USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Settlement in the West : sketches of Rochester with incidental notices of western New-York > Part 14
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3. The Third Tract begins on the north line of the State of Pennsylvania, at a point distant forty-four miles west from the southwest corner of the land confirmed to Gorham and Phelps ; thence running west on the Pennsylvania line sixteen miles ; thence north to the boundary-line of the United States ; thence easterly along that line to a point whence a meridian line will fall on the point of beginning ; thence south on that meridian to the place of beginning- consideration, £15,000. This tract comprehends Ranges VII. and VIII., and 263 chains and 76 links off the easterly side of Range IX. of Ellicott's map.
4. The Fourth Tract begins on the north line of the State of Pennsylvania, at a point distant sixty miles west from the southwest corner of the land confirmed to Gorham and Phelps ; thence running west until it meets the land ce- ded by Massachusetts to the United States, and by the United States sold to the State of Pennsylvania ;* thence northerly along the land so ceded to Lake Erie ; thence northeasterly along Lake Erie to a tract of land lying on the easterly side of the River or Strait of Niagara, belonging to the State of New-York ;t thence northerly along that tract to the bound- ary-line of the United States in Lake Ontario ; thence east- erly along that line to a point whence a meridian line will fall on the point of beginning-consideration, £10,000. This tract comprehends the remaining westerly part of Range IX., and the whole of Ranges X., XI., XII., XIII., XIV., and XV., of Ellicott's map.
The undivided one sixtieth part of the above-described tracts, reserved by each of the four deeds of conveyance last mentioned, was granted to Robert Morris in fee-simple, by a concurrent resolution of the Legislature of Massachu- setts, passed on the 20th of June, 1792, and approved by the Governor, of which resolution an exemplification under the great seal of the Commonwealth was recorded in the Secretary's Office at Albany on the 10th November, 1792.
These conveyances will be found to embrace all the ter- ritory within the State of New-York lying west of a merid- ian line commencing in the north bounds of Pennsylvania,
* See notice of the Pennsylvania Triangle.
t This was a strip a mile wide along the river.
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at a point distant twelve miles west from the southwest corner of Gorham and Phelps's purchase; and thence extending north to the boundary-line of the United States in Lake On- tario, excepting only the reserved strip of land one mile in width along the Niagara River ; and, with this exception, Robert Morris thus became seized of the pre-emptive title to the whole of this territory.
The whole of the lands of the Dutch proprietors within the State of New-York were originally purchased for their account from Robert Morris, and conveyed for their benefit to trustees. On 11th April, 1796, a special act was passed for the relief of Wilhelm Willink, Nicholas Van Staphorst, Christian Van Eeghen, Hendrick Vollenhoven, and Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck, which was succeeded by a supple- mentary act passed 24th February, 1797, including the names of Jan Willink, Jacob Van Staphorst, Nicholas Hub- bard, Pieter Van Eeghen, Isaac Ten Cate, Jan Stadnitski, and Arenout Van Beeftingh. By these two acts the trus- tees were authorized to hold the lands which had been con- tracted and paid for by all or any of the above-named indi- viduals, and for the period of seven years to sell the same to citizens of the United States-declarations describing the land so held being filed in the Secretary's Office by the 1st of July, 1797. Such declarations were made and filed ac- cordingly. Under the general alien act of the 2d of April, 1798, the titles were afterward vested in the names of the Dutch proprietors by new conveyances, &c. By this gen- eral act, which was to continue for three years, all convey- ances to aliens, not being the subjects of powers or states at war with the United States, were declared to be valid, so as to vest the estate in such aliens, their heirs and assigns for ever.
The construction of this act was settled by a declaratory act, passed 5th March, 1819, by which it is declared and enacted that all conveyances made to aliens under the act of 2d April, 1798, should, as to any question or plea of alien- ism, be deemed valid and effectual to vest the lands thereby conveyed in the several grantees, so as to authorize them and their heirs and assigns, although aliens, to devise or convey the same to any other alien or aliens, not being the subjects of a power or state at war with the United States.
Two judgments were recovered in the Supreme Court of the State of New-York against Robert Morris, which were
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found to overreach the titles of several of the purchasers under him. The first of these judgments was recovered by William Talbot and William Allum, and was docketed on the 8th June, 1797. The second judgment was recovered by Solomon Townsend, and was docketed on the 10th of August, 1798.
