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Full text of "History of Chautauqua County, New York, from its first settlement to the present time. With numerous biographical and family sketches"

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187: 



HISTORY 



CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, 



NEW YORK, 



FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME; 



WITH NUMEROUS 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND FAMILY SKETCHES. 



By ANDREW W. YOUNG, 

ft 

^rxHOR OF "SCIENCE OF GOVERNMENT," "AMERICAN STATESMAN," "NATIONAL ECONOMY." ETC. 



Embellished with ui'Wards of One Hundred Portraits of Citizens. 



BUFFALO, N. Y. 

PRINTING HOUSE OF MATTHEWS & WARREN. 
1875- 






\ Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1876, 
*T-- By Andrew W. Young, 



In the offict ofjAS'Cbrarian 1 




ess, at Washington. 



9 



^?^ 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



After the lapse of a period much longer than was anticipated, the writer 
offers to the public the result of his protracted labors. Although he has 
no assurance that the work will fully meet the expectations of all for 
whom it has been written, he indulges the hope thi^t -it-will receive a 
good measure of the popular favor. But how much soever it may fall 
short of universal commendation, he has the satisfaction' tp believe, that 
its supposed defects will not be ascribed to any lack of effort, on his 
part, to fulfill the pledge of his "best endeavors to produce a history 
which should meet the expectations of the people, and reflect honor 
upon the county." This has certainly been his paramount object, irre- 
spective of the time deemed necessary for its accomplishment. 

The author takes occasion here to suggest to the reader the advantage of 
a careful reading of the Introduction before proceeding to the perusal of 
the History. Portions of the work which might otherwise appear somewhat 
obscure, will be rendered quite intelligible by the previous reading of the 
explanations in the introductory pages. 



V 




^^^0^-^ c/'^er.^- //. (^Y/t-c^ 



INTRODUCTION. 



Apologetic and Explanatory. 

Seldom has a publication made its advent so long after its inception as 
this history of Chautauqua county. Fifty years ago, a distinguished citizen of 
the county conceived the idea of such a history, and commenced the collec- 
tion of material. This labor was, for many years, unremittingly continued, 
so far as his professional and public duties permitted. His removal from the 
state and other causes conspired to hinder the progress of the work, until dis- 
ease and the infirmities of age forbade the accomplishment, by his own hands, 
of his favorite and long-cherished object; and the people of the county, who 
had long awaited its appearance, abandoned the hope of its publication. 

At this juncture, the name of the author, then in a distant state, was com- 
municated, by a friend, to the projector of the work. A correspondence en- 
sued, which resulted in an engagement, on my part, to assume the entire re- 
sponsibility of its publication. It was a great, and, pecuniarily, a hazardous 
undertaking. To examine more than twenty large volumes of manuscript 
and printed scraps from county newspapers, and a large number of printed 
volumes, for such matter as could be made available in the compilation of the 
work ; and to collect, in person, an equal amount of additional matter from 
the twenty-six towns in the county, was a task which few who had a just con- 
ception of its magnitude would have readily assumed. 

An important characteristic of a work is accuracy. Yet in publications of 
no other kind than this is it so difficult. Few of the earlier settlers remain ; 
and the recollections of these few are so diverse and conflicting as to render 
them unreliable, unless confirmed by the concurrent statements of others. 
The collections of matter for several Avorks containing historical sketches of 
this county, appear to have been too hastily and carelessly made. One of 
them, though a valuable work, abounds with errors. Several appear in the 
sketch of a single town, and more or less in the sketches of many other towns. 
Probably to save time and labor, most of these erroneous statements have 
been taken, on trust, from the first person applied to for information, and. 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

without further inquiry, inserted in the forthcoming publication ; and, through 
that and succeeding histories, they will be transmitted to future generations. 

A large portion of this History is based on the collections of Judge Foote. 
These were commenced long before there were any old settlers in the county ; 
and they consist chiefly of the experience a.nd observation of the persons from 
whom they were obtained, and before their memories were impaired by time 
or age. A large portion of this matter has been examined by some of the 
early and well informed settlers still living, and has been found singularly free 
from inaccuracies. In the collection of new material, unusual pains have 
been taken to guard against errors. To ascertain the truth in the hundreds 
of disputed cases, has required an amount of labor of which few can form a 
just conception. And after the county had been several times travers&d, and 
the newly collected matter written out, I was unwilling to permit it to be print- 
ed until I had again visited every town, and submitted the manuscript to my 
informants and others for examination. Any person, therefore, who questions 
the truth of any statement, has reason to doubt the correctness of his own 
memory, or of the source from which his information was obtained. Yet it 
would be a marvel if no inaccuracies should be discovered. Persons, not a 
few, have erred in relating transactions which occurred under their own ob- 
servation, or in which they had themselves participated. If, with all the pains 
taken to insure a correct history, the object has not been attained, it may be 
confidently pronounced tinattainable. In family sketches, inaccuracies are 
most likely to appear. Persons intimately acquainted with families they have 
described, have not in all cases been quite correct 3 and some sketches 
received in manuscript have not been entirely legible. Sundry errors, 
discovered since the body of the book was printed, are corrected on 
pages immediately preceding the Index, at the end of the Avork. 

Of the merits of the work, different opinions will be formed. Matter which 
some will appreciate, others may regard as unimportant. Some, perhaps, will 
read with little interest the adventures and experience of the early settlers, 
with which they are already familiar. Others will read this part of the work 
with greater interest than any other. A large portion of this History has been 
written, not so much for the present generation, as for the generations which 
are to follow. Many remember how earnestly they listened to the stories of 
pioneer life from the lips of their ancestors. Before the present generation 
shall have passed away, not an individual will remain to relate, from his own 
personal knowledge, the experiences of the first settlers which have so deeply 
interested us. This interest will not be abated by the lapse of time. The 
written narrative of incidents of " life in the woods," will be no less accepta- 
ble to those who come after us, than was the wtz/ relation to ourselves. Hence, 



INTRODUCTION. vu 

to commemorate the events and occurrences of the past — to transmit to our 
descendants a faithful history of our own time — is a duty. Many to whom 
such a history shall be transmitted, will estimate its value at many times its 
cost. Without it little will be known of early times, except what shall have 
come down to them by tradition, always imperfect and unreliable. 

This History is written for a population of 60,000, differing greatly in 
their views and tastes, which the historian can not entirely disregard. 
Hence, in addition to pioneer history, which constitutes a considerable por- 
tion of the work, the reader will find a great variety of other matter, civil, 
ecclesiastical, educational, commercial, agricultural, statistical and biographi- 
cal, which will render it convenient and useful as a book of reference, now' 
and hereafter. It is believed that the exclusion of either of these subjects 
would have materially impaired its value. 

There was early manifested a desire among settlers to see the names of 
themselves or their ancestors associated with the history of the county. 
This desire is a natural and a proper one. A large portion of the early set- 
tlers in every town have been mentioned, and many others will be 
disappointed at not finding their own names. The omission was unavoida- 
ble. A notice of one-half of the families of this l^ge county, would have 
infringed too much upon the sj^ace required for other topics. To visit every 
family was impossible : those only were called on who were most accessible and 
most likely to furnish the desired historical information. Hence the names of 
many of the more worthy and prominent citizens have necessarily been omitted. 

Biographical and genealogical sketches form a prominent feature of this 
History. They will generally be found in the historical sketches of the 
towns in which their subjects respectively resided or now reside. Sketches 
of persons who have resided in several towns, are in some cases inserted in 
the histories of the towns in which they passed the earlier or more eventful 
period of their lives. Probably no part of the History will be more fre- 
quently referred to than this. Many of these sketches contain much 
interesting historical matter, and will amply compensate a perusal. Their 
number has been materially increased by the unusual and unexpected num- 
ber of portraits furnished by citizens, who, by their generous contribution to 
the embellishment of the work, deserved a full biographical and family 
sketch of the person represented by the portrait. One characteristic of 
these biographical notes can hardly escape the notice of the reader — the 
absence of eulogy, especially of the living. As persons widely differ in their 
estimate of the characters of their fellow-men, it was deemed prudent not to 
venture beyond a simple statement of the more noticeable incidents and 
events of the life of any living subject. 



Vlll INTRODUCTION. 

The attention of the reader is invited to the plan and arrangement of the 
work. Matter of general interest and application, and relating to the early 
history of the state and county, is first introduced, and is arranged under 
appropriate heads or titles. This greatly facilitates the finding of historical 
facts. The general history of the county is followed by a particular history 
of the several towns, in alphabetical order. The historical sketch of each 
town includes the names of early farmers, mechanics, business and profes- 
sional men, and notices of mills, manufactories, schools, churches, etc. This 
will aid in the search for matter relating to the towns. The Table of Con- 
tents at the beginning, and the Index at the end, of the volume, will gener- 
ally enable the reader to find what he seeks for. His searches, however, 
will be greatly facilitated by making himself familiar with the arrangement of 
the work. But the greatest advantage would be gained from at least one 
perusal, in course, of the entire History. Many interesting occurrences 
therein recorded, might, without such perusal, never come to the knowledge 
of the reader. 

It soon became apparent that the work would far exceed its prescribed 
Hmits. To keep it within a proper and convenient size and weight, type one 
size smaller than was at first intended, was selected ; the printed page was 
greatly enlarged ; and the reading matter was increased twenty per cent, be- 
yond the quantity promised. And paper of less than the usual weight and 
thickness was taken to render the book more convenient in the using, and to 
insure its greater strength and durability. 

Those who have read the foregoing pages will need no further apology for 
the unexpected delay in the issue of this work. No one regrets it more 
deeply than myself To my patrons this delay is a gain at my expense. A 
history of the county might have been written in half the time expended 
upon this ; but I would not offer to the public what was not satisfactory to 
myself. I presumed they would rather be served later with a good book than 
earlier with an indifferent one. In respect to its embellishment they will be 
more than satisfied. No definite number of portraits was promised. Instead 
of fifty, which, it was hoped, might be obtained, the public are presented 
with double that number, of which one-half are fine steel engravings, in 
which the subjects of the pictures will be readily recognized, except, per- 
haps, in a few cases of defective photographs, or of pictures taken 
twenty-five or thirty years ago. The aggregate cost of the portraits exceeds 
eight thousand dollars. 

To the numerous friends who have given me assurances of their interest 
in this enterprise, I offer my grateful acknowledgments. All who have been 
applied to for information, have cheerfully rendered the desired service. 



INTRODUCTION. ix 

Next to Judge Foote, the projector of the History, who has devoted years 
of gratuitous labor to his favorite object, Hon. Obed Edson has the strong- 
est claim to the gratitude of the people of this county. The " prehistoric 
matter," (as it has been appropriately termed,) with which the work com- 
mences, and which has cost much time and elaborate research, has been 
gratuitously furnished ; and it will be regarded, by most appreciative minds, 
as an invaluable contribution to the work. The lectures of the late Hon. 
Samuel A. Brown, delivered in the Jamestown academy, in 1843, and Judge 
E. F. Warren's Historical Sketches of Chautauqua County, have furnished 
valuable matter. Some has also been obtained from the sketches of early 
settlers in Stockton and Ellery, by J. L. Bugbee, and S. S. Crissey, Esqs. 
As the greater portion of the matter thus obtained is interwoven with what 
has been collected from various other sources, specific credit could not, in all 
cases, be given to these authors, without unpleasant interruptions of the nar- 
rative, and the disfigurement of the printed page. Thanks are also due to 
Dr. Taylor for the free use of his History of Portland. Having devoted 
to his work several years of careful investigation, it is presumed to be, as re- 
spects the history of that town, generally correct and reliable. Hence 
much of what appears in this work relating to the history of Portland, has 
been taken from, or is based upon, that History. The few errors discovered 
in it are in matter relating to other towns, and come from those hastily pre- 
pared, unreliable histories elsewhere referred to. Dr. Taylor has done his 
fellow-citizens a valuable service, for which, doubtless, they are duly 
grateful. 

Matter was received from many sources after the greater portion of the 
work had been printed. Much of it was intended to supply omissions in pre- 
ceding pages, among which were parts of several biographical and family 
sketches accompanying portraits. This matter, together with some that had 
been prepared, and intended for the body of the work, appears in a " Sup- 
plement" of 50 pages, to which the special attention of the reader is invited. 
Much of this supplemental matter will be found arranged under the titles ot 
the towns to which portions of it properly belonged. Other parts of it, among 
which is a sketch of Chautauqua lake and its surroundings, have been 
prepared since the printing was far advanced. 

Lastly, I congratulate myself on the termination of my arduous and pro- 
tracted labors. If those for whom these labors have been performed shall 
be satisfied, my highest object will have been attained. 

A. W. Y. 

December^ 187s. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAUTAUQUA ANTERIOR TO ITS PIONEER SETTLEMENT. 
The Mound Builders, 17. The Neutral and other Huron-Iroquois Nations, 20. The Je- 
suits, 24. Wars of the Huron-Nations, 25. La Salle, 26. Baron La Honton, 29. 
Indian Occupation, 30. Events leading to the French and Indian Wars, 34. Origin 
of the name Chautauqua, 35. The Portage-Road, 37. Washington's journey to French 
Creek, 45. The French War, 45. Pontiac's War, 48. Col. Broadhead's Expedi- 
tion, 50. British Expedition over Chautauqua Lake, in 1782, 51. Washington's cor- 
respondence v/ith Gen. Irvine, 54. Survey of the State Boundary Line, 60. Indian 
Wars, and the conclusion, 61. 

PRELIMINARY HISTORY— HOLLAND COMPANY'S PURCHASE. 
Discovery of America ; British grants ; efforts to establish colonies, 63. Cession of West- 
ern lands to the general government, 64. Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, 64. Hol- 
land Company's Purchase, 66-9. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. 
Controversy concerning the first settlement, 70. John and James McMahan's Purchases, 
73. Settlements in Westfield, Ripley, and Canadaway, 73-6. Portland and Llanover, 
76. South-east part of the county, 77. Chautauqua, 77. Kiantone, 77. 

PIONEER HISTORY. 
Early dwellings, 78. Clearing land, 80. Wild animals, 81. Early farming, 85. Early 
cooking, 87. Fare of the early settlers, 88. Household manufactures, 89. Stores and 
trade, 91. Ashes a staple product, 94. Nature of trade, 97. Division of business, 98. 
REFLECTIONS ON PIONEER LIFE, 99-ioi. 
EDUCATION. 
Early schools ; course of instruction ; manner of teaching ; description of a school-house ; 
dunce block ; school fund, 102-4. 

RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 
Early occupation of the county by missionaries — Rev. John Spencer, and others, 105-8. 
Gospel land, 108. 

ORGANIZATION OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 
Division of the State into counties, 109-13. First county officers, 1 13. Building court- 
houses, 114. Division of the county into towns, 115. 

EARLY ROADS. 
Old Portage Road, 1 16-17. Road from Pennsylvania to Chautauqua lake, 117. Mayville 
and Cattaraugus road, 118. 

EARLY MAILS AND MAIL ROUTES. 
Early mail contractors, post-offices, and postmasters, 119-26. 

POLICY OF THE HOLLAND LAND COMPANY. 
Price of land and terms of sale, 126. Condition of the settlers, 128. Sale of the Compa- 
ny's lands ; Genesee land tariff ; land-office destroyed, 129-31. Policy of Mr. Seward, 
1 3 1-5. Cherry Valley Company's purchase, 135. 



CONTENTS. XI 

LA FAYETTE IN CHAUTAUQUA. 

Sketch of La Fayette, 135. Reception at Westfield, 136. Reception at Fiedonia, 139-42. 

TEMPERANCE HISTORY. 

Drinking customs, 142. Temperance reform measures, 144-46. 

ANTISLAVERY HISTORY. 

Early measures of abolitionists ; violent opposition ; action of Congress, 146-8. 

MEDICAL SOCIETIES. 

Chautauqua County Medical Society, 148. Eclectic Medical Society, 148. 

AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 

Early encouraged by DeWitt Clinton, 149. Chautauqua County Agricultural Society 

formed, i So. 

RAILROADS ^N CHAUTAUQUA. 

New York and Erie Railroad Company, 150. Celebration at Dunkirk, 151. Buffalo & 
Erie and other railroads, 153. Atlantic & Great Western Railway, 153. Dunkirk, 
Allegany & Pittsburgh and other railroads, 1 54-5. 

POLITICAL HISTORY. 

Early parties and their principles ; the federalists and republicans ; nature of the Union, 
155-8. Alien and sedition laws ; Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, 158-60. Polit- 
ical parties in Chautauqua, 160-2. Parties in the state ; Clintonians and Bucktails, 
162-6. Anti-masonic party, 166-9. American party, 1 69-7 1. Present parties, 1 71. 

WAR HISTORY— War of 1812. 
Causes of the war ; war declared, 172-3. Chautauqua militia, 173-5. British cruisers ; bat- 
tle of Black Rock, 175-7. Officers of the militia companies ; results of the war, 178-81. 

Civil War. 
Origin of the war, 182-4. Commencement of hostilities ; confederate government ; Lin- 
coln's proclamation, 184-6. Movements in the North; public meetings, 186-9. 
Further action of the govei-nment ; more troops raised, 189-91. Suspension of habeas 
corpus, 191. Close of the war, 193-4. 

COUNTY NEWSPAPERS, 194-7, 634. 
OLD SETTLERS' FESTIVALS. 
Reunion at Fredonia, 197-207. Reiinion at Forestville, 207-210. Reiinion at James- 
town, 210-218. 

THE GREAT ECLIPSE OF 1806, 218-19. 

TOWN HISTORIES. 
ARKWRIGHT. 
Formation of the town, and its settlement, 220-25. Biographical and genealogical 
sketches, 225-27. Churches, 227. [See Supplement, 625.] 

BUSTI. 

Formation and settlement of the town, 227-33. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 

233-41. Churches, 241. 

CARROLL. 

Formation of the town and its settlement, 241-6. Mills and factories, 247. Biographical 
and genealogical sketches, 248-50. Baptist church, 251. [Supplement— John Frew 
and Thomas Russell, 625. M. E. Church, 626.] 

CHARLOTTE. 

Formation and settlement of the town, 251-56. Dunkirk, Warren & Pittsburgh raih-oad, 
257. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 258-61. Churches and Lodges, 261-2. 



XU CONTENTS. 

CHAUTAUQUA. 
Formation and settlement, 262-70. Emigration of the Prendergast family, 264-6. Bio- 
graphical and genealogical sketches, 270-83. Churches and other associations, 283-4. 
Supplement — Lowry Families, 626 ; insecurity of land titles in Western Pennsylva- 
nia, 627-9; Lovvrys, who settled in this county, and other settlers, 629-30. 

CHERRY CREEK. 
Formation and settlement, 284-91. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 291-3. 
Churches, and other associations, 293-4. 

CLYMER. 
Formation and settlement, 295-300. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 300-2. 
Churches, 302. 

DUNKIRK. 

Formation and settlement, 302-4. Village of Dunkirk, sketch of, 304-7. Manufactures, * 
305-7, 630-31. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 307-12. Churches, 312-13. 

ELLERY. 
Formation and settlement, 313-20. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 320-26. 
Churches, 326. 

ELLICOTT. 

Formation and settlement, 327-30. First Independence celebration, 331. Worksburg, 
332. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 333-4. JAMESTOWN : its survey and 
settlement, 335-6. Mills, 336 ; rising of water in the lake, 337. Settlers in the vil- 
lage, 337-42. Territorial enlargement, 343. Village incorporated, 343. Manufac- 
tures, 344-50, Biographical and genealogical sketches, 350-72. Jamestown land 
association, 372. Cemeteries, 372. Churches and other associations, 373-6. Lum- 
ber manufacture, 376-9. 

ELLINGTON. 

Formation and settlement, 379-S4. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 385-6. 
Churches, 386-7. 

FRENCH CREEK. 

Formation and topography of the town, 388-9. Its settlement, 389-93. Biographical 
and genealogical sketches, 394-5. Churches, 395-6. 

GERRY. 
When formed, 396. Settlement of, 396-9. Biographical and genealogical sketches, 
400-2. Churches, 403. 

HANOVER. 

Erection and settlement of the town, 403-8. Silver Creek, 409-13. Great black- walnut 
tree, 414. Forestville, 413-15. Irving, 415-16. Biographical and genealogical 
sketches, 416-26. Churches, &c., 426-9. 

HARMONY. 
Erection, description, and settlement of, 429-36. Mills, stores, &c., 437-8. Biographical 
and genealogical sketches, 438-43. Churches, 443-5. 

KIANTONE. 

Formation and description of, 445. Settlement of, 445-8. Biographical and genealogi- 
cal sketches, 449-51. Churches, 452. 

MINA. 
Formation and settlement of, 452-6. JMills, stores, &c., 456-8. Churches, 459. 

POLAND. ' 

Erection, description, and settlement of, 459-63. Mills, 463, Biographical and genea- 
logical sketches, 464-6. Churches, 466. 



CONTENTS. • Xlll 

POM FRET. 

Formation and settlement of, 466-75. Fredonia Academy, &c., 475-6. Laona, 477-8. 
Biographical and genealogical sketches, 478-94. Churches, 494-6. [See also Sup- 
plement, town of Pomfret, 646.] 

PORTLAND. 

Formation, description, and settlement of, 497-9- Early mechanics, merchants, mills, 
&c., 500-3. Grape and wine culture, 504-6. Biographical and genealogical 
sketches, 506-9. Churches, 509-12. [See also Supplement, Portland, 647.] 

RIPLEY. 
Formation, description, and settlement of, 512-16. Mills, stores, &c., 517-18. Bio- 
graphical sketches, 518-31. Churches, 531-2. [See Supplement, 640-2.] 

SHERIDAN. 

Formation and settlement of, 533-5. Biographical sketches, 535-44- 

SHERMAN. 
Formation and settlement of, 544-7. Mills, machinery, &c., 547-8- Biographical 
sketches, 548-53. Churches, kc, 553-4- [See Supplement, 642.] 

STOCKTON. 

Formation and settlement of, 554-61. Early merchants, mechanics, mills, etc., 561-2. 
Biographical sketches, 563-71. Churches, 571-3. [See Supplement, 643-5.] 

VILLENOVA. 
Erection and settlement of, 573-9. Mills, stores, and mechanics, 579-8o. Biographical 
sketches, 580-4. Churches, 584. [See Supplement, 645.] 

WESTFIELD. 
Formation and settlement of, 584-8. Early stores, taverns, and physicians, 588-9. Mills, 
manufactories, etc., 590-I. " Warsaw club, " 592. Barcelona, 592. Biographical 
sketches, 593-615. Churches, 615-18. [See also Supplement, 646.] 

SUPPLEMENT. 

CHAUTAUQUA ANTIQUITIES. 

A trench filled with human bones, uncovered in Harmony, 619-20. Indian mounds in 
Ellicott, 620. 

INDIANS. 

Reservations, on the Holland Purchase— Cattaraugus Reservation, 621. Cayuga, Oneida, 
Onondaga, and Tonawanda, 622. Tuscarora, 623. 

COLD SUMMER — 623-4. 
ARKWRIGHT. 

William Wilcox, genealogical sketch of, 623. [See portrait and sketch, 227.] 

CARROLL. 

John Frew and Thomas Russell, early settlers in this town, 625-6. Methodist Episcopal 
Church, 626. 

CHAUTAUQUA. 

Lowry Families, 626-9. Land titles in North-western Pennsylvania, 627-9. Additional 
names of settlers in Mayville, 629-30. 

DUNKIRK. 

Locomotive works, and other manufacturing establishments, 630-I. Churches, 631-2. 

ELLICOTT — ^JAMESTOWN. 

Family sketches of R. E. Fenton, Corydon Hitchcock, and N. A. Lowry, 632-3. 



XIV . CONTENTS. 

HANOVER. 

.Sketches of J. G. Hopkins, S. J. Smith, 633-4. Chautauqua Farmer, 634. 

HARMONY. 

Morris Norton, Charles Parker, and Stephen W. Steward, 634-5. 

POLAND. 

William Falconer, Varanus Page, 635. Churches, 635-6. 

POMFRET. 

Settlement and sketches of additional settlers in this towTi, 636-9. Manufactures, 639. 
M. E. church, 639. H. Bosworth, N. D. Snow, R. H. Hall, W. H. Abell, 646-7. 

RIPLEY. 

Judd W. Cass and John B. Dinsmore, early settlers, 640. Elihu and Dudley Marvin, 641. 

SHERMAN. 

Josiah R. Keeler, an early settler in this town, and a prominent citizen, 642. 

STOCKTON. 

Ellsworth family, 643. Fisher families, 643-4. Sawyer Phillips' family, 644. 

VILLENOVA. 

Villeroy Balcom, an early settler ; biographical sketch of, 645. Freewill Baptist church, 
organization and sketch of, 645-6. 

WESTFIELD. 

Sherman Williams, correction of biographical sketch of, 646. 

CONEWANGO, CATTARAUGUS CO. 

Thomas J. Wheeler, biographical and genealogical sketch of, 647-8. 

RETIREMENT OF JUDGES. 
Judges Elial T. Foote and Thomas B. Campbell decline reappointments ; action of the 
court thereon, 648-50. 

BANKS, 650-2. 

OFFICIAL REGISTER. 

JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. 

Appointment of, by council of appointment, for Genesee county, and of Niagara, 652. 

CORONERS. 

Appointments for Genesee and Niagara counties, 652. 

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS. 

Election of, in the districts of which Chautauqua was a part, 652-3. 

STATE SENATORS. 
The districts Ihey represented, and the years in which they served, 653. 

MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY. 

The districts and counties they represented, and the years in which they served, 654. 

DELEGATES TO CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. 

The districts or counties they represented, and the year of each convention, 655. 

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS. 

From districts including the county of Chautauqua, 655. 

CIRCUIT AND COUNTY JUDGES, JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT, 655-6. 

DISTRICT ATTORNEYS, SURROGATES, SHERIFFS, CLERKS, TREASURERS, 656-7. 

SUPERINTENDENTS OF POOR, AND OF COMMON SCHOOLS, 658. 

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE. 
A summer lesort ; its steamers, 659-62 ; hotels, 662-3. ^^^^ Point, Point Chautauqua, 
663-5. 

^ REAL AND PERSONAL ESTATE, TAXES, POPULATION, 665-6. 
NOTES AND CORRECTIONS, 657. 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 



Abell, Moseley W., 

Abell, Thomas G., 
Sketch, . . 

Abell, William H., 

Allen, Augustus F., 

Angell, Cyrus D., 

Baker, Henry, 

Balcom, Villeroy, 

Baldwin, Levi, 

Barker, Leverett, . 

Barker, George, . 

Barrett, Samuel, . 

Bemus, Charles, . 

Benedict, Odin, 

Bentley, Uriah, 

Bishop, Elijah, 

Blasdell, Stephen, 
Bliss, Elam C, 
Ely, Theron S., . 
Brewer, Francis B., 
Brigham, Willar<l W. 
Brockway, Burban, 
Brown, Samuel A., 
Bumell, Madison, 
Burritt, Charles, . 
Campbell, Thomas B 
Chandler, Woodley W. 

Sketch, . . 
Chapin, James E., 
Cook, Orsell, . 
Couch, Warren, . 
Gushing, Zattu, 
Gushing, William B., 
Dewey, Lester R., 
Dorman, Bearing, 
Drake, Jeremiah C, 
Eason, David, 

Sketch, . . 
Eaton, David, . 
Edson, John M., . 
Ellsworth, Jeremiah, 
Ellsworth, Stukely, 
Farwell, Omar, 
Fenlon, William H., 



307 
126 
478 
478 
350 
416 
352 

645 
225 

479 
480 

353 
321 
322 
233 
354 
291 

593 
234 
594 
308 

519 
355 
356 
481 

595 
332 
357 
596 
357 
597 
482 

483 
549 
545 
598 
74 
599 
506 
258 
419 

643 
272 

359 



I'AGE. 

Fenton, Reuben E., 358 

Sketch, 358, 632 

Fletcher, Adolphus, 3^2 

Foote, Elial T., . . . . Frontispiece. 

Sketch, 359 

Foote, Charles C, 361 

Frank, Michael, 237 

Gage, Charles B., 420 

Gifford, William 271 

Gleason, Hiram N., 55° 

Griffith, John, 323 

Griswold, John E., 54° 

Hall, John P., 485 

Hall, Ralph H., 486 

Sketch, 486, 647 

Hall, Asa, 600 

Hazeltine, Daniel, 3^4 

Hinkley, Watson S., 601 

Hitchcock, Corydon, 632 

Houghton, Jacob, 587 

Hungerford, Sextus H., .... 602 

Jones, Solomon, 3^5 

Jones, Ellick, 366 

Kent, Joseph, 293 

Kip, Benjamin H., 55 ' 

La Due, Joshua, 5°8 

Leland, Cephas R., 421 

Lowry, Morrow B., 273 

Maples, Charles G., 325 

Marshall, John E '. • • 274 

Marvin, Richard P., 367 

Marvin, Dudley, 641 

Mayborne, Wm. A., 277 

McKenzie, Donald, 276 

McMahan, James, 7° 

Sketch, 604 

Minton, John H., 605 

Mixer, Nathan, 422 

Montgomery, James, 606 

Mprian, Jacob, 488 

MuUett, James, 489 

Orton, Samuel G., 525 

Osborne, Thomas A., . . . ... 277 

Patterson, George W., 607 



EMBELLISHMENTS. 



Pattison, Jonathan S., 543 

Peacock, William, 278 

Pier, Rufus, 368 

Plumb, Alvin 608 

Prendergast, Matthew, 279 

Prendergast, Jediah, . . . . • . 280 

Prendergast, James, 335 

Prendergast, Alex. T., 447 

Prendergast, Stephen, 526 

Prendergast, Henry A., .... 527 

Pullman, Lewis, 647 

Rice, Victor M., 301 

Risley, Elijah, 490 

Robertson, John R., 281 

Sackett, Niram, 423 

Shepard, Fitch, 370 

Sherman, Daniel, 424 

Sixbey, Herman, 610 

Skinner, Otis, 552 

Slawson, Silas N., 425 

Smallwood, John, 528 

Smith, Austin, 61 1 

Smith, Philip M., 385 

Smith, R(-daey B., 426 

Snow, Noah D., 491 

Sketch, 491, 646 



Southland, Judson, 240 

Spencer, John, 612 

vSprague, Jonathan, 492 

Steward, John, 441 

Steward, Sardius, 442 

Steward, Stephen W. 635 

S trunk, William H. 333 

Taylor, Horace C, 5°9 

Tinker, Reuben, 613 

Tracy, Jedediah, 282 

Warren, Amos K., 571 

Warren, Chauncey, 57° 

Warren, Emory F., 493 

Wells, Austin L., 614 

White, Squire, 494 

Wilcox, William, 227 

Sketch, 227, 625 

Williams, Daniel 443 

Williams, Sherman, 615 

Sketch, 615, 646 

Willson, John I., 37' 

Wilson, W^illiam R., 402 

Winsor, Samuel B., 372 

Young, Andrevv W., 5 

Sketch, 529 

Young, Charles P., 530 



Note. — Some persons who have furnished portraits, paid for the number at first 
supposed to be necessary to supply the whole edition of the History. It was subsequently 
ascertained that a larger edition would be needed to supply the demand.^ Some of those 
who had paid for the smaller number being indisposed to increase the expense, or being 
satisfied with that number, their portraits do not appear in the entire edition. Two or 
three may yet be added, which are not mentioned in the above list. 



Corrections. — A few errors have been discovered in the printed sheets, which are 
noticed and corrected on page 667. 



Abbreviations.— The letter t., or //., signifies township ; and r. signifies range. The 
interrogation point in parenthesis marks (?) means quay, and indicates that the preceding • 
statement is doubtful, and needs further inquiry. 



HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 



HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA ANTERIOR TO ITS 
PIONEER SETTLEMENT. 



BY OBED EDSON. 



The Mound Builders. 

The pioneers of Chautauqua county found it an unbroken wilderness ; yet 
often when exploring its silent depths, where forest shadows hung deepest, 
they were startled at the discovery of unmistakable evidences of its having 
been anciently inhabited by a numerous people. Crowning the brows of 
hills that were flanked by dark ravines ; along the shores of its lakes and 
streams ; in its valleys at numerous points, were the plain traces of their 
industr}^ ; earthworks or fortifications mostly circular ; pits bearing marks of 
use by fire ; ancient highways and mounds, in which lay buried mouldering 
skeletons ; and later, where forests had given place to cultivated fields, the 
spade and plow in the spring time, made strange revelations of rude imple- 
ments of war and peace, and oftentimes of the crumbling relics of an ancient 
burial place. At first these monuments were believed to be of European 
origin; and patient research was made among early records for an account 
of events happening upon the eastern continent, a little prior to and about 
the time of the discovery of America, that would afford an explanation of 
their existence. But the great age of the forest trees growing above them, 
and other marks of antiquity, demonstrated this belief to be unfounded. A 
solution of the mystery was then sought among the traditions of the aborig- 
ines ; but careful investigation has proved these ruins to be so old that 
tradition can throw no light upon them ; and that they cannot be the work 
of the ancestors of the Indians found here. 

Compiencing near the centre of the state, they extend westwardly. Over 
Chautauqua county they were thickly strewn ; farther to the west and south, 
in the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi, these ancient remains were still 
more numerously found, in larger dimensions, and it is evident of much 
greater antiquity. There, for a long period of time, must havg dwelt a large 
and industrious people. The geometric precision with which their works 
were constructed ; the fine workmanship of their pottery ; their ornaments 
and implements made of copper, silver and porphyry ; the remarkable skill. 



20 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

from Mill creek, was once an earth-work, circular in form, within which 
was a deep excavation. The excavation and intrenchment have long since 
disappeared, and now, from this commanding eminence so inclosed, a beau- 
tiful prospect may be had of the village and the surrounding hills. 

Extending along the northern and southern boundary of the plateau, on 
which a principal part of the village is situated, were two earthen breast- 
works. Between these two embankments, the main fortifications seemed to 
be situated. It was an extensive circular earth-work, having a trench with- 
out, and a gateway opening to a small stream that passed along its southern 
side. This work inclosed six or seven acres of what is now a central portion 
of the village. A part of the main street, portions of other streets, and the 
village green, all were included within this old inclosure. 

At other points, within the town of Gerry, and in the town of Stockton, 
were remains of similar earth-works, and other evidences of an early occupa- 
tion. In the town of Ellington, at different places along the terrace of low 
hills, that borders either side of the valley of Clear creek, there existed, at 
the first settlement of the county, the remains of many of these circular in- 
closures, in the vicinity of which, stone implements and other relics have 
been plentifully discovered. Along the shore and outlet of Chautauqua 
lake, were numerous mounds and other vestiges. Two of these old tumuli, 
and the traces of an old roadway, are still visible near the eastern shore of 
Chautauqua lake, at Griflith's Point, in the town of Ellery. 

The description thus far given of the aboriginal monuments found in these 
localities, will suffice for a further account of those that were found numer- 
ously distributed in other parts of the 'county ; for they all bear the same 
general resemblance. They prove this region, to have once been a favorite 
resort of an early race. Whence they came, how long they remained, and 
what fortunes attended their existence, we have no record of. There can be 
little doubt, however, that here were once rudely cultivated fields, ancient 
and perhaps populous villages, inhabited by a strange and primitive people. 

' ' But they are gone, 
V\''ith their old forests wide and deep, 

And we have built our houses upon 
Fields where their generations sleep. 

Their fountains slake our thirst at noon ; 
Upon their fields our harvest waves ; 

Our lovers woo beneath their moon — 
Then let us spare, at least, their graves ! " 

The Neutral and other Huron-Iroquois Nations. 

What races of people occupied the territory comprising the county of 
Chautauqua, during the many centuries that elapsed after the Mound Build- 
ers had passed away, and until the coming of Europeans to the states of 
this continent, there remains no authentic information ; only such vague and 
unsatisfactory accounts as tradition gives us : and had a reliable record been 
preserved of the exploits of savage warfare, and of the monotonously recur- 
ring revolutions incident to the history of a barbarous people, during so 



THE NEUTRAL AND OTHER HURON-IROQUOIS NATIONS. 21 

long a period of time, it is doubtful whether it would afford us much instruc- 
tion or entertainment. 

When the interior of this continent first became known to Europeans, a 
great family of Indian nations, composed of the most warlike tribes that then 
inhabited North America, possessed all of Upper Canada, nearly all of New 
York, and the greater parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, and a portion of 
Lower Canada, and of the Carolinas. They were known as the Huron-Iro- 
quois, and spoke in the same generic tongue, sometimes called the Wyandot. 
They were greatly superior in intellect, courage, and military skill to all the 
other Indians of North America. They dwelt in permanent villages, situ- 
ated in defensible positions, rudely fortified with a ditch and rows of pali- 
sades. They practiced agriculture to a limited extent, and frequently, by a 
long and laborious process of burning and hacking with axes of stone, 
cleared extensive tracts of land, which they rudely cultivated with hoes of 
wood and bone. By reason of their native superiority; and by their having 
fixed places of abode, they became more advanced in the arts of life, than 
the other wandering tribes of North America. Entirely surrounding this 
family of warlike nations, but always shrinking before their fierce valor, was 
a great number of independent tribes ; all speaking languages radically 
different from that of the Wyandot. The general resemblance that has 
been found to exist among these numerous tribes, has caused them to be 
classed under the general name Algonquin. Beyond the territory of the 
Algonquin, and in the western and southern portions of the United States, 
were other tribes of Indians speaking still other languages.* 

The Huron-Iroquois family of tribes were sub-divided into several formid- 
able nations ; of these the Hurons dwelt in many villages, upon the small 
peninsula lying between the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, and Lake Simcoe 
in Upper Canada.! Near to and south of the Hurons, among the Blue 
Mountains of Canada, dwelt the Tionnontates, or Tobacco nation | South 
of the Huron and Tobacco nations, was the country of the Attiwandarons, 
Neutral nation or called the Kahkwas by the Senecas. Their territory 
extended one hundred and twenty miles along the northern shore of 
Lake Erie, and across the Niagara river into the state of New York, as 
far east as the western limits of the Iroquois. They dwelt in forty villages ; 
three or four of which were east of the Niagara river and Lake Erie.§ One 
of their villages was located, it is believed, on a branch of the Eighteen 
Mile creek, near White's Corners, in Erie county, in this State. || Their 
territory extended west over Chautauqua county, along the southern shore 
of Lake Erie, it is believed, some distance into the state of Ohio. The 
Kahkwas, or Neutrals, were the first occupants of the soil of Chautaucpia 

*3 Bancroft, Chap. xxii. Quackenbos, Chap. ii. Parker's Jesuits in North America, xix. 

"t Jesuits in North America, xxv. J Jesuits in North America, xliii. 

§ Lalemant Relation des Hurons, 1648. According to Hennepin, their territory extended 
along the south side of Lake Erie into the state of Ohio, as far west as the middle point in 
the south shore of Lake Erie. 

OO. H. Marshall. 



22 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

county of whom we have any account. They were a singular race ot 
people ; were great hunters, and were extremely superstitious, and ferocious 
in their manners. They waged fierce wars against the Nation of Fire and 
other western Indians. A letter from Father Lalemant to the Provincial of 
Jesuits in France, dated at St. Mary's Mission, May 19, 1641, contains many 
interesting facts concerning them. He says : 

"Jean De Brebeuf, and Joseph Marie Chaumonot, two Fathers of our 
company which have charge of the mission to the Neutral nation, set out 
from SA Marie on the 2d day of November, 1640, to visit this people. Father 
Brebeuf is peculiarly fitted for such an expedition, God having in an eminent 
degree endowed him with a capacity for learning languages. His compan- 
ion was also considered a proper person for the enterprise. 

" Although many of our French in that quarter have visited this people to 
profit by their furs and other commodities, we have no knowledge of any 
who have been there to preach the gospel, except Father De La Roche 
Dallion a Recollect, who passed the winter there in the year 1626. 

" The nation is very populous, there being estimated about forty villages. 
After leaving the Hurons, it is four or five days' journey, or about forty 
leagues, to the nearest of their villages ; the course being nearly due south. 
If, as indicated by the latest and most exact observations we can make, our 
new station, St. Marie, in the interor of the Huron country, is in north 
latitude about 44 degrees, 25 minutes, then the entrance of the Neuter 
nation from the Huron side is about 42)^ degrees. More exact surveys 
and observations cannot now be made, for the sight of a single instrument 
would bring to extremes those who cannot resist the temptation of an ink 
horn. 

" From the first village of the Neuter nation that we met with in travel- 
ing from this place, as we proceeded south or south-east, it is about four days' 
travel to the place where the celebrated river of the nation empties into Lake 
Ontario, or St. Louis. On the west side of that river, and not on the east, 
are the most numerous of the villages of the Neuter nation. There are 
three or four on the east side, extending from east to west towards the Fries, 
or Cat nation. 

'■ This river is that by which our great lake of the Hurons, or fresh sea, is 
discharged; which first empties into the lake of Erie, or of the nation 
of the Cat; from thence it enters the territory of the Neuter nation and takes 
the name of Onguiaahra [Niagara], until it empties into Ontario or St. Louis 
lake, from which latter flows the river which passes Quebec, called the St. 
Lawrence ; so that if we once had control of the side of the lake nearest the 
residence of the Iroquois, we could ascend by the river St. Lawrence with- 
out danger, even to the Neuter nation and much beyond, with great saving 
of time and trouble. 

"According to the estimate of these illustrious Fathers who have been there, 
the Neuter nation comprises about 12,000 souls; which enables them to 
furnish 4,000 warriors, notwithstanding war, pestilence and famine have pre- 
vailed among them for three years in an extraordinary manner. 

" After all, I think that those who have heretofore ascribed such an extent 
and population to this nation, have understood by the Neuter nation, all who 
live south and south-west of our Hurons, and who are truly in great number, 
being at first only partially known, and all being comprised under the same 
name. The most perfect knowledge of their language and country which has 



THE NEUTRAL AND OTHER HURON-HiOQUOIS NATIONS. 2; 

since been obtained, has resulted in a clear distinction between the tribes. 
Our French, who first discovered this people, named them the ' Neuter 
nation;' and not without reason; for their country being' the ordinary passage 
by land between some of the Iroquois nations and the Hurons, who are 
sworn enemies, they remained at peace with both ; so that in times past, the 
Hurons and Iroquois, meeting in the same wigwam or village of that nation, 
were both in safety while they remained. Recently their enmity against each 
other is so great, that there is no safety for either party in any place, particu- 
larly for the Hurons, for whom the Neuter nation entertains the least good 
will. 

" There is every reason for believing, that not long since, the Hurons, 
Iroquois, and Neuter nation, formed one people, and originally came from 
the same family, but have, in the lapse of time, become separated from each 
other, more or less, in distance, interest and affection, so that some are now 
enemies, others neutral, and others still live in intimate friendship and inter- 
course. 

" The food and clothing of the Neuter nation seem little different from 
that of our Hurons. They have Indian corn, beans and gourds in equal 
abundance. Also plenty of fash, some kinds of which abound in particular 
places only. 

" They are much employed in hunting deer, buffalo, wild cats, wolves, 
wild boars, beaver and other animals. Meat is very abundant this year, on 
account of the heavy snow which has aided the hunters. It is rare to see 
snow in this country more than half a foot deep. But this year it is more 
than three feet. There is also abundance of wild turkeys, which go in flocks 
in the fields and woods. 

"Their fruits are the same as with the Hurons, except chestnuts, which 
are more abundant, and crab apples, which are somewhat larger. 

" The men, like all savages, cover their naked flesh with skins, but are less 
particular than the Hurons in concealing what should not appear. The 
squaws are ordinarily clothed, at least from the waist to the knees, but are 
more free and shameless in their immodesty tlmn the Hurons. As for their 
remaining customs and manners, they are almost entirely similar to the other 
savage tribes of the country. 

" There are some things in which they differ from our Hurons. They 
are larger, stronger, and better formed. They also entertain a great affection 
for the dead, and have a greater number of fools and jugglers. 

" The Sonontonhernonos [Senecas], one of the Iroquois nations, the near- 
est to, and most dreaded by the Hurons, are not more than a day's journey 
distant from the eastermost village of the Neuter nation, named Onguia- 
ahra [Niagara], of the same name as the river. 

" Our Fathers returned from the mission in safety, not having found in all 
the eighteen villages which they visited but one, named Klee-o-e-to-a, or St. 
Michael, which gave them the reception which their embassy deserved In 
this village, a certain foreign nation, which lived beyond Lake Erie, or the 
nation of the Cat, named A-onen-re-ro-non, has taken refuge for many years 
for fear of their enemies ; and they seem to have been brought here by a 
good Providence to hear the word of God." 

The Andastes dwelt upon the lower Susquehanna.* To the south of Lake 
Erie, and west of the Neuter nation, dwelt a warlike nation of the Huron- 
* Shea. See Hist, Mag. ii. 294. 



24 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

Iroquois family, named the Eries or Nation of the Cat, so called from the 
great number of wild, cats infesting their country.* They are referred to in 
the foregoing letter of Father L'AUemant. The Eries were valiant warriors, 
and for a long time were a terror to the Iroquois ; they had no fire-arms, but 
fought with poisoned arrows, which they discharged, it is said, with surpris- 
ing rapidity.! 

The most intelligent and advanced of this great Wyandot family of nations, 
and likewise the most terrible and ferocious, were the Five Nations, or Iro- 
quois proper. About 1539, they became bound together by an extraordi- 
nary league, and resided in the middle and eastern part of the state of New 
York, where, dwelling in numerous villages, they remained during the long 
and terrible wars that they subsequently waged against both savages and 
Europeans. The tribes composing this nation extended through the state 
of New York, from east to west, in the following order, viz. : Mohawk, 
Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. The fiercest and most numerous 
of these tribes was the Seneca ; it occupied as far west as the Genesee river. 

The first knowledge had by Europeans of the regions about Lake Erie, 
and of the people who inhabited them, was obtained by the French in Can- 
ada. French enterprise outstripped the English, in effecting a permanent 
settlement of this continent north of the state of Virginia. James Cartier, 
a French navigator, as early as the year 1534, sailed up the river St. Law- 
rence, as far as Montreal, then the site of the ancient Indian village of 
Hochelaga. Here he learned from the Indians, for the first time, of the exist- 
ence of the great lakes and the Mississippi river. He erected a cross and a 
shield, and named the country New France, and returned. Afterwards the 
French made repeated attempts to settle Canada. In the year 1608, Quebec 
was founded by Champlain. In 161 5, Champlain, who was fond of adven- 
turous exploits, with a party of his countrymen, ascended the upper waters 
of the Ottawa river in Canada, crossed over, and discovered Lake Huron. 
Here he was joined by large bands of Hurons who dwelt there, and with 
these allies he traversed the wilderness of Upper Canada, crossed Lake 
Ontario, entered the territory of the Iroquois, who were the mortal foes of 
the Hurons, and fought a battle with the Senecas, which is supposed to have 
occurred in Onondaga county in this state. 

The Jesuits. 

In 1 6 15, five years before the May Flower left Plymouth, in England, 
there -came over with Champlain from France, to bear the cross through 
pathless wilds, and among the savage tribes of America, missionaries of the 
order of St. Francis; and previous to the year 1625, three of their number, 
Le Caron, Viel, and Sagard, had reached the Neutral nation. These 
perhaps were the first Europeans who visited Western New York ; and the^ 
winter of 1626 was passed by De La Roche Dallion, a Franciscan, among 
this people. In 1625, the Franciscans were followed by the Jesuits, who 

*Le Mercier Relation, 1654, 10. , t Jesuits in North America, xlvi. 



WARS OF THE HURON-IROQUOIS NATIONS. 

soon commenced instructing the tribes of the North and West, and who, for 
one hundred and fifty years thereafter, labored among them with unbounded 
zeal and self-devotion. The most of the knowledge that we have concerning 
these remote regions, and the events transpiring here in that early day, was 
obtained from the very full and careful reports thA these ancient mission- 
aries annually transmitted to their superiors in France, which have been pre- 
served in Paris, and which are called the Relations of the Jesuits. Two of 
these missionaries, Jean De Brebeuf and Joseph Marie Chaumonot, as 
appears by the letter of Father L'Allemant, in November, 1640, visited the 
Neutral nation, to preach to them the gospel, but it is not certain that they 
crossed the Niagara river. At this time, no Englishman of whom we have 
any account, had reached the basin of the St. Lawrence. Before this time, 
besides these priests, many Frenchmen had visited the Neutral nation, to 
purchase of them furs and other commodities. These constituted the near- 
est approaches that at that time any Europeans had made to Chautauqua 
county that we have any account of. Bancroft says: "Previous to 1640, 
by continued warfare with the Mohawks, the French had been excluded 
from the navigation of Lake Ontario, and had never launched a canoe upon 
Lake Erie ; their avenue to the West was by the way of the Ottawa and 
French rivers, so that the whole coast of Ohio and South Michigan remained 
unknown, except as seen by missionaries from their stations in Canada." 

Wars of the Huron-Iroquois Nations. 

When, in 1634, the first mission was estabhshed by the Jesuits among the 
Hurons, they found them and their kinsmen, the Iroquois, implacable foes, 
and engaged in a fierce war that had then been waged between them for 
many years. This war continued during the residence of the Jesuits among 
the Hurons, with success oftenest, but not always, in favor of the Iroquois, 
until the year 1648, when a war party of the Iroquois surprised and burned 
two fortified Huron towns, taking prisoners or massacring all their inhabi- 
tants. The next year, one thousand Iroquois warriors entered the heart of 
the Huron country undiscovered, and inflicted a terrible blow upon their 
enemies. They burned two more fortified towns of the Hurons, massacred 
their inhabitants, and the French missionaries residing there. They were, 
however, finally driven back by the fierce valor of the Hurons, but not until 
they had inflicted a fatal blow upon them. The Hurons, fearing other 
attacks, now abandoned their villages, scattered themselves in many direc- 
tions, and thereafter ceased to exist as a nation.* 

Although the Neutral nation waged a fierce war against the Nation of 
Fire, who dwelt in Michigan in thirty villages, it maintained a strict neutrality 
between the Hurons and Iroquois during these wars.t This did not save 

* Jesuits in North America, 361 to 402. 

+ "Last summer two thousand warriors of the Neutral nation attacked a town of the 
Nation of Fire well fortified with a palisade, and defended by 900 warriors. They took it 
after a siege of ten days ; killed many on the spot, and made 800 prisoners, men, women, 



26 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

it, however, from the fierce Iroquois. In the year 1650, the latter commenced 
a savage war upon them ; and in the autumn of that year, they assaulted and 
took one of their chief towns, in which were sixteen hundred men, besides 
women and children. In the spring of 165 1, they captured another of these 
towns, butchering and lading into captivity great numbers of the Neutrals, 
and driving the remainder from their villages and corn fields into the forests, 
where thousands of them perished. The destruction of the Neutrals was so 
great, in this cruel war, as to wholly wipe them out as a nation ; and now no 
trace remains of this warlike and powerful tribe who once possessed the 
territory of this county but their name.* The scene of their final overthrow 
is believed to have occurred near the city of Buffalo. 

With the destruction of their kinsmen of the Huron and Neutral nations, 
the Iroquois did not rest. The Eries, whose dominions extended along the 
south shore of Lake Erie, next fell victims to their savage fury. In 1655, 
from one thousand two hundred to one thousand eight hundred Iroquois 
warriors moved into the territory of the Eries, who withdrew at their 
approach with their women and children. The whole force of the Iroquois 
embarked in canoes upon Lake Erie ; and it is probable that this fierce 
horde coasted along the shores of Chautauqua county ; and a more wild and 
savage scene cannot well be imagined than this ferocious gathering of bar- 
barians presented, when on this bloody expedition of revenge. They found 
the Eries gathered in a position, the location of which is not now known. 
An assault was made with such savage fury by the Iroquois, as to enable 
them to carry the fort ; and a slaughter so terrible ensued, as to wholly 
destroy the Eries. t The Iroquois next made war upon the Andastes, who 
resided upon the Susquehanna, and who were the last of the HuronTroquois 
or Wyandot family that remained unconquered. The Andastes made a brave 
and stubborn resistance, but were obliged to yield, in 1675, to the superior 
numbers of the Iroquois. :{: 

The accounts of the destruction of these ancient Indian nations, we have 
mostly from the written narratives of the Jesuits residing at that time with 
the Indians of Canada and New York ; and various traditions are extant 
respecting these occurrences. From the extirpation of the Neutral nation 
to its settlement by the pioneers of the Holland Purchase, the territory com- 
prising Chautauqua county continued to be the home of the Senecas, the 
fiercest and most numerous of the Iroquois nation. 

