Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 30

Author: Truman C. White
Publication date: 1898
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017

USA > New York > Erie County > Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1) > Part 30

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Erie county at the close of the war of 1812 was in a deplorable con- dition. It shared with the whole country in all the disastrous condi- tions consequent upon such a conflict-scarcity of money, paralyzed commerce, crippled business enterprise, and cessation of settlement in new districts. In the latter respect it not only suffered in a far greater degree than many other localities, but also in the almost total destruc- tion of its principal villages by the enemy's torch. Two small hamlets, Williamsville and Clarence Hollow, were left, each with its grist mill, saw mill, store, and tavern; otherwise the county at large was in a far more unfortunate condition than at the beginning of the conflict. A few troops remained at Buffalo during the winter of 1814-15, but were sent away in the spring. Along the western frontier, although nom- inal peace existed, a feeling of enmity continued for a considerable period. This was one of the natural results of the war in a locality that had suffered severely. If Great Britain was taught that the young republic was rapidly gaining in strength and would no longer tolerate injustice or oppression, the public men and the press of the conquered nation continued at enmity in thought and speech towards the victors, until the beneficent hand of time could work a salutary change.

In April, 1815, a second newspaper made its appearance in Buffalo, with the title Niagara Journal. In politics it was Democratic, in oppo- sition to the Gazette. The career of this paper is more fully described

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VIEW OF LAKE ERIE AND THE BAY FROM BUFFALO IN 1816.

J. Lych

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FROM 1815 TO 1820.

in Chapter XXXII. The local Assembly district, then comprising Niagara, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties, was given two mem- bers, the first ones elected under this apportionment being Daniel Mc- Cleary, of Buffalo, and Elias Osborn, of Clarence.

In August, 1815, Charles Thompson and James Peters, who had been soldiers in the regular army, were publicly executed in Buffalo for the murder of James Burba, who lived three miles below Scajaquada Creek. Several companies of militia, under Gen. William Warren, were on guard during the proceedings, and Rev. Glezen Fillmore, the young Methodist minister of Clarence, preached a funeral sermon over the unfortunate criminals; he was assisted by Rev. Miles P. Squier, who had just been called to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian church.

The prevailing financial stringency continued during a considerable period after the close of the war, embarrassing business men and greatly delaying material progress. Money was very scarce in this county, as well as elsewhere, and so-called " shinplasters" were issued by many business men and put in circulation. To aggravate the de- pressed conditions the summer of 1816 was one of unprecedented cold ; snow fell late into May and freezing weather was experienced in June, causing great loss of crops and adding to the privations of incoming settlers. In August flour sold in Buffalo at fifteen dollars a barrel, and a few days later there was not a barrel for sale at any price. The flour and grain on hand throughout the county was principally held by the well-to-do and more prudent families, who in many honorable instances relieved their more needy neighbors at prices below what might have been obtained. When the new crop was harvested it temporarily re- lieved the situation, but it was so meager in quantity that there was for many months great scarcity and in some instances actual suffering for food. Under these circumstances the hunter's rifle and the fisherman's rod frequently relieved impending destitution.

As a measure of financial relief it was believed in Buffalo that a bank would be desirable, and accordingly, in July, 1816, the Bank of Niagara, the first one in the county, was established with an authorized capital of $500,000. This was a large sum for such a purpose, but only $6.25 was required to be paid in on each $100 share. The directors in this institution were Augustus Porter, of Niagara Falls; Joseph Brisbane, of Batavia; A. S. Clarke, of Clarence; Jonas Williams and Benjamin Caryl, of Williamsville; Isaac Kibbe, of Hamburg; Martin Prendergast,

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of Chautauqua county ; Ebenezer F. Norton, Jonas Harrison, Ebenezer Walden and John C. Camp, of Buffalo; Samuel Russell and Chauncey Loomis. Isaac Kibbe was the first president, and Isaac Q. Leake the first cashier.'

A little before the close of the war a mail route was established. pass- ing through Willink and Hamburg east and west and through the present towns of Wales, Aurora and East Hamburg. There was a post-office with the name of Willink at Blakeley's Corners, two miles south of Aurora village, and one at John Green's tavern, before men- tioned, with the name Hamburg. The first named office was moved soon after the war to Aurora village, and Elihu Walker was postmaster there nearly twenty years.

