Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 7

Author: Curtis, Gates
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1328

USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 7
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 7

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The day preceding the arrival at Oswegatchie, the following incident happened to a little boy, about twelve years old, who belonged to the military party and served as a fifer to the company, which shows in an amiable light the finer feelings of the Indian character, and will serve as an offset for some of the darker phases of Indian warfare. Light hearted and innocent. he tripped along, sometimes running in advance to gather flowers, and sometimes lingering behind to listen to the music of birds, which made the forest vocal with their songs. Seeing the unguarded deportment of the lad, his captain cautioned him against wandering from the company, fearing tliat some hostile Indian who might be lurking in the thicket, should take him off. The warning was heeded for some time, but ere long forgotten, and the lad found himself

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

many rods in advance of the party, culling wild flowers, which were scattered in his path, and inhaling the fragrance which the morning air with its exhilarating freshness inspired him. He was suddenly startled by a rude grasp upon the shoulder, which, upon looking around, he saw was that of a sturdy Indian, who had secreted himself behind a rock and had darted from his concealment upon the unsuspecting victim. The boy attempted to scream, but fear paralyzed his tongue, and he saw the glittering tomahawk brandished over his head, which the next moment would terminate his existence with a blow ; but the savage seeing the unarmed and terror-stricken child, with no warlike implement but his fife, and doubtless touched with the innocence and terror of his trembling prisoner, relaxed his grasp, took the fife from under his arm, and having playfully blowed in its end, he returned it to its owner, and bounded off into the forest.

According to Hough's history, the subject of this adventure after- wards for several years resided in St. Lawrence county, and when age had made him infirm, often related the incident to the one from whose lips the account is written. He said that "he would weep with emotion when relating this perilous adventure, and always ended with the heart- felt acknowledgment, that God had always protected him, and guarded him from dangers seen and unseen, and from childhod to old age." The expedition returned to Fort Schuyler on the 20th of April, without having effected their purpose.

In 1799 Isaac Wells, jr., published in London an account of a journey of travels made in Upper and Lower Canada in 1795-7, in which he describes, among other interesting subjects, the condition and appear- ance of the fort at the mouth of the Oswegatchie. The voyage was undertaken in the month of August, 1796. He says : " The trade is at present carried on between New York and the lake, by means of Hud- son River to Albany, and of the Mohawk River, Wood Creek, Lake Oneida, and Oswego River, which falls into Lake Ontario. Thence by sharp-built vessels of a considerable size, which can approach with safety to the mouth of Oswegatchie River. The British vessels of war, of twenty six guns, formerly used to ply between Fort de la Galette and Fort Niagara; and the British fur ships, on the lakes, used also to discharge their cargoes, brought down from the upper country,

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there. The harbor at the mouth of the Oswegatchie is so much better than that of Oswego, that the trade between the lakes and New York will be for the most part, if not wholly, carried on by means of Cran- berry Lake and Oswegatchie River, rather than by the way of Oswego River." He states further that " the fort at La Galette was erected long after Fort Frontenac (now Kingston) ; yet they esteemed it by far the most important military post on the St Lawrence. Since the close of the war, Fort de la Galette has been dismantled, as it was, according to Jay's treaty, within the territory of the United States, nor would any advantage have arisen from the retention, for it was never of any im- portance to us (the English) but as a trading post." He further states that " in the neighborhood of La Galette there is a village of the Os- wegatchie Indians, which numbered one hundred warriors."

Such were the views of an English traveler, who visited this place about the time of the evacuation by the English troops, which event took place June 1, 1796. The English held possession of Fort Oswe- gatchie from August 25. 1760, up to June 1, 1796, nearly thirty -six years. Something over thirteen years of this time was after peace had been declared. During this time no effort was made to Christianize the Indians, or to settle and improve the country.