La Salle. 

The missionaries who came from France were most excellent and able 
men. In their zeal to christianize the Indian, they became the pioneers of 
the North-west. One of their number, Allouez, in 1665, explored the 

and children. After burning 70 of the best warriors, they put out the eyes of the old men, 
and cut away their lips, and left them to drag out a miserable existence. Behold the 
scourge that is depopulating all this country." — Relation des Hiirons, 1644, 98. 
* Jesuits in North America, 436. f Jesuits in North America, 438. X Relation, 1676, 2. 



LA SALLE. 27 

country about Lake Superior, and taught the Indians there. He first discov- 
ered the Pictured Rocks, and learned of the coi^per mines.^^^ Robert Cave- 
her de La Salle, a resolute and talented young Frenchman, who afterwards 
became the proprietor of Fort Frontenac in Canada, and the wilderness 
around about it, resolved to explore these regions and the vast prairies of the 
West, and to reach the Ohio and Mississippi, of which the Indians had informed 
him. July 6, 1669, he left La Chine in Canada, ascended the St. Lawrence, 
coasted along the southern shore of Lake Ontario to the Irondequoit Bay, 
and thence penetrated into the state &f New York, to the Indian villages of 
the Senecas, near the Genesee river, with a view of traveling farther in that 
direction, until he should reach the head waters of the Allegany and Ohio, 
After remaining here awhile, he abandoned this design, and with his com- 
panions from thence traveled west, crossed the Niagara river into Upper 
Canada, and passed the winter of 1669 and 1670 on Grand river, near to 
the shore of Lake Erie. In the spring following, he coasted along the 
northern shore of the lake, west, to the east side of Long Point ; and thence 
he returned to Montreal by the circuitous route of the Sault de St. Marie and 
the Ontario river, where he arrived June 18, 1670.! 

In -1 67 3, Marquette, a missionary, and Joliet, a French citizen of Quebec, 
with a few companions, explored the Mississippi, between the mouths of 
the Wisconsin and Arkansas ; but before that year La Salle, it is said, made 
other wonderful journeys in the West; that he reached the Ohio, and visited 
the falls at Louisville, and had even descended the Illinois to its confluence 
with the Mississippi. He possessed a most adventurous and enterprising 
spirit ; and these journeys aroused in him a desire to make new discoveries 
and more extended explorations. He first conceived the design of uniting 
the French possessions in Canada with the valley of the Mississippi, by a line 
of military posts, to secure its conmierce to his country, and at the same time 
completely encircle the British colonies in North America. Having obtained 
the sanction of Louis XIV. to his projects, in the fall of the year 1678, 
he, with a party of Frenchmen, in a large canoe, entered the Niagara river, 
and established at its mouth, on its eastern bank, a trading post, which he 
inclosed with palisades. This constituted the first occupation of Western 
New York by civilized men, and the founding of Fort Niagara — a fortress 
which, for nearly a century and a half, filled an important place in the history 
of Canada, the northern portion of the United States, and of the Indian 
tribes dwelling in that region. 

* 2 Hildieth, IIO. 

+ O. H. Marshall, Esq., to whom the author is indebted for the facts respecting this 
expedition of La Salle, on a recent visit to France, examined the valuable collections of 
unpublished manuscripts relating to early French explorations in America, novir in the 
possession of M. Pierre Margry, of Paris, and was permitted to make copious extracts 
from a copy of the journal of this expedition of La Salle. An appropriation of $10,000 
has been made by Congress for the publication of these recently discovered manuscripts 
and maps in M. Margry's possession, which, when issued, will contain many volumes of 
great interest to students of American history. 



28 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

In January, 1679, La Salle commenced building a vessel at the mouth of 
the Cayuga creek, a stream that empties into the Niagara river, at the village of 
La Salle, in Niagara county, in the state of New York, a few miles above the 
falls. By August it was finished, and completely equipped with sails, masts, 
and everything needful, and launched upon the waters of the upper Niagara 
river. It was a bark of sixty tons burthen, and was armed with seven small 
cannon, and named the Griffin. It was the first vessel that ever spread its 
sails to the breezes of Lake Erie. 

On the 7th day of August, 1679, lA Salle, Tonti, his Italian lieutenant, 
and Father Louis Hennepin, and twenty-nine others, in the presence of many 
Iroquois warriors, fired all their cannon and arquebuses, and set sail for the 
foot of Lake Erie, steering west-south-west ; on that day they made many 
leagues, passing Chautauqua county. Hennepin, in his narrative, states that 
he saw, on this voyage, the two distant shores of the lake, fifteen or sixteen 
leagues apart. They were the first Europeans of whom we have any 
account, that beheld the rugged and forest covered hills of Chautauqua. 
La Salle continued his voyage until the Griffin cast anchor in Green Bay, 
on the north-western coast of Lake Michigan. She was loaded with a cargo 
of furs, and sent upon her return voyage, but was never heard of more. 
After the departure of the Griffin, La Salle for awhile awaited her return 
with a portion of his party, at the mouth of the St. Joseph's river. Cruelly 
disappointed, but undismayed, he pushed on into the state of Illinois, where 
he built a fort which he called Creve Coeur, in token of his grief He sent 
Hennepin, with two companions, to the Mississippi, which they ascended to 
the Falls of St. Anthony. In March, 1 680, La Salle, with three campanions, 
set out from his fort in Illinois for Fort Frontenac, at the foot of Lake^Onta- 
rio. Depending upon his gun alone for his supplies, he chose for his route 
the ridge of high lands which divide the basin of the Ohio from that of the 
Lakes. 

This long journey of nearly one thousand miles through the wilderness, 
he and his companions accomplished on foot. La Salle returned to his fort 
in Illinois from Fort Frontenac, with recruits and supplies. He then 
descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and again journeyed back 
to Canada, and crossed the sea to France, where his government furnished 
him with four vessels, with which he again crossed the ocean, and landed at 
the Bay of Matagorda, in the state of Texas. With a few companions he 
traversed Texas, and penetrated as far as New Mexico, where he spent much 
of the year 1686, with twenty others. While on his way from New 
Mexico to Canada, he was assassinated by a treacherous companion. Thus 
perished this bold pioneer, who will long be remembered as one of the most 
remarkable explorers that ever visited the American continent. To follow 
La Salle in his wanderings at this day, with all the modern facilities of 
travel, would be regarded as no small achievement.* 

* History of the Holland Purchase, 116. 



BARON LA HONTAN. 29 

Baron La Hontan. 

In 1687, Denonville, governor of Canada, with a large party of French 
and Indians, landed upon the shore of Lake Ontario, and penetrated into 
the territory of the Senecas. Lie fought a battle with them near the site of 
the village of Victor, in the county of Ontario. He afterwards, in the same 
year, arrived at Niagara, which, from a trading post, he changed to a sanitary 
station, by erecting there a fort of four bastions. But the French were 
compelled, the following year, to abandon Niagara, by the hostile Iroquois, 
who were then waging a terrible and successful war against them.-" Among 
the French officers who accompanied Denonville on this expedition, was 
Baron La Hontan. This officer, with some Frenchmen, and the returning 
western Indian allies of Denonville, departed from Fort Niagara, coasted 
along the northern shore of Lake Erie, and arrived at the French post of St. 
Joseph. He afterwards joined a party of the western Indians, and invaded 
the territory of the Iroquois, south of Lake Erie ; but did not come within 
the limits of Chautauqua county. He, however, in his travels obtained 
sufficient information to give a very interesting description of Lake Erie and 
the country around it, which he saw in 1688. In the course of this account 
of the lake, he says : 

" Lake Erie is justly dignified with the illustrious name of Conti ; for 
assuredly it is the finest upon earth. You may judge of the goodness of the 
climate from the latitude of the countries which surround it. Its circum- 
ference extends 230 leagues, but it aff'ords everywhere a charming prospect; 
and its shores are decked with oak trees, elms, chestnuts, walnut, apple, 
plum trees, and vines which bear their fine clusters up to the very tops of 
the trees, upon a sort of ground that Hes as smooth as one's hand. Such 
ornaments as these are sufficient to give rise to the most agreeable idea of a 
landscape in the world. I can not express what quantities of deer and 
turkeys are to be found in these woods, and in the vast meadows that lie 
upon the south side of the lake. At the foot of the lake we find wild beeves 
[buftaloes], on the banks of two pleasant streams that disembogue into it, 
without cataracts or rapid cun-ents. It abounds with sturgeon and whitefish, 
but trouts are very scarce in it, as well as the other fish that we take in the 
Lakes Hurons [Huron] and Illinese [Michigan]. It is clear of shelves, 
rocks, and banks of sand, and has fourteen or fifteen fathoms water. The 
savages assure us that it is never disturbed by high winds except in the 
months of December, January, and February, and even then but seldom, 
which I am very apt to believe, for we had very few storms when I wintered 
in my fort, in 1688, though the fort lay open to the Lake of Hurons." 

There is no doubt, as appears from this extract, that the American bison, 
or buffalo, once inhabited these regions. They once ranged in some parts 
of the United States, nearly to the Atlantic seaboard. Charlevoix, the 
French traveler, says, that in 1720, "there were on the south side of Lake 
Erie, a prodigious quantity of buffaloes."t But we at this day must seek 

* I Doc. History of New York. 

1 1 Irving's Life of Washington, 335. The River Aux Boeuf, a tributary of French 
creek, was so named from the great number of buffaloes there found. — Pa. Hist. Collections, 



30 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

the buffalo two thousand miles away in the Far West ! They and their red 
brother, the Indian, are fast disappearing. Surely and rapidly are these 
lords of the forest and the plain yielding up their once wide domain to the 
advance of the encroaching white man, and making their home each year 
nearer, and still nearer, to the setting sun. 

Indian Occupation'. 

At first, the Allegany and Ohio were regarded by the French and Indians 
as one stream ; Belle Riviere being the name given to it in French ; Alle- 
gany in the Delaware tongue ; and Oheeo in the Seneca ; all meaning, when 
translated, " fair or beautiful water." The territory lying west of the Alle- 
gany mountains, traversed by this river from the southern boundary of New 
York to the eastern limits of Ohio, after the destruction of the Neutrals and 
the Andastes, fell into the possession of the conquerors, the Iroquois ; and 
the Seneca tribe of that nation thereafter planted many colonies there. As 
early as 1724, the Monsey or Wolf tribe of the Delawares, who had previ- 
ously dwelt in the north-eastern part of Pennsylvania, but had been crowded 
out by the encroachments of the whites, were allowed by the Iroquois to 
settle along the Allegany. Between the years 1724 and 1728, by their per- 
mission, the Shawnees, a restless and warlike people, also located along the 
lower Allegany and upper Ohio. 

When the first white man reached those wild regions, numerous Indian 
villages were found along the Allegany river and its tributaries. At Kittan- 
ningwas an old Indian town called Cattanyan, which, in September, 1756, at 
day break, was surprised by Col. John Armstrong, and burned. The Dela- 
ware Indians who occupied it, made a desperate resistance, and thirty or 
forty of their number were slain, including their resolute chief, Capt. Jacobs. 
Hugh Mercer, who became afterwards a distinguished American general, 
and who fell at the battle of Princeton, accompanied Col. Armstrong on this 
expedition. 

At the mouth of the Mahoning was another Indian village. Where 
Franklin is situated, at the mouth of French creek, was the Indian town of 
Venango. It was here that the French built a fort which they called 
Machault; and where afterwards Washington, when on his journey to La 
Boeuf, had the interview with the celebrated Frenchman, Capt. Joncaire. 
Near the mouth of the Tionesta were three Monsey villages, called Gosh- 
gosh-unk [Cuscusing], where, in 1767, Rev. David Zeisberger, a Moravian 
missionary, commenced preaching the gospel to the Indians. He and his 
coadjutor, Br. Gotlob Senseman, daily preached to their wild hearers, who 
came in great numbers to listen, with faces painted black and vermillion, and 
heads decorated with fox tails and feathers. Zeisberger afterwards retired 
fifteen miles further up the river, to a place called Lawanakana, near where 
Hickory town in Venango county now stands. Here he gathered around 
him a little settlement, and built a chapel, and placed in it a bell, the first ever 
heard in Venango county, and for two years prosecuted his pious efforts. 



INDIAN OCCUPATION. 3 I 

Near Irvinton, in Warren county, at the mouth of the Broken Straw,* 
was the Indian village of Buckaloons. About five miles above Kinjua,+ 
extending several miles along the Allegany river, was a large Seneca town, 
called Yah-roon-wa-go. Near where once was the centre of this town, 
Cornplanter made his residence. 

Mrs. Mary Jemison, before her faculties were impaired, imparted much 
information to the white men respecting the Indians and some of their settle- 
ments in Western New York. She was known by the early settlers as the 
"White Woman." She was captured by the Indians in her youth during the 
French and Indian wars, and lived with them the remainder of her days. 
She died in Buffalo, September 19th, 1833, at a very advanced age, much 
esteemed for her goodness and intelligence, by both whites and Indians. 
She was so kindly treated by the Indians after her captivity, that she adopted 
their customs, and married an Indian husband. In 1759, with her little son 
on her back and with her three adopted Indian brothers, she journeyed 
through the wilderness from Ohio to Little Beardstown, on the Genesee. 
In her account of their journey, she says : 

" When we arrived at the mouth of French creek, we hunted two days, 
and thence came on to Connewango creek, where we staid eight or ten days, 
in consequence of our horses having left us and strayed into the woods. 
The horses, however, were found, and we again prepared to resume our 
journey. During our stay at that place, the rain fell fast, and had raised the 
creek to such a height, that it was seemingly impossible for us to cross it. 
A number of times we ventured in, but were compelled to return, barely 
escaping with our lives. At length we succeeded in swimming our horses, 
and reached the opposite shore, though I and my little boy but just 
escaped from being drowned. From Sandusky the path we traveled was 
crooked and obscure, but was tolerably well understood by my oldest 
brother, who had traveled it a number of times Avhen going and returning 
from the Cherokee wars. The fall by this time was considerably advanced, 
and the rains, attended with cold winds, continued daily to increase the 
difficulties of traveling. From Connewango we came to a place called by 
the Indians Che-na-shun-ga-tan, on the Allegany river, at the mouth of 
what is now called Cold Spring creek in the town of Napoli [now Cold 
Spring], Cattaraugus county, and from that to Twa-wan-ne-gvvan, or 
Tu-ne-un-gwan, [which means an eddy not strong], where the early frosts 
had destroyed the corn, so that the Indians were in danger of starving for 
want of bread. Having rested ourselves two days at that place, we came to 
Caneadea." 

The Indian village of Tu-ne-un-gwan mentioned by Mrs. Jemison, was 
situated 18 miles further up the river than Che-na-shun-ga-tan in the town 
of Carrollton, Cattaraugus county. The Senecas also settled, at an early 
day, near the mouth of the Cattaraugus creek. 

At the close of the last century, there were along the Allegarty and French 

* Its Indian name was Hosh-e-nuk-vva-gunk, signifying the place where much broken 
straw and other drift stuff are accumulated together. — Alden's Missions, 156. 
t Signifying, in the Indian tongue, the place of many fishes. 



32 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

creek, scattered through north-western Pennsylvania and south-western New 
York, other Indian towns ; but none were then known to have certainly 
existed in Chautauqua county. The evidences remained, however, at the 
first settlement of the county, of its having not long previously been occu- 
pied at various points by Indians. In 1795, when Col. James McMahan 
passed through this county, upon the Judge Prendergast tract on Conne- 
wango creek, in the town of Kiantone, there was an Indian camping 
ground. There were also to be seen, at the first settlement of the county, 
near the mouth of the Kianto'ne, the forms of corn hills, upon lands that 
appeared to have once been cleared, and had since grown up to small shrub- 
bery of thorns and red plum.* 

In November, 1805, when William Bemus first came to the town of Ellery, 
at, Bemus Point, unmistakable evidences remained, that an Indian settle- 
ment had formerly existed tliere. Where the cemetery is situated, were the 
decayed remains and traces of some Indian dwellings, and the evidences 
that a large tract of land in the vicinity had formerly been improved. On 
Bemus creek were two clearings, each about ten acres in extent, a quarter 
of a mile apart. Where these improvements were, wild plum trees grew ; 
and there were the remains of brush inclosures, which Wm. Bemus had 
repaired, enabling him to secure a crop of grass the first years of his settle- 
ment there. Corn hills also were visible, and even potatoes of the lady 
finger variety, that had been perpetuated from year to year were there still 
growing ; some of which were gathered and planted by Wm. Bemus. Be- 
low Bemus', at Griffith's Point, were similar signs of Indian occupation. f 

After the close of the Revolutionary war, that numerous portion or clan 
of the Seneca nation residing along the Allegany and its tributaries, were 
under the control of the very able and just war chief Cornplanter, sometimes 
called John O'Beel. The domain of this branch of the Senecas' property 
included Chautauqua county; and the rude improvements found here were 
the results, probably, of the occupation by these Indians, who undoubtedly, 
at some time during the last century, had at least temporary homes within 
the county. This clan were often referred to as the Seneca- Abeel; and in 
a map published by Reading Howell, 1792, the country of the upper waters 
of the Connewango, and of Chautauqua lake, is designated'as " O'Beel's 
Cayentona." This map is among the Pennsylvania Historical Collections. 
In James Ross Snowden's Historical Sketch of Cornplanter, prepared for the 
occasion of the Cornplanter monument, is the following: 

"A solitary traveler, after the close of the Revolutionary war, in 1783, 
wandering near the shores of Chautauqua lake, found himself benighted; and 
ignorant of the path which should lead him to his place of destination, he 
feared he would be compelled to pass the night in the forest, and without 
shelter. But when the darkness of the night gathered around him, he saw 
the light of a distant fire in the woods, to which he bent his steps. Then he 

* Judge E. T. Foote. Warren's Histoiy of Chautauqua County, 
t J. L. Bugbee. See also his sketch of Wm. Bemus. 



INDIAN OCCUPATION. 33 

found an Indian wigAvam, the habitation of a chief with his family. He was 
kindly received and hospitably entertained. After a supper of corn and 
venison, the traveler returned thanks to God, whose kind Providence had 
directed his way, and preserved him in the wilderness. He slept comfort- 
ably on the ample bear skins provided by his host. 

'• In the morning, the Indian invited the traveler to sit beside him on a 
large log in front of his cabin. They were seated, side by side. Presently 
the Indian told the traveler to move on a litde, which he did ; and, keeping 
by his side, again requested him to move. This was repeated several times. 
At length, when near the end of the log, the chief gave an energetic 
push, and requested his companion to move further. The traveler remon- 
strated, and said, 'I can go no further; if I do, I shall fall off the log.' 
' That is the way' said the Indian in reply, 'you white people treat us. "When 
the United People, the Six Nations, owned the whole land from the lakes to 
the great waters, they gave to Corlaer a seat on the Hudson, and to Ouas a 
town and land on the Delaware. We have been driven from our lands on 
the Mohawk, the Genesee, the Chemung, and the Unadilla. And from our 
western door, we have been pushed from the Susquehanna; then over the 
great mountains; then beyond the Ohio, the Allegany, and Connewango; 
and now we are here on the borders of the great lakes, and a further push 
will throw me and my people off the log.' * * * The chief, in conclu- 
sion, with a sad and anxious countenance asked the question, ' Where are 
we to go?' The only response that was made, was the sighing of the wind 
through the leaves of the forest; the traveler was silent." 

The traveler above referred to was the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, who, for 
many years previous to the Revolutionary war, was a missionary among the 
Six Nations, and whose name and services are, during and after the Revolu- 
tion, recorded in connection with Indian history. 

The Indian villages of North-western Pennsylvania and Western New 
York often contained houses sufficiently large to accommodate three or four 
families. Adjacent to them were frequently extensive cornfields. Between 
these villages, or leading from them to their favorite hunting grounds and 
fishing places, were well trodden pathways, several of which passed through 
the county of Chautauqua. A broad and well worn Indian trail led from 
the Cattaraugus creek, through the lake towns, to the Pennsylvania line. 
Another commenced near to the mouth of the Cattaraugus creek, and passed 
over the ridge in Arkwright and Charlotte, at the point of its lowest eleva- 
tion ; and through Charlotte Center and Sinclairville, and southerly in the 
direction of the Indian towns on the Allegany river. This trail had the 
appearance of much use ; the roots of the trees along its margin were marred 
and calloused ; and at certain points it was worn deeply into the ground. 
It was used by the early settlers as a highway or bridle path, in going from the 
center to the north-eastern part of the county, and also by the Indians sub- 
sequently to the settlement of the county. Still another Indian path com- 
menced at the Indian settlement, near the mouth of the Cattaraugus creek,. 
and passed down the Connewango valley, through the eastern parts of the 
towns of Hanover, Villenova, Cherry Creek, and Ellington. This path was 
3 



^4 HISTORY OF CHAUTUAQUA COUNTY. 

used by white men in the settlement of these towns, and by the Indians 
subsequently to the settlement of the county. 

All the region lying west of Blue Ridge, and east of the Wabash, which 
included within its limits Chautauqua county, remained unexplored and 
almost unknown to Europeans, until nearly as late as the year 1750 ; for the 
outermost limits of the back setdements of the English colonies of Virginia 
and Pennsylvania only extended as far west as the Blue Ridge. Either the 
French had been excluded from here by the fierce and warlike Senecas, who 
were their implacable foes, or their enterprise had not yet led them in this 
direction ; and prior to this time, the points occupied by civilized men in the 
West were mostly mere trading posts, and the forests were only traversed 
by traders and missionaries. Chautauqua county, and the adjacent regions, 
not being in the route of their travel, were barely known, and were untrav- 
ersed except by bands of Indians in their hostile excursions. The French 
officer La Hontan says : 

"The banks of this lake [Erie] are commonly frequented by none but 
warriors, whether the Iroquois, the lUinese, the Oumiamies, etc.; and it is 
very dangerous to stop there. By this means it comes to pass, that the stags, 
roebucks, and turkeys run in great bodies up and down the shore, all around 
the lake. In former times the Errionons and the Andastogueronons lived 
upon the confines of the lake ; but they were extirpated by the Iroquois, as 
well as the other nations marked on the map."* 

Events leading to the French and Indian Wars. 

The boundary line ..between the French and English possessions in 
America had long been a cause for earnest contention. The French 
claimed dominion to all the country lying west of the Allegany mountains. 
The English also claimed the territory westward of their colonies to the 
Pacific Ocean. The territory of Chautauqua county was included in these 
disputed regions ; and as a consequence of this controversy, it was soon 
brought nearer to the scene of prominent military operations, and in close 
proximity to important lines of communication, or rough military highways 
leading from distant military posts in this then interminable western wilder- 
ness. Communications between the French posts on the Mississippi river, 
and the French forts and setdements in Canada, were at first maintained by 
the long and circuitous route of the Mississippi, Green Bay, and the Ottawa, 
and afterwards by Lake Michigan and the Illinois ; and at a still later period 
by the way of the Maumee and the Wabash. The direct and easy commu- 
nicadon that could be had between Canada and the Mississippi, by the way 
of Lake Erie and the short portage of Chautauqua lake, or over that from 
Presque Isle [Erie] to French creek, and the upper waters of the Ohio, seems 
for a long time to have been unknown to the French ; but events of an 
important character as affecting this part of the world, and also the history 
of that of the two most powerful nations of Europe, were destined soon to 

* La Hontan's Voyages. 



ORIGIN OF THE NAME CHAUTAUQUA. 35 

introduce this region to the notice both of the French and the EngHsh. 
The latter, in 1722, estabUshed a trading post at Oswego, and, a httle later, 
built there a fort. ^The French, to enable them to command communication 
with the West, thereupon, in 1725, reoccupied and reconstructed Fort Niag- 
ara, which had been deserted for over thirty-five years, and made it a strong 
fortress, and which thereafter became the scene of exciting military events. 

In 1749, the two rival countries proceeded still more directly to assert 
their rights to the territory lying west of the AUeganies. The English gov- 
ernment granted five hundred thousand acres of land on the Ohio to the 
Ohio Company, which included persons in London, Maryland and Virginia 
as its members, among whom were Lawrence and Augustine Washington. 
The objects of this company were the settlement of this territory, and to 
establish a trade with the Indians. The French, the same year, sent from 
Detroit Capt. De Celeron, with three hundred men to march east to the 
Allegany mountains, to take formal possession of this territory, and to warn 
the English traders out of the country. He performed the task, and de- 
posited at important points leaden plates, with the arms of France engraved. 
Three of these have been found, we are told ; one at Marietta, one at the 
mouth of the Big Kanawha, and one at the mouth of French creek. The 
following is a translation of the inscription upon one of these plates, which 
was obtained by artifice from Joncaire, the French interpreter, by the Sene- 
cas, and delivered to Sir William Johnson, who forwarded it to Governor 
Clinton : 

"In the year 1749, during the reign of Louis XV., King of France, we, 
Celoron, commander of a detachment sent by Monsieur the Marquis De la 
Galissonire, commander in chief of New France, for the restoration of tran- 
quillity in some villages of Indians of these districts, have buried this plate 
at the confluence of the Ohio and Tchadakoin, this 29th day of July, near 
the river Ohio, otherwise Beautiful River, as a monument of the renewal of 
possession which we have taken of the said river Ohio, and of all those that 
therein fall, and all the lands on both sides as far as the sources of the said 
rivers, as enjoyed or ought to be enjoyed by the preceding Kings of France, 
and as they therein have maintained themselves by arms, and by treaties, 
especially by those of Riswick, of Utrecht, and of Aix-la-Chapelle."* 

Origin of the Name Chautauqua. 

The name Ohio, or La Belle Riviere, was applied by the French to that 
portion of the Allegany, extending up from Pittsburgh as far, at least, as 
Franklin, as well as to the Ohio proper. It is probable that the Connewango, 
Chautauqua lake and outlet, and perhaps that part of the Allegany below the 
mouth of the Connewango to Franklin, were called by the French the Tchad- 
akoin, as inscribed upon this leaden plate, and that, in process of time, this 
appellation was retained* only by the lake. The word underwent various 
changes in its orthography also, until it came to be spelled Chautauqua. On 
a manuscript map of 1 749, made by a Jesuit in the Department de la Marine 

*9 Doc. Colonial Hist, of N. Y., pp. 610-11. 



36 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

in Paris, it is spelled "-Tjadakoin" and the Chautauqua creek that empties 
into Lake Erie in the town of Westfield, is called the Riviere Aux Pomes, or 
Apple river. In the translations of the letters of Du Quesne, [pronounced 
Dh Kane\ governor-general of Canada, to the French government in 1753, 
found in vol. 10 of Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the 
State of New York, it is spelled " Chataconit." In Stephen Coffin's affidavit, 
sworn to before Sir William Johnson in 1754, " Chadakoinr In the French 
of Capt. Pouchot, in his history of the French and English war in North 
America, written before the American Revolution, and in the map accom- 
panying it, the name of the lake is spelled ''Shatacoin." On Pownell's map 
of 1776, and Lewis Evans' of 1755, it is written "■ Jadaxqne:' Gen. Wm. 
Irvine, who visited Chautauqua prior to 1788, writes it '■'■ Jadaqua." On the 
map made by the Holland Land Company in 1804, it is " Chataughque." 
After the settlement of the county, until the year 1859, it was spelled 
'■'Chantauqne," when, by a resolution of the Board of Supervisors, passed 
October nth of that year, at the suggestion of Hon. E. T. Foote, it was 
changed to ''Chautauqua" that its pronunciation might conform to the pro- 
nunciation of the word by the Indians, at the time of the first settlement 
of the county.* 

Various significations have been attributed to the word Chautauqua. 
Among others, it is said to mean, " the place where one was lost," or the 
"place of easy death," in allusion to a tradition of the Senecas. Corn- 
planter, in his celebrated speech against the title of the Phelps and Gorham 
tract, alluding to this tradition, says : " In this case one chief has said he 
would ask you to put him out of pain : another who will not think of dying 
by the hand of his father or his brother, has said he will retire to ' Chaud- 
daiik-wa^ eat of the fatal root, and sleep with his fathers in peace."t 

Dr. Peter Wilson, an educated Cayuga chief, communicated to O. H. 
Marshall, Esq., the following Seneca tradition: "A party of Senecas 
returning from the Ohio in the spring of the year, ascended the outlet of 
Chautauqua lake, passed into the lake, and while paddling through it, caught 
a fish of a kind with which they were not familiar, and they threw it into the 
bottom of their canoe. Reaching the head of the lake, they made a portage 
across to the Chautauqua creek, then swollen with the spring freshets. 
Descending the creek into Lake Erie, they found, to their astonishment, the 
fish still alive. They threw it into the lake, and it disappeared. In process 
of time the same fish appeared abundantly in the lake, having never been 
caught in it before. They concluded they all sprang from the Chautauqua 
lake progenitor, and hence they named that Lake, " G'<a;-ja-dah'-gw<s;h, com- 
pounded of two Seneca words Ga-]d.h, " fish," and Ga-dah'-gw«h " taken 

* No one now living has been longer or more prominency identified with this county 
dm-ing its early years, and consequently none more familiar with its early settlers and its 
history, than Judge Foote ; and no one has contributed so much in time and money, or 
has been more solicitous to preserve the facts connected with its early history than he. 

+ See Alden's Missions, p. 169. Also Morgan's League of the Iroquois. 



THE PORTAGE ROAD. 37 

out." In process of time the word became contracted into Jah-dah-gw^'h : 
the prefix Ga being dropped, as is often the case."'^ 

Other meanings have been assigned to the word. Chautauqua has been 
said to signify " foggy place," in allusion to the mist arising from the lake ; 
also to mean " high up," referring to the elevated situation of the lake : 
while it is said that Horatio Jones and Jasper Parrish, early Indian interpre- 
ters, well versed in the Seneca tongue, gave its meaning to be " a pack tied 
in the middle " or " two moccasins fastened together," from the resemblance 
of the lake to those objects. 

The following lines and note are from the pen of Col. Wm. H. C. Hosmer, 

of Avon : 

" Famous in the days of yore, But the music of her tread 

Briglit Ja-da-qua ! was thy shore, Made the prophet shake his head. 

And the stranger treasures yet For the mark of early doom 

Pebbles that thy waves have wet ; He had seen through beauty bloom. 

For they catch an added glow 

From a tale of long ago. " When a fragrant wreath was made, 

Ere the settler's flashing steel Round her brow she clasped the braid ; 

Rang the greenwood's funeral peal. When her roving eye, alas ! 

Or the plow-share in the vale Flowering in the summer grass, 

Blotted out the red man's trail. Did the fatal plant behold, 

And she plucked it from the mould ; 

icrs ^^ ,, i .. .1 . Of the honeyed root she ate, 

Deadly was the plant that grew . ^^^ ^^^ J^ j^^^^^^^ ^^^ j^^ 

Near thy sheet of glimmering blue, tti • r . i. .u- 4. ^ 11 

-r, ^ ,, ■' ■ , *' 1 ^ r lying last her thirst to slake 

But the mvstic leaves were known tt »u 1 •• 11 

T, ' ] • . -i 1 !< rom thy wave, enchanting lake, 

lo our wandering tribe alone. ■' ° 

Sweeter far than honeyed fruit « Then was gained the treacherous brink, 

Of the wild plum was its root ; _ Stooped O-WA-NA down to drink ; 

But the smallest morsel cursed Then the waters, calm before, 

Those who tasted, with a thirst Waking, burst upon the shore ; 

That impelled them to leap down And the maid was seen no more. 

In thy cooling depth, and drown. Azure glass ! in emeralds framed, 

Since that hour Ja-da-qua named, 

" On thy banks, in other hours. Or 'the place of easy death,' 

Sat O-WA-NA wreathing flowers, \Yhen I pant with failing breath. 

And, with whortleberries sweet, I will eat the root that grows 

Filled were baskets at her feet. On thy banks, and find repose 

Nature to a form of grace With the loveliest of our daughters 

Had allied a faultless face ; In thy blue engulfing waters." 

"These lines allude to a beautiful Seneca tradition that lends an added charm to Chau- 
tauqua lake, in the state of New York. A young squaw is said to have eaten of a root 
growing on its banks, which created tormenting thirst. To slake it she stooped down to 
drink of its clear waters, and disappeared for ever. Hence the name of the lake Ja-DA- 
QUA, or the place of easy death, where one disappears and is seen no more." [See I vol. 
Hosmer's Poems, 225, 373.] 

The Portage Road. 

The Marquis Du Quesne, having been appointed governor-general of 
Canada, arrived there in 1752. The measures taken by him in behalf of 

* Dr. Wilson (now deceased) is regarded as good authority upon this subject. Of him 
Mr. Marshall says : " He had a great love for the traditional annals of his people, a very 
critical knowledge of the Seneca language, now reduced to a written system. Besides, he 
enjoyed the advantage of an English education, having graduated with honor at the Gene- 
see Medical College, and practiced medicine with success among the Indians. 

" The word ' Shatacoin,' if properly pronounced in French would give the identical word 
given by Dr. Wilson in the tradition." 



38 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

the French to obtain possession of the disputed territory, were of a more 
open and decisive character than those of any officer who had preceded him. 
Soon after his arrival, he commenced preparations to construct the long line 
of frontier forts, which had been lirst suggested by La Salle, and which the 
French, for so many years, had in contemplation, that were to unite Canada 
with Louisiana, by the way of the Ohio. The first step taken towards this 
bold project, may be regarded as leading directly to one of the most 
memorable wars of modern times, known in this country as the French and 
Indian war ; which resulted in divesting the French of Canada, and of the 
greater part of their possessions in America. This war also extended, with 
great results, over continental Europe, and even to Asia and Africa. 

The first act of Du Quesne was to open a portage road from Erie to 
La Boeuf, on French creek; and also the same season to open another road 
from the mouth of the Chautauqua creek, near Barcelona, to the head of 
Chautauqua lake, at Mayville; and thus open communication between Lake 
Erie and the head-waters of the Ohio. Du Quesne, in the fall of 1752, 
rendered an account of the arrangements that he had made, in a letter to the 
French Minister of the Marine and Colonies, in Paris, in which he stated 
that he would begin his posts at a point near Barcelona in this county, and 
at the mouth of the Chautauqua creek, Avhich he called Chat-a-co-nit. It is 
evident from this correspondence, that Du Quesne fully believed, from the 
information that he had, that the carrying place between this point and the 
head of Chautauqua lake, was the shortest and most practicable that could 
be found between the waters of the la-kes and the Ohio, and that the carrying 
place between Erie and La Boeuf was discovered afterwards. The import- 
ance that Du Quesne attached to the selection of the best carrying place 
between these waters, is evident from the language used by him in his 
communications to the French government. 

Du Quesne, during the winter, completed his preparations, which were 
hastened by false reports received from Joncaire, that the English had 
actually settled upon French creek, and at the junction of the Connewango 
with the Allegany, where Warren is now situated ; which the French and 
Indians then called Chinengue. He in the early spring dispatched, from 
Montreal, an advance force of two hundred and fifty men, under Monsieur 
Barbeer, for Chautauqua, with orders to fell and prepare timber for the build- 
ing of a fort there.* Barbeer and his command pursued their winter march 
over land and ice to Fort Niagara, pausing on their way to refresh them- 
selves at Cadaraqua fort and at Toronto. They remained at Fort Niagara 

*The following account of the operations of the French during the spring and summer 
of 1753, we have mainly from an affidavit made before Sir William Johnson by Stephen 
Coften, who was taken prisoner by the French and Indians in 1747, and detained in Lower 
Canada until January, 1752, when he was allowed to join the command of Barbeer in this 
expedition to the Ohio river. On the return of the French forces in the fall of that year, 
the troops became fatigued from rowing all night upon Lake Ontario, and were ordered to 
put ashore within a mile of the mouth of the Oswego river for breakfast, when Coffen and 
a Frenchman escaped to the English fort of Oswego. 



THE PORTAGE ROAD. 39 

until the warmth of the early spring had sufficiently removed the ice from 
Lake Erie, and then pursued their way by water along the shore of the lake, 
arriving at the mouth of the Chautauqua creek in the month of Ajml, 1753. 

What progress Barbeer made in complying with the instructions given him 
by Du Quesne, to fell and prepare timber for a fort there, we are not in- 
formed. Sieiir Marin, to whom was assigned the chief command of all the 
forces of France, operating in the country of the Ohio, having arrived with a 
larger force, consisting of five hundred soldiers and twenty Indians, put a 
stop to the building of the fort, as he did not like the situation, believing 
the river of Chadekoins, as the outlet of Chautauqua lake was called, too 
shallow to carry craft with provisions to the Ohio river. An altercation 
ensued ; Barbeer insisting either upon building the fort according to his in- 
structions, or that Marin should give him a writing that would justify him in 
the eyes of the governor. Marin finally complied with Barbeer's demand, 
and gave him such a writing, and then dispatched Chevalier Le Mercier, a 
captain of artillery, and an able officer, to whom was assigned the duties of 
engineer for the expedition, to explore the shore for a better point of depart- 
ure from the lake. After an absence of three days, Le Mercier returned to 
Chautauqua, and reported that about fifteen leagues to the south-west he 
had discovered a harbor where boats could enter with perfect safety, and 
that it was a most favorable point for their purpose. 

The French immediately repaired thither, and upon their arrival found 
twenty Indians fishing in the lake, who fled on their approach. Here the 
French built a fort one hundred and twenty feet square, and fifteen feet 
high, of chestnut logs. It had a gate on the north and south sides, but 
no port holes. The French called it Fort Presque Isle. It stood where 
now is situated the city of Erie, Pennsylvania. Upon the completion of this 
fort, Marin left there Captain Derpontcy, with one hundred men to garrison 
it, and immediately cut a wagon road to the southward, through a fine level 
country, twenty-one miles to a point on the river La Boeuf, the present site 
of Waterford, Erie county. Pa. Faint traces of this wagon road are still visible 
not far from the city of Erie. They built at Waterford, of wood, a tri- 
angular stockaded fort, within which two log houses were erected. While 
building this fort, Marin sent Monsieur Bite with fifty men to the Allegany 
river, where French creek empties into it, and Marin built ninety boats or 
batteaux, to carry down the baggage and provisions. Bite returned and 
reported the situation good, but the river too low at that time for boats ; and 
also that the Indians had forbid the building of the fort. When the fort 
Aux Boeufs was completed, Marin ordered all his forces to return to Canada, 
to remain there through the winter, excepting three hundred men, which 
were retained to garrison the two forts he had built, and to prepare materials 
for the building of other forts in the next spring. He also sent Coeur, an 
officer and interpreter, to s!ay during the winter among the Indians on the 
Ohio, and to persuade them not only to permit the building of forts, but to 
join the French against the English. 



40 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

About eight days before the French took their departure from Presque Isle, 
ChevaHer Le Crake arrived express from Canada, in a birch canoe, propelled 
by ten men, with orders from Du Quesne to make all preparations to build, 
the succeeding spring, two forts in Chautauqua ; one at Lake Erie, and one at 
the end of the carrying place on Chautauqua lake. On the 28th of October, 
about four hundred and forty French, under Captain Deneman, set out from 
Presque Isle for Canada, in twenty-two batteaux ; followed in a few days by 
seven hundred and sixty men, being all the remainder of the French that 
were not left to garrison the forts they had built in Pennsylvania. On the 
30th of October, 1753, they arrived at Chautauqua, probably at or near 
Barcelona. Here, within this county, this army remained encamped for four 
days, during which time two hundred of their number, under Monsieur Pean, 
cut the wagon road over the carrying place, from Lake Erie to Chautauqua 
lake.* 

The French pronounced themselves satisfied with this route, and on the 
3d of November set out for Canada, arriving at Niagara on the 6th. f 

Besides the two hundred and fifty men composing the advance force under 
Barbeer, and the five hundred that soon afterwards came up under Marin, 
there came afterwards, during the season, other bodies of troops from Can- 
ada, with stores ; making the whole number of French engaged in this 
expedition, 1,500 men. Nine pieces of artillery were brought with them, 
all of which were left in Fort Le Boeuf, where Marin commanded. These 
constitute the operations of the French in the year 1753, in this remote 
wilderness ; and they were deemed of great importance, even in Paris, as 
sufficiently appears in the correspondence between the French officials 
respecting them. To furnish an army of 1,500 men with supplies and 
munitions, and send them from Montreal, itself but a fortress in the depths 
of the forest, still farther to the west, through an untravfersed wilderness, 
over inland seas, a distance of 500 miles, to these wild and almost unknown 
regions, was an enterprise then regarded as of no small magnitude, even by 
a government as powerful as France. 

The difficulties experienced by the French in pushing forward this expe- 
dition, as well as many other interesting particulars respecting it, are set 

* " Hugues Pean was a native of Canada ; his father had been adjutant, or town major 
of Quebec ; a situation to which the son succeeded, on the arrival of IM. de Jonquire. His 
wife was young, spiritual, mild, and obliging, and her conversation amusing ; she succeeded 
in obtaining considerable influence over the intendant M. Bigot, who went regularly to 
spend his evenings with her. She became at length the channel through which the public 
patronage flowed. Pean in a short time saw himself worth fifty thousand crowns. Bigot, 
the intendant, requiring a large supply of wheat, gave Pean the contract, and even advanced 
him money from the treasury, with which the wheat was bought. The intendant next 
issued an ordinance, fixing the price of wheat much higher than Pean purchased it. The 
latter delivered it to the government, at the price fixed by the ordinance, whereby he real- 
ized immense profit, obtained a seigniory, and becaitie very weaXihy. '^^Collections 0/ 
Quebef Literary and Historical Society, 1S38, page 68. "He was afterwards created a 
Knight of St. Louis." — Sfnith's Canada, I., page 221, 

t JO Colonial Hist, of N. Y. 



THE PORTAGE ROAD. 4I 



forth in a letter bearing date August 20, 1753, from Du Quesne to iM. de 
Rouille, the French Minister of Marine and Colonies, in which he says :* 

" My Lord : 

" I have the honor to inform you that I have been obliged to alter the 
arrangement I had made, whereof I rendered you an account last fall. 

" You will see, my Lord, by the extract of the journal hereto annexed, 
the reasons which compelled me to reduce to almost one half, the vanguard 
that I informed you consisted of 400 men, and those that determined me to 
prefer landing the troops at the harbor of Presque Isle on Lake Erie, which 
I very fortunately discovered, instead of Chataconit, where, I informed you, 
I would begin my posts. 

" This discovery is so much more propitious, as it is a harbor which the 
largest barks can enter loaded, and be in perfect safety. I am informed that 
the beach, the soil, and the resources of all sorts, were the same as repre- 
sented to me. 

" The plan I send you of this place is only a rough sketch until it is 
corrected. I have given orders that this be proceeded with. 

"The letter I received on the 12th of January last from M. de Joncaire, 
has obliged me to force to obtain provisions from the farmers, to enable me 
to oppose the projects of the English, who, he advised me, had sent smiths 
to Chinenguef and the river Aux Boeuf, where they were even settled ; and 
that there was a terrible excitement among the Indians, who looked upon it 
as certain that the English would be firmly settled there in the course of this 
year, not imagining that my forces were capable of opposing them. This 
fear, which made me attempt the impossible, has had hitherto the most com- 
plete success. All the provisions have arrived from without, after a delay of 
fifteen days, and I had them transported with all imaginable diligence, into 
a country so full of difficulties, in consequence of the great number of 
voyageurs which I required to ascend the rapids; the race of which is getting 
scarce. 

" I was not long in perceiving that this movement made a considerable 
impression on the Indians ; and what has thrown more consternation among 
them is, that I had no recourse to them ; for I contented myself with telling 
our domiciliated tribes, that if there were eight or ten from each village who 
had the curiosity to witness my operations, I would permit them to follow 
Sieur Marin, the commander of the detachment, whom they were well 
acquainted with, and in whom they have confidence. Of 200 whom I pro- 
posed to send forward, only 70 are sufficient for scouts and hunters. 

" All the natives that came down to see me from the upper country, and 
who met the multitude of batteaux and canoes which were conveying the 
men and effects belonging to the detachment, presented themselves all 
trembling before me, and told me that they were aware of my power by the, 
swarm of men they had passed, and begged me to have pity on them, their 
wives, and their children. I took advantage of their terror to speak to them 
in a firm tone and menacing the first that would falter ; and instead of a 
month or five weeks that they were accustomed to remain here consuming 
the King's provisions, I got rid of them on the fourth day. 

" It appears up to this time, that the execution of the plan of my enter- 

* 10 Doc. relating to Colonial Hist, of N. Y. 

t Chinengue, or Shenango, is laid down in Mitchell's map at the junction of the Conne- 
wango and Allegany, where Warren is now situated. 



42 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

prise makes so strong an impression on the natives, that all the vagabonds 
who had taken refuge on the Beautiful River, have returned to their village. 

" I keep the five nations much embarrassed because they have not come 
down to Montreal, and the only step they have taken has been to send the 
ladies (dames) of their council to Sieur Marin to inquire of him by a belt, 
whether he was marching with the hatchet uplifted. He told them that he 
bore it aloft, in order that no person should be ignorant of the fact ; but 
as for the present, his orders were to use it only in case he encountered op- 
position to my will ; that my intention was to support and assist them in 
their necessities, and to drive away the evil spirits that encompassed them, 
and that disturbed the earth. 

" I was aware that the English of Philadelphia had invited them to general 
council, and that they had refused to attend to it. Further, I knew from 
a man worthy of credit, who happened to be among these Indians when the 
English arrived, that they had rejected the belts which had been offered to 
oppose the entrance of the King's troops into the river Ohio, since they had 
sold it to the English. They answered that they would not meddle with my 
affairs, and that they would look quietly on, from their mats, persuaded as 
they were, that my proceedings had no other object than to give a clear sky 
to a country which served as a refuge for assassins who had reddened the 
ground with their blood. 

" This nation, which possesses a superior government to all others, allowed 
itself to be dazzled by continued presents, and did not perceive that the 
English are hemming it in, so that if it do not shake off their yoke 'twill 
soon be enslaved. I shall lead them to make this reflection, in order to in- 
duce them to pull down Choneganen, which is destroying them and will be 
the ruin of the colony. 

" Should we have had to use reprisals, I would soon have taken that post. 
I have already forwarded to Fort Frontenac, the artillery and everything 
necessary to this coup de main. 

" Sieur Marin writes me on the 3d instant, that the fort at Presque Isle is 
entirely finished ; that the Portage road, which is six leagues in length, is also 
ready for carriages ; that the store which was necessary to be built half way 
across this Portage, is in a condition to receive the supplies, and that the 
second fort, which is located at the mouth of the river Aux Boeuf, will soon 
be completed. 

" This commandant informs me, moreover, that he is having some 
pirogues constructed ; whilst men are actually employed in transporting his 
stores; and he tells me that all the Delawares, Chauonanons [Shawnees] 
and Senecas, on the Beautiful River, had come to meet him, and that he had 
so well received them, that they were very zealously assisting with their 
horses that they have brought along with them in making the portage. 

" There has not been, up to the present time, the least impediment to the 
considerable movements I have caused to be made ; everything arrived at its 
destination with greater celerity than I anticipated; and among the prodigi- 
ous number of batteaux or canoes that have passed the rapids, only one has 
upset, drowning seven men. 

" As it is impossible in a movement as vast as it was precipitous for this 
country, that some of the provisions should be spoiled in open craft, despite 
all the precautions that could be taken, I have sent on as much as was 
necessary to repair the loss. 



THE PORTAGE ROAD. 43 

" Everything announces, my Lord, the successful execution of my project, 
unless some unforeseen accident has occurred ; and the only anxiety I feel is, 
that the River Aux Boeuf portage will delay the entrance of our troops into 
the Beautiful River, as it is long, and there is considerable to carry, and the 
horses I have sent thither have arrived there exhausted by fatigue. But I 
hope this will be obviated by those the Indians have brought thither, and 
that the mildness of the climate will admit of the completion of the posts. 
The extreme boldness with which I have executed a project of so much 
importance, has caused me the liveliest inquietude ; the famine which met 
rae on my arrival at Quebec having reduced me, forwarding only 900 barrels 
of flour as the whole supply. 

"From the knowledge I have acquired this winter, I would have composed 
my vanguard of 700 men, had I had an entrepot of provisions at Niagara, 
because that body of men would have assuredly advanced to the portage, 
which I was desirous of occupying ; having to fear some opposition on the 
part of the Indians of the Beautiful River at the instigation of the English, 
my plan having been discovered, and bruited abroad since M. de la Jonquire's 
death, in consequence of the explorations that I caused to be made by some 
bark canoes, notwithstanding the color I wished to give these movements. 

"I leave you to judge, my Lord, the trouble of mind I felt at the reduc- 
tion of this vanguard to 250 men, which I was obliged to send like what is 
called in the army a forlorn hope, when dispatched to explore a work. On 
the other hand, I should proceed at a snail's pace could I continue my 
operations only with the assistance derived from the sea, the inconveniences 
of which I understood. In fine, my Lord, if there be any merit in doing 
anything contrary to the prudence of a person of my age, who has not the 
reputation of being devoid of that virtue, the enterprise in question would 
be entitled to very great credit ; but necessity having constrained me to it, I 
do not adopt it, and attribute its success to singular good fortune which I 
would not for all the world attempt again. 

"The discovery I have made of the harbor of Presque Isle, which is 
regarded as the finest spot in Nature, has determined me to send a royal 
assistant pilot to search around the Niagara rapids for some place where a 
bark could remain to take in its load. Nothing would be of greater advan- 
tage in the saving of transport, and the security of the property of the new 
posts and of Detroit ; but it is necessary to find a good bottom, so that the 
anchors may hold ; for it could safely winter at Presque Isle, where it would 
be as it were in a box. I impatiently await the return of this pilot, and I 
would be much flattered could I be able to announce to you in my latest 
dispatches, that I have ordered the construction of this vessel. 

" I must not leave you ignorant, my Lord, how much I am pleased with 
Sieur Marin, the commander of the detachment, and Major Pean. The 
former, who has an experienced capacity, manages the Indians as he pleases; 
and he has, at his age, the same zeal and activity as any young ofiicer that may 
enter the service. The second is endowed with all the talent imaginable 
for detail and resources, and knows no other occupation than that of accom- 
pUshing the object he is intrusted with. He alone had charge of dispatch- 
ing all the canoes and batteaux, and acquitted himself of that duty with 
great order. Chevalier Le Mercier, to whom I assigned the duties of engi- 
neer, and who is also intrusted with the distribution of the provisions, is an 
oflicer possessing the rarest talent. Sieur Marin expresses himself to rae in 



44 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

the highest terms of all those who are under his orders, and who vie with 
each other in diligence. 

" I am, with the most profound respect, my Lord, 

" Your most humble and most obedient servant, 

"DU QUESNE.^' 

This Portage road was cut by the French from Lake Erie to Chautauqua 
lake more than twenty years before the battle of Lexington, and was the 
first work performed by civilized hands within the limits of Chautauqua 
county, of which we are informed. It was known by the early settlers of the 
county, as the Old Portage or French road, and was one of the first highways 
of the county over which, in early days, much merchandise, including large 
amounts of salt from Onondaga county, were annually transported to 
Pittsburgh, and places on the river below. 

