict neutrality, thus gaining the respect of the contend- ing governments. The French, however, profited by this neutrality, and were given an opportunity to strengthen their line of positions and fortifications. Moreover, being at peace with the Iroquois, their mis- sionaries and political leaders visited the Indians in safety, and the result was a friendly relation between them and the Senecas and a por- tion of the Cayugas. So firmly indeed did the wily French emissaries ingratiate themselves into the Seneca confidence that the latter were nearly persuaded to take up arms against the English, and only the wonderful power of the bond of union existing in the confederacy re- strained them.

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

The encroachments by the French upon the territory of the English and their allies (the Iroquois), was one of the chief causes of the so- called French and Indian War. As early as the year 1731, the surveyor- general of the Canadas made extensive surveys of the region claimed to be New France, and on the early French maps were shown some of the important streams and localities now within the county of Steuben. The territory was divided into vast tracts, and granted as " seigniories" to various proprietors, as rewards for service to the crown, or for other consideration.

While the French were in possession of New France their influence over all the Indians within its limits became paramount, and they at last disputed with the English the alliance of the latter with the Iro- quois. Whether due to the influence of Joncaire, or to some other cause, is not fully known, but the French succeeded in lodging them- selves firmly in the affections of the Senecas, and while they were poor colonizers their missionaries possessed the peculiar faculty of ready assimilation with the savage and half-civilized races, thus gaining an influence over them. The efforts of Joncaire were materially aided by his half-breed sons, Chabert and Clauzonne.

Among the earlier Jesuits and French emissaries among the Iroquois, some of whom visited the Seneca country, were Fathers Breboeuf, Chaumonot, who have been mentioned, and also Fathers Bablon, Isaac Jogues, Simon Le Moyne, Francis Joseph Bressani, Julien Garnier, Jacques Fremin, Jean Perron, Francis Boniface, Father Hennepin and Francis Vaillant de Gueslis. These were followed in later years by such noble and wholly unselfish workers as Talbot, Henry Barclay, John Oglivie, Spencer, Timothy Woodbridge, Gideon Hawley, Eleazer Wheelock, Samuel Kirkland, Bishop Hobart, Eleazer Williams, Dan Barnes (Methodist), and others of less distinction, all of whom labored faithfully for the conversion of the Indians. All, however, were forced to admit that their efforts as a whole were unsatisfactory and discourag- ing ; and even subsequent efforts to establish education and Christianity among the Indians, while yielding perhaps sufficient results to justify their prosecution, have constantly met with discouraging obstacles.

In March, 1744, war was again declared between Great Britain and France, and the former power at once prosecuted measures for the conquest of the French possessions. The Mohawks took up arms with

EXTINCTION OF FRENCH POWER.

the English, while the Senecas, notwithstanding their affection for the French, were unwilling to make war against their friends at the eastern extremity of the Long House.

The contest from 1744 to 1748 had an important object in the pos- session of the Mississippi Valley, which the English claimed as an ex- tension of their coast discoveries, and the French by right of occupancy, their forts already extending from Canada to Louisiana, and forming " a bow, of which the English colonies were the string." At this time the English colonies contained more than a million inhabitants, while the French had only about sixty thousand. The Iroquois would not engage in the war until 1746, and were disappointed at its termination, as they had compromised themselves with the allies of the French (the Canadian Indians), and therefore the question of Iroquois supremacy was renewed and intensified.

In April, 1748, was concluded the ineffective, if not actually shameful treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and while it was a virtual renewal of the treaties of Ryswick and Utrecht, it left unsettled the disputed questions regarding the Iroquois territory. After two years of nominal peace the nations again had recourse to arms, and while the French were at first everywhere victorious, the tide of contest turned in favor of the English with Sir William Johnson's invasion of western New York, the result of which was the fall of Niagara and the evacuation of the entire region by the now humiliated French.

The domination of France was ended by the fall of Quebec, Septem- ber 18, 1759, thus leaving the English masters of all Canada, for the surrender of Vaudreuil on the 8th of the next September was an inev- itable result. However, a formal peace was not established until 1763, when, on the 10th day of February, the treaty of Paris was signed, by which France ceded to Great Britain all her possessions in America.

Applied locally, this war had but little importance except as the ter- ritory of Steuben county formed a part of the French possessions. The chief seat of operations was farther west and north and any pilgrimages to this locality were merely incidental.