Under British administration, however, leases, or warranty deeds, had been procured from the Oswegatchie Indians, who claimed to be the owners of the land in that vicinity. The representatives of this tribe leased a tract of land for a certain consideration per year, as follows, to John Livingston, Daniel Smith, Major Watson, and Jered Seley. The leases were drawn up in legal form, specifying the location and number of leagues of width and length that each lot contained, also the amount of Spanish milled dollars, bushels of wheat and pounds of pork to be paid yearly. The lease or deed was signed by eight of the representa- tives by making their mark, under a seal, consisting of a rudely drawn elk, in the presence of witnesses. To still further substantiate their titles, the lessees from the Indians procured of Richard Porter, the com- mandant of the fort of Oswegatchie, a permit to locate upon and oc- cupy the leased lands, who also ratified and confirmed the leases or deeds. The four leases covered nearly the whole front of the township of Oswegatchie. Major Watson's lease was three miles on the river and

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

nine miles back. It was dated August 22, 1792, and the annual rental was twenty Spanish milled dollars, thirteen and one-third bushels of wheat, and thirty-three and one-third pounds of pork. By virtue of these titles, and under protection of the British flag, the old French saw mill at the west end of the dam across the Oswegatchie River was rebuilt on a much larger scale, and the business of lumbering was com- menced anew and prosecuted with spirit, under which the majestic for- ests, covering almost the entire region, began rapidly to disappear ; and these operations extended to the whole river front, and the tributaries of the great river capable of floating spars and rafts. These lessees were not very sure of the validity of their titles, should the Americans come into possession of the place ; therefore they made a greater effort to secure the best part of the timber in the forest before Jay's treaty was to take effect.

Soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, there was gradually manifested a strong tendency for the extension of the settlements, to which feeling the newly acquired freedom gave an impulse before un- known. But little was known of this part of the country at the time of its sale, except that which lay on the border of the St. Lawrence River.

In Jeffery's map of the French dominion in America, the tract of country lying west of Lake Champlain, and between the St. Lawrence and the chain of mountains (Adirondack) on the south, was known as the " Iroquois deer and hunting grounds ;" that portion lying above and along the St Lawrence, in the vicinity of the Oswegatchie River, was called the " beaver hunting grounds of the Six Nations." All this part of the country had not been conveyed to any one by the British government ; therefore it belonged to the United States, or to the State of New York.

The sovereignty of the soil of the northern part of the State of New York was anciently vested in the Mohawks, who, from the earliest period of authentic history, exercised jurisdiction over it. At a treaty held under the authority of the United States with the Mohawk nation of Indians, whatever title to the land remained with them was surrendered by that treaty, which was made at Albany, March 29, 1795. Treaties with the Indians for their lands were, by a provision of the first consti-

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tution of the State of New York, adopted April 20, 1777, reserved to the Legislature. It was therefore ordained that no purchases or con- tracts of sales of lands, made since the 14th day of October, 1775, with the said Indians within the limits of this State, shall be binding on the said Indians, or deemed valid, unless made under the authority and with the consent of the Legislature of the State of New York. By an act passed April 4, 1801, it was deemed a public offence for any person to lease and occupy land or purchase the same from an Indian except as heretofore provided, under a penalty of $250 fine, and imprisonment and fine at the discretion of the court. An act was passed May 5, 1785, entitled, "an act for the speedy sale of the unappropriated lands of the State," creating land commissioners, and empowering them to dispose of such unsold lands as they might see proper, within the limits of the State. In accordance with the said act a board of commissioners was appointed, and the surveyor-general directed to survey and make a map of two ranges of townships on the south side of the St. Lawrence River for sale. Each township was to contain as nearly as might be 64,000 acres, to be as nearly square in form as local circumstances would permit, and to be subdivided into lots as nearly square as might be, each lot to contain about 640 acres.

The manner in which the primitive title to lands in Northern New York was extinguished, has been detailed in the foregoing pages. There- by it became the property of the State, which was patented by an act of the Legislature to certain individuals.

The ten townships were laid out as follows: Commencing on a line to be run south 20° east from a point or place on the southern bank of the River St Lawrence, bearing south 28º east from the northwest end of the Isle au Long Saut, and a line parallel with the said first line, and also to run from the south bank of the said river, and the said parallel lines, to be distant fifty miles from each other. This space was to be divided into five townships on the river of ten miles each, and also five townships in the rear, to be sufficiently deep to contain in each town- ship about the said number of acres-64,000. The names of the ten townships were established by a formal resolution of the commissioners of the land office, September 10, 1786, and with their corresponding numbers were as follows : First, Louisville; second, Stockholm ; third,

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

Potsdam ; fourth, Madrid ; fifth, Lisbon; sixth, Canton ; seventh, De Kalb; eighth, Oswegatchie; ninth, Hague (now Hammond) ; and tenth, Cambray (now Gouverneur). These towns have since been divided and subdivided, as will be seen in the history of towns.

