USA > New York > Erie County > Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I > Part 32
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Among the settlers after the close of the war in Brant were John Roberts, John West and Major Campbell, who located there in 1818. Ansel Smith and Robert and William Grannis came soon afterward. In the next year Reuben Hussey, a relative of Moses Tucker, the pioneer in the town, settled near Mr. Tucker. Samuel Butts moved from Hamburg to Brant in 1820 and in 1822 built the first saw mill. There was very little business in this town until later years.
278
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Smith Bartlett settled in Collins soon after the war and built the first tannery in the town at what became Collins Center. John Law- ton already had a saw mill there and built a grist mill soon after peace was declared. Nathan King opened a tavern at the same place in 1816, which was probably the first one in the town, though John Han- ford kept one at about that time at Taylor's Hollow. Many Quakers settled in this town and about 1817 they erected a double log meeting house. Nathaniel Knight, long a prominent citizen, settled in the town in 1818. There was very little business in the town until later than 1820.
Among the newcomers to the town of North Collins directly after the war was Humphrey Smith, who lived to a great age. John Law- ton came in a little later and became a prominent citizen. Settlement in that region was not active until after the formation of the county, as shown in later chapters.
The first business enterprise in the town of Sardinia was a store opened in 1816 by George Clark & Co .; the second was another store opened in the same year by Samuel Hawkins, which he sold to Reuben Nichols in 1818. Andrew Crocker settled in the town in 1817. In 1820 Dr. Bela Colegrove located at the place subsequently known as Colegrove's Corners; he was the first physician in the town. In the next year Chauncey Hasting located in the village (where there were then only three houses) and built a store; about two years later he built a hotel and was in business more than twenty-five years. Soon after his arrival George S. and Thomas Collins began operating a carding mill south of Sardinia village. A Baptist church was organized in the town soon after the close of the war.
The fact of the appointment of Gen. Peter B. Porter as a member of the boundary commission has been already noted. In the early part of 1819 this commission came on from the east to establish the boundary between Canada and the United States in this vicinity. The principal surveyor on the part of the Americans was William A. Bird, a promi- nent resident of Black Rock. The sovereignty of Grand Island, though previously claimed by the United States, was definitely settled by this commission. The island was purchased by the State in September, 1815, the price being about $11,000. Very soon after this purchase numerous squatters located there and built cabins along both shores, and began cutting timber for staves for the Canadian markets. Up to
279
FROM 1815 TO 1820.
the year 1819 these squatters held undisputed possession of the island. The boundary commission found, through proper investigation, that the main channel of Niagara River was on the Canadian side of the island, which therefore belonged to the United States. In the same year a vigorous and successful attempt was made to drive the squatters from their habitations. Sheriff Cronk, of Niagara county, armed with a requisition from the State authorities calling out a company of the local militia, made a descent on the squatters. The sheriff had al- ready given them a few days' notice to leave the island and a few had obeyed. The militia was commanded by Lieut. (afterwards Colonel) Benjamin Hodge, of Buffalo. With about thirty militiamen, on the 9th of December, he marched to a point opposite the head of the island to which they crossed in boats late in the afternoon. The muskets of the militia were loaded with ball cartridges, pickets were stationed and the militia encamped for the night. Most of the squatters were on the west side of the island, and thither the soldiers marched the following morning. The boats were sent around the head of the island to be ready to transport the families of the squatters to either Canada or the United States, as they might choose; with one exception they all pre- ferred Canada. During the succeeding two days the squatters were all removed, without serious resistance, and about seventy of their houses were destroyed. About 100 acres of the island had been cleared. The later survey and sale of the island is described farther on.
280
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE,
CHAPTER XIX.
1821-1825.
Division of Niagara County and Creation of Erie County-Provisions of the Legisla- tive Act-New Act of Incorporation of Buffalo Village-Boundaries of the Village- Bright Anticipations in Erie County - Further Harbor Improvements at Buffalo and Black Rock-A Memorable Meeting in Buffalo-Continued Rivalry between Black Rock and Buffalo-Subscriptions for a Canal between these Villages-Final Settlement of the Terminus of the Erie Canal-Waning Importance of Black Rock -Dam in Tonawanda Creek-Inception of Tonawanda Village-Final Work on the Erie Canal-Opening of the Great Waterway-Celebration of the Event in Erie County-New System of Collecting Land Payments by the Holland Company- Joseph Ellicott's Resignation as Agent-New State Constitution-General Progress in the Towns of the County-La Fayette's Visit to Buffalo-Mordecai M. Noah's Operations on Grand Island-Murder of John Love-Comparative Descriptions of Buffalo in 1820 and 1825-Maps and Views.
