USA > New York > Orleans County > Pioneer history of Orleans County, New York, containing some account of the civil divisions of western New York > Part 2
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
In an early day parties of Indians came over from Canada and wintered in Carlton, for the purpose of hunting. In the spring they would return to Canada. As game became scarce they discontinued their visits.
Indians in families, or singly, frequently traveled about among the dwellings of the pioneers to beg or sell their small wares, or get whisky. They were gen- erally harmless, and made no trouble. Their claim to the land was long since settled by treaty transfer- ing it to white men, excepting the reservations to which they retired.
CHAPTER II.
PHELPS AND GORHAM'S PURCHASE.
When Made-Territory Included in-Consolidated Securities-Their Sale to Robert Morris-Divisions of their Purchase-The Triangle.
HE original charter, granted by the King of England to the colony of Massachusetts, in- cluded all the country between the north and south boundaries of the colony, extending from the Atlantic Ocean on the east, to the Pacific Ocean on the west. The western boundary had not then been explored, and the extent of the continent was un- known.
New York was afterwards chartered by the same authority, covering a portion of territory previously granted to Massachusetts. After the close of the Revolutionary war, Massachusetts urged her claim. The difficulty was finally compromised between Mass- achusetts and New York, by commissioners mutual- ly agreed upon, Dec. 16, 1786, by giving to New York the sovreignty of all the disputed territory lying with- in her chartered limits ; and giving the property in the soil to Massachusetts, or the right to buy the soil from the Indians, who were then in possession.
All of the State of New York lying west of a line running from Sodus Bay through Seneca Lake, to the north line of Pennsylvania, estimated to contain 6,000,000 of acres, was sold subject to the title the Indians then had to it, by Massachusetts, to Phelps and Gorham, in the year 1786, for $1,000,000, to be paid for in a kind of scrip, or stock, which had been
17
OF ORLEANS COUNTY.
issued by Massachusetts, called " Consolidated Secu- rities," which at the time of the sale was worth about 50 per cent.
In July, 1788, Phelps and Gorham made a treaty with the Six Nations of Indians, by which they pur- chased from them a tract estimated at 2,250,000 acres ; bounded east by the Pre-emption Line ; which was the eastern boundary of their purchase from Massa- chusetts, and west by a line from Lake Ontario to Pennsylvania, twelve miles west from Genesee River.
From this sale to Phelps and Gorham, and other causes, the market price of these " Consolidated Se- curities" rose so high that Phelps and Gorham were unable to buy them to fulfill their contract with the State : and so were coinpelled to surrender to the State of Massachusetts, all the lands lying west of the west boundary of the tract they had purchased of the In- dians, as above stated. To these lands so surrender- ed, the Indian title had not then been extinguished .-- This tract was sold in the year 1791, by the State of Massachusetts to Robert Morris. About the year 1793, Robert Morris sold this tract to an association of capitalists residing in Holland, excepting and re- serving a parcel of land twelve miles wide, to be ta- ken off from the east side. This strip was afterwards called "the Morris Reserve," a part of it was sold by Morris to Bayard, Leroy and McEvers, known as The Triangle, containing 87,000 acres, and another portion lying west of The Triangle, and containing 100,000 acres was sold by Morris to Cragie and others and by them to Sir William Pultney and the State of Connecticut, ever since known as "The 100,000 Acre Tract," or "Connecticut Tract."
The tract so purchased by the Holland Company contains about three million six hundred thousand
18
PIONEER HISTORY
acres, and is distinguished as "The Holland Pur- chase."
THE TRIANGLE TRACT.
One of the large divisions of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, lying west of the Genesee River, is known as " The Triangle." By treaty between Phelps and Gorham, and the Indians, after they had granted to Ebenezer Allen, a piece of land of 100 acres, on which to erect a saw mill, at what is now Rochester, an- other tract was granted to Phelps and Gorham, for a "Mill Yard." This was called "The Mill Yard Tract," and was twelve miles wide east and west, by twenty-four miles north and south, from Lake Ontario.
The agreement was, this "Mill Yard" should be bounded east by the Genesee River ; south by a line running west from about where Avon now stands ; and west twelve miles ; thence north to Lake Ontario. It was then supposed that the course of the Genesee River was about due north, and the west line was at first run by Hugh Maxwell, due north from said south west corner, accordingly.
It was afterwards ascertained, that the mouth of the river was more than twelve miles east from the termination of this line, on the lake shore.
