Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I, Part 33

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 33

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On June 4, 1825, an event took place in Buffalo which had been pleasantly anticipated for several days. Captain Vosburg's cavalry and Capt. Rathbun's Frontier Guard were kept under arms during that time, awaiting the arrival of the steamboat Superior. When the vessel came up to the dock the venerable figure of the distinguished patriot, General La Fayette, who was then making a tour of the country as the guest of this nation, stepped ashore amid the cheers of the assembled multitude. He was escorted by the military to Rathbun's Hotel, where he was publicly welcomed in an address by Judge Forward, to which La Fayette responded. The village was illuminated in his honor in the evening, and on the following morning he departed for Niagara Falls, escorted as far as Black Rock by the military and citizens.

It was in the years 1824-5 that occurred the extraordinary and amus- ing experience of Mordecai M. Noah and his co-operators in an attempt to found a great city on Grand Island, to be peopled mainly by Jews, of which race Noah was a prominent representative. The whole affair resulted in an early and ludicrous failure, the account of which is left for the Gazetteer of Towns in later chapters of this volume.

Considerable advancement was made in public improvements in vari- ous parts of the county during the period under consideration. On the 15th of March, 1822, Elijah Leech, Pascal P. Pratt and Benjamin W. Pratt were authorized by act of Legislature to build a toll bridge

1 It will be remembered that the county had another town named Erie, erected in 1804, which became extinct,

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

over Buffalo Creek at about the point where they had previously oper- ated a ferry. They were empowered to erect a gate at one end of the bridge and collect a system of tolls of which the following is a part: " 1834 cents for all double teams, for every coach, coachee, phaeton, or curricle with two horses; 37 1/2 cents for sulkeys, chaises, two- wheeled pleasure carriages, etc .; 1834 cents for one-horse wagons; 9 cents for horses rode or led;" etc. The act provided that no other bridge should be built across the creek between its mouth and a point one mile above the bridge authorized. In the next year (1823) a num- ber of citizens were authorized to build a toll bridge over Eighteen- mile Creek in the town of Hamburg, under similar conditions.

On April 23, 1823, Stephen Griswold, Daniel H. Dana and William Mills were appointed by the Legislature as commissioners to lay out a road four rods wide, "beginning at a point in the north bounds of the Great Buffalo road three quarters of a mile west of the division between the counties of Genesee and Erie, and running thence westwardly through the Tonawanta village to intersect the Grand Canal."

An act of the Legislature, passed March 17, 1824, authorized Charles Townsend, Elisha C. Hickox, George Coit, Sheldon Thompson and Benjamin Barton to build a toll bridge "over Tonawanta Creek at or near the place where the ferrry is now kept by Peter Taylor." Col- lection of tolls was provided for under regulations similar to those be- fore given. In this immediate connection an act of the Legislature, passed April 16, 1825, authorized William Williams to establish a ferry from the south side of Tonawanda Creek across the Niagara River to Grand Island. The same act gave James Sweeney the right to estab- lish a similar ferry from the north side of the mouth of the creek to the island.

The murder of John Love, in the town of Boston, by the so-called Three Thayers, was committed early in 1825. The Thayers consisted of the father and three sons; all three of the sons were convicted of the crime and were hung in public in the presence of 20,000 to 30,000 people on the 7th of June.

The population of Buffalo has been stated as 2,412 in 1825. The rapid increase after the settlement of the canal and harbor matters is shown by the comparative statement that the whole town in 1820, with Black Rock included, of course, contained only 2,095 population. At that time most of the business of Buffalo village was transacted between

289

FROM 1821 TO 1825.