Previously to the year 1800 an execution had been issued on the last judgment, in virtue of which all the lands con- veyed to Morris by the State of Massachusetts had been levied upon, sold, and conveyed by the sheriff of Ontario county to Thos. Mather, in whose name actions of eject- ment founded on this conveyance were prosecuted in the Supreme Court of the State of New-York. In the spring of the year 1800, and during the pendency of these ejectments, an execution was issued on the earlier judgment of Talbot and Allum, and the whole tract of country was again levied upon, and advertised for sale by the sheriff.
Under these circumstances Mr. Busti, then general agent of the Holland Land Company, entered into an arrange- ment with Gouverneur Morris, the assignee of the earlier judgment, by which to put an end to the claims set up under both judgments, and also to the pretensions set up by Robert Morris, in relation to the right of redemption in the million and the half million acre tracts.
To effect these objects, it was agreed that both judgments, and also a release of Mather's interest, under the sheriff's
* Concurrently with the execution of the original conveyance for these two tracts of land by Robert Morris to Le Roy and Lincklaen, ar- ticles of agreement were entered into, by which, among other things, a right was reserved to the grantees to elect, within a certain period, to convert the purchase into a loan, in which case the conveyance was to enure by way of mortgage to secure the repayment of the purchase- money. The grantees choosing to hold the lands as a purchase de- clared no election to hold them otherwise; but it was nevertheless contended by Morris, and those claiming under him, that the whole transaction was to be considered as a loan, and that a right of redemp- tion still existed in Morris or his assigns, which a Court of Chancery would enforce. This question was put at rest by the conveyance of 10th February, 1801, from T. L. Ogden and Gouverneur Morris, in the latter of whom were then vested all the rights which Robert Morris had in these lands on the 8th June, 1797, or at any time subsequent. This conveyance served also as a confirmation of title under the treaty with the Seneca Indians of 15th September, 1797, which confirmation had been withheld as to this tract, although given with regard to the " million-acre" and the "800,000-acre tracts."
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deed to him, should be purchased by the Holland Land Com- pany, which was done. 'The two judgments were accord- ingly assigned to the individuals composing the company : that of Townsend by his attorney, Aaron Burr, by deed of assignment, dated 22d April, 1800 ; that of Talbot and Al- lum by Gouverneur Morris, the assignee, by deed of assign- ment of the same date.
Founded on these preliminary acts, articles of agreement were entered into between Thomas L. Ogden of the first part, Wilhelm Willink, Nicolaas Van Staphorst, Pieter Van Eeghen, Hendrick Vollenhoven, and Rutger Jan Schimmel- penninck of the second part, and Gouverneur Morris of the third part, also dated the 22d of April, 1800, by which, after reciting the above assignments and the purchase of Mather's interest, it was mutually agreed that the release from Mather should be taken in the name of Thomas L. Ogden ; that he should also become the purchaser at the approaching sale under the judgment of Talbot and Allum ; and that the title, thus derived under both judgments, should be held by him upon trust for the purposes expressed in the agreement.
Among the trusts declared by that instrument, it was pro- vided that the million and the half million acre tracts, com- posing together what is now called the million and a half acre tract, should be held subject to the issue of an amicable suit, to be instituted on the equity side of the Circuit Court of the United States for the District of New-York, to determine the operation and effect of the conveyance of those tracts by Robert Morris ; so that, if by the decree of that court, or of the Supreme Court of the United States, in case of an ap- peal from the decision of the Circuit Court, such conveyance should be adjudged to be absolute and indefeasible, then the two tracts should be released and confirmed by Gouverneur Morris to the Holland Land Company ; but if adjudged to be a mortgage, then that they should be released by them to him upon payment of the original purchase-money and in- terest. It was further provided by this agreement, that the residue of the entire tract of country should be released and confirmed by T. L. Ogden to the several proprietors under Robert Morris, according to the award and appointment of Alexander Hamilton, David A. Ogden, and Thomas Cooper.
In pursuance of this agreement, Mather's rights under the sale upon Townsend's judgment were conveyed to Thos. L. Ogden, by deed dated 22d April, 1800 ; and a sale having 13*
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been made under the execution issued upon the judgment of Talbot and Allum, the entire tract of country, as to all the estate and interest therein which Robert Morris was entitled to on the 8th June, 1797, was conveyed by Roger Sprague, sheriff of Ontario county, to Thomas L. Ogden, by deed dated 13th May, 1800.
