Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I, Part 31

Author: White, Truman C
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Boston] : Boston History Co.
Number of Pages: 1014


USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 31


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


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101


The construction of the Erie Canal, and especially what point should be made its western terminus, awakened intense interest and caused active agitation throughout Erie county and adjoining territory. In the minds of many men of good judgment, and especially of those living in rural districts, the whole project was visionary and destined to failure; they did not believe such a continuous waterway through a diversified region could be maintained, and that if it could, it would


269


FROM 1815 TO 1820.


not prove profitable as an avenue of transportation. Among the com- mon masses of people it was an object of scorn and ridicule. In Buf- falo and Black Rock the majority of thoughtful persons were in its favor; but each of these villages insisted upon its vast superiority as the canal terminus and the question was long in doubt. Black Rock had a sort of harbor and most of the vessels of the lake landed there. Buffalo had none. The advocates of the former village were led by Peter B. Porter, who possessed powerful influence, and for a con- siderable period it seemed that Black Rock was destined to be the canal terminus and the future commercial emporium. The village re- ceived a decided impetus and its growth was for a time more rapid than that of Buffalo. It was clear to the leading men of the latter place that this condition of affairs should not be permitted to continue, and measures were adopted for the construction of a harbor.


Various plans were discussed for raising money for the work, among them a lottery, the formation of an incorporated company, and a petition for government aid. What was called the Buffalo Harbor Company was organized, as a result of the agitation, in the spring of 1819, which originally comprised nine of the leading men of the place; to these was afterwards added the name of Samuel Wilkeson,1 to whom more than to any other one person was due the construction of the first harbor. The nine men were Jonas Harrison, Ebenezer Walden, Heman B. Potter, John G. Camp, Oliver Forward, A. H. Tracy, Ebenezer Johnson, E. F. Norton and Charles Townsend. The company applied to the Legislature for aid and on April 17, 1819, an act was passed under which the State agreed to loan the company $12,000, provided its payment was secured by individual bonds and mortgages of mem- bers of the company for twice the amount of the loan If the harbor


1 Samuel Wilkeson was born in Carlisle, Pa., in 1781, and was a son of John Wilkeson, who was a brave lieutenant in the Revolutionary war. The son's boyhood was spent on a farm, and after his father's death he married and removed to Ohio, where he cleared a farm for himself. Disliking the slow progress he was making he engaged in other business-building boats, mer- cantile operations, and transportation business on the lakes. He soon became the master of vessels and during the war of 1812 carried on important operations in connection with the army, which brought him to Black Rock and Buffalo. In the spring of 1814 he settled in the latter vil- lage and opened a store on the corner of Main and Niagara streets. He became an enthusiastic advocate of the canal and finally joined with nine others in constructing the first Buffalo narbor. A large part of the labor devolved upon him and much of the financial responsibility. He in 1822 presented strong arguments before the canal commissioners in favor of making Buffalo the canal terminus and was victorious over Peter B. Porter, who advocated the claims of Black Rock. He was appointed first judge of Erie county in February, 1821, immediately after the erection of the county; was elected to the State Senate in 1824, and in 1836 was elected mayor of Buffalo. He was a man of strong character, inflexible will and high integrity.


270


OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.


when finished proved acceptable to the State authorities, the bonds were to be canceled; otherwise the company would have to pay the bonds and seek reimbursement through the collection of tolls. The company declined to accept this proposition, with the exception of Charles Townsend (with whom was associated his partner, George Coit), and Oliver Forward. In this emergency Samuel Wilkeson, towards the last of 1819, joined with these men and they accepted the offer of the State. The money was received from the State and in the spring of 1820 work was begun. William Peacock was employed to survey Buffalo Creek ' with reference to its use as part of the harbor, and a superintendent was employed, who was soon discharged for in- capacity and Mr. Wilkeson was compelled to take immediate charge of the work.


