USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Volume One > Part 16
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At Seventh Street 82'
At Walnut Street 70'
At Eighth Street 85'
At Cherry Street 50'
At Ninth Street 88'
At Poplar Street 61'
At Tenth Street 90'
At Liberty Street 70'
At Bottom of Reservoir on
Twenty-sixth Street 210'
State Street south from Second:
At Second Street 56'
At Third Street 65'
At Fourth Street 71'
At Twenty-first St. at Peach. ._ 144'
At Fifth Street 75'
At Sixth Street
77'
At Twenty-second St. at Peach_157' At Twenty-fifth St. at Peach __ 194'
Our Lake Erie forms our northern boundary, and is one of a chain of great fresh-water lakes known as the "Great Lakes", draining, the one into the next, until a common discharge is had through the St. Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. The name "Erie" is derived from the name of a nation of Indians who inhabited this region before the arrival of the white people, and the word seems to have had its origin in Indian nomen- clature as interpreted by the French.
Recent measurements of the lakes in our Great Lakes system are as follows :
Great Lakes Measurements.
Mean Depth
Length
Width
Area
Elevation Above Sea
Superior
688'
335 miles
160 miles
82,000 sq. m.
602 ft.
Michigan 600'
300 miles
108 miles
23,000 sq. m.
581 1-4 ft.
Huron
600' 200 miles
169 miles
23,000 sq. m.
581 1-4 ft.
Erie
84'
250 miles
80 miles
6,000 sq. m.
573 7-10 ft.
Ontario 500'
180 miles
65 miles
6,000 sq. m.
246 1-2 ft.
The length of all five is 1,265 miles, covering an area of upward of 135,000 sq. miles. It is estimated that no more water passes over Niagara Falls than enters the lake from Detroit River; indicating that all of the water received by the lake from the streams emptying into it, does not exceed the amount lost by evaporation.
At Eleventh Street 93'
At Twelfth Street 95'
At Thirteenth Street at Peach_100' At Fourteenth Street at Peach_104' At Sixteenth Street at Peach __ 120' At Eighteenth Street at Peach_126'
CHAPTER XII
OUR LAND TITLES.
FRENCH, INDIAN, ENGLISH AND PENN'S TITLES ACQUIRED AND EXTINGUISHED -- ERIE TRIANGLE SECURED-DONATION LANDS, STATE RESERVATIONS ACADEMY TRACTS-THE LAND COMPANIES-LAND TROUBLES-EARLY SALES -JUDAH COLT'S STORY.
In the first place, it must be borne in mind when considering the source of the land titles in this county, that Erie County is, geographically speak- ing, composed of two distinct sections ; the southern part is almost a perfect quadrillateral containing some 258,613 acres, and which was embraced within the original grants from King Charles II of England to William Penn under date of March 4, 1681; and the northern portion adjacent to it, which is in the form of a right-angled triangle, containing some 202,187 acres obtained by the state from the United States government after the claims of New York, Connecticut, and other states had been released.
With respect to the first portion, or that southern part derived from the Penns, as we have said above, the Crown of England had assumed to be the rightful owners of the country bordering upon the Atlantic Ocean, and extending westward to the Pacific Ocean and from New England south- wards to the Carolinas; and what was more, their right was being main- tained by a dominant armed power and settlement in spite of the posses- sory rights of even the Indians, especially west of the Allegheny Mountains.
Having assumed to be the rightful proprietors of that vast domain, and desiring that the territory should be populated and become revenue producing, it was necessary to interest some persons in it who would colo- nize the country as quickly as possible. To this end the Crown of England, being then somewhat indebted to the father of William Penn, and William
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209
,
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
being anxious to find a home for himself and family, as well as for numer- bus friends of his in the Quaker Faith, an arrangement was effected by which the old debt was canceled and William Penn was granted all of that region in the New World having the Delaware River for its eastern bound- ary, the 40th degree of North Latitude for its southern boundary and the north boundary was to be the 43d degree of North Latitude; the grant to extend westward for a distance of five degrees from the Delaware River.
William Penn accepted the grant and at once began to plan for its colonization. But during his lifetime he scarcely even heard of the nature
SINNERES SACRIMIS
CAYOUGES SACHIME
Sodsio
wanne (1 s.).