Alexander Hamilton, David A. Ogden, and Thomas Cooper made an award or appointment, dated 22d January, 1801, directing conveyances by Thomas L. Ogden of the whole of the lands to and among the several grantees under Robert Morris, the parcels to be conveyed to each being defined by appropriate descriptions and boundaries.
In conformity with this appointment, the several confir- mations respecting the " million-acre," " 800,000-acre," and " 300,000-acre tracts" were executed by T. L. Ogden on the 13th and 27th February, 1801.
It was required by the award that each of the grantees under Morris, receiving a release from Thos. L. Ogden, should execute to him a release or quit-claim of all the resi- due of the tract of country, which releases were accordingly executed.
THE PULTENEY ESTATE.
The great size and present immense value of this tract may render some particulars respecting it satisfactory to those who are desirous of tracing the progress of Western New-York. It would, indeed, be almost unpardonable, in these notices of settlement, to pass silently by the enterpri- sing CHARLES WILLIAMSON, the early agent of that estate, whose exertions contributed so essentially to stimulate the progress of improvement in this then wilderness. It was from the Pulteney Estate that Rochester, Fitzhugh, and Carroll bought the " hundred-acre lot" which formed the nu- cleus of the City of Rochester.
After selling out about one third of the tract to which the Indian title had been extinguished by them, Phelps and Gorham, in November, 1790, sold nearly all the residue of that tract to Robert Morris. The quantity was about 1,264,000 acres, and the price eightpence per acre. Mr. Morris sold his bargain to Sir William Pulteney, and Charles Williamson was appointed the agent to manage the sales
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to the settlers, for whose accommodation land-offices were opened at Geneva and Bath. [The portion of territory to which Phelps and Gorham had not extinguished the Indian title was relinquished by them to Massachusetts, and after- ward passed through the hands of Robert Morris to the Hol- land Company, as stated particularly elsewhere in this volume.]
The boundaries of the Pulteney Estate, as given by Spaf- ford's Gazetteer, were thus : Northward by Lake Ontario ; eastward by the Pre-emption Line; south by the State of Pennsylvania ; west by a transit meridian line due north from lat. 42° to the Genesee River at the junction of the Cana- seraga Creek and Genesee River ; thence by that river to the south line of Caledonia; thence west twelve miles, and thence northeasterly by the east line of " the Triangle" twelve miles west of the Genesee River, to Lake Ontario. It comprises nearly all of Steuben and Ontario counties, the east range of townships in Allegany county, and the east and principal parts of the counties of Livingston and Monroe. Some por- tions of the territory included within these bounds, to the ex- tent, probably, of one third of the whole tract, had been sold to companies and individuals before the purchase made by Sir William Pulteney ; and that purchase was of course made subject to all the previous contracts.
Some of the memoranda furnished by Mr. Mande in 1800 respecting Captain Williamson's operations as agent of the Pulteney Estate, may be quoted here as illustrative not merely of the character of his agency, but of the history of our early settlements.
" Bath, which now contains about forty families," says the traveller, " was laid out in 1792, the same year that Captain Williamson forced a passage to this till then un- known country, through a length of wilderness which the oldest and most experienced woodmen could not be tempted to assist him to explore ; tempted, too, by an offer of more than five times the amount of their usual wages. Captain W. was then accompanied by his friend and relative, Mr. Johnstone, and a servant-afterward a backwoodsman was prevailed on to join the party.
" It was not till 1795 that this country could supply its inhabitants with food ; for, till then, their flour was brought from Northumberland and their pork from Philadelphia ; yet, so rapidly has the spirit of improvement gone forth in
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this country, so suddenly has plenty burst forth where so late was famine, and so quick the change of scene from dark-tangled forests (whose deathlike silence yielded but to the growl of bears, the howl of wolves, and the yell of sav- ages) to smiling fields, to flocks and herds, and to the busy hum of men, that, instead of being indebted to others for their support, they will henceforth annually supply the low country, Baltimore especially, with many hundred barrels of flour and heads of cattle.
" On Captain Williamson's first arrival, where now is Bath, he built a small log hut for his wife and family. If a stranger came to visit him, he built up a little nook for him to put his bed in. In a little time, a boarded or frame house was built to the left of the hut ; this also was intended but as a temporary residence, though it then appeared a palace. His present residence, a very commodious, roomy, and well- planned house, is situate to the right of where stood the hut, long consigned to the kitchen fire. * *
" Bath is situated in a small valley, watered by the Con- hocton, running at the foot of a mountainous ridge which shuts in the valley to the south : this ridge is high and steep, and clothed with wood to its summit. Bath is the capital of Steuben county, which county contains at present (in 1800) about 300 families.
