USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania, from its first settlement > Part 33
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The Navigator of 1811 gives as follows :
" Among the natural advantages of the waters of the Alle- gheny, is Oil Creek, which empties into that river about 100 miles from Pittsburg. This creek issues from a spring on the top of which floats an oil similar to that called Barbadoes tar, and is found in such quanties that a person may gather several
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gallons a day. The oil is said to be very efficacious in rheu- matic pains, rubbed on the parts affected. The troops sent to guard the western posts halted at this spring, collected some of the oil and bathed their joints with it ; this gave them great relief from the rheumatic complaints with which they were afflicted. They also drank freely of the water, which operated on them as a gentle cathartic. This oil is called Seneca oil in Pittsburg, probably from its first having been discovered and used by a nation of Indians of that name. It is a wise plan in Nature to generally place an antidote where she has plan- ted a poison. No climate perhaps is more subject to pains of the rheumatic kind than ours, arising from the sudden transitions from heat to cold, and vice versa; and if it be true that the qualities of this oil are so effectual in the cure of diseases to which we are more or less subject, from the nature of our climate, it is equally true that Nature in her wisdom has not been unmindful of her general plan of providing a good for an evil in this particular instance,"
The following statement from The Navigator also will show the increase in the article of salt at the port of Erie from 1800 till 1809, as registered by Mr. Foster, collector of the of the port, December 25, 1809 :
"In the year 1800, 723; 1801, 396 ; 1802, 834 barrels of salt were entered at this port and distributed along the lake in the States of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, and a few bar- rels sent to Pittsburg.
"In the year 1803, 2,736; 1804, 3,778; 1805, 7,589; 1806, 7,261 ; 1807, 6,774 ; 1808, 9,349 ; 1809, 14,346 barrels of salt were entered at this port for the consumption of this neighborhood and Pittsburg market, not including the supplies to the States of New York and Ohio, making 52,776 barrels, or 263,880 bushels of salt, besides other articles of merchandise, though of less importance, yet to a considerable extent."
An extract from Rev. Dr. Mckinney's "Family Treasure," 1866, gives the following list of provisions furnished by the contractors, Messrs. Reed & Sanford, for the inhabitants of Chicago in 1823. There were one hundred men garrisoned in Fort Dearborn, under Capt. I. Green. According to the con- tract they were required to deliver in June, 1823, and October,
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1824, "120 barrels of pork, 250 barrels of fine flour, 1,400 gallons of whisky, 110 bushels of beans, 1,760 pounds of soap, 860 pounds of tallow candles (with cotton wicks), 28 bushels of salt, and 450 gallons of vinegar." The same year three times as much of each of these commodities was consumed at Green Bay, and more than twice as much at Sault de Ste Marie, and the same merchants had contracts for these places also. But Chicago has now left them both far in the back- ground. The arrival of six barrels of salt would be no great event for Chicago now. The 430 pounds of tallow candles to their present gas and electricity could not "hold a candle " for one night only, and as for Chicago importing 250 barrels of fine flour from Erie, and living upon it sixteen months, so small a matter has not been heard of from them the last seventy years. "Where we are we know, whither we are going no man knoweth."
A Retrospective Glance of February Weather of the last Nineteen Years. Compiled by Weather Observer Wood .- The mean or normal temperature during nineteen years (which is the length of time this station has been established) has been 28 degrees, the warmest in February, 1882, with an average of 37 degrees, and the coldest in 1875, when the average was only 10 above zero. On February 16, 1883, the temperature was 70 degrees above, and on February 9, 1875, 16 below zero-the two extremes noted. In precipitation (rain or melted snow) the average has been 3.43 inches, with an average of seventeen days in February of each year on which the precipitation was .01 of an inch or more. The greatest monthly precipitation was 8.50 inches in 1887, the least, 0.33 inches in 1877.
The month has averaged four cloudless, ten partly cloudy, and fourteen cloudy days during this term of years, and pre- vailing winds have been from the south. Their greatest veloc- ity was sixty-four miles per hour, in 1875.
For nineteen years the mean or normal temperature in Erie has been 33 degrees. The warmest December was in 1889, averaging 41 degrees, and the coldest was in 1876, with an average of 22 degrees. The highest temperature during any December was 70 degrees, on December 29, 1889. The coldest was 11 degrees below zero, December 30, 1890. The average
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monthly precipitation has been 3.36 inches; the greatest monthly precipitation, 6.44 inches, occurring in 1881, and the least, .75 inches, in 1876. The average number of cloudless days per month was three ; partly cloudy, seven ; cloudy days, twenty-one. The prevailing winds have been from the south- west, and the highest velocity of the wind was southeast fifty- two miles on December 24, 1875.