The work of harbor construction was pushed ahead with energy, the plan adopted being the building of a pier of hewn timber filled with stone. This pier was made up of cribs, three of which were sunken the first day of the work. Many unforeseen difficulties were met and over- come, caused mainly by storms and rough water. When the piers had reached a point thirty rods into the lake, the bases of the cribs were enlarged, greatly increasing the cost. When work closed the first season, fifty rods of pier had been constructed and filled with stone, and a considerable portion of the fund still remained unexpended ; but the more difficult part of the work, and possibly the most expen- sive, still remained undone. At that time Buffalo Creek entered the lake about sixty rods north of its present entrance, the creek running some distance parallel with the lake shore, and about tweny rods from it. Across this point of sand a new channel had to be cut, and this part of the work was begun in the spring. Without going into details which are unnecessary, it may be stated that the channel was formed by the construction of a dam across the creek, raising the water to


1 After William Peacock had completed his survey of the creek he made a favorable report and advised the construction of a stone pier extending into the lake 900 feet, which would give a depth of thirteen feet of water; this, he estimated, would cost $12,787. It is now claimed by men of experience that such a pier would cost half a million dollars. In opposition to Mr. Pea- cock's report and to the Buffalo harbor plans as a whole, a correspondent of the Albany Argus, of February 19, 1819, ridiculed Buffalo Creek as a harbor, stating that "two schooners can barely pass each other there," and proceeding to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing a mile wall with a lock of four feet lift at Black Rock, to overcome the current at the rapids. He would sell State lands to pay the cost of this work. A bridge was to be constructed from Grand Island to the "city of Erie," which he foresaw would spring up on the site of Black Rock. This was only one of the numerous projects advocated by citizens of the rival villages by which they hoped to secure the commercial prize.


271


FROM 1815 TO 1820.


nearly the height of the intercepting bank. A break was then made at the end of the dam and the imprisoned water rushed through it, carry- ing away a large portion of the sand and gravel. The dam was then extended farther and the operation repeated. At the same time con- tracts were made for timber, which was prepared in the winter, and pre- parations were made for farther extension of the pier.


When the new channel for the creek was open, the dam (which con- sisted of two rows of piles six feet apart, the space between filled with stone and brush) was extended forty-six rods from the east bank of the creek, forming a permanent shore for the north side of the new chan- nel. When the company was about to begin work on the pier it was ascertained that if the line was continued in the direction already taken, it would have to be carried much farther into the lake than had been antici- pated. With funds running low this was an embarrassing fact, and it was resolved to apply to the people of the village for aid1 The continu- ous line of pier was then abandoned and a second pier line two hundred feet long was constructed several rods south and west of the one already built, but extending in the same general direction. This pier would form the western terminus of the harbor and was to be connected with the other by two lines of piles eight feet apart. In due time the work was completed and the first artificial harbor of that character on the lakes was an accomplished fact.


This liberal and enterprising action by a few prominent men of Erie county for the establishment of a harbor is sufficient evidence of the deep interest felt here, both in the canal project as a whole and in the advantages to be secured by having a safe port for the young lake com- merce; but, on the other hand, it is doubtful if any man in the county at that time foresaw the stupendous future importance to this region of · the great waterway with Buffalo as its western terminus and of the harbor then begun. That the canal, if ever completed, would be suc- cessful many persons hoped, but very many more doubted. Certain it is that the student of the local history of that period cannot too strongly


1 For the purpose of securing aid, scrip was issued entitling the bearer to a share in the har- bor, and about $1,000 was disposed of, thus raising a little money and considerable goods. The holders of this scrip were never compensated, as no tolls were ever collected by the company, as was provided in case the State did not accept the completed harbor. In the spring of 1822 an act passed the Legislature providing for the payment to two companies of $12,000 for the con- struction of harbors at Buffalo and at Black Rock. This act limited all appropriation for the Buffalo harbor to the loan already made, and cut off all hope of remuneration by the State for money expended above the amount of the original loan ; while the company could not retain the harbor as private property and impose tolis, without driving business to a rival port.


272


OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.


magnify the importance of those three events which crowded so closely upon each other-the launching of the first steamboat, the construction of the first harbor, and the preliminary work on the Erie Canal.


