USA > Pennsylvania > Erie County > The history of Erie County, Pennsylvania > Part 26
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"He died about twenty years ago, and was buried with the honors of war. Many of the old veterans of the war gathered around the grave of the poor old man, when he was lowered to his last home, where 'he sleeps his last sleep,' and where 'no sound can awake him to glory again.' They shed tears over his grave as they remembered the time when they fought with him on the battle-fields of their country.
"No monument, not even a slab, marks the last resting- place of the old veteran. But his name is remembered by a people that know how to appreciate the liberty for which he fought. J. N. S."
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
The survivors of the battle of Lake Erie as far as known : Stephen Champlin, sailing-master and commander of the Scorpion ; now a post-captain, and residing in Buffalo.
J. B. Montgomery, midshipman in the Niagara ; now a post-captain, and in command of the Pacific squadron.
Hugh N. Page, midshipman in the Tigress; now a post- captain, and resides in Virginia.
Thomas Brownell, sailing-master on board the Ariel, re- sides in Newport, and is lieutenant.
Usher Parsons, acting surgeon of the flag ship, and of the squadron, resides in Providence, and is the last surviving commissioned officer of the squadron.
Hosea Sargeant, a volunteer from General Harrison's army, was a gunner on the Lawrence; lives in Boston.
W. T. Taliaferro, a volunteer from Harrison's army, now resides, as a physician, in Cincinnati.
Benjamin Talmon, gunner on the Caledonia.
John Tucker, powder-boy of the Caledonia.
Benjamin Fleming, a sailor on the Niagara, lives in Erie.
Jonas Stone, carpenter on the Lawrence, resides near Milwaukie.
Alexander McClaskey, a volunteer from Erie, resides in Illinois.
Daniel Metzenburgh resides in Erie; volunteered on board the Niagara; is now about seventy years of age, and has his medal.
J. Murray, a marine, resides in Girard.
The following, who were mostly volunteers from Harrison's army, are believed to be still living, to wit :-
Thomas H. Bradford, Nathan Holburt, John Norris, William Blair, James Artus, Rowland S. Parker, and James Lanman.
Extract from the account of "The Inauguration of the Perry Statue, at Cleveland :"_
"The cost of the Perry Monument was $8000, as agreed in the contract made with T. Jones & Sons. Nearly $5000
326
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
of this sum was obtained by voluntary subscriptions, and the City Council, on the receipt of a communication from the Chairman of the Perry Monument Committee, stating the balance due to the contractors, September 25, 1860, passed the resolution offered by Mr. Ballard :-
"Resolved, That the sum of Three Thousand and Eight Dollars be appropriated from the city treasury to T. Jones & Sons, in full of the balance due them on their contract for the erection of the Perry Monument, the same to be paid one-third in six months and one-third in twelve months. Adopted. Ayes, 18; nays, 1."
"October 30, 1860, the following action was had in the City Council, on the receipt of a communication from Har- vey Rice, Chairman of the Perry Monument Committee, stating that he has received from O. H. Perry, only surviv- ing son of Commodore Perry, a portrait in oil of the Com- modore, copied by Mr. Lawson, of Lowell, from the original painting by Stuart. In compliance with the request of Mr. Perry, he presented the portrait to the City of Cleve- land. In the note by Mr. Perry accompanying the portrait, he expresses his belief that 'so patriotic a people as the citi- zens of Cleveland will value the portrait of one they have been pleased to honor.'
"Received and filed.
"Resolutions of Mr. Clark :-
"That the portrait of Commodore Perry, presented this evening to the City of Cleveland, in the name, and at the request of O. H. Perry, Esq., his only surviving son, be ac- cepted; and that the City Clerk be directed to cause the same to be handsomely framed and suspended in Council Hall.
"That the thanks of the City Council be, and the same are hereby tendered to O. H. Perry, Esq., for so valuable and acceptable a gift, and that the Mayor of the City be requested to communicate to him a certified copy of the foregoing resolutions.
