USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Settlement in the West : sketches of Rochester with incidental notices of western New-York > Part 47
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THE SIX NATIONS.
canoe in 1811, operated still more powerfully at an earlier period, and drove large numbers of the Senecas particularly to combine westward with the Indian forces which defeated the expeditions of Harmar and St. Clair, and which made such a desperate struggle against General Wayne. What might have been the fate of Western New-York and its early settlers, had not Wayne retrieved the honour of the American arms by signally overthrowing the savages, who had grown insolent with their victories over the preceding commanders, may be inferred from the statement of Mr. Hosmer, and from the general tenour of savage warfare :-
" Prior to the defeat of the Indians by General Wayne," says Mr. Hosmer in his answer to our inquiries, " our Gen- esee Indians behaved very rudely ; they would impudently enter our houses and take the prepared food from the tables without leave. But, immediately after the event of the bat- tle was known, they became humble and tame as spaniels. It was a fact known to my father and one or two others of the early settlers, that our Indians were ready to rise upon the frontier dwellers of this state as soon as it should be known that the Indians had been victorious over Wayne, which they did not doubt. This information was communicated by an American gentleman living at Newark, in Upper Can- ada, high in the confidence of the government, as I have learned since from my father. The letters were all care- fully destroyed, and the name of the informer kept a secret by Gen. Israel Chapin (then Superintendent of Indian Af- fairs) and my father, to whom alone it was known. They kept the secret of the peril which hung over the country, and risked themselves and their families on the event, rather than, by making the fact prematurely known, to spread dis- may and break up the early settlements, and thus retard the onward march of improvement. The event justified the daring resolution, and the country prospered. These facts I learned from my father, and I have never doubted them. My own recollection serves me as to the altered conduct of the Indians after the battle westward, in which Wayne was victorious over the savage tribes that defeated his predeces- sors Harmar and St. Clair."
The treaty of Greenville, consequent upon the success- ful termination of this campaign, or what is frequently de- nominated Wayne's War, was concluded on the 3d of Au- gust, 1795. This treaty, the basis of most of our subse-
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quent treaties with the Northwestern Indians, was attended by twelve tribes ; some of whom, it is believed, had never before entered into treaty with the United States. They ceded an extensive tract of country south of the lakes and west of the Ohio, together with certain specific tracts, in- cluding the sites of all the northwestern posts, as an indem- nification for the expenses of the war. The stipulations of the treaty at Greenville continued unbroken till the battle of Tippecanoe, a period of sixteen years, when the influence of British emissaries was again glaringly manifested by the savages.
" 'The decisive victory of Wayne," says Mrs. Willard, in her "Republic of America," " had a salutary effect on all the tribes northwest of the Ohio, and also upon the Six Nations." As to the influence in the latter case, the testi- mony of Mr. Hosmer, of Avon, with which this chapter was commenced, is fully accordant with the history of the times. Had the Indians, imboldened by repeated successes over Harmar and St. Clair, added to their triumphs a victory over Wayne, the insolence of the Senecas and the barbari- ties of the northwestern tribes LEAVE LITTLE ROOM TO DOUBT WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE FATE OF THE EARLY SETTLERS OF WESTERN NEW-YORK.
The speeches of the Indian Chiefs at Brownstown (in 1816), corroborative of the assertions respecting the con- nexion of the Senecas with the Indian army in fighting the forces of Harrison at Tippecanoe, have been politely pre- sented to us by Mr. Hosmer.
405
ORIGIN OF THE CANAL SYSTEM.
Note on the Canal Question.
Mr. Hawley has in several publications denied that he ever heard from Mr. Geddes, or from any one else, the re- mark ascribed to Mr. Gouverneur Morris, or remarks made by any other person respecting the project of canalling by the " overland route" between Lake Erie and the Mohawk, before the date of his own essays on the subject.