Trbonwaren
genie (L.s).
Sopahào
wanne (Ls).
Thodsino
jago-(L s).
Tosoquat
hoa .
(% s).
Nijuch
sagentisquoa (z s.).
ONNANDAGE SACHINA
MAQUASE SACHIMS
Tegach
nawadiqua (z 8.) .
Tsina
go ( L s.
Kach
wadochon (rs).
Onucher '.
anorum (L s).
Taga ,
tsehede (z s).
Sade
ganasttie (z's)
Teoni
ahigarawe
alias Hendrik (₺ s).
Ach
rireho (1 s):
INDIAN SIGNATURES TO DEED OF JULY 19, 1701, FOR THIS TERRITORY
of the western portion of his domain. The mountains effectually barred convenient access to it; the Indians occupied the mountains and the coun- try to the west of them; and the means of travel were too inconvenient for him to venture beyond the territory which was for the time more than sufficient to employ all of his resources. But he was content that it was embraced within his grant, be it what it might turn out to be. He and his "heirs and successors were to pay two beaver skins on January 1st every year" as tribute.
He at once arranged with the Indians a generous treaty of friendship and amity which ensured his colonists quiet occupation of their home- steads, and himself and his agents undisturbed plans for its development. Even before his own arrival in the new land, his agents had bought land
211
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
from the Indians in addition to having purchased it from the crown, thus assuring himself and them of friendly and just relations.
Although Penn secured several grants from the Indians east of the mountains earlier, it was not until Oct. 23, 1784, that a treaty was con- cluded with the Six Nations Indians (composed of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas, and the Tuscaroras) that the dissatisfac- tions engendered by the treaty with the Indians assembled at Albany in 1754, were overcome. The treaty of 1784 was made at Fort Stanwix (now Rome, N. Y.), passing to the State of Pennsylvania all of the remaining Indian claims and titles to the territory west of the purchase of 1768, and describes the territory ceded as follows: "Beginning on the south side of the river Ohio, where the western boundary of the State of Pennsylvania crosses the said river, near Shingo's Old Town, at the mouth of Beaver Creek, and thence by a due north line to the end of the forty-second and beginning of the forty-third degrees of north latitude; thence by a due east line, separating the forty-second and forty-third degrees of north lati- tude, to the east side of the East Branch of the river Susquehanna; thence by the bounds of the late purchase made at Fort Stanwix, the 5th day of November, Anno Domini 1768, as follows: 'Down the East Branch of the Susquehanna, on the east side thereof, till it comes opposite the mouth of a creek, called by the Indians Awandac, and across the river, and up the said creek, on the south side thereof, along the range of hills, called Bur- nett's Hills by the English, and by the Indians ; on the north side of them, to the head of a creek, which runs into the West Branch of the Susquehanna, which creek is by the Indians called Tyadaghton, but by Pennsylvanians Pine Creek, and down said creek, on the south side thereof, to the said West Branch of the Susquehanna; then crossing the said river, and running up the same, on the south side thereof, the several courses thereof to the fork of the same river (now known as the Canoe Fork, or the "Cherry Tree Corner") which lies nearest to a place on the river Ohio (Allegheny), called Kittanning, and from the fork by a straight line to Kittanning aforesaid; and then down said river by the several courses thereof, to where the western boundary of the said State of Pennsylvania crosses the same river, at the place of beginning.'" This grant included the southern, rectangular portion of Erie County.
It was soon discovered that the Wyandot and Delaware Indians were in occupation of a large piece of territory west of the Allegheny River. As they had not joined in the treaty of 1784, a separate treaty was made
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
with them at Fort McIntoch (now Beaver), in January, 1785, covering practically the same description as contained in the treaty with the Six Nations in 1784. Thus the final Indian title to the lands in the original limits of Pennsylvania was extinguished without bloodshed, and wholly by negotiation and honorable purchase, pursuant to the humane policy instituted by William Penn, and which ever characterized his dealings with the Indians.
The title of the Penn family to all of the original territory within the confines of their grant from the crown, was confiscated by the state in consequence of the events following the Declaration of Independence in 1776, followed by the so-called Divesting Act of Nov. 27, 1779. This Act, however, saved all titles which the Penns had granted prior to July 4, 1776, as well as all private estates and lands of the Penns, including surveyed manors or tenths, and certain quit-rents. (1 Smith's Laws, 479.)