" Adopted."
327
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
Inventions .- October 4th, 1853, Ozias J. Davie and Thos. W. Stephens, of the City of Erie, obtained a patent for a punching and shearing machine. Improvements were after- ward made by them, and the machine exhibited at the Crys- tal Palace, where its operations attracted much attention. Munn & Co. make mention of it as one of the best inven- . tions of the kind with which they are acquainted. Liddell, Kepler & Co., of Erie, are proprietors.
A car-spring was afterward patented by Walter F. J. Liddel, which is considered a very great improvement.
Captain Douglass Ottinger invented a life-boat which was exhibited at the Crystal Palace in 1853, and which is now in general use. From humane motives he refused to have it patented, but received, in 1858, a remuneration from Con- gress of $10,000.
J. W. Wetmore, Esq., invented a band railroad chair ; first patent, April 19, 1859 ; second patent, December 27, 1859. Sub-wedge railroad chair, which was first patented August 23, 1859, and a second, May 15, 1860.
A legislative voting register, the object of which is to prevent the delay in taking the ayes and noes, was patented by him April 3d, 1860. The gravimotometer was patented February 16, 1858, the object of the apparatus being to test or measure the effect of motion on attraction or gravi- tation. It is constructed by having horseshoe magnets attached vertically flatwise unto a wooden globe.
Also letters-patent were granted June 16, 1861, for im- proved means of propelling vessels in shoal water. The model was submitted by Mr. Wetmore to a committee in 1858, which concluded their article as follows :-
"On the whole, this method of propulsion seems to us to be practicable. In our opinion it is a valuable invention for the use proposed. The advantages consist principally of a great saving of power in the propulsion of boats and the extension of the use of steamboats to rivers where naviga- tion by paddle-wheel boats is now hardly practicable. The
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
large appropriations expended or proposed for the improve- ment of the navigation of the various rivers of the country, and the difficulty and expense of such improvements, show the utility and necessity of successful efforts to overcome the impediment in these channels of commerce. This plan seems to us to meet the necessity, and to be the best im- provement yet devised for shoal water navigation.
" DOUGLASS OTTINGER, CHAS. M. REED,
"M. COURTRIGHT, JOSHUA FOLLENSBEE,
"JOHN A. TRACY, WM. A. GALBRAITH,
"P. METCALF, A. H. CAUGHEY,
"A. SCOTT."
In the Buffalo Daily Republic of March 20th, 1861, we find an article on the " Suspended Purchase," an invention of Mr. Wm. H. Brown, of Erie. The editor remarks: " To us it seemed to be rather more than a purchase, it was really a combination of purchases. Every part sustains such a delicate and positive relation to every other part, that it seems as if human ingenuity could go no further in the development of the idea which has lived in the brain of the inventor for over eight years. To perfect machinery by which massive bodies, or large quantities, should be lifted and transported to any given distance, or deposited at points difficult to reach, has been the great object of the inventor. That he has accomplished his undertaking, no one who has seen the performance of his model will undertake to ques- tion. * For quarrying purposes, bridge building, and unloading of vessels, the 'Suspended Purchase' is in- valuable; in fact, it would require too much space to specify the purposes for which it may be successfully and economi- cally used. In the work of construction, especially, it will be found by engineers to meet a necessity which nothing but rude muscle and great mental labor have heretofore met. In the unloading of vessels Mr. Brown guarantees to dis- charge 150 tons of iron ore or coal per hour, with the num- ber of hands necessary to keep up with the operations of his machinery."
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
Also, in the New York Times, July 29th, 1861, under the head "Improvised Army Bridges," after a statement by the editor of the difficulties of making passable, at short notice, the ordinary bridges of which the rebels have de- stroyed the superstructure, of rapidly transporting guns, stores, and horses over chasms which cannot speedily be bridged, the time required to construct rafts, etc., he adds : "A recent apparatus, (Brown's Suspended Purchase,) which has been employed to some extent in carrying and deposit- ing the material of bridges, and in raising ore and coal from vessels and dumping it some hundreds of feet off-an appa- ratus indorsed by competent engineering authorities, seems to possess the features required in military purposes. There is evidently the principle in this simple device for greatly aiding military operations by speedily repairing damaged bridges, improvising bridges, etc., and it is obvi- ous that something of this sort will be specially useful in this campaign."