Records and tradition both inform us that during the period of the French and English wars, there came to dwell in the vicinity of Canisteo a fragment of one of the tribes of the Delawares, and that to their num- ber were added several deserters from the British army and other

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

renegades from the eastern colonies. They were the source of much annoyance to the colonists and especially to the Indian traders, for they maintained themselves chiefly by a system of outlawry and plunder, and did not hestitate at committing murder in accomplishing their nefarious work. In 1762 these brigands were charged with the murder of two traders, British subjects, which offense, with other an- noyances, so aroused the colonists that Sir William Johnson dispatched a force of one hundred and forty of his faithful Iroquois, and a few sol- diers, to punish the offenders, destroy their habitations and drive them from the region.

In this connection the statement may be made that the Delawares were permitted to come among the Iroquois after they had been con- quered and completely subjugated. The conquest of the Delawares was made between 1640 and 1655, and from the latter year the Iroquois were masters and recognized as the owners of all the territory formerly held and occupied by the Delawares and their ancestors, the Lenni Lenapes.

CHAPTER III.

Events Preceding the Revolution-Pontiac's League-Action of the Senecas-The Revolutionary War-Sullivan's Campaign-Brief Reference to the Indian History and Antiquities of Steuben County.

Notwithstanding the results of the war between the French and the English, and the disappearance of the former from the region, the west- · ern Indians were still disposed to remember them with affection and were yet inclined to wage war upon the English. The celebrated Pontiac united nearly all these tribes in a league against the redcoats, immediately after the advent of the latter ; and as no such confederation had been formed against the French during their years of possession, the action of Pontiac must be attributed to some other cause than mere hatred of all civilized intruders. In May, 1763, the league surprised nine out of twelve English posts and massacred their garrisons, and there is no doubt that the Senecas were involved in the slaughter, and

THE JOHNSONS.

were also active in the fruitless attack upon Fort Niagara. They were unwilling to fight against their brothers of the Iroquois, but they had no hesitation in killing English soldiers when left unprotected, as was soon made manifest in the awful butchery at Devil's Hole in Septem- ber, 1763.

Becoming at length convinced that the French had really yielded their possessions in this country, and that Pontiac's scheme was a failure, the Senecas agreed to abandon their Gallic friends and be at peace with the English, and in April, 1764, Sir William Johnson had little difficulty in concluding a peace treaty with eight of the refractory chiefs ; and at the same time Sir William succeeded in winning the affections of all the Six Nations and enlisting them under the banner of the king. But the Senecas, true to their instincts, sullenly held aloof and only ratified the treaty under compulsion of threatened annihila- tion. However, the baronet proved the firm friend of the Senecas and did his utmost to redress their grievances, and besought them to remove their isolated villages to their chief seats in the province, that they might be more completely under his protection. Ere this could be done, however, public attention was attracted by unmistakable disturb- ances in the political sky, low at first, but growing rapidly louder and more angry until at length there burst upon the country that long and desolating storm known as the Revolutionary war. This contest had an important bearing on the early history and settlement of Steuben county, yet the events of that memorable period may be briefly nar- rated in this chapter

The war in fact began with the battle of Lexington, in April, 1775, but before the actual outbreak, as the danger of hostilities increased, the Johnson influence showed itself clearly on the side of the king. Sir William loved America and was himself an important factor in its early and best history. Had he lived his interests and affiliations might have impelled him to espouse the American cause, but his sudden death ended an important career, and his position and influence descended to his son and nephew. Sir John Johnson, and his brothers-in-law, Guy Johnson and Daniel Claus, were creatures of the king, having no senti- ment in common with the people, being evidently imbued with aristo- cratic notions. Sir John succeeded to his father's military title and position among the Iroquois, though never to his popularity and influ-

LANDMARKSS OF TEUBEN COUNTY.

ence, and in his efforts was seconded by Colonel Guy and Claus, all of whom sought to completely alienate the Indians from the whig colon- ists, and also to bring into submission all of the settlers who might yield to their influence. Prominent among the latter were John and Walter Butler, and also Joseph Brant (the Mohawk chief ), all of whom became infamous from their bloody deeds during the Revolution, and yet their pillage and slaughter were generally ascribed to the instigations of the Johnsons.