" On the first settlement of the country, these mountainous districts were thought so unfavourably of when compared with the rich flats of Ontario county (or the Genesee coun- try), that none of the settlers could be prevailed upon to es- tablish themselves here till Captain Williamson himself set the example, saying, 'As Nature has done so much for the Northern plains, I will do something for these Southern mountains ;' though the truth of the case was, that Captain W. saw very clearly, on his first visit to the country, that the Susquehannah, and not the Mohawk, would be ultimately its best friend. Even now it has proved so ; for at this day (1800) a bushel of wheat is better worth one hundred cents at Bath than sixty cents at Geneva. This difference will grow wider every year ;* for little, if any, additional improve- ment can be made in the water communication with New- York, while that to Baltimore will admit of very extensive
F * What an amusing contrast is presented between these predictions and the present actual condition of things !
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and advantageous ones. Its present efforts are those of a child compared with the manly strength it will soon assume.
" I visited Captain Williamson's mills, a little west of Bath, on Conhocton Creek, which, before the winter sets in, will be made navigable fifteen miles higher up ; at least a farmer there promises to exert himself to send an ark down from thence in the spring. Should he succeed, Captain W. promises him a gift of thirty acres of land. The naviga- tion of the Susquehannah will then extend to within six miles of Canandaigua Lake.
" Geneva is situate at the northwest extremity of Seneca Lake. It is divided into Upper and Lower Town. The first establishments were on the margin of the lake, as best adapted to business ; but Captain Williamson, struck with the peculiar beauty of the elevated plain which crowns the high bank of the lake, and the many advantages which it pos- sessed as a site for a town, began here to lay out his build- ing-lots parallel with and facing the lake. These lots are three quarters of an acre deep, and half an acre in front, and valued (in 1800) at $375 per lot. One article in the agreement with Captain Williamson is, that no buildings shall be erected on the east side of the street, that the view of the lake may be kept open. Those who purchase a lot have also the option of purchasing such land as lays be- tween their lot and the lake-a convenience and advantage which I suppose few will forego-the quantity not being great, and consisting principally of the declivity of the bank, which, for the most part, is not so steep as to unfit it for pasturage or gardens.
" 'To give encouragement to this settlement, Captain Wil- liamson built a very large and handsome hotel, and invited an Englishman of the name of Powell to take the superin- tendence of it. Captain Williamson has two rooms in this hotel appropriated to himself; and as he resides here the greater part of the year, he takes care that Powell does jus- tice to the establishment and to his guests. From this cause it is, that, as it respects provisions, liquors, beds, and stabling, there are few inns in America equal to the hotel at Geneva. That part of the town where the hotel is situ- ated is intended for a public square. At Mile-Point, a mile south of the hotel, Captain Williamson has built a handsome brick house, intended for the residence of his brother, who had an intention of establishing at Geneva,
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" In 1792, Geneva did not contain more than three or four families ; but such is the beauty, salubrity, and convenience of the situation, that it now consists of at least sixty fami- lies, and is rapidly receiving accessions as the new build- ings' get finished for their reception. There were at this time (1800) settled at Geneva, Mr. and Mrs. Colt, Messrs. Johnstone, Hallet, Rees, Bogart, and Beekman; three of these gentlemen were lawyers. Here were also two doc- tors, two storekeepers, a blacksmith, shoemaker, tailor, hat- ter, hairdresser, saddler, brewer, printer, watchmaker, and cabinet-maker. A hat made entirely of beaver is sold here for $10.
" "Geneva is supplied with water conveyed in pipes from a neighbouring spring, and also by wells. From the lake, the town is plentifully supplied with a great variety of excellent fish. Seneca Lake is forty-four miles long, and from four to six miles wide. Its greatest depth is not known; the water is very clear and wholesome ; the bottom is sand and gravel, with a clear sandy beach, like the seashore, and, consequently, not infested with moschetoes, &c. This lake is navigated by a sloop of forty tons, which runs as a packet, and carries on a trade between Geneva and Cath- erinetown, at the head of the lake.
" Canandaigua, in 1792, was not farther advanced in im- provement than Geneva, as it then consisted of only two frame houses and a few log houses. It is now (1800) one third larger than Geneva-containing ninety families, and is the county town. Canandaigua is built at right angles with the lake, and, consequently, has not a commanding view of it. Strangers will always regret this circumstance ; for, though Canandaigua Lake is not half the size of Seneca Lake, yet its scenery is far more attractive, and its banks would have afforded a situation very superior to that of Geneva. 'Those, however, who laid out the town of Canandaigua looked for more substantial gratifications than that of merely pleasing the eye.