"The Society of the United Brethren for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen," was incorporated by the Act of Assembly, 27th February, 1788. It is formed of members of the Episcopal church of the United Brethren or Unitas Fratrum-more generally known as the Moravian church.
April 17th, 1791, an act was passed to grant this society 5000 acres of land and allowance; 2500 acres to be located "on the River Conneought near the northwestern corner of the State," and 2500 acres "on the heads of French Creek."
The inducement thereto is stated in the act to be the fact that the United Brethren had sent and supported mission- aries and teachers among the Indians since 1740, and in fur- therance of which the aforesaid society was incorporated in 1788. The society asked for public aid because the missions had become both numerous and expensive, and hitherto had been maintained solely by the charitable contributions of the members of the Moravian church. The request was granted
29
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
on the ground that the Commonwealth was "disposed to encourage all pious and charitable institutions, and the prop- agation of the Gospel, and the erecting and supporting schools among the Indian nations of America being of the first importance to this and other of the United States, and by the blessing of God conducive to the peace and security of the inhabitants and settlers of our frontiers by turning the minds of the savages to the Christian religion, industry, and social life with the citizens of the United States."
The patents are dated April 14th, 1795.
The French Creek tract, called "Good Luck," contained 2875 acres and allowance. Thirty-four pounds, eleven shill- ings and nine pence was paid for the excess above the 2500 acres.
The Conneaut tract, called "Hospitality," contained 2797-92 acres and allowance, the payment being nineteen pounds, twenty-three shillings and ten pence for the excess.
Both tracts were subdivided and leased on "Improvement Leases," by the late William Miles, Esq., who for many years was the society's efficient agent in the improvement of these lands. Mr. Miles's health failing, his son, Judge James Miles, succeeded him in the agency of the "Hospi- tality" tract, and John Wood, Esq., in the "Good Luck" tract.
The lands were finally sold, in 1849, to N. Blickensdefer, Esq.
To the efficient care and superintendence of these gentle- men, particularly the Messrs. Miles, who were pioneers in the improvements, the society and the county are indebted for reclaiming from a wilderness a large portion of the best lands in Erie County-some 700 acres of "Good Luck" and 1200 of "Hospitality" having been brought into a good state of cultivation up to the year 1850.
The terms of the leases were, in general, the use of the land by the tenant for a series of years, usually seven, in consideration of clearing and fencing a small portion annu-
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
ally. Subsequently leases included agreements to build houses and barns.
The society were induced to sell principally from the con- sideration that the annual interest of the proceeds of sale would be a more effectual and available aid to their work than any system of farming by tenants. After its purchase by Mr. Blickensdefer it was again subdivided and resold to actual settlers, a few of the best tenants becoming purchasers. Both tracts are now well improved in suitable-sized farms, and will compare favorably with any lands in Erie County.
In Chapter IX. mention of an act to open a road from near the Bald Eagle's Nest, in Mifflin County, to Le Bœuf, in the County of Allegheny, was omitted. This act passed 10th of April, 1799, and appropriated $5000 for the pur- pose.
The following on the subject of railroads, from Poor's History, should be added : "In addition to the subscriptions made to the Philadelphia and Erie Road was $500,000 to the share capital by the Cleveland and Erie Railroad, at the time the Legislature of Pennsylvania confirmed the rights of this and the Erie and Northeast to the chartered privileges claimed by them.