In reference to the assertion of Mr. Geddes that he had communicated to Judge Forman (as well as to Jesse Haw- ley) the information given by Simeon De Witt, that Gouver- neur Morris had suggested the project of the Erie Canal in 1803, Judge Forman says-
" Gouverneur Morris had travelled and seen canals in other countries, and, no doubt, had bright visions of the future improvement of this country, and occasionally astonished his friends by detailing them in conversation ; but it was nowise probable that he viewed them as works to be accom- plished in his day, or, as a patriot, he would have proposed them to the Legislature. The surveyor-general (De Witt) thought of those suggestions only to relate them for their ex- travagance ; and Judge Geddes, a member of the Legisla- ture at the time he heard them, was not so impressed by them as to offer any proposition to the Legislature on the subject. His suggestions, therefore, had produced no action ; they had literally sunk into the earth ; and, in reality, had no more effect in producing the canal than the ancient poet's song of the Fortunate Islands beyond the Atlantic Ocean had in producing the discovery of America ; and no man can now point out the person who, had I not done it, would have at once conceived the idea, appreciated its importance, and had the moral courage to meet the ridicule of proposing so wild a measure in earnest. It might have lain for years, and at length a canal been made to Lake Ontario, towards which public attention was then directed, had not the ice been broken by that resolution, and an impetus given to a direct canal by the discoveries made under it.
" I have ever felt that justice has not been done to the importance of that ineasure by those who have written on the subject, which I can only account for by supposing each claimant of honour thought his own share would be the greater by depreciating that of others, and have sat still in the confidence that some impartial historian would discrimi- 35*
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nate between the importance of thinking of a thing and doing it-between taking the first step and any other in the same course. An incident evincive of this spirit occurred at the canal celebration. 'The Rochester committee sent me an in- vitation to attend the celebration, with assurances of their ' high consideration' as 'the first legislative projector of the greatest improvement of the age.'* I attended the celebra- tion at Rochester, and heard from the orator, in the presence of thousands, a highly honourable notice of the measure in- troduced by me, and the important results growing out of it. You may appreciate my feelings when, afterward reading the printed oration, I found that paragraph suppressed. I have never inquired by whom or for what purpose it was done. * *
" As one of a committee from Syracuse," continues Mr. Forman, " I attended the fête to the mingling of the waters of Lake Erie with the ocean off Sandy Hook; and from that day to the receipt of your letter, have been attending to my own concerns, satisfied with having, in any degree, contrib- uted to so great a public benefit, and trusting that an impar- tial posterity would render to each person concerned his just meed of praise. Nor should I have deemed it at all impor- tant to have detailed these facts, occurring since the contest for fame began, had not the singular circumstance occurred that the origin of a great public work, but just completed, should so soon be involved in obscurity, and the facts rela- ting to its incipient stages confidently denied, so that thou- sands who are experiencing the benefits of the canal are in doubt to whom they are indebted for the boon, instead of possessing such a clear statement of the case as would ena- ble them justly to appreciate the share each person took in it, from its conception to its final consummation."
* Copy of the invitation .- " Rochester, Oct. 19, 1825 .- Dear Sir : It having been mentioned to our committee of arrangements for cele- brating the completion of the Erie Canal, that the first legislative pro- ceedings ever had in relation to this great work were upon a resolution offered by yourself in 1808, as a member of Assembly from the county of Onondaga, it was instantly and unanimously resolved to invite you to participate in the approaching celebration, as a guest of the citizens of Rochester. In transmitting the invitation of our committee, we beg leave to add assurances of our high consideration and esteem for the first legislative projector of the greatest improvement of the age.
" Very respectfully yours,
" VINCENT MATHEWS, Chairman.
" THURLOW WEED, Secretary.
" JOSHUA FORMAN, Esq."
Drawn by WP. Shaver
Engraved by E Mackenzie
MRochester
Drawn & lingared ion Okelle's sketches of Rochester and Western New York _
NATHANIEL ROCHESTER.
SERVICES IN THE REVOLUTION ; SETTLEMENT IN WESTERN NEW- YORK, ETC.
Owing to the recent origin of Rochester, those who contributed to its early interests remain to behold and enjoy the results of well-di- rected enterprise. The individual to whom the city owes its appella- tion forms, however, one of the few exceptions to this remark. The name of the venerable NATHANIEL ROCHESTER belongs to the honoured dead.