On the 2d day of April, 1821, Niagara county was divided by an act of the Legislature and Erie county erected, comprising all of the territory of the old county lying south of the middle of Tonawanda Creek; the boundaries of the new county are described in Chapter I. Erie county included much more than half of the area of the old county, about two thirds of the population, the county seat, county records, and most of the county officers. Hence, in all but the name, the new county was merely a continuation of the old one erected in 1808. It was, however, eminently proper that the historic name of Niagara should be retained for the county in which is situated the great cataract.
The act creating Erie county contained, among other provisions, one making it lawful to confine all prisoners in the jail in Niagara county until one could be erected in Erie county. Also, justices of the Supreme Court were directed to not hold a circuit court in Niagara county until the expiration of one year, unless in their judgment it should be necessary.
A new act of incorporation for Buffalo was passed April 17, 1822, which gave the village the following boundaries:
281
FROM 1821 TO 1825.
Beginning on the shore of Lake Erie at the south-easterly corner of the mile-strip denominated the New York State reservation, adjoining the other lots in the village of Buffalo; thence along the easterly line of said reservation to the northwesterly corner of lot number 51, including the said lot; thence easterly on the line of said lot 51 to the main street leading from Buffalo village to Batavia; thence across said street and on the northerly line of lot number 28 one hundred and fifty rods from said main street; thence south fourteen degrees west to the shore of Lake Erie and along the shore of Lake Erie to the place of beginning.
The act of incorporation provided for the election of five trustees, who were given the powers usual for such officers; provision was made, also, for the election of not less than three nor more than five asses- sors,. one treasurer, one constable, one collector, and not less than three nor more than five fire wardens. The ensuing election was ordered held on the 1st of the following June. The village officers are given in later pages.
In no part of the State of New York in the early years of the third decade of the present century was keener interest felt in public affairs, or more hopeful anticipations entertained of the future, than in Erie county, if we except the uninfluential minority who at that period still doubted the successful completion of the Erie Canal. Through an act of the Legislature of April 17, 1822, both Buffalo and Black Rock were given aid and encouragement for harbor construction, and the citizens of both villages believed that the one which finally provided the safest and most commodious port would be chosen as the terminus of the canal. In that year and the next the bloodless warfare between the two places was at its height. In Buffalo the Patriot championed the cause for that village, with the aid of the younger Buffalo Journal, while the Black Rock Beacon maintained a sturdy defense of the supe- rior advantages of that point. Both villages had friends in the boards of canal commissioners and in the engineer corps, and no effort was spared to profit by their influence. In June, 1822, the canal commis- sioners adopted a resolution to the effect that if Peter B. Porter and his associates in Black Rock succeeded in constructing ten or more rods of their proposed pier " by the 1st of May or June following," in a satis- factory manner, then the commissioners would either provide for the construction of the canal basin desired, or else recommend that the State refund the money that had been expended. This resulted in the organization of the Black Rock Harbor Company, through whose efforts what was called the Experiment Pier was built. These pro-
36
282
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
ceedings inspired the Buffalonians to renewed energy, and they freely asserted and published statements that the first run of ice would destroy the proposed Black Rock pier.
