USA > New York > Genesee County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Genesee County, New York, v. 1 > Part 6
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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 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39
CHAPTER V.
The War of the Revolution-Expedition of General Sullivan into the Genesee Country -- The Seneca Indians Routed-Lieutenant Boyd's Awful Fate -- First White Settlement at Buffalo Creek.
The details of that tremendous struggle of the American colonies for independence from the tyrannical, but short-sighted, British govern- ment, need no recounting in connection with the brief story of Gen- esee county's participation or immediate local interest in the war. The causes of this remarkable contest existed even before the echoes of the French and Indian war had died away, and are too familiar to require even a mention in this connection. During all that long period of hos- tilities, beginning in 1175 and terminating in 1253, no part of the actual contest occurred in the county of Genesee, excepting sporadie Indian attacks. . At one time, however, the victorious American army came
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
as far west as the easterly bounds of the original county, but there paused and retraced its steps. The original plan contemplated the in - vasion of Genesee county and an attack upon Fort Niagara.
While the Western New York frontier had very little immediate con- nection with the events of the war, the post of Fort Niagara was an important one from a military standpoint for either of the contesting powers. During the entire war it remained in the undisputed posses- sion of the British.
As during the French and Indian war, the fealty of the powerful Iroquois Confederacy became an object of considerable importance to two nations of white men. The great influence of the notel Johnson family, now led by Sir John Johnson and Colonel Guy Johnson, the latter having succeeded Sir William as superintendent of Indian affairs, was strongly exercised in the interests of the British cause. The re- sult was that all the Iroquois nations except the Oneidas and Tus- caroras allied themselves with the British as against the colonists. The Seneca nation hesitated for some time before coming out openly for an alliance, but the pay promised them by the Johnsons and their natural disposition to go upon the warpath finally converted them. After 1066 they were active partisans of the British crown. It is a matter of record, though not official, that at a council held at Oswego the agents of the British government gave numerous presents to the Senecas and promised them "a bounty on every scalp that should be brought in."' But the Americans were equally as active as the British in seeking an alliance with the New York Indians, though not success- ful in their efforts.
Col. John Butler, the notorious Tory; Joseph Brant, the celebrated Mohawk chief; the Johnsons and other enemies of the colonies made Fort Niagara their headquarters during the period of the war, and fre- quent expeditions against exposed portions of the country were planned and put into execution at that point. Butler organized the notorious Butler's Rangers, whose very name inspired the hearts of the colonists of New York with terror, and their commander became one of the most conspicuous figures in the border wars.
The massacre of Wyoming, in July, 1328, and the attack upon Cherry Valley in November of the same year thoroughly alarmed the
This is according to the narrative of Many Termson, the white woman whose hvor appears na stereerding chapter. The truth of her statement has men fapes quis' one Hand never definitely settled.
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SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE SENECAS.
colonists. On the former occasion a motley band of Tories and Indians under command of Butler entered the Wyoming valley about four hundred strong, on July 3. This locality, unfortunately, already had sent two companies into the Continental ariny, leaving only old men, women and children, with a small body of soldiers for its defense. The unsuspecting inhabitants were attacked by the invading party, who soon killed and scalped more than two hundred of them. Many of the prisoners were either tortured or slaughtered in the most savage fash- ion. On the night of July 4, after a number of fugitives who had taken refuge in the fort had been offered humane terms of surrender, the In- dians overran the beautiful valley and completed their work of desola. tion and marder. Nearly every house in the valley was burned and the remaining inhabitants obliged to flee to the mountains for their lives. In this massacre the Indians consisted principally of Senecas.
November 11 of the same year a band of Indians and Tories under command respectively of Joseph Brant and Walter N. Butler, a son of Col. John Butler, descended upon Cherry valley, killed thirty two of the inhabitants and sixten soldiers garrisoned there, and carried nearly forty men, women and children into captivity.
