History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc, Part 27

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc > Part 27

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THE TRIANGLE.

The charter of New York defined its western boundary as extending from the south shore of Lake Erie to the forty-second degree of latitude, ou a line drawn from the western extremity of Lake Ontario. In determining this line it became necessary to agree whether the " western extremity of Lake Onta- rio " included Burlington Bay, or was at the peninsula dividing the latter from the lake. Andrew Ellicott and Frederick Saxton, the surveyors sent out to establish the boundary, decided upon the peninsula as the proper point from which to draw the line, and the western boundary of New York was therefore fixed at twenty miles east of Presque Isle. This left a triangular tract, which

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

was not included in the charter of either State, and which was variously claimed by New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

During or some time after the Revolution, Gen. William Irvine was sent to the Northwest by the authorities of Pennsylvania, to examine into the qual- ity of its lands and report upon the best manner of putting them into the market. While upon this tour be was struck with the fact that the State had no harbor upon the lake, and the great desirability of securing the one at Presque Isle. On his return to the East he interested a number of intelligent and progressive citizens in the project of purchasing the Triangle. After a protracted negotiation, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut released their claims to the United States Government, and the latter, in turn, conveyed the tract to Pennsylvania. The deed of cession by New York, was made on the 1st of March, 1781, and that of Massachusetts on the 19th of April, 1785. In the release by Connecticut she reserved 120 miles lying west of Pennsylva- nia's western boundary, within the present limits of Ohio, which became known as, and retains the title to this day of " The Western Reserve." The contract for the sale of the Triangle, made between the Representatives of the United States and Pennsylvania was ratified by Congress on the 4th of Sep- tember, 1788. On the 18th of April, 1791, the Governor was authorized by the Legislature to complete the purchase. March 3, 1792, a patent was issued to the State, signed by George Washington as President, and Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. The consideration was $151,640.25. Below is a copy of the bill of sale from the General Government to the commonwealth: The commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for the purchase of the Lake Erie tract in account with the United States, DR.

July 19, 1792. To general account of sales of the Western lands, the property of the United States:

For the purchase or consideration money of the territory and tract of land on Lake Erie, of which tract a survey and return hath heen made and lodged in the office of the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States by An- drew Ellicott, pursuant to a resolution of Congress passed in August, 1789, by which return the said tract is found to contain 202,187 acres, at three- fourths of a dollar per acre, payable in gold or silver, or in certificates of the debt of the United States, hearing interest, according to the terms pro- posed by William Bingham and James R. Reid, delegates in Congress, to the late Board of Treasury, on behalf of the said commonwealth, and accepted by the said board on behalf of the United States CR.

By one certificate of registered debt, No. 558, dated 28th February, 1792, with interest from 16th August, 1779 .. 85,032 08

By ditto, on interest from 21st August, 1783. 4,285 20

$151,640 25

Principal amounting to. $ 89,317 28 By interest arising thereon, calculated to 10th June, 1791, being the time Sec- retary of the Treasury informed he was ready to settle the account for said purchase. 62,322 97

$151,640 25

TREASURY DEPARTMENT, REGISTER'S OFFICE, }

6th September, 1796. 5

JOSEPH NOURSE, Register.

RELEASE OF THE INDIAN TITLE.

Pending the negotiations with the General Government, the State authorities proceeded to secure a release of the Triangle tract from the Six Nations, which was only effected after a protracted effort. The conference for this purpose with the chiefs and warriors of the several tribes was held on the 9th of Jan- uary, 1789. and the deed from the Indians appears to have been signed some- time during the same month. The following is a copy of the document:

John Vincent

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

Know all men by these presents, that we, the undersigned, chiefs, warriors and others, representing the following named tribes of the Six Nations, to wit : The Ondawagas or Senecas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, Onondagas and Oneidas, for and in con- sideration of the sum of $2,000, to us in hand paid, by Richard Butler and John Gib- son, Esquires, Commissioners for and in behalf of the State of Pennsylvania, the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge, and we for ourselves, our tribes, our and their heirs and successors, are therewith fully paid and satisfied, have granted, bar- gained, sold and assigned over, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, remise, release, quit claim and assign over unto the said State of Pennsylvania, all our right, title, claim and interest of, in and to all that tract of country situate, lying and being within the territory of the United States, bounded on the south by the north line or boundary of Pennsylvania; on the east by the western boundary of the State of New York, agreeably to an act of cession of the said State of New York and the State of Massachusetts to the United States; and on the north by the southern shore or margin of Lake Erie, including Presque Isle and all the bays and harbors along the shore or margin of the said Lake Erie from the west boundary of the said State of Pennsylvania to where the west line or boundary of the State of New York may cross or intersect the southern shore or margin of the said Lake Erie; to have and to hold, etc.