The matter was afterwards arranged by a new line being run by Mr. Augustus Porter, nearly parallel with Genesee River, and twelve miles west of it, for the west bounds of the Mill Yard Tract. This left a triangular shaped piece of land lying between the lines so run by Maxwell and Porter, containing about 87,000 acres, forming the towns of Clarkson, Hamlin, Sweden, Bergen and Leroy. This tract has ever since been described and known as "The Triangle."
CHAPTER III.
THE 100,000 ACRE TRACT.
Boundaries-Dr. Levi Ward-Levi A. Ward-Joseph Fellows-Tran- sit Line.
EFORE the west line of the Mill Yard Tract had been rectified by the new line run by Por- ter, Mr. Robert Morris sold a tract lying next west of "the Mill Yard," to contain 100,000 acres, to Cragie and others. This parcel was afterwards sold by the proprietors to Sir William Pultney, and the State of Connecticut, to each, an undivided half. Af- terwards, and about the year 1811, this tract was di- vided between the estate of Sir William Pultney, and the State of Connecticut.
The 100,000 Acre Tract includes the towns of Ken- dall, Murray and Clarendon, in Orleans County; and Byron, and.a portion of Bergen, Stafford and Leroy, in Genesee County ; and is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario, and on the south by a part of the Mor- ris Reserve, known as the "Cragie Tract ;" on the east by "The Triangle ;" and on the west by "The Holland Purchase." In July, 1810, the State of Con- necticut appointed Dr. Levi Ward agent to sell farm lots for them, and about 1816. Dr. Ward and Levi H. Clark purchased of Connecticut all the unsold lands ; but by agreement sales were continued in the name of the State. Dr. Ward and his son Levi A. Ward, have ever since continued to act as agents for the
20
PIONEER HISTORY
State of Connecticut, while Mr. Joseph Fellows has. been a like agent for the Pultney estate.
THE TRANSIT LINE.
This line which forms the eastern boundary of the Holland Purchase, and the western boundary of Morris Reserve, begins on the north bounds of Penn- sylvania, 12 miles west of the west bounds of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase ; thence runs due north, to near the center of the town of Stafford, in Genesee County ; thence west a fraction over two miles ; thence due north, to Lake Ontario. It forms the eastern boundary of the towns of Carlton, Gaines, and Barre. It is called the Transit Line, because it was run out first by the aid of a Transit instrument. The offset of two miles is said to have been made to prevent overlapping the Connecticut Tract by the lands of the Holland Purchase. The trees were cut through on the Transit Line, to the width of about four rods, at an early day, by the Land Company ; thus afford- ing a convenient land mark to the early settlers in locating their lands, and serving as a guide in finding their way through the woods. The Transit Line was run by Joseph Ellicott, in 1798.
CHAPTER IV.
THE HOLLAND PURCHASE.
"Names of Company-Location of Tract- Surveys-Ceded by Indians- Counties in New-York One Hundred Years Ago-Genesee Country -- Genesee County and its Subdivisions-Joseph Ellicott and brother Benj., Surveyors-Agent of the Company-Land Office-Where Lo- cated-Practice in Locating Land-Articles-Clemency of the Land Company-Deeding Lots for School Houses-Land Given to Relig- ious Societies-Anecdote of Mr. Busti-Rev. Andrew Rawson- Route of Travel to Orleans County-Oak Orchard Creek and John- son's Creek-Why so Named-Kinds of Forest Trees-Wild Ani- mals-Salmon and other Fish-Rattlesnakes-Raccoons and Hedge- hogs-Beaver Dams-Fruits-Effect of Clearing Land on Chmate- The Tonawanda Swamp.
HIS. tract included all the land lying in the State of New York, and west of the Transit Line, excepting the Indian Reservations, and contains about 3,600,000 acres. It was purchased of Robert Morris by an association of Hollanders, in 1792-'93. The names of the original members of this association were Wilhelm Willink, Jan Willink, Nicholas Van Stophorst, Jacob Van Stophorst, Nich- olas Hubbard, Pieter Van Eeghen, Christian Van Eeghen, Isaac Ten Cate, Hendrick Vollenhoven, Christina Coster, widow, Jan Stadnetski, and Rutger Jan Schimmelpennick.