It must be noted that in the year 1816 several Seneca Indians were taken to Europe for exhibition purposes by a speculative person known as Captain Hale; among them were Chief So-onongise (called by the white people Tommy-Jemmy), Little Bear, and a fine-looking fellow called "I-Like-You." The speculation was a failure and Hale de- camped. While the Indians were in England a woman of excellent standing was deeply enamored with I-Like- You and was with difficulty prevented from marrying him; she sent him her portrait after his arrival home.

As early as 1813 preliminary steps were taken for the incorporation of Buffalo as a village, and an act was passed by the Legislature for that purpose April 2, but the destruction of the place at the close of that year prevented the consummation of the purpose. A similar at- tempt was made in 1814, with a like result; but on the 5th day of April, 1816, an act was passed by the Legislature under which village incorporation was effected. The first Board of Trustees was composed of Oliver Forward, Charles Townsend, Heman B. Potter, Ebenezer Walden, Jonas Harrison and Samuel Wilkeson; the clerk was Jonathan E. Chaplin; treasurer, Josiah Trowbridge; collector, Moses Baker.

' The establishment of this bank was the first public financial enterprise in Buffalo and within the limits of the present Erie county. For two years it had a satisfactory career, but in 1818 it was forced to withstand a "run." Changes in the Board of Directors took place in January, 1819, and if we may judge by the following from the Buffalo Patriot of March 23, 1819, there was gen- eral demoralization in the institution: "We are happy to learn that the opposition [to the bank]. which has so long existed. has ceased, and the directors are adopting measures to resume busi- ness " In 18di the management of the bank passed to C. Van Antwerp, previously of Albany, who was made president, and William Williams cashier; from that time until the expiration of it , charter it had a more prosperous existence. The banking office was on the corner of Wash- ington and North Division streets.

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The usual village ordinances were adopted in regard to streets, of- fenses against the law, protection from fire, etc. Towards the close of that year further protection from fire was provided, and the trustees were authorized to ascertain the practicability of procuring a supply of water for public use. Twenty-five ladders were ordered made within thirty days and all owners of houses were required to provide "one good leathern bucket for each house, store, or shop;" to cause chim- neys to be swept, and from that time forward to build all chimneys large enough to admit of chimney sweepers passing through them. It is probable that this action was taken on account of a fire, as the local newspapers of December 17 contained an expression of thanks from George Badger for assistance by the citizens at his late fire. There were several changes in the village ordinances previous to 1822, but none of great importance.

Travel in Western New York was still slow and difficult and settlers were turning hopefully towards the promised great waterway from the Hudson River to Lake Erie for a solution of the local commercial prob- lems. There was in 1817 only a tri-weekly mail to Buffalo from the east; the stages left the village for the east on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at five o'clock in the morning. The roads in many places and at certain periods were almost impassable, and a journey across the State at such times was a trying experience. Erie county roads were no better, and probably were not as good, as those of other local- ities. This may have been to some extent attributable to the character of the soil and the lack of sufficient drainage. Frequent public com- plaints of the condition of the highways on the reservation, the Cayuga Creek road, the Batavia road, the Big Tree road, and others, are found recorded. A good deal of early State legislation was directed to the improvement of highways and bridges. Among the acts of this nature was one of April 2, 1810, which appointed Parmenio Adams, Alexander Rea and Zenas Barker commissioners to lay out a road, to which allu- sion has been made already in these pages, from the village of Hart- ford, in the town of Avon, to "the village of New Amsterdam in the county of Niagara." On June 19, 1812, James W. Stevens, Frederick Miller and Joseph Landon were appointed by the Legislature commis- sioners to superintend the improvement of this road, and $5,000 were appropriated for the purpose. On the 20th of February, 1816, Josiah Churchill, Parmenio Adams and William A. Carpenter were named by the Legislature as commissioners to lay out a road from Moscow, Gen-

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esee county, through Attica to the village of Buffalo. But, with all the effort that could be brought to bear, and all the time and money that could be expended, the public roads continued in bad condition many years; every town had its numerous road districts, each with its overseer, and the settlers were called upon to contribute their labor or money in annual attempts to place the highways in such condition that produce and merchandise could be transported over them.