In testimony whereof, we, the said chiefs, have hereunto set our hands and seals this - day of January, in the year of our Lord 1789 :

Senecas-Gyantwachia, or the Cornplanter; Gyashota, or the Big Cross; Kanas- see, or the New Arrow; Achiont, or the Half Town; Anachkont, or the Wasp; Chishekoa. or the Wood Bug; Sessewa, or Big Bale of a Kettle; Sciawhowa, or the Council Keeper; Tewanias, or the Broken Twig; Souachshowa, or the Full Moon; Cachunevasse, or Twenty Canoes

Tuscarora Chief-Hichonquash, or Tearing Asunder.

Senecas-Cageahgea, or Dogs about the Fire; Sawedowa, or the Blast; Kionda- showa, or Swimming Fish.

Onondaga Chief-Oncheve, or the Dancing Feather.

Cayuga Chiefs-Soahaes, or Falling Mountain; Otachsaka, or Broken Toma- hawk.

Oneida Chief-Tekchiefs, or the Long Tree.

Seneca Chief-Onesechter, or the Leaded Man.

Munsey Chiefs-Kiatulahoh, or the Snake; Aqueia, or Bandy Legs.

Senecas-Kiandock-Gowa, or Big Tree; Owenewah, or Throw into the Water. N. B .- The two Munseys signed as being residents of the land, but not owners. R. BUTLER.

In the presence of A. St. Clair, Joseph Harmar and others.

Twelve hundred dollars were also paid by the United States Government for the extinguishment of the Indian titles.

The cession of the Triangle gave great offense to a portion of the Indians, who claimed that they had not been fairly represented in the council. There was a good deal of talk among them of resisting its occupancy by the State, and at one time matters looked really serious, but by wise efforts what might have been a long and murderous border war was avoided. On the 3d of Feb- ruary, 1791, Cornplanter, Half Town, and Big Tree executed a second instru- ment, in which, after reciting the dissatisfaction that existed among the Seneca nation, they acknowledged the receipt of $800 as full satisfaction of all claims and demands by their nation against the commonwealth, and " fully, clearly, and finally remised and forever quit-claimed " their interest in the Triangle to Gov. McKean, " from the beginning of the world to the date of these presents." It was several years after the signing of this deed, how- ever, before the Indians became sufficiently quieted to enable settlements to be made with safety, as will be more fully related in another part of these annals.

INTERESTING DETAILS.

The territory above purchased extends some forty miles in a straight line along the lake, and is about eighteen miles in breadth along the New York boundary, tapering from there to a point in Springfield Township, between four and five miles east of the Ohio line. It embraces 202,187 acres, and the United

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

States received pay for it at the rate of three-fourths of a dollar per acre. The townships embraced in the Triangle are North East, Greenfield, Venango, Har- bor Creek, Greene, Summit, Mill Creek, a small portion of Springfield, about two-fifths of Girard and Mckean, and four-fifths of Fairview. The terminus of the Triangle on the shore of Lake Erie was marked by a stone on the Jo- seph Hewitt farm in Springfield, which has disappeared.

The old State line forms the southern boundary of Venango, Greene and Summit Townships, and the northern of Waterford and Amity. It passes through the boroughs of Girard and Middleboro nearly in the center. The portion of the county within the original limits of the State is some forty- five miles long from east to west, by ten miles in width from north to south, being about two-thirds of the whole. The townships wholly in it are Wayne, Concord, Amity, Union, Waterford, Le Bœuf, Washington, Franklin, Elk Creek and Conneaut.