Parks .- Glenwood Park, just outside of the city limits between two much-traveled roads leading towards Waterford, is appropriately named. The Central Parks in the center of the old first section at the intersection of Sixth and State streets are the glory of the city. Lake Side, between State Street and French, has expended its appropriation by the city of $1,500, and is assuming an aspect of beauty ; and Cascade will doubtless in a completed state creditably add to the num- ber. These are mere breathing spots, but Glenwood has 93 acres from the Robert Evans farm, and enough from the John Elliott and Henry Shannon farms to aggregate 115 acres, with a fine mansion, a commodious barn, excellent spring- house and drinking water. Thirty acres are covered with forest trees, some being very fine and imposing. A gas well for many years past has enlightened the whole vicinity. Enjoyments of an unobjectionable nature are promoted, but nothing of a demoralizing tendency is allowed. The full board for the first year is composed of J. F. Downing, A. H. McMullen, William Spencer, William A. Galbraith, M. H. Taylor, George Selden, F. F. Adams, Richard O'Brien, Frank V. Schultz, William N. Nicholson, F. Brevellier, W. J. Sands, H. F. Watson, I. Sobel, Joseph Metcalf. Through their efforts $25,000 has been subscribed. Mr. J. F. Downing sub- scribed $5,000, Judge Galbraith, $2,000, and several others of the board $1,000. Much money is required for improving the grounds. Dedicatory exercises were held October 19, 1892.
Massassauga Point is at the head of Presqu'ile Bay, and is now a delightful summer resort, having been purchased in 1833 by Hon. William L. Scott. In 1796, twenty or thirty Indian families resided there, of the Seneca tribe, being the last Indian village in this vicinity. In 1800, Eliphlet Beebe, a ship carpenter, took up the land under the laws of the State,
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for a shipyard. It was next the farm of Thomas Laird. James C. Marshall and E. J. Kelso owned farms adjoining that had been Indian cornfields, The name Massassauga is supposed to have been that of a tribe having relations with the Eries. A short, thick rattlesnake also bore that name, which species disappeared before civilization. The Massas- sauga Hotel was burned in 1882, It is still a charming resort, and the electric cars as they pass through a wild ravine and descend to the lake level present a bit of scenery of unusual grandeur. An iron ore bed was discovered many years ago in the vicinity, and was quarried by a furnace at Conneaut, Ohio, and was used at the blast furnace of Vincent, Himrod & Co., but was exhausted after a few years. The road from the schoolhouse to the shore of the bay was laid out for hauling the ore to the vessels. At present sand has accumulated and would render an approach to a vessel impossible.
Some of Erie's wealthy citizens are erecting summer resi- dences on the lakeside. Judge William A. Galbraith, about 1880, built a pretty villa at the mouth of Six Mile Creek, where is a park, bathing, and boating. Mr. Charles H. Strong has a costly log cabin on the bluff at the mouth of Cascade Creek. Ex-Congressman Griswold and Mr. H. F. Watson have beautiful sites at the mouth of Miles Run, seven miles west of Erie. On the Ball farm is a clubhouse, fishpond, etc. At "Harts' Farm " many Pittsburgers, as well as our own citizens, have picturesque, romantic summer retreats.
Chautauqua Lake is generally supposed to be the highest navigable body of water on the globe. It is well then to get at the facts and figures. Lake Canadohta, located 17 miles south of Union City, is 84 feet higher than Chautauqua and is navigable. The relative height of all the lakes in this vicinity is as follows: Erie, 573 feet above the sea ; Conneaut Lake is 1,070; Lake Le Bœuf, at Waterford, is 1,180 ; Conneauttee, 1,196 ; Chautauqua, 1,305 ; Lake Pleasant, 1,325 ; Lake Canadohta, 1,389. These levels were taken by Prof. J. C. White, under the employ of the State, and are en- dorsed by Peter Lesley, State geologist.
SECTION IV.