In pursuance of the statute, the following advertisement appeared in the Albany Gazette of June 7, 1787 : "Ten townships of unappropri- ated lands, on the south side of the River St. Lawrence, will be sold at public vendue, at the Coffee House in the city of New York. The sale will commence on Tuesday, the Ioth of July next, at eleven o'clock in the forenoon. Maps are filed for inspection in the office of the secre- tary of state and surveyor general. Madrid and Oswegatchie will be sold by single lots or mile squares, the balance by quarters of town- ships."

In every township there was to be one lot reserved for the support of the " gospel and schools " and another "for promoting literature," to be located as near the center of the town as might be; also, five acres in every hundred were to be reserved for roads. The conditions of sale were that there should be an actual settlement made for every six hundred acres sold, within seven years thereafter; otherwise the patent would become void and the lands revert to the State. Accord ing to the established rule, the commissioners were not allowed to sell lands at a less rate than one shilling an acre (12 1/2 cents). By an agree- ment among the purchasers this price was not raised any higher.

The intention of the law in offering these lands in small parcels was to afford an opportunity to those of limited means to compete at the sales ; but this intention was defeated, it is said, by a previous arrange- ment among the purchasers, under which they delegated one of their number to bid, and agreed to not compete in the sale.

The principal purchaser was Alexander Macomb, who subsequently acted a distinguished part in the northern purchases. Macomb had for many years lived in Detroit, and is said to have been a fur trader. In the course of his business he had passed up and down the St. Lawrence, thus becoming acquainted with the general aspect and probable value of the lands, and better qualified than most of his associates to engage in the purchases. To cover the private agreement just mentioned, cer- tain persons were employed to bid for Macomb, and the lots so sold

ENGLISH POSSESSION.

were afterward conveyed to him before patenting. Others besides Macomb who bid off lands were Michael Conoly, John Myers and Dan- iel McCormick, who bid off about 2,000 acres for themselves ; also, Thomas McFarren, John Taylor, Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, and Henry Remsen, bid off 4,000 acres and transferred the same to Macomb, who had bid off the remainder of the lands in the county, thus becoming the nominal owner of nearly the whole of the ten towns. John Taylor had bid off nearly the whole front of the town of Oswegatchie, embracing the historic place on which Ogdensburg now stands, which was in- cluded in his transfer to Macomb. On the 16th of April, 1792, Macomb appointed Gouverneur Morris his attorney to sell any portion of the ten towns, excepting a tract of 9,600 acres in Lisbon previously sold to John Tibbets ; but so far as known no sales were made by Morris.

On May 3, 1792, Macomb conveyed to Samuel Ogden, in trust for himself, Gen. Henry Knox, Robert Morris and Gouverneur Morris, for £3,200 the four townships of Hague, Cambray, Oswegatchie and De Kalb, with the stipulation that Ogden should convey to Henry Knox 44, 114 acres; to Robert Morris 60,641 acres, and to G. Morris 60,641 acres of this tract; this left Ogden upwards of 90,000 acres, all of Oswegatchie, and a part of De Kalb and Cambray.

In the spring of 1792 Macomb became involved by some transac- tions with a new bank in the city of New York, by which he was forced to assign his interest in a tract of land in the ten townships of 1,920,000 acres for the benefit of his creditors, to William and Daniel McCormick. On the same date with the foregoing he sold to William Constable for £1,500 the towns of Madrid, Potsdam and the west half of Stockholm and Louisville, and to William Edgar for £12,000 the towns of Lisbon and Canton, except what had been previously sold to J. Tibbets.

The following is a brief summary of the transfers of the several towns of the first purchases, so far as known : James Constable, John Mc- Vicker and H. B. Pierrepont, executors of William Constable, on De- cember 15, 1803, conveyed 2,854 acres in a square in the southwest corner of Louisville to Gouverneur Morris, which tract went by will to his son, G. Morris, jr. The remainder of the west half of the town was conveyed by William E. to Everetta Constable, January 3, 1803. The east half of Louisville and Stockholm was conveyed June 2, 1792, by

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

Macomb to William Edgar, William Laight and John Lamb, in trust, to be divided among themselves.

Stockholm -The west half of this town was conveyed by William Constable to John Constable, who conveyed the same to Hezekiah Pierrepont, September 28, 1809, in trust to settle certain claims against the lands, etc.