Exchange street and the park in front of the court house. Interspersed among the stores and shops of Main street were many dwellings, and others were scattered along Ellicott, Washington, Pearl, and Franklin streets. What is now the great northeastern section of the city was then low ground which had not been even tilled. Not far out Genesee street a log causeway made the road passable and black berries were abundant there. The irregular line of the forest approached within from forty to one hundred rods of Main street as far southward as Cold Spring, and to near the line of Virginia street on Delaware. Compared with this description of the place in 1820 we have a clear picture of the Buffalo of 1825 in a pamphlet published by S. Ball in that year, from which the following is taken :

There are at present between 400 and 500 buildings including dwellings, houses, stores and mechanics' shops; and according to the census taken in January last, there were 2,412 inhabitants, which is 317 more than the whole township of Buffalo, including the village of Black Rock, contained in the year 1820, according to the census then taken. Black Rock now contains 1,039 inhabitants.

Among the population there are four clergymen, seventeen attorneys, nine physi- cians, three printers, who give employment to ten hands; two bookbinders, four do .; four goldsmiths, three do; three tin and coppersmiths, sixteen do .; seven black- smiths, seventeen do .; two cabinet makers, ten do; three wheelwrights and coach- builders, ten do. ; two chair makers, five do .; one cooper, three do .; three hatters, eight do. ; two tanners and curriers, nine do .; five boot and shoemakers, thirty-five do .; two painters, five do; four tailors, twenty do .; one manufacturer of tobacco, two do. ; fifty-one carpenters and joiners, nineteen masons and stone cutters, three butchers and one brush maker. . There are twenty-six dry goods stores, thirty-six groceries, three hat stores, seven clothing, do. ; four druggist do. ; one hard- ware do; six shoe do .; one looking glass do. ; three jewelry do. ; three printing offices, two book stores and binderies, eleven houses of public entertainment, one rope walk, three tanneries, one brewery, one livery stable, eight store houses, one custom house, one reading room, one post office, one public library, one masonic hall, and one theater situated on lot No. 15, which has been conducted during the past year with a very considerable degree of ability. The public buildings consist of a brick court house, a very handsome designed building, but remains unfinished, situated upon an emi- nence on the east side of North Onondaga [Washington] street, fronting Cazenovia [Court] street and is on the most commanding ground in the village. A stone Gaol, standing on lot No. 185. A market house situated at the head of Stadnitzka avenue. The market is well supplied as most country villages. .

. The Niagara Bank is a large brick building, situated on North Onondaga, between Swan and Lagle streets. The Buffalo Insurance office is a large, well-finished, three-story brick building, on lot No. 35, Willink avenue. An Episcopal church, built of wood, a good sized and well-finished edifice, standing on lot 42. A Presbyterian Meeting House, a very commodious building, situated on lot 43. And a convenient Methodist Chapel, on lot No. 83. There is one Young Ladies' school, one Young Gentlemen's Academy,

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

and four common schools. The lots Nos. 108, 109, 111, and 112 are occupied for a burying ground. The space left blank in the plan is lands owned and reserved by Joseph Ellicott, Esq. There are five religious congregations-one Episcopalian, one Presbyterian, one Methodist, one Baptist, and 'one Universalist. Among the societies and institutions, there are five religious, two masonic, one Library, one Banking and one Insurance. There are four weekly newspapers, to wit: The Buffalo Patriot, established in 1811; the Buffalo Journal, established in 1815; the Gospel Ad- vocate, established in 1823; the Buffalo Emporium, established in 1824.

The buildings in the village are principally of wood, and not very compact, with the exception of Willink avenue; this street is filled up, and is the most business part of the town. Van Staphorst avenue is built upon much beyond the extent of the map accompanying this work, and is the principal street that is traveled in passing fromeast to west .. . The streets leading along the creeks, (which have not yet been favored even with a Dutch name) may be seen in thesummer season, to exhibit a bustle and hurry of business, not unlike a seaport; . these streets are well built, with extensive and commodious warehouses, and capacious docks, where the shipping lies undisturbed and in perfect safety.