The Portage road commenced on the west bank of Chautauqua creek, a 
little distance from its mouth, in the town of Westfield. Thence it passed 
up, on the west side of the creek, crossing the present Erie road at the Old 
McHenry tavern, where the historical monument stands, to a point above the 
woolen factory, about a mile from Westfield. Here the road crossed the 
creek ; still further on it crossed the present road leading from Mayville to 
Westfield, and continued most of the distance for the remainder of the way, 
on the east side of the present road, and terminated at the foot of Main 
street in Mayville. The original track and remains of the old log bridges 
were plainly to be seen as late as the year 1817 ; and even traces of this 
road remain to this day. Judge William Peacock, of Mayville, passed over 
this Portage road as early as July, 1800. He followed it from the mouth of 
Chautauqua creek, three miles up its west bank, and thence over the hills to 
Chautauqua lake. The road then had the appearance of having been used 
in former times. The underbrush had been cut out ; and where this road 
crossed the Chautauqua creek, about three miles from its mouth, the banks 
upon each side had been dug away, to admit a passage across the stream. 
Towards Mayville, and near the summit of the hills, at a low wet place, a 
causeway had been constructed of logs. Over this point the present high- 
way from Mayville to Westfield now passes. At the foot of Main street in 
Mayville, where the Portage terminated, was a circular piece of mason work 
of stone laid in sand and mortar, three or four feet high, and three or four 
feet in diameter. It was constructed, as Judge Peacock conjectured, for the 
purpose of cooking food. A piece of mason work, precisely like this in 
every respect, he saw standing at the other end of the Portage, at the mouth 
of the Chautauqua creek, opposite Barcelona. This mason work was seen 
as late as 1802 by William Bell, who, for over seventy years, resided in 
Westfield.* 

The operations of the French in the West, during the spring and summer 
of 1753, were watched with interest and indignation by the English. Capt. 
Stodart wrote a letter to Col. William Johnson on the 1 5th of May, 1 753, from 

* See the Extract from Sir William Johnson's Journal, />os(. 



THE FRENCH WAR. 45 

Oswego, informing him that over thirty French canoes, carrying a part of the 
French army, had passed them the day before for the Ohio ; also that he was 
informed by a Frenchman, who was on his way to Cajocka [probably Chau- 
tauqua], that the French under Marin were about to build forts at places 
convenient for them ; " that one fort was to be built at Ka-sa-no-tia-yo-go " 
[a carrying place], and another at Diontarogo."'^ A copy of this letter was 
forwarded by Col. Johnson to Governor Clinton. 

Washington's Journey to French Creek. 
When information reached Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, of these 
proceedings by the French, he determined to ascertain their purpose, and to 
induce them to abandon their claim upon the valley of the Ohio. He ac- 
cordingly dispatched George Washington, then but twenty-two years of age, 
who set out from Williamsburgh, in Virginia, on the 30th day of October, 
1753, and arrived at the place where Pittsburgh now stands, about three 
weeks afterwards. He then proceeded to Venango, where he arrived on the 
4th of December, and had an interview with the celebrated Capt. Joncaire, 
but obtained no satisfaction. From Venango he pushed on up the French 
creek, to the post the French had established at Le Boeuf, now Waterford, 
where he arrived the nth of December, 1753. The fort he found situated 
on the island on the west fork of French creek. It consisted of four houses, 
forming a square, defended by bastions made of palisades twelve feet high, 
pierced for cannon and small arms. Within the bastions were a guard-house 
and other buildings. Outside were stables, a smith forge, and a log house 
for soldiers. Washington found that the French were preparing at this place 
many pine boats and bark canoes to be ready in the spring, to descend and 
destroy the English posts on the Ohio river. Here Washington, over one 
hundred and twenty years ago, spent five anxious days, within but fourteen 
miles from the town of French Creek, in Chautauqua county, negotiating 
with the French commandant, St. Pierre. Having finished his business with 
the French, Washington set out on the i6th of December to return. His 
long journey through the wilderness was beset by many difficulties and dan- 
gers. French creek and the Allegany river were swollen and full of floating 
ice.; the snows were deep, and the cold intense. He arrived at Williams- 
burgh, January i6th, 1754; having performed a toilsome and perilous jour- 
ney of eight hundred miles, in two and one half months. 

The French War. 

Immediately after Washington's return, the Ohio Company sent Captain 
Trent and a small body of men, to the junction of the Allegany with the 
Monongahela, where Pittsburgh is now situated. He arrived there in Feb- 
ruary, 1754, and commenced laying the foundations of a fort, which was 
completed prior to April 17th, 1754. This was the first occupation of the 
territory where Pittsburgh now stands. Against this post the French imme- 

* 7 Doc. relating to the Col. Hist, of N, Y., 779. 



46 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

diately dispatched a formidable expedition, which was in fact the first war- 
like demonstration made in the French war. Monsieur Contrecoeur, then 
the commander in chief of 'the French on the Beautiful River, at the head of 
I, GOO French and Indians, with i8 pieces of cannon, in 60 batteaux and 
200 canoes, descended the Allegany, and arrived at Pittsburgh on the i6th 
of April, 1754, and summoned the English commandant Ward to surrender. 
He having but forty men to defend his unfinished stockade, was obliged to 
comply with the demand.* This affair is memorable, from the fact that it 
was the first blow struck in the great wars that followed in Europe and 
America. 

The Portage road from Barcelona to Mayville, it has been seen, was cut 
late in the preceding fall, with a distinct view to its future use. This expe- 
dition was the first movement made by the French in the spring following ; 
and it is probable, as but few French remained at Le Boeuf and Presque 
Isle during the winter, that a large part of this force had to be drawn that 
season from Canada ; and that a portion of it may have passed over Chau- 
tauqua lake. This portage may have been used by the French and Indians 
in other warlike expeditions. Pouchot, the officer who commanded the 
French at Fort Niagara when it surrendered to Sir William Johnson, wrote a 
history of the French and Indian war in North America, in which he says : 
" The river of Chatacoin is the first that communicates from Lake Erie to 
the Ohio ; and it was by this that they [the FrencJi\ went in early times zvhen 
they made a journey to that part. The navigation is always made in a canoe, 
on account of the small amount of water in this river. It is only, in fact, 
when there is a freshet, that they can pass, and then with difficulty, which 
makes them prefer the navigation of the river Aux Boeuf, of which the 
entrepot is the fort of Presque Isle."+ 

Sir William Johnson, in 1761, journeyed to Detroit by the command of 
Gen. Amherst, to establish a treaty with the Ottawa confederacy, to regulate 
the trade at the several posts in the Indian country. On his return, he 
coasted along the south shore of Lake Erie. In his journal of this journey 
is the following reference to this portage, with other interesting particulars : 

"Wednesday, October ist [1761], embarked [at Presque Isle], at 7 o'clock, 
with the wind strong ahead — continued so all the day, notwithstanding it 
improved all day, and got to Jadaghque creek and carryijig place, which is a 
fine harbor and encampment. It is very dangerous from Presque Isle here, 
being a prodigious steep, rocky bank all the way, except two or three creeks 
and small beaches, where are very beautiful streams of w^ater or springs which 
tumble down the rocks. We came about forty miles this day. The fire was 
burning where Captain Cochran [the officer who commanded at Presc^ue Isle] 
I suppose encamped last night. Here the French had a baking place, and here 
they had meetings, and assembled the Indians ta hen first going to Ohio, and 

*Craig's Hist, of Pittsburgh, 23. 6 Col. Doc. Hist, of New York, 840. 2 Doc. Hist, 
of New York. 

+ Pouchot Frencli and English Wars in North America, Vol. H., 160 (Hough's trans- 
lation). 



THE FRENCH WAR, 47 

bought this place of them. Toonadawanusky, the river we stopped yesterday 
at, is so called. 

" Friday, 2d. A very stormy morning, wind not fair ; however, sent off my 
two baggage boats, and ordered them to stop about thirty miles off in a river 
[probably Cattaraugus creek]. The Seneca Indian tells me we may get this 
day to the end of the lake. I embarked at eight o'clock with all the rest, 
and got about thirty miles, when a very great storm of wind and rain arose, 
and obliged us to put into a little creek [probably Eighteen Mile creek], 
between the high rocky banks. The wind turned north-west, and it rained 
very hard. We passed the Mohawks in a bay about four miles from here. 
Some of our boats are put into other places as well as they can. My bedding 
is on board the birch canoe of mine, with the Indian somewhere ahead. 
The lake turns very greatly to the north-east, and looks like low land. From 
Presque Isle here is all high land, except a very few spots where boats may 
land. In the evening, sent Oneida to the Mohawk encampment, to learn 
what news here."* 

Although the French may have very early used this route by Chautauqua 
lake to some extent, when passing from Lake Erie to the Allegany and Ohio, 
it is clear that the route by Presque Isle and French creek was finally 
adopted and principally used by them. The French were masters in wood 
craft, and wonderfully familiar with the geography of this remote wilderness ; 
yet it is not strange that they should be in doubt as to which was the better 
route, for it would be difficult for us, even at this day, familiar as we are with 
the premises, to determine which would have been the better communication 
for them. 

In 1754, and soon after the fall of Pittsburgh, Washington being in com- 
mand of a force of English colonists, fought with the French, in the forests 
of Pennsylvania, his two first battles ; in one of which he defeated Mon- 
sieur Jummonville, and in the other [the batde of Fort Necessity], the French 
having been reinforced from Canada, he himself was defeated. July 9th, 
1755, Braddock's large and well disciplined army was defeated by a small 
force of Indians and a little band of gallant Frenchmen, who had the year 
before passed along this county. The train of artillery taken from Braddock 
was transported back, and used in August of the succeeding year, by Mont- 
calm, in the siege of Oswego. Fort Du Quesne was taken from the French 
on the 25th of November, 1758, by an army of about 6,000 men under 
Gen. Forbes ; the French in possession there, upon their approach, having 
fled, some up the Allegany and some down the Ohio. The English under 
Prideaux, in July of the succeeding year, invested Fort Niagara. Prideaux 
having been killed, the siege was continued by the English under Sir William 
Johnson. The Indians from the West, and from along the Allegany, were 
collected together by the French. They, with French soldiers from the 
posts of Venango and Presque Isle, formed a large force. This army was 
conducted along Lake Erie to its outlet, led by D'Aubry, a French officer, 
for the purpose of reinforcing Niagara. They were met by the English in 

* Stone's Life and Times of Sir William Johnson. 



48 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

the town of Lewiston, in this state, on the 24th of July, 1759, where a 
bloody battle was fought, and the French and Indians defeated, and 500 of 
their number slain. Niagara immediately after surrendered to the English. 
Gen. Charles Lee, who became afterwards one of the most distinguished 
officers of the American Revolution, was present at the siege of Niagara, 
and after its surrender passed by Chautauqua county, on a military errand 
down the Allegany, to Fort Du Quesne.* Quebec having been taken by 
the English under Wolf, the French, in November, 1760, surrendered all 
their posts in this part of the continent to the crown of England ; and the 
French, who had for so many years known these western regions, thereafter 
ceased to be seen in company with their red allies along the borders of 
this county. 

The first military expedition of the English over Lake Erie, was made 
immediately after the surrender, by the French, of their possessions in Amer- 
ica. It was dispatched to take possession of Detroit, iSIichillimackinack, 
and other French posts that had been surrendered. ISIajor Rogers, long 
celebrated for his skill in border war, led the expedition. He embarked in 
November, 1760, at the foot of Lake Erie, with 200 rangers in fifteen whale 
boats, and coasted along the southern shore of the lake. On arriving at Erie 
Rogers set out for Pittsburgh. He descended French creek and the Allegany 
river in a canoe. Having obtained reinforcements, he proceeded on his way 
to Detroit, which was surrendered to him immediately on his arrival.t 

PoNTiAc's War. 
The English having become possessed of the chain of forts extending 
from Lake Erie to the Monongahela, now occupied them as outposts. They 
had, however, never purchased the lands upon which they stood of the Indi- 
ans. Pontiac, an Ottawa chief of great abilities, resolved to rescue them 
and all the forts in the West, from English possession. He eftected a union 
of the Western tribes for that purpose. The posts were all to be attacked in 
a single day, their garrisons massacred, and also all the people of the bor- 
der settlements. So well planned was the attack, that nine English posts in 
the West were surprised and captured in a single day, in the month of May, 
1763. Most of the officers and men of these garrisons were tomahawked 
and scalped. Among the posts taken were Presque Isle, Le Boeuf, and 
Venango. Various accounts have been given of the capture of Presque Isle ; 
one, that it was taken through an ingenious stratagem of the Indians ; and 
another, that it was taken after a vigorous assault and firm defense. Nearly 
all the accounts agree that the garrison was destroyed. A few only of the 
garrison at Le Boeuf escaped, through an underground passage having its 
outlet in the swamp adjoining Le Boeuf lake. Only one, it is said, of those 
who escaped survived to reach a civilized settlement. :|; The scattered 

* Irving's ^Vashington, 377, 378. 

t See Pontiac, or the Siege of Detroit ; also Rogers' Journal. 

:;:Penn. Hist. Coll. 



PONTIAC'S WAR. 49 

settlers in Western Pennsylvania were either murdered or obliged to flee 
to the nearest forts. Pontiac, with great energy, led the attack upon Detroit 
in person, and for more than a )^ear it was besieged, during which time 
the garrison greatly suftered. 

During the siege of Detroit, the Indians prosecuted the war at other 
points. There is no doubt that the Seneca Indians cooperated with Pontiac. 
They, on the 14th of September, 1763, attacked a party of over fifty Eng- 
lish soldiers at Devil's Hole, near Niagara Falls, and all were killed, except- 
ing two or three. They also, on the 19th of October of the same year, 
somewhere near the foot of Lake Erie, attacked 160 English soldiers under 
Major Wilkins, on their way to relieve Detroit, who were there in their 
boats. A battle ensued, in which nearly thirty English were killed and 
wounded. Other calamities befel Major Wilkins. A storm overtook him 
on Lake Erie 3 his boats were wrecked; his ammunition was lost; and 
seventy of his men perished. 

On the loth of August, 1764, Gen. Bradstreet, at the head of 3,000 men, 
departed from Fort Erie for Detroit. He passed along the southern shore 
of Lake Erie. At Sandusky and along the Maumee he burned the Indian 
cornfields and villages ; and when he arrived at Detroit, raised the siege, and 
compelled the Indians to lay down their arms. Israel Putnam accompanied 
Bradstreet as colonel of a Connecticut regiment, and passed with him along 
the shore of this county. On the i8th of October, Gen. Bradstreet, with 
1,100 men and several cannon, set out for Fort* Niagara. No detailed 
account of his return march has been preserved. A portion of his batteaux 
are supposed to have been wrecked west of Cleveland. Muskets, swords, 
wrecks of boats and other relics have been found for several miles along the 
coast ; a mound also, filled with human skeletons, supposed to have been of 
his party. As there remained an insufficient number of boats to carry his 
men, the volunteers are said to have marched by land along the south shore 
of the lake, passing Chautauqua county, sustaining themselves on their way 
by hunting. They did not arrive at Fort Niagara until winter, and came 
very "near perishing by hunger on the way.'' 

Pontiac's war was the last great attempt made by the Indians to redeem 
this country from the dominion of the white man ; and at its close, compara- 
tive peace for many years prevailed ; and no event of importance occurred 
in these regions until the Revolutionary war. 

In November, \-]6?>, a. boundary line was established between the whites 
and Indians, at a treaty held at Fort Stanwix, on the Mohawk river. This 
line ascended the Ohio and Allegany rivers to Kittanning ; it then extended 
in an easterly direction to the Susquehanna; thence northerly to Lake 
Ontario. North-westerly of this line were the lands of the Indians, which 
included Chautauqua county. South-east of this line was the territory of the 
whites. Chautoauqua lake was delineated upon the map executed at the 

* Am. Hist. Record, Vol. III., p. 155. Whittlesey's Hist. Account of Ohio, p. 20. 
4 



50 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

time of this treaty. Its outlet into the Allegany river was spelled " Cana- 
wagan;" and one of the streams from our county emptying into Lake Erie 
was spelled " Jadahque."'"'" 

Col. Broadhead's Expedition. 

At the breaking out of the Revolution, the limits of settlement and civili- 
zation had extended somewhat nearer to Chautauqua county ; but no event 
of great importance affecting these regions transpired until near the close of 
the war. Long prior to 1779, the hostile Indians and tories had desolated 
the frontier settlements of New York and Pennsylvania ; to punish them,- 
Washington planned two expeditions. One was to march by the north 
branch of the Susquehanna, against the Indian villages of the Six Nations in 
New York; the other was, at the same time, to proceed up the Allegany, 
under the command of Col. Daniel Broadhead, a gallant and enterprising 
officer, who then commanded at Pittsburgh, and to destroy the villages of the 
Seneca and Munsey Indians, who dwelt along that river and its tributaries, 
and afterwards to unite with the army of Gen. Sullivan in a combined attack 
upon Fort Niagara. On account of the difficulty of providing Col. Broad- 
head with supplies in time, and the want of satisfactory information concern- 
ing the country along the Allegany, the idea of the two expeditions cooper- 
rating with each other was abandoned by Gen. Washington.+ Col. Broadhead, 
however, on the nth of August, 1779, at the head of 605 militia and 
volunteers, and with cfne month's provisions, set out from Pittsburgh, and 
advanced up the Allegany river to the mouth of the Mahoning. Here their 
provisions were transferred from the boats to pack-horses; and the army 
proceeded on to Brady's Bend, in Clarion county, Pennsylvania. Here an 
advanced party of Col. Broadhead's force, consisting of fifteen white men 
and eight Delaware Indians, under the command of Lieut. Harding, fell in 
with thirty or forty Indian warriors coming down the river in seven canoes. 
The Indians landed and stripped off their shirts ; a sharp contest ensued ; 
the Indians were defeated, and five of their number were killed and several 
wounded ; and all their canoes and contents fell into the hands of Col. 
Broadhead. Lieut. Harding had three men wounded, including one of the 
Delaware Indians. 

Capt. Samuel Brady, who was in this encounter, and whose name has 
been given to this locality, was born at Shippensburgh, Penn., 1758. He 
was at the siege of Boston, and a lieutenant at the massacre of Paoli. 
Having lost both his father and brother by the hands of Indians, he took an 
oath of vengeance against the race. Having been ordered to Fort Pitt with 
the rest of his regiment under General Broadhead, it gave him an oppor- 
tunity to fulfill his vow. He was generally placed in command of scouting 
parties sent into the Indian country from Fort Pitt ; and being an athletic, 
active and courageous man, familiar with the woods and Indian warfare, he 

* Doc. Hist. N. v., pp. 587-91. 

t Letter from Washington to Col. Broadhead, April 21, 1779. 



BRITISH AND INDIAN EXPEDITION. 5 1 

became the hero of many bold exploits in the north-east part of the valley 
of the Ohio, and a serious trouble to his Indian foes in those parts. An 
account of his daring adventures and hair-breadth escapes would fill a book. 
They gave his name permanently to many localities in Western Pennsylvania 
and Ohio. Jonathan Zane was also in this engagement, and was wounded. 
He was a celebrated scout and great hunter, and piloted many expeditions 
against the Indians.'''' 

Colonel Broadhead's command continued to march up the river, as far as 
the Indian village of Buckaloons, on the flats near Irvineton, at the mouth 
of the Broken Straw, in Warren county. The Indians were driven from their 
village, and retreated to the hills in the rear. The town was destroyed, and 
a breastwork of trees thrown up.f A garrison of forty men was left to 
guard the provisions; and the remainder of the force proceeded to the 
Indian town of Conawago, which was found to have been deserted eighteen 
months before. Conawago was burnt, and the troops marched still further 
up the river, past Kinjua to Yohroonwago, a place about four miles below 
the southern boundary of the state of New York. Here they found a painted 
image, or war post, clothed in dog skin. The troops remained there three 
days, burning this and other towns in the vicinity and destroying the exten- 
sive cornfields that they found there. Col. Broadhead believed, from the 
great quantity of corn found, and from the number of new houses which 
were built, and being built of square and round logs and of framed timbers, 
that the whole Seneca and Munsey nations intended to collect there. Yoh- 
roonwago was situated where, some years afterwards, Cornplanter made 
his residence, and where an Indian village grew up, called De-o-no-sa-da-ga, 
meaning, in English, burned houses. According to Mrs. Jemison, Colonel 
Broadhead's troops ascended the Allegany as far as Clean Point, and burnt 
other Indian towns on French creek, including Maghinquechahocking, a 
village of thirty-five large houses. Col. Broadhead arrived at Fort Pitt, on 
his return, September 14th, 1779; having burned ten Indian villages, con- 
taining one hiuidrcd and sixty-five houses, having destroyed more than five 
hundred acres of Indian corn, and taken three thousand dollars' worth of fiurs 
and other plunder, and having himself lost neither man nor beast.;': 

British and Indian Expedition over Chautauqua Lake in 1782. 
The expedition of Sullivan and Broadhead, and the destruction of the In- 
dian towns and cornfields, had the effect to throw the Indians upon the 

* Butterfield's Hist, of Crawford's' Expedition, 128, 129. 

t Sometime afterwards, Major Morrison, who became a distinguished citizen of Lexing- 
ton, Ky., returned to the mouth of the Broken Straw to reconnoiter, and narrowly escaped 
with his life. He had stooped to drink from the creek, when a rifle ball from an Indian's 
gun splashed the water into his face.— /'«. Hist. Collection, 653. The remains of this 
stockade were very plainly to be seen a few years ago. They were situate about half a mile 
above the crossing of the Broken Straw, on the road to Warren, on a high bluff on the Alle- 
gany river, and commanded an extensive view up and down the river.— Z*?-. Wni. A. Irtine. 

:J: Broadhead's Rep. to T. Pickering, Sept. 16, 1799. 



52 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

hands of their British employes for support. Daring the succeeding winter, 
want and disease followed, and swept many of them away; yet it did not 
put a stop to their inroads. Exasperated by their misfortunes, maurauding 
parties of Indians, led by Brant and Cornplanter''' and other chiefs, supported 
by their allies, the tories, during the remainder of the war, visited the front- 
ier settlenients of New York and Pennsylvania, from the Mohawk to the 
Wyoming Valley ; burning the houses of the settlers, killing many, and car- 
rying others into captivity. Fort Niagara had usually been the winter 

* Gy-ant-\va-chia, the Cornplanter, who exercised his rude authority in these regions, 
was a celebrated Seneca warrior and chieftain, and the rival of the Indian orator Red 
Jacket. His sagacity, eloquence and courage, for a long time justly gave him great influ- 
ence with his tribe. He was born about the year 1732, at Conawaugus, on the Genesee 
river. His father was a white man named John O'Bail, or Abeel ; his mother was a 
Seneca woman. Ga-ne-odi-yo, or Handsome Lake, the Prophet, and Ta-wan-ne-ars, or 
Blacksnake, were his half-brothers. When about twenty-three years of age, he first 
appeared as a warrior with the army of French and Indians which defeated Braddock in 
1755 ; and he probably afterwards participated in the principal Indian engagements during 
the Revolution, fighting against the colonies. He is said to have been present at Wyoming 
and Cherry Valley, and was with Brant at the head of his tribe in opposing Sullivan's 
expedition. He also afterwards led the Senecas in the invasion of the Mohawk Valley, 
when, it is said, he made his father, John O'Bail, a prisoner, and after marching him 
several miles with the usual Indian stoicism, without disclosing himself, he abruptly, and 
in the sententious manner of the Indian, announced his relationship, and gave O'Bail his 
choice, to live with him and his red followers, where he would support him at ease in his 
old age, or to return to his home on the Mohawk. He chose the latter, and Cornplanter 
sent his young men who conducted him back in safety. Cornplanter was an able man, 
and also honest and truthful ; he acted a most conspicuous part in the treaties and transac- 
tions between the Indians and the United States, subsequent to the Revolutionary war, 
and he saw, at its close, that the true policy of the Indian was to recognize the growing 
power of the United States, and bury the hatchet. He advised his tribe to this course, 
in opposition to the counsels of Brant and Red Jacket, and during the Indian wars that 
followed, he remained the true and steadfast friend of the United States. In the last war 
with England, when about eighty-four years old, accompanied by 200 warriors of his 
nation, he called upon Col. Samuel Drake, at Franklin, and offered his services to the 
United States, which were declined for the want of authority to muster Indians into the 
service. A considerable number of his tribe, however, led by his son Henry Abeel, who 
held a commission as major, acted during the war as scouts, and did good service to the 
United States. Cornplanter, in his life-time, often visited Chautauqua county ; and years 
before its settlement by the first white man, he thoroughly understood the geography of its 
lakes and streams. After the Revolution he resided principally at Jen-nes-a-da-ga, his 
village, on the Allegany river, in Warren county, and, for the remainder of his life, a 
period of fifty years, became thoroughly identified with this, region of country. Corn- 
planter died at Jennesadaga, aged about 105 years: A monument was erected in 1866, 
with appropriate ceremonies, under the superintendence of Judge Samuel P. Johnson, of 
Warren, Pa., and at the expense of the state of Pennsylvania, over his remains; upon 
which the following inscriptions were lettered : ''John O'Bail, alias Cornplanter, diM at 
Cornplanter toiun, February 1.8, 1836, aged about 100 years, chief of the Seneca tribe, and 
principal chief of the Six Nations, from the period of the Revolutionary war to the time of 
his death. Distinguished for talents, courage, eloquence, sobriety and love of his tribe and 
race, to whose welfare he devoted his time, his energies and his means, during a long and 
eventful life. " 



BRITISH AND INDIAN EXPEDITION. 53 

quarters of Brant, Guy Johnson and the Butlers and other tories who had 
taken refuge in Canada. It now became the headquarters of the Indians 
also, who had been driven from the Genesee and Allegany, and the point at 
which all of these maurauding parties of Indians and tories were accustomed 
to assemble, and from which they took their departure upon these hostile 
incursions ; and to which they returned, laden with spoil and scalps, and 
with such men, women and children as they had made prisoners, compelling 
them in some instances to run the gauntlet, and subjecting them to other 
cruelties. 

In the fall of 1781, Col. Broadhead was superseded in the command at 
Pittsburgh by Col. William Irvine, who continued to be the commanding 
officer there until the close of the Revolution. 

' Col. Irvine demands more than a passing notice. He was born in Ireland. 
Having studied medicine and surgery, he received the appointment of surgeon 
of a British ship of war. During his service in the French and Quebec wars, 
having acquired a knowledge of this country, he resolved to remove hither. 
After the close of the war, in 1764, he became a citizen of Carlisle, Pennsyl- 
vania. At the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, he was appointed 
colonel of the sixth Pennsylvania regiment, and soon after was^made a pris- 
oner while serving with the American forces in Canada, and was not exchanged 
until about two years afterwards. In 1779, he was commissioned a brigadier- 
general. After having distinguished himself at the batde of Monmouth, he 
was appointed commander of the Western Department, with his headquarters 
at Fort Pitt. He continued in this command until the close of the Revolu- 
tion ; and during the time he strengthened and repaired Fort Pitt, and placed 
this exposed frontier in a state of defense ; and, by his vigilance and ability, 
preserved it, in a great measure, from the ravages of the Indians. His name 
is inseparably connected with all the important military events occurring 
in the North-west. After his appointment, he acquired much knowledge of 
the country drained by the Allegany and its tributaries, and also of the whole 
North-west. He stood high in the esteem of Gen. Washington, and was 
greatly respected for his integrity, ability, and his faithful performance of the 
public trusts confided to him. After the Revolution, he held many positions 
of importance and honor. It was through his advice and influence that the 
state of Pennsylvania acquired dominion of the tract of land known as the 
Triangle, which gave to that state a considerable lake coast, including the 
harbor of Erie. The legislature of that state, as an acknowledgment of the 
many valuable services rendered by Gen. Irvine, presented him with a tract 
of land in the county of Warren, at the mouth of the Broken Straw, where 
Irvineton is now situated, and where his esteemed grandson. Dr. Wm. A. 
Irvine, now resides. Gen. Irvine died in Philadelphia the 29th of July, 1804. 

There is reason to believe that, while Gen. Irvine was in command at 
Pittsburgh, an expedition was organized at Fort Niagara for an attack on 
Fort Pitt; and that, in 1782, a large party of Bridsh and Indians proceeded 
so far as to actually embark in canoes upon Chautauqua lake, where the 



54 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

expedition was abandoned on account of the supposed strength of Fort Pitt, 
and was resolved into small war parties, one of which burned Hannastown. 
The party which burned this place, and which may have constituted a part 
of the force assembled around Chautauqua lake, consisted of about 60 white 
refuf^ees and 300 Indians, led by the celebrated Seneca Chief Guzasuttea, 
sometimes called Kiasola.'*' Hannastown was situated in Westmoreland 
county, in Pennsylvania, and was the first place where courts were held west 
of the Allegany mountains. During the Revolutionary war it was an impor- 
tant post in Western Pennsylvania. It was entirely destroyed by this party 
of whites and Indians in July, 1782. A considerable number of people 
residing in Hannastown and vicinity were either killed or carried prisoners 
to Canada. After the close of the war the captives were delivered up, and 
they returned to their homes.t 

Washington's Correspondence with Gen. Irvine. 
Col. Irvine was subsequently promoted to the rank of general ; and he 
afterwards, in the course of a correspondence with Gen. Washington, alludes 
to this expedition, giving many other interesting particulars respecting Chau- 
tauqua county, which had before that time been visited by him. Commu- 
nication between the waters of Lake Erie and the Ohio river had been a 
subject of inquiry with certain distinguished gentlemen; and Gen. Wash- 
ino-ton, for information upon that subject, addressed a letter to Gen. Irvine, 
dated January 10, 1788, inquiring of him : — i. As to the face of the country 
between the sources of canoe navigation of the Cuyahoga, which empties 
itself into Lake Erie, and the Big Beaver, and between the Cuyahoga and the 
Muskingum. 2. As to the distance between the waters of the Cuyahoga 
and each of the two rivers above mentioned. 3. Whether it would be prac- 
ticable, and not expensive, to cut a canal between the Cuyahoga and either 
of the above rivers, so as to open a communication between the waters of 
Lake Erie and the Ohio. 4. Whether there is any more direct, practicable 
and easy communication than these between the waters of Lake Erie and 
the Ohio, by which the fur and peltry of the upper country can be trans- 
ferred.:}: In answer to this letter, Gen. Irvine replied as follows : 

"New York, Jan. 27, 1788. 

"Sir: I have been honored by your letter of the nth instant. I need 
not tell you how much pleasure it would give me to answer your queries to 
your satisfaction ; but I am persuaded that no observation short of an actual 
survey will enable you to gratify your correspondents abroad (particularly in 
relation to your third query), with such accuracy as to state anything posi- 
tively. I will, however, relate to you such facts as have come within my 
own knowledge, as well as accounts of persons whom I think are to be con- 
fided in. 

" From a place called Mahoning, on the Big Beaver, to the head of the 
Falls of Cuyahoga, it is about thirty miles. Although the country is hilly, 

* Craig's Hist, of Pittsburgh. + Penn. Hist. Coll., title Cumberland Co., 633. 

JSparl<.s' Washington's Writings, Vol. IX., 303. 



WASHINGTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH IRVINE. 55 

it is not mountainous. The principal elevation is called Beech Ridge, which 
is not high, though extensive, being several miles over, with a flat and moist 
country on the summit, and some places inclining to be marshy. The diffi- 
culty of traveling is much increased by the beech roots with which the tim- 
ber is heavily incumbered. The Cuyahoga above the Great Falls is rapid 
and rocky, and is interrupted by several lesser falfs on the branch which 
heads towards that part of the Big Beaver called the Mahoning. This infor- 
mation I had from an intelligent person then loading a sloop at the mouth 
of the Cuyahoga for Detroit. He added, that an old Indian assured him 
that it was only fifteen miles across from the Mahoning to a navigable creek 
a few miles east of the Cuyahoga ; that he had employed the Indian to clear 
a road, and when that was done he intended to explore the country himself. 
I presume this service was not performed, as this gentleman, man and his 
horses, were all destroyed, and his store-house burned, by the Indians. 
Captain Bady, a partisan officer, informed me that the sources of the Big 
Beaver, Muskingum, and a large deep creek which empties into Lake Erie, 
fifteen or twenty miles above Cuyahoga, are within a few miles of each other 
(perhaps four or five), and the country level. Several other persons of cred- 
ibility and information have assured me that the portage between Muskingum 
and the waters falling into the lake, in wet seasons, does not exceed fifteen 
miles ; some say two, but I believe the first-named distance is the safest to 
credit. 

" At Mahoning, and for many miles above and below, I found the course 
of the Big Beaver to be east and west, from which I conclude this stream to 
be nearest to the main branch of the Cuyahoga ; and on comparing the 
several accounts, I am led to think that the shortest communication betw-een 
the waters of Beaver, Muskingum and Lake Erie, will be east and west of 
Cuyahoga. 

" I have also been informed by a gentleman, that the sources of Grand 
river, and a branch of the Beaver called Shenango, are not twelve miles 
apart, the country hilly. I know the Shenango to be a boatable stream at 
its confluence with the Beaver, twenty miles from the Ohio. 

" I dropped down the Beaver from Mahoning to the Great Falls (about 
seven miles from the Ohio) in a canoe, on the first of July, 1784, without the 
least difficulty. At this season all the western waters are remarkably low ; 
and although some ripples appear, there is nothing to cause any material 
obstruction. The falls, at first view, appear impracticable at low water ; 
indeed, too difficult at any season ; nevertheless, they have been passed at 
all seasons. I met two men in a flat-bottomed boat a few miles above the 
falls, who had carried their cargo half a mile on shore, and then warped up 
their empty boat. They set with poles the rest of the way to Mahoning. 
The boat carried one and a half tons ; but in some seasons there will be 
water enough for loads of five tons. Canoes, it is said, have ascended 
twenty-five miles higher than the Mahoning, which certainly must be near 
one branch of Muskingum, as it continues in a westerly course ; and the 
most easterly branch of that river, it is agreed by all who have been in that 
quarter, approaches very near to the waters falling into the lake ; all agree, 
likewise, that the rivers north of the dividing ridge are deep and smooth, the 
country being level. 

" Following the Indian path, which generally keeps in • the low ground 
along the river, the distance from the mouth of the Big Beaver to Mahoning 
is about fifty miles; which, from the computed distance thence to Cuyahoga, 



56 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

gives eighty miles in all. But I am certain a much better road will be found 
by k-eeping along the ground which divides the waters of the Big and Little 
Beavers. 

" But this digression I must beg your pardon for. To your further query 
I think I shall be able to afford you more satisfaction, as I can point out a 
more practicable and ejfsy communication, by which the articles of trade you 
mention can be transported from Lake Erie, than by any other hitherto 
mentioned route; at least until canals are cut. This is by a branch of the 
Allegany, which is navigable by boats of considerable burthen, to within 
eight miles of Lake Erie. I examined the greater part of the communica- 
tion myself, and such parts as I did not, was done by persons before and 
subsequent to my being there, whose accounts can scarce be doubted. 

"■ From Fort Pitt to Venango by land, on the Lidian and French path, is 
computed to be ninety miles; by water it is said to be one-third more. But as 
you know the country so far, I will forbear giving a more particular account 
of it ; but proceed to inform you that I set out and traveled by land from 
Venango, though frequently on the beach or within high-water mark, (the 
country being in many places impassable for a horse,) to a confluence of a 
branch of the river called Coniwango, which is about sixty-five miles from 
French creek. The general course of the Allegany between these two 
creeks is north-east. The course of the Coniwango is very near due north; 

it is about yards wide. It is upwards of yards, thirty miles from 

its confluence with the Allegany at a fork. It is deep and not very rapid. 
To the Coniwango fork of the Allegany, the navigation is rather better than 
from Venango to Fort Pitt. I traveled about twenty-five miles a day. Two 
Indians pushed a loaded canoe, and encamped with me every night. As the 
Coniwango is crooked, I think it must be forty miles from the Allegany to 
its fork by water. One of the forks continues in a northern direction about 
seven miles to a beautiful lake. The lake is noticed on Hutchins' map, by 
the name of Lake Jadaque. The map is badly executed. It extends, from 
the best information I could obtain, to within nine miles of Lake Erie ; it is 
from one to two miles broad, and deep enough for navigation. I was taken 
sick, which prevented my journey over to Lake Erie. 

" The following account I had from a chief of the Seneca tribe, as well as 
from a white man named Mathews, a Virginian, who says that he was taken 
prisoner by the Indians at Kanawha, in 1777. He has lived with the 
Indians since that time. As far as I could judge, he appeared to be well 
acquainted with this part of the country. I employed him as interpreter. 
He stated that from the upper end of Jadaqua lake, it is not more than nine 
miles along the path or road to Lake Erie, and that there was formerly a 
wagon road between the two lakes. 

"The Indian related, that he was about fourteen years old when the 
French went first to establish a post at Fort Pitt ; that he accompanied an 
uncle who was a chief warrior, on that occasion, who attended the French ; 
that the head of Lake Jadaque was the spot where the detachment em- 
barked ; that they fell down to Fort Duquesne without any obstruction, in 
large canoes, with all the artillery, stores, provisions, etc.* He added that 

*The first expedition sent by the French against Fort Pitt, was that commanded by 
Captain Contrecoeur, in the spring succeeding the cutting out of the Portage road, and 
which compelled the capitulation of Pittsburgh, in April, 1 754, an account of which is in 
the foregoing pages. 



WASHINGTON'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH IRVINE. 57 

French creek was made the medium of communication afterwards ; why, he 
could not tell, but always wondered at it, as he expressed himself, knowing 
the other to be so much better. The Seneca related many things to corrobo- 
rate and convince me of its' truth. He stated that he was constantly em- 
ployed by the British during "the late war, and had the rank of captain; and 
that he commanded the party which was defeated oti the Allegany by Colonel 
Broadhead ; that in the year 1782, a detachment composed of 300 British 
and 500 Indians, was formed, and actually embarked in canoes on Lake 
Jadaque, with twelve pieces of artillery, with an avowed intention of attack- 
ing Fort Pitt. This expedition, he says, was laid aside, in consequence of 
the reported repairs and strength of Fort Pitt, carried by a spy from the 
neighborhood of the fort. They then contented themselves with the usual 
mode of warfare, by sending small parties on the frontier, one of which 
burned Hannastown. I remember very well that, in August, 1782, we 
picked up at Fort Pitt a number of canoes, which had* drifted down the 
river; and I received repeated accounts, in June and July, from a Canadian 
who deserted to me, as well as from some friendly Indians, of this arma- 
ment ; but I never knew before then where they had assembled.* 

" Both ]\Iathews and the Seneca desired to conduct me, as a further proof 
ot their veracity, to the spot, on the shore of Lake Jadaque, where lies one 
of the four-pnunders left by the Firench. Major Finley, who has been in 
that country since I was, informed me that he had seen the gun. Mathews 
was very desirous that I should explore the eSst fork of the Coniwango; but 
my sickness prevented me. His account is, that it is navigable about thirty 
miles up from the junction of the tiorth and west branch, to a swamp vvhich 
is about half a mile wide; that on the north side of this swamp a large creek 
has its source, called "Catterauque " [Cattaraugus], which falls into Lake 
Erie, forty miles from the foot of this lake; that he has several times been 
of parties who crossed over, carrying the canoes across the swamps. He 
added, that the Catterauque watered much the finest country between 
Buffalo and Presque Isle. 

" A letter has been published lately in a Philadelphia newspaper, written 
by one of the gentlemen employed in running the boundary line between 
New York and Pennsylvania, which fully supports these accounts. As well as 
I can remember, his words are: 'We pushed up a large branch of the 
Allegany, called Chataghque (so he spells the name), which is from one 
half mile to two or three wide, and near twenty long. The country is level, 
and the land good, to a great extent, on both sides. We ascended the 
dividing ridge between the two lakes. From this place a most delightful 
prospect was open before us.' He then dwells on the scene before him and 
future prospects, not to the present purpose; but concludes by saying that 
the waters of Lake Erie cannot be brought to the Ohio, as the summit of 
the dividing ridge is 700 feet higher than Lake Erie. 'We traveled,' he con- 

* In 1822, William Benius, in making an attempt to deepen the channel of the outlet of 
Chautauqua lake, in that villaj;e, discovered a row of piles averaging four inches in diame- 
ter, and from two and one-half to three and one-half feet in length, driven firmly into the 
earth across the bed of the stream. Axe marks were plainly visible on each of the four sides 
of those piles, the wood of vvhich was sound. The tops of these piles were worn smooth, 
and did not appear, when discovered, to reach above the bed of the stream. — Hon. E. T. 
Foote. Warren s History of Cliaittaiiqua County. Other evidences existed indicating the 
presence of armed forces within the county anterior to its settlement. 
t 



58 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

tinues, 'along the Indian path to the lake, which is only nine miles, though 
very crooked. A good wagon road may be made, which will not exceed 
seven miles, as the hill is not steep.' 

"I regret that this detail has been extended to so great a length, for I fear 
that it will rather weary than afford you satisfaction. Being obliged to 
blend the information of* others, with that which came within my own 
observation, in some degree renders it unavoidable. 

"I have the honor to be, with great respect, 

" Your most obedient servant, 

"William Irvine." 

This letter was copied by Dr. William A. Irvine, from the original lent to 
his father, Callender Irvine, by Judge Washington; and it contains perhaps 
the first written description extant of Chautauqua lake and outlet. Chau- 
tauqua lake was then rarely visited, except by the Seneca, who came there 
to hunt, and to capture the excellent fish, for which it is now so justly cele- 
brated, and which its pure waters yielded in great abundance. The few 
white men that wandered as far as its shores, found it a secluded lake, 
buried in the heart of the wilderness, where the wild fowl gathered unmo- 
lested, and where the howl of the wolf could be heard nightly among its 
neighboring hills, and the lonely cry of the loon across its waters. Although 
the lake was rarely seen by thbse who could appreciate its beauties, yet it 
was perhaps then more beautiful than now. In spring, the margin of every 
inlet and cove, and its whole shore, lay concealed beneath a mass of green 
foliage, that rolled back in leafy billows on every side, to the summit of the 
surrounding hills, and which the frosts in autumn changed to those bright 
and varied hues that belong only to an American forest. Even the rough 
French and English voyagers that sometimes may have traversed it when it 
was a deep solitude, could not have beheld, without admiration, its clear 
waters and beautiful shores. 

General Washington answered this letter from General Irvine, as follows : 

"Mount Vernon, i 8th February, 1788. 

" Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt of your favor of the 27 th ult., and 
to thank you for the information contained in it. As a communication be- 
tween the waters of Lake Erie and those of Ohio is a matter which promises 
great public utiUty, and as every step towards the investigation of it may be 
considered as promoting the general interest of our country, I need make 
no apology to you for any trouble that I have given upon the subject. 

" I am fully sensible that no account can be sufficiently accurate to hazard 
any operations upon, without an actual survey. My object in wishing a solu- 
tion of the queries proposed to you, was, that I might be enabled to return 
answers, in some degree satisfactory, to several gentlemen of distinction in 
foreign countries, who have appealed to me for information on the subject, in 
behalf of others who wish to engage in the fur trade, and at the same time 
gratify my own curiosity, and assist me in forming a judgment of the prac- 
ticability of opening communication, should it ever be seriously in con- 
templation. 

" I. Could a channel once be opened to convey the fur and peltry from 
the lakes into the Eastern country, its advantages would be so obvious as to 



WASHINGTON S CORRESPONDENCE WITH IRVINE. 59 

induce an opinion, that it would in a short time become the channel of con- 
veyance for much the greatest part of the commodities brought from thence. 

" 2. The trade which has been carried on between New York and that 
quarter, is subject to great inconvenience from the length of the communica- 
tion, number of portages, and, at seasons, from ice ; yet it has, notwithstand- 
ing, been prosecuted with success. 

" I shall feel myself much obliged by any further information that you may 
find time and inclination to communicate to me on this head. I am, sir, 
with great esteem, your most obedient. Sec, 

" George Washington." 

General Irvine afterwards wrote to Gen. Washington upon the subject, as 
follows : 

"New York, Oct. 6th, 1788. 

" Sir : I do myself the honor to enclose a sketch of the waters of the 
Allegany, which approach near to Lake Erie. It is taken from an actual 
survey made by the persons who ran the line between the states of New York 
and Pennsylvania. These gentlemen say that the main branch of the Alle- 
gany falls in Pennsylvania, and that there is only seven or eight miles land 
carriage between it and the head of a branch of Susquehanna, called Tioga, 
which is navigable for large boats at most seasons. The navigation of 
Caniwago, I know, is much preferable to French creek. 

" I have the honor to be with the highest respect, sir, your excellency's 
most obedient and humble servant, Wm. Irvine." 

This letter was never before published. It is found bound in a volume of 
the Washington Papers, and is entered in an index of those papers made by 
Rev. Jared Sparks. It was probably written to Gen. Washington by the 
direction of Gen. Irvine. Accompanying this letter was an accurate map of 
"Chautaugh" lake, and " Canewango river;" also the Chautauqua Creek 
portage, from Lake Erie to Chautauqua lake, and also the portage to Le 
Boeuf, and other localities. Washington replied to Gen. Irvine, as follows : 

Mount Vernon, 31st October, 1788. 

" Dear Sir : The letter with which you favored me, dated the 6th instant, 
enclosing a sketch of waters near the line which separates your state from 
New York, came duly to hand, for which I offer you my acknowledgments 
and thanks. 

" The extensive inland navigation with which this country abounds, and 
the easy communication which many of the rivers afford, with the amazing 
territory to the westward of us, will certainly be productive of infinite advan- 
tage to the Atlantic states, if the legislatures of those through which they pass 
have liberality and public spirit enough to improve them. For my part, I 
\vish sincerely that every door to that country may be set wide open, that the 
commercial intercourse with it may be rendered as free and easy as possible. 
This, in my judgment, is the best, if not the only cement that can bind those 
people to us for any length of time, and we shall, I think, be deficient in 
foresight and wisdom if we neglect the means to effect it. Our interest is so 
much in unison with the policy of the measure, that nothing but that ill-aimed 
and misapplied parsimony and contracted way of thinking, which intermingles 
so much in all our public councils, can counteract it. 

" If the Chautauqua lake, at the head of the Connewango river, approx- 



60 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

imates Lake Erie as nearly as it is laid down in the draft you sent me, it 
presents a very short portage indeed between the two, and access to all those 
above the latter. I am, etc., George Washington." 

It will be seen by this correspondence, that Washington, at that early day, 
clearly foresS,w the great importance of obtaining a ready communication 
between the waters of the East and the West, which was then recjuired only 
to transport the few furs and peltries collected by the Indians and trappers 
in the uncivilized western regions ; but which, forty-five years later, was 
needed to bear a tide of emigration that has constantly since then been pour- 
ing into the valley of the Mississippi, and to carry back to the East from that 
fruitful territory surplus products so vast as to require the building of the 
Erie Canal. 

Survey of the State Boundary Line. 

The original boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania extended 
from the north-west corner of New Jersey, along the center of the Delaware 
river, to the 42d degree of north latitude, and thence west to Lake Erie. 
This line gave to the state of Pennsylvania only four or five miles of coast 
on Lake Erie, and no harbor. Samuel Holland, on the part of New York, 
and David Rittenhouse, on the part of Pennsylvania, were appointed com- 
missioners, Novembers, 1774, to run this boundary; and in December of 
that year they erected a stone monument on the 42d parallel of latitude, upon 
a small island in the Delaware river, as the north-east corner of the state of 
Pennsylvania. The severity of the season prevented the further prosecution 
of the survey that year. The Revolution soon after commenced, and the 
work was postponed. In 1781, New York released to the general govern- 
ment the lands to which it had claim, lying west of a meridian extending 
through the west extremity of Lake Ontario. This line became the western 
boundary of Chautauqua county ; and these lands constituted the tract since 
known as the Triangle. They were sold by the government of the United 
States, in 1792, to the state of Pennsylvania, and gave to that state 202,180 
acres of land, thirty miles of coast on Lake Erie, and an excellent harbor at 
Erie. The southern boundary of New York was run by David Rittenhouse, 
Andrew Ellicott and others, commissioners, in 1785, 1786 and 1787. The 
meridian line which forms the western boundary of our county and state, was 
run in 1788 and 1789, by Andrew Ellicott, the surveyor-general of the United 
States. An initial monument was erected by him near the shore of Lake 
Erie, on which was placed the following inscription : On the east side — 
"Meridian of the we§t end of Lake Ontario, state of New York, 18 miles 
and 525 chains from the northern boundary of Pennsylvania, August 23, 
1790." On the west side — " Territory annexed to the state of Pennsylvania. 
North latitude 42° 16' 32". Variation, 25' west." This monument having 
been partially destroyed, and what remained of it endangered by the encroach- 
ments of Lake Erie, it was replaced in pursuance of an act of the legislature, 
with appropriate ceremonies, September 15, 1869, by a new monument, 



INDIAN WARS AND THE CONCLUSION. 6 1 

placed 440 feet south of the origuial monument, composed of Quincy 
granite, two feet wide and about eight inches thick. It has on its east and 
west faces a copy of the inscription on the corresponding faces of the original 
monument, and on its north and south faces the following inscription : North 
face— "1869, latitude of this state, 42 deg., 15 min., 56 sec. 9; longitude, 
79 deg., 45 min., 54 sec. 4. Variation, 2 deg. 35 sec. west. South face— 
" 1869. Erected by the states of New York and Pennsylvania, 440 feet 
south of a monument now dilapidated, on which were the inscriptions on the 
east and west faces of this monument." William Evans represented the state 
of Pennsylvania, and John V. L. Pruyn, George R. Perkins, S. B. Wool worth 
and George W. Patterson, represented the state of New York. 

The state of Pennsylvania held treaties with the Indians : one at Fort 
Stanwix, in 1784, and another at Fort Harmer, in 1789, at which last place 
the chiefs present agreed that the said state of Pennsylvania shall, and may 
at any time they may think proper, survey, dispose of, and settle all that part 
of the aforesaid country, lying and being west of a line running along the 
middle of the Connewango river, from its confluence with the Allegany river 
into " Chadochque Lake ■" thence along the middle of said lake, to the 
north end of the same ; thence a meridian line from the north end of the 
said lake, to the margin or shore of Lake Erie. These treaties, it was thought, 
secured the title to the Triangle. Cornplanter sustained the title thus 
acquired, but a majority of the Iroquois, and their master spirit the Mohawk 
Chief Brant, were bitterly opposed, as he was in favor of restricting the whites 
to the territory lying east of the Allegany and Ohio, and the settlement of 
the Triangle was never fully acquiesced in by the Indians. 

Indian Wars, and the Conclusion. 

The disasters that attended the celebrated expedition of Gen. Harmer 
against the Indians in 1790, encouraged them to renewed acts of hostility; 
and in the spring of 1791, the setdements along the Allegany river above 
Pittsburgh were repeatedly visited by them, and women and children often 
massacred; even the Triangle suffered from their hostile incursions. The 
defeat of St. Clair by the Indians, which occurred in November, 1791, 
rendered them still more bold and ferocious ; and for a year thereafter great 
alarm extended along the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania; and not 
until the successful termination of Wayne's expedition into the Indian 
country, were the frontier settlements entirely freed from danger of Indian 
hostihty. On the 20th of August, 1794, Gen. Wayne completely defeated 
the Indians in a general battle on the Maumee river. , This decisive victory 
entirely put an end to their power for further harm to the border settlers. 
By a treaty made at Greenville with the different tribes of Western Indians, 
on the 30th of July, 1795, the greater part of the territory of Ohio was 
ceded to the United States, and a long period of border war ended, and 
peace for the first time established in these Western wilds which had never 
known any other condition than that of continued savage and relendess strife. 



62 . HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

Chautauqua county, before this treaty, had been a deep soHtude, far dis- 
tant from the most advanced outposts of permanent settlement; yet often 
the scene of warHke demonstration. Fleets filled with armed and veteran 
Frenchmen had passed along its shores; Beaujen, the gallant Frenchman, 
who led the handful of his countrymen that defeated Braddock; St. Pierre, 
La Force, and Joncaire — names that have become celebrated in the history 
of the French occupation in America, were once familiar with this county ; 
and the war-path of veritable savage warriors armed with tomahawk and 
scalping-knife, may have led through its forests ; and later, during the Amer- 
ican Revolution, it is probable that an armed force of British and Indians 
had been borne upon the waters of our beautiful lake. But this treaty 
suddenly opened the West to receive the tide of emigration that has not, 
from that time to this day, ceased to flow. 