We present, in the accompanying engraving, his features once more to the eyes of his fellow-citizens. It is taken from an original portrait, painted near the close of his life. The biographical sketch which follows is a tribute from the same pen as the notice published in the Daily Advertiser, and the public eulogy delivered at the time of his la- mented decease. This may account for the uncredited use of the lan- guage of those documents. The materials were derived from personal intimacy with the father of our city and autobiographical memoranda left by him. As worthy of record, the testimonials of respect from sev- eral of the public bodies are subjoined ; and original letters in posses- sion of the family, valuable as relics of their distinguished writers.
The family of Colonel Rochester, as the name indicates, was of English descent, and for three generations had been resident in Vir- ginia, in Westmoreland county of which state, on the 21st of Februa- ry, 1752, he was born.
The name is familiar as that of an ancient Episcopal city situated on the Medway, in the county of Kent ; and as having constituted the earldom title of John Wilmot, celebrated for his dissolute life and re- pentant death. It may be remarked, in passing, as a curious coinci- dence, that the location of the English city bears a considerable resem- blance to our own ; and that the original name was derived from the most striking feature common to both. The River Medway, corre- sponding nearly in size with the Genesee, passes with a strong and tur- bid current through the town, the primitive name of which, at its found- ation by the ancient Britons, was Dwr-bryf, signifying " a swift stream." The present appellation is Saxon, Hroff-ceaster. The first part, Hroff, is either a contraction of Durobriois, the Roman version of Dwr-bryf, or, as Bede considered, the proper name of some feudal prince : the latter, ccaster (chester), is the term in that language for camp. Col- onel Rochester lived to find himself the last of the household of his childhood, one brother and three sisters having joined his departed pa- rents before him. During his childhood, the opportunities for a liberal education were extremely limited. The varied and practical informa- tion for which the colonel was distinguished in private intercourse, as well as in the public trusts he so honourably filled, was the fruit of the later application of a clear and vigorous mind in the intervals of leisure afforded by a life of no ordinary activity and vicissitude.
His early destination was mercantile, and at the age of twenty he en- tered into business in company with Colonel John Hamilton, who after- ward held the consulate for the British government in the Middle
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APPENDIX.
States. The struggle of the colonies with the fatherland was then at hand, drawing towards it all the youthful energy of the country. The political changes deranged his commercial operations, and, leaving thus for him a forced leisure, enabled him to gratify his feelings with propri- ety, and identify himself with the stern effort for freedom. His title of lieutenant colonel was no holyday grace, but the wel !- earned badge of severe days. It enrolled him among the distinguished staff which guided the operations of the North Carolina militia in that eventful period. The citizen soldiers of those days were far from being mere fighting machines. They had to think as well as act. They had to identify themselves in all the morale of revolutionary movement, as well as physically meet the duties of its campaigns. In consequence of this, we find Colonel Rochester, at the early age of twenty-three, a member of the "Committee of Safety" for Orange county. This of- fice involved responsibility and hazard. The business of the committee was to promote the revolutionary spirit among the people ; to procure the supplies of arms and ammunition ; make collections for the people of Boston, whose harbour was blockaded by a British fleet, and to prevent the sale and consumption of East India teas. The use of this beverage then was a test of political principle, and stood in the relation to patriotic fidelity which the few grains of incense required to be cast on the altar of a pagan divinity did to the constancy of the Christian martyrs.
