USA > New York > Onondaga County > Onondaga, or, Reminiscences of earlier and later times, being a series of historical sketches relative to Onondaga, with notes on the several towns in the county, and Oswego, Vol. II > Part 23
USA > New York > Oswego County > Onondaga, or, Reminiscences of earlier and later times, being a series of historical sketches relative to Onondaga, with notes on the several towns in the county, and Oswego, Vol. II > Part 23
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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
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somewhat extensively during their sojourn. The Indian name by which the country in and about Pompey was anciently known, we think goes to substantiate this fact, Ote-ge-ga-ja- ke-an open place, with much grass, an opening, or prairie. The timber in many places here, has a vigorous growth; and although large, there is a uniformity in the size and age, which shows that it has all grown up since the occupancy, because under the trees are not only found relics, but among them, in many instances, corn-hills can be traced at considerable dis- tances. That the appearance of corn-hills in a wilderness, after a lapse of so many years may appear less strange, it may be well to remark, that the Indian mode of planting, for- merly, varied materially from that of the whites. Their man- ner was to plant three hills near each other, and raise quite a mound around them, and plant the same mound for a series of years, and these mounds are the corn-hills noticed at the present day.
The presentation of medals to the Indians was undoubtedly a very common practice with the missionaries and traders. A valuable cross of gold was several years ago found in the west part of Pompey, and was sold for thirty dollars. The signifi- cant "I. H. S."* was upon it. Numbers of crucifixes and crosses have been found. Brass crosses are frequently found. with those letters, and the initials of the latin title put upon the cross at the crucifixion, "I. N. R. I.,"f and so are medals of the same metal. One was recently found, on the farm of David Hinsdale, about the size of a shilling piece. The figure of a Roman Pontiff, in a standing position, in his hand a cro- sier, surrounded with this inscription : “ B. virg. sin. P. origi. con." which we have ventured to write out, " Beata virgo sine Peccato originali concepta," or as we might say in English, " The blessed virgin conceived without original sin." On the other side was a representation of a serpent, and two nearly naked figures, looking intently upon it. This one is very per-
* Jesus Hominum Salvator, or Jesns, the saviour of men.
t Jesus Nazarenus, Rex Judeaorum, or Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. B 18
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fect in all its parts, and the letters as plain as if struck but yesterday. It was undoubtedly compressed between dies. It is oval in shape, and bored that it might be suspended from the neck.
A silver medal was found, near Eagle Village, about the size of a dollar, but a little thinner, with a ring or loop at one edge, to admit a cord by which it might be suspended. On one side appears in relief, a somewhat rude representation of a fortified town, with several tall steeples rising above its build- ings, and a citadel from which the British flag is flying ; a river broken by an island or two, occupies the foreground, and above, along the upper edge of the medal, is the name Mont- real. The initials D. c. F., probably of the manufacturer, are stamped below. On the opposite side, which was origi- nally made blank, are engraved the words CANECYA, Ononda- goes, which are doubtless the name and nation of the red ru- " ler on whose dusky breast this ornament was displayed, as a valuable token of friendship of some British Governor of New- York or Canada, to an influential ally among the Five Nations. There is no date on this or any other of the medals. But this must be at least older than the Revolution, and probably more than a hundred and fifty snows have whitened the field, where the plow disinterred it, since the chief, whose name it has preserved, was laid to rest with his fathers.