Two expeditions against the Indians were now planned. The first of these was made against the Onondagas in the spring of tore, under Colonels Van Schaick and Willet, but it accomplished little. During the summer a more extensive expedition with the same end in view- the chastisement of the Senecas-was organized. Congress authorized General Washington to send an expedition into the country of the Iro- quois, lay waste their villages and retaliate for the wrong's they had in- flicted upon the colonists. The expedition was to be primarily for punitive purposes, but the design also embraced an attack upon Fort Niagara, the headquarters of the British and their Indian allies in this region of the country.
The Senecas, being located at a remote point from the headquarters of the American forces, for a long time had been comparatively free from fear of retributive justice: and they were in a position, by reason of their location, to do the patriot cause incalculable injury.
Washington gave General John Sullivan command of three thousand Continental troops, gathered in the Wyoming valley and the surround. ing country, and directed him to proceed against the Senecas. The capture of Fort Niagara, which was being held by the notorious Colo- nel John Butler, was a possibility consequent upon the routing of the
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Indians. Reaching Tioga Point August 22, Sullivan was joined by General James Clinton in command of the eastern division, composed of one thousand six hundred men. About a mile below Newtown, now Elmira, the Indians, though strongly fortified, were routed.
The force opposing Sullivan consisted of Butler and his notorious Rangers and a large body of Indians under the famous Mohawk chief, Joseph Brant. The latter consisted of Senecas, with a few Delawares.
August 29, after having laid waste all the Indian country he hadl traversed, General Sullivan prepared to attack the British and Indians in the position they had chosen to defend. After two hours of desper- ate Aghting, during which Sullivan hal so disposed his forces as nearly to surround the position of the enemy. the latter, becoming fearful that they would be hemmed in and annihilated, suddenly abandoned the post and fled. For two miles Sullivan followed in pursuit. The enemy lost heavily, while the American loss was but six killed and abont forty wounded.
This victory convinced the Indians that further resistance would be useless, and Sullivan found no further bar to his progress into the Genesee country. As the Americans proceeded, however, they found that the principal villages of the Senecas had been abandoned. Oniy once again did the enemy make the slightest preparations to impe le the progress of the patriot army. Near the head of Conesus lake they selected a position and began arrangements for an ambuscade, but when Sullivan's forces came up the flight was continued as expe- ditiously as before. Sullivan continued his march, devastating every- thing that could be of use to the Indians. While Sullivan was con- structing a bridge over a creek which led to Little Beard's Town, Lieutenant Boyd and a scouting party had a severe battle with a superior force of Indians in the vicinity of what is now the town of Leicester, Livingston county, originally within the confines of Genesee county. Boyd and a man named Parker were made prisoners, and the former was tortured to death in the most horrible manner. The tol- lowing account of the incident is taken from Wilkinson's Annals of Binghamton :
From Canandaigua the army proceeded to Honeoye, which they destroyed, and passing by Hemioch late, they came to the head of Commissions lake, where the army encamped for the night, on the ground which is now called Henderson's Flats.
Soon after the army hud encampell, at the dask of evening, a party of twenty-one men, under the command of Lieut. William Boyd, was detached from the rifle corps,
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TORTURE OF LIEUTENANT BOYD.
which was commanded by the celebrated Morgan, and sent out for the purpose of re- connoitering the ground near the Genesee river, at a place now called Williamsburgh. at a distance from the place of encampment of about seven miles, and under the guidance of a faithful Indian pilot. The place was then the site of an Indian vil- lage; and it was apprehended that the Indians and rangers, as their allies were called, might be there, or in its vicinity.
When the party arrived at Williamsburgh, they found that the Indians had very recently left the place, as the fires in their huts were still burning. The night was so far spent when they got to the place of their destination, that the gallant Boyd, considering the fatigue of his men, conchided to remain quietly where he was, near the village, sleeping upon their arms, till the next morning, and then to dispatch two messengers with a report to the camp. Accordingly, a little before daybreak, he sent two men to the main body of the army with information that the enemy Had not been discovered, but were supposed to be not far distant, from the fires they found burning the evening before.