Having come into the ownership and possession of all of the lands within the state, and expecting shortly to acquire the Indian title to the Triangle, the state passed the Act of March 12, 1783, which divided the country north of the Ohio and west of the Allegheny into two large bodies, the southern piece from a line a little south of New Castle was to be given to officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line in redemption of the Certificates of Depreciation, and became known as the "Depreciation Lands". The northern section was to fulfill the promise of the state in its resolution of March 7, 1780, that it would make the officers and soldiers of the Pennsylvania Line certain donations of lands, in accordance with their rank in the service. With the Depreciation Lands we are not now con- cerned. But the Donation Lands included the entire southern portion of our county up to the "Old State Line".
Numerous acts of assembly were subsequently passed to carry into effect the intent of the legislature, and much confusion and considerable litigation ensued in the efforts of the settlers and the courts to reconcile the various acts, as well as the various situations which arose in conse- quence of settlers taking up lands under the provisions of the one or the other of such acts.
The "Donation District" extended from the northern line of the "De- preciation Lands" northward to the north line of the state. It was divided into ten districts, the first at the south side of it, and so the "Tenth Dona- tion District" embraced the portion of this county which lay south of the "Old State Line", that is, south of the "Erie Triangle".
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
The Act of March 24, 1785, directed the mode of distributing the Donation Lands promised to the troops of this Commonwealth, and re- ferred to the Resolution of March 7, 1780, and the Act of March 12, 1783, and directed the Surveyor General to appoint deputies to be approved by the Supreme Executive Council, to survey and lay off the land into lots; provided what officers and soldiers should be entitled to lands, according to the rank and pay they held last before they left the service. The lots were to be of four descriptions, viz : 500 acres for major-generals, brigadier- generals, colonels, captains, and two-thirds of lieutenant-colonels ; 300-acre lots for regimental surgeons and mates chaplains, majors and ensigns ; 250-acre lots for one-third of lieutenant-colonels, sergeants, sergeant- majors, and quarter-masters; and 200-acre lots for lieutenants, corporals, drummers, fifers, drum-majors, fife-majors, and privates. These deputy surveyors were required to observe sundry strict provisions as to running the lines, marking and numbering the corners and lots, and to use no par- tiality in laying them off. Each district was to be assigned to a deputy- surveyor who would have charge of the work in that district. The Tenth Donation District was to be in charge of David Watts. The deputies were appointed by the Surveyor-General on May 5, 1785; and on the same day Commissioners David Rittenhouse, Andrew Porter, and Andrew Ellicott, were appointed to continue the survey and location of the western line of the state from the Ohio River to Lake Erie, so that the deputy-surveyors could more surely determine the western limits of the various Donation Districts. They commenced their work at the Ohio River on Aug. 23, 1785, but only run off between 40 and 50 miles when they suspended their work until the following spring. June 25, 1786, Messrs. Porter and Alexander McClean resumed the survey, and on Friday, Sept. 15, 1786, they came to Lake Erie, a distance of 155 miles 226 perches from the southwest corner of the state.
The north line of the state had been run for 90 miles westward from the Delaware River by the Commissioners appointed for that purpose, and reported Oct. 12, 1786. The western end of the line was reported Oct. 29, 1787, by Andrew Ellicott and Andrew Porter for Pennsylvania, and Abra- ham Hardenberg and William Morris for New York. This report speaks of the running and marking of the line on the 43d parallel of north latitude, beginning at the Delaware River and extending to a meridian drawn from the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, and that they had extended the line from the 90th milestone to Lake Erie, and marked the same permanently
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
with milestones, or posts surrounded with earth where no stone was found, well marked, with variations of the magnetic needle, and the distances; and on the south side, "Pennsylvania, latitude 42º N., 1787"; and on the north side, "New York". The western end of this line ends in Lake Erie a short distance from the shore end of the line which marks the western boundary of the state. This north line of the state began at a stone monument upon a small island in the Mohawk branch of the Delaware, set upon the begin- ning of the 43d degree of north latitude and ran thence westward a distance of 259 miles and 88 perches to its terminus in the meridian forming the west line of the state.