In July, 1840, was found, on the farm of Mr. William Campbell, by his son, on lot number three, La Fayette, a sil- ver medal, about the size of a dollar, and nearly as thick. On one side is a device, surmounted by an angel on the wing, stretching forward with its left hand, looking down upon those below with a resolute, determined and commanding counte- nance. Far in the background, is a lofty ridge of mountains. Just beneath and away in the distance, is seen an Indian vil- lage or town, towards which the angel is steadily and carnest- ly pointing. Above this overhangs a slight curtain of cloud or smoke. Between the village and the mountain are scatter- ing trees, as if an opening had just been made in the forest ; nearer are seen various wild animals sporting gaily. In bold-
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er relief are seen Europeans, in the costume of priests and pilgrims, with staves, exhibiting by their gestures and coun- tenances, hilarity, gladness and joy, winding their way up the gentle ascent towards the mountain, decreasing in size from the place of departure, till lost from view. Among them are wheel carriages and domestic animals, intermixed. On the right is a fair representation of a cottage, and a spacious com- mercial ware-house, against which arc leaning sheaves of grain. The whole is surrounded by the following inscription in Dutch : GEHE AUS DEINEM VATTER LAND, 1 b. M., XII., V. 1, and at the bottom across, LASST HIER DIEGVTER. On the opposite side there is a figure of the sun shining in me- ridian splendor, casting its noon-tide rays over a civilized town, represented by churches, stores, dwellings, &c., with various domestic animals, and numerous persons engaged in husband- ry and other pursuits. In bolder relief stand Europeans in the costume of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, engaged as if in animated and joyful conversation and greetings, and by various attitudes, manifesting happiness and joy. On the right is represented a section of a church, at the door of which stands a venerable man, with head uncovered, with his hands extended, as if welcoming these persons to a new and happy habitation. This side is surrounded by the following inscrip- tion : VND DV SOLLT EIN SEEGEN SEYN, 1 b. Mos., XII., V. 2, and across the bottom as follows : GOTT GIBT SIEWIEDER.
The interpretation of the first side is-Get thee out from thy country and friends, thou shalt be truly a blessing. On the reverse side, which should be read in connection-Leaving thy goods behind thee, God will restore them to thee again.
The small letters and figures on the right, refer to the 1st Book of Genesis, XII chap., verses 1st and 2d, which inscrip- tion on the medal was taken from those verses in the Dutch Bibles. Our translation is very excellent, though perhaps not strictly literal, (which see.) It is in this chapter that God calleth Abram, and blesseth him with a promise of Christ ; promiseth him the land of Canaan in a vision, to which he de-
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parted with his kindred and friends and servants, and there builded an altar unto the Lord. Abram's first step was obe- dience. He left all and took possession, with his household, of the land of Canaan ; and it is remarkable that the first in- stance of God's favor towards him was to renew his promise, to give him the whole land of Canaan, in place of the posses- sions he left behind him, and to make his posterity a mighty nation.
This medal must have been none other than one given by his countrymen in Father-land, to a devoted Missionary, with a party of followers intending to spend their days in America, the land of promise, the fruitful Canaan of modern times, who in the goodness of his heart, bent on doing the work of his divine master, at some early day wandered into the wilds of the Onondagas, set up the cross, (the Bethel of Abram,) and left this memento of his mission in the hand of some Neophyte, which by some unaccountable circumstance has been buried, we know not how long, but now comes to light to prove to us, that the aborigines of our country were a people whose spiritual welfare was regarded as sincerely by the Dutch as by their more ambitious and ostentatious neighbors, the French. It is much to be regretted, that on this and all the other med- als, there is no date whereby to establish their particular pe- riod of antiquity. This is by far the most singular and in- teresting relic of the kind which has come under our notice, and goes positively to establish a hitherto doubtful point, to wit, the early establishment of missionaries by the Dutch among the Onondagas .*
The fragments of a bell have lately come under our notice found on the farm of Isaac Jobs, which when whole, would have weighed probably one hundred and fifty or two hundred pounds. The metal is very fine, and from appearance, this ar- ticle must have been of considerable value. Time and expo- sure have not changed it in the least. When found, some
* Quere. May not this medal be a relic of the Zeisberger mission of 1750.
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twenty years since, it was broken up, and the pieces found were enough to make it nearly entire.