A corps of engineers have recently been at work renewing the mon- uments marking the boundary between New York and Pennsylvania, many of which had been destroyed or lost sight of. In the execution of their task they make use of blocks of Quincy granite, about four feet long and six inches square at the top. The stones "are dressed one foot down, that distance be- ing left above ground. Heavy creases are cut at right angles across each. The letters 'Pa.,' and 'N. Y.,' about two inches long, face Pennsylvania and New York respectively. At highways, street and railway crossings, the tops of the stones are one foot by six inches in size, and in other particulars like the rest. Those of the ordinary size are set just one mile apart."

CONTINENTAL CERTIFICATES.

In explanation of the " certificate " mentioned in the bill of sale, it should be stated that in the contract for the purchase of the Triangle, it was stipulated that the Commonwealth might make payment "in gold or silver or in public securities of the United States, bearing interest." When the time came for closing the transaction, the State, with Quaker shrewdness, offered one of the funded bonds of the General Government, commonly known as "Continental certifi- cates," which were then in decidedly bad credit, and demanded that interest should be allowed, according to the terms of its face. This was rather a sur- prise to the Federal authorities, and a long correspondence ensued, in which the Commonwealth seems to have had the better of the argument. After con- siderable delay, her legal right to pay in the manner proposed was conceded, and she turned over the bond and received credit for the accumulated interest, as is shown in the bill of sale above printed. It is apparent that the State drove a very sharp bargain, but whether the transaction was much to her honor, may admit of some debate.

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

CHAPTER IX.

THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION.

T THE first step in the actual settlement of Erie County by white people was taken in 1785, when David Watts and William Miles were seut under the auspices of the State to survey the Tenth Donation District, embracing portions of Waterford, Wayne and Amity Townships. On the completion of their labors, they returned to the East, and gave such a flattering account of the country that much interest in it was excited among the adventurous people of that region. March 24, 1789, it was resolved by the General Assembly that not exceeding 3,000 acres should be surveyed at Presque Isle, LeBoeuf, and two other places for the use of the commonwealth. In 1790, Gov. Mifflin, by authority of the Legislature, appointed Timothy Matlack, Samuel McClay and John Adlum to examine the western streams of the State for the purpose of ascertaining whether " any nearer and more feasible communication could be had between the Allegheny River and Lake Erie." They examined French and LeBœuf Creeks up to Waterford, traversed the portage to Presque Isle, and on going back made a report which resulted in £100 being appropriated for the improvement of the streams named. This was followed by the settlement law of the 3d of April, 1792, which provided for the survey of all the lands north and west of the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers and Conewango Creek, and their sale upon terms that will be stated in another chapter.

The Pennsylvania Population Company, formed at Philadelphia March 8, 1792, purchased a large tract of land in the Triangle with the object of selling it at a profit, and inducing settlement. On the Sth of April, of the same year, the Legislature passed and Gov. Mifflin approved a bill for laying out a town at Presque Isle, which was a part of the general plan for the occupation of the Northwest. This act was as follows:

SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That the Governor be and is hereby empowered to cause to be surveyed the tract reserved at or near Presque Isle by the act entitled, " An act for the sale of the vacant lands within this commonwealth," passed the 3d day of April, 1792; and at the most eligible place within the said tract he shall cause to be laid out and surveyed sixteen hundred acres of land in town lots of not more than one-third of an acre each; and also three thousand four hundred acres adjoining the same, in outlots, not less than five acres nor more than ten acres each. Provided always, That the Governor shall reserve out of the lots of the said town so much land as he shall deem necessary for public uses; also, so much land within or out of the said town as may, in his opinion, be wanted by the United States for the purpose of erecting forts, magazines, arsenals and dock-yards.

SEC. 2. That the first two hundred persons that shall actually inhabit and reside, on or before the 1st day of January next, within the said town, shall each and every of them be entitled to one unappropriated town lot, to be ascertained by lottery, for which they shall respectively receive a deed, clear of all charges; Provided, That such persons respect- ively, or their respective representatives, or assignees, shall inhabit and reside in the said town for the term of three years, and also, within the said town build or cause to be built, a house at least sixteen feet square, and containing at least one brick or stone chimney, on the town lots to be granted in pursuance of this act.