In 1775 the young soldier entered upon direct legislative duties, and sat as member of the provincial convention of North Carolina. A memorable year, and a memorable body in the spirit and effect of their measures ! Many vigorous acts were passed by them to imbody the continental troops, organize the minute-men, arrange the militia system, and devise new measures of defence. From this convention Colonel Rochester's first commission as major of militia emanated ; and the rapid progress of hostilities did not leave him long without an opportu- nity of testing his "maiden sword." In Cumberland county resided a number of Highland Scotch, who had followed the disastrous fortunes of the Pretender, and, in consequence, became exiles from their native hills. An attempt was made to connect these with the English army, then in New-York ; and the British general, Alexander M'Donald, was sent on a secret mission among them with this intention. His scheme being carefully executed, the first intelligence of it was that a thousand claymores were enlisted for the king, and were marching for embarcation to Wilmington. As soon, however, as it was known at Hillsborough, Col. Thackston, with a competent force, passed on rapidly in pursuit to Fayetteville, then called Cross Creek. The enemy had left before they arrived. Major Rochester was despatched by his commanding officer to overtake them by forced marches before Gen. M'Donald could gain the transports waiting at the month of Cape Fear River to convey them to New-York. At daybreak, however, after a march of twenty miles, the general and his Scotch recruits were met on the retreat, having been intercepted and turned at Moore's Creek bridge by Col. Caswell, afterward the first governor of the state. Major Rochester made prisoners of the whole, but, from scarcity of provisions, was com- pelled to release all except about fifty, who had been appointed officers by Gen. M'Donald. The rest were released under obligation not to serve again during the war ; which promise they violated by joining Lord Cornwallis on his march through North Carolina in 1782. The captured officers were marched four hundred miles to Frederick, in
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SKETCH OF NATHANIEL ROCHESTER.
Maryland, and remained there as prisoners of war until exchanged. In disarming the whole at Divo's ferry, the poor Scotch relinquished their dirks with great reluctance, as they had been handed down from father to son for many generations, with all the rich and mysterious in- terest of " auld lang syne."
On the return of the subject of our notice to headquarters, he found that Col. Martin, of the Salisbury minute-men, had arrived with two thousand men; and to him the credit of the capture is erroneously as- cribed by Chief Justice Marshall in his " Life of Washington."
In 1776 Major Rochester was again a member of the convention at Halifax. By this body a constitution or form of government was adopted. By it, too, he was promoted to the rank and pay of a colo- nel for the North Carolina line, consisting of ten regiments, and ap- pointed commissary general of military stores and clothing. The con- vention organized the government by the appointment of governor and other state officers ; and directed an election in November following for members of a state legislature. A week or two before this elec- tion took place, Col. R. was compelled by ill health to resign his office of commissary. This ill health was the consequence of devoted atten- tion to its duties and exposure to the action of the climate in various sickly parts of the country.
This extrication from immediate military duty was hailed by his townsmen at Hillsborough with a claim upon him for renewed legisla- tive exertions ; and, before he reached home, his election was secured as member of Assembly. In this the late Nathaniel Macon was a contemporary, who, for a series of more than thirty successive years, filled a seat in the Senate of the United States.
After the war, and the resignation of the office of clerk of the court, which had in the mean time been given him, Col. Rochester again embarked in mercantile pursuits, first in Philadelphia, but perma- nently at Hagerstown, Maryland. His first associates in this were Col. Thomas Hart, father-in-law to Hon. Henry Clay, and James Brown, late minister to France. In connexion with the former, in J 783, he went largely into the purchase and manufacture of wheat, and established nail and rope factories. This laid the foundation of that knowledge of water-power and its application which induced the purchases subse- quently in Western New-York, both at Dansville and Rochester. As early as May, 1785, the colonel visited Kentucky to look after lands held by his partners and himself. This was a trading expedition as well, and the profit realized on the stock taken amounted to 100 per cent. In the summer of 1786 a violent sickness attacked the subject of our memoir, from the constitutional effects of which he never recov- ered entirely, and was through life subject to distress originating from it. His outward appearance always indicated a slender constitution. Tall in person, strong in feature, active in movement, and unwearied in engagements both of mind and body, he was at the same time thin and pallid. At a premature period of life symptoms of age appeared ; and, for some time before his decease, he lost his erect and soldier-like car- riage, and became bent and broken. His mind and temper were both too ardent to allow him to "rust out." High nervous energy carried him successfully through enterprises where stronger men might have yielded, but it could not shield him from the premature effects on the physical frame. For many years before his decease, a stranger would
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APPENDIX.
have attributed to the venerable man more years than he had really numbered. But to the last would the energy have been found undimin- ished. His feelings would flash up with intense interest to political themes, and enter warmly into projects of a public nature for the social or pecuniary advancement of our city. Habitually, his manner was calm and thoughtful, perhaps with a dash of sternness-the conse- quence of early military command and the solemn vicissitudes of the rev- olutionary struggle. But the prevailing expression of a small blue eye and regular line of features was indicative of that of the heart within- a sympathy with others, learned through trial, and a willing activity to aid them in difficulties, for which he had been trained by coping with his own.