It has been made clear in the few preceding pages of this chapter that the period between the close of the war and the erection of Erie county in 1821 was an important one in local history. This fact is ap- parent also in further evidences of progress and development in the various towns of the county, which demand brief notice. Immigra- tion, which had been almost wholly stopped by the war, soon revived when peace was restored and the farmer's cottage, the country store and the rural tavern began to make their appearance on every hand. In the spring of 1820 a new mail route was established from Buffalo to Olean, and three new post-offices were opened in this county-one at Smithville (or Smith's Mills), now Hamburg; one at Boston (then known as Torrey's Corners); and one at Springville. In the same year the first daily mail was established between Buffalo and Albany.


Agricultural operations throughout the county at the time of its formation had assumed considerable importance. Under encourage- ment of certain appropriations made by the State for the purpose of advancing agricultural interests, the Niagara County Agricultural Society was organized in 1820, with its headquarters in Buffalo. Dr. Cyrenius Chapin was its first president; Joseph M. Moulton, treasurer ; Reuben B. Heacock, secretary; Heman B. Potter, auditor. All of these men were from Buffalo. The vice-presidents were Arthur Humphrey, Asher Saxton, Ebenezer Goodrich, Ebenezer Walden and James Cronk. A board of town managers was appointed consisting of three members from each town. An act of Legislature was passed March 24, 1820, giving this county $135 in addition to its proportion of $10,000 appropriated by the State at an earlier date, "for the promo- tion of agriculture and family domestic manufactures." The payment of this sum was upon condition that the counties of Niagara and Catta- raugus should form an agricultural society. The original society en- joyed considerable success for several years, when, for various reasons, it passed out of existence and its successor was not organized until 1841.


Improvement in the town of Alden began immediately after the close of the war. Seth Estabrooks, in 1816, displayed a small stock of groceries and other household necessaries for sale in a log building on the Mercer road a little south of the main road. Gen. William Warren


273


FROM 1815 TO 1820.


built another frame tavern at the east end of Willink (East Aurora) village, while his younger brother, Asa, removed from Aurora to Eden, settling about two miles eastward from Eden Center, where he built a grist mill and saw mill and became a prominent citizen. At about the same time Erastus Torrey and his younger brothers settled at what is now called Boston Corners; the place was long known as Torrey's Cor- ners. Considerable settlement was made in the town of Lancaster be- fore 1821 and a Presbyterian church was organized there in 1818.


The town of Hamburg, during the period under consideration, in- creased in population more, perhaps, than any other in the county. Judge Zenas Barker purchased what was early known as the Titus tavern, at the bend of the lake, but did not keep it long; a post-office was, however, established there and on his account was given the name Barkersville. Lewis T. White settled in the town in 1817, and others of that period along the lake were Bird & Foster, successors of Judge Barker at Bay View, Jacob A. Barker, Daniel Brayman, Caleb Pierce, Lansing and Seymour Whittacer, and the Shepard, Amsdell, Barnard, Jackson, Van Namee, Hicks, Camp, Beach, Abbott, Goodrich and Ingersoll families. Most or all of these lived along the Lake Shore road. This was a very popular thoroughfare from east to west and abounded in road taverns. With the incoming of business men with names differing from those of earlier settlers, the growing villages at Wright's Corners and Smith's Mills gradually became known as Ab- bott's Corners and White's Corners respectively. At the time of the formation of Erie county there were two post-offices in Hamburg: Smithville at White's Corners, and Barkersville, before mentioned. In 1820 or 1821 another was opened in what is now East Hamburg, then in the old town of Hamburg; no other town in Erie county had more than one, excepting Buffalo. For some unknown reason these were all discontinued in the next year and a new one with the name Hamburg opened at Abbott's Corners. In East Hamburg, too, there was mate- rial progress before the formation of the county. Until the close of the war there was little in the Potter's Corners neighborhood to distin- guish it from the surrounding territory, but very soon afterward James Reynolds opened the first store near the Friends' meeting house and a few years later removed to Potter's Corners. He was succeeded by William Cromwell, who was in business in 1819. In 1820 David Eddy built a house, in which his sons-in-law, Lewis Arnold and Theodore Hawkins, afterwards kept a tavern. The name of Abbott's Corners 35


274


OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.


was derived from Seth Abbott, brother of Samuel, both of whom were pioneers in this town. Samuel was the second supervisor of Hamburg in 1813, but soon moved into the town of Boston, where he was chosen the first supervisor; he subsequently returned and occupied the farm afterwards owned by his son, Chauncey Abbott. Soon after the war Deacon Ezekiel Cook and others built a school house, which was used also for a Baptist meeting house. The First Presbyterian church of Orchard Park was organized in January, 1817, by Rev. John Spencer and Rev. Miles P. Squier, afterwards pastor of the church in Buffalo. This society is still in existence.