After daylight, Lieutenant Boyd and his men cautiously crept from the place of their concealment, and upon getting a view of the village, discovered two Indians lurking about the settlement, one of whom was immediately shot and scalped by one of the riflemen by the name of Murphy. Lieutenant Boyd-supposing now that if there were any Indians near they would be aroused by the report of the irle, and possibly by a perception of what had just taken place, the scalping of the Indian -- thought it most prudent to retire and make his best way back to the main army. They accordingly set out and fetraced the steps they had taken the evening before.
On their arriving within about one mile and a half of the main army, they were surprised by the sudden appearance of a body of Indians, to the amount of five hun- dred, under the command of Brant. and the same number of rangers, commanded by the infamous Butler, who had secreted themselves in a ravine of considerable ex- tent, which lay across the track that Lieutenant Boyd had pursued. These two leaders of the enemy had not lost sight of the American army since their appalling defeat at the narrows above Newtown, though they had not shown themselves till now. With what dismay they must have witnessed the destruction of their towns and the fruit of their fields, that marked the progress of our army ! They dare not, however, any more come in contact with the main army, whatever should be the consequence of their forbearance.
Lieutenant Boyd and his little herore party, upon discovering the enemy, knowing that the only chance for their escape would be by breaking through their lines. an enterprise of most desperate undertaking, made the bold attempt. As extraor- dinary as it may seem, the first onset. though unsuccessful, was made without the loss of a man on the part of the heroie band, though several of the enemy were killed. Two attempts more were made, which were equally unsuccessful, and in which the whole party fell, excepting Lieutenant Boyd and eight others. Royd and a soldier by the name of Parker, were taken prisoners on the spot, a part of the remainder tied, and a part fell on the ground apparently dead, and were overlooked by the It .- dians, who were too much engaged in pursuing the fugitives to notice those who fell.
When Lieutenant Boyd found himself a prisoner, he solicited an interview with Brant, preferring, it seems, to throw himself upon the clemency and fidelity of the
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
savage leader of the enemy, rather than trust to his civilized colleague. The chief, who was at that moment near, immediately presented himself, when Lieutenant Boyd, by one of these appeals and tokens weich are known only by those who have been initiated and instructed in certain mysteries, and which never fail to bring sie- cor to a distressed brother, addressed him as the only source from which he could expect respite from ernel punishment or death. The appeal was recognized, and Brant immediately and in the strongest language, assured him that his hfe should be spared.
Boyd and his fellow-prisoners were conducted immediately by a party of Indians to the Indian village called Beardstown, after a distinguished chief of that name, on the west side of the Gebesee river, and in what is now called Leicester. After their arrival at Beardstown, Braat, being called on service which required a few hours' absence, left them in care of Colonel Butier. The latter, as soon as Brant hal lett them, commenced an interrogation, to obtain from the prisoners a statement of the number, situation, and intentions of the army under Sullivan, and threatened cheri. in case they hesitated or prevariented in their answers, to deliver them up immedi- ately to be massacred by the Indiaas; who, in Brant's al sence, and with the encour. agement of their more savage commander, Batler, were ready to commi the greates: cruelties. Relying probably upon the promises which Brant had made them, and which he most likely intended to fur !! , they refuse l to give Butter the desired infor- mation. Upon this refusal, burning with revenge. Butter hastened to put his thre .. t into execution. Hle delivered them to some of their most ferocious enemies, amos. which the Indian chief Little Beard was distinguished for his inventive ferocity. In this, that was about to take place, as well as in all the other scenes of cruelty that were perpetrated in his town, Little Beard was master of ceremonies. The stoures: heart quails under the apprehension of inimediate and certain torture and death. where too, there is not an eye that pities, nor a heart that feels The suffering lieu- tenant was first stripped of his clothing, and then tied to a sapling. when the Indians menaced his life by throwing their tomahawks at a tree directly over his head, brandishing their scalping-knives around him in the most frightful manner, and1 accompanying their ceremonies with the most terruie shouts of joy. Having pan- ished him sufficiently in this way, they made a small opening in his abdonjen, took out an intestine, which they tied to a sapling, and then unbound him from the tree, and by scourges, drove him around it till he had drawn out the whole of his intes- tines. He was then beheaded. and his head was stuck upon a pole, with a deg s head just above it, and his body left unburied upon the ground. Throughout the whole of his sufferings, the brave Boyd neither asked for mercy, or uttered a word of complaint.