"The Erie and Pittsburg Railroad was chartered as the successor of the Pittsburg and Erie Railroad, on the 15th of April, 1858. In addition to the $400,000 subscribed to this by the Erie and Northeast Road as one of the condi- tions by which it enjoys quiet right of way through the State, it has a floating debt of $250,000, (advances by the Buffalo and State Line Company,) and $30,000 from indi- vidual stockholders.
"In 1857 an act was obtained from the Legislature of New York, authorizing the Buffalo and State Line Road to lease or purchase, by exchange of stock or lands, the Erie and Northeast Railroad. Under this act nearly all the share capital of the Erie and Northeast has been exchanged for that of the Buffalo and State Line Road. Bonds have also
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
been exchanged to the amount of $149,000. The funded debt of the Erie and Northeast Road is $100,000, in details as follows : First mortgage, seven per cent., coupon bonds $400,000, dated 1st June, 1857, and payable, principal 1st June, 1870, and interest semi-annually, 1st June and 1st December, at New York. Of these bonds $149,000 have been exchanged for bonds of the Buffalo and State Line Railroad as a part of its own line ; its earnings and expenses are embraced in those for that road. The same dividends have been paid by the two companies."
At Junction, in Concord Township, where the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad intersects the Philadelphia and Erie, quite a cluster of buildings has arisen in the woods within the last three months. The Atlantic and Great Western connects with the New York and Erie at Little Valley, in Cattaragus County, having the same gauge. A large quantity of petroleum passed over this road on the ninth of September, 1861; twenty-three car-loads were shipped at Junction for New York City.
March 1st, 1781, the State of New York made a deed of cession to the United States of lands lying between the northern boundary of Pennsylvania and Lake Erie, or rather judged it expedient to limit and restrict the boundaries of this State. April 19th, 1785, the Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts made a similar deed of cession.
At the Assembly of Internal Commerce, in Philadelphia, September 15th, 1783, a resolution was carried to "examine the navigation of the Susquehanna to the source of the same, and ascertain, as near as conveniently may be, where the northern boundary of this State will fall, particularly whether any part of Lake Erie is within the State of Pennsylvania, taking particular notes of the nature and geography of the country as to the practicability of roads, water carriage, air, soil, natural productions, etc .??
September twentieth, William Maclay, James Wilkinson, and William Montgomery, Esqs., were duly elected to per-
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
form the duties prescribed in the resolution. These com- missioners arrived at Erie, October 8th, 1787, and determined by scientific observations that there was no lake harbor inside the State, and also that the land was of a fair quality. On motion of General Irvine, in Congress, February 25th, 1788, the Geographer of the United States was directed to pro- ceed to run a line and ascertain the western limits of the States of New York and Massachusetts, conformable to their acts of cession.
June 16th, 1788, Tho. Hutchins, Geographer of the United States of America, addressed Lord Dorchester, Governor-General of Canada, for permission to survey the most westerly bent or inclination of Lake Ontario, and to extend a meridian line from thence south to Lake Erie, etc.
September 4th, 1788, by act of Congress the United States relinquished and transferred to the State of Pennsyl- vania "the land contained in the interval betwixt a meridian line run between Lake Erie and the State of Pennsylvania, and the boundaries of the States of New York and Massa- chusetts, at the rate of three-quarters of a dollar per acre," bearing interest, when the quantity should be ascertained by actual survey. An estimate of other expenditures that might be incurred in the purchase from the Six Nations, amounting to £950, is in details as follows: Various suita- ble articles, £375; provisions, £100; wagonage, boat hire, etc., £150; pay of commissioners, hire of interpreters, run- ners, etc., £250; presents to great men, £75.
September 8th, 1788, P. Muhlenberg, Vice-President of the Board of Treasury, transmitted to Hon. Thos. Mifflin, Speaker of the General Assembly, an act of Congress passed the 4th of the same month, by which the United States relin- quished and transferred to the State of Pennsylvania all their right and title to the tract of land on Lake Erie. September 13th, 1788, the State of Pennsylvania in General Assembly heard the report of the committee and resolved to accept, on the part of the Commonwealth, the contract made with the
334
HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
Board of Treasury of the United States, and recommended. to the succeeding House of Assembly fully to pay and dis- charge the consideration moneys due, at three-fourths of a dollar per acre, as soon as it should be surveyed. Some estimated the number of acres (which proved to be 202,187) at 800,000, and others at 1,000,000. Provision was made immediately for the payment of £950 for contingent ex- penses.