SEC. 3. That the Governor is hereby authorized to sell two hundred of the town lots exclusively of those granted by the next preceding section, and the whole of the other out- lots, in such manner as he shall think most to the advantage of the State, and make con- veyance of the same; excepting, always, such as shall be made upon this condition; that the respective purchasers shall and do, within the term of three years, erect and build one house, at least sixteen feet square, and containing at least one brick or stone chimney, on each and every town lot by them purchased; aud no deed of conveyance shall be granted

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

by the Governor to any purchaser, nor, after the expiration of the said term of three years, shall the said sale be deemed or construed to vest any title, claim or demand in any pur- chaser, unless satisfactory proof be first given that a house has been erected or built on the town lots sold as aforesaid; that the streets, lanes and alleys of the said town shall be common highways forever; and that, previous to the sale or sales of the said town lots and outlots, notice shall be given of the same in at least three of the newspapers of the State at least ten weeks previous to such sale or sales.

PROTECTING THE FRONTIER.

On the 25th of February, 1794, another act was passed which authorized the Governor "to detach from the several companies of artillery and infantry raised by the State" for the security of the port of Philadelphia and the defense of the Western frontier, "as many men as can be conveniently spared from the specific objects of protection and defense for which the companies were particularly destined, and to station the detachment so made at such place or places at or near Presque Isle, on Lake Erie, as shall in his judgment be best calculated to carry into effect the act " just quoted. This measure was called forth by the menaces of the Indians, who had learned of the proposed settlement at Presque Isle, and knowing that it would cause a break in their communications between the East and West, were determined to prevent it if possible. In accordance with its provisions, Gov. Mifflin, on the 1st of March, 1794, issued a circular to the Brigade Inspectors of Washington, Westmore- land and Allegheny Counties, requiring them to raise men to serve eight months, unless sooner discharged, with a stipulation that, if necessary, they should continue in service till the next meeting of the Legislature. Each man who took his own rifle was to be allowed $2 for its use, and to have a reasona- ble equivalent if it was lost or destroyed in the public service. Four compa- nies were to be organized within the district stated, of whom one Captain, one Lieutenant, two Ensigns, six Corporals and six Sergeants and ninety-five privates were to be detached for the Presque Isle expedition. The command was given to Capt. Ebenezer Denny, of Allegheny County, who is presumed to have seen service in border warfare.

Gen. William Irvine and Andrew Ellicott had been appointed Commission- ers some time before to lay out a road from Reading to Presque Isle. On the same day the above-mentioned circular was issued they were notified that Albert Gallatin had been associated in their appointment, and that they three were to lay out the town contemplated by the act of 1793. The Governor's instructions desired them to "promote peace, order and friendship with the peaceable Indians or British garrison, should any intercourse * be pro- duced by accident or necessity." Capt. Denny was required "to comply with every lawful request of the Commissioners," and was further reminded that the objects of his appointment were "strictly those of protection and defense."

OCCUPANCY OF FORT LE BŒUF.

Boats and canoes left Pittsburgh on the 16th of April, by way of the Alle- gheny River, the stores and provisions having been sent in advance. By the 25th of April, three officers and seventy-seven men had reached Franklin, at the mouth of French Creek. On the same date, a report reached headquarters at Pittsburgh that the Indians, incited by British agents, were "meditating an opposition to the designs of the Government respecting Presque Isle," and a week later Denny wrote to the Governor his apprehensions that "a council holding at the mouth of Buffalo Creek between the chiefs of the Six Nations and the British may terminate unfavorably to our establishment." On the 1st of May, a Munsee Indian was killed at Franklin in a drunken row by a white

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

man named Robertson. This added greatly to the feeling among the aborig. ines. The affair was settled by the party at Franklin raising a purse of $100 and paying it to the relatives of the dead man, in satisfaction of their wrong, according to an old custom among the Indians.

The troops took possession of "the forks of French Creek, about two miles below the old post of LeBoeuf," on or near the 11th of May, where they built a small block-house, pending the cutting out of the logs which obstructed the navigation of the stream. From this point, Gen. John Wilkins, of Pittsburgh, who accompanied the expedition, wrote on the day of their arrival that "the British are determined to oppose the progress of the State troops from LeBœuf to Presque Isle by sending a number of Indians and English to cut them off." In a few days more the detachment reached LeBoeuf, where they immediately erected two small picketed block-houses, which, Wilkins reported, "will make them sufficiently strong until the re-enforcement arrives under Capt. Denuy." The latter event did not occur until the 24th of June. A draft of 1,000 mili- tia from the brigades of Westmoreland, Washington, Allegheny and Fayette Counties was ordered by the Governor in the latter part of May, to co-operate with Denny's detachment under command of Gen. Wilkins. On the day the order was issued, the Governor wrote to Wilkins warning him of "the critical state of our Presque Isle settlements," which, he added, "calls for an exercise of judgment, prudence and spirit."