On the farm of Mr. Isaac Keeler, were the remains of an ancient fort and burying ground. When Mr. Keeler first settled here, the site of the old fort was an extensive opening of about fifty acres, bearing grass, with clumps of wild plumb trees, and a few scattering forest trees. Mr. Keeler has left some of these plumb trees standing, and has cultivated them, and they yield fruit inferior to none. On this opening it is said, was paraded the first regiment of militia that was organ-
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ized in the county of Onondaga, commanded by Major Moses De Witt. This ancient remnant of a fort is on lot number three, township of Pompey, and was formerly owned by Moses De Witt. At that time the outlines of this fort were distinct- ly traceable. It had been enclosed with palisades of cedar, and contained some ten acres of land. The plan was a plain parallelogram, divided across the shortest way through the middle, by two rows of palisades running east and west. The space between the rows was about twelve feet. At the north- west corner was an isolated bastion and an embrasure. When first brought under cultivation by a Mr. William Bends, he plowed up many of the stumps of palisades of cedar which had been burned off level with the ground. Within the south- ern division of the fort were several mounds, the principal one of which was about four feet high, rising on a base of about fifteen feet diameter, composed chiefly of ashes, in which were found many beads of the size of bullets, and many other trinkets of various sizes and patterns, made of red pipe-stone. Several hundred pounds of old iron have been gleaned from this spot, consisting of axes, hatchets, gun-barrels and locks, coarse files, horse-shoes, large spikes, hammers and black- smiths' tools. The smaller mounds principally contained charred corn, many bushels of which have been plowed up. At a distance of about forty rods north of the north-west corner of the fort was a ditch perhaps forty rods long, running north by west ; some parts of it three feet deep, others less ; about six feet in breadth ; undoubtedly it originally was much deeper. From present appearances, it was entirely discon- nected with the fort ; but time has made such alterations with it and the grounds around, that at this late day, it is impossi- ble to conjecture for what purpose it was originally intended. The situation of this ancient fort was on an elevation of land. gradually rising for nearly a mile in every direction ; and at the time of its occupancy, several hundreds of acres of land in the vicinity must have been cleared, giving to the garrison an extensive prospect. The grounds occupied by the fort are about fifty rods east of Mr. Keeler's house, and are unsur-
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passed by any in the county for fertility and beauty of location. Here in ancient times, undoubtedly have been marshaled with nodding plume and rattling cuirass, the troops of the French side by side with the dusky Onondagas, singularly contrasting their polished European weapons with the hickory bows and flint arrows of their allies ; and here too have they mingled the war-whoop of the savage, with the Fire le Roi de France ; while the Black Robes with their trembling neophytes, chaunt- ed in ecstacy, Venite Exultemus and Jubilate Deo. Seasons of joy and festivity, of worship and praise to God, passed for years over this land; the trader gathered riches from the wild forester, and the warrior fresh laurels wherewith to en- twine his brow. At length a storm arises, the priest, the war- rior and the chasseur foresee its portentious gloom, too late to flee the tempest, and too feeble to withstand the shock. They fell victims to its fury, and these few relics are the only evidences of their fate. Fragments of broken pottery, appa- rently used for culinary purposes, are abundantly found on this location. Pipes, flint arrow-heads, stone hatchets, mor- tars and pestles, gouges &c., are also found. In 1813, Mr. Isaac Keeler felled an oak tree near the site of the fort, mea- suring three feet in diameter. In preparing the tree for the fire, a leaden bullet was found covered by one hundred and forty-three cortical layers. It was about four inches from the heart of the tree, which must have been small when the bul- let was fired. From calculation, the time which has elapsed since the bullet assumed its position, must be over one hund- red and forty-five years, making the date of its lodgment, A. D. 1667.
Mr. Keeler had in his possession a portion of a brass dial plate, plowed up by him on the site of this fort ; on it are en- graved in fair Roman characters, I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. ; also a brass compass-box, from which the needle had been removed, and its place supplied with vermilion, a pig- ment highly prized by the Indians ; and another more per- fect one beautifully wrought, having on one side a represen-
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tation of our Saviour, and on the other, Mary the mother of Jesus as represented in the following cuts :
Also, an octagonal brass medal nearly an inch in diameter, having a figure with the name " St. Agatha," and the Latin word " Ora," a part of the Gregorian chaunt. Also a silver medal half an inch long, with a figure inscribed " St. Lucia," and the same fragment of a chaunt. Mr. Keeler has also an old balance beam eighteen inches long, which perhaps has often tested the weight of the foot of a Frenchman against the red man's pound of beaver ; for, like the ancient Dutch tra- ders at Albany, it was said the French made a foot weigh a pound. Also a medal of lead, oval shaped, an inch and a half long, with the figure of a man suspended by his out- stretched hands, supposed to be a representation of our Sa- viour on the cross, and a figure of a serpent. On the oppo- site side is a figure of a man in a sitting posture, resembling the characteristic position of the native prophets ; or as some interpret it, the devil-an emblem that Christianity will de- stroy all evil. An iron horse shoe, steel corked, with three elongated nail holes on cach side. The peculiar workmanship of this shoe, its clumsiness and spread, and the little skill which it evinces in the making, denotes it clearly to be the workmanship of a Canadian blacksmith, precisely like those witnessed at the present day in that country, and intended
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only for the unfarriered hoofs of the Canadian horse. It is the roughest specimen of the craft that can be imagined. This is a specimen of several which have been exhumed in this country, all of which are of the rudest workmanship. Several years ago a curious brass plate probably used for a shield, was plowed up ; it was oval shaped, and about eighteen inches in diameter the longest way. Here are also found sword guards, fragments of the blades, gun locks, surgeons' instruments, saws, bracelets for the wrists three inches broad, of brass highly wrought, and many other curious articles.