The surveys of the Holland Purchase were begun on the east, at the Transit Line, and continued west dividing the whole territory into ranges and town- ships ; the range lines running from north to south, the townships from east to west. The ranges number from the east, and the townships from the south .-
22
PIONEER HISTORY
Townships are all subdivided into lots, and the towns of Carlton and part of Yates, into sections and lots .- The county of Orleans contains the north parts of ranges 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the east parts of townships 14, 15 and 16. It is about 20 miles square, not inclu- ding so much as is covered by Lake Ontario, and con- tains about 405 square miles.
About the year 1797, the Indians ceded most of their lands on the Holland Purchase, to the white men ; reserving to themselves tracts of the best land for their occupation. Most of these reservations have been since conveyed by the Indians to white men .- No reservation was made of any land now in Orleans county.
One hundred years ago, the then province of New. York, contained ten counties, viz : New York, West- chester, Dutchess, Orange, Ulster, Albany, Richmond, Kings, Queens and Suffolk.
The county of Albany embraced all the territory now included in the State of New York, lying north of Ulster, and west of Hudson River. So much of said territory, as lies west of Schoharie, was taken off from Albany, and named Tryon, in the year 1772 .- Tryon was changed to Montgomery, in 1784.
All of said territory lying west of "the Preemption Line," including all land sold by Massachusetts to Phelps and Gorham, in their first purchase, was ta- ken from Montgomery in the year 1789, and named Ontario county. Ontario county, at that time, was an unbroken wilderness, only as it had been occupied by the Indians, west of Genesee River. Some settle- ments by white men had been made in the eastern part. It was then generally known as " the Genesee country," named from the Genesee River, the most considerable stream of water in the country.
Canandaigua was then the chief town in the county
23
OF ORLEANS COUNTY.
and it has ever remained the county seat of Ontario county.
From Ontario has since been formed the counties of Steuben, Allegany, Cattaraugus, Monroe, Livingston, Wayne, Yates, Genesee, Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua and Orleans.
Genesee county was taken from Ontario in 1802 .- The Genesee River was then its eastern boundary, and it included so much of the State of New York, as lies west of that river.
The original county of Genesee has been subdivided into Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Livingston, Wyoming, Erie, Niagara and Orleans, leaving a small portion around Batavia, which was the original coun- ty seat, still known as Genesee county.
Orleans county was set off from Genesee, Nov. 11, 1824. The town of Shelby was annexed to Orleans from Genesee county, April 5, 1825.
The county of Genesee included, in its original lim- its, all of the State of New York, which Robert Mor- ris purchased.
The general land office of the Holland Land Com- pany was first located at Philadelphia.
Mr. Joseph Ellicott was engaged as principal sur- veyor for the Holland Land Company, in July, 1797. Assisted by his brother, Benjamin, and others, he commenced surveying the lands embraced in the Hol- land Purchase, in 1798, by running and establishing the Transit Line, as the eastern boundary. These surveys were continued ten or twelve years, until the whole tract was divided into townships, ranges, sec- tions and lots.
In 1800, Joseph Ellicott was appointed local agent of the Holland Land Company, and for more than twenty years thereafter, he had almost exclusive con- trol of all the local business of the Company.
The Land Office was first established on the Pur-
24
PIONEER HISTORY
chase at Pine Grove, Clarence Hollow, in Erie coun- ty ; but upon the organization of Genesee county, in 1802, the office was transferred to Batavia, where it remained until the affairs of the Company were final- ly closed up in the year 1835.
The principal Land Office was kept at Batavia, but several other offices were established in different parts of the Purchase, for the convenience of parties having business with the Company.
It was usual for persons, who desired to locate on land of the Holland Land Company, to select the par- cel they desired to take, go to the Land Office at Ba- tavia, and make a contract with the Company's agent there, for the purchase. Very seldom indeed was payment in full made, and a deed taken, in the first place. The common practice was for the purchaser to make a small payment down, and receive from the Company a contract in writing, known as an "Arti- cle," by which the Company agreed to sell the parcel of land described, the purchaser to pay the price in instalments, within from five to ten years, with inter- est ; when he was to receive a deed. On receiving his "Article," the settler went into full possession of his land, cleared it up, and made improvements, making such payments to apply on the purchase money as he was able.
These land "Articles" were transferred by assign- ment, and were conveyed from hand to hand, often many times before they were returned to the Com- pany. A settler who wished to sell out his interest in land did so by assigning his "Article." Or, if he de- sired to give security tor a debt, or obtain a credit in his business, he would pledge his " Article." Trades- men and speculators of every elass were accustomed to deal largely in these "Articles," and men who had means to lend, often held numbers of these contracts, transferred to them by absolute sale, or in security
25
OF ORLEANS COUNTY.
for some obligations, to be afterwards redeemed by the owner. The Holland Land Company sold their wild lands in Orleans county for from $2 to 85 per acre, according to the quality and location of the land. In the later years of the existence of the Land Company, frequently the Company would give a deed to the settler, and take his bond and a mortgage on the land deeded, for the balance of "purchase money."