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Thus perished William Boyd, a young officer of heroic virtue and of rising talents; and in a manner that will touch the sympathies of all who real the story of his death. His fellow soldier, and fellow sufferer, Parker, was obliged to witness this moving and tragical scene, and in full expectation of passing the same ordeal. Ac- cording. however, to our information, in relation to the death of these two men. which has been obtained incident illy from the Indian account of it, corroborated by the discovery of the two bodies by the American army, Parker was only beheaded.
The main army, immediately after hearing of the situation of Lieutenant Boyd's detachment, moved towards Genesee river, and finding the bodies of those who were
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THE SENECAS AT BUFFALO CREEK.
slain in the heroie attempt to penetrate the enemy's hne, buried them in what is now the town of Groveland, near the bank of Beard's creek, under a bunch of wild plum trees, where the graves ars to be seen to this day.
General Sullivan for some time continued the work of devastating the country of the Senecas, destroying everything necessary to the maintenance of life. The Senecas were completely humbled and sub- dued and fled to Niagara for succor; but the patriot forces returned without proceeding to Niagara, whose capture might easily have been effected.
General Sullivan's journal of his campaign against the Senecas shows that the aboriginal inhabitants of Genesee county by this time had made considerable progress in the arts of peace. The majority of them had left the chase and turned to agriculture, but ded upon the approach of the Continental army, seeking sustenance at Niagara. In July, 1380, Colonel Guy Johnson, writing to Lord Germain upon Indian affairs, said :
The large body that was to be provided for at this post, during the last water, in consequence of the rebel invasion, and the destruction of many Indian towns, occa- sioned much expense, and great consumption of provisions, which I have endeavored as far as consistent with the service, and the Commander-in-Chief afforded bis assist- ance for re-establishing them, and enabling them to plant, as early as he could; to promote which, as well as to forward parties. I have lately visited their new settle. ments; one on the Ohio route is increasing fast, and I have a'ready induced about twelve hundred of their people to settle and plant these places, which will lessen the burden of expenses.
Buffalo Creek was on the Ohio route referred to, and here one of the principal Indian settlements was located, early in the summer of 1750. The Senecas who settled here were under the leadership of Siangar- ochti, or Sayengaraghta, an aged sachem, known popularly as Old King. The Gilbert family of fifteen persons, who were captured in April, 1650, by eleven Indians, at their home in Northampton county. Pa., were carried by the Senecas to Fort Niagara. Subsequently some members of the family were taken to Buffalo Creek. One member of the family carried to the latter place was Elizabeth Peart, wife of Thomas Peart, son of the elder Mrs. Gilbert by a former husband. . 1 Seneca family had adopted her, but her child, a few months old, was adopted by another family living near Fort Niagara. Early in 1281 the Indians at Buffalo Creek were compelled to go to Fort Niagara for provisions. She accompanied them to see her child, but on arriving at the fort she learned that it had been bought by a white family. Mrs
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Peart contrived to escape to Montreal with her husband and children. Other members of the family were held prisoners for some time, and the last of them were not released until 1182.
Buffalo Creek being deemed an advantageous point for trade, a num- ber of English located there a short time after the establishment of the Indian settlement. This was the first white settlement in that locality.
From this time to the close of the Revolution few events of more than passing interest occurred within the limits of what afterward became the original county of Genesee. During the winter and spring of 1750 1781 Brant made a few unimportant forays from Niagara, but as the territory in the vicinity of the fort was held by the British and their Indian allies, no important results followed. The Niagara frontier was quiet from this period to the close of the general hostilities; but a !- though peace was declared in 1783, the formal surrender of the frontier did not take place until July, 1696. This facts accounts in a large measure for the late development of the resources of this community by the whites.
CHAPTER VI.
From the Close of the Revolution to the Famous Purchase of the Holland Land Company-Cession of the Sovereignty of the " Genesee Country " by Massachusetts to New York -- Sale of the Territory to Individuals -- The Morris Purchase-The Hol- land Land Company Enters the Field-Morris Extinguishes the Indian Titles to the Land He Had Purchased.