Mr. Ball's valuable pamphlet then records, among other evidences of growth and advancement, the existence of six different mail routes leading to and from the village, with nine regular lines of stages arriv- ing and leaving every day and ample accommodations for travelers.

The view for the accompanying engraving of Buffalo harbor, which is copied from the pamphlet, was taken from the Terrace. The fore- ground shows the Erie Canal, then in a somewhat unfinished condition, from a point near the line of Erie street to near the Little Buffalo Creek, above the Commercial street bridge; thence is shown the bed of Little Buffalo Creek to the Big Buffalo Creek. At the left is seen the point on which was afterwards erected the warehouse of Joy & Web- ster. The small building on the extreme left was in Prime street .: The next one is the "old red warehouse," as it was called, which was occupied by Townsend & Coit; and below it two buildings standing in and near the foot of Commercial street. Farther down the harbor is seen a cluster of small buildings, then standing. on the Johnson . & Wilkeson lot. Next and near the center of the view is the warehouse then occupied by Hiram Pratt and Asa B. Meech. The next and last building on' the" right"is the smaller warehouse used by Sheldon Thompson & Co. Between the canal and the buildings was then an - open field. 1

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1 In the year 1876 O. H. Marshall received a letter from Hon. Gideon J. Ball, in which was given a brief description of the production of the plates copied herein. He wrote : "S. Ball was not an engraver- never claimed to be" but with a pencil he sketched well and cleverly. After the completion of his drawings; he corresponded with engravers in the city of New York, and to

VIEW OF BUFFALO HARBOR-FROM COLDEN'S MEMOIR, 1826.

...

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Collin Del: +

Imberts Link's

BUFFALO VILLAGE FROM THE LIGHT HOUSE-FROM COLDEN'S MEMOIR, 1826.

291

: FROM 1821 TO 1825. .

.The theater alluded to in Mr. Ball's pamphlet was known as the Buffalo Theater and was built in 1821-22; it stood on Main street about opposite the Eagle tavern; it was advertised to rent from January, 1822, with four changes of scenery, by S. H. Salisbury. It was pur- chased not long afterward by Walden & Moseley. In 1823 Rev. J. Bradley taught a classical school there, while in 1826 we find notice of its use again as a theater and the production of Richard III.1. There are many minor places of amusement in the city that do not call for particular notice here.

Mr. Ball neglected to notice the formation of a regular fire company, which took place December 16, 1824. An engine had previously been procured, but the chief dependence for fire extinguishment was the buckets, ladders, etc., which property owners were compelled to pro- vide. The fire company of 1824 was made up of the following mem- bers: George B. Webster, Hiram Johnson, George B. Gleason, Ebene- zer Johnson, Henry Fales, Guy H. Goodrich, Barent I. Staats, Na-

his surprise found their charges so high and the difficulties of distance so great, that for a time he was disposed to give up his hobby. After reflection, he resolved to do the work himself. Cop- per was procured ; the plates were hammered to firmness, and by infinite rubbing, their surfaces were finished so that they presented polished planes. Mr. Ball then set himself to the work and by persevering effort, succeeded in transferring to the copper the pictures he had drawn.". After the plates were engraved Mr. Ball was astonished to learn in the office of the Patriot that they could not be printed on an ordinary printing press. After investigation of the subject of copper plate printing, he constructed a roller press mainly of wood, made his own ink, and succeeded in making very good impressions of his work.