In many places within this fort and in its vicinity, were found numerous pits for hiding en cache, corn and other arti- cles by the occupants from their enemies, or as a temporary place of deposit during their hunting excursions. Skeletons have been found in these places of deposit, some of them of extraordinary size. The jaws of some of them would fit easily over that of any common man. Mr. Keeler has a por- tion of a jaw in which are double teeth at least one-third lar- ger than those of an ordinary man.
On Mr. Samuel A. Keene's land, are mounds containing human bones ; also burying grounds all along on the west side of the creek, on Mr. Jeremiah Gould's land, upon which are found almost every variety of Indian relic. On the grounds . of Mr. Keene have been found several strings of very fine glass beads, of red, blue and white colors, and others striped and variegated ; also numerous little bells, such as are some- times used by the Romish priesthood. Fish hooks have also been picked up in the vicinity of the old fort, and steels for producing fire with tinder. Mr. Keene lias a brass compass box, screw top, and a little brass kettle which holds about a pint, all plowed up on his land. Brass crosses have frequently been plowed up, and some of the most perfect and highest finished ones, have over the head of the Saviour, the letters I. N. R. I. Most of the crosses found in other places have the letters I. II. S.
But the most rare and singular relic which has come to our observation, is an iron bombshell, about the size of a six
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pound ball, weighing two and three-fourths pounds. This was plowed up on the land of Mr. Keene, and is believed to be the only article of the kind which has been found. Can- non balls of small size have been found in the eastern part of Pompey.
These relics certainly prove that light cannon were in use at these places of fortification. From the great number of gun barrels, crosses, axes, &c., found about here, it is certain that armed bodies of men in considerable numbers, have oc- cupied these grounds ; and that from the mutilated condition of the guns, the broken axes, jammed kettles, and injured state of every thing contributing to defense and comfort, they must have been exterminated or forcibly driven away. That these are the remains of the French Jesuits and traders of the seventeenth century, there is not a doubt. Everything goes to substantiate the fact. Enough of their history has been related in the foregoing pages, to settle the question be- yond dispute. The forts, relics, utensils, mounds, caches, burying grounds, &c., are similar in every direction, and bear marked evidence of former occupancy by man in a civi- lized state, and in a former age. Like evidences occur also in De Witt, Camillus and Manlius. Were all the records in Christendom totally destroyed, there still remains the most unquestionable evidences of the presence of civilization in this land, in the metallic arms, implements and utensils of the sol- dier, the artizan, the mechanic and farmer, succeeding a more rude era, in which arts, agriculture and war were carried on with implements of wood, stone, clay and shells.
LA FAYETTE .- This town was organized in April, 1825, and was taken from the towns of Pompey and Onondaga. It was named after the Marquis De La Fayette.
That portion of La Fayette, taken from Onondaga, was purchased by the State, of the Onondaga Indians, in 1817, and in 1822 was sold to the white settlers. There are now, with- in the bounds of the town, six thousand four hundred acres of land, belonging to the Indians, not taxable. The town
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contains twenty-eight thousand two hundred acres. It has an elevated ridge running north and south, nearly through the center, with a valley on the east and on the west, extend- ing its whole length. The former is called Sherman Hollow, after James Sherman, and the latter Christian Hollow, after Michael Christian, who was a Revolutionary soldier, and drew lot number eighteen, township of Tully, and was one of the few who enjoyed the fruits of their suffering and toil, by ta- king possession of the land, for which they served. It is scarcely possible to find more beautiful scenery, than is pre- sented to the view, by looking down upon this hollow, from the high ground along the road, leading from Tully to La Fayette. The distance is just sufficient to obscure imper- fections, while its contiguity is such, that its peculiar beau- ties strike the beholder with the fulness of its grandeur.