The Company generally dealt very leniently with its debtors, frequently renewing their "Articles" when they had run out without payment ; and some- times abating interest accrued and unpaid, or throw- ing off a part of the sum originally agreed to be paid, when the bargain had proved a hard one for any rea- son to the debtor.
Another measure of relief to the settlers, from their obligations to pay for their land, was the Company agreeing to receive cattle, and apply their value on "Articles" for land, on which payment was in ar- rears. For some years before the Company ceased to exist, they would send their agents to different points on the Purchase, to receive these cattle, and indorse their value on the "Articles" of the settlers. The cattle were driven to a distant market. Although this arrangement was beneficial to the people, it was attended with considerable loss to the Company.
It was provided in an early School Act of the State that sites for school houses should be secured to the school districts by deeds in fee, or by leases from the party owning the fee of the land.
It often occurred, before the year 1828, that there was no deeded land in the district, or none where a school house was desired to be located. In such ca- ses, the Company provided by a general order, that they would grant half an acre to such district gratis, if the Company owned the land where the school
26
PIONEER HISTORY
house should stand, then not under "Article," provi- ded, if such site should fall on land held by some per- son under contract, the district was then required to procure a relinquishment of the right of such person in the half acre, to be indorsed on his " Article."
Another instance of the generosity of the Holland Company, as shown in the conduct of their general agents, is recorded of Mr. Busti, who for many years was their head agent, residing in Philadelphia. Mr. Turner, in his History of the Holland Purchase, in a note says-"In the fall of 1820, Mr. Busti was visit- ing the Land Office, in Batavia ; the Rev. Mr. R., of the Presbyterian sect, called on Mr. Busti, and insist- ed on a donation of land for each society of his per- suasion, then formed on the Holland Purchase. Mr. Busti treated the Rev. gentleman with due courtesy, but showed no disposition to grant his request. Mr. R., encouraged by Mr. Busti's politeness, persevered in his solicitations day after day, until Mr. Busti's patience was almost exhausted, and what finally brought that subject to a crisis was Mr. R's. follow- ing Mr. Busti out of the office, when he was going to take his tea at Mr. Ellicott's, and making a fresh at- tack on him in the piazza. Mr. Busti was evidently vexed, and in reply said :- " Yes, Mr. R., I will give a tract of one hundred acres to a religious society in every town on the Purchase, and this is finis."- "But," said Mr. R., "You will give it all to the Presbyterians, will you not ; if you do not expressly so decide, the sectarians will be claiming it, and we shall receive very little benefit from it." "Sectarians, no !"-was Mr. Busti's hasty reply, "I abhor secta- rians, they ought not to have any of it ; and to save contention, I will give it to the first religious so- ciety in every town." On which Mr. Busti hastened to his tea, and Mr. R. to his home, (about sixteen miles distant) to start runners during the night, or
27
OF ORLEANS COUNTY.
next morning, to rally the Presbyterians in the sever- al towns in his vicinity to apply first, and thereby save the land to themselves.
The Land Office was soon flooded with petitions for land from Societies organized according to law, and empowered to hold real estate, and those who were not ; one of which was presented to Mr. Busti before he left, directed to "General Poll Busti," on which he insisted it could not be from a religious society, for all religious societies read their bibles, and know that P-o-1-1 does not spell Paul. Amidst this chaos of applications, it was thought to be unadvisable to be precipitant in granting these donations, the whole responsibility now resting on Mr. Ellicott, to comply with this vague promise of Mr. Busti ; therefore con- veyances of the "Gospel Land," were not executed for some space of time, notwithstanding the clamor of petitioners for "deeds of our land," during which time, the matter was taken into consideration and systematised, so far as such an operation could be .- Pains were taken to ascertain the merits of each appli- cation, and finally a tract, or tracts of land, not ex- ceeding one hundred acres in all, was granted, free of expense, to one or more religious societies, regularly organized according to law, in each town on the Pur- chase, where the Company had land undisposed of ; which embraced every town then organized on the Purchase, except Bethany, Genesee county, and Shelden, Wyoming county ; the donees always being allowed to select out of the unsold farming lands in each town. In some towns, it was all given to one society ; in others to two or three societies, separate- ly ; and in a few towns to four different societies, of different sects, twenty-five acres to each.