1 There was no regular theater in the city after the one here described until the building of the old Eagle Street Theater,, which was erected in 1835 by Albert Brisbane, for Dean & McKin- ney., This was long a noted place of amusement and for nearly twenty years all traveling com- panies, of any pretensions, occupied it .. This theater was opened on the night of July 20, 1835, with " The Hunchback," and "Katherine and Petruchio." . The Eagle Street Theater was,burned in June, 1852., Lola Montez appeared on the stage on the previous night before a small audience and was hissed. She was greatly incensed at her cold reception and before morning the theater was in ruins. This led to a suspicion that she was responsible for the burning of the building; but such was probably not the case, as the theater had twice been on fire previous to that. What was called the Buffalo Theater was in use by a Mr. Duffy, who came from Albany in 1835, on the corner of Washington and South Division streets. A new Eagle Street Theater was built on the site of the first one by the Brisbanes, corner of Washington and Eagle streets ; it was opened Sep- tember 1, 1852. In the same year the Metropolitan Theater was completed by H. T., Meech, and opened October 15 of that year, under lease to C. T. Smith, when Anna Cora Mowatt appeared in "The Honeymoon.". This theater became, the well-known Academy of Music, situated on the east side of Main street, and was long managed by John. H. and Henry L. Meech, sons of the origi- nal owners. The so-called Buffalo Opera House was built by the Brisbanes in 1861-2, and subse- quently was called the Adelphi ; it acquired considerable popularity under management of Dan. ' Shelby. Wahle's Opera House, on Court street, between Pearl and Franklin, was erected in 1883 and was opened on the 12th of October of that year ; this is now the Court Street Theater. The Lyceum Theater, Washington street, near Lafayette Square, was erected and opened, in 1886, as the Grand Opera House, by Joseph Bork., The Star Theater is now the leading place of amuse- ment in Buffalo ; it is situated on the corner of Pearl and Mohawk streets and was built in 1888 by E. Levi, and opened on December 24 of that year.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

thaniel Wilgus, Richard Wadsworth, Elisha E. Hickox, Thaddeus Weed, Joseph Bart, jr., Elijah D. Efner, George Coit, Silas Athearn, John Scott, Henry Hamilton, William Hollister, Joseph Anable, Au- gustin Eaton, Abner Bryant, Theodore Coburn, Martin Daley, Robert Bush and John A. Lazelle. In this list are found the names of many leading citizens. The first engine house was built two years later at a cost of $100.

The Baptist church noticed by Mr. Ball was the Washington street society's, which was organized April 2, 1822, chiefly through the efforts of John A. Lazelle, who secured the pastoral services of Rev. Elon Galusha, then of Whitesboro, N. Y .; he began his services here in February of the year named. The name taken at first by the society was the Baptist Church of Christ in Buffalo.1 The Universalist services spoken of in the pamphlet were merely conducted before a congregation which had no organization until 1831. The same may be said of the Methodist services of that date; the other denominations had organized churches, as before described.

The library alluded to in the pamphlet was incorporated December 10, 1816, under the title, The Buffalo Library; the organization took place at the house of Gaius Kibbe, which was the old Eagle tavern.

1 This subsequently became the First Baptist Church of Buffalo. Their first edifice, which was erected on the corner of Seneca and Washington streets in 1828 was afterwards used for a post- office. In 1832 the name was changed to the Washington Street Baptist Church, and in 1836 a new edifice was built. The Dearborn Street church at Black Rock was formed from this society in 1839, the nucleus of the Niagara Square Baptist church in 1840, the First German Baptist church on February 14, 1849, the Cedar Street Baptist church on March 25, 1859, the Prospect Avenue Baptist church on May 15, 1867, and the Delaware Avenue Baptist church on December 8, 1882.

The first Baptist church organized in Erie county was the First Baptist church of East Au- rora, which was formed October 17, 1810, with ten members, by Rev. David Irish, a missionary, and constituted in November following. Their first pastor was Rev. Elias Harmon, from 1816 to 1826; in 1827-28, in conjunction with the Congregationalists, they erected a house of worship, which in 1883 gave place to another frame edifice. The Baptist churches in Hamburg and Boston were constituted in 1812, the one in Eden on October 16, 1816, in Sardinia on March 1, 1820, in Williams- ville on June 10, 1826, in Springville on January 11, 1827, in Holland on December 8, 1829, in Evans on September 4, 1830, in Wales Center on October 28, 1830, in Alden on September 5, 1833, in Holland (German) on June 30, 1861, at Pleasant Valley on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation in 1866, in Tonawanda (German) on October 19, 1879, and in Lancaster June 25, 1896.