In the summer of 1822 a meeting was held in Buffalo, the proceed- ings of which were fraught with influence upon the future of the village. It was a memorable assemblage that gathered in the old Eagle tavern. De Witt Clinton, then chairman of the Board of Canal Commissioners, presided; his associates were Stephen Van Rensselaer, Henry Seymour, Myron Holley and Samuel Young. Gen. Peter B. Porter was present in the interest of Black Rock, while Buffalo was represented in an able manner by the enthusiastic Samuel Wilkeson. Both of these men were devoted heart and soul to their respective villages, and each advocated to the best of his ability the merits of either place as a canal terminus. Finally, the rugged eloquence of Mr. Wilkeson, and the apparent facts in the case, prevailed, and after a summing up by Mr. Clinton, the commissioners selected Buffalo for the terminus of the great waterway.1 But the controversy did not end there. In the spring of 1823 the pier at Black Rock withstood the ice, the outgoing being watched by a crowd of citizens from both villages. This fact caused some of the canal commissioners to express themselves farther in favor of improve- ments at that point, and the war of words went on with renewed activity. The question of the canal terminus, it should be stated, was not definitely and officially settled until the issue of the annual report of the canal commissioners for 1823. One interesting feature of the contest between the rival villages, and one that already indicates the extremities to which either place was willing to go for victory, is the fact that at one period, probably early in 1823, it was fully understood and believed in Buffalo that the commissioners had selected Black Rock for the canal terminus. The citizens of Buffalo thereupon issued a subscription paper headed with the following:
WHEREAS, The late decision of the Canal Commissioners, terminating the canal at Black Rock, upon the plan proposed by Peter B. Porter, will be injurious to the commerce of Buffalo and, in a great measure, deprive the inhabitants of the benefits of the canal-in order, therefore, to open an uninterrupted canal navigation upon the
1 The report of the commissioners contained the following : "It is important to have at that end a safe harbor, capable, without much expense, of sufficient enlargement for the accommoda- tion of all boats and vessels, that a very extensive trade may hereafter require to enter and ex- change their lading there. The waters of Lake Erie are higher at the mouth of the Buffalo creek than they are at Bird Island, or at any point further down the Niagara, and every inch gained in the elevation will produce a large saving in the expense of excavating throughout the Lake Erie level."
VIEW OF BUFFALO HARBOR, 1825.
283
FROM 1821 TO 1825.
margin of the Niagara river, on the plan proposed by David Thomas,1 from the point where the line established by him will intersect Porter's basin, to the point where it is proposed to dam the arm of said river to Squaw Island, the undersigned agree to pay to Henry B. Lyman, the sums annexed to their respective names to be for that purpose expended under the direction of the trustees to be appointed by the subscribers. The sums subscribed to be paid in such monthly installments as the said directors shall think it expedient and proper to direct, not exceeding 30 per cent. per month on the amount subscribed; no part, however, of any subscription is to be called for until the expenditure of the whole shall be authorized by the canal com- missioners, upon the plans herein proposed.
Dated Buffalo, July 2, 1823.
The subscriptions to this paper showed a total of $11,415, and the names of the subscribers are here given, with the amount of each sub- scription, both for its interest in connection with this important sub- ject and as indicative of who were prominent in business in the village at that time :
Joseph Dart, jr., $150, E. Hubbard, $150,
R. W. Haskins, $100,
H. R. Seymour, $250, Abraham Larzalere, $200, N. Darrow, $25, Robert Bush, $50, S. Matthews, $100, Lucius Gould, $100, Townsend & Coit, $1,000,
Timothy Page, $100, J. A. Lazelle, $150, George Stow, $50,
G. & T. Weed, $250, Hiram Pratt, $200, Moses Baker, $200,
Stephen Clarke, $100, Moses Bristol, $100, Abner Bryant, $250, Joseph Bull & Co., $150,
J. Sweeney, $100,
B. Fowler, $25, James Miller, $40,
B. I. Staats, $50, Johnson & Wilkeson, $1,500, E. C. Hickox, $500,
Joseph Stocking, $600,
Sheldon Chapin & Co., $500, Burt & Goodrich, $500,
Oliver Forward, $400,
Ebenezer Walden, $500, Joseph D. Hoyt, $500, Henry Kip, $50,
A. Palmer, $100, Erastus Gilbert, $100, J. E. Marshall, $100, R. B. Heacock, $1,000,
S. A. Fobes, $100, William Mason, $25.
Jonathan Sidway, $500, Royalton Colton, $200, Ruxton & Hamilton, $100, ยท G. B. Webster, $250,
In addition to these liberal sums Louis Le Couteulx gave a half acre of land "bounded on the canal and extending to the highway." This land was on outer lot No. 1.
With this important matter permanently settled, Buffalo entered upon a period of rapid growth. During a few previous years Black Rock had grown faster than Buffalo, but it reached the zenith of its prosperity with the completion of the harbor improvements described. Its pier was gradually destroyed, a large part of it being carried away in May, 1826, and all hope of the place becoming an important com- mercial port was lost. All lake and river craft now put into Buffalo
1 This plan was substantially the one finally adopted by the canal authorities.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
harbor. Local newspapers boasted that on August 5, 1822, fifteen vessels were moored off Buffalo, and on July 12 of the next year the number had increased to twenty nine.