Biographies of Dr. Usher Parsons-Capt. W. W. Dobbins (an ex- tract)-Oliver H. Perry-Major Andrew Ellicott-Two Foreigners -Dr. F. N. Thorpe-Rev. C. Dickson, D.D .- William Wallace, Esq .- Wallace Family-Judge Converse-Rev. T. H. Robinson, D.D .- Judge A. Tourgee-Bishop J. F. Spaulding-Rev. Dr. Stuckenberg-Dr. Artemas Martin-Rev. Dr. Chamberlain-Miss E. Ditto-Dr. and Ernest Ingersoll-Rev. K. Fullerton-Messrs. Perkins-Judge James Thompson and family -- Hon. William L. Scott-Visits of Nine Presidents-Citizens mentioned.
MEMOIR OF USHER PARSONS, M.D., OF PROVIDENCE, R. I. By his son, Dr. Charles W. Parsons.
IT Is well known that a controversy arose between Com. Oliver H. Perry and Jesse D. Elliott in relation to the conduct of the latter in the naval battle of September 10, 1813; and that long after Perry's early death, the credit of victory was claimed for Elliott by himself and his friends. Dr. Parsons took a warm and active interest in this dispute. He was strongly attached to Perry and convinced that Elliott's con- duct was disgraceful. In conversation, by newspaper articles, by contributions to writings published by others, and, lastly, in a public historical address, he vindicated the claims of Perry and the truth of history, as he understood it, often in terms reflecting severely on Elliott and his defenders.
In January, 1836, Tristam Burges read a discourse before the Rhode Island Historical Society, in which he gave a vigorous account of the battle. In 1839 this was published with copious notes and diagrams of the battle in different positions. Some of these notes were furnished by Dr. Parsons. The "extract from the logbook of the Lawrence" was taken from his diary. He contributed many notes to the "Life of Commodore Perry," published in 1840 by Alexander Slidell Mackenzie.
In 1852, having been invited to deliver the stated annual discourse before the Rhode Island Historical Society, he chose
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for his subject, the history of the battle of Lake Erie. "I have made this choice," he says, "first, because this battle is a part of Rhode Island history and, therefore, appropriate to the occasion ; secondly, because I could speak of it from personal knowledge ; and, thirdly, because a very inaccurate and per- verted account of it has been written and imposed upon the public by the late J. Fenimore Cooper, Esquire." He nar- rates the circumstances which led to the formation of a fleet on Lake Erie, the difficulties under which it was created and got afloat, and the reasons why it is regarded as belonging to Rhode Island history. He relates the incidents of the battle quite fully, and then attacks Elliott and Cooper in a style of indignant sarcasm. In the words of Mr. Arnold : "He has done this in a style that leaves nothing to be said upon the points in dispute. His own testimony is direct and incontro- vertible. His reply to the assaults of Cooper is comprehen- sive and complete. A certain irony pervades this portion of the address, which is the appropriate weapon wherewith to treat mendacity of statement when brought to the support of cowardice of conduct and infamy of character." Dr. Parsons always had a fondness for written controversy, and could handle the caustic pen as well as the scalpel or saw.
In his more advanced life, he became well known in the growing cities along the southern shore of Lake Erie, and often visited this region. The importance of Perry's victory was more appreciated and there were various plans for the erection of monuments. Dr. Parsons was the only surviving officer of the battle who had cultivated historical tastes and the powers of writing and oratory.
In 1858 the anniversary was celebrated at Put-in-Bay Island, near Sandusky, where Perry's fleet had anchored the night before the battle. There was a very large assemblage, and a brilliant display of yachts and steamers. Hon. Salmon P. Chase presided at the ceremonies on the island. Three sur- viving officers appeared on the platform ; Capts. Champlin and Brownell speaking briefly, while Dr. Parsons read an elaborate narrative discourse. This was received with a great deal of interest by the large audience and published in the principal newspapers of the region. He afterward wrote in his note-
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book, "This anniversary was among the most delightful of my life, as well as the most interesting."
Two years later the forty-seventh anniversary was celebrated at Cleveland. That city alone successfully carried out the plan of erecting a monument to Perry, which on that day was dedicated. It stands in the park at Cleveland, and consists of a statue of Perry, and of other appropriate sculptures. The dedication, September 10, 1860, was very largely attended. The Governor of Rhode Island, with many of her civil and military officers, were present by special invitation. The two most important features of the literary exercises of that day were the oration by Hon. George Bancroft and a historical address by Dr. Parsons.
These three discourses relating to the battle of Lake Erie all give the story in essentially the same way, and show some unavoidable repetition. The two delivered at Put-in-Bay and Cleveland are not, however, controversial.
In his later journeys along Lake Erie, Dr. Parsons was re- garded as a guest of the public, and was passed and enter- tained as such on the steamboats and railroads. These various acknowledgments of his early services, and the kind reception of his historical discourses, after he had passed the age of seventy, gave him the keenest pleasure.