The close of the war in the town of Aurora found a few dwellings, mostly of logs, at each end of what is now the village of East Aurora, while scattered over the town were the log houses of the settlers already named. When peace was restored immigration was rapid. Robert Persons, in the spring of 1815, opened a store in an unfinished building which he purchased of Gideon Lapham; it stood on what became the corner of Main and Olean streets and was the first perma- nent store in the town. The building of General Warren's frame tavern has been mentioned, which was soon sold to Calvin Fillmore. In 1816 Adijah Paul, Jedediah Darby and John C. Darby, all young married men from Vermont, settled on farms in the southwest part of the town near the site of West Falls. William Boies settled about the same time in the south part; he had six brothers, all of whom lived in the town. Thomas Thurston, John Hambleton and others settled on the Big Tree road soon after the war, and three brothers, Samuel H., Hawxhurst and Isaac Addington were settlers of that period. Henry P. Van Vliet settled in 1817 east of Griffin's Mills. James Griffin was a man of prominence and held the office of supervisor; he was brother of Robert and both were sons of the pioneer, Obadiah Griffin. About the same time that the Griffins became owners of the Smith mills Adam Paul opened a store near them and was in business nearly thirty years. Besides the mills, the Griffins operated a distillery and ashery, and Robert Griffin kept a tavern. They moved away about 1825. About the year 1818 Abram Smith built a grist mill at West Falls and Lawrence Read opened a store there about the same date. For a num- ber of years the place was known as Crockershire, from a few families named Crocker who settled in the neighborhood.


Among the settlers in the town of Wales after the war were John Cole, father of Niles Cole, who was long a prominent citizen. Isaac


275


FROM 1815 TO 1820.


Wightman came into the town in 1817; in the late years of his life he resided in Aurora and lived to a great age. Ira Hall settled in the town in 1818, and established a tannery and shoe shop near the mills of his brother Isaac. Stephen Patch came in the same year and settled about a mile southwest of Wood's Hollow; he was accompanied by his sons, Thompson, Stephen W. and Oliver, who were all well known citi- zens. Jacob Turner built a grist mill at Wood's Hollow before 1818. From that time forward small business interests centered around the mills and tannery of the Hall brothers, which place began to be known as · Hall's Hollow ; also around Warner's store and tavern, now called South Wales, and at Wood's Hollow. At the time of the formation of the town in 1818 there were six or seven distilleries on Buffalo Creek within the town limits. Other prominent citizens of Wales in the early years were Nehemiah Smith, Helim Taber, Elon Virgil, Abner Nutting, Henry B. Stevens, John Carpenter. The first post-office was not established until 1821; it bore the name Wales, and was located at Hall's Hollow. About the same time Isaac Hall established a line of four-horse stages through the town on the Big Tree road; when James Wood was made postmaster, a few years later, he removed the post- office to Wood's Hollow, which ultimately took the name, Wales Center. There David Norton early had a carding mill, and William A. Burt kept the first store ahout 1815. The first hotel was built by Isaac Hall in 1816.


Immigration to the town of Evans was brisk after the close of the war and the region was soon quite fully occupied. A saw mill and grist mill were built on the site of Evans Center in 1815-16, around which gathered a small hamlet which took the name of Wright's Mills. About 1818 a post-office was established on the lake shore with the name Eden, in which town Evans was then included. The town of Evans was erected March 16, 1821, comprising the present town of that name, with the exception of a small tract taken from Hamburg in 1.826, and a part of the town of Brant. The town was named after David E. Evans, the Holland Company's agent. The name of the post-office above mentioned was soon afterward changed to Evans.