The construction of the Erie Canal was now well under way. The first work upon it in Erie county was done at Tonawanda. It having been determined to use a part of Tonawanda Creek for the waterway, the canal commissioners contracted with Judge Samuel Wilkeson and Dr. Ebenezer Johnson early in the winter of 1822-23 to construct a dam across that stream near its mouth, and all through the summer of 1823 the work was vigorously prosecuted by a host of laborers. Judge Wilkeson believed that a considerable settlement would eventually gather at that point and he opened the first store there. Soon after- ward Albert H. Tracy, Charles Townsend and a few other citizens of Buffalo purchased a tract of land and laid it out in village lots and streets. That was the beginning of Tonawanda village. On the 9th of August, 1823, actual excavation on the canal itself in this county was commenced near the site of the Commercial street bridge in Buf- falo, on which occasion there was the customary celebration and speech-making. Behind the plows of the contractors followed a pro- cession with bands of music, while cannon were fired at intervals. "Then," says the published account, "they partook of a beverage furnished by the contractor." The work on the western section of the canal went rapidly forward and before the close of 1824 it was nearly finished within the limits of this county. Little remained to be done excepting the cut through the rocky mountain ridge at Lockport; this was completed in the fall of 1825 and the event was signalized by a grand celebration, in which the people of Erie county took a promi- nent part. In the evening of the 24th of October the filling of the Lake Erie level of the canal was begun and in twenty four hours there- after the whole waterway was open for travel. De Witt Clinton was again in the governor's chair at Albany, though his political opponents had succeeded in securing his removal from the office of canal commis- sioner. As it was well known that he had been foremost in creating the canal system of New York, a wave of popular indignation swept over the State, and Mr. Clinton was elected in the fall of 1824 by a large majority.1
1 The Democratic party was divided and a new political organization, called the People's party, was formed, which carried several counties in the fall of 1823. Its strength was greatly in- creased by the exhibition of enmity towards Clinton by the Legislature. Intense indignation was created throughout the State, with the result above noted.
285
FROM 1821 TO 1825.
On the evening of October 25, 1825, Governor Clinton and a large party of distinguished men from New York and Albany arrived in Buffalo. On the following morning a salvo of artillery awakened the echoes of the village and soon the place was alive with joyful enthu- siasm. At 9 o'clock a procession marched down Main street, led by Captain Rathbun's rifle company and bands of music. The rear was brought up by a carriage in which sat Governor Clinton, the hero of the time, and then the foremost man in the Empire State. The pro- cession marched to the canal basin, where the governor and his friends went on board the canal boat, Seneca Chief, which an hour later started on its long voyage to the Hudson River. The moment of its departure was announced by firing a 32 pounder cannon; other guns were sta- tioned along the canal at convenient intervals, which, one after the other, repeated this shot and thus soon carried the news of the start- ing of the Seneca Chief to Albany. The procession then returned to the court house, where Sheldon Smith delivered an oration, devoted chiefly to an exposition of the probable benefits of the canal to Erie county. Public dinners were given at Rathbun's Eagle Hotel and Lan- don's Mansion House, which were followed by a ball in the evening. A committee of Buffalo citizens accompanied the canal boat to New York, whence they brought a keg of water from the ocean; this was taken on a vessel a short distance out in the lake by a committee of citizens, where, after speeches and congratulations, the ocean brine was mingled with the clear waters of Lake Erie.
The State census was taken in June, 1825, and showed the population of Erie county to be 24,316, of which number Buffalo contained 2,412. This census entitled the county to two members of assembly.
It was at about this time that the Holland Land Company adopted a new system of collecting payments for land, under which they accepted stock and produce instead of cash. Numerous agents were appointed who gave notice of where they would be at certain dates to receive cattle and farm products and give credit for them on contracts. This change was of great benefit to the settlers, but was a source of large ex- pense to the company in maintaining the agencies and disposing of re- ceipts.
There is little more of importance to record in the history of the county from the time of its formation until the close of 1825.
Sometime in the year 1821 a new post-office was opened at East Ham-
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
burg, with Lewis Arnold postmaster, and one at Wales, with William A. Burt postmaster. The latter had previously opened a small store of goods in his dwelling. In the fall Joseph Ellicott, the founder of Buffalo, resigned the agency of the Holland Company's land, which he had held for twenty one years. Dissatisfaction had arisen in the latter part of his administration, based chiefly upon the difficulty encountered by many of the settlers in keeping up payments on their farms. This may have influenced Mr. Ellicott in his course. While his mind was clear, he had given evidence of hypochondria which five years later led to insanity and suicide-a pathetic end to such a career as his. He was succeeded in the agency by Jacob S. Otto.