The war of the Revolution, while disastrous in its effects upon most sections of the country, was not without its benefits. The country west of the Genesee river received a great amount of advertising as a direct result of the war. A large portion of the American army, drawn from other States as well as from New York, was encamped in or marched through this section on frequent occasions. Before the close of the war " the Genesee country " had become widely known as one of the most fertile and productive tracts anywhere in that section of America which had been thoroughly explored. The officers and soldiers of the patriot army, most of whom resided in the New England States, learned of the character of the land, mingled with the pioneers and in several in-
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THE SENECAS AFTER THE REVOLUTION.
stances married daughters of some of the inhabitants of the new coun- try. The result was that when the war ended and they returned to their homes they gave roseate accounts of the wonderful farm lands in the region which had sheltered them and of the numerous other attrac- tions, with the result that large numbers of the inhabitants of New England began planning to found new homes in that part of New York which afterward became the original county of Genesee.
With the signing of the convention commonly known as the treaty of Fort Stanwix, which event took place October 22, 1:84, the Indian titles to all lands west of the line fixed by the treaty were extinguished. and the red men were guaranteed peaceable possession of the territory east of the line. An illustration of the honesty of purpose on the part of the United States in its dealing with the Indians in those days is found in the case which arose in 1690. In that year the great sachems, Cornplanter, Half Town and Great Tree, complained to President Washington that they were being ill-treated in various ways and that the rights guaranteed them by the treaty of Its4 were not being ac- corded them. Washington promptly assured them that they would be fully protected in their rights and that the whites would be compelled to observe the provisions of the compact into which they, through their representatives, had entered. For some time thereafter, in accordance with instructions issued by the president, the local Indians had no cause of complaint, though they ultimately were compelled to relin- quish control of the lands they and their forefathers had held for many generations.
Soon after the peace of 1783 emigration westward began to assume considerable proportions, for the fame of the Genesee country had spread throughout the Union. Many of the newcomers followed Sul. livan's old route as far as the Genesee river, proceeding thence to Lewiston, on the Niagara river. About 1790 or 1791 a road was opened as far west as the crossing at Black Rock. From Batavia this road fol- lowed the high ground on nearly the same course as the old stage road to Buffalo.
In 1789 Ontario county was erected from Montgomery. The original Ontario county embraced practically all the territory west of Seneca lake.
In the month of April, 1791, the War Department dispatched Colonel Thomas Proctor on a mission to pacify the Indians in the west, against whom General St. Clair was preparing an expedition. The United
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
States government had been led to believe that the British, who still occupied the posts on the frontier, had been encouraging the Indians to continue their depredations on the frontier. Colonel Proctor visited the village of the chief called Cornplanter, located on the Allegany. Thence he proceeded to the Cattaraugus settlement, in company with Cornplanter and a number of his warriors. Continuing down the beach to Buffalo Creek he made efforts to induce the Senecas to use their influence to put an end to the Indian depredations in the west. At this time the famous chieftain, Red Jacket, had become very intiu- tial, and when he learned Proctor's plans he questioned the latter's authority. Proctor proved to the Indians that he had authority direct from the government, and the next day Red Jacket announced that he would remove the council to Fort Niagara. Proctor objected to this step, and a compromise was effected by the Indians sending to Niagara for Butler. Two or three days afterward Butler arrived, and on May 4 the sachems and leaders met him in connell. When the council was ended Proctor prepared for an expedition further west, and Red Jacket announced that the women of his tribe had decided that the sachems and warriors must aid the commission and that a number of them would accompany him on his errand of peace. But the British threw obsta- cles in Proctor's path, the officer in command opposite Fort Niagara refusing the request of the American officer for transportation up Lake Erie on a British merchant vessel, the chief having refused to make the journey in an open boat. Proctor endeavored to bribe Red Jacket, but the expedition finally was abandoned and May 21, after having spent nearly a month at or near Buffalo, Proctor started for Pittsburg. The expedition had proven a failure.
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