The state of Ohio, September 5th, 1795, conveyed to the "Connecticut 
Land Company" the Western Reserve, and on the 4th of July, 1796, the 
first permanent settlement of Northern Ohio was made at Conneaut, in Ash- 
tabula county. The fall following, a settlement was commenced at Cleve- 
land, where it was designed by the proprietors of the Western Reserve to 
establish the capital of a new state, to be called " New Connecticut,'' under 
the mistaken idea, that by the Constitution of the United States, the rights 
they had acquired by the purchase of the soil gave them political jurisdiction 
also, and authority to found a state. Emigration from the east at first pressed 
towards the Western Reserve, passing by the Holland Purchase, the lands of 
which had not yet been put into market. When these lands were offered 
for sale (as the Holland Land Company sold theirs for $2.50 and $3.00 per 
acre on a credit, while Western lands were sold at a less price for cash), those 
who possessed the ready means, and were able to pay at once for their farms, 
sought more attractive homes in the fertile prairies and flowery openings of 
Ohio and the West ; consequently the first settlers of the Holland Purchase, 
and those particularly of the county of Chautauqua, were the poorest class 
of people — men who often expended their last dollar to procure the article 
for their land. Chautauqua county then was densely covered with a majes- 
tic forest of the largest growth, which cast its dark shadows everywhere — 
over hills and valleys, and along the streams and borders of the lakes. No- 
where in northern latitudes could be found trees so tall and large ; and while 
none could behold, without awe and pleasure, the grandeur and grace of the^e 
mighty woods, yet a home here, to cope with and subdue them, promised a 
life-time of toil and privation ; and no one felt invited hither but strong and 
hardy pioneers — men of the frontier who were accustomed to wield the axe 
and handle the rifle ; who could grapple with the forest, and rough it in the 
wilderness, and think it ease ; who could reap the thin harvest, and live upon 
the coarse and often scanty fare of the woods, and call it plenty ; conse- 
quently the first settlers of this county were mostly from the backwoods 
region, at the western verge of settlement. They brought with them strong 
arms, stout hearts, and a thorough knowledge of tlie rude expedients of life 



PRELIMINARY HISTORY. . 6^ 

in the woods. They were a body of picked young men, possessing vigorous 
bodies and practical minds. Among their number were often men of marked 
ability, whose talents would honor any station. Although the most of them 
possessed but little of the learning of books and schools, not a itw were 
cultivated and accomplished — men and women of refinement and education, 
whose attainments were such as to prepare them to adorn any society. The 
most of the early settlers were, however, educated in a true sense : they 
possessed that learning which, in the situation in which it was their fortune 
to be cast, best fitted them for a life of usefulness, and enabled them to con- 
tribute their full share in the great work of progress and improvement allotted 
to them. They were skillful adepts in their calling ; accomplished masters 
in wood craft, and in all that pertained to the formidable task of preparing the 
way for the westward expansion of civilization and population. Where and 
when they performed this labor w^ill be told in the succeeding pages of this 
history. How quickly, and how well it was done, the green hillsides and 
blooming valleys of our county fully attest. 



PRELIMINARY HISTORY— THE HOLLAND COMPANY'S 

PURCHASE. 

America was discovered by Columbus in 1492. In 1497, John Cabot, a 
Venetian, and his son Sebastian, under the auspices of Henry VIL, king of 
England, discovered North America. He sailed along the coast 300 leagues, 
and planted on the soil the banners of England and of Venice. He saw no 
person, though he believed the country not uninhabited. 

Efforts were early made by Spain, France and England, to establish colo- 
nies in North America. More, however, than a century elapsed before 
many permanent settlements were made. In 1568, the Spaniards established 
a small colony in Florida. The French, in 1605, planted a small colony in 
Nova Scotia, and in 1608, founded the city of Quebec. In 1607, the 
English made a settlement at Jamestown, in Virginia. New York was^et-. 
tied by the Dutch in 1614. In 1620, the "Pilgrim Fathers" landed on 
Plymouth Rock, and commenced the settlement of New England. 

The tract of country called New England, granted by James I., king of 
England, to the Plymouth Company, extended from the Atlantic to the 
Pacific Ocean. In 1628, a part of this tract, also extending to the Pacific, 
was granted by the Plymouth Company to Sir Henry Roswell and his asso- 
ciates, called the Massachusetts Bay Company. The province of New York 
was granted in 1663, by Charles II., to the Duke of York and Albany 
[afterwards King James II.], who subsequently granted to Berkeley and 
Cartaret the province of New Jersey. The remainder of the country granted 
by Charles II. constituted the province of New York, which extended 
north to the Canada line ; but its extent westward was not definitely stated. 



64 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

The first charter of Massachusetts, granted by King Charles I., in 1628, 
appears to have been vacated by quo warranto in 1684; and a second 
charter was granted by WilUam and Mary, in 1691, in which the territorial 
limits of the province, although difterently bounded, are also made to extend 
to the Pacific Ocean. Under these conflicting grants, disputes arose between 
some of the states as to the extent of their respective territorial rights and 
jurisdiction. 

Those who are familiar with the political history of this country, will 
remember that, near and soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, 
several of the states ceded their western lands to the general government as a 
fund to aid in the payment of the war debt. New York ceded hers by 
deed dated March i, 1781, two years before the peace. In 1783, Congress 
requested those states which had not already done so, to cede portions of 
their territory for that purpose. Virginia ceded March i, 1784; Massachu- 
setts, April 19, 1785 ; and Connecticut, September 13, 1786, transferred her 
claim, reserving about 3,000,000 acres in the north-east part of the present 
state of Ohio. This tract was called the " Western Reserve of Connecticut." 
On the 30th of May, 1800, the jurisdictional claims of that state to this 
Reserve were surrendered to the United States. 

The dispute, however, between the states of New York and Massachusetts 
was not yet settled. Of the territory which, by the treaty of peace of 1783, 
was ceded to the United States, each of the individual states claimed such 
portions as were comprehended within their original grants or charters. Mas- 
sachusetts consequently claimed a strip of land extending to the westerly 
bounds of the United States, thus dividing the state of New York into two 
parts. Both New York and Massachusetts had ceded all their lands westerly 
of the same meridian line, namely, a line running from the most westerly 
bend of Lake Ontario, south to the northern line of Pennsylvania, and form- 
ing the present western boundary of the state of New York. But Massa- 
chusetts still claimed nearly 20,000 square miles east of that line. The 
controversy was finally settled by commissioners on the part of each of the 
two states, who met at Hartford, December 16, 1786. In accordance with 
th^ decision, Massachusetts ceded to New York all claim to the government, 
sovereignty, and jurisdiction of all the lands in controversy; and New York 
ceded to Massachusetts and to her grantees the preemption right or fee of 
the land, subject to the title of the natives, of all that part of the state of 
New York lying west of a line beginning on the north boundary line of 
Pennsylvania, on the parallel of 42 degrees of north latitude, 82 miles west 
of the north-east corner of said state, and running thence due north through 
Seneca lake to Lake Ontario, excepting a mile's breadth along the east bank 
of the Niagara river. The land, the preemption right of which was thus 
ceded, was about six million acres. 

In April, 1788, Massachusetts contracted to sell to Oliver Phelps and 
Nathaniel Gorham the right of preemption in all the lands ceded by the 
convention of the i6th of December, 1786, at Hartford. In July, 1788, 



PRELIMINARY HISTORY. 65 

Gorham and Phelps purchased the Indian title to about 2,600,000 acres of 
the eastern part of their purchase from Massachusetts. The western bound- 
ary of these lands was a line running from the north line of Pennsylvania 
north to the junction of the Shanahasgwaikon (now called Canascraga) creek 
and the Genesee river ; thence northwardly along the Genesee river to a point 
two miles north of Canawaugus village; thence due west 12 miles; thence 
in a direction northwardly, so as to be 12 miles distant from the most west- 
ward bend of the Genesee river to Lake Ontario. This tract, the Indian 
tide to which had been extinguished by Phelps and Gorham, was confirmed 
to them by an act of the legislature of Massachusetts, November 21, 1788, 
and is that which has been designated as the " Phelps and Gorham Purchase." 

The survey of this tract into townships and lots was immediately com- 
menced ; and, within the space of two years, about fifty townships had been 
disposed of, principally by whole townships or large portions of townships, 
to individuals and companies. 

Phelps and Gorham, having paid about one-third of the purchase money 
of the entire tract purchased of Massachusetts, were unable to make further 
payments. They had stipulated to pay in a kind of scrip, or " consolidated 
stock," issued by that state. This scrip they could buy at 70 or 80 per cent, 
below par. But this stock having risen to par, they were unable, at this rate, 
to fulfill their engagements. On the 15th of February, 1790, they proposed 
to the legislature of Massachusetts to surrender to the state two-thirds in 
quantity and value of the whole of the contracted lands ; two of their three 
bonds for ^100,000 each, given for the purchase money, to be canceled. The 
tract released by the Indians was to be retained by Gorham and Phelps ; but 
if the contents should exceed one-third of the whole, the surplus was to be 
paid for in money at the average price of the whole. 

Two other proposals, made a few days later, were accepted by the legisla- 
ture, but reserving to themselves the right of accepting, in preference, at any 
time within one year, the proposal of the 15th of February, 1790; and on 
the 19th of February, 17 91, notice was given to Gorham and Phelps that 
the legislature had elected, that the two third parts of the lands should 
remain the property of the commonwealth; and the unpaid bonds were 
rehnquished to Phelps and Gorham. The tract released by the Indians was 
found to exceed in quantity one-third of the whole territory ; and the excess 
was subsequently [April 6, 18 13] paid by Phelps and Gorham. That tract, 
with the exception of the parts sold, and of two townships reserved by Gor- 
ham and Phelps, was sold by them to Robert Morris, and is described in the 
conveyance, dated i8th No^vember, 1790, as containing 2,100,000 acres. 

In March, 1791, Massachusetts agreed to sell to Samuel Ogden, agent for 
Robert Morris, all the lands ceded to that state by New York, except that 
part which had been conveyed to Phelps and Gorham, the state reserving 
one equal undivided sixtieth part of the unexcepted lands. This reservation 
in the original sale to Morris, was caused by a contract made by Gorham 
and Phelps, prior to the surrender of their claim to Massachusetts, for the 
5 



ee HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

sale of one-sixtieth of the entire territory to John Butler. Butler subse- 
quently assigned his right to this one-sixtieth to Morris, who was thus enabled 
to acquire a title from Massachusetts. 

In pursuance of this contract, Massachusetts, on the nth of May, 1791, 
conveyed to Robert Morris, as the assignee under Samuel Ogden, a tract of 
land containing about 500,000 acres, bounded on the west by a line drawn from 
a point in the north line of Pennsylvania, twelve miles west from the south- 
west corner of the land confirmed to Gorham and Phelps, to Lake Ontario. 
This tract forms no part of the lands subsequently sold by Morris to the 
Holland Land Company, and is still known as the " Morris Reserve." 

The lands of the Holland Land Company are embraced in four deeds from 
Massachusetts to Robert Morris, all dated May 11, 1791, Samuel Ogden 
concurring in these conveyances. Each deed conveyed a distinct tract of 
land, supposed to contain 800,000 acres. The first tract is sixteen miles 
wide, from the Pennsylvania north line to the northern boundary of the state, 
and comprehends ranges i, 2 and 3, as laid down in the map of Ellicott s 
survey. The second tract is of the same breadth, and comprehends ranges 4, 
5 and 6. The third tract is of the same breadth, and comprehends ranges 7 
and 8, and 263 chains and 7 6 links off the easterly side of range 9. Tht fourth 
tract embraces all the land in the state west of the third tract, and compre- 
hends the remaining westerly part of range 9, and the whole of ranges 10, 
II 12, 13, 14 and 15. The consideration of the first three tracts was 
^15,000 each; for the fourth, ^10,000. By these conveyances, Robert 
Morris became seized of the preemptive title to all the lands in the state west 
of the eastern boundary of the Holland Purchase, excepting only the 
reserved strip of land, one mile in width, along the Niagara river. 

Aliens being legally incompetent to hold and convey real estate, the lands 
of the Dutch proprietors within the state of New York were purchased for 
their account from Robert Morris, and conveyed, for their benefit, to 
trustees. On the nth of April, 1796, a special act was passed for the relief 
of Wilhem Willink, Nicholas Van Staphorst, Christian Van Eeghen, Hen- 
drick Vollenhoven, Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck, and Pieter Stadnitski ; 
and on the 24th of February, 1797, a supplementary act was passed, includ- 
ing the names of Jan Willink, Jacob Van Staphorst, Nicholas Hubbard, 
Pieter Van Eeghen, Isaac Ten Cate, Jan Stadnitski, and Aernout Van Beef- 
tingh. By these two acts, the trustees were authorized to hold the lands 
contracted and paid for by all or any of these individuals, and for the period 
of seven years to sell the same to citizens of the United States. Under the 
general alien act of April 2d, 1798, the titles were afterwards vested in the 
names of the Dutch proprietors by new conveyances. By this general act, 
which was to continue for three years, all conveyances to aliens, not being 
the subjects of powers or states at war with the United States, were declared 
to be valid, so as to vest the estate in such aliens, their heirs and assigns for- 
ever. The construction of this was settled by an act passed March 5th, 1819, 
which declared and enacted that all conveyances made to aliens under the 



THE HOLLAND PURCHASE. ^^ 

act of April, 1798, should be deemed valid, and vest the lands thereby con- 
veyed in the several grantees, so as to authorize them and their heirs and 
assigns, although aliens, to devise or convey the same to any other alien or 
aUens, not being the subjects of a power or state at war with the United 
States. 

The lands purchased by the Holland Land Company embraced an area 
of about 3,600,000 acres, and were originally conveyed in several tracts or 
parcels, and at different times, by Robert Morris, to trustees for the benefit 
of the Dutch proprietors. The first tract thus conveyed, called the " Million 
and a half Acre Tract," embracing 422 chains and 56 links off the west part 
of range 7, and all the land west thereof to the Pennsylvania line, was con- 
veyed, December 24, 1792, in two parcels. The first of these, containing 
one million acres, embraced the eastern part of the tract ; the second parcel, 
the western part, comprehending ranges 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15, as laid down 
on Ellicott's map. 

The second tract, called the "One Million Acre Tract," was conveyed 
P'ebruary 27, 1793, and embraced townships 5 to 16, inclusive, in range i ; 
4 to 16 in ranges 2 and 3 ; and i to 4 in ranges 4, 5 and 6. 

The third tract, called the " Eight Hundred Thousand Acre Tract," was 
conveyed July 20, 1793. 

The fourth tract, called the " Three Hundred Thousand Acre Tract," was 
conveyed July 20, 1793. Though named as being a single tract, it embraced 
three different parcels, neither two of them consisting of contiguous territory. 
The first of these parcels comprehended townships i, 2, 3, and the east half 
of 4, of range i, and i, 2 and 3, of ranges 2 and 3, intended to contain 
200,000 acres. The second and third parcels comprehended 113 chains 
and 68 links of the east part of range 7, which was not included in the 
million and a half acres before described. The portion of this strip lying 
south of the Buffalo creek reservation, was intended to contain 54,000 acres, 
and the part north of the reservation, 46,000 acres. 

The names of the trustees to whom the conveyances were made by 
Morris, were not in all cases the same, as will appear from the following 
statement of the chain of title to each tract : 

Deed of first tract [1,500,000 acres], i. Robert Morris to Herman Le 
Roy and John Lincklaen, December 31, 1792. 2. Le Roy and Lincklaen 
to ¥/illiam Bayard, May 30, 1795. 3. Wm. Bayard to Le Roy, Lincklaen, 
and Gerrit Boon, June i, 1795. 4. Le Roy, Lincklaen and Boon to Paul 
Busti, July 9, 1798. 5. Busti to Le Roy, Bayard, James McEvers, Linck- 
laen, and Boon, upon trust for the benefit of Wilheni Willink and others, 
with covenant to convey the same according to their direction and appoint- 
ment — deed dated July 10, 1798. 6. Le Roy, Bayard, McEvers, Linck- 
laen, and Boon, to Wilhem Willink, Nicholas Van Staphorst, Pieter Van 
Eeghen, Hendrick Vollenhoven, and Rutger Jan Schimmelpenninck, Dec. 
31, 1798. 7. The title of the last named grantees was confirmed to thera 
by Thomas L. Ogden and Gouverneur Morris, by deed, February 18, 1801. 



68 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

Deed of second tract [1,000,000 acres], i. Robert Morris to Le Roy, 
Lincklaen, and Boon, Feb. 27, 1793, confirmed after the extinguishment of 
the Indian title, by deed between the same parties, June i, 1798. 2. Le 
Roy, Lincklaen, and Boon to Paul Busti, July 9, 1798. 3. Busti to Le Roy, 
Bayard, McEvers, Lincklaen, and Boon, in trust for the benefit of Wilhem 
Willink and others, July 10, 1798. 4. Le Roy, Bayard, McEvers, Linck- 
laen, and Boon, to Wilhem Willink and others, December 31, 1798. 5. 
The title of the last named grantees was confirmed to them by Thomas L. 
Ogden, February 13, 1801. 

Deed of the third tract [800,000 acres], i. Robert Morris to Le Roy, 
Lincklaen, and Boon, July 20, 1793, confirmed after the extinguishment of 
the Indian title, by deed between the same parties, June i, 1798. 2. Le 
Roy, Lincklaen, and Boon, to Paul Busti, July 9, 1798. 3. Busti to Le Roy, 
Bayard, McEvers, Lincklaen, and Boon, in trust for Wilhem Willink and 
others, July 10, 1798. 4. Le Roy, Bayard, McEvers, Lincklaen, and Boon, 
to Wilhelm Willink and others, July 10, 1798. 5. The title of the last 
named grantees was confirmed by Thomas L. Ogden, Feb. 13, 1801. 

Deed of the fourth tract [300,000 acres], i. Robert Morris to Le Roy, 
Bayard, and Thomas Clarkson, July 20, 1793, confirmed after the extin- 
guishment of the Indian title, by deed between the same parties, June i, 
1798. 2. Le Roy, Bayard, and Clarkson, to Paul Busti, July 9, 1798. 3. 
Busti to Le Roy, Bayard, and Clarkson, in trust for Wilhem Willink and 
Jan Willink, July 10, 1798. 4. Le Roy, Bayard, and Clarkson, to Wilhem 
Willink, Jan Willink, Wilhem Willink, Jr., and Jan Willink, Jr., as joint 
tenants, Jan. 31, 1799. 5. Title of last named grantees confirmed by T. L. 
Ogden, Feb. 27, 1801. 

It appears from the foregoing that all the lands of the Company were con- 
veyed by the trustees to Paul Busti, of Philadelphia, an alien. The design 
of this conveyance, it is presumed, was merely to ciiange the title of the 
trust estate to the hands of Busti, who was general agent of the proprietors 
in Holland. 

The necessity of the confirmatory deeds of Thomas L. Ogden and Gouver- 
neur Morris will appear from the following facts : Two judgments against 
Robert Morris had been docketed in the supreme court of the state of New 
York, which were found to overreach the titles of several of the purchasers 
under him. The first was in favor of Wm. Talbot and Wm. Allum, docketed 
June 8, 1797 ; the second, in favor of Solomon Townsend, docketed August 
10, 1798. Previously to the year j8oo, an execution was issued on the last 
judgment ; and all the lands conveyed to Morris by Massachusetts were sold, 
and conveyed by the sheriff of Ontario county to Thomas Mather, in whose 
name actions of ejectment founded upon this conveyance were prosecuted 
in the court. In the spring of 1800, during the pendency of these ejectments, 
an execution was issued on the earlier judgment ; and the whole tract of 
country was again levied upon and advertised for sale by the sheriff. 

Under these circumstance, Mr. Busti, the general agent of the Holland 



THE HOLLAND PURCHASE. 69 

Land Company, entered into an arrangement with Gouverneur Morris, the 
assignee of the earher judgment, to put an end to the claims set up under 
both- judgments. It was agreed that both judgments, and also a release of 
Mather's interest under the sheriff's deed to him, should be purchased by the 
Land Company, which was done ; and the judgments were assigned to the 
Company, April 22, 1800 ; that of Townsend by his attorney, Aaron Burr; 
that of Talbot and Allum, by Gouverneur Morris, the assignee of Robert 
Morris. Articles of agreement were at the same time entered into between 
Thomas L. Ogden of the first part, the individuals of the Holland Company 
of the second part, and Gouverneur Morris of the third part, by which it was 
agreed that the release from Mather should be taken in the name of Thomas 
L. Ogden ; that he should also become the purchaser at the approaching sale 
under the judgment of Talbot and Allum ; and that the title thus derived 
under both judgments should be held by him in trust for the purposes 
expressed in the agreement. 

It was provided in that instrument, that the million and a half acre tract 
should be held subject to the issue of amicable suit, to be instituted on the 
equity side of the circuit of the United States for the district of New York, 
to determine the operation and effect of the conveyance of this tract by 
Robert Morris, so that if, by a decree of that court, or of the supreme court 
of the United States, in case of an appeal, such conveyance should be 
adjudged to be absolute and indefeasible, then the tract should be released 
and confirmed by Gouverneur Morris to the Holland Land Company. It 
was further provided by this agreement, that the residue of the entire tract 
of country should be released and confirmed by Thomas L. Ogden to the 
several proprietors under Robert Morris, according to the award and appoint- 
ment of Alexander Hamilton, David A. Ogden and Thomas Cooper. 

In pursuance of this agreement, Mather's rights under the sale on Town- 
send's judgment, were conve)'ed to Thomas L. Ogden, April 22, i8oo; and 
a sale having been made under the execution issued upon the judgment of 
Talbot and Allum, the entire tract of country, as to all the interest which 
Robert Morris had therein oii the 8th of June, 1797, was conveyed by Roger 
Sprague, sheriff of Ontario county, by deed dated May 13, 1800. Hamilton, 
D. A. Ogden and Cooper made an award or appointment, January 22, 1801, 
directing conveyances by Thomas L. Ogden, of the whole of the lands to the 
several grantees under Robert Morris, the parcels to be conveyed to each to 
be defined by appropriate descriptions and boundaries. In conformity with 
this appointment, the several confirmations Avere executed by Thomas L. 
Ogden. 



70 HISTORV OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. 

The first inquiry suggested to the reader of a history of any country or 
territory, is : "Where, when, and by whom was its setdement commenced?" 
Amongst the diverse and conflicting statements respecting the earhest settle- 
ment in Chautauqua county, it is difficult, if not impossible, to answer the 
question. It was the purpose of the writer not to become a party in this 
controversy, but to present sketches of the several early settlements, without 
any allusion to the discussion which has so long agitated the public mind. 
It has, however, been repeatedly intimated that this would not be satisfactory 
to the people generally. And as many are known to be looking for the 
result of the author's investigation of this question, he deems it proper to 
present such facts and statements as have come to his knowledge, for the 
consideration of those who think the subject worthy of investigation. 

The late Hon. Samuel A. Brown, in a course of lectures at the Academy 
in Jamestown, in 1843, said in his second lecture: "Col. McMahan and Mc- 
Henry, both from Pennsylvania, may, with propriety, I think, be styled the 
pioneers of Chautauqua county, as they were the first who purchased and set- 
tled with the intention of making this county their permanent residence ; 
though one Amos Sottle had resided from 1796 to 1800 on the Cattaraugus 
bottoms in Hanover ; was then absent two or three years ; but afterwards 
returned and became a permanent resident." 

This statement was probably made on the authority of Henry H. Hawkins, 
of Silver Creek, who, in a letter to Mr. Brown, dated Hanover, Feb. 2, 1843, 
wrote as follows : 

" Sir : Amos Sottle came on to the Cattaraugus bottoms, and settled in 
the year 1796, being then about twenty-one years old, and has resided here 
ever since that time, with the exception of between two and three years, 
from about 1800 or 1801, which he spent in what was then called the North- 
western Territory. He is one who helped make the survey of the whole 
country in 1798 and 1799, under Joseph Ellicott, surveyor of the Holland 
Land Company." 

Judge Warren, in his History of Chautauqua County, published in 1846, 
says : 

" The first purchase of lands for the purpose of settlement within the 
present limits of this county, was made by Gen. McMahan, in 1801. 
* * * The first attempt to subdue the dense forest was made in 1802, 
by Col. James McMahan, near where the village of Westfield is now 
located. On this spot ten acres were cleared, and the first dwelling of the 
white man erected. Edward McHenry setded on an adjoining tract during 
the same year. These were the first locations of proprietors within the 
county, with the intention of making it a permanent residence. It should be 
mentioned, however, that for nearly four years previously to 1800, Amos 
Sottle had resided near Cattaraugus creek, in the present town of Hanover. 
After which he was absent for several years, and finally returned and became 
a permanent citizen." 





^^^-In^^^^c/^'Ms/A^rri 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. 7 1 

Another says: "In 1796, one Amos Sottle located in Hanover, but 
removed in 1800 from the county, and did not return for several years." 

.Turner, in his History of the Holland Purchase, says : "The first white 
resident of Chautauqua was Amos Sottle. He had resided near the mouth 
of Cattaraugus creek for three years before the sale of the Holland Com- 
pany's lands commenced." 

The State Gazetteer says : " The first settlement in the county was made 
at the mouth of Cattaraugus creek, in 1797, by Amos Sottle. Soon after 
making the first improvements, Sottle left, and returned in 1801, with Mr. 
Sydney and Capt. Rosecrantz." 

Judge Foote, in a communication in the Mayville Sentinel, of July 20, 
1859, gives the result of his investigation of the subject, as follows : 

" Editor Sentinel : I thank you for your efforts to preserve the early 
history of our county; and I trust the people will gratefully appreciate your 
efforts. In your article in the Sentinel, of April 20 [1859], are some mistakes 
that should be corrected, lest they become conceded as facts, and copied as 
such by future historians. Amos Sottle was not the first white settler in the 
county, although I know he claimed to be, and to have settled in the east part 
of the town of Hanover, in 1796. 

" By a reference to the surveyors' minutes of the meridian and township 
line surveys, made in 1798-9, copies of which are in the County Clerk's ofiRce, 
it will be seen that Sottle was an axeman under Amzi Atwater, one of the 
principal surveyors, although his name does not appear in the list of surveyors 
in Turner's History of the Holland Purchase. The surveyors, as required, 
returned a list of their assistants and their places of residence, and the 
capacity in which they served. Sottle was reported as a resident of Chenango 
county, N. Y. ; and I presume the first time he ever saw the land where he 
subsequently settled, was when Atwater surveyed the 9th meridian, or present 
line between the counties of Chautauqua and Cattaraugus, in 1798. He was 
also an axeman in 1799. After he left the surveyors he went into the North- 
west Territory, and was there some years, but finally returned and settled in 
the present town of Hanover, about 1804, and resided there with his squa\v, 
or colored wife, until his death, about 1848 or '49. His statements were not 
very reliable. I do not find his name on any land records for several years 
after his actual residence in the county. Col. James McMahan was unques- 
tionably the first bona fide white settler in the county ; he and his elder 
brother, Gen. John McMahan, having been early and conspicuous pioneers, 
and the first purchasers of land in the county." 

It is difficult to determine, from these statements, who was the first actual 
settler. Mr. Brown thinks McMahan and McHenry are properly styled the 
pioneers of Chautauqua ; yet he says Sottle had resided on the Cattaraugus 
from 1796 to J 800, and then was absent two or three years, and afterwards 
became a permanent resident. This would seem to indicate that Mr. B. did 
not consider Sottle a settler until after his second residence, which, if he had 
been absent two or three years, must have commenced in about 1802 or 
1803. Judge Warren's statement naturally leads to the same conclusion. 
Turner gives Sottle a residence at Cattaraugus, and probably considered him 
a settler. The State Gazetteer states that he made a settlement there in 
1797 ; and on the same page refers to Judge Foote to prove that the first 



72 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

settlement in the county was made in 1794, which nobody here believes, nor 
has the Judge ever authorized such statement. From such contradictory 
statements, who can decide the question ? The first inquiry then should be 
respecting the credibility of aHiho7-s. These authors probably made no thorough 
investigation. Messrs. Brown and Warren botli state that John McMahan 
bought the town of Ripley, ■sccvdi Jatnes McMahan bought 4,000 acres in West- 
field. Mr. B. could not have made close inquiry, or he would not have 
committed so palpable an error ; and Judge Warren probably copied it, pre- 
suming it to be correct. But a worse error is that of the State Gazetteer. 
And so numerous are the mistakes of Mr. Turner in regard to the settlement 
of this county, that his authority is not reliable. He, too, makes -James 
McMahan the purchaser of Westfield, and the builder of mills at the mouth 
of Chautauqua creek. And he also calls Sottle the first white resident ot 
Chautauqua, and McMahan " the pioneer settler." 

This exposure of the errors of these writers is not intended to invalidate 
the claim of either party to priority of settlement ; but only to show that 
their several publications are not reliable authority. A hasty canvass for 
the material of a history has been made, and the statements have been pub- 
lished without seeking confirmation from any other source. Presuming them 
to be correct, later authors have copied them, and thus have aided in trans- 
mitting them to succeeding generations. Hence we are still left to form 
opinions, in a great measure, from oral testimony from early settlers, long 
since deceased, through those of a later generation ; especially so in the 
case of the Cattaraugus settlement, which shows no record of a purchase ot 
land prior to that of Charles Avery, in 1804. It is, however, generally con- 
ceded that Sottle (or rather, Smvtel, as his name appears in the list of sur- 
veyors) was there at an earlier date ; and we have his word that he was a 
settler before there was one at Westfield. It is urged by the other party, 
that his word is not reliable, his veracity having been impeached in court by 
a score or more of witnesses. Several others, however, have certified their 
belief in his credibility. 

The foregoing is a summary of the testimony on Avhich the parties in this 
controversy have based their respective claims. Other facts, however, have 
come to the knowledge of the writer, which, as a faithful historian, he deems 
it his duty to add to what has been given. 

An early resident of the county says Sottle, long before his death, told 
him that he lived, at first, for a time with the Indians. Another old settler 
confirms this statement, and adds, that Sottle gave as a reason for leaving the 
Indians, and settling on the south side of the creek, that he might accumu- 
late property for his individual use and benefit. 

Some concede Sottle's claim to having an earlier home or residence at 
Cattaraugus, than that of James McMahan at Westfield ; but ' question the 
propriety of calling the place a settlement. No clearings of consequence 
were made, nor was grain raised. Wm. Sydney, who came with Sottle from 
Ohio, to ferry emigrants across the creek, built a log house for their enter- 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. 73 

tajnment ; but it is known that, as late as 1804, travelers were unable to 
procure forage for their teams, except from Indians in the vicinity. In cor- 
roboration of this statement, John Mack, son of John Mack who, in 1806, 
bought the Sydney tavern and ferry, wrote to this county, in 1873, as follows: 

" There were then [1806] but three <white men on Cattaraugus Flats — 
Amos Settle, Ezekiel Lane, and Charles Avery. Sottle and Lane had built 
cabins, made small improvements, and resided in them. Common report 
says Amos Sottle came to Cattaraugus in 1797, located i^ miles from the 
mouth of the creek, and made improvements as above stated, and where he 
lived in 1806. There was no land cleared for grain raising, and no grain to 
be had, except that bought of the Indians to supply our own wants or those 
of the traveler. These wants were soon remedied by the energy and perse- 
^verance of early settlers. 

" The ferrying of the creek was very unsafe. A small scow only, sufficient 
to float a wagon placed therein by hand. Horses and oxen were taken over 
separately, or caused to swim the river by the side of a canoe, guided by a 
line. My father soon provided a safe conveyance, by building a scow suffi- 
ciently large to transport teams of all kinds. The tavern was kept by widow 
Sydney in a small log cabin with leantoes attached, which served for lodging 
rooms and stow-aways, and a plank addition serving as parlor and dining 
room. Her husband had died a short time previous." 

Whatever difference of opinion may exist respecting the claims of the 
respective parties to priority of settlement, it will not be disputed that 
the first settlement of any considerable extent was commenced at what 
was long known as Cross Roads, in the present town of Westfield, by 
persons from the" state of Pennsylvania. Among the first of these immi- 
grants were John and James McMahan. After an examination of the lands 
along the lake, they made contracts for large tracts in 1801. John's purchase 
embraced the whole of township 4, in range 14, containing 22,014 acres, 
which, at $2.50 per acre, amounted to $55,035. He paid down $1,035 ; the 
remainder to be paid in eight annual installments with annual interest. 
James contracted for a tract in township 3, range 15. This tract extended 
from the lake shore about 2 miles south, and from the east line of the 
township [now Ripley], about t,}^ miles westward to within about half a 
mile of the village of Quincy, containing 4,074 acres ; the terms of payment 
similar to those expressed in the contract made with his brother John. These 
contracts, though considered as made in 1801, were not perfected, or fully 
executed, until May and July, 1803, after portions of the land had been sold 
by the first contractors. The early settlers on these lands bought of the 
McMahans, the Land Company giving title deeds on the payment to them 
of the purchase money, which was credited on the McMahans' contract with 
the company. 

Although James' purchase was in Ripley, he selected and bought for him- 
self, within his brother's tract, a lot on which he settled, about three-fourths 
of a mile west of Chautauqua creek, and which extended east to the old 
" Cross Roads." 



74 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

The next spring, [1802,] Mr. McMahan commenced clearing his farm, and 
is said to have cleared about ten acres, which he planted and sowed the rirst 
season. This was the first field cleared in the county. Although Mr. 
McMahan had previously built a log house, and was properly the first settler, 
he did not move his family into it, it is said, until late in 1802. Tl^ first 
family was that of Edward McHenry, at the " Cross Roads," so called from 
its being the place where the Buffalo & Erie road crossed the old " Portage 
Road." At the solicitation of McMahan, as is said, McHenry came with 
him, not only to settle, but to keep a house of entertainment for emigrants 
westward, " New Connecticut," in Ohio, being then rapidly settling from the 
East. A few months after McHenry's arrival, his son John was born, the first 
child in the county born of white parents. The death of the father the 
next year, who was drowned in the lake by the capsizing of a small boat, 
while on his way to Erie to obtain a supply of provisions, was the first death 
of a white settler in the county. His two companions were saved by cling- 
ing to the boat. His body, it is said, was never recovered. 

In the discussion of the conflicting claims of different places in the 
county to priority of settlement, it is somewhat strange that Col. McMahan 
should have been so long spoken of as the earliest settler here. On his 
tour of inspection in 1801, with a view to a location, he was accompanied 
by one Andrew Straub, a Pennsylvania German, who selected for himself a 
place a short distance east of where the village of Westfield now is, and 
built on it a house and occupied it the same year. He made clearings and 
resided there many years. The stream on or near which he settled, derived 
its name from him, and was long known as " Straub's Creek." Stones from 
his fireplace, and other relics of his house, have been found at a compara- 
tively recent date ; and there are persons now living who have personal 
knowledge of his residence here. He had no family. After the lands were 
surveyed, he contracted for 450 acres. 

After the settlement of Col. McMahan and Mr. McHenry, settlers came 
in rapidly. Most of them settled on the road early opened towards Erie : 
David Kincaid, who bought in November, 1802, north of McMahan's ; in 
1803, Arthur Bell, in January; Christopher Dull, in June; James Mont- 
gomery, in July ; and Andrew Straub, in September ; all of whom are 
believed to have settled on their lands the year of their purchase, except 
Straub, who is known to have settled on his a year or two earlier, and before 

the land was surveyed into lots ; and Culbertson, George and John 

Degeer — all of whom, it is said, came from Pennsylvania. Also Jeremiah 
George, who bought in 1803; Jacob George and Laughlin McNeil, in 1804; 
and George Whitehill, in 1805, are believed to have settled at or near the 
times of their purchases. In 1806 and 1807, came David Eason, Matthew 
McClintock and Low Miniger from Canadaway, [Fredonia,] who also were 
from Pennsylvania, and who had resided one or two years at Fredonia. 
Miniger settled on a farm about a mile east from the village of Westfield, in 
t8o6. McClintock also, before Eason, came to Westfield, having sold his 





d^^^^c^p-^^t^ 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. 75 

land at Canadaway to Judge Cashing, Hezekiah Barker and others. He 
opened a tavern at Westfield, and owned, it is said, the larger portion of the 
site of the village. He afterwards moved to what was since known as the 
Bradley farm, below Westfield; thence to Ripley, and finally to Illinois, 
where he died in 1838. David Eason, in the winter of 1806-7, sold his farm 
to Hezekiah Turner, and on the 31st of March, 1S07, came to Westfield, 
ha\ing purchased of John McMahan, on the east side of Chautauqua creek, 
about 150 acres in what is now the south-east part of the village, east of 
South Portage street. [See David Eason in historical sketch of Westfield.] 

In Ripley, Alexander Cochran, a native of Ireland, and the first setder in 
that town, settled in 1804, about a mile west of Quincy. Along the Erie 
road, west of the Westfield line, the following named persons were early pur- 
chasers : Charles Forsyth, William Alexander, Fariey Fuller, Basil Burgess, 
Robert Dickson, Thomas Prendergast, Oliver Loomis, Josiah Farnsworth, 
Asa Spear, Israel Goodrich, Wm. Crosgrove, Nathan Wisner, Andrew Spear, 
Perry G. Ellsworth, Noah P. Hayden, Hugh Whitehill, Samuel Harrison, 
and others, bought in Ripley prior to and including the year 1809 ; and most 
of them probably setded on their lands the years of their purchases. 

The settlement at the " Cross Roads " was soon followed by that at Caria- 
daway, vvhich place took its name from the name of the creek, and embraced 
the site of the present village of Fredonia and the surrounding country. The 
first three settlers there were Thomas McClintock, David Eason, and Low 
Miniger, all from Pennsylvania. All, it is believed, settled the same year, 
and so nearly at the same time, as to render it uncertain who was first on the 
ground. The first purchase was undoubtedly made by McClintock, who, as 
appears from the Company's book, entered as early as Dec. 22, 1803, lots 
or parts of lots 8, 14 and 20, township 6, range 12, embracing most of the 
land on which the village of Fredonia stands. In 1804, he made a small 
beginning at clearing, and built a cabin. The land was not yet surveyed 
into lots. It is said that " the lands were afterwards surveyed into lots by 
George Moore, of Erie, under a contract between Mr. Ellicott and Mr. 
McClintock," the latter then residing in Erie county. Pa. David Eason, of 
Northumberland county, Pa., also selected land near McClintock's, subse- 
quently owned by Gen. Elijah Risley, in the north part of the village of 
Fredonia, and erected a log cabin. He spent here the summers of 1803 and 
1804, and went back to spend the winters. 

In the spring of 1805 he was married, and in April he set out with Low 
Miniger, Samuel Eason, a cousin of David, and one Covert, and their families, 
for Lake Erie. They ascended the west fc^nch of the Susquehanna and 
the Sinemahoning, through the wilderness to Clean, where Major Adam 
Hoops had just commenced a setdement, having been six weeks on the way, 
and camped out most of the nights. Here they built canoes ; descended 
the Allegany to Warren ; came up the Connewango creek and Chautauqua 
lake to its head ; and thence over the Portage road to McMahan's settlement. 
Covert left them at Warren, and went down the Allegany. Samuel Eason 



^6 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

went to North-east, where he soon died. David Eason and Miniger proceeded 
to Canadavvay. McCHntock arrived there about the same time, and occupied 
his cabin in the south part of the village, near where Judge Gushing subse- 
(|uently lived and died. Miniger settled a mile or more north-west from the 
village. 

None of these men were in better than moderate circumstances ; Mr. Eason 
was quite poor; and he and his wife entered their cabin with little else than 
their hands. He had but $io in money, which he paid for a barrel of flour 
brought from Canada across the lake. Upon this, with fish and wild game, 
he relied for subsistence until he could raise vegetables, which were their 
principal food during the first year. Seated on lands so desirable in respect 
to fertility and location, it was natural to suppose they would have become 
permanent settlers at Canadaway. Yet but little more than a year elapsed 
before they all sold their lands and removed to the settlement at the Cross 
Roads. 

Canadaway, too, increased rapidly in population. We find on the Land 
Company's books, the names of purchasers in the present town of Pomfret, 
in 1805, Ehphalet Burnham, Zattu Cushing, Samuel Perry, Augustus Burnham. 
In 1806, purchases were made by Philo Orton, Elijah Risley, David Cooley, 
Jr. In 1806 and 1807 came Hezekiah Barker and Richard Williams, who 
built a grist mill. Dr. Squire White came in 1809. Thomas Bull bought in 
1808. Outside of Pomfret, but within a few miles of Fredonia, in the present 
town of Sheridan, early considered as embraced in the Canadaway settlement, 
Francis and Wm. Webber, Hazadiah Stebbins, Abner and Alanson Holmes, 
bought in 1804. In 1805, Gerard Griswold, Orsamus Holmes, Joel R. Lee, 
John Walker, Wm. Gould, Jonathan Webber, and others. In 1806, Ozias 
Hart, Justus Hinman. In 1807, Abiram Orton, in what is now Arkwright. 

Portland was settled early. James Dunn, from Lycoming county. Pa., 
came to this county in 1803. In May, 1804, he bought a large tract of land, 
before it was surveyed into lots. His purchase amounted to nearly 1,200 
acres. Among those who soon followed him were Benjamin Hutchins, 
David Eaton, Nathan and Elisha Fay and Peter Kane, who purchased in 
1806. 

In Hanover, the earliest purchases were made in that part of the town 
lying on Cattaraugus creek, and which was surveyed as " Cattaraugus Vil- 
lage." Charles Avery and Wm. G. Sydney appear on the Land Company's 
book as purchasers in December, 1804; Amos Sottle, in July, 1806; and 
Sylvanus Maybee articled land transferred to him by Charles Avery, who 
bought in 1806. Abel Cleveland and David Dickinson bought where the 
village of Silver Creek stands. The land was taken up in 1803 or 1804, and 
the greater part of it articled to John E. Howard. The settlement appears 
to have been slow for several years, as Mr. Howard is said to have been, in 
1806, the only settler there. Artemas Clothier came in 1808 or 1809, and 
Norman Spink the same year. Jehial Moore came to Forestville in 1808, 
and built a saw-mill. In 1809, he brought his family in, and erected a grist- 



I 



EARLY SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. J-J 

nailL which he finished the next spring. The same jear, Guy Wel^ter and 
Joseph Brownell settled in the south-east part of the town- 

The earliest settlement in the south-east part of the county was made at 
the present village of Kennedy, in the town of Poland, followed by the 
setdement of a few families in the present town of Ellicott. Dr. Thomas 
R. Kennedy, of Mead^ille. Pa., in 1SC5, commeiiced the erection of saw- 
mills, chiefly for the manufacture of pine lumber to be run down by water to 
the southern market To these mills was subsequendy added a grist-mifl. 
[For a minute description of the building and ooeradon of these mills, see 
''/-'.\r.\^. sketch of Poland.] For several y- .n femiiies 

rere. ir^iies those employed in the milling _ then was 

that of Edward Shillito. who boarded Kennedrs workmen. Dr. Ken- 
nedy never moved his own lamily to thi'; place. In the south-west part of 
Poland we find, as original p'jrch2^=eis, in 180S, Gideon Gilson : in 1309. 
Sttrl-.tn Kif'.ey, John Owe' .a Arthur: in 18 10, John Brown and 

Co.: and 2vlarlin : in i3u, .-i^.. Tapper. How many of jfc ^^ ^ ^^'-':e 

actual setders we have not the means of knowing. 

In the east ' - ' 

menced in 1 5 ; : 

George W. Feuton. In 1807. Dr. Kennedy and Edward Work \>Qf^i^'i some 
'l.zzz acres on ixith sides c: ' - "" '-' were 

iui>. 2jid a settlement con: ihree 

=r.Cr= r. trtlt-c^t frtm J^zir? : raiconers, a scadosi on the 

Dunkirk, AHeganv Vallev ic ^..: :_ . . ,_^ 

In the town cm Coantaaqaa^ Aiexaoder Mclntyre appears to hare been 
-hen: " r head cf ' In ict 7- 

gast : r :, the we: . r, where ■ -i 

several thoasand acres. On the east side oi the lake. Fiia- Sacket and 
Peter Earr' -- - 1 - '- 1&05. and Miles Sconeld in 1806. " :.. 

Fhilc H: mi Darius I>exter. and John W. V 

In Eliiery. .v la. j>eimis settled at Bemos Point in i3c6, anff larer in tne same 
year Jereniiah. Grifith in the sooth part of the town, whczt a ntnnber of 
families seen foEowed. In HanEcny. north c€ AshviHe. Thomas Bemms 
"•-''' ----- - 1. Ac 

- _ : _ -'Z and 

several 01 his sons setiied m iScc and i8ic, on 'and^ bought by Hrm in. 1808. 

South of Ja~ - -,--—., — ^i OS die - : k. 

inEjantone. : in i8ic. 

in the vtctmty of Aim s aric m otrter parts ol the town. 

Jones, Wm. Sears. Ebc3iez^ Etevis. Ebenezer Cheney, an_ ^. _ 

Isaac Martin- Abotit the same time was comnsenced the settlement at 
Jamt ' ;. 

T ... 

tkm ot the cxxintv m. 181 1. 



y8 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 



PIONEER HISTORY. 

Early Dwellings. 

The labors of the pioneer commence with the opening of a place in the 
forest for the erection of a dwelling. A description of those early domiciles, 
familiarly termed /og cabins, may be interesting to readers who were born 
and reared in the " ceiled houses " of their fathers, and especially to their 
descendants, who will never see a structure of this kind. 

Trees of uniform size, as nearly as may be, are selected, cut into pieces of 
the desired length, and carried or hauled to the site of the proposed building. 
There is at each corner an expert hand with an axe to saddle and notch the 
logs. The saddling is done by so hewing the end of the log as to give the 
upper half the shape of the roof of a building. A notch is then cut into 
the next log to fit the saddle, and of such depth as to bring the logs together. 
The usual hqjght was one story. The gable was laid up with logs gradually 
shortened up to the top or peak, giving the shape or pitch of the roof. On 
the logs which formed these gables, were laid stout poles reaching from one 
gable to the other, at suitable distances, to hold the covering, which con- 
sisted of bark peeled from elm or basswood trees. The strips of bark were 
about four feet long, and about two or three feet wide, and laid in tiers, each 
lapping on the preceding one, after the manner of shingling. The bark was 
kept down by a heavy pole laid across each tier, and fastened at 'the ends. 
Sometimes, instead of bark, a kind of shingles was used, split from straight 
rifted trees, and resembling undressed staves of flour or liquor barrels. These 
were by some called shakes. They were laid about two feet to the weather. 
They were then fastened down by heavy poles, called weight poles, as in 
the case of bark roofs. 

At one end of the building, a square about 8 feet in length and 5 or 6 
feet in height is cut out, and the space filled by a stone wall laid in clay or 
mortar for a fire-place. The chimney, resting on props made in various 
ways, was commenced at a proper height above the hearth, very wide, to 
correspond with the broad fire-place beneath it. It was built with split 
sticks of timber, resembling \common strip lath, but being much larger. 
They were laid up in the manner of a cob-house, the chimney being gradu- 
ally narrowed upward to the top, where its size was about the same as was 
that of an ordinary brick chimney of a frame house fifty years ago. The 
inside Avas plastered with clay or mud and chopped straw, the latter answering 
the same purpose as hair in the mortar used in plastering the inside walls of 
a house. This " stick chimney," or "stick and' clay chimney," was far from 
being fire-proof. Fire would sometimes be communicated to the sticks from 
burning soot, and alarm the family. A speedy application of water thrown 
up plentifully inside, soon allayed all fears. 

A door-way was cut through one side of the house, and split pieces for 
door posts, sometimes called " door-cheeks," were pinned to the ends of the 



EARLY DWELLINGS. 79 

logs with wooden pins. For the want of boards to make doors, a blanket 
was used to close the door entrance until boards could be obtained. The 
hinges and the latch were both made of wood. The latch was raised from 
the outside by a string passing through the door and fastened to the latch 
inside. The safety of the family during the night was effected by drawing in 
the latchstring. Floors were made of split slabs, hewed on one side, and 
were sometimes called puncheons. For a window, a hole was cut in the wall 
large enough to admit a sash of four or six panes of 7 by 9 glass. 
When glass could not be had, the hole was sometimes closed with paper 
pasted over it. The interstices or cracks between the logs were filled with 
mud or clay. The larger cracks or chinks were partly closed with split 
pieces of wood before the mortar was applied. 

Immigrants from a great distance brought no bedsteads. A substitute was 
made by boring holes in the walls, in a corner of the house, into which the 
ends of poles w^ere fitted. Three corners of the bedstead being thus fast- 
ened to the walls, it required but a single post. It now wanted only a cord, 
which was sometimes made of elm or basswood bark. 

A view of the internal arrangements of one of these primitive dwellings 
would be interesting to those who are unacquainted with pioneer life. 
On entering, (supposing it to be meal time,) the smaller children are 
seen standing or sitting around a large chest in which some of the more 
valuable articles had been brought, and which now serves as a table ; the 
parents and older children sitting at a table made, perhaps, of a wide 
puncheon plank, partaking of their plain meal cooked by a log-heap fire. 
In one corner of the room are one or two small shelves on wooden pins, 
displaying the table ware, (when not in use,) consisting of a few teacups and 
saucers, a 'few blue-edged plates, with a goodly number of pewter plates, 
perhaps standing single, on their edges, leaning against the wall to render 
the display of table furniture more conspicuous. « Underneath this cupboard 
are seen a few pots, a spider, and perhaps a bake-kettle. Not a sufficient 
number of chairs — perhaps none — having been brought, the deficiency has 
been supplied with three-legged stools made of puncheon boards. Over the 
door-way lies the indispensable rifle on two wooden hooks nailed to a log of 
the cabin. On the walls hang divers garments of female attire made of 
cotton and woolen fabrics, some of which had done long service before their 
removal hither. 

Log cabins were lighted in the night time in difterent w^ays. In absence 
of candles and lamps, light was, through the winter season, emitted from the 
fire-place, where huge logs were kept burning. A kind of substitute for 
candles was sometimes prepared by taking a wooden rod ten or tw'elve 
inches in length, wrapping around it a strip of cotton or linen cloth, and 
covering it with tallow, pressed on wath the hand. These " sluts," as they 
were sometimes called, afforded light for several nights. Lamps were pre- 
pared by dividing a large turnip in the middle, scraping out the inside quite 
down to the rind, and then inserting a stick about three inches in length, in 



8o HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

the center, so as to stand upright. A strip of linen or cotton cloth was then 
wrapped around it ; and melted lard or deer's tallow was poured in till the 
turnip rind was full, when the lamp was ready for use. [Lamps of this 
description were probably very rare.] By the light of these and other rudely 
constructed lamps, the women spun and sewed, and the men read, when 
books could be obtained. When neither lard nor tallow could be had, the 
large blazing fire supplied the needed light. By these great fire-places many 
skeins of thread have been spun, many a yard of linsey woven, and many a 
frock and pantaloons made. 

Living in houses like those described, was attended with serious discom- 
forts. A single room served the purposes of kitchen, dining-room, sitting- 
room, bed-room and parlor. In many families were six, eight or ten 
children, who were, with their parents, crowded into one room. In one 
comer was the father and mother's bed, and under it the trundle-bed for the 
smaller children. The larger ones lodged in the chamber, which they 
entered by a ladder in another corner, and sometimes made tracks to and 
from their beds in the snow driven through the crevices by the wind. Nor 
did the roofs, made of barks or " shakes," protect them from rains in the 
summer. How visitors who came to spend the night were disposed of, the 
reader may not easily conceive. Some, as their families increased, added to 
their houses an additional room of the same size and manner of construction 
as the former. Such were the dwellings and condition of many of the early 
settlers of the Holland Purchase. A few of these men still linger among us, 
in possession of ample fortunes, and in the enjoyment of the conveniences 
and improvements of the present age — the reward of their early privations 
and toils. 

Clearing Land. 

The lands in the county-were covered with a dense and heavy forest. To 
clear the soil of its timber required an amount of hard labor of which many 
of its present occupants have no adequate conception. Many now living on 
the hard-earned fortunes of their pioneer fathers and grandfathers, could not 
be induced to enter upon a similar course of labor. 