One of the first attempts to establish business in the town of Eden was the opening of a tavern by Dr. William Hill, who had been a sur- geon in the Revolutionary army and who came into this town in 1814, making his home near that of his son John. He was too old to engage in his profession and therefore began keeping tavern in a log house on


/


276


OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE,


the site of Eden Center; the place was then called Hill's Corners. In the same year the first school house was built, for which a Mr. Gail agreed to supply the necessary nails. They were a scarce article at that time and as he had little money his neighbers wondered how he would obtain them. When they were wanted he took a sack, walked to Buffalo and soon returned with a supply of nails which he had picked out of the ruins of that village. Almost immediately after peace was declared Simeon Clark set up a small lathe on a brook near the site of East Eden and began making spinning wheels and other household articles. At about the same time other settlers in that vicinity were John Dayton, long a justice of the peace, Joseph H. Beardsley, John Kerr, Hiram Hinman, Nathan Grover, and Joseph Blye. Hinman was the first hatter to locate south of Buffalo. A man named Harris had previously opened a store, and about 1816 he built a frame structure, the first one in the town, and placed his goods therein. Col. Asa Warren moved into the town from Willink in 1816 and built mills two or three miles east of Eden Center, on Eighteen-mile Creek. Obed -, Warren, Orrin Babcock, Elias Babcock, and David Wood were pioneers of that period. About 1818 a Mr. Ensign built a small grist mill near East Eden. The town of Eden was erected March 16, 1821, six days before the formation of Erie county. Small hamlets soon gathered at Eden Center, Eden Valley and Clarksburg.


The town of Boston was set off from Eden in April, 1817, and imme- diately following the close of the war the Torrey family settled on the site of Boston Corners. The oldest son of Captain Torrey, as he was called, was a prominent citizen, as also was Capt. Uriah Torrey, a younger son. Quite a number of Quakers were pioneers in this town, among them Matthew Middleditch, John Kester, Stephen Kester, Will- iam Pound, David Laing, Thomas Twining, jr., Aaron Hampton and James Miller. In 1818 there were 153 taxable inhabitants. In the spring of 1820 a new mail route was established, extending from Buffalo south through Hamburg, Boston and Concord to Olean, and a post- office was opened at Torrey's Corner's with the name Boston. At about the same time Talcott Patchen built a tannery near Boston Center, and Edward Churchill settled a little south of Torrey's Corners; he lived to be one hundred years of age.


In Colden one of the earliest pioneers, Richard Buffum, and a Mr. Bloomfield built a grist mill near the saw mill of the former, and the locality was known as Buffum's Mills. There was no settlement in


277


FROM 1815 TO 1820.


the northwest part of the town until about the time of the erection of the county, when Wheeler, James and Joseph Buffum, sons of the pioneer, settled there on land taken up by their father. Samuel B. Love was another pioneer in the town.


The first business enterprise in Holland was a grist mill which was built during the war by some person now unknown ; this was purchased by General Warren and Ephraim Woodruff while it was still unfinished in 1814. Warren bought out his partner in the following year and erected a saw mill; he also built and occupied the first house there. In 1816 Caleb Cutler came in from Vermont, accompanied by his son, William C. Joshua Barron opened the first tavern very soon after the war, probably in 1816. In the next year Leander Cook opened the first store near Orr's Mills. After the forination of the town in April, 1818, George Burzette came on in 1819, settling on the south part of Vermont Hill, and about the same time Stephen Parker settled on Hunter's Creek, and near by were John and Rufus Sleeper. Samuel Johnson located on West Hill about 1821. The Orr mills were on the site of Holland village and took their name from Robert Orr and his son Alvin.


In the town of Concord E. A. Briggs settled on Townsend Hill in 1815; he was father of Erasmus Briggs, who was a prominent citizen of the town. Other settlers who came in directly after the war were the Vaughn, Pike, Frye, Needham, Stanbro and other families. John Battles located at what became Morton's Corners in 1818. Very soon after the war Frederick Richmond opened the second store at Spring- ville, where perhaps a dozen houses were clustered. David Stanley opened the second hotel in a frame building in 1818, and Dr. Daniel Ingalls and his brother, Dr. Varney Ingalls, settled there about 1818 as the first regular physicians in Concord. The post-office at Spring- ville was opened in 1820, with Rufus C. Eaton postmaster. Morton's Corners took its name from three brothers, Alanson, Elijah and Jere- miah Morton, who settled on farms at that point in 1814.




Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.