In 1838, he revisited Erie, after an absence of nearly twenty-four years. In his diary he writes : "I called on Capt. Dobbins, who was a sailingmaster in the war, now com- mander of the revenue cutter. I went with him to the Peninsula, [Erie was formerly called Presqu'isle] and trod once more the deck of the Lawrence, now a hulk resting about east a quarter of a mile from the old blockhouse. Her deck is in a sound state ; but the water comes nearly up to it, so that I could not see her hold. In this vessel I sailed in 1813, and was in battle. She was repaired the following year, and I went in her to Mackinac with troops under Col. Croghan. She was sunk and remained so till within the last two or three years, when she was raised and proved to be perfectly sound. Took some pieces from her to make canes of. This visit to Erie gave me indescribable pleasure. The thousand associa- tions . . the pleasure afforded in taking old friends by
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the hand after a separation of twenty-four years ; . . the grave yard, where lie the bodies of great numbers of early friends ; the changes and vast improvements about the city- elegant houses and churches where there were then but a few humble dwellings-all, all tended to render my stay there one of the most intense interest, on many occasions so powerful as to take from me the power of speech. But what shall I say of the protecting mercy of Him who, through dangers seen and unseen, perils by land and perils in the deep, has surrounded my path, and preserved me to the present moment? May the remainder of my days be more devoted to His service."
After a decline of some months, Dr. Usher Parsons died on Dec. 19, 1868, aged 80 years. " Loved in life and honored in death, his memory will be revered by all who value these high qualities of manhood which were united in his character."
When Capt. George Miles purchased the Lawrence, Detroit, Queen Charlotte, and Niagara of Mr. B. H. Brown, he raised the vessels, intending to fit them up for the merchant service. The two prizes were found in tolerable condition, but the Lawrence required thorough repair, and was too shallow in the hold for a merchant vessel-being but nine feet. She was allowed to sink again and was brought to the surface, only to be viewed as a curiosity and cut into fragments to serve as relics. A part of the ship was transported by railroad to Philadelphia and placed on exhibition on the Centennial grounds in 1876. Capt. William W. Dobbins wrote in pam- phlet form a "History of the Battle of Lake Erie," which accompanied it. The title of the owners is as follows :
Bill of sale from Benjamin H. Brown, of Rochester, New York, to A. Q. D. Leech (who transferred to George Miles),.of Lawrence, Niagara, Detroit, and Queen Charlotte; said bill of sale being made to George Miles separately, bearing date as per acknowledgment, June 20, 1835.
(Signed) B. H. BROWN.
Acknowledgment by George Mumford, Commissioner of Deeds.
Letters of Col. Thomas Forster, Collector of Customs for the District of Presqu'ile (Erie), to the Secretary of the Navy, in regard to any claim the government might have to said
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vessels. The inquiry being made for information enabling the collector to grant papers to the brig Queen Charlotte, then to be fitted out for the merchant service, bearing date April 7, 1835.
Also, answer of Mahlon Dickinson, Secretary of the Navy, disclaiming any interest of the government in said vessels, bearing date April 23, 1835.
Also, transfer of all right, title, and interest of George Miles in said vessel to Leander Dobbins, bearing date December 9, 1857.
(Signed) GEORGE MILES.
Also, transfer of hulk of Lawrence to Thomas J. Viers and John Dunlap, bearing date September 10, 1875.
(Signed) LEANDER DOBBINS.