In performing this thankless duty, for the land was claimed as an absolute right by most of the appli- cants, the whole proceedings were so managed, un-
28
PIONEER HISTORY
der Mr. Ellicott's judicious directions, that amidst all the clamor and contention, which from its nature such proceedings must elicit, no complaint of partiality to any particular sect, nor of undue weight of influence in any individual, was ever charged against the agent of the Company, or his associates acting under him."
It is understood the Rev. Mr. R. referred to was Rev. Andrew. Rawson, of Barre. Mr. Busti was by profession a Roman Catholic.
The county of Genesee was formed from Ontario County in 1802, and the town of Batavia was organi- zed at the same time, and then included the entire county of Genesee. The town of Ridgeway was form- ed from Batavia June 8, 1812, and then embraced all the territory now included in the towns of Shelby. Ridgeway, Yates, Carlton, Gaines and Barre.
Some of the first settlers of this territory north of Tonawanda Swamp came from Canada, in boats across Lake Ontario ; others from New England and the east, came by boats along the south shore of the lake. Those who came in on foot, or with teams, usu- ally crossed the Genesee River at Rochester, and then took the Ridge Road west.
The Ridge in this locality had been used as a high- way, ever since the county had been traversed by white men ; and it was a favorite trail of the Indians. Bridges had not been made over the streams, by which it was intersected, and it was difficult crossing these with teams. Sir William Johnson, going with a large body of soldiers to Fort Niagara, went along the Lake shore from Genesee River, and encamping for the night on the Creek in Carlton, west of Oak Orchard, he, gave it the name of Johnson's Creek, which it has since retained.
The Oak Orchard Creek was so named from the beautiful oak trees, which grew along its banks, as seen by the first discoverers.
29
OF ORLEANS COUNTY.
In its natural state Orleans county was thiekly covered with trees. On the dry, hard land, the pre- vailing varieties of timber were beech, maple, white red and black oak, white wood or tulip tree, bass- wood, elm, hickory and hemlock. Swamps and low wet lands were covered with black ash, tamarack, white and yellow cedar, and soft maple ; large syca- more, or cotton ball trees, were common on low lands and some pine grew along the Oak Orchard Creek, and in the swamps in Barre; and a few chestnut trees grew along the Ridge in Ridgeway, and in other places north of the Ridge. It has been estimated by the first settlers, that from seventy-five to one hun- dred cords of wood of 128 feet each, stood on each aere of land on an average over the county.
The principal wild animals found here were the bear, deer, wolf, raccoon, hedgehog, wood-chuck, skunk, fox, black, red, striped and flying squirrel, mink and muskrat. Bear and deer were plenty, and hunting them furnished food and sport for the pion- eers. For some years the wolves were so destructive to the sheep and young cattle, it was difficult to keep them. The bears would kill the pigs, if they strayed into the woods. As the forests were cut down, and settlers came in, these large animals were hunted out, till not a bear, deer or wolf has been seen wild in Or- leans county for several years.
Fish were plenty in the streams, coming up from Lake Ontario in great numbers.
At the first settlement of the country, white men and Indians caught an abundance of salmon here .- These fish, in high water would run up the Oak Orch- ard and Johnson's Creek, and out into their tributa- ries, where they were often taken. Salmon were once caught in a small stream in the west part of the town of Gaines. It is related that at an early day, after a high freshet, Mr. John Hood caught a number of sal-
ยท 30
PIONEER HISTORY
*
mon on the bank of this stream, south of West Gaines, where a tree had overturned, leaving a hole through which the water had flowed ; and where they were left when the water subsided.
A kind of sucker fish, called red sides, used to run up from the lake in plenty. They were taken in April and May, in seines, by wagon loads. The sal- mon disappeared years ago, and very few red sides run now.
Rattlesnakes were numerous along the banks of Oak Orchard Creek and Niagara and Genesee Rivers, when the country was new. They had several dens, to which they retired in winter, and near which they were frequently seen in spring time. Lemuel Blan- don relates that in 1820, he went with a party to fish near the mouth of Oak Orchard. They intended to stay all night, and built a shelter of boughs on the lake shore, on the east side, near where the hotel now stands ; and set fire to an old log that lay there. Af- ter the fire began to burn, two or three rattlesnakes came out from the log, and induced the fishermen to fix their camp in another place.
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.