The Baptist denomination grew slowly in Buffalo. The present societies, with the dates on which they were constituted, are as follows: Michigan Street (colored), 1839; First German, 1849; Sec- ond German, 1859; Prospect Avenue, June 10, 1868; Third German, March 2, 1875; Emmanuel, October 19, 1877; Delaware Avenue, December 1, 1882; Dearborn street, December 13, 1882; Fillmore Ave- nue, April 19, 1888; Parkside, October 29, 1891; Glenwood, January 5, 1892; Ebenezer Gernian, 1893; Lafayette Avenue, May 16, 1893; First Polish, October 31, 1894; Walden Avenue, July 11, 1895; Reid Memorial, October 4, 1895. There are also in the city the Delevan Avenue church and Trenton Avenue, Maple Street, and South Side chapels, and the First and Second Free Baptist churches. The total valuation of church property in the county is over $500,000 and the membership numbers about 6,000. In the various Sunday schools there are about 7,800 scholars enrolled.

293

FROM 1895 TO 1832.

The first board of trustees were Charles Townsend, Charles G. Olm- stead, Jonas Harrison, Isaac Q. Leake, Miles P. Squier, Smith H. Salisbury, and Josiah Trowbridge. Most of the leading citizens of the village were members of the organization and supported it by contri- butions. The library lived on and at one time had about 700 volumes for circulation. It ultimately passed to the Young Men's Association and formed the germ of the present great Buffalo Library.

The intelligent reader will not ask for a clearer or more detailed de- scription of the Buffalo of seventy years ago than is given in the few preceding pages; the extracts from Mr. Ball's pamphlet and the accom- panying engravings bring before the eye with almost photographic faithfulness the ambitious, struggling village of that time, and clearly show how firmly laid were the foundations for future greatness by the sturdy business heroes of the early years.

CHAPTER XX.

1825-1832.

Early Success of the Erie Canal-Its Influence on Erie County -- Buffalo Charter Amendments-The Morgan Affair-Anti-Masonry in Erie County Politics-Another Newspaper-Rising Opposition to the Holland Land Company-The Jubilee Water Works Company-The Buffalo Hydraulic Association -- First Insurance Companies -The County Alms House-Preparations for City Incorporation-Conditions of the County at Large-Advancement in Outer Towns-Arrival of the First German Im- migrants-Progress at Tonawanda-Preparation of City Charter -- Passage of the Act-Important Provisions of the Charter -- Ward Boundaries-Reorganization of Buffalo Fire Department -- The First City Directory -- A Description of the Young City-List of Buyers of Lots in New Amsterdam.

The period between 1825 and the incorporation of Buffalo as a city in 1832 was an uneventful one in Erie county, if we leave out of con- sideration the fact of its rapid advancement in all the varied features of prosperity and material growth. While the Erie Canal in the early years of its existence became an avenue of a great transportation busi- ness,1 its success in this county was not so immediate or its influence

1 As an evidence of the rapidity with which the canal was brought into use, particularly as regards freight, it may be stated that the number of boats arriving in Albany during the season

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

so large as in localities farther east. , A spirited rivalry sprang up be- tween the old stage coaches and the new packet boats, but the ad- vantages offered by each were so nearly equal that for some time travel was about equally divided between the two. In freight transportation it was different, and the products of the farmer reached eastern mar- kets with far greater expedition and economy ; but western trade was still in its infancy and grain came down the lakes in only compara- tively small quantities.

, Some amendments of considerable importance were made to the Buffalo village charter in 1826, the principal ones being a provision for raising . by tax; a sum not exceeding $2,000 to pay for lighting the streets, supporting a night watch, and for all local improvements and the contingent expenses of the village; a provision for the erection of a pier and wharves on the north side of Buffalo Creek; another making the village a road district, and still another designed to control the sale of liquors.