October 1st, 1788, General Richard Butler and General John Gibson were appointed by the Council of Philadelphia commissioners to negotiate and complete the purchase of the Lake Erie tract, and William Maclay and John Smilie to prepare and report to the board a draft of instructions to said commissioners. These instructions were in effect to make the purchase when they should find the Indians in a proper temper-at that time they were attending a conven- tion at Muskingum.
The 9th of January, 1789, in open and public council, twenty-four chiefs and warriors representing the Senecas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, Onondagas, and Oneidas, of the tribes of the Six Nations, for themselves, tribes, heirs, and succes- sors, and Richard Butler and John Gibson, Esquires, com- missioners for and in behalf of the State of Pennsylvania (Onas) on the other part, made and concluded seven articles by which the Indians renounced their claims, and the title of the Presqu'ile lands vested in the State of Pennsylvania.
March 24th, 1789, it was resolved by the General Assem- bly of Pennsylvania, that not exceeding 3000 acres be sur- veyed for the use of the Commonwealth at each of the fol- lowing points : Presqu'ile, Le Bœuf, at the mouth of Cone- wango, and at the fort of Venango. And also in the country of Lake Erie, 1500 acres for Captain O'Biel or Cornplanter, whose Indian name was Gyantwachia.
Bankers and Exchange Brokers in the City and County of Erie, with amount of capital invested by each firm and individual respectively, as reported to the Auditor-General
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HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY.
of Pennsylvania, agreeably to Act of Assembly passed A.D. 1861 :-
Capital. M. Sanford & Co., bankers, Erie City. $50,000 W. C. Curry, broker and private banker, Erie City .. 100,000 Vincent, Bailey & Co., Erie City 25,000
Neiler & Warren,
5,000
Clark & Metcalf,
12,000
Benson & West, Waterford. 500
INDEX.
ABOLISHING capital punishments discussed, 151.
Academies-Erie, 163, 219; Wat- erford, 162; Springfield, 165; West Springfield, 165; Girard, 165.
Adams, John ; alludes to the re- tention of the American forts, 54.
Adams, J. Q., 321.
Adelphic Literary Society, 154. Addison, Judge, 100.
Allegheny River; rise of from Pittsburg to Franklin, 286.
Albion, 204; Albion Lodge, 147. Algonquin, 10, 11.
Agricultural and mechanical so- cieties, 145 ; the State Agricul- tural Society from Hon. Jas. Miles, 146.
Amity Township; its churches, etc., 187.
Andastes or Conastagues, 10.
Anecdote of an early settler, 304; one of the war of 1812, 323. Anti-abolition meeting, 150.
Appropriation to open and im- prove navigable waters and for roads, etc., 62; for a road from Bald Eagle's Nest, 331; to the Erie extension of the Pennsyl- vania Canal, 118; for the Sun- bury and Erie Railroad, 121; for a geological survey, 284. Arion Musical Society, 155.
Arrangements to settle the Tri- angle, 62, 333.
Assembly of internal commerce, 332.
Associate Judges, a list of, 100.
Austin, J. A., 163, 165. Avicula speciosa, found near Northeast, 290.
BABEER's expedition, 29.
Bancroft's opinion as to the lo- cality of the Griffin's ship-yard, 20; his account of the destruc- tion of Presqu'ile, 48; his his- torical address at Cleveland, 143.
Banks, Hon. John, 101.
Bankers and Exchange Brokers from the Auditor-General's ac- count, 334; the number in Erie, 108.
Badger, Giles, 322.