INTERFERENCE OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT.

While the events here mentioned were in progress, a letter reached Gen .. Knox, Secretary of War under President Washington, from Gen. Israel Chapin, the United States Commissioner to the Six Nations, to the effect that the British "feel very much alarmed at the garrisoning of Presque Isle. *

* If the garrison destined for that place," wrote Chapin, " is not very strong, it is doubtful whether it will not be attacked." On the 9th of May, Gen. Knox wrote to Wilkins and Denny, cautioning them to "proceed with the utmost vigilance and precaution." The next day, he addressed a communica- tion to Gen. Mifflin, stating that " affairs are critically circumstanced between the United States and the Six Nations," and giving it as the opinion of the President, "on mature reflection, that it is advisable to suspend for the pres- ent the establishment of Presque Isle." On the very day this epistle was re- ceived, the Governor notified the Brigade Inspectors of the four western coun- ties that he had been induced to suspend the execution of the act for laying out a town at Presque Isle. He therefore rescinded all orders for drafting men, directed the Commissioners, who had not yet left Pittsburgh, to postpone further proceedings, and commanded Denny's detachment to remain at LeBœuf, "un- less it should be found necessary to retire from the station in order to prevent an actual contest with the friendly Indians." The Commissioners were asked to remain "in such a situation as will enable them on short notice to resume the execution of their mission."

WAS THE DANGER REAL ?

The correspondence that has been preserved on the subject indicates that the fears of an Indian war were well founded and quite universal among those who had the best means of information. Gen. Wilkins wrote from LeBœuf: "The Indians contrive to make opposition to the establishment at Presque Isle. The Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada and an Indian agent were visiting all the Indian towns westward, exciting the Indians to oppose the Americans and assuring them of support from the King. * * * Advices from the Gene-

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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.

see country state that every industry is being made by the British to put the Indians on us." The chief men of the Six Nations, he concluded, held a council at Buffalo Creek about the middle of May. In a letter of June 5, from David Reweck to Gov. Mifflin, he says of Presque Isle: "I have not doubted but that the British wish seriously to possess it. * * * It is pretty certainly known that for a considerable time past no vessel (British) has gone up or down the lake without instructions to put in at Presque Isle and see whether we were there or no." About the same time, John Polhemus, com- manding at Fort Franklin, reported :. "From the best information that I have received this day, I have reason to believe the Indians will attempt to make themselves masters of this post." A week later, he forwarded the tidings that three men on their way to Pittsburgh from Franklin were attacked by the savages, two of whom were killed. D. Ransom, a trader with the Indians, deposed on the 11th of June that he "had been told by the Broken Twig that the British and Indians were to land at Presque Isle and form a junction with Cornplanter on French Creek and were then to clear it by killing all the white people and taking all the posts on it."

It is but fair to the Senecas and their chief to state that in a letter from Capt. Denny, dated at Franklin on the 10th of June, he says: "The Corn- planter has gone to another council at Buffalo. * * * He is extremely concerned at the account given of their going to take up the hatchet; says they are bad men that report it; that it's a lie."

In a communication of the 12th of June from Gen. Chapin to the War Department, he declares: "I am afraid of the consequences of the attempt to settle Presque Isle at present. The Indians do not acknowledge the validity of the Cornplanter's sale to Pennsylvania."

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History of Erie county, Pennsylvania. Containing a history of the county; its townships, towns, villages schools, churches, industries, etc, Part 27

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1280

Author: Bates, Samuel P. (Samuel Penniman), 1827-1902; Whitman, Benjamin, 1940-; Russell, N. W. (Nathaniel Willard); Brown, R. C. (Robert C.); Weakley, F. E; Warner, Beers & Co. (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : Warner, Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1280