The " Continental Congress," as it has ever been termed, was held at Philadelphia in September, 1774, and having adopted a declaration of rights, it added a petition to the king and an appeal to the people of Great Britain and Canada. The New York Assembly alone did not sanction these proceedings, and instead addressed a remonstrance to parliament, which was treated with disdain.

In 1776 the war had become national instead of colonial, and on the 4th of July American independence was formally declared. The policy of the Americans had been simply to secure the neutrality of the Indians, but their success was limited to the Oneidas, while the British made undisguised efforts to unite them in close alliance with the royal cause. One of their officers exclaimed, " We must let loose the savages upon the frontier of these scroundrels to inspire terror and make them submit." The Senecas held off for a while, but the prospect of both blood and British gold was too much for them to withstand, and in 1777 they, with the Cayugas, Onondagas and Mohawks, made a treaty with the British at Oswego, agreeing to serve the king through the war. John Butler established himself at Fort Niagara and organized a regi- ment of tories known as Butler's Rangers, at the same time inciting the Indians to deeds of violence on the American frontier.

The most prominent chief of the Iroquois during the war was Brant, or Thayendenaga, a Mohawk, who had received a moderate English education under the patronage of Sir William Johnson. The conspicu- ous Seneca chiefs during the same period were Farmer's Brother, Corn- planter and Governor Blacksnake. At the massacre at Wyoming the author of the " Life of Brant " says the chief in command of the Senecas was Guiengwahtoh, supposed to mean the same as Guiyahgwahdoh, " the smoke-bearer." This was the title of the Seneca afterward known as " Young King," but the latter was then too young to have been at

SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION.

Wyoming, yet his predecessor (maternal uncle) might have been there. Brant was certainly not there. At Cherry Valley the Senecas were present in force, together with a body of Mohawks under Brant, and also a parties of tories under Walter Butler.

These sudden and unexpected attacks upon the frontier settlements and the merciless slaughter of their inhabitants, determined Congress and General Washington to set on foot an expedition, having for its ob- ject a retaliation upon the Indians, and especially the Senecas. The campaign of August and September, 1779, devolved upon General John Sullivan, who at that time was an officer in the American army. The full force organized for the expedition amounted to 5,000 men, who were formed in three divisions. Sullivan commanded in person the division that marched through and laid waste the Indian villages in the Seneca region, and in the execution of his plans, sent a detachment of troops within the limits of the present county of Steuben and destroyed a small settlement supposed to have been located near the site of the present village of Painted Post. According to established authorities, other points within the county were visited, buildings burned and grow- ing crops and orchards destroyed.

However, the invaders were determined to lay waste the larger and more populous Seneca villages, and soon passed on up Seneca Lake to Kanadesaga and thence westward into the heart of the Genesee country. No opposition was encountered except at Newtown, and as a result of the expedition forty villages were reduced to ashes, 160,000 bushels of corn destroyed, besides large quantities of vegetables of various kinds. Another and more beneficial result of the campaign was the temporary though entire evacuation by the Senecas of the eastern part of their domain, and they were compelled to seek protection from the British at Fort Niagara ; nor could they be persuaded to return to their former habitations during the remaining years of the war. The warriors, how- ever, were kept active by Butler and frequently marauded frontier settlements, though without the serious results of former years.

The other events of the war had no important relation to this imme- diate vicinity, other than to acquaint the eastern people with the value and general fertility of the whole Genesee country, and this materially hastened settlement and development in later years. The surrender of 3

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY

Lord Cornwallis in October, 1781, was followed by a virtual cessation of hostilities, but not until the fall of 1783 was peace formally agreed upon between Great Britain and the revolted colonies, the latter hence- forth to be universally acknowledged as the United States of America. By the terms of the treaty the boundary line between the British pos- sessions and the territory of the United States was established along the center of Lake Erie and the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, and thence northeastward to the Atlantic coast. For several years afterward, however, the British maintained armed posts on the United States side of the line and their officers continued to exercise an influence over the Indians which was both prejudicial and annoying to the State and general government.