The Indians on the reservations suffered with their white neighbors from the effects of the war and of the cold summer, and their condition received attention from benevolent persons, foremost among whom was the schoolmaster, Jabez B. Hyde, who made a public appeal for aid. The annuities due the Indians were, of course, greatly reduced in prac- tical value by the high prices of provisions, while the game upon which they had formerly depended was rapidly driven away by increasing set- tlement. They cut and carried a little wood to Buffalo for sale, and some of them obtained a little credit at the stores, paying their debts punctually. The Presbyterian Synod of Geneva responded with a con- tribution, and in 1817 the Onondagas received about six dollars each and the Senecas, numbering 700, about $2.50 each, a part of which came from their annuity.

The year 1818 saw the erection of four new towns in what is now Erie county, and the extinction of the old town of Willink, described in Chapter I. On April 10, 1818, Amherst was erected from Buffalo and comprised the present Amherst and Cheektowaga. On the 15th of the same month, in response to a petition sent to the Legislature, Willink, the formation of which dated back to 1804, was annihilated by law. At the same time Holland was erected, comprising the present Holland and Colden; and by the same act Wales was formed from township 9, range 5, with the nominal addition of half the reservation land opposite; and, finally, the act erected Aurora from the remainder of old Willink, including township 9, range 9, and the adjoining res- ervation land.

The local political field at this time was, of course, occupied by the opposing factions of the Federal and the Democratic (or, as they were soon termed, the Democratic Republican) parties. In 1818 Nathaniel Allen, from the eastern part of the county, was the congressional candidate of the regular Republican convention, with Albert H. Tracy, the rising young Buffalo lawyer. Isaac Phelps, jr., was renominated to the Assembly, with Philo Orton, of Chautauqua county. Now arose

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a warm political war of factions, a large part of the party opposing the nominees. The cause of this action is now difficult to discover, and neither is it important, but what was called the "Kremlin Junta," consisting of Mr. Tracy, Dr. John E. Marshall, James Sheldon, and a few others of Buffalo, came in for a large share of denunciation. This so-called junta took its name from the Kremlin block, in which its secret deliberations were supposed to be held. Ex Congressman Archi- bald S. Clarke was leader of the opposing faction. Soon an independ- ent convention nominated Judge Elias Osborn, of Clarence, for the Assembly, against Mr. Phelps, but seemed unable to settle upon con- gressional candidates. The old members, John C. Spencer and Ben- jamin Ellicott, declined a renomination, but were supported by many of the anti-Kremlin party. The Patriot (formerly the Gazette) was the organ of the Clarke Osborn faction, while the Journal upheld Tracy and Phelps. This contest, which doubtless had very little in . fluence upon the affairs of the county or district, was conducted with intense activity and the newspaper columns were burdened with vituperation. At the election in April Mr. Tracy was chosen by a large majority and Mr. Phelps by twenty-three.

In close relation with the political life of the time were the local militia organizations, around and within which lingered the military spirit that had been aroused by the war. In 1818 Brig .- Gen. William Warren was appointed major-general of the 24th Division, and Col. Ezra Nott was made brigadier in his stead. Elihu Rice was Nott's brigade major; Earl Sawyer, quartermaster; and Edward Paine was quartermaster of another brigade. By the date in question four regi- ments of infantry had been organized within the limits of the present county, and a recent law gave each one a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, and one major. North of the reservation was the 17th Regiment with the following field officers: James Cronk, colonel; Calvin Fillmore, lieutenant-colonel; Arunah Hibbard, major. The 170th Regiment, from the towns of Willink (or Aurora, Wales, Holland and Colden), had the following officers: Sumner Warren, colonel; Lyman Blackmar, lieutenant-colonel: Abner Currier, major. Of the 48th Regiment, located farther west, Charles Johnson was colonel; Asa Warren, lieu- tenant-colonel; Silas Whiting, major. The 181st Regiment, the last of the four, was situated farther south, with Frederick Richmond, colonel: Truman White, lieutenant colonel; Benjamin Fay, major. Besides these troops there were the 12th Regiment of cavalry and the

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7th Regiment of artillery, both of which had a representation from this county.