" Canandaigua consists of one street ; from this street are laid off sixty lots, thirty on each side. Each lot contains forty acres, having only twenty-two perches, or one hundred and twenty-one yards in front : thirty lots consequently ex- tends the town upward of two miles ; but the extremities of the present town are not more than a mile and a half apart. These lots are valued in their unimproved state at
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$600 to $1000 each. The land is very good ; two tons and a half of hay has been made to the acre.
" The principal inhabitants of Canandagua are, Thomas Morris, Esq., Mr. Phelps, Mr. Gorham (who are the greatest land-owners in Canandaigua and its neighbourhood), and Judge Atwater. I was introduced also to Mr. Greig, from Morpeth, in England-a gentleman reading law with Mr. Morris.
" Canandaigua Lake is eighteen miles long, and from one to one and a half in breadth. The water near the outlet is very shallow, but of very great depth near the head of the lake. The new outlet (an artificial one being cut at the northwest corner-the natural outlet being, as in Seneca Lake, at the northeast corner) has shoaled the water so much, that near that end of the lake a considerable sand-bar has appeared above its surface. The shores are low the first six miles-the lake is then imbosomed in high cliffs and mountains. The bottom is sand and gravel."
Captain Williamson, as agent of the Pulteney Estate, pur- chased the Allen mill-lot, or hundred-acre tract, which formed the nucleus of the City of Rochester. "Capt. W., perceiv- ing the value of this property, proposed to build a new and much larger mill" about the year 1800; but, in 1802, sold the tract to Rochester, Carroll, and Fitzhugh, who in 1812 laid it out into a village-plot under the name of the senior proprietor. At the Big Spring, within two miles of the Scotch settlement at Caledonia, Capt. Williamson laid out a town in acre lots; but only two families were resident at the spring in 1800, while at Caledonia there were twelve families, and six other families in the immediate neighbourhood. "These settlers purchased their land of Capt. W. for $3 per acre. He gave each family a cow, and supplied them with wheat for the first year, to be repaid in kind. He was also not to charge any interest for the first five years. The Big Spring spreads over two acres, on a limestone bed; the pond never freezes, and its outlet has force of water sufficient to turn two or more large water- wheels. The stream from this spring falls into Allen's Creek, on which Caledonia is situated"-[on which creek also stands the flourishing village of Scottsville.]
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THE MILITARY TRACT.
1781. Among the acts of the New-York Legislature in sustenance of the revolutionary war, was a resolution for raising forces to recruit the army in 1781-the period of en- listment fixed at three years, or till the close of the war- and the faith of the state pledged that each soldier should have 500 acres as soon after the war as the land could be safely surveyed.
1782. A law setting apart lands for the payment of mili- tary bounties was adopted by the New-York Legislature on the 25th of July, 1782. The preamble of the law set forth that, " as Congress had promised that lands should, at the close of the revolution, be given to the officers and soldiers, the Legislature were inclined to carry out the wishes and promises of Congress so far as the New-York soldiery were concerned." With these views the law decreed that the territory within the following boundaries should be devoted to the location of grants made to the New-York troops in the service of the United States, and to such other persons for military service as the Legislature might designate. The tract included all the lands in Tryon county (which then embraced all the state west of Albany county), bounded northward by Lake Ontario, Onondaga [now Oswego] River, and Oneida Lake ; west by a line drawn from the mouth of the Great Sodus or Assodorus Bay through the most west- erly inclination of Seneca Lake [this was the Pre-emption Line, or east boundary of the Massachusetts lands]; south by an east and west line drawn through the most southerly inclination of Seneca Lake; and on the east by a line drawn from the most westerly boundary of the Oneida or Tuscarora country on the Oneida Lake, through the most westerly inclination of the west bounds of the Oneida or Tuscarora country. This act was amended in some of its provisions, sess. 9, sess. 11, sess. 12, sess. 14. By the act of February 28, 1789, sess. 12, six lots were reserved in each township, viz., one for promoting the Gospel and a public school, another for promoting literature in this state, and the remaining four lots to satisfy the surplus share of com- missioned officers not corresponding with the division of 600 acres, and to compensate such persons as should by chance draw lots, the greater part of which should be covered with water.
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