Bank of the United States, 139; Erie City Bank, 140; Bank of Commerce, 140;
Babbitt, Elijah, 101, 102, 148, 155. Baptist church of Erie organized, 184.
Ball, G. J., 103, 140, 141.
Barclay, Com., 256, 271, 264, 131. Beaverdam; its churches, etc., 207.
Beebe, Tabor, 109, 184.
Bernard, Gen., and Major Totten's survey of Presqu'ile harbor, 278.
Beuhler, George, 130,142, 303, 109. Beverly, Colonel Wm., 27. Blaine, A. W., 103, 140.
Blockhouses ; three built at Erie in 1795, 84; one on the same location, and on the point of the Peninsula in 1814, 273; one at the Cascade, 276.
(337)
30
338
INDEX.
Board of Treasury contract for the sale of the Triangle, 61, 333.
Bounds of the borough enlarged, 106.
Bite, Mons., at Ganagarahare, 30. Bienville, Celeron de, sent out by the Governor-General of Can- ada, 25.
Bird, Rankin, and Davis executed for desertion, 276.
Bible Society ; its organization and first officers, 149.
Blair, Jas., 322.
Blickensdefer, N., 330, 331.
Bradstreet, Col., makes a treaty at Presqu'ile, 53.
Bradford, Attorney-General, 66.
Brandt, Joseph, 71, 73, 75.
Brawley, John, 100, 110, 140, 148, 149, 150.
Braddock, Mount, 34.
Breton, Cape, 25.
Brewster, A. W., 104, 109, 110, 125, 128, 148, 163, 165.
Breaking ground for the Erie Canal, 118.
Brevoort, Captain, 249, 131, 248.
Brown, Noah, 245, 255.
Brown, Wm. H., 328.
Brown, Wm. A., 148, 140.
British vessels on the lake at an early day, 130.
Buffalo Creek, treaties at, 74, 75. Burr, Aaron, 62.
Butler County, 39.
Butler, General Richard, 76, 334.
Bull, Thomas, a spy at Presqu'ile, 43. Burinol, 43. Buildings, county, 104, 105.
CAMP Irvin, 128, 151, 163.
Canal basin, an act to construct, 106.
Cadets of Temperance, 152.
Cadwell, H., 104, 125, 184.
Carmarthan, Lord; his corre- spondence with John Adams, 54.
Carrier, Rev. A. H .; an extract from his historical sermon, 176.
Carson league, 152. Carrying the mail at an early day, 116.
Capital punishment, the only in- stance of in Erie County, 104. Calcareous marl, 293.
Cass, General Lewis ; his opinion of the locality of the Griffin ship-yard, 19, 260.
Car Spring, 327.
Cattaragus, Com. Perry at, 241. Cataraqui, Fort, 29.
Cats or Châts, an account of the tribe, 9.
Caughey, M. W., 128, 104.
Caughey, A. H., 163, 328, 152, 147.
Cayuga Creek, the Griffin built at, 20
Casenove, Theophilus, 62.
Celeron de Bienville places medals along the Ohio, 25, 27.
Cemeteries at Erie, 148; Girard, 149; at Northeast, 149.
Cession of the Triangle, 60.
Charlevoix, 9.
Chadakoin Lake, 30.
Champlin, Captain Stephen, 325. Chaumount, 14.
Chauviquerie's testimony, 41.
Champlain, Sieur de, 9, 25.
Chapin, General, 71; letter to the Secretary of War, 72; addressed by O'Beil, 73.
Chautauqua Lake, a detachment of Indians and English embark upon, 54.
"Chronicle," Erie, 157.
Christie, Ensign, commandant at Presqu'ile, 50.
Cholera, 315.
Cherry Hill, the village of, 205.
Churches at an early day, 306.
City Tract Society formed at Erie, 151.
"City Dispatch," Erie, 159. City Hall Association, 155.
Clark, D. S., 140.
Clearing the public square, 308.
Coal, 294; quantity received at Erie, 119. Colt, T. G., 101, 118, 110, 307.
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