The first part of the clearing process was " underbrushin^." The bushes 
and smallest sapplings were cut down near the ground and piled in heaps. 
The trees were then felled, their bodies cut into lengths of 12 to 15 feet, and 
the brush and small limbs of the trees were thrown into heaps. After the brush 
heaps had become thoroughly dry, they were burned. As a "good burn" 
was desirable,- a dry time was chosen. The old leaves being dry and cover- 
ing the ground, the whole field would be burned over, and an abundant crop 
assured. The next part of the process was " logging," or log-rolling. This 
required the associated labor of a number of men, who would, in turn, assist 
feach other. The neighbors, on invitation, would attend with their hand- 
spikes. . These were strong poles, about six feet in length, and flattened at 
the larger end, in order to their being more easily forced under or between 



WILD ANIMALS. 8 1 

the logs. Logs too heavy to be carried, were drawn to the pile by a team, 
[generally oxen,] and rolled up on the pile on skids, one end lying on the 
ground, the other on the heap. The heaps were then burned, and the soil 
was ready for the seed. Most of the logging was done by " bees." A num- 
ber of the neighbors would come with their teams, attended by a sufficient 
number of extra hands ; and a whole field of several acres would be logged 
in an afternoon. At these logging bees, as at house and barn raisings, was 
generally a 2-gallon bottle — perhaps two — filled with whisky. Most of the 
men were moderate drinkers ; some, however, gave indications, by their 
many witty sayings, that they had overstepped the bounds of moderation. 
But there were also, thus early, a few teetotal temperance men, whose incre- 
dulity as to the magic power of strong drink as an assistant to manual labor, 
had caused them to abandon its use. 

Wild Animals. 

The wild animals inhabiting this region at the time of its settlement, were 
the deer, wolf, bear, wild cat, fox, otter, porcupine or hedge-hog, raccoon, 
woodchuck or ground-hog, skunk, mink, muskrat, opossum, rabbit, weasel 
and squirrel. None Avere much feared except the bear and the wolf. The 
former was the most dangerous ; the latter most destructive to property. 
The bear is generally ready to attack a person ; the wolf seldom does so 
unless impelled by hunger, or in defense. For many years it was difficult to 
protect sheep from the ravages of the wolves. They had to be penned every 
night. Many were destroyed, even in the day time, near the house. It is 
the nature of the wolf to seize a sheep by the throat and suck its blood, and 
leave the carcass as food for other carniverous animals ; provided the number 
of sheep is sufficient thus to satisfy the hunger of their destroyers. Pigs and 
calves also were sometimes victims to these pests of the early settlers. Per- 
sons were followed by them to the doors of their liwellings ; and the sleep 
of families was often disturbed during a great portion of the night by their 
bowlings. " The noise made by these animals," as described by a citizen of 
Stockton, " was not, as some imagine, a coarse bass growl, but a strong 
crakely tenor. Seemingly a leader began the concert by a solo of a firm, 
prolonged sound, when the rest would pitch in with a grand chorus of the 
most terrible jargon of sounds, dying away at the place of beginning, as the 
reverberations sounded over the far off hills."' 

To effect the destruction of these animals, bounties for their scalps were 
offered by the public authorities. The state offered a bounty of $20 for the- 
destruction of a full grown wolf, or half that sum for a ypung one ; and the 
county gave the same bounty ; and most, if not all, of the towns gave not 
less than $10 as a town bounty — making, in the aggregate, a bounty of $50 
for the destruction of every full grown wolf This large bounty induced 
hunters and trappers to devote much time to the destruction of \volves.. 
From an examination of the records by Judge Foote many years since, it was 
found that the county paid in 1815, $420; in 1816, $480; in 1817, $580;. 
6 



82 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

in 1818, $710; in 1819, $472 ;»and in 1820, $510. The wolves having 
become so reduced by these large bounties, the board of supervisors peti- 
tioned the legislature to leave the amount of bounty discretionary with the 
board; and the petition was granted. The bounty was reduced in 1820 to 
$5 for every full grown wolf, and for every whelp $2.50. The same bounties 
were voted the next year. To what amount bounties were paid subsequently 
to 1820, the public records do not show. In 1834, " two certificates granted 
by justices for kiUing wolves were allowed, and one, being informal, was 
rejected." The records show no later action of the board in relation to 
bounties. 

As wolves hunt in the night, when they can not be shot, most of them 
were probably caught in traps, of which there Avere several kinds. One 
kind was a small pen built of small logs or heavy poles, 6 or 7 feet high, 
and narrowed upward. Into this pen a bait was thrown. A wolf could 
easily enter it at the top, but was unable to get out. Another was the steel 
trap, with jaws a foot or more in length. The clamps were notched like a 
cross-cut saw. It resembled, in form, a common spring rat trap. Attached 
to it was a chain with hooks, not to fasten it, but to make it difficult for the 
wolf to drag it. Caught, as he probably would be, by a fore leg while 
trying to paw out the bait, if the trap were made fast, he would gnaw off his 
leg and be gone. There have been still other traps, but descriptions of 
them will not be attempted. 

The following description of a ivolf hiuit is from the pen of Mr. Judge L. 
Bugbee, of Stockton : 

" Perhaps no town in the county suffered so severely as Stockton. The 
deep recesses of the Cassadaga swamp, in this town, formed for the wolf a 
secure retreat, where, during the day time, he could quietly digest his mutton 
of the night before. 

"At length, the inhabitants became deeply exasperated, and resolved on 
the extermination of the wolf. Meetings were held and a plan devised. 

"The battle ground was selected nearly east of the fork of the Cassadaga 
and Bear creeks. The plan of battle was a simultaneous attack upon all 
sides of the swamp at once. On the east the line was formed on the 
town line, between Stockton and Charlotte ; on the north by the line of 
lots near Cooper's mill ; on the west by the Cassadaga creek, and on the 
south by another line of lots near the Swamp road, east of the residence of 
Abel Brunson. The ground was prepared under the supervision of Col. 
Charles Haywood, of Ellery, assisted by Return Tabor, Bela Todd, and 
Royal Putnam. These lines were rendered very plain by blazing trees and 
lopping brush. 

"By previous arrangement, the forces met on the second day of October, 
1824. The north line of attack was commanded by Gen. Levefett Barker, 
of Fredonia, assisted by Elijah Risley and Walter Smith as lieutenants. 
Col. Obed Edson, of Sinclairville, with Judge J. M. Edson and Joy Handy, 
commanded the last division ; Major Asael Lyon and Gen. George T. Camp 
on the west, and Col. Charles Haywood on the south, with Elias Clark, of 
Ellery, as his heutenant. These commanders all wore pistols in their belts 
to designate their office, and were assisted by the four men as guides, who 



WILD ANIMALS. ' 83 

had prepared the Hnes a short time before. Before going into the swamp, 
each division had chosen its place of rendezvous : The east at Sinclairville, 
the north at Cassadaga village, the west at Delanti, and the south at the 
residence of Newell Putnam, Esq., in the south part of Stockton. Dr. 
Waterman Ellsworth, of Delanti, was the captain of the men from Stockton, 
and very active in getting up the ' hunt.' 

" Early in the forenoon the men were all upon the ground, forming a con- 
tinuous line and encircling a goodly portion of the swamp. Mr. Royal 
Putnam, who assisted in marking the lines on all sides, thinks the square was 
full one mile and a half upon each side. The number of men on the 
lines were sufficient to be withiri easy speaking distance from each other. 
The signal for advance was ' Boaz,' being given by Gen. Barker, and as it 
returned, the lines moved forward in splendid order, growing more compact 
until they arrived on the batde grounds, forming a square about one mile in 
circumference, or eighty rods on a side. No man was to fire his gun until he 
received the pass-word from the general, and it was known that the lines 
were closed up. The men now stood shoulder to shoulder. ' Jachin,' the 
pass-word, quickly made its round, and the signal gun was discharged, and 
in a moment the firing became general. After the first discharge of fire-arms 
the deer and rabbits within the lines became frantic with fright, making the 
rounds and seeking an opening through which to escape. One stately buck, 
making the rounds, gallantly charged the line, by forcing his head between 
the legs of Charles P. Young, from EWery, and carrying him several rods 
astride his neck, then bounding away, unharmed, into the free wilderness, 
save perhaps a few sore ribs, from the numerous punches received by the 
muskets in the hands of the men, before they had time to reload their pieces. 
After all the game had been dispatched that could be seen, a committee of 
three or more was sent within the inclosure, to search under old logs and 
fallen trees to ascertain if any game had fled to any of these places for safety. 
Dr. Ellsworth is the only man remembefed as being upon that committee. 

" After the return of the committee, the men, by orders, moved towards 
the center of the inclosure, bringing in the game, consisting of two large 
wolves, one bear, several deer and a large number of rabbits. The men 
were evidendy disappointed in the number of wolves captured, but after 
speeches from a number of the officers, the woods rang with their hearty 
cheers, and they resolved for another hunt, which took place in about, three 
weeks, killing one wolf and several deer and other small game. The third 
hunt was in May, 1825 ; but no wolves were found, and only a few deer. The 
fourth and last hunt under this organization was in June, 1828, but like the 
two former, caught no wolves. 

" The county had offered a large bounty for the scalp of the wolf, fifty 
dollars or upward, and by resolution. Gen. Barker, Elijah Risley and Walter 
Smith were elected a committee to forward the scalps, and obtain the money, 
and expend it in anmiunition, provision and whisky to assist the men in 
future hunts. From this date, wolves ceased to be troublesome in this part 
of the county, and very soon left our borders for more secure quarters." 

A hazardous encounter with a bear is thus related by J. L. Bugbee, Esq., of 
Stockton : 

" Wyman Bugbee, of Ellington, in 1815, with two of his neighbors started 
on a deer hunt ; and his dog soon discovered and attacked a bear. The 
outcry of the dog brought the hunters to the rescue. Wyman advanced and 



84 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

made a pass at the bear with his axe, when Bruin, with a dexterous movement 
with his paw, knocked the axe from his hands, dropped the dog, and with 
his strong jaws laid hold of Wyman's leg just above the ankle. Then came 
the 'tug of war;' and the result was, for sometime, doubtful. His com- 
rades durst not shoot, as the position of the combatants was constantly- 
changing ; the bear still holding his grip on Bugbee's leg ; and his friends 
undecided as to what it was best to do. Evidently, they did not wish to 
hazard too much in the probability of becoming the chief party in the strug- 
gle for life with this shaggy and fearful monster. However, they were con- 
tinually doing what they could, looking well to every dangerous position. 
Bugbee soon gained the battle, by the a'id of his jack-knife, cutting the 
bear's throat; but it was six months before he was able to leave his 
house." 

Among the materials of our early history, is the following account of a 
bear encounter : 

"In 1822, Jehiel Tiffany, returning through the woods to Jamestown, 
treed a bear with three cubs, a short distance north of the village. He 
came to the village and rallied several men with guns to go and kill the 
bears. On arriving at the place, two of the cubs were spied high up in a pine 
tree ; and John Pickard, a good marksman with a rifle, soon shot them both. 
The 'other cub and the old bear not being discovered, most of the party 
started for the village. Mr. Tiffany, Samuel Barrett, Thomas W. Harvey, 
and John Pickard remained to watch for the missing bears. They soon 
heard the cub in the top of a tall hemlock, the limbs of which were so dense 
as to conceal the animal. Determined to capture it. Major Barrett climbed 
the tree, and shook it from one of the highest limbs ; but in its fall it caught 
another limb. From this, too, it was shaken, and again caught a limb lower 
down. This limb being too stiff to admit of the cub's being shaken off, 
Barrett cut the limb partly off with his jack-knife, when it lopped down, and 
the bear fell to the ground, and was so stunned by the fall, that Gen. Harvey 
caught it and tied its feet. 

" When the cub made a noise, the old bear was heard near by m the 
bushes. Harvey found that by biting the cub's ear, he could make it squeal. 
This brought the old bear near, but not fully in sight. Pickard then stepped 
off a few rods into the woods, and, while watching the bear, Harvey rallied the 
bear try biting the -cub's ear, and brought her in sight of Pickard, who sent 
a rifle-ball into her head and neck. Pickard and Barrett, after having taken 
out the entrails, brought her on a pole to the village, while Gen. Harvey 
carried the cub home and tamed it." 

Among the numerous instances of men's coming in contact with bears, 
wolves, and other ravenous beasts, it is believed there is not one in which a 
man has been killed. 

Of the native animals of the forest which have disappeared, was the 
poi'cupine or hedge-hog. It was nearly as large as a raccoon, had a round 
head, and was covered all over with quills from an inch to two inches long, 
and as hard and as sharp as a needle. It was a terror to dogs. Young 
dogs, not knowing the consequence, would seize the animal, and get the 
quills stuck into their mouths. It is the nature of these quills to work 
deeper into the flesh and kill the dogs, if not extracted in season, which 



EARLY FARMING. 85 

was usually done with nippers. A dog once stuck with quills would not be 
likely again to touch a porcupine. 

But while the forest was infested with noxious animals, it was of no small 
value as a hunting ground. Deer huntitig in the winter was a common busi- 
ness. Much of the meat of deer was sometimes lost. The hunter, if alone 
and far from home, would shoulder the more valuable part — the hams and 
skin — and leave the rest for the wolves ; or, as was sometimes done, he would 
hang it to a sapling or a large limb of a tree, which had perhaps been bent down 
for the purpose, and which, springing back, would raise the meat beyond the 
reach of the wolves. Having delivered his first load at his cabin, he would 
return, conducted by his tracks in the snow, and bring home the remainder. 
The opossum, the rabbit and the squirrel, were also a part of the pioneer's 
fare. To the variety of meats enumerated, may be added several of the 
feathered tribes, as pigeons, wild turkeys, partridges, and several others. 

But the principal meat of early settlers did not long consist of game. 
Pork and poultry were soon raised in abundance. The common fowl fur- 
nished meat and eggs. Geese, though sometimes eaten, were raised chiefly 
for the feathers, with which old beds were replenished and new ones filled. 
Doubtless, many still repose on beds made by their mothers or grandmothers 
half a century ago. 

Early Farming. 

Agriculture is a term hardly applicable to pioneer farming. The imple- 
ments used would, in this age of improvement, attract attention as great 
curiosities. The " virgin soil," as has been observed, was ready for the seed 
when cleared of its timber. The principal instrument of tillage for several 
years was the triangular harrow, usually called drag. This instrument con- 
sisted principally of two pieces of timber, (hewed, before there were mills for 
sawing,) about five inches square and six feet long, put together in the form 
of the letter A. The drag was sometimes made of a crotched tree, and 
needed no framing. The teeth were nearly double the size of those now 
used, in order to stand the severe trial they were to uwdergo. The drag 
bounded along over stubs and roots and stones, drawn by oxen often driven 
by boys. 

When the roots had become sufficiently brittle to admit of the use of the 
plow, an instrument was used which it would puzzle the young men of the 
present day to give a name. The idea of a cast iron plow had not then been 
conceived by the inventor. It is said to have been invented by Jethro Wood, 
of Scipio, Cayuga county, N. Y., about fifty years ago, though it is a much 
less number of years since it came into general use. Late improvements in 
the plow and the harrow, and the invention of cultivators, drills, and other 
labor-saving implements, have wonderfully changed the aspect of farming, 
and increased the power of production. 

In harvestings the change is not less striking. Before the decay and 
removal of stumps permitted the use of the grain cradle, wheat was cut with 



86 HISTORV OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

the sickle, now a rare instrument. It was then a staple article of merchan- 
dise. In the old day-books and journals of the early merchants, if they 
could be found, under the names of scores of customers would be seen the 
charge, " To i Sickle," followed, in many cases by that other charge, " To i 
gallon Whisky," an article deemed by some as necessary in the harvesting 
operation as the instrument itself. The cradle, which superseded the sickle, 
is now fast giving way — in many parts of the country has already entirely 
given place — to the reaper, an instrument then no more likely to be invented 
than the photographic art, or the means of hourly intercourse with the inhab- 
itants of the opposite side of the globe. Fields of wheat of one hundred 
to five hundred acres each, are not rare in some of the Western States. Let 
a person imagine an attempt to cut these immense fields of grain by hand- 
fuls with the sickle, and he cannot fail to appreciate the invention of the 
reaper. 

Grain was generally threshed by the early settlers with a flail, ten to twenty 
bushels a day. There were no fanning-mills to separate the grain from the 
chaff. For many years the mill-peddlers did not venture so far west as 
Chautauqua. Grain was cleaned with a fan. Neither the instrument nor 
the operation is easily described ; nor was it probably ever nmch used here. 
Another method was nearly as follows : A riddle [a very coarse sieve] about 
30 inches in diameter and 5 or 6 inches deep, was filled with wheat in the 
chaff. To " raise the wind," a linen sheet, perhaps taken from the bed, was 
held at the corners by two men, who gave it a semi-rotary motion, or sudden 
swing. Another man holding up and shaking the riddle with its contents, 
the chaff was blown from the falling wheat. About ten bushels were thus 
cleaned in half a day. Wlien at length farmers had the means of buying 
mills, and the roads admitted of their transportation, fanning-mills were 
introduced. A large portion of this county was early supplied with mills of 
an exceHent quality, by one of its present worthy and distinguished citizens, 
the Hon. George W. Patterson, of Westfield. But this once common and 
useful article has been 'superseded by machines propelled by horse-power or 
by steam. A single machine now receives the sheaves and delivers the 
cleaned grain at the rate of from one hundred to two hundred bushels a day. 
A reaper is in use in some of the Western states, which carries two binders, 
who drop along its track the cut grain in sheaves bound. ' 

In /lay hcu'vesting, also, improvements would seem to have attained perfec- 
tion. A lad of sufficient age to drive a team can mow from fifty to one 
hundred acres in an ordinary haying season ; and the hay may all be raked 
during the same season by one person. 

While, by the invention of the cultivator and other implements, the power 
and facility of producing corn has been greatly increased, there has not yet 
appeared, nor is there likely to appear, any invention that will materially 
facilitate the process of harvesting it. The husking of corn was generally 
done in the field, as at present. In those portions of the country settled by 
the Dutch, the ears, when fully ripe, were broken from the stalk, thrown into 



EARLY COOKING. 8/ 

heaps, and then hauled into the barn, and thrown into a long heap across 
the barn floor, ready for a corti-husking, in which the neighbors, old and 
young, were invited to participate on some evening. The anticipation of a 
" good time " secured a general attendance. A good supper, which several 
of the neighboring women had assisted in preparing, was served at eight or 
nine o'clock. The " old folks " would then leave, and in due time the boys 
would gallant the girls to their homes. The recreation afforded to the young 
people Qn the yearly recurrence of these festive occasions was as highly 
enjoyed, and quite as innocent, as most of the amusements of the present 
boasted age of refinement. 

Early Cooking. 

To witness the several processes of cooking in pioneer times, would alike 
surprise and amuse those who have grown up since cook-stoves came into 
use. The first thing Hkely to attract notice would be the wide fire-place 
already described. Kettles were hung over the fire to a stout pole, some- 
times called lug pole, the ends of which were fastened into the sides of the 
chimney at such height as not to be likely to ignite from the heat or sparks. 
The kettles were suspended on tranunels, which were pieces of iron rods 
with a hook at each end. The uppermost one reached nearly down to the 
fire, and with one or more shorter ones, the kettle was brought to the proper 
height above the fire. For the want of iron, wooden hooks were sometimes 
used for trammels. Being directly above the kettles, they were safe from fire. 

The long handled frying pan was a common cooking utensil. It was held 
over the fire by hand ; or, to save time, the end of the handle was sometimes 
laid on the back of a chair, the pan resting on the fire, while the cook was 
" setting the table." The pan was also used for baking short cakes. It was 
placed in a nearly perpendicular position before the fire, leaning slightly 
backward, with coals under or back of it to bake the under side. A more 
convenient article was the cast iron, three legged, short handled spider which 
was set over coals on the hearth for frying meat. Its legs were of such 
length and so adjusted, that, when used for baking cakes or bread, being 
turned up towards the fire, to the proper slope, handle upwards, it would 
keep its position. An early mode of baking • corn bread, (cast iron ware 
being scarce,) was to put the dough on a smooth board, about 2 feet long 
and 8 inches wide, placed on the hearth in a slanting position before the fire. 
When the upper side was baked, the bread was turned over for baking the 
other side. When lard was plenty, the bread was shortened, and called 
johnny-cake. But a better article for baking bread than either the pan or 
spider, was the cast iron bake-kettle, in some places called " Dutch oven," 
with legs and a closely fitted cover. Standing on the hearth with coals undet 
and over it, bread and biscuit were nicely baked. Bread for large families 
was usually baked in large out-door ovens built of brick or fire-proof stones. 
Turkeys and spare-ribs were roasted before the fire, suspended by a string, 
a dish or pan being placed underneath to catch the drippings. 



88 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

Some of the inconveniences of cooking in these open fire-places will be 
readily imagined. Women's hair was singed, their hands were blistered, 
and their dresses scorched. But framed houses with jamb fire-places 
measurably relieved the pioneer house-wives. In one of the jambs was fixed 
an iron crane, which could be drawn forward when kettles were to be put 
on or taken off. But the invention of cook-stoves commenced a new era 
in cookery ; and none, most averse to innovation, have intimated a desire to 
return to the " old way," which will hereafter be known only in history. 

Fare of the Early Settlers. 

Among the many hardships of pioneer life, not the least is the difficulty 
in procuring bread. For at least two years the settler in the woods must 
obtain his family supplies chiefly from other sources than his own land. This 
difficulty is enhanced by the remoteness of his residence from older settle- 
ments, where his supplies are to be obtained. Hence, those who settled in 
this county within the first few years, had a severer experience than those who 
came after a surplus of grain was produced, and mills for grinding it were 
built in the earlier settlements. 

The first settlement in the county where grain was produced, was com- 
menced at Westfield in 1802. The settlers there had to go to Erie, a distance 
of more than thirty miles, for provisions, as we learn from the fact that 
Edward McHenry, on his way thither for that purpose, lost his life by the 
upsetting of his boat on Lake Erie. In the Memoir of Zattu Gushing, by 
O. W. Johnson, Esq., we are informed that the first settlers at Canadaway, 
[now Fredonia,] went to Niagara Falls and to Canada to get their grain 
ground. When intending to cross Lake Erie, they started when the lake 
was likely to be calm. Three men were required to row the boat. On one 
occasion Judge Gushing and his companions were wrecked on the Ganada 
shore, losing their boat and grain. As they were absent ten days, their 
families gave them up for lost. 

John Eason settled at Fredonia in 1804. All the money he had on his 
arrival was ten dollars, which he paid for a barrel of flour procured from 
Canada, across Lake Erie. Upon this, together with fish and wild game, he 
chiefly relied for sustenance until he could raise vegetables, which were his 
principal means of support during the first year. Whole families, for many 
days, tasted not a morsel of bread, subsisting upon game and other products 
of the forest. Leeks, with which the woods abounded, furnished, to some 
extent, food for man and beast. The leaves, which were in some regions 
far advanced before the disappearance of the winter snows, furnished for 
cattle a valuable pasture ground ; and the bulbs, later in the season, were, in 
times of scarcity, used by settlers as a substitute for common articles of 
food. There are probably still living on the Purchase persons who have 
eaten many a meal, consisting in great part, of cooked leeks. 

Before there were mills within a convenient distance, families lived for 
weeks on hulled wheat, and on meal from corn pounded out at home. For this 



HOUSEHOLD MANUFACTURES. 89 

purpose, one end of a large block was scooped out, making a cavity holding 
half a bushel or less of corn. A spring pole was fixed over the rafters, or to 
something else of proper height. On the end of the pole a wooden pestle 
was suspended by a rope. It will readily be imagined that the principal use 
of the pole was to assist in raising the pestle ; and that a small quantity of 
grain was pounded at a time. The pestle was not in all cases hung to a pole, 
but was sometimes used wholly with the hands of the operator. Probably 
homiuy-hlocks, or hominy- mills, as they were called, will never again appear in 
any part of our country. A " corn cracker " of this kind was attached to 
the saw-mill built by David Dickinson, an early settler at Silver Creek. 

Household Manufactures. 

Nearly all the clothing of the early settlers was made from cloth of home 
manufacture. Long after the country had passed its pioneer state, the farmer's 
house continued to be a linen and woolen factory. Where more spinning 
was to be done than the wife could do in addition to her ordinary house-work, 
or where the daughters were too young to help, spinsters were employed to 
come into families to spin flax in the winter season, and wool in the summer. 
The price usually paid these itinerant spinsters was a shilling a day, the day's 
work ending at early bed time. Some will be surprised when told that many 
of these women had money to show at the year's end. It was the custom, 
to some extent, to count a certain number of " runs " as a day's work. This 
had a tendency to accelerate the motion of the wheel, and lessen the hours 
of labor. These small earnings would not go far toward clothing Chautauqua 
farmers' daughters of the present generation. 

The spinning exercise is one which the young women of modern times 
have never enjoyed. The wheel used for spinning flax was called the "Uttle 
wheel," to distinguish it from the " big wheel," used for spinning wool. These 
" stringed instruments " furnished the principal music of the family, and were 
operated by our mothers and grandmothers with great skill, attained without 
expense, and by far less practice, than is necessary for our modern dames to 
acquire a skillful use of their elegant and costly instruments. They were 
indispensable household articles, and were to be found in nearly every family. 
The loom was not less necessary than the wheel. There were some houses, 
however, in which there was none. But there were always some, who, 
besides doing their own weaving, did some for others. 

Woolen cloth was made in families. There being at first no carding 
machines, wool was carded and made into short rolls with hand cards. These 
rolls were spun on the " big wheel," which is still to be seen in the houses of 
some old setders, being occasionally used for spinning and twisting stocking 
yarn. It was turned with one hand, and with such velocity as to give it 
sufficient momentum to enable the nimble mother, by her backward step, to 
draw out and twist a thread of nearly the length of the cabin. The same 
loom was used for b(ith linen and woolen. A cloth was sometimes made 
called linsey, or linsey-woolsey, the warp being linen and the filling woolen. 



go HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, 

Woolen for men's outer garments was generally sent to the fuller and 
cloth-dresser to be finished, if fulling-mills and cloth-dressing establishments 
were within a convenient distance. Woolen flannel was also made and worn 
by the mothers and daughters. Flannel for women's wear, after dye-stuffs 
were to be had, were dyed such color as the wearer fancied. It was some- 
times a plaid made of yarn of various colors, home-dyed. To improve their 
appearance, these flannels were sent to a cloth-dressing shop for a slight 
dressing, which was finished by a powerful pressing between large sheets of 
smooth pasteboard, to give them a glossy surface. 

Much dyeing, too, was done in the family. Dye-woods and dye-stuffs 
formed no small portion of a merchant's stock. Barrels of chipped Nicara- 
gua, log-wood, and other woods, kegs of madder, alum, copperas, vitriol, 
indigo, etc., constituted a large part of teamsters' loading for the merchants. 
Many remember the old dye-tub standing in the chimney corner, covered 
with a board, and used also as a seat for children when chairs were wanted 
for visitors, or when new supplies of furniture failed to keep pace with the 
increase of the family. Mr. Goodrich, [Peter Parley,] describing early life 
in his native town in Connecticut, speaks of this " institution of the dye- 
tub," as having, "when the night had waned and the family had retired, 
frequently become the anxious seat of the lover, who was permitted to carry 
on his courtship, the object of his addresses sitting demurely in the opposite 
comer." We have no authority for saying that it was ever used here on such 
occasions. 

Nearly all the cloth wprn was " home-made." Rarely was a farmer or his 
son seen in any other. If, occasionally, a young man appeared in a suit of 
"boughten cloth," he was an object of envy to his rustic associates. Few, 
except merchants, lawyers, doctors, and some village mechanics, wore cloth 
that had not passed through the hands of the country cloth-dresser. Hence, 
the early merchants kept small stocks of broadcloth. Cloths of the finer 
qualities they sometimes bought in small pieces containing a certain number 
of full patterns — one, two, or three — to avoid loss on remnants. 

There were also itinerant tdiloresses, who came into families to make up 
men's and boys' winter clothing. The cutting was mostly done by the 
village tailor, if a village was near. " Bad fits," which were not uncommon, 
were generally charged to the cutter. Hence the custom of tailors, when 
advertising, " Cutting done on short notice, and warranted to fit," to append 
the very prudent proviso, " if properly made up." These seamstresses 
charged for their work two shillings a day. This was thought by some a 
little exorbitant, as the usual price of help at housework was but six shil- 
lings a week, Sundays not excepted. 

Boots and shoes also were made in many families. Farmers got the hides 
of their slaughtered catde tanned "on shares;" or, if their share was judged 
insufficient to shoe a whole family, the tanning and dressing were otherwise 
paid for. Then there was in the neighborhood a circulating shoemaker, who 
made his yearly autumnal circuit with his " kit." The children had a happy 



STORES AND TRADE. 9 1 

time during his sojourn, which lasted one, two, or more weeks, according to 
the number of feet to be shod. The boys who had doffed their old shoes 
when the winter snows had scarcely disappeared, to enjoy the luxury of 
going barefoot, were now no less joyful in the anticipation of new ones to 
protect their feet from the frosts or early snows. 

Large boys and girls, when leather was scarce and dear, have been known 
to go barefoot the greater part of the year. And it was not a rare thing to 
see girls as well as boys, not of the poorer families, at the age of twelve, at 
Sunday meetings, with feet unshod. Some made shoes for themselves and 
their families. Boots were httle worn, even by men, except in the winter 
season. Men's boots and shoes were usually made of coarse leather, called 
cowhide. Occasionally a young man attained the enviable distinction of 
appearing in a pair of calf-skin boots, made by a skillful workman. Boots 
and shoes for both feet were made on one last. In those days "rights and 
lefts " were unknown. In this department of dress as in others, in respect 
to style and cost, the past and the present exhibit a remarkable contrast. 

We only add, a general revolution in household labor has taken place 
within the last fifty years. The substitution of cotton for flax, and of the 
various kinds of labor-saving machinery for hand-cards and spinning-wheels 
and looms, has vastly lightened the labor of women. One of the results of 
these improvements is the opportunity they afford for mental and intellectual 
culture. That the mass of American women duly improve these opportuni- 
ties, will hardly be affirmed. 

Stores and Trade. 

A great inconvenience incident to pioneer life, is the want of the many 
articles essential to the comfort of a family, which the farm cannot supply. 
Therefore, no immigrant is more welcome in a new settlement than the first 
merchant. Fortunately, there are seldom wanting those who are ready to 
establish a store when and where there is a population sufficient to sustain 
one. Some of the early stares were kept in log buildings. The first stocks 
of goods were not large ; yet they comprised most of those articles which 
were needed by the settlers. 

But the gratification of some at the advent of the early merchant, was 
greatly moderated by their inability to purchase his wares. The inhabitants 
generally were poor. They had expended nearly all their money in their 
removal ; and the little they had left was wanted to buy breadstufts and other 
absolute necessaries. Farmers who had been here long enough to raise a 
small surplus, obtained some money from new-comers. But the majority 
were not so fortunate. 

Goods were dear, being transported at great cost. They were principally 
brought from Albany in wagons, a large part of the way over new and very 
bad roads. A trip from Buffalo to Albany and back required for its perform- 
ance three or four w^eks, and sometimes even a longer time. Between Cat- 
taraugus creek and Buffalo, the roads were for a considerable distance almost 



92 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

impassable. But the high price of the merchant's goods was but one-half of 
the farmers misfortune. While he had to pay a double price for nearly every 
staple article of store goods, he was obliged to sell the products of his farm 
at about one-half of their cost in labor. There are yet many living who dis- 
tinctly recollect the condition of the country from its early settlement, and 
the relative prices of merchandise and the products of the farm. More 
accurate information, however, may be obtained from the books of the early 
merchants, to which reference will be made. 

The books of J. & M. Prendergast, [Jediah and Martin,] early merchants 
at Mayville, show the prices of goods from September, 1811, to January, 
181 5. They were among the earliest merchants in the county. The sur- 
rounding country was as yet very sparsely settled ; yet their books show a 
considerable trade, to which the Prendergast families were liberal contributors. 
The first four sales appear to have been made to four different persons of that 
name. The county seat and a land office having been established there, 
Mayville was a convenient place of trade to many in remote parts of the 
county. 

On a glance at the pages of these old books, our modern clerks would 
find, in the keeping of accounts, something of which they have no practical 
knowledge. The old mode of reckoning was by pounds, shillings and pence. 
And to most adults it is known that, until a comparatively late period, the 
prices of goods per yard or pound, both in buying and selling, at wholesale 
and retail, were given in shillings and pence. Merchants generally marked 
their goods in this currency, and so charged them to their customers ; but 
the aggregate cost of the number of yards or pounds of the article sold, was 
"carried out" in dollars and cents. But in the books alluded to, the aggre- 
gate cost of the number of yards or pounds sold was also carried out in 
pounds, shillings and pence, and set down in three separate columns. The 
footing of a bill of many articles would, at the bottom of the columns, be 
^S 7s. 9d. — 8 pounds, 7 shillings and 9 pence. Happily, this clumsy method 
of reckoning and keeping accounts has been superseded by the decimal 
method — by dollars, cents and mills. 

The prices of some articles, in shillings and pence, are here given : Wool 
cards, 8s. a pair; spider net, 7s. 6d. a yard ; loaf sugar, 3s. a pound; calico, 
3s. 4d. a yard; hyson tea, 14s. a pound; pins, 2s. 6d. a paper; powder, 8s. 
a pound; shot, 2s.; unbleached cotton, 2s. 7d. a yard. Farmers found it no 
easy matter to pay for iron is. 3d. a pound; steel, 2s.; nails, is. /d. to 2s. 
6d. ; paper, 3s. a quire; skin tea, los. a pound ; nutmegs, is. each. Before 
the close of the year, ppces began to be affected by the war. In December, 
1814, flannels were 8s. to 9s. 6d. a yard; cambric muslin, i8s. ; book muslin, 
i6s.; factory cotton, 5s. a yard; satinet, 27s. 6d. ; nails, 2s. to 2s. 6d. ; 
Swedes steel, 4s. a pound; maccoboy snuff, 8s. a pound; coffee, 5s. ; pow- 
der, 1 23. ; skin tee, 20s. ; imperial tea, 26s. ; cotton yarn, 9s. ; cotton stock- 
ings, 13s. a pair. 

If medical services rose to a point corresponding to the prices of the 



STORES AND TRADE. 93 

drugs and medicines used by the physicians, their patients would have had 
no less cause to complain of onerous "doctors' bills" than they who are 
now so unfortunate as to need such services. One of this mercantile firm 
[Jediah] being himself a physician, we find a charge : " To call and puke, 
2 oz. val. sylv., and caskarel, and epispastic," in all, j[,\ 43. Jacob Rush 
was charged 6 oz. laudanum, 4s. oz., and 2 pukes, 2s. each, — ^i 8s. Dr. 
Alexander Mclntyre, who, being a physician, might be expected to buy 
medicines at a discount from ordinary retail prices, was charged as early as 
181 2, for glauber salts, 3s. 6d. lb. ; bark, 32s. ; camomile flowers, 3s. 6d. oz.; 
gum Arabic, is. 6d. oz. ; opodeldoc, to ordinary customers, 5s. Whisky, 
that staple article in those days, kept pace with other goods till it reached 
i2s. to 14s. a gallon. But the books indicate no perceptible decrease in its 
consumption. 

The day-book of Douglass & Houghton, merchants at Cattaraugus, in 
July, 181 2, exhibits prices as follows : Hyson skin tea, 16s. ; bohea tea, 8s. ; 
calico, 6s. 6d. yd.; white flannel, los. ; tow cloth, 4s.; salt, 20s. bushel; 
pc\j3er, 4s. qr. ; ginger, 6s. lb.; whisky, 12s. a gallon. Their store was, in 
December, 1812, removed to Fredonia, where we see nails charged at 2s. 6d. 
lb. ; spelling books, 3s. a copy; Harmony cloth at 68s. [$8.50] a yard. Pins 
were charged 4s. a paper; stockings, i6s. 6d. a pair. Broadcloth is charged, 
May 22, 18 13, to James Hale, by order of Elijah Risley, 80s. [$io] per 
yard; and cassimere, 36s. yd ! These far exceed the war prices of 1861-65. 

But our surprise at these prices will be less when we consider the cost of 
transportation. Charles Hill and Thomas Hill returned from Albany, Sept. 
12, 18 14, with loads of merchandise for J. & M. Prendergast, Mayville; the 
former having brought 1635 lbs, the latter 1800 lbs., for which they were 
allowed $6 per 100 lbs. Their expenses appear to have been $40 each; and 
the time spent in making the trip must have been about four weeks. 

In 1819, freight from New York' to Buffalo was $3.50 per 100 lbs. ; from 
Buffalo to Fredonia, $1.50 — total, $5 per hundred, or $100 per ton. With 
the products of their farms at the prices they bore a few years later, 
farmers could hardly have paid for store goods at the prices charged. Prices 
of farm products had not reached the lowest point. They continued to de- 
cline until they were scarcely sufficient to pay transportation to the nearest 
cash market. Nor did farmers find permanent relief until after the comple- 
tion of the Erie canal, and until adequate encouragement had been secured 
to American manufactures. 

J. & M. Prendergast established in November, 18 13, a branch store in 
EUicott, where Jamestown now stands. A part of the first day-book having 
been torn from its cover, the earliest date that appears is Sept. 20, 1814; 
and the business there was continued until March, 181 6. The prices appear 
to have varied but slightly from those at Mayville. In the whisky trade we 
judge that, in the price and quantity sold, the Jamestown store surpassed 
that of Mayville. In July, 181 5, we count, on five successive pages, 69 
separate and distinct charges for this article ; the least number on any one 



94 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

page being 12 ; on two of them, 15 each. During a considerable part of 
the war time, flour stood at $12 a barrel. On the Jamestown day-book, 
John Burgess is charged, Jan. 6, 1815, with 2 bbls. flour, at $19 bbl. ; and 
Israel Knight previously credited by 2 bbls. flour, (probably the same flour,) 
at $18.65 bbl. Wm. Forbes is charged Jan., 1816, for hollow castings, 10 
cts. lb. ; cheese 2s. ; salt, $12 bbl. Salt rose suddenly from $7 to $12 and 
$15 ; and in November, 181 4, Solomon Shepard stands credited 3.t the May- 
ville store, by 2 bbls. salt at $22 per barrel ! 

Considering the low prices of farm produce, and the difficulty of con- 
verting it into cash, we can hardly imagine how either the settlers could buy 
the merchants' goods, or how the merchants could sell enough to keep up 
their establishments. Immigration having nearly ceased, the market formerly 
furnished by new-comers no longer existed. Grain bore prices merely nomi- 
nal. Wheat, at times, could not be sold at the farmer's barn for more in 
cash than the cost of transportation to the nearest cash market. Cases are 
known in which loads of corn have been taken to Dunkirk, twenty miles, 
over woods roads, and sold for 12^^ cents a bushel to realize the money to 
pay taxes — the round trip taking two days. Wheat was taken to the same 
market and sold for 37^ cents. Maple sugar, at 4, 5, or 6 cents a pound, 
was exchanged for goods; butter at 6 to 8 cents; oats, 10 to 12 cents: 
other kind of grain in about the same proportion. Dressed pork sold for 
about 2 or 2^ cents a pound. No wonder that, with hard labor and rigid 
economy, the settlers were slow in paying for their lands. Indeed, it would 
seem almost impossible, under such adverse circumstances, to avoid extreme 
suffering. Yet the various kinds of business were more or less successfully 
pursued. How this was done, will appear from the nature of trade, which 
will be the subject of succeeding pages. 

Ashes were for many years the most, important article of trade, being 
almost the only one which could be readily turned into cash. For some 
purposes money must be had. Certain articles or merchandise could not be 
got in exchange for grain, or on credit. Taxes could not be paid in kind : 
and to raise " tax-money," farmers were sometimes obliged to sell grain and 
other products of their farms for prices which scarcely paid for their trans- 
portation to market. Ashes afforded material relief. Many a settler who 
had a large surplus of grain which he wa^ unwilling to sell at the ruinously 
low prices offered, cut and burned timber for the ashes from which to get 
money to pay taxes and for other necessary uses. These ashes, and those 
from burned log heaps, were sometimes drawn several miles over rough roads, 
and exchanged for goods, or at a reduced price for cash, if cash must be had. 
The price was 5, 6, or 8 cents, according to quality, as ashes from old and 
partially decayed timber, or having an admixture of the soil, which was some- 
times scraped up with them, were of little value. Hence it is seen that an 
ashery was a necessary appendage to a store in a new settlement. The lye 
of the ashes was boiled down to a proper consistency and red heat, resembhng 
molten iron in a furnace, and dipped into smaller kettles holding several 



STORES AND TRADE. 95 

pailfuls, and left to cool, when it was emptied out of the kettle in a single 
lump, solid as a stone. It was then broken and put into strong barrels, ready 
for transportation to market. 

But raw ashes not admitting of transportation a great distance, it was 
necessarj' to concentrate their virtue into smaller bulk. The lye was boiled 
down to the consistence of thick mortar, and was called black salts, being of 
• a dark color, and converted into pearl ashes. Hence the necessity of a pearl 
ashery also. The salts were thrown into a large brick oven, 6 or 8 feet in 
diameter, and baked, or rather burned, being brought almost to a red heat. 
When cool, the color had been changed to a pearly white. Always com- 
manding cash in every market, merchants having pearl asheries would readily 
pay cash for black salts. Pot and pearl ashes, containing great value in 
small weight and bulk, would bear transportation to the most distant markets. 
They were generally sent to New York and Montreal, and thence a large 
portion of them was shipped across the Atlantic. 

Before there were stores and pearl asheries in the southern and south- 
western towns of the county, black salts were principally bought by the mer- 
chants in the lake shore towns. Many had no wagons on which to carry 
them ; nor did the roads admit of their being carried on wagons all the way 
from the back settlements. A more simple vehicle was used. From a small 
tree was taken a piece having at one end two prongs. The single end was 
put into the ring of the ox-yoke, the other resting on the ground. Across 
the prongs the trough containing the salts was placed, and kept from sliding 
backward by a long wooden pin set perpendicularly in each prong. On car- 
riages of this description were many tons of this valuable product of the 
forest yearly conveyed to market. Sometimes the oxennwere simply hitched 
by a chain to the fore end of the trough containing the salts, the bottom of 
which had been flattened, and th^ end hewed away from the under side to 
fit it, like a sled runner, for sliding over the rough ground. 

To facilitate the collection of debts, merchants, after cattle had become 
plenty, sometimes received cattle in payment from their customers, and drove 
them to eastern markets, or sold them to drovers from the East. Cattle were 
then cheap. A pair of good working oxen could be bought for about $50 : 
steers, three years old, for $15 a head ; two years old, for about $10. Pork 
also was taken on account at prices which contrast strikingly with the present. 
Well fatted pork, dressed, was sold for $2, or $2.50, per 100 pounds. 

Of the quantity and value of the products of the forest timber, a pretty 
correct idea may be formed from the following statements of the manufacture 
of pot and pearl ashes by a few of the merchants of this county. The most 
minute and accurate statement from any source is that of Albert H. Camp, 
Forestville, prefaced thus : 

" Statement of pearl and pot ashes sent to Montreal and New York 
markets, or sold at Bufifalo, by Albert H. Camp on his own account, or on 
account of the firms of which he was a partner at Forestville, Chautauqua 
county, N. Y., from May i, 1820, to Sept. i, 1850." 



^6 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

The number of barrels sold from 1820 to 1836, inclusive, was 2830. The 
price per cvvt. of ii2lbs. varied from $4.25 to $8, averaging about $6. These 
appear to have been all, or nearly all, pearls. The timber having princi- 
pally disappeared, the statement shows the annual sales to have decreased 
from 289 barrels, the greatest quantity sold in any year, to 40 barrels, in 
1836. During this period the price paid for black salts, from which pearls 
are made, was from $2 to $3.50 per cwt. of ii2lbs. From 1837 to 1850, 
inclusive, the amount was 648 barrels, nearly all pots made of house ashes, 
for which 12^ cents per bushel were paid, if delivered, or .10 cents, if hauled 
by the merchants themselves. With the year 1850, the business ceased. 

George T. Camp, brother of Albert H. Camp, was a merchant for several 
years at Mayville, before he moved his business to Westfield. While at the 
former place, he paid in a single week $1200 for black salts; and for some 
time averaged $800 to $1000 a week. The price was between $2 and $3 
per hundred. This was about the years 1829 and 1830. From the fact 
that there were at that time many asheries in the county, we have some idea 
of the amount of money paid to settlers for the products of their otherwise 
valueless timber. 

Alvin Plumb, an early merchant in Jamestown, and afterward at Mayville, 
furnishes the following statement : 

" Before the completion of the Erie canal, Montreal was the market for 
ashes, which, with lumber from the south-eastern towns, constituted nearly all 
the products of exportation from the county. I was engaged in the manu- 
facture of pearl ashes at Jamestown for several years, from 1824, and at 
Mayville from 1825. The quantity produced at the former place in the best 
years of the trade was some 50 tons, and at the latter place about 100 tons. 
I also bought largeiy from other merchants in that trade, in the years 1825 
and 1826. The quantity manufactured and purchased at these places was 
about 500 tons, the most of which was sent from Barcelona Harbor." 

Daniel Williams, now and for many years a resident of Ashville, states 
that, at an early period of the settlement of the county, [18 19,] he com- 
menced manufacturing pot and pearl ashes, at Westfield, where he worked 
at the business for four or five years, for Alvin Williams and Budlong & Bab- 
cock. During the first three years there was made about i ton per week — 
or about 156 tons in three years. The best salts averaged in price about 
$2.50 per cwt. of ii2lbs. The price of the pearl ashes in the eastern cities 
was from $5 to $7 per cwt. During the last two years he worked in West- 
field, there were made about 2 tons per week — about 200 tons in the two 
years in both asheries. On his removal to Ashville — the place being so 
named from the extensive manufacture of ashes in that section of the county 
— there were three asheries there, which were run for several years, and at 
which were made from 100 to 150 tons a year. The salts bought at the 
latter part of this period cost $2.50 to $3 per cwt. Many, unable to sell the 
products of their farms for cash, were obliged to cift down and burn green 
timber, and make salts of lye, which alone could be sold for money. 

Walter Smith, more extensively engaged in the manufacture and the 



NATURE OF TRADE. . 97 

purchase and sale of ashes than any other merchant in the county, has fur- 
nished the following : 

" The sales of our pot and pearl ashes, during the six years' trade in Fre- 
donia, varied in different years, both in quantity and price. The smallest 
amount sold was $20,000 ; the largest, $45,000. These pot and pearl ashes 
were shipped to Montreal for market until the Erie canal was finished. 
They were taken by vessel to Black Rock ; by open boat to Schlosser ; by 
ox-teams to Lewiston ; by vessel to Cape Vincent ; thence by batteaux down 
the St. Lawrence to Montri^al. John R. Coney had an ashery in Portland ; 
Brockway in Ripley ; Alvin Williams in Westfield, and afterwards at Ash- 

ville, where he continued business; Guy Webster in Hanover; and 

in Perrysburgh, Cattaraugus county. x'Vll these bought goods of me, 



and sold me their pot and pearl ashes, or had me send them to Montreal 
and I accounted to them for the net proceeds, and paid them the balance 
due them in money. Herriot & McGunnigle, of Mayville, were large manu- 
facturers ; also Wm. Holbrook, Holbrook & Camp, and Camp & Colville, 
at Forestville. I think three-fourths of all the ashes from Chautauqua county 
were shipped by me the first six years. After that, the manufacture dimin- 
ished rapidly." 

Although this product of the forest always commanded cash, or could be 
turned into cash, its price, like the prices of other articles, was affected by 
the law of supply' and demand. Hence, the producers were not always 
adequately compensated ; and the manufacturers and dealers, who were 
generally merchants, were sometimes subjected to heavy losses. Such, 
especially, was the case in 1823. The Erie canal being not yet finished, the 
ashes from this part of the state were chiefly sent to the Montreal market. 
The Fredonia Censor, of July 30, announces "bad news for dealers in ashes," 
and states, that accounts from Montreal were so discouraging, that dealers 
almost despaired of obtaining fair prices. Pots were down to $128 per ton ; 
pearls about the same price. The price of black salts, which had been in 
the spring $4 per cwt., had fallen to $2.25. The high prices in the English 
market had induced the merchants to engage deeply in this business, some 
of whom had, by this sudden depression, become heavy losers. It was stated 
upon good authority, that more ashes were manufactured in this county than 
in any other along the shores of Lake Erie ; and that the high price given 
for black salts had been the means of clearing much new land, as the price 
of that article had amply paid for clearing. 

Nature of Trade. 

From what has been said in preceding pages, the reader will readily infer 
that trade was greatly restricted by the scarcity of the usual circulating 
medium. Few goods were sold for cash. Business was done on the credit 
and barter system, not only by and with merchants, but between the people. 
Notes were made payable in grain, lumber, cattle and other commodities, 
and sometimes contained the stipulation, " at cash price." Almost every 
country product, as well as some store goods, had a cash and a barter or a 
credit price. It was, however, not always easy to ascertain the cash price. 
7 



98 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

Merchants often suftered great loss by this system of trade. Notwithstand- 
ing the high percentage charged as profits on their goods, losses by bad 
debts, and losses on grain and other commodities, which it was almost impos- 
sible to sell for cash, rendered the mercantile business an unsafe one. 

Most of the business of the county was for many years done in the 
northern or lake towns, which were first settled, and possessed superior com- 
mercial advantages. Maple sugar, long an important article of trade, came 
in large quantities from the southern towns. The inhabitants generally sup- 
plying themselves, the price is said to have been at times as low as four or 
five cents a pound. Brown sugars from the South were rarely seen in the 
early country stores. Almost the only sugar brought from New York was 
the white refined sugar, put up in hard, tall, solid loaves of a conical form, 
and called "loaf" or " lump sugar," and was wrapped in strong and coarse 
paper. It was sold chiefly for sweetening medicines and the liquors of tavern- 
keepers, who bought it in l^rge quantities. 

Division of Business. 

The early stores presented, in sundry particulars, a striking contrast to 
those of the present day. As the population increased, a greater number 
and variety of articles were kept in the stores. After printing offices were 
established within a convenient distance, the merchants advertised their 
stocks in the papers and in posters, in flaming display letters, enumerating 
the various kinds of goods kept for sale; as "dry goods, groceries, crockery 
and glassware, hardware, dye woods and dye stuffs, iron and nails, paints, 
oil, window glass, school books and stationery, rum, brandy, gin and whisky;" 
to which was sometimes added, drugs and medicines, ending with a string of 
et ceteras, or " with other articles too numerous to mention." 

The natural result of the increase of population and trade, is the division 
of business. For a long time, in a newly settled country, merchants keep 
goods of all kinds likely to be wanted by their customers. Silks and iron, 
laces and fish, pins and crow-bars, pork and molasses, tea and tar, cotton 
yarn and log chains, were all to be had at the same store. In process of 
time, stores were established for the sale of but one, or a very few kinds of 
goods, as hardware stores, drug stores, bookstores, etc. Where the first of 
these stores was commenced, has not been ascertained ; but we find Dr. 
Hazeltine informing his friends, through a Jamestown paper, as early as 
August, 1826, that he had "just received from New York a small, but general 
assortment of drugs and medicines." About a year and a half later. Dr. E. 
T. Foote announces the receipt, at his "Apothecary Store," a general assort- 
ment of not drugs and medicines only, but of " Patent medicines, oils, 
paints, dye-stuffs, surgical instruments," those articles which compose the 
stock of a modern drug store. Russell D. Shaw soon follows with the 
advertisement of a similar stock with the addition of groceries. And in 
1834, N. L. Sears enumerates books and stationery among the articles in his 
drug store. 