It was in the early autumn of the year 1826 that an event took place in Western New York which was destined to create a powerful in- fluence, particularly in the political field, for a number of years. Will- iam Morgan was a resident of Batavia, a Mason, and it became known that he had written and was threatening to publish a book revealing the secrets of that order. After numerous attempts had been made to induce him to abandon his purpose and surrender the manuscript of his work, he was arrested on a trifling charge and confined in the jail at .1 Canandaigua., On the following day he was released, but on reaching the street was seized and forced into a closed carriage, which was rapidly driven westward. He was accompanied by three Mason's and was taken on through Rochester and by way of the Ridge' road to Lewiston, and thence down the river to Fort Niagara, which was reached near midnight of the 13th of September. There he was con- fined until the 19th, when he suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. Arrests and trials for his abduction followed.,, Eli, Bruce, then sheriff of Niagara county, the commandant at Niagara, and several other prominent : Masons were tried and a few were convicted. Bruce was

of 1823 was 1,329; in the season of 1824 it was 2,687; in that of 1825, it was 3,336, while in 1826 it was - about 7,000. Passenger traffic was also large, for while the fare on the turnpike roads was about one and one-half cents per mile, by canal it was only half a cent; to persons who could spare the time, therefore, and all who sought the comforts of passage by packet boat, the new method of travel was irresistibly attractive.

295

TIL FROM 1825 TO 1832.()

fined and imprisoned and deposed from office. The trials extended over a period of four or five years. It came to be generally believed that Morgan was drowned in Niagara River, which was dragged for his body, but without finding it, and it is not even to this day positively known what was his fate. 1 1

!! This event created intense excitement throughout this State and later on spread over the entire country ; it soon crept into politics and gave birth-to the Anti- Masonic party, which was for some years a powerful political factor!" It drew large numbers of adherents froni the other parties, and in the election of 1829 its candidate, Albert H: Tracy, of Buffalo, for State senator in the Eighth District, was elected by the unprecedented majority of 8,000. Many of the Masonic lodges of the State surrendered their charters, but the lodges at Buffalo and Black Rock retained theirs until 1829. The Buffalo Patriot espoused the Anti-Masonic cause, but so strong was the tide setting in that direction that another newspaper, called the Western Advertiser, was started in the winter of 1827-8 by Charles Sentell and Billings Hay- wood; this paper was not needed under the circumstances, and al- though its columns contained well written articles from the pens of Oliver Forward, James Sheldon and others, it closed its career in three months by merging with the Patriot. The Journal supported the opposing party, but in a very conservative manner. Leading politicians saw their opportunity for intrigue and a possible rise to power and in- fluence, and political lines between the Jacksonian Democrats and the Anti-Masons became closely drawn. In the fall of Jackson's first election (1828) the contest in Erie county was exceedingly spirited, with the Anti-Masons largely in the majority. In the Thirtieth Dis- trict Ebenezer F. Norton was elected to Congress over John G. Camp, while the Anti-Masons elected also 'David Burt and the young lawyer, Millard Fillmore, to the Assembly.' Mr. Fillmore was re-elected in the following year, with Edmund Hull, of Clarence. " The new party con- tinued to hold sway in this county, as well as elsewhere, for several years; but notwithstanding the weakness of the local Democratic"or- ganization, or possibly because of it, a weekly Democratic paper 'was started in Buffalo in April, 1828, with the title"Buffalo Republican; this was the ancestor of the Buffalo Courier. "It may be noted here, as illustrating the enormous 'strength which was developed upon a foundation so weak and from sources so apparently unimportant as those of the Anti-Masonic party, that in 1830, 'in a poll of 250,000 votes

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Our county and its people : a descriptive work on Erie County, New York, Volume I, Part 33

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

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