* Some of the first settlers and original inhabitants of this town are as follows : John Wilcox, who lived a little cast of the Indian orchard, on "Haskins' Hill," was the first white set- tler in town, came here in 1791, and located on lot number thirteen, Pompey, and boarded the surveyors who " lotted" the townships of Tully, Pompey and Manlius. When the first settlement was made, there was on this lot, an extensive Indian orchard, occupying some twenty acres or more of ground. The trees were somewhat regularly laid out, and at that time were very productive. At an early day, it was a place very much resorted to for its fruit, it then being the only orchard of any note in all the country. People came from many miles around, in Autumn, to the "old Indian orchard," for its valuable produce, and the occupant made the sale of it quite a profitable business. This orchard was located on a commanding eminence, now owned by Mr. Cornelius Vanden- burg, on the road leading from La Fayette to Jamesville. It overlooks a vast tract of country to the north, and affords one of the most beautiful prospects imaginable. At this time,
* The author is indebted to Rev. Geo. E. Delevan for valuable information re- lative to La Fayette.
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the apple trees, once in so high repute, from which the red man gathered his luxurious store in bountiful profusion, are in a state of decay, and like the race who planted them, will soon be numbered among the things that have been.
In 1792, Comfort Rounds settled in La Fayette, about two miles north of the Center. In 1792, William Haskins came on, and gave name to Haskins' Hill. In 1793, came Solo- mon Owen, who built the brick house in Sherman Hollow, now occupied by Calvin Cole. Ebenezer Hill, now living, came into this town in February, 1795. In 1793, James Sherman settled in, and gave name to the east hollow. He soon after built a saw-mill, the first of the kind in this town, on the Butternut Creek. The next year, Messrs. Isaac and Elias Conklin, moved to this town, and very soon put up a saw-mill, and directly afterwards, a small grist mill, on what is commonly called Conklin's Creek. These mills are now in operation, and owned by Mr. Elias Conklin, and the grist mill is believed to be the first of its kind, in the township of Pompey, erected in 1798. The small but durable stream, on which are these mills, is considered a very valuable one, and finds its way into the Butternut Creek. Below these mills, are three distinct and successive falls, some sixty or eighty rods distant from each other. They are enshrouded by a dense hemlock forest, which renders the scenery somewhat sombre and gloomy, yet it may be considered highly picturesque, if not grand. The several falls are about seventy or eighty feet in height, each ; not perpendicular, but just broken enough to add beauty and variety to the rushing cataracts, as they dash their white foam against the ragged rocks below. The stream is quite rapid and somewhat broken, above the mills. The banks and bed of this stream are of brown shale, of little or no use as a building material, and only used for fencing.
In 1794, John Houghtaling, Amaziah Branch, Benjamin June and James Pearce, located in this town. Mr. June was a soldier of the Revolution. His ancestors came from France, he is still living, and receives a pension. Samuel Humph-
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rey, another Revolutionary patriot, also resides in this town, and draws a pension.
In 1794, Samuel Hyatt, Amasa Wright and Reuben Bry- an, settled in town. Mr. John A. Bryan, once a member of the New-York Legislature, Assistant Post Master General, under President John Tyler's administration, and Chargé des Affaires to Peru, and Auditor of the State of Ohio, now liv- ing at Columbus, was his son.
Among the early settlers in the west portion of the town, were Samuel Coleman, Clark Bailey, Nathan Park, Zenas Northway and Ozias Northway, who kept a tavern near the Post Office, Archibald and John Garfield, Graudius Cudde- back, whose widow is a niece of Major Moses De Witt; Wm. Sniffen, Hendrick Upperhousen, a Hessian who was captured from the British army, and John Hill, also a Hessian.
Among the settlers in the south part of the town, were General Isaac Hall, William Alexander, Amos Palmatier, Jacob Johnson, Sen. and Jr., Obadiah Johnson, Elijah Hall, Peter Abott, Rufus Kinney, Abner Kinney Capt. Joseph C. Howe, who lived on the farm now occupied by H. Cole. Dan'l Danforth, first located in Christian Hollow, in 1798, afterwards bought the farm now occupied by his nephew, Thomas Danforth.
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