During the period from about 1815 to the date of the organization of Erie county, the Presbyterians, which denomination included the Congregationalists in most departments of religious work, were in the lead in this county; but the Methodists were the more active and aggressive, and under the enthusiastic labors of Rev. Glezen Fillmore they soon attained prominence in numbers and church property. The name of Father Spencer has been mentioned in preceding pages as conspicuous in religious labor; south of the reservation his influence was large and zeal untiring. During the year 1817, as learned par- tially from the current press of the time, a revival in religious af- fairs spread over the county. A Buffalo paper noticed the admission of eight new members into the Presbyterian church on a certain Sun- day evening, and a correspondent congratulated the public that "through this section of this lately heathen country the spirit of the Lord and the spirit of the gospel are extending far and wide." The same writer dwelt upon similar results of religious work in "the towns of Willink, Hamburg and Eden, where lately the spirits of the evil one enchained the hearts of many." A Presbyterian church was organized in 1818, on the site of Lancaster village, with the name of Cayuga Creek church; it began with thirteen members and increased during that year to thirty-one.

St. Paul's Episcopal church was organized on the 10th of February, 1817, by Rev. Samuel Johnston, a missionary for the district west of the Genesee River. The first wardens of this, the mother parish of the city and county, were Erastus Granger and Isaac Q. Leake; vestry- men, Samuel Tupper, Sheldon Thompson, Elias Ransom, John G. Camp, Henry M. Campbell, John S. Larned, Jonas Harrison and Dr. Josiah Trowbridge. In 1819 a frame church was erected on the lot donated by the Holland Land Company, at the intersection of Erie, Pearl and Church streets.'

1 St. Paul's parish was served by missionaries until September, 1829, when Rev. William Shel- ton, the first rector who received no support from the missionary fund, began a period of minis- try to the church which extended over fifty-one years. In 1820 the Holland Land Company gave the parish 100 acres of land near Lower Black Rock, the proceeds of the sale of which were de- voted to the purchase of the lot on Pearl street on which the rectory was erected in 1846. In 1851 the first church edifice was replaced by the beautiful stone structure, which was dedicated Octo- ber 22 of that year; the building was not wholly finished until 1870. Grace church was organized August 10, 1824, but erected no edifice until 1859-60. St. Mark's church, built in 1876, originated from this parish. Trinity church was organized October 12, 1836, with Capt. Samuel L. Russell,

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RT. REV. WILLIAM HEATHCOTE DELANCEY, D. D., LL.D., D.C.L.

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RT. REV. A. CLEVELAND COXE.

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In 1818, while there was still not a church building within the limits of the county, the energetic Rev. Glezen Fillmore, who had then preached in the vicinity about nine years, was regularly ordained by the Methodists and appointed to a circuit comprising Buffalo and Black Rock with a large surrounding district. When he thereupon proceeded to Buffalo to begin his labor he found only four of his own brethren to greet him. The Presbyterians were holding services in the court house and the Episcopalians in a school house. Mr. Fillmore occupied the latter building a few times, when that privilege was denied him and he determined to build a church. A lot was leased on Franklin street and on December 8, 1818, a small frame edifice was begun. Mr. Fill- more's salary was only $75 a year, but he became responsible for every- thing in connection with building the church. A benevolent Methodist of New York city sent $120 which he had collected and Joseph Ellicott gave him $300. On the 27th of January, 1819, the church was ded- icated. From this humble beginning Methodism in Erie county made

U. S. A., and Henry Daw, wardens. Rev. Cicero Stevens Hawks, the first rector, was succeeded in 1844 by Rev. Edward Ingersoll, D. D., who remained with the church until his death in 1883. The parish was reorganized July 14, 1884. It absorbed Christ church, an offshoot in 1868 of St. John's. Christ church purchased the site on which Trinity church stands for $40.000, and in 1869- 71 erected the present chapel. It went out of existence, and on April 14, 1879, was reorganized, the first rector being Rev. A. Sidney Dealey. After the consolidation Trinity church erected the present handsome edifice. This is the wealthiest parish in the diocese, its property being valued at $310,000; St. Paul's comes next with a valuation of $274,000. St. John's church was or- ganized February 19, 1845, and built an edifice in 1846-48. St. James church was incorporated April 17, 1854, and in 1883-84 a new edifice was erected on the site of their first structure. The parish was reorganized Easter Monday, 1896. St. Jude's Mission, an offshoot of St. James, was formed and a chapel built in 1896-97. The Church of the Ascension, organized April 9, 1855, owes its greatest prosperity to Rev. John M. Henderson, its rector for many years; under him a new church was built in 1872-73. St. Luke's church was incorporated July 20, 1857. St. Mary's church on the Hill was organized April 1, 1872, and All Saints church on Easter Monday, 1879. Other churches and missions of this denomination in the city are: Church of the Good Shepherd (Inger- soll Memorial), organized in April, 1888; St. Barnabas church, April 22, 1895; St. Thomas's church, reorganized Easter Tuesday, 1896; St. Andrew's church; St. Bartholomew's, St. Matthew's, St. Peter's, St. Stephen's, and St. John's Missions; Holy Innocents Chapel at the Church Home; St. Clement's church; and St. Philip's church (colored), which was organized about 1863.