But to return to the history. In 1788 Col. Rochester married So- phia, daughter of William Beatty, Esq., of Maryland, who still survives, the object of the respect of the community, and of reverent attachment to the circle of eight children and thirty-six grandchildren, who have at times been nearly all gathered in her hospitable dwelling. Two years after, Col. Rochester took leave of his public legislative life at the south, from dissatisfaction with the intrigue and management which he thought existed among the members.
Col. Rochester's connexion with this section of the state dates as early as 1800. In this year, while out on a second visit to Kentucky, he visited " West Genesee," where, however, he appears previously to have become the purchaser of six hundred and forty acres of land. This purchase had been made with the intention of removing to it with his family ; but, finding the country very new, the population rough, and the locality sickly, he disposed of the land.
In the interval between this time and 1810, in which Col. Rochester came as a resident to Western New-York, he continued engaged in manufactures in Maryland, and held as public trusts, successively, the office of sheriff ; president of the Hagerstown Bank, with a salary of one thousand dollars ; elector of president in 1808, at the accession of Madi- son to that office, and of George Clinton to that of vice-president.
In September of 1800, immediately after the sale of his former pur- chase, Col. Rochester, associated with Major Carroll, Col. William Fitz- hugh, and Col. Hilton, again visited Western New-York. The two first- mentioned gentlemen purchased twelve thousand acres of land in Liv- ingston county, and Col. Rochester about four hundred adjoining theirs, and one hundred and fifty farther south at Dansville. In 1802 the same company, except Major Hilton, returned to the Genesee to look after their lands and tenantry, when the " Hundred-acre Lot," now in- cluded in our city, was obtained at seventeen dollars and fifty cents an acre. A site, then a swamp, now a vigorous and beautiful city !- then sustaining no human beings, and now teeming with a population of thou- sands in the midst of every social, moral, and religious privilege that a well-regulated mind could desire. This change, incredible almost, as contemplated among the associations of the Old World, hardly with us creates its just surprise and reflection. It is one instance among hun- dreds of what can be accomplished where industry and enterprise are suffered to hold on their natural course ; where property is protected by just laws, but not fettered in its appropriation ; where no artificial dis tinctions of society cramp its movements, and where independence of thought and action are cherished and enlarged by the responsible privi- leges of a popular government. We suffer, and deeply too, at times,
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SKETCH OF NATHANIEL ROCHESTER.
from the reaction of a speculation pushed to wildness, and of trade distancing our substantial resources. But who can wonder, much less blame ? It is the probation of everything noble on earth, that it is to be developed by obstruction and restraint. The innocent feelings have their limit where they lose by excess their purity. The active ener- gies have their bounds where physical and moral law stand alike ag- grieved when they are overpassed. We may have transgressed thus in the enterprise commercial and speculative, and committed an exten- sive fault in political economy, if not in morality also. It was virtually impossible, considering human nature under the temptation, it could be otherwise. It is the inevitable consequence of great power in connex- ion with imperfect materials. The evils, it is true, are very great. If any evils existed, they must be great. The elements at work have been vast, the beneficial results almost incalculable. Less misfortune would there have been had there existed less amplitude of design and hardi- hood of execution. But it would have left regions as primitive forests which now are " fruitful fields"-rivers and streams to brawl to the winds which now are sources of productive industry and communication for tens of thousands. At the same time with the purchase of the " Hundred-acre Lot," Col. Rochester added about three hundred, ad- joining his former tract in Livingston county.
Before adverting to the removal of Col. Rochester and family, it may be interesting to present some letters addressed to him as chairman of certain public meetings. They show that, although retired from the Legislature, his interest in national politics was unabated ; and that he retained with it the confidence of his fellow-citizens.
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