The adoption of the new constitution, which went into effect in 1822, changed the time of election from April to November. Judge Oliver Forward had been elected to the State Senate in the spring of 1821, but neither of the assemblymen was from Erie county. Under the new constitution sheriffs and county clerks were made elective by the people, the term of each office being three years. District attorneys and justices of the peace were appointed by the judges of the Court of Common Pleas and the Boards of Supervisors acting conjointly. All other judicial officers were appointed by the governor and Senate.
New post-offices were opened in 1822 in this county at Holland, with Lyman Clark postmaster; in Collins (Taylor's Hollow), named Angola, with the veteran Jacob Taylor postmaster; at Eden, with the name Evans, John M. Welch postmaster; the name of this latter office and that of one previously opened in Evans, called Eden, were soon trans- posed, giving each of these towns an office with the name of the town in which it was situated. Sometime in the winter of 1822-23 a post- office was opened in Clarence on the site of the present village of Lan- caster (then included in Clarence), with the name Cayuga Creek, and and with Thomas Gross postmaster. In the same year (1822) the three post-offices then in the town of Hamburg, being doubtless considered too many, with the names East Hamburg, Smithville, and Barkersville, were all discontinued, and a new one opened at Abbott's Corners, called Hamburg; the old office with the latter name was doubtless dis- continued a little earlier. An office was opened also before the close of 1822 at West Clarence, of which Simeon Fillmore was postmaster.
On March 27, 1823, two new towns were created from Clarence -- Alden and Erie. The former included its present area, with the nom- inal addition of a part of the reservation opposite. The name of Erie
FROM
Ballsc 60
CHIPEWA
STREET.
101
64
29
175
173
171
132
131
130
700
63
28
204
99
62
27
STREET.
STREET.
BUFFALO.
HURON
STREET.
96
59 58
201
162
161
126
125 124
95
23
200
22
199
158
157 156
123 722 121
92
57 56
20
97
4
MOHAWK
151
150 149
120 119
118
91
55
19
195
ONEIDA
155 754 153 152
89
53
17
88
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16
189
148 147 146-145 144
143
87
51
AVENUE
142 147 140
139
116
36
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187
84
48
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185
184
83
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183
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137
138
115 114
82
46
12
181
STREET.
103 734 733
112
111 110
81
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44
27
79
109 108
107
78
AVENUE.
STADNITSKI
77
42
106 105 104
76
103
75
13
6
7
102
74
40
SWAN
STREET.
173
39
17
72
38
10
179
71
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9
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70
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8
177
12
10
SENECA
68
34
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33
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67 66 65
32
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WILLINK
1
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169 70
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COMPILED, SURVEYED, DRAWN & ENGRAVED, BY & FOR THE AUTHOR 1825
SCHEMELP ENINCK
MISISSIPI
85
49
786
2
Scale of one fourth of a Mile
EAGLE
45
VANSTOPHORST
N. ONONDAGA
182
NORTH
AVENUE
1
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5
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69
35
7
176
14
STREET.
S. ONONDAGA
S.ON EIDA
SOUTH
=
VOLLENHOVEN
80
CAYUGA
18
194
90
54
193
792
94
93
21
198
159
STREET
172
STREET
STREET.
STREET.
AVENUE.
24
165 164 163
160
BUSTI
STREET
196
190
CAZENOVIA
TUSCARORA
NORTH
DELAWARE
143
AVENUE.
CAYUGA
PLAN OF THE VILLAGE
287
FROM 1821 TO 1825.
was changed to Newstead April 18, 1831.1 This was an important town in early years, especially that part known as the Vandeventer neighborhood, which was a center of considerable political influence. There Judge Archibald S. Clarke was the leader, and James Cronk and William Mills were prominent. At the time of the formation of this town there was a large amount of travel through it, the old stages fre- quently being loaded with passengers on their way to Buffalo, whence they took steamers up the lakes. John S. Ball succeeded Judge Clarke as storekeeper on the Buffalo road and probably kept the largest stock of goods in the county outside of Buffalo; Mr. Ball was made post- master in the new town of Erie soon after its formation, and opened an office with that name. Indications pointed to the founding of a prosperous village at that place, but there was no water power, and the land purchase of the Ogden Company in 1826, as noted farther on, changed the aspect of the matter.
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