REFLECTIONS ON PIONEER LIFE. 99 

In July, 1 83 1, Adolphus Fletcher, publisher of the Jainestoion Journal^ 
announces the receipt of "a general assortment of books and stationery" in 
a room adjoining the y"^//r;/£7/ printing office. This appears to have been an 
establishment for the exclusive sale of those articles which constitute the 
stock of a modern bookseller. In reading the list of standard school books 
and the various articles of stationery, we are reminded of the almost total 
revolution that has taken place, in regard to the books and other articles used. 
In a long list of school books advertised, there is not one which has not been 
superseded by modern authors. In the line of stationery were wafers, ink- 
powder, sand-boxes, letter stamps, round rulers, Cjuills — all of which have 
become nearly obsolete. By the invention of gummed envelopes, wafers 
have come into disuse in letter writing. . Ink-powder is no longer to be 
found in the stores. As if by common consent, the people pay from 400 to 
800 per cent, more for ink than was done when a " York shilling," or, after- 
wards, a dime was paid for a paper of Maynard & Noyes' powder, which 
made a full pint of the best quality of ink. Sand-boxes have been displaced 
by the superior article of blotting paper. Letter stamps have taken their 
departure with wafers. But the most valuable change is in the substitution 
of metallic for quill pens. 

Under date of August 23, 1831, Lakin & Haven gave notice, in a James- 
town paper, that they " have opened a hardware store, in the new building 
on Second street." They occupy the greater part of a column in the enum- 
eration of articles "set solid,"' and without a single display line. Although 
the list is long enough to do honor to any city house, these articles are said 
only to be ''■among their goods," intimating that the greater portion of them 
were not included in the enumeration. Even the smaller villages now have 
stores limited to a single branch 'of trade. 



REFLECTIONS ON PIONEER LIFE. 

The history of pioneer life generally presents only the dark side of the 
picture. The toils and privations of the early settlers were not a series of 
unmitigated sufferings. The addition of each new acre to their " clearings " 
brought with it fresh enjoyment, and cheered them on in the pursuit of their 
ultimate object, an unincumbered and a happy home. They were happy 
also in their fraternal feelings; or, as one expressed it, " the feeling of brother- 
hood — the disposition to help one another ;"' or, in the language of another, 
" Society was uncultivated ; yet the people were very friendly to each other, 
(juite as much so as relatives are at the present day.'' 

We could now hardly endure the thought of exchanging our comfortable 
and splendid carriages for the rude ones of our fathers and grandfathers, 
which served the various purposes of visiting, and of going to mill and to 
meeting ; yet who doubts that families had a " good time " when they made 



100 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

a visit to a " neighbor" at a distance of several miles, through the woods, on 
an ox-sled ? Our mothers were clad in homespun of their own make ; and 
not a few remember the " glad surprise," when fathers, on their return from 
market, presented their faithful help-meets with a six yards calico dress 
pattern for Sunday wear. And it is presumed the wearer was in quite as 
devotional a frame of mind, and enjoyed Sabbath exercises quite as well, as 
she who now flaunts her gorgeously trimmed silk of fifteen or twenty yards, 
made up in a style transforming the wearer into " the likeness " of something 
never before seen or known "above," or " on the earth beneath," and altered 
with every change of moon. 

People were happy in their families. The boys, having labored hard dur- 
ing the day, sought rest an early hour. Parents had the pleasure of seeing 
their sons acquiring habits of industry and frugality — a sure prognostic of 
success in life. The "higher civilization" had not yet introduced — 

"In every country village, where 
Ten chimney smokes perfume the air," 

those popular modern institutions, the saloon and the billiard-room, in which 
so many youth now receive their principal training. Fewer parents spent 
sleepless nights in anxious thought about their " prodigal sons," or had their 
slumbers broken by the noisy entrance of these sons on returning from their 
midnight revels. They saw no clouds rising to dim the prospect of a happy 
future to their children. Never were wives and mothers more cheerful than 
when, like the virtuous woman described by Solomon, " they laid their 
hands to the spindle, and their hands held the distaff;" or when, with their 
knitting work or sewing, and baby, too, they went — unbidden, as the custom 
vvas — to spend an afternoon with their "neighbor women," by whom they 
were received with a hearty, unceremonioue welcome. The " latch-string 
was out " at all times ; and even the formality of knocking was, by the more 
intimate neighbors, dispensed with. 

Nor did they lack topics of conversation at these visits. Prominent 
among them were their domestic affairs — their manifold industrial enter- 
prises and labors — and the anticipated reward of their privations and toils. 
Their conversation, some may suppose, evinced no high degree of intellect- 
ual culture ; yet, as an indication of such culture, surely it would not suffer 
in comparison with the gossip of many of our modern educated ladies at their 
social gatherings. 

The following extract from a letter, from the pen of a pioneer mother in 
another county, and published in a county paper, may he read with interest 
by some : 

" The country around us was an entire wilderness, with here and there a 
small cabin, containing a small family. We were nearly all new beginners : 
and although we had to work almost day and night, we were not discouraged. 
There were many and serious trials in the beginning of this country, with those 
who settled amid the heavy timber, having nothing to depend upon for a 
living but their own industry. Such was our situation. However, we were 



REFlECTIONS ON PIONEER LIFE. lOI 

blest with health and strength, and were able to accomplish all that was nec- 
essary to be done. Our husbands cleared the ground, and assisted each 
other in rolling the logs. We often went with them on these occasions, to 
assist in the way of cooking for the hands. 

"We had first-rate times, just such as hard laboring inen and women can 
appreciate. We were not what would now be called fashionable cooks ; we 
had no pound cakes, preserves, or jellies ; but the substantial, prepared in 
plain, old-fashioned style. This is one reason why we were blessed with health : 
we had none of your dainties, knick-knacks, and ' fixings ' that are worse 
than nothing. There are many diseases that we had never even heard' of 
thirty or forty years ago, such as dyspepsia, neuralgia, and many others too 
tedious to mention. It was not fashionable then to be weakly. We could 
take our spinning-wheels and walk two miles to a spinning frolic, do our 
day's work, and after a first-rate supper, join in some innocent amusement for 
the evening. We did not take particular pains to keep our hands white ; we 
knew they were made to use for our advantage; therefore, we never thought 
of having hands just to look at. Each settler had to go and assist his neigh- 
bors ten or fifteen days, in order to get help in return in log-rolhng tmie ; 
this was the only way to get assistance. 

" I have thought pfoper to mention these matters, that people now may 
know what the first settlers had to undergo. We, however, did not complain 
half as much as people do now. Our diet was plain; our clothing we manu. 
factured ourselves ; we lived independent, and were all on an equality. I 
look back on those by-gone days with great interest. How the scene has 
changed ! Children of these same pioneers know nothing of hardship ; they 
are spoiled by indulgence, and are generally planning ways and means to live 
without work."' 

It is, indeed, to many who have been brought up in the "lap of ease," not 
a little surprising, that a wife and mother should do the house-work of a 
' family in which were six, eight, or more children, and occasionally some 
hired men, without hired help. ' Yet such instances were not uncommon. 

The reader of family sketches in a succeeding part of this history, will not 
fail to notice the contrast between the pioneer settlers and their descendants 
in another particular— /dr////^///>'. The former, with comparatively few excep- 
tions, fulfilled the duty enjoined upon the original progenitors of the race, to 
"multiply and replenish the earth;" an injunction which the present genera- 
tion seem to think more "honored in the breach than in the observance." 
At the present rate of the increase of our native population, who can tell the 
number of generations necessary to "replenish" our vast national territory? 
In writing out genealogical sketches of pioneer families, which, in not a few 
instances, show a product, if not of " thirty," at least of ten to fifteen fold, 
we have often been reminded of what we read more than half a century ago, 
in the history of some eastern country, where it was a part of the marriage 
ceremony to sprinkle upon the head of the bride a handful of hops, and to 
accompany the act with the expression of a wish that she might be "as fruitful 
as the hop vine." As to the cause of this modern degeneracy, we forbear to 
express an opinion. To those who desire light on this subject, we commend 
Rev. Dr. John Todd's little book, entitled " A Serpent in the Dove's Nest." 



I02 HISTORV OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 



EDUCATION— EARLY SCHOOLS. 

Though struggling under the pressure of privation and poverty, the settlers 
made early provision for the education of their children. So important an 
object they would not defer until they could build more comely and con- 
venient school-houses ; they were content, for a time, with such as corre- 
sponded to their rude dwellings. The first school-houses were built of 
logs, with fire-places and chimneys like those of log dwelling-houses, and 
were roofed in the same manner. Many still remember those houses, in 
which they received their limited education — the ill-chinked walls, the large 
open fire-place filled with a huge pile of logs, in the vain attempt to make a 
comfortable place for study. 

Benches were made of split slabs, hewed, and raised so high as to keep 
the scholars' feet swinging several inches above the floor. After there were 
saw-mills, benches were made of sawed slabs. The writing-desk was a slab 
or board extending along the whole length of one of the walls, fastened on 
long pins driven into auger holes in the logs, and slanting downward from 
the wall. Above the writing-table, holes for windows were cut through the 
wall, and filled with four or six lighted window sashes. For the want of sash 
and glass, the window openings were temporarily covered with old papers, 
greased with lard, for window-lights. 

Schools were not then regulated by law. Persons could not be compelled 
to pay for building school-houses and for the services of teachers. These were 
done voluntarily by the persons interested. They mutually agreed to contrib- 
ute labor or money toward the building of a school-house — chiefly labor, as 
little money was needed to build a log-house. Teachers were paid by those 
only who sent children to school. A subscription paper, stating the price of 
tuition per scholar for the term proposed, w^as circulated, and each person 
aftixed to his name the number of scholars he w^euld send. If a sufficient 
number were obtained, the school would commence. Teachers were some- 
times, wholly or in part, paid in produce, many of their employers being 
unable to pay in money. To such it was an object to employ teachers having 
families to consume the products of the farm. 

The course of instruction embraced but the few more primary branches. 
Spelling, reading, writing, and common arithmetic, constituted for several 
years the entire course. The school books used were Webster's Spelling 
Book, one or two reading books, and an arithmetic, A grammar, a geogra- 
phy or an atlas, the scholars had never seen. But many teachers were not 
qualified to teach even these few branches successfully. Only the simpler 
parts of arithmetic were taught by most teachers, especially in the summer 
term. The mathematical ambition of many pupils was satisfied when they 
could " cypher" to the end of the " Single Rule of Three," which, in that 
old popular work, " DaboU's Arithmetic," then in general use, preceded 
^' Fractions," as it did in other old arithmetics. Nor did some parents think 



EARLY SCHOOLS. IO3 

a higher attainment in this branch necessary for their sons, unless it were the 
knowledge of computing interest, which some of them might, at some time 
in their lives, have occasion to practice. Even after the enactment of the 
school laws re([uiring the examination of teachers, and a certificate from a 
board of inspectors pronouncing them " well qualified to teach a common 
school," most of them were very deficient in the "learning and ability" in- 
tended to be secured by the law. A knowledge of grammar was for many 
years not insisted on by the inspectors, and for the reason that, if it had 
been, there would not have been a sufficient number of teachers to supply 
all the schools. And so in respect to geography and other branches now 
considered indispensable. 

The manner of teaching and conducting a school was also defective. Writ- 
ing, in many schools, was not required to be done at any fixed hour, nor by 
all at the same time. Children could not make their own pens — none but 
goose-quill pens being used — nor, indeed, were teachers generally competent 
to do it properly. These pens needed to be frequently mended. To make 
and mend the pens and " set copies" for ten or twenty pupils, took no small 
portion of a teacher's time, and was often done during reading and other 
exercises, in which the worst mistakes escaped the observation of the teacher. 
To avoid this, some teachers did this work before or after school hours. 
The introduction of the metallic pen and the printed copy-book is a valua- 
ble improvement, saving much of the teacher's time, and furnishing the 
pupils with good and uniform copies. 

The black-board had not been invented ; or, if it had Ijeen, it was unknown 
in rural districts. Scholars were not taught arithmetic in classes. They got 
the attention of the teacher as they could. Voices from all quarters, asking 
for help " to do this sum," for permission to " go out," to " go and drink," 
and to "go to the fire," questions which, in many schools, were, to use a 
parliamentary phrase, " always in order;" and the teacher going about the 
room to "help" scholars at their seats; all these, and other things that 
might be mentioned, kept the school-room in a continual bustle. Not all 
schools, however, were thus conducted. In many of them order and good 
management prevailed ; and many of our most intelligent citizens and most 
practical and successful business men, were graduated at these institutions. 

A citizen of the town of Stockton gives the following description of the 
school-house and school in which he " learned his ABC, and graduated in 
Webster's Spelling Book as far as ' Crucifix :'" 

" This school-house was about 20 by 24, and about 7 feet between the 
floors. A large Dutch fire-place was in the north end. There were three 
nine-lighted windows of the smallest pattern ; desks or writing tables against 
the walls, and pine slab seats with wooden legs. The furniture consisted of 
a plain cross-legged table, a splint-bottom chair, and a pine log about two 
feet in diameter and one foot high, called a ' dunce block,' and a pair of 
leather spectacles. It is presumable that the last, two articles were con- 
tributed by the teacher, and hence omitted when not thought necessary for 
the good of the school. 



104 HISTORY OF CHx\UTAUQUA COUNTY. 

" A word of explanation may be necessary to show the use of the dunce 
block and the leather spectacles, as these appliances have become nearly or 
quite obsolete. The scholar who failed to get his lesson perfectly, was pretty 
sure to mount the block with the spectacles across his nose ; and as odd and 
droll as he looked, with his eyes through the leather belt, no one would dare 
to laugh, for fear of taking the same place, with perhaps an additional 
'switching' about the back, by those ominous looking beechen whips care- 
fully stored in a crack in the floor overhead. Young men and women 
frequently mounted this dreadful block, who were too tall to stand erect, 
because tHeir heads would come in contact with the ceiling above. This 
would occasionally bring a suppressed titter from the other scholars ; but a 
blow with the great whip in the hand of the teacher would restore gravity, 
and make us all feel thankful that it was the table, and not our backs, that 
received the beating." 

There were, however, some good schools then ; and there are many poor 
ones still ; yet a comparison of the schools of the present time with those of 
fifty years ago, shows a vast improvement. Perhaps the most salutary pro- 
vision in the school laws of our country, is that which brings the advantages of 
a sound and practical education within the reach of all classes of its citizens. 

Prior to the year 1 8 1 3 or 1 8 1 4, little provision was made by the state for 
the education of its children. The poorest people had to pay wholly for the 
tuition of their children, or keep them out of school. This misfortune was 
in part remedied by providing a school fimd, which consisted of lands and 
other property of the state, the income of which was annually distributed 
amongst the school districts to be applied to the payment of teachers' wages. 
The first money thus distributed in this county was in the year 18 14. This 
fund was many years afterward largely increased on this wise : In 1836, 
Congress passed an act authorizing the distribution, among the states, of 
many millions of dollars which had accrued from imposts and sales of public 
lands. Propositions for distribution had been several times defeated on the 
ground of its supposed unconstitutionality. To avoid this objection, it was 
proposed that, instead of givifig this money to the states, it should be ''^de- 
posited with " the states, until the general government should call for it. It 
was to be deposited in four annual installments ; three of which had been 
deposited, when, in 1838, it being supposed that the government would have 
occasion to use a part of the money, an act was passed to postpone the pay- 
ment of the fourth installment. About $28,000,000 had been deposited 
with the states. The quota of the state of New York was about $3,500,000. 
No portion of the sum deposited has ever been called for; nor was it supposed 
by many that it ever would be. 

In 1838, by an act of our state legislature, the income of the United States 
deposit fund, as this money was called, was to be appropriated " to the 
purposes of education." For three years, $55,000 was to be expended 
annually for the purchase of district libraries. The remainder was principally 
paid toward the teachers' wages. If the public moneys were insufficient for 
this purpose, the deficiency was supplied by a rate bill. 

By the first school law, a sum was to be raised by a tax on the inhabitants 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. I05 

of every town equal to the sum received from the state funds ; in default of 
which, their claim to the public money was forfeited ; and by a vote at town- 
meeting, double the amount might be raised in the town. The districts were 
also required to have a school kept at least four months, [now six months,] 
to entitle them to a share of the public money. 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 



The establishment of the institutions of religion in the new setdements 
of this county, is a prominent feature in its history. Reared under the 
influence of these institutions, and imbued with the sentiment declared by 
the founders of our republic, that " true religion and good morals are the 
only solid foundations of public liberty," the settlers, like the " Pilgrim 
Fathers," planted churches at the earliest practicable period. 

The people of Western New York, as well as those of the new states 
generally, were chiefly supplied by .the missionary societies of New England 
and other religious organizations. The tide of emigration to the West was 
followed up by missionaries, carrying the gospel of peace to the destitute 
pioneer setdements, enduring, with the people, for the Master's sake, the 
hardships and sacrifices incident to such a condition of the country. There 
is probably not a town in this county whose early inhabitants were not 
indebted to these self-denying laborers for the religious instruction of their 
families. We say self-denying ; because the pittance they received for their 
services — their toilsome travels, their coarse fare, and the manifold discom- 
forts they experienced in rude, unfurnished dwellings — forbids the idea that 
they were actuated by mere mercenary motives. Some of them possessed 
talents which, if employed in other pursuits, would have elevated them to 
distinction and affluence. And it can scarcely be doubted that the health- 
ful influence of their "preaching in the wilderness" did not cease with the 
generation to which they ministered. 

Perhaps no other minister labored so early and so long in the missionary 
service in this county as the Rev. John Spencer, familiarly known as "Father 
Spencer." He had been a deacon in the Congregational church in Worces- 
ter, Otsego county ; and with only such learning as an ordinary school edu- 
cation and his own reading and observation afforded, he entered the ministry. 
He was employed as a missionary on the Holland Purchase by the Connec- 
ticut Missionary Society ; and his labors were highly useful in forming and 
sustaining churches. He preached in the new setdements when his congre- 
gations consisted of but two or three families, and sometimes, it is said, 
of but one ; thus literally " preaching from house to house." 

All, or nearly all, the churches formed by Mr. Spencer were denomina- 
tionally Congregational. Most of them, however, have long since adopted 
the Presbyterian form of government, and formed connection with Presby- 
teries. Of his labors, a citizen of this county writes : 



I06 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

" Hardly was the first log cabin reared in the wilderness, before it was 
visited by that early missionary, the Rev. John Spencer, to cheer and encour- 
age the pioneer in his struggle with the formidable difficulties that surrounded 
him. Mr. Spencer's life in the forest was an active and a toilsome one ; he 
understood the duties of his calling well, and faithfully he performed them. 
There are many anecdotes still extant illustrating the clearness of his intellect 
and cheerfulness of his disposition." 

Another writes of him as follows : 

"From 1810 to 1820, or later, Rev. John Spencer, a Congregationalist, 
was the pioneer minister. Priest Spencer, as he was called, entered all parts 
of the county where could be assembled three or more families, and preached 
nearly every evening. His dress was ancient — knee and shoe buckles — 
short breeches and long stockings — a dress which at that period attracted 
attention, as it had nearly passed out of date. Independence in thought, 
word and deed, was characteristic. He was remarkable for the sharp twinkle 
of his eye, which always preceded some witty reproof. His sermons were 
short, practical, and impressive. His manner of delivery was singular : com- 
mencing short sentences, he would speak the first words slow and very dis- 
tinct, and hasten to the close, accenting strongly the last words. Especially 
was this the case in his prayers. Children noticed the set formula with which 
he closed every petition." 

Several interesting anecdotes are related of Mr. Spencer ; but the disagree- 
ment between the relators in some of the particulars, renders it probable that 
they are largely based on tradition. He closed his useful life in this county, 
and was buried in Sheridan. 

In 1808, the Presbyterian General Assembly appointed Rev. John Linds- 
ley a missionary for four months, two of them to be spent in Steuben and 
Tioga counties, and the remaining two months in the settlements of the Hol- 
land Purchase. Although he was here probably as early as Mr. Spencer, his 
labors do not appear to have continued beyond the term of his appointment. 
The principal record of his labors that we have seen, is that of his having 
officiated at the formation of the Presbyterian church at Westfield in 1808, 
and at the formation of a Congregational, now the Presbyterian, church of 
Warsaw, July 14, 1808. It is said, however, that he visited Westfield as a 
missionary in the fall of 1807, and was then sustained by a Female Mission- 
ary Society. He was on his way to Pennsylvania ; and on his return in the ^ 
spring, formed the Westfield church as above stated. It has been stated, and 
probably truly, that he returned and went over his former missionary ground, 
and spent three sabbaths in Westfield. 

Rev. Phineas Camp, a graduate of Union College in 1810, and a graduate 
of the second class of the Theological Seminary at Princeton, was appointed 
by the Presbyterian General Assembly's Board of Missions as a home mis- 
sionary in Pennsylvania, Western New York and Ohio. *He assisted in the 
reorganization of the church in Westfield, in November, 18 17, and was 
installed as pastor of the church by the Erie Presbytery, Sept. 8, 18 19. 

Benefits, doubtless, accrued both to Congregationalists and Presbyterians, 
from a " Plan of Union " then existing. Their system of religious belief was 



RELIGIOUS HISTORY. IO7 

substantially the same. They were divided only on the plan of church gov- 
ernment. As it was generally difficult, in new settlements, for either to 
support a separate and distinct organization, the Presbyterian General Assem- 
bly, in 1 80 1, adopted a plan which permitted Congregational ministers to 
become pastors of Presbyterian churches, and Congregational churches to be 
represented in Presbyterian ecclesiastical bodies. On the formation of 
churches, the majority probably determined the mode of church government. 

Rev. Asa Ttirner, a Baptist preacher, was also an early missionary in 
this county, and is represented to have been "very popular among the 
settlers, and warmly welcomed among them." Rev. Joy Handy, too, was 
an early laborer in this missionary field, though he soon became pastor of 
the Baptist church at Fredonia. As a missionary and pastor he made 
"full proof of his ministry," and closed his useful life after a long and 
faithful service of the Master. 

Several of the early Baptist churches in the county were formed by these 
and other early ministers. The first was at Fredonia, the preparatory work 
having been done by that devoted layman. Judge Cushing. The records of 
the church show that its organization was completed by its being received 
into fellowship by a council, October 20, 1808. 

The Methodists, too, with their usual promptitude, sent their preachers 
into the western wilderness. Their missionaries are their circuit preachers, 
who appear to have made their advent in this country about the year 1808. 
In Gregg's " History of Alethodism within the bounds of the Erie Annual 
Conference," we find the following : 

"From 1796 to 18 12, Western New York was nominally within the bounds 
of the Philadelphia Conference, though most of the time entirely unoccu- 
pied. In 1808, a circuit was formed by that conference called the ' Holland 
Purchase,' which embraced all of the state of New York west of the Gene- 
see river, to which the Rev. George Lane was appointed. Sometime in the 
winter of 1808-9, learning that a few members of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church had settled a short distance east of the present village of Fredonia, 
in the west part of Sheridan, Chautauqua county, Mr. Lane started up 
from Buftalo in a one-horse sleigh to visit and preach to them. On his way 
up he overtook Mr. Gould and wife in a two-horse sleigh, who were members 
of the Methodist church, and resided in the place just mentioned, and who 
had been East on a visit, and were returning home. The snow was deep 
and badly drifted. Night came on them while in the woods some distance 
below the Cattaraugus creek ; and they became so buried in the snow, that 
they could get their sleighs no further. After disengaging their horses from 
their sleighs, each person mounted a horse, and rode on the bare back to 
Mack's tavern, where they spent the remainder of the night. Next morning 
they succeeded in getting their sleighs, and before night reached Mr. Gould's 
house, where Mr. Lane spent a few days and preached several times, and, 
during his stay in the place, formed a class consisting of Stephen Bush, Dan- 
iel G. Gould and wife, and Elijah Risley. This was undoubtedly the first 
Methodist preaching and the first class formed in Chautauqua county, which 
has, since that time, been a very fruitful field for Methodism, and very pro- 
ductive of Methodist ministers." 



I08 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

As early as 1801, the Erie circuit existed, which embraced the first religious 
organizations of the Methodists in this county, and for a long time afterwards 
the whole or a considerable part of the county. It was in the Pittsburgh 
district, which was within the bounds of the Baltimore Conference. The 
presiding elder of the district was Thornton Fleming ; and the preacher of 
the Erie circuit was James Quinn. It is said that Mr. Quinn's circuit, when 
formed, contained twenty appointments, requiring him to travel four hundred 
miles every four weeks. The first class he formed was nea'r a place called 
Lexington, in Springfield township, Erie county, Pa. In 1804 the district 
took the name of Monongahela, and Thornton Fleming was continued pre- 
siding elder until the meeting of the Baltimore Conference in May, 18 10, 
when Jacob Gruber was appointed presiding elder, and Joshua Monroe, 
preacher of Erie circuit ; and the year following, James Watts and James 
Ewing. 

Gospel Land. 

It is generally known by the older inhabitants, that the Holland Land 
Company made a donation of 100 acres of land to religious societies in 
every town, usually designated as the " gospel land," This was no part of 
the early policy of the Company. The manner in which this land was 
obtained, is related by Mr. Turner in his History of the Holland Purchase. 

In the fall of 1820, Paul Busti, the general agent of the Company at 
Philadelphia, while on a visit at Batavia, was importuned by a Presbyterian 
minister from a neighboring town for a donation of land to every society of 
that persuasion then formed on the Holland Purchase. Mr. Busti was for 
a long time indisposed to grant the request. But the Rev. gentleman having 
urged his suit until the agent's patience was exhausted, the latter firmly 
replied : " Yes, Mr. R., I will give a tract of one hundred acres to a religious 
society in every town on the Purchase ; and this is Ji/iis." He was, however, 
unwilling to give preference to any particular denomination. " But," said 
he, " to save contention, I will give it to the first society in every town." 
Mr. R., it is said, lost no time in communicating the information to the 
Presbyterians in the towns in his vicinity. Mr. Turner proceeds as follows : 

" The land ofiice was soon flooded with petitions for land from societies 
organized according to law, and empowered to hold real estate, and from 
those that were not, one of which was presented to Mr. Busti before he left, 
directed to ' Gen. Poll Busti,' on which he insisted that it could not be from a 
religious society ; for all religious societies read their Bibles, and know that 
Fo double /, does not spell Paul.". Amid this chaos of applications, it was 
thought unadvisable to be precipitant in granting these donations, the whole 
responsibility now resting on Mr. Ellicott to comply with the vague promise 
of Mr. Busti. Therefore conveyances of the 'gospel land' were not executed 
for some space of time, notwithstanding the clamor of petitions for ' deeds 
of our land ;' during which time the matter was taken into consideration 
and systematized, so far as such an operation could be. Pains were taken 
to ascertain the merits of each application, and finally a tract or tracts of 
land, not exceeding one hundred acres in all, were granted, free of expense, 



ORGANIZATION OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. IO9 

to one or more religious societies regularly organized according to law in 
every town on the Purchase, where the company had land undisposed of, 
which embraced every town then organized, except Bethany, Genesee county, 
and Sheldon, Wyoming county ; the donees being in all cases allowed to 
select out of the unsold farming land in the town. In some towns it was all 
given to one society ; in others, to two or three societies, separately ; and in 
a few towns to four societies of different sects, twenty-five acres to each." 

And it is said that the proceedings were so judiciously managed by Mr. 
EUicott, that partiality was in no case charged against the agent or his 
assistants. 



ORGANIZATION OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

A BRIEF sketch of the division of this state into counties, of their organi- 
zation, and of changes in their boundaries, prior to the formation of Chau- 
tauqua county, will not be .deemed incompatible with the character and 
design of this work. From the introduction to a history of Oneida County, 
N. Y., a valuable and reliable work, written by Judge Pomeroy Jones, of that 
county, and published many years ago, the following is an extract : 

"The Dutch originally settled and governed the territory within the limits 
of the state of New York, and by them it was called New Netherlands. As 
late as 1683, that portion of it lying west of Fort Orange, [Albany,] was 
termed by the Dutch chroniclers ' Terra Incognito,' or Unknown Land. In 
1683, the colony having passed into the hands of the English, it was divided 
into twelve counties, viz. : New York, Albany, Dutchess, Kings, Queens, 
Orange, Ulster, Richmond, Suffolk, Westchester, Dukes, and Cornwall. 
Albany county then included Albany and all west of it. In 1768 and 1770. 
the counties of Cumberland and Gloucester were added. Of the original 
counties, Dukes and Cornwall, after a bitter controversy, were suspended to 
Massachusetts in 1693 ; and a part of Gloucester and Cumberland was, after 
a quarrel, ceded to New Hampshire, and now forms a part of Vermont ; and 
and the portion of the two counties retained was formed into a county called 
Charlotte, now Washington county. In 1772, the county of Tryon was 
formed from Albany county, lying westwardly of a line running nearly north 
and south through the present county of Schoharie. The name of Tryon 
having become highly obnoxious from the active hostility and acts of wanton 
cruelty of the Colonial Governor Tryon towards the Americans during the 
Revolution, the legislature, in 1784, changed the name to Montgomery, in 
honor of the general of that name who had fallen at Quebec." 

Montgomery county was divided into five districts. German Flats, one of 
the districts, included the present town of Herkimer and all the territory 
west of it in this state, and was an entire wilderness, with the exception of 
forts, and Indian trading points and a few Dutch settlers along the Mohawk 
river. In 1786, the entire county of Montgomery, embracing over one-half 
of the state of New York, contained but 15,050 inhabitants, about one-fourth 
of the number now in Chautauqua county. In 1788, the town of Whites 
Town, [thus written,] was erected from German Flats, and named in honor 



no HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

of Judge Hugh White, who had recently emigrated from Middletovvn, Ct., 
to the present site of the village of Whitesboro', then including the present 
city of Utica, and all of the state west of it, and probably did not contain 
over 200 inhabitants. The late Judge Jonas Piatt, of the supreme court, 
was an early supervisor of the town. 

On the 27th of January, 1788, the county of Ontario was erected from 
Montgomery, and the preamble of the act read as follows : " Whereas the 
county of Montgomery is so extensive as to be inconvenient to those who 
now or may hereafter setde in the western part of the county, therefore," 
etc. The county of Ontario included all of the state west of a line drawn 
due north from the 8 2d mile stone on the line between the states of New 
York and Pennsylvania, through Seneca lake, to Lake Ontario. By the 
last cited act, all of the state west of the Genesee river was erected into the 
town of Northampton. The counties of Herkimer, Otsego, and Tioga, were 
erected from Montgomery in 1801. 

On the 30th of March, 1802, the county of Genesee was formed from the 
county of Ontario, and bounded on the east by the Genesee river and the 
county of Steuben. Or, according to another description, it comprised all 
that part of the state lying west of the Genesee river and a line extending 
due south from the point of the junction of that river and the Canescraga 
creek, to the south line of the state. 

Genesee county was divided into four towns : Northampton, Southampton, 
Leicester, and Batavia. The first three embraced all the territory within the 
county lying east of the Holland Purchase, and Batavia the whole of the 
Purchase. Northampton adjoined Lake Ontario; Southampton adjoined 
Northampton on the south, and Leicester embraced all the territory south of 
Southampton to the Pennsylvania line. The first board of supervisors of 
Genesee county was composed of Simon King, representing Northampton ; 
Christopher Laybourn, Southampton; John H. Jones, Leicester; and Peter 
Vandeventer, the town of Batavia. The first town meeting in Batavia, of 
which the present county of Chautauqua formed a part, was held at Van- 
deventer's inn, within the limits of the present town of Clarence, Erie 
county. 

The town of Chautauqua, formed from Batavia, April ir, 1804, embraced 
the present county, excepting only the loth range of townships, which was 
annexed to Chautauqua in the formation of the county. At the same time 
[1804] there were formed from Batavia the towns of Willink and Erie, the 
latter, now called Newstead, comprising, it is believed, but a single town- 
ship; the two comprising all the territory lying within the present counties of 
Niagara and Erie. 

Allegany county was taken from Genesee in 1806; Cattaraugus, Chautau- 
qua, and Niagara, in 1808 ; [the present county of Erie being then included 
in Niagara;] parts of Livingston and Monroe, in 1821 ; a part of Orleans, 
in 1824; and Wyoming, in 1841. The town of Batavia, formed in 1802, has 
alone become the mother of four whole counties, [Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, 



ORGANIZATION OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. Ill 

Niagara, and Erie,] one-half of Allegany, and the greater parts of Orleans 
and Wyoming. 

In 1805 or 1S06, the subject of erecting two or more counties from Gene- 
see and Ontario, along the Genesee valley, was agitated by settlers along the 
river. Judge Foote furnishes some interesting facts relating to the division 
of Genesee county, which were published in the Jamestown Journal, of 
October 7, 1859. He says : 

" I have understood that the Hon. Philip Church, now of Allegany county, 
the Messrs. Wadsworth, of Geneseo, and Messrs. Warner and Hosmer, of 
Avon, who were prominent and honored citizens, and men of wealth, and 
landholders, formed the plan of the formation of two or more counties from 
Ontario and Genesee, in 1806, while Joseph Ellicott, the agent of the Hol- 
land Company, strongly opposed the project. Allegany was set off from 
Genesee in 1806. But the original question was still unsettled. To many 
of the inhabitants of Allegany, its boundaries were not satisfactory ; and 
several petitions were presented to the legislature in 1807, in favor of differ- 
ent localities for the public buildings in that county; but nothing definite was 
done by the legislature until the presentation of petitions in February and 
March, 1808, which resulted in laws annexing the west part of Steuben to 
Allegany, and the west part of Allegany to Genesee, [to form the east part of 
Cattaraugus,] and fixing the county site of Allegany to Angehca. Genesee 
county was divided into four counties, Genesee, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, 
and Niagara, the last named then including the present county of Erie. 

" One fact appears singular ; in none of the petitions signed by residents 
of the present county of Chautauqua, was that name for the county solicited ; 
but it was proposed only by the five landholders, none of them residing in or 
having any interest in the county. The name was most appropriate, and I 
apprehend the people were well satisfied with it. Chautauqua and Cattarau- 
gus remain as established over half a century ago ; Allegany nearly as then ; 
Niagara, until 1821, when it was divided and Erie county erected; Genesee, 
until 1 82 1, when Monroe and Livingston were erected from Genesee and 
Ontario." 

In 1806, a petition was presented to the legislature for the division of 
Genesee into four counties, by the names of Allegany, Cattaraugus, Niagara, 
and Genesee ; Niagara and Cattaraugus to be organized by the name of 
Niagara in one year from the passing of the act; and Joseph Ellicott, Eras- 
tus Granger, and Jonas Williams, to be appointed commissioners to erect a 
court-house and jail in said county. The petition also asked that the organi- 
zation of Allegany and Cattaraugus might be suspended until they should 
contain a suitable number of inhabitants. The petitioners further prayed 
that the court-house and jail for Niagara should be erected on the eastern- 
most public square in the village of New Amsterdam, or Buffalo ; and that 
James ^V. Stevens, Philip Church, and William Rumsey be appointed com- 
missioners to fix upon a site for a county town in Allegany; and that Joseph 
Ellicott, Erastus Granger, and Alexander Reed fix upon a county site for 
Cattaraugus. The petitioners also remonstrated against the granting of a 
pedtion, then in contempladon, for erecting a new county out of the western 
part of Ontario and the eastern part of Genesee. 



112 ■ HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

The question naturally arises, why should the formation of so many new 
counties be asked for while their population was insufficient for an immediate 
orga^nization ? The reasons assigned in the petition are, that there is much 
contention among the inhabitants on the subject of dividing counties, and 
that future divisions, when the population becomes considerable, may prove 
a source of difficulty to the legislature, and " promote dissensions among 
those who may be interested in the establishment of the limits of counties;'' 
and " that in the present state of population of the county of Genesee, the 
bounds of future counties maybe so judiciously established and limited in 
extent as to obviate the propriety of any future divisions;" and "that the 
longer the divisions are delayed, the more these difficulties will increase, and 
by a variety of contending interests the more injudiciously will the new 
counties be divided." 

There are said to have been about 750 signers to this petition, among 
whom were the following : 

Benj. Ellicott, Andrew A. Ellicott, James W. Stevens, Joseph EUicott, 
Daniel B. Brown, Reuben Town, Asa McCracken, Trumbull Gary, David E. 
Evans, Abraham Dull, William Peacock, Josiah Babcock, Richard Smith, 
David McGracken, Seth Gole, John D. Weed, Elias Scofield, Filer Sacket, 
David Eaton, Louis Lacouteulx, Richard Stiles, Nathan Gary, Benj. Hutchins, 
Alanso7i Weed, William Bennett, Harry Tngerson, Joseph E. Dart, James 
Prendergast. 

There was no date to this petition, but it was probably presented to the 
legislature of 1806, that being the year in which the county of Allegany was 
set off. Those whose names are in italics, were then residents of the present 
county of Chautauqua. 

March 2, 1808, was presented to the legislature "the petition of the sub- 
scribers and landholders of the counties of Genesee and Allegany." They 
ask for a division of the part of Genesee county lying between Allegany 
county and the western boundary of the state of New York, into two coun- 
ties, by the names of Ghautauqua and Cattaraugus ; and for authorizing the 
governor to appoint commissioners to fix sites for the public buildings of 
these two counties ; and for organizing the counties of Niagara, Ghautauqua, 
and Cattaraugus, together by the name of Niagara, and suspending the 
organization of Ghautauqua and Cattaraugus until they should contain such 
number of inhabitants as should be deemed expedient. This, too, was 
without date; but was presented, as stated above, March 2, 1808, signed 
by the five following named persons : Mather Warner, George Hosmer, 
Jabez Wilbur, James Wadsworth, Philip Church. 

Of these gentlemen, Messrs. Warner, AVadsworth and Hosmer, resided in 
Ontario county, and Mr. Church in Allegany. 

The reasons assigned for this division are in part the same as those offered 
in the former petition — to prevent contention and strife among future inhab- 
itants as to the proper division of the territory. They also prayed for the 
annexation of the three western ranges of townships of Allegany to the 



ORGANIZATION OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. II3 

territory designed to form the counties of Chautauqua and Cattaraugus ; giv- 
ing as a reason for this annexation, that, without this additional territory, 
there would not be sufficient for two counties. [It has been suspected that 
the chief object of changing the boundaries of Allegany was to secure' the 
establishment of the county seat at Angelica.] 

Another petition, presumed also to have been presented in 1808, from 
inhabitants of the counties of Steuben, Genesee and Allegany, prayed for the 
annexation of the western range of Steuben county to Allegany, and the 3d, 
4th and 5th ranges of the Holland Purchase to Genesee, and for dividing 
Genesee into four counties : Cattaraugus, extending from Allegany county to 
the meridian line between the 9th and loth ranges of townships of the Hol- 
land Land Company's survey ; Chautauqua, with its present bounds ; Niag- 
ara, including the present counties of Niagara and Erie ; and all the remain- 
ing part of Genesee to constitute the fourth county, retaining the original 
name of Genesee. The petition also prays for the establishment of the 
county seat of Allegany at Angelica; that of Chautauqua at Mayville ; and 
that of Niagara at New Amsterdam, commonly called Buffalo ; and further, 
that the contemplated county of Cattaraugus be continued organized with 
Allegany "as far as it respects taxation, courts of justice, voting for governor, 
members of the legislature and of congress," until the three counties of 
Niagara, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus, should be organized together as one 
county by the name of Niagara. Signed by Asa Ransom, Trumbull Gary, 
Peter Powers, Thomas Prendcrgast, Jonas Williams, William Peacock, 
Richard Smith, Asa Spear, Henry Wilson, E. Gary, Emory Blodgett, Andrew 
A. Ellicott, Benj. EUicott, Joseph Ellicott, John Mack, David E. Evans, 
James W. Stevens, and others — -in all, 56 names. 

The act of 1808 provided that Cattaraugus and Chautauqua should act in 
conjunction with Niagara until they should respectively contain 500 taxable 
inhabitants. It having been ascertained from the assessment rolls of 18 10, 
at the meeting of the board of supervisors, that Chautauqua county contained 
500 voters for members of assembly, the county was fully organized in 181 1, 
by the appointment of county officers on the 9th day of February, r8ii, by 
the council of appointment, consisting of the governor and four senators, 
one from each of the four senate districts into which the state was then 
divided. This council had the power of appointing all county officers, 
including justices of the peace. The governor was then Daniel D. Tomp- 
kins, and the four senators were Benjamin Coe, James W. Wilkin, John 
McLean, Philetus Swift. , 

First Judge — Zattu Gushing. Associate Judges — Matthew Prendergast, 
Philo Orton, Jonathan Thompson, William Alexander. 

Assistant Justices — Henry Abell, William Gould, John Dexter, Abiram 
Orton. 

Justices of the Peace — Jeremiah Potter, John Silsbee, Abijah Bennett, Asa 
Spear, Justus Hinnian, Benjamin Barrett, Daniel Pratt, Selah Pickett. 

Clerk — John E. Marshall. Sheriff— Y)2iY\di Eason. Surrogate — Squire 
White. Coroners — Daniel G. Gould, Philo Hopson. 



114 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

The act of 1808 erecting the counties of Chautauqua and Cattaraugus, 
required the governor to appoint three commissioners to fix on county sites 
in these counties, and file their decision in the clerk's office of Niagara 
county, then at Buffalo. Deeds of land also were to be recorded there until 
after the complete organization of this county, which took place in 181 1. 
The commissioners appointed to locate the county sites, were Isaac Suther- 
land, Jonas Williams, and Asa Ransom. The act also required the super- 
visors of each county to raise the sum of one thousand five hundred dollars 
for erecting and completing a court-house and jail. A contract was accord- 
ingly made with Winsor Brigham to build a court-house and jail of wood. 
And the house of John Scott, in the village of Mayville, was designated as 
the place for holding courts until the court-house should be completed. 

The first court-house in the county was a two-story frame building, built 
between 181 1 and 1815, the war having retarded its completion. The June 
term of the court in 1814 was held in the unfinished building, but not the 
fall and winter terms. In 18 15 the building was finished and occupied. The 
lower story contained three prison cells — two for criminals and one for 
debtors. In front of these, and divided from them by a narrow hall, was the 
dwelling part for the jailor and his family. The upper story was for court 
and jury rooms, etc. 

In 1832, the prison rooms being deemed too contracted, and having 
become dilapidated and unsafe for the detention of prisoners, the legislature 
required the supervisors to provide for the erection of a new jail. They had 
been authorized the preceding year to do so ; but, notwithstanding it -had 
been presented by the grand jury as a nuisance, they refused to provide for 
building another. Hence the necessity, next year, of a law requiring them 
to do so ; and even then the appropriation was made by a majority of two 
only. The sum first appropriated by the law of 1832, was $3,500, in three 
annual installments, the last of which would become due in 1834, when the 
supervisors were required to raise $1,500 more for its completion. 

In 1834, on the petition of many citizens, an act was passed directing the 
building of a new court-house. It is not strange that county buildings 
costing but $1,500, were, after a lapse of more than twenty years, insufficient 
for the various county purposes. The commissioners appointed by the act 
to contract for and superintend the erection of the court-house, were Thomas 
B. Campbell, Wm. Peacock, and Martin Prendergast. The supervisors 
were required to assess and collect therefor $5,000 in five annual installments 
commencing in 1837. This time was fixed in oHier to allow the jail install- 
ments to be fully paid before additional taxes were imposed. The money 
for building was loaned to the county by the state, at 6 per cent, interest, the 
first installment to be paid the ist of March, 1838. 

The commissioners contracted with Benj. Rathbun, of Buffalo, for erecting 
the exterior of the building. The work was done the same summer, and was 
accepted by the commissioners. The plan was submitted to the board of 
supervisors in 1834, and a committee was appointed, with instructiqns to 






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ORGANIZATION OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. II 5 

report to the board at the next meeting. At an adjourned session held the 
next month, [Dec, 1834,] the committee reported resolutions, declaring that 
all the money borrowed had been expended on the exterior of the building ; 
disapproving the acts of the commissioners as tending to burden the county 
with a heavy expense for a larger and more costly building than was needed, 
with the purpose of advancing the interests of Mayville at the expense of 
the county ; and asking the legislature to remove Wm. Peacock and Martin 
Prendergast, and appoint Elial T. Foote and Lieverett Barker as commis- 
sioners in their stead. The report was accepted. 

The action of the next legislature upon the subject was the passage of a 
law requiring the raising of an additional sum of $4,000 to complete the 
building, in four annual installments, beginning with the year 1837 ; and 
authorizing the comptroller to loan it as before. And instead of removing 
the two commissioners, Elial T. Foote, of EUicott, and Leverett Barker, of 
Pomfret, were appointed additional commissioners. With this appropriation 
the building was completed, and the five commissioners were discharged. 

Divisions of Chautauqua County. 

This county, at the time of its formation in 1808, embraced but the single 
town of Chautuaqua. The town of Pomfret was at the same time formed 
from the town of Chautauqua, and embraced the two eastern ranges of town- 
ships, [10 and u,] and the present towns of Pomfret and Dunkirk. There 
was no further subdivision until after the complete organization of the county 
in 1811. 

In 181 2, Ellicott was formed from Pomfret, and embraced townships i and 2 
in ranges 10 and 11. Gerry was formed from Pomfret, and embraced the 
present towns of G%rry, Ellington, Cherry Creek, and Charlotte ; and Han- 
over, embracing the present towns of Hanover, Villenova, and a part of 
Sheridan. 

In 18 13, Portland was formed from Chautauqua, and comprised the pres- 
ent towns of Portland, Westfield, and Ripley. 

In 1 81 6, Harmony was formed from Chautauqua, and comprised town- 
ships I, in ranges 12 and 13, and all of townships 2, in the same ranges, 
lying south and west of Chautauqua lake. 

In 181 7, Ripley was formed from Portland, extending from Chautauqua 
creek to the state line. 

In 182 1, Clymer was formed, comprising the present towns of Clymer, 
Sherman, Mina, and French Creek. Stockton was formed from Chautauqua, 
and comprised township 4, range 12, and a tier of lots from township 4, 
range 13. Ellery was formed from Chautauqua, comprising township 3, 
range 12, all of township 2 lying north of the lake, and a few lots on the 
west from township 3, range 13. In 1850, 12 lots from Ellery were annexed 
to Stockton. ' 

In 1823, Busti was formed from EUicott and Harmony, comprising parts 
of townships i, in ranges 11 and 12. Villenova was taken from Hanover, 



Il6 • HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

comprising township 5, range 10, and a part of the present town of 
Arkwright. 

In 1824, Ellington was formed from Gerry, and comprised townships 3 
and 4, in range 10 ; and Mina from Clynier, comprising the present towns of 
Mina and Sherman. 

In 1825, Carroll was formed from EUicott, and comprised township i, 
range 10, and part of township i, range 11, now Kiantone. 

In 1827, Sheridan was formed from Pomfret and Hanover, and comprises 
township 6 of range 11, except 4 lots in the south-east corner, which remain 
attached to Hanover. 

In 1829, Arkwright was formed from Pomfret and Villenova. A part of 
Pomfret was annexed in 1830. Charlotte was taken from Gerry, comprising 
township 4, range 1 2 ; Cherry Creek from Ellington ; French Creek from 
Clymer ; and Westfield from Portland and Ripley. 

In 1832, Poland was formed from Ellicott, and Hes on the east border of 
the county, and comprises township 2, range 10, "Sherman was formed the 
same year from Mina, township 2, range 14. 

In 1853, Kiantone was formed from Carroll. 

In 1859, Dunkirk was formed from Pomfret. 



EARLY ROADS. 



Old Portage Road. 



That a portage road was constructed between Lake Erie and the head 
of Chautauqua lake, prior to the settlement of this countf , has been generally 
conceded ; but when or by whom it was opened has, until a comparatively 
late period, been an unsetded question. The route of this road is described 
in the following letter from Col. Wm. Bell, of the town of Westfield, to Judge 

Foote : 

"Westfield, March 29, 1871. 

" Hon. Elial T. Foote : In answer to your letter inquiring about the 
route of the old French road from Lake Erie to Chautauqua lake, I will say, 
that I came to what is now Westfield, in August, 1802. My father, Arthur 
Bell, came from Pennsylvania, with a part of the family in ' dug-out canoes,' 
up the Allegany and Connewango rivers, and the Chautauqua outlet and lake, 
to the present steamboat landing at Mayville, while I came through the woods 
from the Allegany river to Erie, and thence to Westfield, with some cattle 
and horses. And when the family arrived at the head of the lake, I went 
there to meet them ; ^nd the goods were ' packed ' over to the farm that my 
father had taken up when he was here in the spring, on the ' main road,' 
about three miles west of Westfield village. 

" In 1802, there were the remains of a stone chimney standing near the 
shore of Lake Erie, a little west of the mouth of Chautauqua creek, that was 
said to have been built by the French. A road was cut out from that point 
on Lake Erie, crossing the present Erie road near the old ' McHenry tavern,' 



EARLY ROADS. II7 

where the historical monument now stands, and crossing the west branch of 
Chautauqua creek about 100 rods above where the woolen factory of Lester 
Stone now stands, and from there to a point near the former residence of 
Gervis Foot, or late residence of Mrs. Rumsey, and from there to Chautauqua 
lake, on or near the line of the present traveled road. 

" I remember very well, when I was quite a young lad, of driving a team 
to draw salt over this old French road from Lake Erie to Chautauqua lake ; 
and from the appearance of the road, it must have been cut out a good many 
years before I passed over it. 

" My father settled on part of lot 3, township 4, range 14, of the Holland 
Land Company's survey; and after the death of my father, I resided on the 
same farm till within the last few years. 

" Respectfully yours, William Bell." 

The question as to the time when and by whom the road was constructed, 
appears to have been satisfactorily answered by Judge Foote, through the 
*Fredonia Censor. His' letter is dated February 10, 18 71. He first notices 
the traditionary statement that in 1782 an army of 300 British and 500 
Indians, with 12 pieces of artillery, spent the months of June and July 
around Chautauqua lake, preparatory to floating down the Connewango and 
Allegany rivers to attack Fort Pitt. And it was stated that " the British left 
a four-pounder on the shores of Chautauqua lake, from 1782 to 1784." 
These statements were founded on tradition, said to be from a copy of a letter 
from Gen. Irvine to Gen. Washington. In reference to this the Judge says : 

" I have searched the libraries of historical societies in vain for proof of 
a British army having been encamped about Chautauqua lake. It was only 
eighteen years from the time the British army is said to have encamped on 
the lake to the commencement of the settlement of the county, and less 
than that when the lake shores were traversed by the surveyors ; but I have 
never been able to find any one who had seen any evidence of such an 
encampment on that lake." 

On the subject of the portage road, he says : 

"We have, however, I think, reliable information relative to the opening 
of a portage road from the mouth of Chautauqua creek, on Lake Erie, to 
the head of Chautauqua lake, about 118 years ago, by the French. The 
evidence is derived from an affidavit made by Stephen Coffin, an American 
who was taken prisoner by the French and Indians, and finally enlisted in 
the French army, and was with the army when the portage road was opened. 
I will give a brief of the affidavit taken before Sir William Johnson, in 
January, 1754. There is corroborative testimony of the material facts de- 
veloped in the affidavit." [The substance of this affidavit has been given 
in Mr. Edson's Historical Sketch, p. 38.] 

Road from Pennsylvania to Chautauqua Lake. 

The first road from Pennsylvania to Chautauqua lake, at what was after- 
wards called " Miles' Landing," was opened at a very early date. One of the 
party who performed the labor was Robert Miles, who certified to the follow- 
ing description : 

" The road commenced at my father's in the present town of Sugar Grove, 



Il8 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

near where Frederick Miles now lives, and passed a little east of where the 
senior Devereaux first settled in Busti, and over the hills, and near where 
Josiah Palmeter lives, and also near where Samuel (jriffith settled ; and 
crossed the present Jamestown and Mayville road, on the west side of the 
lake, a Httle west of where sheriff Judson Southland now resides, and came 
to the lake at the mouth of the little creek on the lake shore at Uriah Bent- 
ley's. The road was used for many years for the people of Pennsylvania to 
go to Chautauqua lake, and for the first settlors on the lake to go to Penn- 
sylvania for provisions, etc. The Mileses made a large canoe on the hill 
westerly of where Devereaux settled, out of a pine tree, and drew it over the 
road to Chautauqua lake ; and the hill where the canoe was made was called 
by the early settlers "canoe tree hill." The road was opened about 1805. 
There were a few settlers in Warren county, Pa., before there were any in 
Chautauqua county ; and the early settlers about Chautauqua lake not unfre- 
quently went to Pennsylvania for seed potatoes, oats, wheat, etc., and for 
cows, hogs, etc., when commencing in the woods. My father helped build 
the first log house at Mayville, near the present steamboat landing, (before* 
Mclntyre came there,) for a man by the name of Sherman. Robt. Miles, Sr., 
died in 18 10, aged 57, near the present village of Sugar Grove, on the farm 
now owned by my brother Frederick. Robert Miles." 