Potsdam -Macomb, by way of Edgar to Constable, as above. The latter on November 8, 1802, conveyed to Garret Van Horne, David M. Clarkson and their associates, as joint tenants, the town, except two miles wide on the northwest side. The two mile strip by the side of Madrid was divided into two tracts. The eastern part was sold to Le Roux, April 30, 1802, and the western part came into possession of D. A. and Gouverneur Ogden as joint tenants in fee simple.

Madrid .- Constable sold to Abraham Ogden, Josiah Ogden Hoff- man, David A. Ogden and Thomas L. Ogden in June, 1796, for $60,000. On the 29th of June, 1811, these persons executed partition deeds of lands previously contracted and mortgaged.

Canton and Lisbon .- Deeded by Edgar to Alexander Von Pfister, June 12, 1794, in trust, who conveyed March 3, 1795, to Stephen Van Rensselaer, Josiah Ogden Hoffman and Richard Harrison, for £5,068 16s .; on January 21, 1805, Hoffman sold his share of the purchase to Van Rensselaer. By an agreement Harrison retained one-third of the eastern part of the tract, and Van Rensselaer the remainder. Stephen Van Rensselaer conveyed September 13, 1836, all of his real estate in these towns to his son, Henry Van Rensselaer.

De Kalb .- Macomb to Ogden as above. Dates of transfer not ob- tained. William Cooper, of Cooperstown, subsequently purchased the town and began its first settlement.

Oswegatchie .- Patented by ninety- eight patents, as before stated, to Macomb, who sold the same to S. Ogden, May 3, 1792, with three other towns. Colonel Ogden purchased the share of Robert Morris in January, 1793, and conveyed to the others their shares in the townships of Hague and Cambray. On February 29, 1808, S. Ogden conveyed to his son, David B. Ogden, this town, who also quit-claimed the same to David C. Judson, January 21, 1847. Nathan Ford and others pur- chased large tracts in this town. August 17, 1798, Ogden conveyed

ENGLISH POSSESSION.

to N. Ford an undivided one-half of three certain tracts, one of which contained 10,000 acres, and lay south of land at the outlet of Black Lake.

Hague and Cambray were deeded to S. Ogden May 3, 1792, which land has since been divided and sold to various persons. Gouverneur Morris's title was subsequently sold to Edwin Dodge, David C. Judson, Augustus Chapman, Abraham Cooper and others.

The Gospel and School Lots have since been sold by authority of the Legislature, passed April 21, 1825, authorizing the freeholders and inhabitants of the several towns at their annual town meeting, to vote directing the whole of the income of the Gospel and School Lots to be appropriated to the schools of the town.

The foregoing gives all, or nearly all of the first land titles or patents in St. Lawrence county from the State to the several persons, with dates of each as far as possible.

Samuel Ogden, of New York city, became the rightful owner by a second purchase of a large tract of land on the southern shore of the St. Lawrence River, which included the military station of Oswegatchie, then in possession of British troops. He was informed that certain parties in Canada had obtained leases of land from the Oswegatchie Indians, which lots were included in his purchase, and were carrying away the timber without restraint or interference from the officers in charge at the garrison. Mr. Ogden, therefore, began a correspondence November 2, 1792, with Governor George Clinton, governor of Upper Canada, in relation to these claims and trespasses. He also corres- ponded later with Governor Simcoe and Lord Carlton, the latter com- mander-in-chief, which is too lengthy for insertion in these pages. The following is sufficient to indicate the pacific tone of the letters :

NEW YORK, August 31, 1793.

SAMUEL OGDEN, EsQ .:

Dear Sir :-- I am just favored with your letter of the 31st of August. I beg leave to observe to you, that last autumn on the representation of the Oswegatchie Indians, the magistrates of the town of Augusta warned some of his majesty's subjects to quit these very lands. In regard to your intimation that the executive of the State of New York would give its immediate aid for the protection of this property, I have to observe, that you are perfectly just in your observation that such would be a governmental question, inasmuch as it is obvious to all that there is no treaty line, nor can It be reasonably expected to be acknowledged by Great Britain, until the prior articles of the treaty

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

shall be fulfilled by the United States. But from an immediate point of view, as this question does not concern his majesty's subjects, who have already been forbidden, at the request of the Indians claiming the lands, to form settlements on that side of the river, I can only refer you to his excellency, the commander-in-chief, for any further explanation you require, to whom your very liberal principles, as expressed in your letters which I shall transmit to him, cannot but be highly recommendatory and impress sentiments of respect. I am your obedient servant,