Oliver Hazard Perry was born at South Kingston, Rhode Island, Aug. 23, 1785. His father, Christopher Raymond Perry, was born in the same place in 1761, and was a post- captain in the navy until the reduction in 1801, when he received the appointment of collector at Newport. He mar- ried Sarah Alexander in 1784, and of a large family descended from them almost every male member served with dis- tinction in the navy. Mathew Calbraith joined in the Japan expedition in 1852 ; he was a brother ten years younger than the "Hero of Lake Erie." Oliver Hazard Perry entered the navy as a midshipman in 1799; served in the Tripolitan war ; had charge of a flotilla of gunboats in New York Har- bor in 1812, and in 1813 he served under Chauncey on Lake Ontario. Then, being only master-commander, he superin- tended building the fleet at Presqu'ile (Erie), and September 10, 1813, gained the complete and brilliant victory over the British squadron at Put-in-Bay, Sandusky. He received a vote of thanks from Congress for his bravery, and a gold medal, and was promoted to a post-captain. Late in 1813 he assisted Gen. Harrison in retaking Detroit. In 1815 Perry commanded the Java, of Decatur's squadron in the Mediter- ranean, and in 1819 was appointed to the command of a squad- ron for the coast of Columbia. In July, he ascended the Orinoco to Angostura, and on leaving the river was seized with yellow fever, which terminated fatally the day his vessel
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arrived at Port Spain, Trinidad, West Indies, being the 23d of August, 1819. His remains were buried there, and in 1826 a sloop-of-war removed them to Newport, R. I., where they were re-interred with great ceremony. The State of Rhode Island erected a fine granite monument to his memory. In 1860 a handsome marble statue of him by Walcutt was erected in a public square in Cleveland, O., with imposing ceremonies. At the unveiling Hon. George Bancroft, the historian, delivered an address; Dr. Usher Parsons, who was the surgeon at the battle, read a historical discourse, and at a dinner after- wards, about three hundred surviving soldiers of the war of 1812-15 sat down. The average of their ages was about seventy years, and the aggregate of the venerable company was about 20,000 years !- Collated from Lossing.
Maj. Andrew Ellicott .- The subject of this sketch devoted a long life to the service of his country, and illustrated in an eminent degree the valuable aid intelligence and learning can render in the settlement of a new country. He was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, January 24, 1754. His attain- ments in science soon drew public attention to him, and from the Revolution to the day of his death he was employed in the fulfilment of trusts conferred by the general of the State governments. Though belonging to the society of Friends, he commanded a battalion of Maryland militia in the Revolu- tion. In 1784 he was employed on behalf of Virginia in fix- ing the boundary line between that State and Pennsylvania. In 1786 he was commissioned by the Supreme Executive Council of the State to run the northern boundary line of Pennsylvania, and in 1788 he was directed to make a survey of the islands in the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers within the bounds of the State. In 1789 he was commissioned by the United States government to locate the western boundary of New York State and ascertain the validity of the claim of that State to the site upon which Erie now stands. He located the line, after much hardship and trouble, some twenty miles east of Presqu'ile; his valuable service in this important and responsible survey seems to have been duly appreciated by Washington, for he writes in the year of its completion : "Gen. Washington has treated me with atten-
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tion. The Speaker of Congress and Governor of the State have constantly extended to me most flattering courtesies." In 1790 he was employed by the United States government to survey and lay out the District of Columbia and Washington City ; in 1796 he was appointed by Washington commissioners to fix the boundary line between the United States and the Spanish Possessions. One important trust succeeded another, for more than forty years, and up to the time of his death he was constantly employed in some public capacity. His high character and superior intelligence elevated him without special effort; he had an exalted sense of duty, and a well-sustained conception of personal responsibilities. In March, 1801, he was appointed by Jefferson surveyor-general of the United States, which office he accepted upon conditions imposed by himself. In 1813 he was appointed professor of mathematics in the military academy of West Point, and removed there with his family, and there he died August 28, 1820. He left a widow and nine children ; Col. John H. Bliss, of Erie, is his grandson. President Hale, in his memoir of Maj. David Bates Douglass, the son-in-law of Andrew Ellicott, says: "The memoir of the late Andrew Ellicott, when written, will form a valuable addition to the history of our country, taking us away from the beaten ground of battle- fields and Senate chambers and cabinets to the services which science can render in the settlement of a new country in a civilized age .- Extract from Stuart's "Civil and Military Engi- neers of America."
Two distinguished foreigners are connected by marriage with Erie families : Richard Claverhouse Jebb, LL.D., regius professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, England ; the other, George H. Darwin, F.R.S., LL.D., of the Plumian chair of astronomy at Cambridge University, England. He has also the honor of being the third son of the eminent naturalist, Charles Darwin, whose investigations and writings have made a new epoch in the scientific world, and is himself a scientist of world-wide reputation, and an authority in his special department. Prof. Darwin was married in Erie, July 22, 1884, to Miss Maud De Puy, by Rev. G. A. Carstensen, of St. Paul's P. E. Church, at the house of her sister, Mrs. William
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Spencer, No. 143 West Eighth Street, having an elegant en- tertainment and costly presents from friends on both sides of the ocean. " The fair representative of America who has drawn across the ocean this bearer of a distinguished name is the daughter of Charles M. Du Puy, of Philadelphia, whose Huguenot ancestors have been prominent in the past, and en- title him to the position he holds at the head of the Pennsyl- vania branch of the American Huguenot Society."
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