The west and north lines of the state being established, the deputy- surveyors were enabled to complete the work of laying off the Donation Lots. The more southern ones were first taken up; but fear of the Indians restrained the surveyors from an early completion of the plotting, and also deterred intending settlers from coming forward to take part in the draw- ing for lots as well as from entering the district for the purpose of settlement.
The location of the north and west boundary lines of the state brought out the fact very clearly that Pennsylvania had no harbor on Lake Erie, and but very little of its shore line; a matter which caused keen disappoint- ment to those who had the interests of the state at heart. In their investi- gations as to how to obtain a greater extent of shore line upon Lake Erie, and especially to secure the fine harbor lying just east of the corner of the state, it was discovered that several conflicting claims to it were being asserted by the states of New York, Massachusetts, and even by Virginia. General William Irvine, having probably been the first to comprehend the situation owing to his having surveyed in this region, became active in the matter. He, being a member of the House at Washington, presented a resolution, reciting the facts, on Feb. 23, 1788; and also reciting that shortly before the states of New York and Massachusetts had ceded their claims in this county and westward to the United States Government with the understanding that a line was to be run which would fix the western boundaries of those states; and suggesting that it was essential to the peace and harmony of the country that this boundary line be run and fixed, and that the Geographer of the United States, in conjunction with the proper representatives of those states, ascertain and establish the western limits of the states aforesaid. The Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania was not only cognizant of this situation, but had been
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
stimulated to a keen desire for its fulfillment, and were actively urging action towards this end.
Pursuant to the resolution a committee was appointed consisting of Messrs. Clark, Irvine, Armstrong, Wadsworth, and Brown; and on June 6, 1788, the favorable report of this committee was formally adopted and directions given that the survey be made. The Board of the Treasury was authorized to sell the tract to the west of that line, either at private sale, at a price not less than seventy-five cents per acre; and on July 7, 1788, William Bingham and James R. Reid, two of Pennsylvania's delegates in the matter, proposed the purchase of the Triangle on those terms by the State of Pennsylvania, and on Aug. 28, 1788, Messrs. Samuel Osgood and Arthur Lee, on behalf of the Board of the Treasury, accepted the proposal. Congress thereupon passed an act of cession and transfer on Sept. 4, 1788, and on Sept. 13, 1788, our Assembly confirmed the purchase on an esti- mate of nine hundred and fifty pounds as necessary for the same.
The tract of land as described in the proceedings, and in the con- . firming Act of Sept. 13, 1788, is "a triangular piece or tract of country, situate, lying, and being on Lake Erie, bounded on the east by a meridian line, part of the western boundary of the State of New York; on the south by part of the northern boundary of the State of Pennsylvania; being a continuation of the line between this state and that of New York, from the western boundary of the said State till it intersects the said lake, including Presque Isle, and running northeasterly, or as the margin of said lake runs, according to the several courses thereof (with all benefit, prop- erty and advantages of the coast, bays, and inlets, on or near that part of the margin of said lake, which is the boundary of the country de- scribed, or intended so to be), till it meets the same meridian line before mentioned."
The meridian line above referred to was stipulated to be a meridian line commencing at the west end of Lake Ontario and to be produced south until it intersected the boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania ; provided, however, that the charter of New York contained the proviso that it should be twenty miles west of the most westerly bend of the Niagara River. Messrs. Andrew Ellicott, Surveyor-General for the United States, and Mr. Frederick Saxton on behalf of the other parties, proceeded to the establishment of this boundary line. As Burlington Bay is a very considerable body of water attached to the western extremity of Lake Ontario, a problem presented itself as to whether the line should start
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
at the extremity of the lake proper, or of the bay. It was determined that the peninsula between the two should be the starting place, and running the line south to the lake, and then off-setting around the east end of Lake Erie and taking up the line again from the south margin of the lake, it was found that this line co-incided with the line indicated in the charter of New York; and the line so run became the north and south line between the states of New York and Pennsylvania, and the eastern boundary of "The Erie Triangle."
Thus the territory comprised within the limits of the present state of Pennsylvania was finally assembled, and the title established with the exception of the outstanding Indian titles to the Triangle.