J. G. SIMCOE, Lt. Gov. Upper Canada.

Mr. Ogden secured the services of a young man named Nathan Ford, who had had considerable experience as an assistant deputy quarter- master-general in the continental army during the memorable winter of suffering in which the American army lay in camp on the hills back of Morristown, N. J. Mr. Ford having in his army experience gained the confidence of various persons, some of them officers in the war, who became interested in the land speculation, united with Mr. Ogden in sending Ford in 1794-5 to explore the northern part of the State, where they had made purchases, and to ascertain to what extent the timber was being taken away ; also to examine and report upon several islands near Kingston, which they proposed purchasing. Mr. Ford wrote his friends from Kingston, July 12, 1795, stating that he had made inquiry into the titles and terms of sale of these islands. Tante Island was held at £2,000 sterling ; eleven persons had been settled on it three years. Grand Island had been purchased at Montreal, from Curot, a French- man, who held it under a grant from the king of France, for £500, with a further sum of a quarter of a dollar per acre due when the title was established. Mr. Ford made a full report on the soil, timber, etc., which ended the negotiations.

Mr. Ford was continued in the service of Mr. Ogden and was directed to take certain measures to obtain possession of the place with a view of beginning a settlement at Oswegatchie. Mr. Ogden's letter to Ford, dated Perth Amboy, July 12, 1795, will be of interest :

DEAR NATHAN :- By this opportunity I have written again to my brother, Isaac Og- den, on the subject of his application to my Lord Dorchester and have told him that you would stay a few days at Montreal and request him to communicate to you there (to the care of Mrs. Forsyth) his lordship's determination. Now, in case of his giving you permission to repair one or more of the houses and place inhabitants therein, you will then, while at Oswegatchie, with the advice of Major Drummond, make the nec- essary arrangements and procure some proper person to move therein as my tenant.

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The importance of this you will see and it may become a question whether you had not better in this case return from Toronto via Oswegatchie and spend some weeks or perhaps months there this summer and autumn, so as to prepare and arrange things for your reception next spring. If you should succeed in the idea I gave you respecting the saw-mill, then it ought to be kept diligently at work in sawing pine boards and shingles, proper for the building we intend to erect next year, which ought to be care- fully set up when sawed, so as to be seasoned for use next summer.

The remainder of the letter directed him to find a passage up Black Lake or rivers to reach Fort Stanwix (now Rome) and to find what streams of considerable size empty into the lake, the distances, etc., and concludes by saying, " perhaps a few dollars laid out in presents to the Oswegatchie Indians would be useful. You will procure from the com- manding officer at Montreal a letter of introduction to the sergeant at Oswegatchie. This will become very necessary. Colonel Gordon and Colonel McDonald, if at Montreal, will aid you in this."

Mr. Ford's answer in regard to affairs at Oswegatchie, says :

On my way up to Niagara I stopped at La Galette and was much surprised to find the saw-mill and dam so much out of repair. There is no person about the place that can give me the whole history of the business. Mr. Honniewell, who could do so, was not at home. I was happy to find that most of the people upon the other side are glad to find that a settlement is to be made and many intend coming over. I did not go to see Lorimier, and for this reason. After conversing with Mr. Farrand fully upon this subject, we finally concluded that it would be best for me to show the greatest indiffer- ence, merely call at the mill, look at the fort, and take care to impress the idea fully upon whoever I talked with that, by the treaty, the fort was to be given up in June, that there would be a garrison sent there, that settlers would be brought on and business commenced extensively. This I have done in a way that I hope will have the desired effect. In my absence Mr. Farrand will make business at Oswegatchie and sound Lor- imier on the subject and, if possible, make him apply for terms. If he can be brought to this state, a negotiation may be had upon better terms than if I should apply to him. I intend to leave my baggage and find may way through the woods to Little Falls, as you suggested in a former letter. The greatest object of all is the fixing of the Oswe- gatchie business and no stone shall be left unturned to bring this to a happy issue. Mr. Farrand tells me that Lorimier relies upon a French title which he says he has. This Mr. Farrand will get a sight of and should it be worth anything a negotiation will be more necessary. Mr. Farrand will be in full possession of all the business against my return, which I will make as speedy as possible, and which I shall not leave until I liave finished. N. FORD.

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Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 7

Author: Curtis, Gates Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1328

Author: Curtis, Gates
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1328