Mayville and Cattaraugus Road. 

In 1 8 13, the Holland Land Company made a survey of a road from May- 
ville easterly to Ischua, Cattaraugus county, a distance of 60 miles, and cut 
out, bridged, and made it passable to Love's, one mile south of Sinclairville. 
From that place to its eastern terminus, the country was an entire forest, with 
the e.xception of the opening at Bentle/s on the Connewango. 

In May, 18 14, Capt. Anson Leet, Henry Walker, Bela Todd, Dexter 
Barnes, Henry Barnhart, Oliver Cleland, Nathan Cleland, and a few others, 
most or all from what is now Stockton, were employed by the Company to 
construct the remaining part of the road. Capt. Leet, eminently qualified 
for the task, was chief command, and John West was chief cook. A good 
movable tent and utensils, and all necessary fixtures for encamping, were 
provided. Several yoke of oxen were used by them in removing heavy fallen 
timber and building bridges, etc. ; and three cows with their calves were 
taken to aid the boarding department. The calves were tied by straps to 
small trees ; and herdmen know that, unless compelled, cows will not go far 
from their young ; hence they were useful in keeping all their cattle within 
hearing of the bells strapped on the necks of some of the oxen. The cows 
would not generally go within reach of their calves when fastened closely to 
the trees ; and the calves seldom received more than their proper share of 
food ; but if opportunity presented, they would, like some of our late con- 
gressmen, appropriate to themselves a luscious supply of " back pay." 

Pasturage at that season of the year was abundant : nature covered the 
ground with beautiful foliage, of which only the early settlers have proper 
conceptions. From the length of the road and the time taken to do it, they 
could only remove the fallen trees, cut away the bushes and small timber, 
and grade the knolls. There were many streams to be bridged, marshes 



EARLY MAILS AND MAIL ROUTES. II9 

requiring corduroy road; and as black ash timber was plenty and easily 
worked, the Land Company allowed it to be split into rails and covered with 
dirt, the bridges being built with logs and poles. 

This party consisted of men in the strength and vigor of early manhood, 
and had, on the 4th of July, reached what was then by survey the village of 
Ellicottville in embryo. Though distant from home and society and the 
church-going bell, they had observed their sabbaths as days of rest, if not of 
worship. War was raging between our country and England ; and the dis- 
tant rumble of cannon from Buffalo and the lake aroused their patriotism ; 
and they resolved to celebrate the Fourth. Dexter Barnes was orator; 
Deacon Walker, chaplain ; and Henry Barnhart, with associates, were to make 
all the military demonstrations at their command. Of course the speech of 
the orator was brief, but it was characteristic of one who was full of life and 
hope. The prayer was from one whose piety was undoubted, but not offen- 
sive. Like a Christian patriot he remembered his country then in a san- 
guinary struggle with a formidable foe for the rights of her citizens. He 
remembered home and friends, and prayed that a religious influence might 
ever characterize the place they then consecrated. 

The party thence worked onward to Ischua, which place they reached late 
in September, and then in company returned home. Having faithfully dis- 
charged their trust, they went to the office, where they received the congrat- 
ulations of their faithful friend, Mr. Peacock, as also their full pay. The 
honored agent is still living, [October, 1875,] as are Mr. West, Mr. Barnhart, 
Mr. O. Cleland, and Mr. N. Cleland. 



EARLY MAILS AND MAIL ROUTES. 

In consequence of the burning of a portion of the records of the General 
Post-Office at Washington, in the war of 18 12, the history of the early mail 
routes and post-offices in this part of the country is not easily obtained. It 
has been ascertained, however, that a post-office was established at Buffalo, 
by the name of Buffalo Creek, as a private office, (not then on any mail 
route,) in the latter part of the year 1804, and that Erastus Granger was 
appointed postmaster. He received the income of the office as a compen- 
sation for carrying the mail to and from the Niagara post-office. The nearest 
offices were at Batavia, Niagara, and Erie, Penn. Mr. Granger held the 
office until 1818, when he was superseded by Julius Guiteau. 

Stephen Bates, of Canandaigua, was contractor in 180 1-2-3, ^^^ carrying 
the mail west once in two weeks. At or before this contract closed, the 
mail route had been extended to Niagara. In 1804, Baker and Seeley 
became contractors, and continued such until Oct. i, 1805, the mail being 
carried once in two weeks by John Metcalf, of Canandaigua, sub-contractor. 
In 1805, Gideon Granger being postmaster-general, the route was extended 



120 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

to Buffalo Creek, and an additional $ioo a year was allowed Metcalf, who 
himself, in July of this year, took the contract at the rate of $550 a year, to 
commence the ist of October. By the tenns of this contract, he was 
required, /// going to Niagara, to transport the mail, once in two weeks, by 
the way of New Amsterdam, [the Holland Company's name for Buffalo ;] 
but in returning omitted Buffalo, pursuing his old route from Niagara to 
Canandaigua, by the way of Cold Spring and Batavia. The first returns 
from the Buffalo Creek post-office, made July i, 1805, about 7 months from 
its establishment, showed a balance due the general government of $11.84. 

The first stage from Canandaigua to Buffalo w^as run by Metcalf in 1807. 
He applied to the legislature for the exclusive privilege. A committee re- 
ported favorably. The line from Albany running only to Canandaigua, 
travelers were there left, liable to long detention or to imposition in hiring 
carriages to take them on. Hence the committee concluded " that the 
prayer of the petitioner be granted," and reported a bill which was passed 
without opposition, in April, 1807. All other persons were prohibited from 
running carriages for hire, under a penalty of $500. Metcalf was to keep 
three wagons and three stage sleighs, and the requisite number of horses. 
The fare was not to exceed 6 cents a mile for a passage and 14 pounds of 
baggage; and every additional 150 pounds weight of baggage was to be 
charged 6 cents a mile, or in that proportion. 

The stages were to run regularly on stated days ; and from the ist day of 
July to the ist day of October, the route was to be performed at least once 
a week, except in cases of unavoidable accidents. Only seven passengers 
were to be taken in a stage at one time, unless by their unanimous consent. 
If a greater number applied, an extra carriage for four passengers was to be 
sent. The stages then run from Albany to Canandaigua twice a week ; and 
the distance was made from place to place in four days. 

The post-office at Erie was established about the year 1798, at the termi- 
nation of a two weeks' mail route from Pittsburgh to Erie. The quarterly 
returns for April, 1805, showed a balance due the general government of 
$16.28. 

Previous to 1806, the few settlers in Chautauqua county were dependent 
for mail facilities on the post-offices at Erie and Buffalo. In 1805, a post 
route was established between the Buffalo Creek and Erie, then called 
Presque Isle, [pronounced in French, Presk Ele,'\ John Metcalf being con- 
tractor; the mail to be carried once in two weeks, and to commence in the 
forepart of 1806. The mail, it is said, was carried by a footman, at first, in 
a pocket handkerchief, afterwards in a hand mail-bag. The first post-office 
in Chautauqua county was established May 6, 1806, in the present town of 
Westfield ; Jarhes McMahan, postmaster; the name of the office, Chautauqua. 
It was kept on the west side of the creek, at the old Cross Roads. Col. 
McMahan held the office until 1818, when it was removed to the east side 
of the creek, and Fenn Demming was appointed postmaster. 

The second post-office in the county was the Canadaway post-office, 



EARLY MAILS AND MAIL ROUTES. 121 

established June i8, 1706, near the center of the present town of Sheridan, 
about 4 miles east of Fredonia; postmaster, Orsamus Holmes, a soldier of 
the Revolution, and a pioneer settler of the county. The town of Chau- 
tauqua, in the county of Genesee, then composed all the territory subse- 
quently constituting the present county of Chautauqua, except the towns in 
range 10, which were annexed in the formation of the county in 1804. For 
some years, these two were the only post-offices in the county ; and this mail 
route was the only one in the county for about ten years. From Oct. i, 1807, 
to Oct. I, 1809, on contract with Edward Fetherly, postmaster at Jefferson, 
Ohio, the mail was carried on horseback from Erie to New Amsterdam, 
[Buffalo,] once in two weeks, for $140 per annum. 

The third post-office in the county was the Pomfret office, established May 
6, 1809, where Fredonia now is, then called Canadaway ; Samuel Berry, 
postmaster. Previously to the organization of Pomfret, in 1808, embracing 
ranges 10 and 11, and two townships of range 12, an indefinite portion of 
the county about the Canadaway village and post-office was, in 1817, 
changed to Fredonia. 

Jacob Houghton, an early lawyer from Rensselaer county, was appointed 
postmaster of Pomfret, August 19, 1813. Having removed to Mayville, he 
was succeeded, in 18 16, by Mosely W. Abell, from Buffalo in 18 14. The 
office was kept in the inn of Mosely W, and Thomas G. Abell, on the pres- 
ent site of the Taylor House. This became one of the principal stage-houses 
between Buffalo and Erie. The balance due the general post-office for the 
first quarter of this year, [April i, 18 17,] was $68.37, at that time the largest 
amount returned from any office in the county. The names of those who 
have since held the office are Orrin McCluer, (six years,) Charles J. Orton, 
son of Judge Philo Orton, John Z. Saxton, Ebenezer A. Lester, Daniel 
Douglas, Levi L. Pratt, editor and printer, June i, 1849; O. W. Johnson, 
July 20, 1853; Lorenzo Morris, May 15, 1855; Charles J. Orton, April 17, 
1861 ; Willard McKinstry, printer, July i, 1862; Melvin H. Taylor, 187 1. 

John Gray, postmaster, of Erie, contracted to carry the mail on horse- 
back, once in two weeks, from Buffalo to Cleveland, from October, 181 1, to 
December, 1814, for $950 a year. [Postmasters were not then, as now, 
prohibited from being contractors.] 

By an act of Congress, the postmaster-general was required to furnish mail 
facilities to the seat of justice in every county. Chautauqua county having 
become fully organized in 181 1, Mayville became entitled to a post-office, which 
was established July i, i8i2,and Casper Rouse, who transported the mail to and 
from Chautauqua, [old Cross Roads,] for a number of years, for the emoluments 
of the office, was appointed postmaster. Mr.' Rouse died December 25, 
1812, less than six months from the date of his appointment. Anselm Pot- 
ter was appointed to succeed Mr. Rouse, but declining the office, Charles B. 
Rouse was appointed, February 12, 18 13. The office has since been held 
by George McGonagle, appointed November i, 1816; Jedediah Tracy, May 
29, 1819; Jesse Brooks, July i, 1834; Russell Sackett, 1841 ; Col. E. W. 



122 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

Taylor, in 1845; Stephen A. Beavis, in 1849; Jesse Brooks, in 1853; 
Waite J. Stevens, 1866; Egbert Denton, 1867. 

For six years prior to the ist of January, 181 7, nearly the entire popula- 
tion of the county south of " the ridge," received and sent their mail matter 
at the Mayville post-office, some of the inhabitants residing at a distance of 
thirty miles. People from every neighborhood frequently visiting the land- 
office, attending courts, and transacting business, the settlers had frequent 
opportunities of sending for their letters and papers. Many letters from 
their friends at the East, were brought by immigrants. 

Cattaraugus post-office, at the ferry across Cattaraugus creek, on the 
Buffalo and Erie road, was established, June 1, 181 2, Foster Young, post- 
master. He was succeeded by John Mack, innkeeper, July 28, 1814. 
[Office discontinued December 4, 181 7.] 

Burgettstovvn post-office was established at the site of the present village 
of North-east, Pa., in May, 181 2, Andrew Stevenson, postmaster. Balance 
due the general post-office the first quarter, $3.20. 

When, after war was declared against England, it became necessary to 
send dispatches through the country with greater rapidity, the mai^etween 
Albany and Buffalo was required to be carried at the rate of loo^iiles in 
twenty-four hours ; and the postmaster at Buffalo was directed to dispatch 
an express mail, twice a week, from Buffalo to Cleveland, " to go and return 
as soon as the roads would permit." In 181 3, the government established an 
express by riders on horseback, by way of Carlisle and Williamsport, Pa., 
and Bath and Dansville, N. Y., to Buffalo, "to pass over the route in four 
days and eighteen hours." The term " express," applied to anything moving 
at this rate at the present day, would sound very strange. 

Richard Williams, a pioneer settler and innkeeper of Portland, was a sub- 
contractor, under Gray, to carry the mail from i3uffalo to Erie on horseback. 
This service was mostly performed by his son, Abner Williams, until Com. 
Perry's fleet sailed from Erie to attack the British fleet on the lake, when 
young Williams volunteered on board the Lawrence, and was killed in the 
action on the loth of September, 1813. Richard Williams, while carrying 
the mail, once arrived with it from Erie, sick. His wife, Sophia Williams, 
took the mail, and set out on horseback for Buffalo. It was in the 
time of the spring freshet when the streams were swollen far beyond their 
usual limits. She swam her horse across the Cattaraugus, the Eighteen 
Mile, and the Buffalo creeks, holding the mail above the water, and delivered 
it at Buffalo in time. She also occasionally rode the mail horse between 
Buffalo and Erie when her husband and the sons were hurried on the farm. 
In 18 14, Richard Williams contracted to carry the mail from Buffalo to Erie, 
by the way of Mayville, on horseback, once a week, for $650 a year, from 
January i, 181 5, to January i, 1818. In 1816 was established a mail route 
from Meadville, Pa., by way of the forks of Oil creek, Warren, and the out- 
let of Chautauqua lake, to Mayville, once a week, on horseback, for three 
years, at $420 a year. 



EARLY MAILS AND MAIL ROUTES. 123 

Jamestown post-office was established December 13, 18 16, and Judge 
James Prendergast, a pioneer settler, appointed postmaster. The office was 
kept in the store of J. & M. Prendergast, the first store erected in the 
village, at the north-west corner of Main and First streets, since occupied by 
the building of Dascum Allen. The balance due the general post-office at 
the end of the first quarter, April i, 1817, $5.54. Judge Prendergast was 
succeeded by Dr. Laban Hazeltine, October 24, 1824, who was succeeded, 
June 13, 1829, by Elial T. Foote, the first settled physician in Jamestown, 
who held the office twelve years, and who was the first postmaster in the 
county that introduced letter-boxes for individuals, commencing with eighty 
boxes in 1829. No rent was charged for the boxes during his official term, 
and for several years after. He also used the first engraved letter stamps in 
the county. Alvin Plumb, an early merchant of Jamestown, was appointed, 
June 8, 1 84 1. Having been elected county clerk, he resigned, and was suc- 
ceeded by Joseph Kenyon, December 5, 1843. He was a druggist at James- 
town, and an early pioneer in Sheridan. He was succeeded by Franklin H. 
Wait, October 4, 1844; Eliphalet L. Tinker, an early settler and merchant 
in Westfield, was appointed October i, 1848 ; Smith Seymour, July i, 1849; 
Rufus Pier, a hatter and an early resident, July i, 1853 ; Charles L. Harris, 
July I, 1858; Robert V. Cunningham, July 10, 1861 ; Abner Hazeltine, Jr., 
1866; John T. Wilson, 1867; A. Hazeltine, Jr., 1868; Henry J. Yates, 
1871, (perhaps earlier;) Alex. M. Clark, 1874. 

Hanover post-office was established in the town of Hanover, at a place 
afterwards called Kensington, in the present town of Sheridan, on the Buf- 
falo and Erie mail route, about 5 miles from Silver Creek, and 3 miles from 
Forestville, Dec. 7, 1816, and Wm. Holbrook, an early merchant, appointed 
postmaster. Having resigned and removed to Walnut Creek, now Forest- 
ville, Asa Pierce, an early seltler, was appointed in 1822. He, with the aid 
of his neighbors, procured a change of the name of the office to Kensington, 
the name of the intended village at that place. Mr. P. was for many years 
an innkeeper in different parts of the county, and died at Fredonia in 1844, 
aged 63 years. 

In 1823, a post route was established from Perry, Genesee county, through 
Perrysbllrg, Nashville, and Forestville to Fredonia, the mail to be carried on 
horseback, once in two weeks. A post-office named Hanover, was estab- 
hshed at Forestville, May 15, 1823, Albert H. Camp, postmaster. Unfor- 
tunately for the inhabitants around Kensington, the name of Hanover drew 
to Forestville nearly all the mail designed for them ; and the name of Han- 
over post-office was changed to Forestville, Oct. 15, 1823. On the 22d of 
March, 1824, it was again changed to Hanover; and in 1853 it again took 
the present name of Forestville. Amount due the general post-office for the 
quarter ending July i, 1823, $5.73 ; for the quarter ending July i, 1825, 
$17.97. For several years a mail was carried, by consent of the postmaster- 
general, between Forestville and Kensington, as often as the mail passed on 
the Erie road. Mr. Camp having resigned the office, Wm. S. Snow, a printer, 



124 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

and son of Seth Snow, a pioneer from Massachusetts, was appointed. The 
names of those who have since held the office, are Ernest MuUett, John 
Morrison, Ira A. Torrey, Nedebiah Angell, Benajah Tubbs, James H. Phelps, 
B. Tubbs, (2d appointment,) Orrin MorrisonJ Cyrus D. Angell, Horace 
Burgess, Walter G. Griswold. Present postmaster, Horace Burgess. 

The mail contract from Meadville was renewed in 1819, the mail to be 
carried weekly on horseback, by way of Forks of Oil Creek, Brokenstraw, 
Youngsville, Warren, Fairbank, and Jamestown ; and to this route was added 
the route between Mayville and Westfield, which had been included in the 
Buffalo and Erie contract. 

In 1823, Capt. Gilbert Ballard started a stage- wagon ' running once a week 
on the east side of the lake from Jamestown to Mayville, going and return- 
ing the same day. In 1824, the weekly was changed to a tri-weekly route; 
and the mail was carried three times a week, the postmaster-general allowing 
$200 for the service. Subsequently the line became a daily mail stage line 
of post-coaches, running alternately on the east and west side of the lake. 
And later, the mail was carried on the lake by steamboats in the summer. 

Dunkirk post-office was established as a private office, in February, 1818, 
Elisha Doty, postmaster, who received the avails of the office for the trans- 
mission of the mail to and from Fredonia. There have been since appointed, 
Dr. Ezra Williams, a pioneer physician from Oneida county, June 3, 1822 ; 
Adam Fink, Dec. 16, 1833 ; Wm. L. Carpenter, a publisher of the Dunkirk 
Beacon, in 1841 ; Lysander B. Brown, a lawyer, in 1844; George B. Stock- 
ton, in 1852; Patrick Barrett, in 1856, who died in the war in 1862 ; 
Richard L. Cary, in April, i86t ; Sidney L. Wilson, 1867 ; Lee L. Hyde, 187 1. 

Westfield post-office was established June 15, 18 18, Fenn Demming, post- 
master, virtually superseding the old Chautauqua office, the first in the county. 
Demming had been a surgeon in the war of 181 2, and opened the first drug 
store in Westfield. Orvis Nichols was appointed in February, 1833; Calvin 
Rumsey in 1840; Wm. Sexton a few months later, and in 1843 superseded 
by Orvis Nichols, who was in turn superseded by Mr. Sexton. In 1853, 
Hiram W. Beers, a Methodist minister, was appointed, and in about a year was 
succeeded by Dr. Marcellus Kenyon. David Mann, a former district-attor- 
ney, was appointed in 1855 ; Byron Hall in 1861 ; Fred. C. Bargef, 1865 ; 
Wm. E. Wheeler, 1867; Clara U. Drake, 1871. 

Portland post-office was established December 7, 18 18, Calvin Barns, post- 
master. He was a pioneer settler, a soldier of the Revolution and in the war 
of 1812, and was wounded at the battle of Buffalo, December, 1813. The 
office was then at his farm, afterwards owned by Hiram and Joshua West, 
about six miles east of Westfield. The town then extended west to Chau- 
tauqua creek. The present Portland post-office is on the Erie road, i ^ 
miles west from Brocton. 

Elijah Blaisdell carried the mail on contract from Buffalo to Erie, by way 
of Mayville, at the rate of $736 a year, for three years from January i, 1818. 
The route Avas finally extended from Buffalo to Lewiston, for the additional 



EARLY MAILS AND MAIL ROUTES. 12$ 

sum of $150. Blaisdell having made a default in the fulfiUment of his con- 
tract, Richard WiUiams, innkeeper, of Portland, was employed to carry the 
mail from Buffalo, by way of Mayville, to Erie. 

In 1820, Col. Nathaniel Bird, a soldier of the Revolution, who settled in 
Westfield in 18 15, contracted to carry the mail once a week, on horseback, 
from Buffalo to Erie, not by way of Mayville, from January i, 1S21. The 
people of Mayville being dissatisfied, Mayville was restored to its place in 
the route ; and the carrier was allowed $50 additional compensation. Col. 
Bird commenced the running of mail stages on this route. The weekly 
stages were a great accommodation to the public ; but the road, for miles 
east of Cattaraugus creek, was for many years extremely bad — sometimes 
almost impassable, except when frozen — and passengers were often compelled 
to go on foot. The stages were ordinary two-horse wagons, with canvas 
covering, and seats on wooden springs along the inside of the box, with 
cushions and low backs. To carry the mail through in the stipulated time, 
it became necessary at times to forward it on horseback. There was no 
bridge on the stage route over the Buffalo, Eighteen Mile^ or Cattaraugus 
creek. The " four-mile woods," Cattaraugus creek, and Cash's tavern in the 
present town of Brant, were the dread of all travelers in carriages. Many a 
traveler with a team has been compelled to employ a man with a yoke of 
oxen to assist in dragging the wagon through the mud, the women and 
children walking over the road. 

At the commencement of 1823, Col. Bird, associated with a Mr. Marvin, 
of Buffalo, commenced running his stage-wagons twice a week ; the postmas- 
ter-general having added $200 to his compensation, making it $750 for trans- 
portation of the semi- weekly mail. By the exertions of Col. Bird, the erection 
of toll bridges over the Buffalo, Eighteen Mile, and Cattaraugus creeks was 
hastened. 

In 1824, Col. Bird associated with him his son, Ira R. Bird, of Westfield, 
and others, and in 1826 commenced running a daily stage, post-coaches being 
run on portions of the route. An opposition line, called the Buffalo and 
Erie Union Line, was put on this road by Walter Smith and others. In 
February, 1825, the toll bridge over Eighteen Mile creek fell a few minutes 
after the mail stage had crossed it. 

In May, 1826, the Union Stage Company, of which Alanson Holmes was 
agent, established a tri-weekly line of stages between Buffalo and Erie, by 
way of Hamburgh, Eden, CoUins, Lodi, (now Gowanda,) Perrysburgh, For- 
estville and Fredonia, to Erie. Fare $3, and four cents a mile for way 
passengers. 

In February, 1826, Obed Edson and Harry Eaton estabhshed a semi- 
weekly line of stages between Fredonia and Jamestown, which they soon 
extended to Dunkirk and Warren, Pa. Capt. Ballard soon after commenced 
running his stages between Jamestown and Mayville, except Sundays, making 
a daily line between Jamestown and Westfield. 

Post-coaches were first run regularly on the entire route between Buffalo 



126 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

and Erie, with the daily mail, early in 1829, by Rufus S. Reed, of Erie, 
Thomas G. Abell, of Fredonia, and Bela D. Coe, of Buffalo. Col. Bird sold 
out his interest in the stages about this time, having reached the age of 76. 
He died in Hamburgh, N. Y., in 1847, aged 84. 

In the spring of 1827, an arrangement was made between the proprietors 
of the " Pioneer " steamboat running from Buffalo to Erie and those of the 
daily stages, by which the former was to take passengers to and from Buffalo 
and Dunkirk, making connection with the stage lines. Passengers would 
then leave by the evening boat, and avoid the bad roads between Buffalo and 
Cattaraugus, and a sea-sick voyage on the lake. 



rOLICY OF THE HOLLAND LAND COMPANY. 

Price of Land, and Terms of Sale. 

The policy of the Holland Company in the disposal of their lands, and 
the effects of that policy upon the interests of the Company and of the set- 
tlers respectively, have been a theme of frequent discussion. Although 
nearly forty years have elapsed since the relation between the Company and 
the settlers ceased, yet, as an important item of past history, the subject is 
entitled to a notice in this work. 

The price paid for the lands by the Company, we are informed, was 32 
cents per acre. The price at which the early sales were made, was about 
$2, being varied, more or less, by the location and the quantity sold. The 
books of the company show the price in this county to have been about 
$2.50 an acre. This price, after deducting the cost of surveys, and the ex- 
penses of the land-offices, would seem to have left to the Company a large 
profit. Yet the opinion has extensively prevailed, that cash sales at what is 
usually termed the "government price," would have been better for the 
Company. 

It has often been remarked, that by holding the lands at the high credit 
prices, eastern emigrants having money were attracted to the Western states, 
across the Holland Purchase, to get cheap lands, thus retarding the settle- 
ment of the Purchase, and leaving its lands to be occupied by the poorer 
class of emigrants. But many are not aware that the price of the public 
lands, at the time when the Holland Company commenced their sales, was 
about the same as the price of lands on the Purchase. The common price 
of government lands in western states was $2. A person could enter a 
quarter-section, [160 acres,] by paying down $80 ; the remainder to be paid 
in sums of $80 yearly. If the whole were not paid in five years, the claim 
was forfeited. The land was not liable to taxation before the expiration of 
five years. As Congress sold to no person less than a quarter-section, poor 
men joined in the purchase, and divided the land. During the period of 
general depression and bank suspensions that succeeded the war of 1812, 



POLICY OF THE HOLLAND LAND COMPANY. 12^ 

many were unable to make further payments, and forfeited their lands. But 
for the relief of such, Congress passed an act making the certificate of en- 
trance receivable on the land it covered. By a later act, the price was 
reduced to $1.25 per acre, cash. Another act allowed the division of quarter- 
sections into lots of 80 acres ; so that, with a certificate of the payment of 
$80, and $20 in cash, a person could buy 80 acres. Still some, unable to 
raise the $20, lost their lands. It appears, therefore, that, not until several 
years after the war of 1812, which closed in 1815, did emigrants find more 
favorable terms of purchase in the Western states. 

The books of the Holland Company show remarkably slow progress of 
payment by purchasers of lands. A large portion of them must have for- 
feited their claims. It appears that, at the expiration of ten years, those 
who had paid little or nothing, were charged with '■'■increase of purchase 
money,'' which Avas a sum added to the sum remaining unpaid. To what 
extent this was done in this county does not appear, as many of the older 
books were destroyed at Mayville by the memorable conflagration at that 
place, in 1836. The increase charged was, in many instances, nearly equal 
to, and in a few even greater than the sum due on the contract. 

For example: In Wyoming county, G. T. J. was charged April i, 1806, 
"To .2 lots, 728 acres, $1,456," being $2 per acre, only $10 having been 
paid dosvn. At the end of 10 years, he was charged "To Increase, $1,648," 
making the sum of $3,104; and the land was bought in parts by six differ- 
ent purchasers, who took new articles. Another, whose unpaid balance was 
$6i5,Avas charged " To Increase, $642," and articles were given to three new 
purchasers, charged with $1,257. In Chautauqua county, Eleazar Crocker 
was charged, Sept. 3, 1808, for land, $225, on which $12 were soon after 
paid, and on the 4th of September, 181 8, $157.50 was added as i?icrease 
of purchase money. Jonas Seaman, charged Jan. 13, 1810, for land, $435, 
of which there remained unpaid, $391.25, was charged Jan. 14, 1820, as 
increase, $281.14, 3,nd renewed his article for $672.39. In nearly every 
instance, the increase is charged the day next after the ten years had expired. 
In some cases, a smaller increase is charged in less than ten years from the 
date of the contract. 

Some assistance was rendered the settlers in making payments, by the 
off^er of the Company to receive cattle on their contracts. Agents were sent 
once a year to certain towns for that purpose. We find in the Batavia books, 
the first credit for cattle in 1822 or 1823. Cattle were thus received for a 
number of years. We have seen, in the eastern part of the Purchase, a few 
credits for grain ; but the receiving of grain, it is presumed, was never gen- 
eral, at any considerable distance from a good market. An additional stimu- 
lus was given by a notice to those most in arrears, that in case of speedy 
payment, a liberal deduction would be made from the sums due. This was 
the cause of some dissatisfaction to those who had been more prompt in 
their payments, who regarded it as a premium to their slack neighbors for 
their want of punctuality. , 



128 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

During these times it was that most was heard of the impoUcy of the 
plan of the Company for the disposal and settlement of their lands. Prob- 
ably with the view of inviting immigration, articles were given to settlers on 
the most easy terms — to some, on payment of a sum barely sufficient to pay 
for drawing the contract, which was about one dollar ; and many, doubtless, 
were attracted hither by this easy mode of obtaining possession of land. 
The early settlers were generally poor, having expended nearly the last dollar 
in their removal, and could scarcely have purchased on less accommodating 
terms. Yet some of these, after a short residence and sundry discourage- 
ments, sold out their " improvements " and sought new homes in more favor- 
able localities. Then, too, was so often expressed the opinion that the 
Company would have done better, and the country would have been more 
prosperous, had the low price and cash plan been adopted, as it would have 
brought in a better as well as a more industrious and enterprising class of 
inhabitants. That some persons of the lower class were drawn hither by 
the easy terms offered by the Company is true. But the old inhabitants of 
Chautauqua county still living will agree in saying that its early settlers were 
generally honest, frugal, and industrious, and in point of moral worth, not 
inferior to the population of any other county in the state. 

Condition of the Settlers. 
A recurrence to facts will reveal the true cause of the slow progress of the 
settlers in discharging their obligations to the Company. Most of them were 
comparatively young men from the East, and poor. Wages had been low ; 
and they had laid up little more than enough to buy a team and to defray 
the expense of their removal. They had heavily timbered lands to clear, 
and for a time had no sons able to help, nor the means of hiring help. And 
for the little surplus of the products of their farms, there was for years no 
market beyond the demands of new-comers. War came ; and many were 
obliged to leave their farms and join the army. Some of them served to 
the end of the war — between two and three years. Peace returned ; labor 
was again thrown upon the land ; and within a few years there was a large 
surplus which scarcely compensated for raising it. The price of wheat in 
Rochester, then the nearest and best cash market in the western part of the 
state, was 2S. 6d. to 3s. per bushel, which would hardly pay for its transpor- 
tation in that time of bad roads. Occasionally a load was taken to Albany 
by teamsters going after goods for the merchants. At home, a bushel was 
given for a pound of tobacco, or a yard of brown cotton cloth. 

In providing means for prosecuting the war, double duties were laid upon 
imports, which duties were to continue during the war, and for a year after 
its close. These duties checked importations and encouraged home manu- 
factures. Many manufactories sprang into being. The period of high duties 
expired in the winter of 181 6. Commercial intercourse with Great Britain 
was resumed, and the country was again flooded with British goods. Our 
manufactures were prostrated. The country was drained of its money to 



POLICY OF THE HOLLAND LAND COMPANY. 1 29 

pay for foreign goods ; specie payments were suspended ; and bank bills 
depreciated to 70 or 80 per cent, below par, and in some states to almost 
nothing. No wonder that the books of the Land Company showed so few 
and so small credits to settlers, nor that so many children went barefoot 
until the first snows had fallen. 

We have elsewhere spoken of the partial relief found within doors from 
the help of the spindle and the shuttle, and from the products of the forest — 
ashes. Thus the struggle continued until the completion of the Erie canal, 
in 1825, which, by opening to our people an accessible market, brought them 
permanent relief. They entered upon a course of prosperity, and many of 
them soon attained a comfortable independence. 

A large portion of the settlers, however, still felt the pressure of their land 
debt. They thought it but just that the Land Company, who had grown 
rich under the laws of the state removing their alien disabilities, and exempt- 
ing them from taxation, should contribute some share toward the expenditures 
of the state government. Application to the legislature was made in 1833, 
for a law to this effect, which was passed in that year. The act was advocated 
by its friends upon the principle, that, if any of our own citizens held the 
same security, as the contracts of these non-resident landholders, such 
securities would be liable to taxation ; that the present value and ultimate 
payment of the debt due the Holland Company were involved in the stability 
of our laws ; and that the construction of the Erie canal, effected by the 
settlers on their lands in connection with other citizens of the state, had 
increased the value of the Company's purchase several millions of dollars, a 
considerable portion of which had been and would be realized by the 
Company. 

After the passage of this law, the Company, through their local agent, 
served notices on persons having contracts on which payments were due, 
though the contracts had not expired, requiring them to pay, " or satisfac- 
torily arrange," the balance due, or quit the premises within two months. 
A citizen commenting on this notice in a newspaper remarked, that, "if 
every species of personal property owned by the settlers could be sold, the 
money would not half meet the requirements of this summary mandated The 
issuing of this notice so soon after the passage ot the act, is of itself strong 
presumptive evidence that this sudden change of policy was designed as a 
retaliation to those who had been instrumental in procuring the passage of 
the law. This evidence finds confirmation in the innuendo or threat uttered 
by on^ in the interest of the Company, while the bill was pending in the 
legislature, that, " it might be worse for the settlers." 

The Company Sell their Lands — Land Office Destroyed. 

It will readily be imagined, that the announcement of this new policy 

produced a stir among the settlers throughout the Purchase ; and their feelings 

found vent, to a great extent, through the newspapers. They advised the 

making of no new contracts while existing contracts were in life, and when 

9 



130 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

they did renew, to agree to the payment of no tax but the ordinary land tax 
which they now paid. It was suggested that meetings be held in the several 
towns to consult on measures to be adopted ; that the Company be petitioned 
to rescind the decree, and if this were not done, to petition the legislature. 
They also questioned the power of the Company to enforce the forfeiture 
of a contract vmtil all the stipulated payments were due. 

In the same year or the year following, the Company commenced selling 
out their remaining interest in portions of the Purchase to small companies 
or to individuals. The first sale in this county by the Company, was the sale of 
their interest in the town of Charlotte, to Hinman Holden, of Batavia. In 
November,^ i835> the Holland Company made an agreement with Trumbull 
Cary and George W. Lay, of Batavia, to sell to them all their estate, personal 
and real, in this county. This consisted in wild lands, reverted lands, lands 
held under valid contracts, and a few bonds and mortgages on lands sold and 
not conveyed. The purchase money was payable as follows : $50,000 in 
hand, and the residue in four equal installments in six, twelve, eighteen, and 
twenty-four months ; the Company to retain the legal title to the property as 
security, to receive all the moneys collected, and to take in their own name 
and retain all securities by bonds, mortgages, and contracts, which should 
be taken on the sale of the lands and the liquidation of debts. But the local 
agent of the Holland Company was, as far as should be consistent with its 
security, to be governed by the direction of the new [equitable] proprietors. 

The sale, or agreement to sell, having come to the knowledge of the settlers, 
Mr. Peacock, the local agent of the Company, was applied to for informa- 
tion as to the terms and policy adopted, or to be adopted, by the new- 
proprietors ; but the applicants received no definite answer. The fact was 
reported to a meeting of settlers, at which a committee was appointed, con- 
sisting of Elial T. Foote, Oliver Lee, Samuel Barrett, Leverett Barker, and 
George T. Camp, who were to visit the new proprietors at Batavia, for the 
information which they failed to obtain at Mayville. 

The following is a copy of the " Genesee Land Tariff,^' as it was called. 
It was copied by Judge Foote from the one exhibited to the Chautauqua 
committee : 

" In all cases of articles which have expired since the first of January, 1835, 
or which may hereafter expire, a new sale may be made, and new contracts 
may be issued, payable in ten annual installments, with interest annually, on 
the following terms, one-eighth of the purchase money being paid down : 

" I. In all cases where the amount due on the old contract is less than $3 
on the acre, an advance of $1 on the acre to be charged. 

" 2. Where the amount due is over $3 per acre, and less than $5, an 
advance of $1.50 per acre to be charged. 

" 3. Where the amount is over $5 on the acre, and less than $8, $2 per 
acre to be added. 

" 4. Where there is due over $8 per acre, an advance of $3 per acre to 
be charged. 

" 5. Contracts which have been forfeited in consequence of non-compli- 
ance with the notices, to be considered as expired. 



POLICY OF THE HOLLAND LAND COMPANY. 131 

" 6. Any settler holding under an article expired since January last, may 
be permitted to pay up and take a deed on the payment of per acre. 

" 7. In all cases where the land is worth twice the amount of the purchase 
money, a deed may be given and a mortgage taken on the above terms. 

" 8. Any settler may surrender his article before it expires, and take a new 
contract on the above terms. 

" 9. These terms are for the benefit of actual settlers, and not to be 
extended to those who hold contracts pledged for the payment of debts, or 
who have purchased them for speculation ; but all such persons will be 
required to pay the .full value of the land. 

" 10. In case any settler whose article has expired since the first of Jan- 
uary last, or shall hereafter expire, shall neglect to take a new article on the 
above terms, for the space of six months, the said land to be resold for a sum 
not less than wild land. 

" II. No advance to be charged upon lands held by widows and orphan 
children. 

" 12. No wild land, or other land not heretofore articled, or any of that 
class of expired articles purchased as wild lands, at $2 per acre, or the lots 
in Batavia or Buffalo to be sold until the same have been apprized, and a 
price fixed by the proprietors'. 

"Dated November, 1835." 

Incensed by what the settlers deemed an unreasonable advance on the 
prices of their lands, arrangements were soon made for a raid upon the land- 
office in Mayville, with a view to the destruction of the books and papers 
belonging to the office. This design was carried into effect on the 6th of 
February, 1836. The land-office was demolished ; and most of the books, 
records, maps, mortgages and contracts, were carried off" about two miles and 
burned. The mob consisted of about two hundred and fifty men. The 
excitement was not confined to this county. In the spring of 1836, a crowd 
of seven hundred made a descent upon the Holland Company's office at 
Batavia, which, however, was successfully defended by an organized military 
force and citizens, armed from the state arsenal in that village, and two block- 
houses, erected in anticipation of an attack. 

Policy of Mr. Seward. 

William H. Seward had, just before the day fixed for the attack upon the 
Batavia office, been applied to by the new proprietors to assume the agency 
of the estate. He was also to take an interest in the purchase. And sub- 
sequently, Abraham M. Schermerhorn, a banker in Rochester, also became 
a partner. In June, 1836, before Mr. Seward had accepted the proposition 
of the proprietors, a convention, held at Mayville, resolved, that the proprie- 
tors be invited to open an office in the county, and pledged themselves that 
the settlers would cheerfully pay the principal and interest accrued upon their 
contracts, but would submit to no extortionate demands, by way of Avhat was 
called the " Genesee Tariff," compound interest, or otherwise. Confiding in 
the intelligence and justice of the people, he was determined by this expres- 
sion to accept the trust proposed. With a view to greater safety, he estab- 
lished his ofitice at Westfield, the citizens of that place having pledged them- 



132 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

selves to protect it from mob violence. Rooms were fitted up in the West- 
field House building ; and the business was conducted to the general satis- 
faction of the settlers. A commodious building for a land-oftice was soon 
erected on North Portage street, and was occupied for this purpose until the 
business of the new Company was closed. 

In 1838, Mr. Seward was nominated for the office of governor. A few 
weeks after, it was insinuated by an anonymous correspondent of a county 
paper, that — 

" The bonds and mortgages of the settlers of Chautauqua county are now 
in Wall street, New York : 

" That some Trust Company has a deed of all the lands of the settlers : 

"That through the agency of Nicholas Biddle and others, William H. 
Seward has raised money in Europe at an interest oi five per cent., while he 
demands seven per cent, from you, [the settlers] : 

" And that he and his associates pay interest annually, and extort interest 
from you semi-annually." 

These accusations, as might be expected during an election campaign, 
were copied into leading papers of the party opposed to Mr. Seward's elec- 
tion, with numerous additional accusations : " having violated his agreement 
with the settlers ; sold their mortgages to soulless corporations, which would 
demand payment the moment they expired ; " that their farms "would be 
sold on mortgage for half their value, and Seward, a wealthy and heartless 
speculator by trade, would be the purchaser, and thus rob the poor settlers of 
millions of their hard earnings." 

A few weeks after the publication of these accusations, Mr. Seward 
addressed the citizens of Chautauqua county, through the press of the county, 
defending himself against what he called " misrepresentations of fact and 
injurious inferences." Regarding it as having a legitimate connection with 
the history of the Holland Purchase, and especially that portion which is 
embraced within the bounds of Chautauqua county, a large portion of it is 
here copied as a part of our county history : 

" Compelled by ill health to relinquish my profession, it seemed to me that 
I might, without wrong or injury to you, contribute to restore peace, harmony 
and prosperity in that flourishing region of the state where so much unhappy 
agitation prevailed. . . . Nor did it appear to me morally wrong to 
receive from the purchasers an adequate compensation for my services. The 
compensation tendered, as an equivalent for the not unprofitable pursuits 
which I abandoned, was invested in the purchase. 

" The Holland Company reposed in me the extreme confidence of consti- 
tuting me their agent, although I was a purchaser under them ; and it is due 
to them and to the proprietors to say, that without even the previous formal- 
ity of an agreement in writing, or other instrument than a letter of attorney, 
I went among you to undertake the agency you desired should be estab- 
lished. 

" It was known to me that the Holland Company insisted upon its pay- 
ments ; and these could only be made by raising a loan in Europe or else- 
where, to meet their demands sooner than they could be collected from you, 
without intolerable oppression. I therefore stipulated with the American 



POLICY OF THE HOLLAND LAND COMPANY. 133 

Trust Company, before commencing my agency, that as soon as the hquida- 
t on of the debVs by bonds and mortgages could be effected, and the mone- 
tary affairs of the country would permit, they should advance nie heir bonds 
foJ the amount. I secured also an understandmg with the Holland Com- 
pany, that they would favor the proprietors and settlers, until I could accom- 
nlisii' this prehminary settlement and security. r -j ^ 

^ ' 'Thus prepared, I opened an office, and invited the settlers to hquidate 
their debts, and quiet all alarm, as well about the title of their lands as 
he terms and conditions of their credit, by taking deeds and executing 
bonds and mortgages for the purchase money. In less than eighteen 
months, four thousand persons whom I found occupying lands chiefly under 
expired and legallv forfeited. contracts of sale, and excited and embarrassed 
alike by the oppression and uncertainty of ever obtaining titles, and antici- 
pated exactions upon their contracts-became freeholders-upon the terms 
at their own option either of payment of their purchase money or payment 
of a convenient portion thereof, and a credit of five years for the residue. 

"When the occupant could not pay an advance, and his improvements 
were insufficient to secure his debt, his contract, no matter how long 
expired, was renewed without any payment. It was always, as you weU 
know, a principle of my agency, that no man could lose his ^^^^^ })y forfe t^ 
ure, if he would but agree to pay for it in five years Jhere was none so 
poor that he could not secure his "farm and his fireside. I thmk, too, you 
will recollect, that to the sick and infirm, I invariably sent their papers tor 
securing their farms; to the indigent, the money to bear their expenses to 
the land-office; and since I am arraigned as a ' soulless speculator, I may 
add that to the widow, I always made a deduction from the debt of her 
deceased husband. To the common schools I gave lands gratuitously for 
their srhool-houses. From the time I came first among you to this period, i 
have never refused any indulgence of credit and postponement that was 

^^ "VhenT found a few persons (as there must necessarily be some) who were 
obstinate in refusing terms generally esteemed so liberal I appealed to them 
first through the public newspapers, then by letters through the V^^'-^^^%f^ 
finally by a message sent directly to their houses. When these efforts failed 
to arrest their attention, and in a few cases legal proceedings or forfeitures 
were necessary, I uniformly conveyed the land upon the same terms as if the 
occupants had earlier complied with the terms which their fellow-citizens 
deemed so reasonable and fiberal. 

" Thus contentment was universally diffused among you, when the pressure 
of i8-,7 fell upon you, and me, and the whole country. Foreseeing many 
cases of embarrassment, in making payment on your bonds and mortgages 
in that season of scarceness of money, I immediately issued a notice tha 
the first payment of principal would be dispensed with if the interest should 
be paid Having then obtained a definite proposition from the American 
Trust Companv, that an advance to the proprietors should be upon a credit 
of ten years, with semi-annual interest, I immediately announced to you the 
welcome and unexpected proposition to extend your bonds and mortgages 
for the same period and upon the same terms. This proposition has been 
generally accepted, and is yet open to all. . i ,• ,k.^ fT.^ 

"On the nth of July, 1838, after two years' contmued notice that the 
title of the Holland Company would pass from them to the proprietors 
or their trustees, the improved condition of the estate and the returning 



134 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

prosperity of the country, enabled me to conclude my arrangement with the 
American Trust Company. That institution advanced to me its bonds for 
the amount owed by you to the proprietors, and by the proprietors to the 
Holland Company; and I paid them over to John Jacob Vanderkemp, agent of 
the Holland Company, at a sacrifice to my associates and myself, in discharge 
of their whole demands. Desirous to secure you against all possible incon- 
venience from this arrangement, it was agreed that the estate should remain 
as before, under my agency ; and the title of the lands, bonds, mortgages 
and contracts, was vested by a deed in myself and two others as trustees, to 
continue the settlement- of the estate for the benefit of the proprietors and 
the security of the American Trust Company. This deed was immediately 
placed on record in Chautauqua county. The agreement between the parties 
stipulates that my agency, in person or by my own appointment, shall con- 
tinue three years ; atui that payments made by you in Chautauqua county shall 
be credited as soon as paid there. The bonds, mortgages and contracts remain 
under this arrangement iti the Chautauqua land-office, whence they have never 
been removed. 

" In this transaction the Bank of the United States has had this agency : 
the general agent of the Holland Company has always kept his accounts and 
deposits with that institution, and his remittances were made through it. 
The payments from the Chautauqua office, like those of all the other offices 
on that tract, pass through the same institution. It received the bonds of 
the American Trust Company at a discount stipulated by me, and paid for 
them by a certificate of deposit to Mr. Vanderkemp, payable at six months. 

" From this explanation it appears that your bonds and mortgages are not 
in Wall street, nor in the Bank of the United States, but where you have 
always found them — in the Chautauqua land-office. 

" That no Trust Company, foreign or domestic, has a deed of your lands; 
but that the title of the lands of the state, and your securities, is vested in 
myself and my associate trustees, citizens of this state, instead of Wilhem 
Willink, Walrave Van Heukelom, and others in Europe : 

" That neither through the agency of Nicholas Biddle, nor otherwise, have 
I borrowed money in Europe or elsewhere, at 5 per cent., and loaned it to 
you at 7 per cent. ; but that instead of demanding from you immediate pay- 
ment of your indebtedness to the Holland Company, I have borrowed the 
money upon your credit and that of the proprietors, and for your benefit and 
ours, upon a term of ten years, at 7 per cent., of which you have the full 
benefit : 

" That the proprietors do not exact semi-annual interest while they pay 
annually ; but that while they pay interest semi-annually, you pay annually 
or scmi-anmially, at your own option : 

"That your 'farms and firesides' have not been put in jeopardy by me, 
but in just so much as a deed subject to a bond and mortgage, with ten 
years' credit, is a more safe tenure, than an expired and forfeited contract of 
sale, they have been secured to you : 

"And that you have not been delivered over to a 'soulless corporation,' 
but that your affairs have been arranged so as to secure you against any pos- 
sible extortion or oppression in any quarter ; and your bonds and mortgages 
are more certainly accessible to you for payment than before the arrangement 
was made. 

" I have only to add, what you well recollect, that in all the settlement of 
this estate, no cent of advance upon your farms, or compound interest, or of 



LA FAYETTE IN CHAUTAUQUA. 1 35 

costs upon your debts, has gone into my hands, or those of any other pro- 
prietor. That no man has ever lost an acre of land which he desired or 
asked to retain, with or without money ; no bond, mortgage, or contract, has 
been prosecuted for principal or less than two years' interest ; no proceedings 
of foreclosure have ever been instituted when the occupant would i)ay a sum 
equal to one year's interest ; and every forfeiture has been relinquished 
upon an agreement to pay the principal and interest due. 

" To the people of Chautauqua county of all political parties, this state- 
ment is due, for the generous confidence they have reposed in me, and the 
hospitality they have extended to me. It is required, moreover, by a due 
regard for their welfare, since their prosperity must be seriously affected by 
any discontents about their title and security. It is due to the harmony and 
contentment of their firesides. And if it needs other apology, it will be 
found in the duty I owe to others ; for, however willing I may be to leave 
my own conduct to the test of time and candor, I can not suffer their 
interests to be put in jeopardy. William H. Sew^ard. 

"Auburn, Oct. 15, 1838." 

, Cherry Valley Company's Purchase. 

In 1828, a sale of unsold lands in the east and south-east towns of the 
county, amounting to about 60,000 acres, was made by the Holland Land 
Company, to James O. Morse, Levi Beardsley, and Alvan Stewart, who were 
known as the " Cherry Valley Company." The following is a list of the 
towns in which the lands were, and the number of acres in each : 

Township i, r. 10, Carroll, 9,619 acres. Tp. 2, Poland, 5,398 acres. Tp. 
3, Ellington, 1,015 acres. Tp. 4, Cherry Creek, 9,092 acres. Tp. 5, 
Villenova, 5,246 acres. Tp. 6, Hanover, 3,273, besides Cattaraugus Village, 
1,588 — in all, 4,861 acres. Range 11, tp. i, Kiantone and Busti, 2.824 acres. 
Tp. 2, Ellicott, 4,169 acres. Tp. 4, Charlotte, 6,218 acres. Tp. 5, Ark- 
wTight, 5,066 acres. Tp. 6, Sheridan, 747 acres. Range 12, Busti and 
Harmony, 5,857 acjes. — Total, 60,112 acres. 



LA FAYETTE IN CHAUTAUQUA. 

Gilbert Motier, Marquis de La Fayette, was born in France, Sept. 
6, 1757, and was married at the early age of sixteen years. Though posses- 
sed of an immense estate, he adopted the profession of a soldier, and, at 
the age of nineteen, was stationed as captain of dragoons at one of the gar- 
risoned towns of France. Having heard of the revolt of the American 
colonies, and of the subsequent declaration of independence, and sympa- 
thizing with the colonists, he determined to take part in the struggle, and 
offered his services to Congress. The rank of major-general was promised 
him by the American commissioner at Paris. 

News having been received of the disastrous campaign of 1776, he was 
advised to abandon his intention. His wife is said to have exhorted him to 



136 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

persevere. He resolved to purchase a vessel, to freight it with supplies, and 
to set sail for America. His purpose having been discovered, a royal order 
was issued to detain him ; but making his escape to Spain with De Kalb and 
others, he succeeded in embarking in his vessel from that kingdom. After a 
protracted and stormy passage, he landed at Georgetown, S. C, hastened to 
Philadelphia, and presented his recommendations to Congress. He was 
answered, that, in consequence of so many applications having been received, 
there was doubt of his obtaining a commission, Determined to aid the 
struggling colonists, he offered his services as a volunteer, and without pay. 
His letters were examined, and he was tendered a commission as major- 
general. He was wounded at the battle of Brandywine, and debarred for a 
time from active service. 

In 1788, France declared war against England, and formed an alliance 
with the United States. His own country now having need of his services, 
he obtained leave of absence. Complimentary resolutions, and a beauti- 
fully ornamented sword, were voted by Congress. He was received by his 
countrymen with great enthusiasm. '' 

After an absence of fifteen months, he returned with the assistance of 
money and a French fleet bringing Rochambeau and 6,000 soldiers, and 
rejoined Washington. He again took an active part in the war, and distin- 
guished himself by his successful conduct of the campaign against Cornwallis 
at Yorktown. He again returned to France, and procured additional assist- 
ance — 60 vessels and 24,000 men, and money. Soon after arrival, tidings of' 
peace were received. 