In the fall of 1788, it was ascertained that the disposition of the Indians towards the state was of a pacific nature, and that a large assembly or council of the western and northern tribes would shortly be held at Muskingum to discuss a treaty with the Continental Commissioners. It was deemed a favorable opportunity to propose the purchase of the out- standing Indian Claims to this region. Accordingly, on Sept. 10, 1788, Messrs. Peters, Lowry, Rittenhouse, Finlay, and Irvine were named as a committee to confer with the Indian Council concerning the matter, who reported that nine hundred and fifty pounds would likely be required for the purpose; and Oct. 2, 1788, General Richard Butler and General John Gibson were commissioned, who meeting the Indians at Fort Har- mar, at the mouth of the Muskingum River on Jan. 9, 1789, arranged a treaty with the Indians for the purchase of their title in the Triangle. The formal deed from the Indian nations was made Jan. 9, 1789, and will be found enrolled in the Rolls Office at Harrisburg in Commission Book No. 1, page 309. It describes the territory embraced in its operation as "That Tract of Country bounded on the South by the North line of the State of Pennsylvania, on the East by the West boundary of the State of New York, agreeable to the cession of that state and the State of Massa- chusetts to the United States, and on the North by the Margin of Lake Erie, including Presque Isle and all the Bays and harbours along the margin of said Lake Erie, from the West Boundary of Pennsylvania to where the West Boundary of the State of New York may cross or inter- sect the South Margin of the said Lake Erie."
Rarely to the owners of real estate within the limits. of either the Donation District, or the Erie Triangle, pause to ponder over the sources of their land titles. This matter is usually dismissed with the assurance
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
of having a "Patent from the State of Pennsylvania"; or perchance that the title has been in their family for the past fifty or seventy-five years. Little interest is shown in the worries, the intrigues, the weary miles walked through the dense wilderness to attend the Council Fires of the native owners of the lands in the hope of persuading the savages to grant the oncoming white folks a fighting chance to convert the wilder- ness into a land full of peaceful homes, by the hardy pioneers of old. And yet, those titles are properly founded upon those various purchases from the Indians, even as far back as the ones secured from them by William Penn; and supplemented, of course, by the military successes first of the English arms, and a little later of the troops who set the great power of Britain at naught and make it possible for the establish- ment in this land of a people's own government, where every member of it could feel safe, and free, to live his own life according to the dictates of his own conscience; his course only modified in so far as that he must permit other members of it to have equally full and free rights with him- self. There remains now no least doubt but that the titles thus acquired are sure and permanent, although in practice our searchers usually begin with the papers issued by the State Department of the Commonwealth, and show the title from then down to the present.
Whether the Indians had competent advisers in this transaction, or whether they fully comprehended the import of their act at the time, is of course not now known. Many people will no doubt question the good faith of the white folks in thus dealing with the natives in a matter where the whites had the advantage of long periods of experience, and the natives were without proper training and experience to apprehend the real significance of their act and of the real market worth of the property rights under considerations; but we must bear in mind that even the white folks had not then, nor could they by any possible con- ception, forsee the remarkable development which the property they were securing would shortly experience. The nine hundred and fifty pounds (perhaps $4,000 to $5,000, if valued in the trading commodities of that day) seems to us ridiculously meager for the vast domain which it secured to the state, but in that day the country acquired did not present its present appearance to the eye of the bargainer; but rather appealed to him as it did later to the wife of an early pioneer, that she could see no future in a land covered so densely with a magnificent growth of giant forest monarchs, which would require such a vast expenditure of
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY
human effort to bring into a condition of even partial use and profit. So we must conclude that the white folks of Pennsylvania at least, must ever be regarded as conspicuous amongst the pioneers of America, for their fair dealing with their red brethren. William Penn set the good example, and those who followed profited in large measure from their observa- tions of his course and its results. The only qualification which should in fairness be made in this matter is the well authenticated fact that a portion of the consideration, which was to be paid in goods, was deliv- ered in goods of such an inferior and dilapidated condition that even the wild Indians of that day were unable to make use of a considerable portion of them; and no special effort was later made to remedy this out- rage, although most moving addresses and complaints were made to the state authorities by the Indian chiefs, among them the celebrated good friend of the white people, the Cattaraugus Chief, Gyantwachia, or "The Cornplanter." Without the staunch and unfailing friendship of this great man, the settlement of this county, and the purchase from the Indians would have been postponed, perhaps for many years.
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