Thus far in our narrative little has been said of the Indian occupants of the immediate territory now forming Steuben county. In truth this locality was an unimportant portion of a vast country, located between the possessions of the Delawares and the Iroquois, and prior to the con- quest of about 1650 was debatable ground. Mr. Minier, in his historical address, says the valley of the Cohocton, prior to the invasion of Sullivan, was little known, but informs us that the Moravian missionaries prose- cuted their labors in the vicinity as early as 1750; also that in the locality of the present village of Painted Post was the Indian village of Assinisink, where dwelt Jacobus, the Muncy chief, which fact confirms our previous statement that the Delawares were suffered to live in the valley after their subjugation. In the valley Zeisberger found the " pyramids of stone which appeared to have been made with human hands," the largest of which was about " three stories " in height. These pyramids were at what is known as the Chimney Narrows, and are still preserved.

The county possesses few antiquities and has never been specially rich in aboriginal history. The valleys of the Chemung, Tioga, Conhoc- ton and Canisteo Rivers, and also the vicinity of Lake Keuka, were favorite resorts of the Indians for fishing and hunting, and along the banks of each, and elsewhere in the region, were well defined Indian trails. In a preceding paragraph we have noted the destruction of one of the villages of the region by Sir William Johnson's Mohawk warriors, and reference has also been made to Sullivan's campaign in 1779, the

THE "PAINTED POST."

result of which was the devastation of all that was valuable to the Indian occupants at that time.

In this connection mention may also be made to the historic landmark which has been preserved in name and fact to the present day, the famous post from which the village of Painted Post received its name. The " post by the river " was in the Indian tongue called Te-can- nes- to, and concerning it Stone says : "The Painted Post was a noted landmark in the early settlement of Western New York, and in the history of Indian affairs long before. It was literally a post of oak timber planted in the ground upon the bank of Cohocton Creek, within the boundary of New York, but near the Pennsylvania line. It was painted in the Indian manner, and tradition avers that it was a monument of great antiquity, erected to commemorate the death of some celebrated war chief whose name has been lost in the lapse of years." A second ac- count has it that the post was erected by the Indians to designate a spot where councils were held, and was painted a bright red that it might be more easily discovered. This account, however, is regarded as purely mythical, as no councils of any importance were known to be .

held in this locality.

The investigations of Judge McMaster undoubtedly brought to light the true story of this historic landmark, but according to his narrative, the post was erected to mark the burial place of Captain Montour, the son of Queen Catharine, who was wounded during the summer of 1779, and who died at this point while his party were returning from an ex- pedition to the settlements on the Susquehanna. The original post was standing in 1792, though much decayed. The white settlers erected a new post in 1803, and at various times during later years the people of the town have done some act of public spiritedness in pre- serving this interesting relic and its memories.

In the vicinity of Avoca the early settlers found abundant evidences of the former occupation, among them fragments of weapons, utensils, implements and other indications of the Indian period. It is also claimed that a village was within the limits of the town, which is undeniably true although it must have been small and of little importance. When this town was first settled by the whites the Indians were quite numerous, and the same may also be said of many other localities in the county ; but wherever found they were of little or no benefit to the

LANDMARKS OF STEUBEN COUNTY.

pioneers and are remembered as a generally shiftless, begging and an- noying class. The town of Canisteo abounds in Indian recollections, and the reminiscences of the Stephens family are well known by nearly all the older residents. The valley of the Canisteo was a resorting place of some note among the Indians as fish and game are said to have been abundant in the locality. The vicinity of Hornellsville also has its In- dian traditions and reminiscences though they were unimportant in his- tory. Here dwelt the noted chief Shongo, who took part in the massacre at Wyoming, and who was regarded with some fear about the time of the second war with Great Britain. In Greenwood was a salt spring of great value to the early settlers, while the Indians made use of its water many years before, and even after the advent of the whites. In the Indian language the Conhocton River was known as Ga-ha-to, meaning "log in the water." The valley of this stream was called " Do-na-ta-gwen-da," and meaning "an opening within an opening." Lake Keuka in the Seneca, was " Ogoyago," " a lake with an elbow."

CHAPTER IV.

After the Revolution-An Era of Peace-Controversy between Massachusetts and New York-The Hartford Convention-The Phelps and Gorham Purchase-The Lessee Companies-Settlement of Difficulties-The Surveys-Sale to Robert Morris -The Pulteney Association-Charles Williamson-Foundation of Land Titles in Steuben County-The Anti-Rent Conflict.

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Landmarks of Steuben County, New York, Part 2

Author: Hakes, Harlo, 1823- ed; Aldrich, Lewis Cass. cn Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1180

Author: Hakes, Harlo, 1823- ed; Aldrich, Lewis Cass. cn
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1180