The Episcopal churches of the county, outside the city, are St. Matthias, East Aurora, organ- ized February 14, 1869; Trinity, Lancaster, formed about 1880; St. Paul's Mission, Springville, or- ganized in September, 1891; Trinity Mission, Hamburg; St. Mark's Mission, Orchard Park; St. James's Mission, Tonawanda. The first convocation of the Archdeaconry of Buffalo, which com- prises the counties of Erie, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Niagara and Wyoming, was held in Trinity chapel, Buffalo, June 13, 1895, the archdeacon being Rev. Francis Lobdell, D.D., L.L.D., rector of Trinity church. There are twenty-five congregations in Erie county (nineteen being in the city), with a combined membership of 3,351 families, or 5,940 communicants, of which 3,142 families or 5,633 communicants are in Buffalo. The entire value of church property is $1,122,316, all but $22,116 being in the city. The twenty-five parishes have 419 Sunday school teachers and 4,052 pupils; the total offerings for parochial, diocesan and general purposes aggre- gate about $103,000 annually.

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rapid advancement and churches multiplied in Buffalo and all of the outer towns.'

Soon after the close of the war there appeared incipient evidences of the later commercial importance of Lake Erie, which far-seeing men were convinced must involve and influence to a large degree the devel- opment and prosperity of the county lying at the foot of a vast system of uninterrupted navigation. The first commercial intelligence of a public character and local interest is found in the Gazette of August 15, 1815, which stated that during the previous week there entered a boat from Detroit loaded with fish and wool; the sloop Commodore Perry, with peltries. Cleared, sloop Fiddler, Cuyahoga, with salt and pork. Salt was the most important product shipped westward in early years, it being brought from Salina by way of Lake Ontario. Other goods sent west in the early years were whisky, dry goods, household goods, naval stores, groceries, hardware, mill-irons, farm tools, etc. Coming down were furs, fish, building stone, household goods, with more or less of miscellaneous articles. About half the vessels came down in ballast. Nearly all were schooners, with a few sloops. The lake marine of 1816 was composed of the schooners Dolphin, Diligence, Erie, Pomfret, Weasel, Widow's Son, Merry Calvin, Firefly, Paulina, Mink, Merchant, Pilot, Rachel, Michigan, Neptune, Hercules, Croghan, Tiger, Aurora, Experiment, Black Snake, Ranger, Fiddler and Cham- pion; and sloops Venus, American Eagle, Perseverance, Nightingale, and Black River Packet.' About the middle of July, 1817, the open

1 Methodism in Buffalo and Erie county is now one of the strongest Protestant religious de- nominations. Erie county constitutes the Buffalo District of the Genesee Conference. In this district there are, as shown by the last minutes of the conference, sixty churches, twenty-five of which are in the city of Buffalo, and thirty-one parsonages. The church property is valued at $750,150 for the whole district, and at $601,400 for Buffalo. The value of the parsonage property is $103,750. The church membership in Buffalo is 5,327, and in the whole county, 7,714. The Sunday schools of the district have a membership of 10,021, of which number 6,552 are in Buffalo. The re- port of the presiding elder of this district makes a comparison of Buffalo in 1883 (which was the year of the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Union), when the population was 185,000, and the city had ten Methodist churches, with the year 1896, when the number of churches has increased to twenty-five, and the membership from 2,356 to the number above stated. In the same period the value of church property increased from $369,640 to the sum above stated. The church main- tains a Deaconess Home in Buffalo, in which were nine deaconesses during 1896, who labored in the care of the sick, ministering to the poor, assisting pastors, and otherwise performing charitable work.

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Our County and Its People: A Descriptive Work on Erie County, New York (Volume 1), Part 30

Author: Truman C. White Publication date: 1898 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1017

Author: Truman C. White
Publication date: 1898
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1017