In 1784, at the invitation of Washington, he again revisited the United 
States. He arrived in August and departed in December, Congress taking 
a formal leave of him. In 1824, he visited this country for the last time. 
He landed at New York in August, and took a tour through the United 
States, going west to the Mississippi, and returning through the Northern 
states. The highest honors were everywhere paid him ; and he was received 
with an enthusiasm seldom if ever equaled. So liberally did he share in the 
cordial greetings and the hospitalities of the people on his tour of several 
months, that he was everywhere hailed as " The Nation's Guest." In two 
towns in our county, thousands of our citizens were favored with an oppor- 
tunity of testifying their gratitude for his particular services in the nation's 
struggle for independence. 

Reception at Westfield. 

In anticipation of the arrival of the illustrious guest of the nation into our 
state from Pennsylvania, a number of gentlemen assembled at Westfield, June 
2, 1825, on the evening previous to his expected arrival, to make arrange- 
ments for his reception into the state, and to escort and welcome him to that 
village. A committee of arrangements was appointed, consisting of the fol- 
lowing named persons : Jonathan Cass, Joseph Farnsworth, Henry Abell, 
Oliver Lee, Joshua R. Babcock, Fenn Demming, Eliphalet L. Tinker, Silas 



LA FAYETTE IN CHAUTAUQUA. 1 37 

Spencer, Thomas B. Campbell, Lemon Averill, John Dexter, Ebenezer'P. 
Upham, Wm. Peacock, Thomas A. Osborne. 

A superb carriage, owned by the Hon. Wm. Peacock, was furnished for 
the conveyance of the General from the state line to Westfield. Messrs. T. 
B. Campbell, Silas Spencer, Ebenezer P. Upham and Fenn Demming, of the 
committee, proceeded to the state line. On his arrival and introduction, he 
was presented by T. B. Campbell, Esq., in behalf of the committee, with the 
following address : * 

"General La Fayette: With hearts full of gratitude for services ren- 
dered our country, we, as a committee, in behalf of the citizens of Westfield, 
have come to meet you and welcome your return to the state of New York. 

"We assure you. General, that the same grateful feelings which have been 
so unanimously expressed to you by the people of this republic, influence 
and animate the citizens of this part of our state ; and although unable to 
receive you with the splendor which accompanied your reception on landing 
upon our shores, yet we do receive you with no less affectionate and grateful 
hearts." 

To which the General replied : 

" I am fully sensible of the kindness and affection thus expressed to me 
by the people of this part of your state ; and I assure you, sir, it affords me 
much pleasure to take you by the hand and return you, and, through you, the 
citizens of Westfield, my hearty thanks for the respectful manner in which 
they have been pleased to communicate their feelings towards me. I am 
very happy to find myself again in the patriotic state of New York. Accept, 
sir, for yourself and the other gentlemen of the committee, the assurance of 
my best wishes for your health and happiness." 

From the state line the General was escorted by a large number of gentle- 
men on horseback, collected from Ellery, Chautauqua, Portland and Ripley. 
At Westfield, the military had been under arms throughout the day to receive 
him. An immense concourse of citizens from the neighboring towns was 
likewise awaiting, with intense anxiety, the signals of his approach. At a 
little after sunset, on Friday evening, the signal guns announced the joyful 
tidings of the veteran's arrival. The public houses were illuminated in front, 
and a bonfire was kindled upon the public square, which added much to the 
grandeur of the scene. The General was then received amidst the discharge 
of cannon. The appearance of the military, particularly the company of 
Light Infantry commanded by Capt. Towle, did honor to themselves and the 
occasion. 

The General, on being introduced into the room provided for the occasion, 
was presented by Mr. Campbell to the other gentlemen of the committee 
there assembled, when Mr. Osborne, in their behalf, delivered the following 
address : 

"General: Permit our feeble notes of congratulating welcome to swell 
the general anthem of the American nation. Taught from infancy to lisp 
the venerated name of La Fayette, which now trembles upon our tongue 
with gratitude and joy, we greet thee as the champion of freedom, the friend 
of Washington, of our country and her institutions, and the benefactor of 



138 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

mankind. While the burst of grateful acclamation which hailed your land- 
ing upon our shores has been borne on the tide of grateful hearts, until the 
remotest parts of the Union have vibrated with its influence, we of Western 
New York have cause for deep and peculiar emotions. 

" At the period of your valuable labors for the establishment of our repub- 
lic, the spot upon which you stand was only tenanted by the howling inhab- 
itants of the wilderness. Until a long subsequent period, our country was 
without a name and without a population. Now, within its borders the hearts 
of more than twenty thousand freemen beat your welcome. It is to you 
whom we now address, that, more than to any other, this important change 
is to be attributed. The counsels of your wisdom were felt in the cabinet, 
and your youthful arm lent vigor to their execution in the field. Animated 
by your spirit and fired by your example, your king and your country stepped 
forth in the cause of liberty and man, and forever sealed the fate of tyranny 
in this western hemisphere. The life-giving energies of the triumph of liberty 
were felt in the rapid increase of population and settlement. Had a state of 
colonial servitude and dependence continued, your eye would not now have 
witnessed our fields covered with golden grain, waving their undulating shad- 
ows with sportive playfulness in the breeze. Compare, as you traverse the 
mighty Niagara, the colonial and the independent shores, and by their con- 
trast test the influence of liberty on the improvement and settlement of the 
country, and the promotion of the social happiness of man. 

" Finally, General, in behalf of the citizens of the vicinity, we tender to 
you our most cordial congratulations upon your arrival among them, and the 
anxious aspirations of their hearts, that the evening of your days may be as 
tranquil as your life has been constant in the pursuit of freedom. That they 
have enjoyed the felicity of meeting and welcoming you among them, will 
ever be among the most gratifying of their recollections, while the remem- 
brance of the affectionate farewell which they must shortly bid you, their 
father and their friend, can not fail to awaken the liveliest sensibilities of their 
natures, and' call forth the most poignant grief." 

To which the General replied as follows : 

" Gentlemen : I can not express to you my happiness at the kindness of 
your reception. When, about ten months since, I first landed upon your 
shores, I was received in a manner which can never be forgotten. The 
impression then received has been heightened by every subsequent event. 
Wherever I have been, I have received the kindest welcome. But it affords 
me peculiar pleasure to be thus received here in Western New York, and to 
witness the astonishing rapidity of its progress in improvement and settle- 
ment. Accept, sirs, my best wishes for your personal happiness, and, 
gentlemen, for the happiness of you all. I am happy to enjoy the interview ; 
to see you all assembled ; and sincerely regret that circumstances render it 
necessary that my stay with you should be so short." 

The General was then introduced individually to the ladies and gentlemen 
assembled, and appeared to be highly gratified with the scene. Among the 
gentlemen introduced were a number of the soldiers of the Revolution. The 
interviews between the General and these companions in arms were cordial 
and affecting. 

He was then presented to the Fredonia delegation, in waiting to escort 
him to that village ; and, after a stay of about two hours, at about ten o'clock 



LA FAYETTE IN CHAUTAUQUA. 139 

in the evening, they departed during the discharge of twenty-four rounds 
from the artillery, with every demonstration of gratification on his part, and 
of respect and veneration on the part of the citizens assembled. 

Reception at Fredonia. 
The account of the reception of the ^' Nation's Guest " at Fredonia was 
published in the Censor, of June 9, 1825, as follows : 

Gen. La Fayette, with his suite, Col. G. W. La Fayette, and Messrs. Le 
Vasseur and De Syon, arrived in this village on Saturday last, [June 4th,] at 
about two o'clock in the morning, on his way to the eastward. He left 
Waterford, Pa., about 7 o'clock on Friday morning, and arrived here— a 
distance of 60 miles— without making any long stops, traveling in the night. 
His approach was announced by a salute of thirteen guns from Capt. 
Brown's company of artillery, which, with Capt. Whitcomb's rifle rangers 
and detachments- of the 169th regiment, were posted on the west hill 
to receive him. When he arrived, the military marched in advance down 
the hill, and halted in front of Abell's hotel, [the present site of the Taylor 
house]. Here the ladies had been collected, and with the military, Revolu- 
tionary soldiers and citizens, formed into two lines extending to the platform 
erected in front of the hotel. The General and suite then alighted, walked 
down the lines, and ascended the platform, followed by the committee of 
arrangements and military officers. The committee, clergy, etc., having been 
introduced, the Rev. David Brown, of the Episcopal church, at the request 
of the committee, thus addressed our distinguished guest : 

" Gen. La Fayette : We rejoice to see you. We greet you welcome to 
our rural hospitalities, and thank you for the great pleasure thus to salute a 
man most high and most dear in the estimation of every American. It pams 
me, sir, to add the least possible degree to your fatigue at this late hour of 
the' night, but my fellow-citizens, having appointed me to the honorof 
addressing you, expect from me a passing remark on the motives which 
have prompted the little attentions within our Hmited powers, dwelhng, as 
we do, where shortly since dwelt beasts of the forest. 

" It wall suffice to tell how much and for what we admire you ; but, sir, 
our admiration is qualified by a dearer sentiment. We greatly admire your 
character as standing in the front rank of the true and disinterested cham- 
pions of the universal republic, whose citizens comprise all the fnends* of 
liberty on earth. We admire the brilliant luster of your early heroism, by 
which you were inspired to rend the strongest ties of nature, and as a disin- 
terested volunteer in the righteous cause of liberty, to burst from the attrac- 
tions of all that was splendid and all that was lovely. In this act of your 
youth, sir, as in many that followed, we behold an eminent illustration of the 
much admired virtue, which enabled a great chief of sacred antiquity to look 
down with indifference on all the splendors and glories of the royal court of 
Egypt, when the cause of freedom and of God called him to the privations 
and dangers of a hostile wilderness. 

" That, at every earthly hazard, through a life devoted to the vindication 
of liberty, you have uniformly asserted the rights of man, we admire you ; 
and we rejoice in an opportunity to acknowledge your undisputed clauus to 



140 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

the gratitude and admiration of the world. We are ahnost lost in admira- 
tion, sir, as we look forward to the transcendent eminence that you will here- 
after occupy in the history of all princes and potentates of the earth, how- 
ever shining may have been their career, nay, how great soever their virtues ; 
for, with our own Washington, you have shown that ' a man is greater than 
a monarch.' 

" But it is not so much by our admiration of what is illustrious in the 
character of Gen. La Fayette that we are moved and animated on this occa- 
sion, as by our veneration and love for what is excellent, and amiable. Most 
sincerely and deeply do we appreciate the respect and admiration of your 
exalted character ; yet, the sentiment that predominates over even these, if 
not in general estimation more highly honorable, we feel as not less your 
due as our benefactor and friend, nor less worthy ourselves as Americans. 
We love you, sir, as our friend, and our fathers' friend ; we love you and can 
never forsake you. Never can our hearts beat with sentiments becoming 
men and Americans, when they shall have ceased to glow with filial affec- 
tion for Gen. La Fayette, 

" It would be needless to speak of the origin and strength and warmth 
of affection entertained for you by those who took part with you in the 
liberation of our country from a foreign yoke. It may not, however, be 
unpleasing, we hope, to be reminded of the means by which, in the bosoms 
of the generations that have since come on the stage of life, this sentiment 
has been implanted and made to grow with our growth and to strengthen 
with our strength. For almost half a century, sir, your name, associated 
with all that is amiable in the philanthropist, as well as all that is chivalrous 
in the soldier of liberty, has been one of our most favorite ' household 
words. ' 

" When, in your tour through our country, our hearts have followed you 
and witnessed your emotions while embracing your gld comrades in arms — 
especially when our sympathies were roused by the sublime and affecting 
scene at the sepulchre of our Washington, the interesting fire-side scenes of 
our early days were again brought home to our bosoms, when our fathers 
and our mothers taught us to venerate — to love the name of La Fayette. I 
have seen and I have felt the tear standing in the eye of childhood, when 
the tale has been told of your youthful disinterestedness, in devoting your 
fortune, your life, and your honor to the cause of our country, and of your 
sufferings and -wTongs, and of your unbending virtues that no sufferings nor 
wrongs could subdue. 

"When the fires of persecution assailed you, sir, our hearts were taught 
to burn with indignation, and to shiver at the name of Olmutz, when its 
prison damps were settling on the brow of our hero and friend. God be 
thanked, we trust those scenes of sufferings and wrongs and persecutions will 
no more be renewed. But on this spirit stirring subject I must not dwell. 
In behalf of my beloved fellow-citizens, most cordially do I welcome you, 
where, through the influence of our free institutions, which you yourself, sir, 
so greatly contributed to rear, the wilderness of yesterday is now blossoming 
as the rose. As our country's friend and benefactor, with heartfelt sincerity 
and gratitude do I salute you. May that ever gracious Being, by whom we 
are thus favored, strew the path of your pilgrimage with his richest blessings, 
until, at some far distant day, he may please to receive you to Himself in 
glory everlasting." 

The General grasped the speaker's hand with great emotion, and replied : 



LA FAYETTE IN CHAUTAUQUA. H^ 

"Mv De\r Sir: Accept my most sincere thanks for your most affec- 
tionate address. Your allusion to my early visit to America, to my services 
here and to mv sufferings since, are very kmd, and, as I must frankly con- 
fess are very gratifying to my feelings. The manner of my reception here, 
mv'very dear sir, in a place so shortly since a wilderness, as you have said, 
surprises me as much as it pleases me. Surely, I am very much obhged. 
And I beg you, sir, with the committee, who have shown me every kindness, 
to acceptlny grateful acknowledgments." 

The General, then turning to the military and ladies and citizens, assem- 
bled in front 'of the bower, addressed them in a warm and animated 
style of thankfulness for their attentions, and especially for awaiting his arri- 
val to so late an hour. =^ * * "That the ladies, too," to use his own 
affectionate words, "that the ladies, too, should remain up all night to receive 
me, surely it is too much." 

After several introductions, the ladies were presented to him, to whom he 
severally gave his hand, greeting them most affectionately, and giving them 
many compliments for these flattering testimonials of their respect to him. 
The Revolutionary soldiers were next introduced to him. The scene was 
truly interesting. The crowd was so great, that, to afford all an opportunity 
to see him, he took a stand on the front of the platform, where the military 
and citizens passed in review before him. He then sat down to an entertain- 
ment prepared by Mr. Abell with great taste and elegance. 

Day began to dawn when he arose from the table ; and the military, again 
in advance, escorted him to Dunkirk, where, with the committee and several 
military officers from this place, he embarked on board the steam brig Supe- 
rior, which, agreeably to an arrangement, was in readiness to receive him on 
board and convey him to Buffalo. As the yawl was gliding along, a salute of 
twenty-four guns was fired from the steamboat in quick succession, which was 
followed by another salute of twenty-four guns from the artillery on shore, in 
a handsome style. 

Too much praise can not be bestowed upon the military and band ot 
music belonging to Col. Abell's regiment— all under the command of Col. 
Smith, the marshal of the day— who turned out on so short a notice ; and, 
notwithstanding their fatigue and exhaustion, patiently and soldier-like kept 
on the ground, not only all day but all night, to welcome the " Guest of the 
Nation." It was a pleasure to see Major-General Risley, with a part of his 
staft; and Brigadier-General Barker, contributing, as on all similar occasions, 
greatly to the fine appearance of the military. The entertainment and prep- 
arations made by Mr. Abell were splendid, and got up in a style worthy the 
reception of so distinguished a guest. 

The platform erected in front of the house, set round with green trees 
planted in the ground, overhung with lamps and chandeliers, with an arch in 
front, all beautifully dressed off by the fine taste and decorations of our 
ladies, had an effect at that late hour of the night, and amid the illumina- 
tions of the village, bordering on enchantment. And to crown the imposing 
scene, the eloquent, spirit- stirring address delivered by the Rev. Mr. Brown, 



142. HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

in a manner preeminently calculated to awaken the ardor of the patriot's 
bosom, had an effect which we are unable adequately to describe. Every 
eye gazed intently, now at the General and now at the orator, with thrilling 
delight. The reply of the General was warm and affectionate, and showed 
that the patriotic flame which burst forth so brilliantly and burned so efiful- 
gently in the Revolutionary struggle, had not ceased to glow in his devoted 
bosom at this late period of his life. 

The procession accompanying the General from this place to Dunkirk, 
consisting of the military, and ladies and citizens in carriages and on horse- 
back, extended very nearly a mile. We were highly gratified with the hand- 
some manner of his reception by the Buffalo committee on the pier at 
Dunkirk. The steam brig lay off a mile from shore, and presented a fine 
appearance. Her salute was in a style that would have been creditable to a 
ship of war; and with the advantage of an echo from our forests, rolling 
back its reverberations on the ears of thousands of spectators, we scarcely 
recollect anything equal to it. 

The morning was clear and tranquil, and everything in Nature seemed to 
have been carefully arranged for the purpose of contributing to the interest 
of the occasion. 



TEMPERANCE HISTORY. 



Drinking Customs. 



The use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage by all classes of the commu- 
nity, and the direful consequences of its use, prevailed throughout the coun- 
try. Although the evils of intemperance are still lamentably prevalent, a 
material change in the custom of drinking has been wrought. Good men 
and bad indulged in it. The whisky jug was thought an indispensable help 
in the harvest field, and was ever present at house-raisings, log-rollings, and 
corn-huskings ; nor was the decanter with its exhilarating contents usually ' 
wanting at social gatherings. A man meeting a friend near a tavern, invited 
him to the bar to " take a drink." A man was deemed wanting in hospitality 
if he did not "treat" his visitors. A traveler stopping at a tavern to warm 
himself, thought it " mean " to leave without patronizing the bar to the 
amount of a sixpence or a shilling. The idea had not been conceived, that 
both parties would have been gainers if the money had been paid for the 
fire, and the liquor left in the decanter. Liquor bought by the gallon, and 
even by the barrel, was kept in families for daily use. Seated at the break- 
fast table, the glass was passed round to " give an appetite." Bittered with 
some herb or drug, it was used as a " sovereign remedy " for many of the ail- 
ments " flesh is heir to," and often as a preventive. It was taken because 
the weather was hot, and because it was cold. Liquors being kept in coun- 
tr}^ stores, some merchants were wont to treat their customers, especially 



TEMPERANCE HISTORY. 143 

when they made large bills, and sometimes beforehand, to sharpen their 
appetite for trading. Happily most of these customs have become obsolete 
among the better classes of society, and, it is hoped, never to be revived. 

In nearly every town was a distillery — in some towns a number — where 
farmers exchanged their rye and corn for whisky, which was a common arti- 
cle of traffic. Merchants exchanged for it the grain received from their cus- 
tomers, and, after supplying the demand at home, sent the surplus to the 
eastern markets, after the opening of the Erie canal. Having reached its 
destination, a large portion of it was, by some mystic process, suddenly con- 
verted into another article, and, under a different name, bought, perhaps, by 
the same country merchants, to supply their customers with " a pure brandy 
for medicinal purposes." 

That drunkenness, and its natural concomitants — poverty, crime, and pre- 
mature death — were the result of the practices we have mentioned, is not 
surprising. The marvel is, that the opinions and habits so long prevalent, 
should have had the sanction of good men. The evils of intemperance be- 
came at length intolerable, and remedial measures began to be suggested and 
discussed. 

Further evidence of the general prevalence of liquors as a beverage among 
all classes, is found in the by-laws adopted by the grand jury of Chautauqua 
county, in June, 1827 — a b,ody of men whose duty it was to indict men for 
crimes, the most of which were committed under the influence of the bever- 
age which was the principal cause of crime, and to the popular use of which 
these inquisitors of crime contributed the weight of. their example. The 
subject of by-laws was referred to a committee who reported seven rules, the 
first two of which were as follows : 

" I. That the foreman of the jury pay one bottle of brandy for the honor 
of his seat. 2. That the secretary also pay one bottle." 

The other rules imposed fines of 12^ cents for the violation of certain 
rules of etiquette, or non-observance of some prescribed formality. And it 
is quite probable that these fines were expended in intoxicating drinks. 

A noticeable specimen of the use and cost of liquor is found in a tavern 
bar-book of Jacob Fenton in Jamestown, in 181 7. A glance over its pages 
will convince any person of the mistake of those who think that more liquor 
is drunk now than there was before the organization of temperance societies. 
On page 19, G. G. is charged with 3 half pints whisky, at three different 
times, at 25 cents each, making 75 cents, and supper and lodging, 44 cents. 
Total, $1.19. N. L. is charged 3 milk punches, 25 cents each. E. W. is 
credited on account $2.05, to apply on tavern bills contracted, it is presumed, 
at the above rates. H. B., i gill whisky, 13c. W. M., 2 gills whisky, 25c. 
A Mr. J. M. buys, in one day, 5 gills at 12I2C. each. On the next page 
are charged 11 gills at i2^c. each, and 2 breakfasts at 37c.; 2 lodgings at 
7c., and a supper, 25c. Total, $2.44. This man probably had a wife and 
children in town. On another page are 7 half pints whisky at i2^c., and 
I qt. porter, 25c., charged in succession, no charge against another person 



144 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

intervening. Here are seen the names of well known business men scat- 
tered through the book. It is readily seen that, in proportion to the capital 
employed, tavern-keeping must have been the most lucrative business at that 
time carried on ; provided, however, that there were no " bad debts." A 
citizen is charged for i gallon and i qt. $2.50; from which it appears that 
" landlord " Fenton sold for the same price, pro rata, by wholesale and 
retail. 

Temperance Reform Measures. 

Where, or how, or when the temperance reform originated, is, perhaps, not 
now known. The first temperance document the writer recollects, was an ad- 
dress by Mr. Kittridge, of New Hampshire, which, if it did not start the reform, 
gave it a powerful impetus ; and the name of the pamphlet, " Kittridge's Ad- 
dress/' became, in some parts of the country, as familiar as a household word. 
This was soon followed [in 1826] by "Six Sermons on Intemperance," by Rev. 
Lyman Beecher, of Boston, which also rendered the cause essential service. 
A portion of the newspaper press soon came to its support. Meetings were 
held in all parts of the country. The pledge of abstinence was circulated, 
and was signed by a large number of both sexes, among whom were many 
intemperate persons. Although many of these relapsed, some were effect- 
ually reclaimed. 

For a number of years only spirituous liquors were interdicted by the 
pledge. Complete success, it was believed, required abstinence from intox- 
icating liquors of all kinds ; and the societies soon adopted the principle of 
total abstinence. 

When and where the first tetiiperance society was formed, perhaps no person 
knows. The Chautauqua County Temperance Society, auxiliary to the state 
society, was organized in 1829. Pursuant to previous notice, the friends of 
temperance met at the court-house for the purpose of forming a society. In 
a county containing 31,000 inhabitants, only fifteen met for that purpose. 
The number being so small, they repaired to the law office of Anselm Potter, 
and organized by choosing Elial T. Foote, president, and Harvey Newcomb, 
secretary. Among the number assembled were Abner Hazeltine, Hiram 
Couch, and Thomas W. Harvey. This organization, though small in its 
beginning, soon became a respectable and efficient society, sustained by 
auxiliaries in the several towns. 

Like other reformatory movements, the temperance cause had both open 
and negative opponents. Among the latter were respectable men. Some of 
them drank temperately; others, perhaps not at all, but would "not sign 
away their liberty," and manifested their professed regard for their unfortunate 
fellow-men by a " masterly inactivity." In their view, it was well enough for 
drunkards, and those likely to become such, to take the pledge ; but for the 
temperate it was not necessary. Among these were at first many members 
of religious societies, whose example furnished the intemperate and the occa- 
sional drunkard with the most effective shield against the arguments and 



TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. I45 

entreaties of the friends of the cause. Happily, many of these, convinced 
of the adverse influence of their example, abandoned their position, and took 
an active part in the reformation. 

About the year 1840, a fresh impulse was given to the temperance cause 
by the efforts of men called Washingtonians. A number of abandoned men 
in the city of Baltimore, who had been wont to spend their evenings at the 
taverns and other haunts of the vicious and dissipated, resolved to reform, 
and at once became " teetotalers." They traversed a large portion of the 
country, lecturing to large gatherings. Drunkards in large numbers and from 
great distances attended ; and many of them signed the pledge. The most 
noted of this band of reformers was John Hawkins, who, though unlettered, 
was one of the most effective lecturers in the country. Although there was 
nothing in their principles- or mode of operation to distinguish them from 
other temperance men, they took the name of " Washingtonians." Their 
efforts resulted in the reformation of many drunkards, who became mission- 
aries, and constituted, for a time, the principal lecturing force of the country. 

It must be confessed, however, that the benefits of this " temperance revi- 
val" which many anticipated, were not fully realized. These reformers came 
to be regarded by many as almost the only efficient champions of the cause, 
while its earliest and ablest advocates were lightly esteemed. Hence these 
were chiefly superseded as lecturers, by reformed inebriates, many of whom, 
though for the time abstaining from the use of intoxicating drinks, were far 
from having attained the character of the true reformer. Often was the pul- 
pit surrendered, on the sabbath, to men whose mirth-provoking stories were 
wholly unbecoming the place and the occasion. It is not strange that some 
who, under such influences, signed the pledge, soon relapsed into their former 
habits. Still, much good was accomplished. Probably about this time, and 
for several years thereafter, less ardent spirits were drank in proportion to our 
population, than at any other time since distilleries were first established. 

The Washingtonian movement was succeeded by other organizations. 
Among the earliest of them was that of the Sons of Temperance, which was for 
several years a popular order of temperance men. But it seems to have been, 
to a considerable extent, superseded by the Good Templars, who have organ- 
izations in most of the towns. These two orders are both secret. Whether 
their efficiency is increased by this feature in their organization, or not, it is 
not easy to determine. 

As incidental to the efforts for the promotion of the temperance refomia- 
tion, came the license question. Notwithstanding the marked progress of the 
cause by the simple instrumentality of the pledge, many, with a view to its 
more rapid advancement, began to invoke the aid of legislation by the 
enactment of prohibitory laius. Without questioning the propriety of these 
laws, it may be said, with truth, that in proportion as the friends of the cause 
relied on legislation to accomplish the desired reform, their labors in the use 
of the pledge were relaxed. The effect of this relaxation of effort was a 
retrogression of the cause. 

TO 



146 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

A stringent prohibitory law was passed in Maine. Well authenticated 
official statements soon showed a reduction, in some districts, of more than 
three-fourths of the expense of pauperism and crime. A similar law was .tried 
in one or more other states, and with similar results, for short periods of 
time. But the strong opposition which, these laws have encountered has 
greatly impaired their efficiency, or effected their repeal. Hence many of 
the friends of temperance advise a return to the old tried and effectual 
method of promoting the cause, not as a substitute for legislation, but as a 
means of reclaiming inebriates, and of preparing public sentiment to sustain 
prohibitory laws if any should be enacted. 

Many different laws for checking the evils of intemperance have been 
enacted in many of the states. In communities in which these laws have 
been enforced, they have had a salutary effect. But they are generally little 
more than a dead letter on the statute book. The evil to be remedied is 
firmly rooted; and its eradication, or even its material mitigation, requires 
unwearied, persevering effort on the part of the friends of temperance. 
Although intemperance may be measurably checked by legislation, more 
may be done hy prevention. Let the young be trained in the principles, of 
Christian morality, and be early pledged to total abstinence from all intoxi- 
cating drinks, and a marked improvement in the state of society will soon 
appear. 



ANTISLAVERY HISTORY. 

In 1829, Wm. Lloyd Garrison became joint-editor of the Genius of Uni- 
versal Emancipation, an antislavery journal, published in Baltimore, pre- 
viously established, it is believed, by Benjamin Lundy. It had advocated 
the gradual abolition of slavery; but Mr. Garrison distinctly avowed the 
doctrine that immediate emancipation was the right of the slave, and the 
duty of the master. Having, soon after, denounced certain persons engaged 
in the domestic slave-trade, which he stigmatized as "domestic piracy,"' he 
was tried and convicted for a libel. Unable to pay the penalty, he was sent 
to prison. After a few weeks' confinement, a friend paid the fine, and 
released him. He went to Boston, where, on the ist of January, 183 1, he 
issued the first number of the Liberator. Other papers soon followed in 
advocating immediate abolition of slavery; and antislavery societies began to 
be formed. The American Antislavery Society was formed in 1833. 

The abolitionists believed with their opponents, that slavery in the states 
could only be abolished by their respective governments. Their chief object 
was, by the discussion of the subject, in all its bearings, social, moral, and 
political, to convince slaveholders that it was their duty, and that it would be 
for their interest, to abolish slavery. They hoped also, that a general expres- 
sion of northern sentiment against the institution as morally wrong, might 



ANTISLAVERY HISTORY. 1 47 

serve to hasten action on the part of the slave states. And as the power of 
Congress to aboHsh slavery in the District of Columbia and the territories of 
the United States, was generally admitted in the North, petitions in vast 
nuiTibers, praying for the exercise of this power, were sent to Congress from 
all the free states. Town and county societies were formed throughout the 
North. This movement alarmed as well as exasperated the southern people ; 
and the excitement soon became general. In the North as well as in the 
South, meetings were held, and resolutions passed, bitterly denouncing the 
abolitionists. Antislavery meetings in many places were broken up by 
violence, and several antislavery presses were demolished. 

These acts of violence were not always the work of men of the "baser 
sort," but were, in many instances, not only instigated hxxt perpetrated by men 
of high standing. The men who, in Utica, in 1835, entered a church in 
which the delegates of the New York State Antislavery Society were assem- 
bled, and actually dispersed the occupants of the house by force, were promi- 
nent professional men and other men of high official and social position. A 
respectable minister, a resident of the city, was violently thrown upon the 
floor, his own son, a lawyer, being one of the participators in the shameful 
affray. The governor of the state, in 1836, took part in a meeting in Albany, 
by which the most denunciatory resolutions against the abolitionists were 
passed, and the deepest sympathy was expressed for their "southern 
brethren." 

An antislavery convention had assembled in a court-house in ^V^estern 
New York. A committee of fifty, embracing nearly every man of fair social 
position in the village, having been appointed for the purpose at a public 
meeting, entered the court-house, and read the resolutions adopted at that 
meeting, disapproving the views of the abolitionists, and advising the con- 
vention to disperse, intimating that they might not be permitted to proceed 
peaceably in their deliberations. In the gallery were seated about -twenty 
ruffians, who, on signals given by two lawyers and an editor standing below 
and facing the gallery, would, by hissing, stamping, and other noises, inter- 
rupt the proceedings of the convention. After several fruitless attempts to 
proceed to the transaction of business, the meeting was adjourned to a future 
day, and to another part of the county. 

Many now will wonder that the discussion of an evil of such magnitude, 
should not be allowed in a country whose constitution guaranties the right 
oi freedom of speech, even when the subject is liberty itself. It is, however, 
proper to state, that much of this opposition to the antislavery effort arose, 
not from a regard for slavery, but from a misapprehension of the aims of the 
abolitionists. [For political action on the slavery question, see Political 
History.] 

A majority of Congi-ess being opposed to the objects of the abolitionists, 
who continued to send in their petitions for the abolition of slavery in the 
District of Columbia, and for prohibiting the slave trade between the states, 
the house resolved that such petitions should, on presentation, be laid on the 



148 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

table without being debated, printed, or referred. This action of the house 
rather increased than allayed agitation ; and petitions were daily offered as 
usual — some for the repeal of the "gag resolutions," as they were called. 

But as yet there was no political antislavery party. The abolitionists, 
however, began to vote for candidates in favor of their views without respect 
to party. The subject of a political organization was soon after agitated ; 
and in November, 1839, at a small meeting of abolitionists in Western New 
York, James G. Birney, formerly a slaveholder in Alabama, who had eman- 
cipated his slaves and removed to the North, was nominated for president. 
This party never became numerous. A large majority of the abolitionists 
refused to join it, believing their object was more likely to be effected by 
adhering to the original plan of the societies. 



MEDICAL SOCIETIES. 



Chautauqua County Medical Society. 

This society was formed in June, 181 8, in court week. Pursuant to pre- 
vious public notice, a number of physicians and surgeons met at the hall of 
Gen. John McMahan, in Mayville. Dr. E. T. Foote was chosen chairman of 
the meeting, and Dr. Fenn Deming, secretary. Officers of the society were 
elected as follows : President, filial T. Foote. Vice-President, Samuel Snow. 
Secretary, Treasurer, and Librarian, Fenn Deming. Cetisors, Orris Crosby, 
John P. M. Whaley, Henry Sargent. The last three named were also ap- 
pointed as a committee to prepare a code of by-laws for the society, to be 
presented at the next meeting ; and Dr. Foote was appointed a delegate to 
the state society. At the meeting in June, 1819, Dr. Sargent presented a 
code of by-laws prepared by himself, which were adopted. Dr. Jediah 
Prendergast was chosen president for the ensuing year ; Dr. Squire White, 
vice-president; Dr. Ebenezer P. Upham, secretary; Drs. Foote, Crosby, 
and Sargent, censors. Dr. Sargent was appointed to deliver an address at 
the next annual meeting. 

Eclectic Medical Society. 

The first " Reform Medical Society" was organized in Fredonia, in 1844, 
Dr. J. R. 'Bxish, president, and M. Hobart, secretary. Under the auspices of 
this society, a course of lectures was given in Fredonia by Prof. Hill, of 
Cincinnati, commencing June, 1847. About twenty students were in attend- 
ance. The last meeting of the society of which a record is obtained, was 
held at Jamestown, in September, 1850. The Eclectic Medical Association of 
Chautauqua County was organized in September, 1856, Dr. O. C. Payne, 
president; A. P. Parsons, M. D., secretary. During nine years, this associa- 
tion held thirty meetings for the transaction of business, and received thirty- 
five members. Their names are as follows : 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 149 

O. C. Payne, A. P. Parsons, H. C. Taylor, Joseph Carpenter, John 
Clough, A. Landers, E. H. Thatcher, J. B. Chace, Ezra Mills, Daniel 
Briggs, W. L. Wilbur, David Bradford, Joseph Whitaker, A. S. Davis, Simon 
Barris, I. J. Bowen, John Devoe, Joseph Button, Ezra Martin, S. Monroe, 
Z. Kilbourn, A. D. Brooks, S. Logan, C. C. Rugg, C. C. Johnson, G. H. 
Bowen, G. L. Whitford, B. Hubbard, A. Jackson, Wm. Bourne, Orrin Gar- 
field, E. Clark, N. F. Matble, S. Brown. 

At a meeting held at Dunkirk, September 15, 1865, a new constitution 
was adopted, in compliance with a request of the state society; and to 
become auxiliary thereto, the name was changed from Association to Soci- 
ety, and is now known as the Eclectic Medical Society of the $26. Senatorial 
District. The officers chosen were: H. C. Taylor, M. D., president ; A. P. 
Parsons, M. D., vice-president; M. M. Fenner, M. D., secretary; G. L. 
Whitford, treasurer. The following are the names of members: G. H. 
Bowen, A. S. Davis, N. F. Marsh, C C Rugg, C. C. Johnson, J. B. Chace, 
A. D. Brooks, N. F. Marble, D. A. Loomis, G. W. Carpenter, James Fenner, 
Phineas Sage, C. W. Babcock, A. Ayers, John Gazley, A. Haynes, J. A. Salis- 
bury, C. D. Thompson, A. H. Bowen, J. Lord, S. J. Bowen, Q. A. Hollis- 
ter, D. C. Storer, W. L. Wilbur, O. H. Simons, M. C. Belknap, J. Phillips, 
A. P. Phillips, A. A. Hubbell, V. A. Ellsworth, A. Jennings, J. J. Lenhart, 
J. R. Borland. 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 

Agriculture received public encouragement in this state during the first 
term of Gov. De Witt Clinton. In the Chautauqua Eagle, published by 
Robert I. Curtis at Mayville, we find, under date of Jan. 4, 1820, a circular, 
signed by ten prominent " members of the great republican family," residing 
in the city of New York. They enumerate a long list of considerations, or 
measures of reform, characterizing Mr. Clinton's administration, which they 
urge in favor of his reelection. They say : 

" Under the administration of De Witt Clinton, a board of agriculture has 
been estabUshed upon the strength of his special recommendation. This 
has laid the foundation of our future agricultural prosperity, and called forth 
a noble and salutary emulation in the forty-nine counties of our state. It, in 
fact, has given a vast impulse to internal and even national industry, and is 
the only board in the twenty-one United States. Twenty thousand dollars 
will be hereafter expended annually to encourage the most approved cultiva- 
tion of the soil." 

The following facts relating to agricultural societies in this county are found 
in one of a course of lectures by the late Samuel A. Brown, Esq., before the 
students of Jamestown academy, in 1843. About the year 1820, an agricul- 
tural society was formed at Mayville, and Judge Gushing, a wealthy farmer 
of Pomfret, chosen president. This society did but little, and was suff"ered 



I50 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

soon to expire. On the 12th of October, 1836, the citizens met a* the court- 
house to organize an agricultural society under the statute ; and Jedediah 
Tracy, of Mayville, was chosen president, and Wm. Prendergast, 2d, secre- 
tary. They adjourned to the 4th of January, 1837. On that day the 
Chautauqua County Agricultural Society was organized, and officers chosen. 
Wm. Prendergast, 2d, was chosen president ; Henry Baker, of EUicott, 
Timothy Judson, of Portland, Thomas B. Campbell, of Westfield, and'Elias 
Clarke, of Ellery, vice-presidents ; E. P. Upham, corresponding secretary ; 
Tedediah Tracy, treasurer. The executive committee were Wm. H. Seward, 
Thomas B. Campbell, of Westfield, Stephen Prendergast, of Ripley, David 
Eaton, of Portland, Seth W. Holmes, of Chautauqua, John Miller, of Har- 
mony, Sampsoh Vincent, of Sherman, Abraham Pier, of Busti, Chauncey 
Warren, of Stockton, Jedediah Vorce, of Ellery, and Richard Walker, of 
Mina. The design of the society, as expressed in its constitution, was " to 
improve agriculture, horticulture, the household arts, and the breeding and 
improvement of domestic animals, and also the improvement of farming 
utensils, and domestic manufactures."' 

In many of the counties of this state, besides the county organizations, 
there are societies embracing one or more towns. The nature of these 
societies is too well understood to need description. That they have been 
instrumental in advancing the agricultural interest in the state will hardly be 
disputed ; and that practices have been introduced which materially detract 
from their usefulness, is extensively believed. 



.RAILROADS IN CHAUTAUQUA. 

New York and Erie Railroad Company. 
This company was chartered by the legislature, April 24, 1832. The 
first preliminary survey was made the same year by De Witt Clinton, Jr., by 
order of the government. The company was authorized to organize Avhen 
subscriptions for stock should have been taken to the amount of $1,000,000. 
Books were opened in the city of New York and in the counties along the 
route of the contemplated road. No subscriptions, or none to any consider- 
able amount, were obtained. The commissioners subsequently subscribed 
$10,000 eacji, and Wm. G. Buckner, of New York, subscribed for the 
remainder of the million required ; and the company was organized in July, 
1833. Eleazar Lord, of New York, was chosen president; Wm. G. Buckner, 
treasurer. In 1834, the governor appointed Benj. Wright to survey the 
route ; who, assisted by James Seymour and Charles Ellett, began the survey 
May 23d, and finished it th* same year. In 1835, the company was reor- 
ganized, and 40 miles were put under contract. In 1836, an act was passed 
authorizing a loan to the company of $3,000,000 on the credit of the state ; 



RAILROADS IN CHAUTAUQUA. 151 

and the comptroller was directed to issue state stock, to that amount, to aid 
in constructing the road. After this sum had been expended, it was found 
necessary to suspend the prosecution of the work. In this county, about 14 
miles of the road from Dunkirk eastward had been graded, and for about 
8 miles toward Mud lake the rails had been laid. The company being 
unable to proceed in the construction of the road without further aid, the 
state, in 1845, released its lien on the road, and authorized the original 
stockholders to surrender two shares of the old stock, and receive one share 
of the new. 

April 8, 1845, a branch was allowed to be built from Chester to Newburgh, 
19 miles. A road was also authorized from about 20 miles west from Pier- 
mont, through New Jersey to Jersey City, opposite New York, where nearly 
all the freight and passengers of the Erie road, to and from New York, are 
landed. To secure to the people of the southern counties of the state the 
benefits of the road, the company was originally required to keep the road 
all the way within the limits of the state. In 1846, however, in order to 
obtain an easier grade, the company was allowed to cross the Delaware 
river into Penns3ivania, and run the road a short distance through that state. 
For this privilege the road is compelled to pay the state of Pennsylvania, 
annually, a bonus of $10,000. The road was opened as follows: From 
Piermont to Goshen, Sept. 22, 1841 ; to Middletown, June 7, 1843 ; to Port 
Jervis, Jan. 6, 1848; to Binghamton, Dec. 28, 1848; to Owego, June i, 
1849; to Elmira, Oct., 1849; to Corning, Jan. i, 1859; and to Dunkirk, 
May 14, 185 1. The Newburgh branch was opened, Jan. 8, 1850. 

The consummation of the great enterprise, which had been anxiously 
awaited through long years of doubt and despondency, was appropriately 
followed by a 

Celebration at Dunkirk. 

This was a joyous occasion, not only to the citizens of- this county, but to 
thousands in every county in the "southern tier." These "sequestered 
counties," as they had long been called, having participated but slightly 
in the benefits of the "grand canal," were at length favored with a "road 
to market." The day was highly auspicious, and many thousands were 
attracted by the fame of the expected guests, and the novelty of the antici- 
pated spectacle. The village of Dunkirk presented a gay appearance, from 
the flags and streamers with which the hotels and private houses were 
decorated. On the depot were the flags of three nations ; the stars and stripes 
gracefully floating above the tri-color of the French republic and the red 
cross of St. George. 

At about II o'clock, the Queen City arrived from Buffalo, and soon after, 
in succession, the Niagara, the Empire State, the Empire, the Key Stone 
State, and the United States steamer Michigan, took positions in the harbor. 
Gov. Hunt and suite amved from Buftalo on one of the boats, and received 
his friends at the American hotel. The train from New York, expected at 
1.30 P. M., did not arrive until about 4, when the locomotive "Dunkirk" 



152 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

came in as a pioneer, followed, soon after, by the long expected "iron horse," 
from New York city, amid the ringing of bells and shouts of thousands. The 
train consisted of twelve passenger cars, bearing a long row of banners which 
had been presented along the line. Among the guests in the train, were 
President Fillmore; Daniel Webster, secretary of state; Wm. A. Graham, 
secretary of the navy ; Nathan K. Hall, postmaster-general ; John J. 
Crittenden, attorney-general ; Senators Seward and Fish ; Daniel S. Dickin- 
son ; Ex-Gov. Marcy ; Senator Douglas, of 111. ; Christopher Morgan, 
sec. of state of New York, and others. 

After the presentation of an elegant banner by the ladies of Dunkirk to 
the president and directors of the road, a procession was formed under the 
direction of Noah D. Snow, marshal, and to the music of Dodsworth's New 
York Cornet Band, proceeded through the village, and back to the depot, 
where refreshments were provided. The president and invited guests, with 
the directors of the road, repaired to the Loder house, where a sumptuous 
collation was served up. At the conclusion of the repast, President Fillmore, 
being introduced to the guests, congratulated them on the completion of the 
road, and complimented the president and directors of the road for their 
exertions in its behalf. He was followed by Mr. Loder, president of the 
company, who gave a history of the origin and progress of the road, during 
which time the charter had been changed some twelve times. The road, 
he said, was 445^ miles in length, the longest ever built under one charter 
in the world. 

Mr. Crittenden, of Ky., having been called for, said he was surprised at 
what had been accomplished. He had heard something of it, but had pre- 
viously had no adequate idea of its extent. The French eagle, said 
Napoleon, had flown from spire to spire, till it rested on Notre Dame ; but 
he [Mr. C] had been in a car that outdid the French eagle. They had 
been flying, not from spire to spire, but from mountain top to mountain top. 
The president and directors of the road were benefactors of the state. Our 
country was destined to progress. In fifty years, there would be a popula- 
tion of 100,000,000. The speaking was continued within the house until a 
late hour, by Gov. Hunt, Senators Seward and Dickinson, and others. 

Outside the house. President Fillmore was introduced by Hon. Geo. W. 
Patterson, to the multitude in front, and briefly addressed them in eulogy of 
the road and the occasion. He was followed by Gov. Hunt and Secretary 
Graham. They were succeeded by Joseph Hoxie, of New York, or, as 
Lieut.-Gov. Patterson remarked, better known as "Joe Hoxie." He chained 
the audience for some time by a flow of humor; but the cry was for Webster, 
and no excuse would be taken. Mr. Webster at last appeared, looking 
fatigued and care-worn, but spoke at length on the benefit of the work, and 
in behalf of the Union. The festivities of the day were closed by a brilliant 
display of fireworks, bonfires, etc., while the windows of many dwellings 
were illuminated. There were probably 15,000 people assembled on the 
occasion. 



RAILROADS IN CHAUTAUQUA. 1 53 

Buffalo & Erie, and other Railroads. 

The Buffalo &* Erie Railroad Company was formed under an act passed 
April 14, 1S32, with a capital of $650,000. The term of the charter was 
fifty years. Four years were allowed the company to commence the work, 
and ten to complete it. The route was surveyed and located nearly all the 
way to the state line. The stock was taken, but from some disagreement in 
regard to the route at certain points, the work was not commenced within 
the four years, as required by the act, and the enterprise failed. 

The Buffalo 6^ State Line Railroad Company was formed June 6, 1849. 
The road was located by way of Fredonia. The route was subsequently 
changed by the company's deciding to run it through Dunkirk. The road 
was opened from Dunkirk to the state line January i, 1852, and to Buffalo 
February 22, following. The company purchased the Erie & North-east 
Railroad, under the act of April 13, 1857, and operated the united roads 
under the name of the Buffalo &> Erie Railroad. The three railroads be- 
tween Erie and Chicago, owned by three different companies prior to May, 
1869, were then consolidated under the name of Lake Shore 6- Afichigan 
Southern Railroad. In August following, this road and the Buffalo & Erie 
road were consolidated, without a change of the former name. 

A company for the construction of a railroad from Portland Harbor 
[Barcelona] to Mayville, was formed under an act of the legislature, passed 
March 29, 1832. The capital stock was to be $150,000, and the term of 
charter fifty years ; eight years to be allowed for its construction. It is need- 
less to say the project was never carried into effect. 

The Fredonia &> Van Buren Railroad Co??ipany was formed May 21, 1836, 
with a capital of $12,000. This was at the time when the projected city of 
Van Buren [elsewhere noticed] had just made its appearance on paper— the 
epoch still frequently designated in this section of the state as the time of 
the " Buffalo land speculation," but which extended to all parts of the coun- 
try, [See Van Buren, in History of Dunkirk.] The people of Fredonia, 
having no hope of securing an early connection with a railroad in any other 
way, and anticipating the selection of this place for the terminus of the New 
York & Erie road, sought connection with the lake and railroad trade by this 
short road. But the " crisis " which succeeded the fictitious prosperity of the 
years 1835 and 1836 having crushed the prospective city, and the western 
terminus of the N. Y. & E. R. R. having been fixed at Dunkirk, the project 
was abandoned. 

The Atlantic & Great Western Railway. 

This company was formed December 9, 1859. The line was said to extend 
from the New York & Erie Railroad at Little Valley to the south line of 
Chautauqua county. But it was never intended to be thus restricted. On 
the completion of the road westward to Jamestown, the Journal Extra, of 
August 25, i86o, said: 

" This great enterprise, which has for a decade of years absorbed the 



154 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

interests of capitalists and commercial men, as well as the business public, 
both east and west, and which, in its vastness of design, unites the valley of 
the Mississippi (and ultimately the Pacific slope) to the great emporium of the 
Atlantic shore, has reached a stage of its completion that assures its speedy 
and indisputable success. Its line traverses the very garden of the states, 
the central region through Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana, so well known 
to producers and buyers as the great market ground between the lakes and 
the Gulf states." 

On the 6th of April, negotiations between the companies of the Erie & 
New York City Railroad and the Atlantic & Great Western Railroad were 
completed; the latter company adopting 38 miles of the Erie & New York 
City Railroad line. About the ist of May, the contractors and engineer 
corps commenced operations at the junction with the New York & Erie 
Railroad near Little Valley. On the 3d of July, the iron was laid down to 
Randolph, 16 miles from the junction. On the 25th of August, i860, the 
first train of cars arrived at Jamestown, a distance of 33 miles ; the achieve- 
ment of the result being ascribed in great part to " the vigor of the English 
engineer, [Thomas W. Kennard,] the coolness and energy of his American 
associate, J. Hill, Jr., and the urging of the work by the able contractors, 
Messrs. Doolittle and Streator. On the occasion of the laying of the rails of 
the road into the village of Jamestown, a complimentary dinner was given to 
Mr. Kennard at the Jamestown House, where a large company of invited 
guests sat down to a sumptuously furnished table. Col. Augustus F. Allen 
presided on the occasion, which, judging from the published proceedings, 
was one of deep interest to the people in a part of the country until then 
remote from canal or railroad. 

The Buffalo 6^ Oil Creek Cross Cut Railroad was chartered in 1865. Its 
name was subsequently changed to Buffalo, Corry cS^' Pittsburgh Railroad. 
It connects Corry, in Pennsylvania, with Brocton in this county, where it 
joins the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern road. Its length is 43.20 miles. 
The portion lying in this state is 37.20 miles, and terminates at the state line, 
which there forms the south line of Clymer, on lot 49. The company con- 
structing from this point to Corry, was chartered by the legislature of Penn- 
sylvania, and the two were consolidated April 24, 1867. 

Dunkirk, Allegany Valley & Pittsburgh Railroad. 

A meeting was held in the summer of 1866 by the citizens of Sinclairville, 
at which Hon. C. J. Allen presided, to consider the practicability of con- 
structing a railroad from Dunkirk to Warren, Pa., by the way of the Cassadaga 
and Connewango valleys. Other meetings were afterwards held in the same 
year at Sinclairville, Dunkirk, and Fredonia, at which preliminary steps were 
taken for the organization of a company to build the road. Subscriptions 
were also made to its capital stock, in anticipation of the organization of such 
company, by the citizens along the route of the proposed road. During the suc- 
ceeding winter, the company was organized under the name of the Dunkirk, 
Warren & Pittsburgh Railroad Company. The officers first chosen were 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 155 

'I'imothy D. Copp, president; George Barker, vice-president; S. M. Newton, 
chief engineer ; T. R. Coleman, treasurer ; and James Van Buren, secretary ; 
S. M. Newton, Wm. Bookstaver, Walter Finkle, and Lee L. Hyde, of Dun- 
kirk ; George Barker and Thomas Higgins, of Fredonia ; Ebenezer Moore, 
of Stockton ; T. D. Copp and Alonzo Langworthy, of Sinclairville ; B. F. 
Dennison, of Gerry; Patrick Falconer, of Ellicott; and Edwin Eaton and 
Wra. H. H. Fenton, of Carroll, directors. April 23, 1 867, an act Avas passed by 
the legislature of New York, authorizing the towns in this county to subscribe 
to the capital stock. June 17, 1867, the first work on the road was done. 
A i)arty consisting of Obed Edson, compassman, Thomas Glissan, George 
Blackham, Stephen H. Allen, Walter Hyde, and Charles Higgins, under the 
direction of the chief engineer, commenced the preliminary survey at the 
north end of Cassadaga lake, and completed this survey from Dunkirk to the 
Pennsylvania line during that year. 

The original contract for the construction of the road was made with 
T. M. Simpson and J. Condit Smith ; and grading was commenced in Ellicott, 
at Ross's mills, October 3, 1867. In December, 1867, supervisors of towns 
issued bonds and subscribed for stock for their respective towns, as fol- 
lows : George D. Hinkley, of Pomfret, $50,000 ; Obed Edson, of Charlotte, 
and B. F. Dennison, of Gerry, each $34,000 ; John S. Beggs, of Dunkirk, 
$100,000 ; and Wm. H. H. Fenton, of Carroll, $20,000. This substantially 
constituted the capital stock on which the road was built. In 1868, 1869 
and 1870, the road was graded. In 1870, the track was laid to a point a lit- 
tle south of Laona ; June 1, 187 1, to Sinclairville ; June 17, to Worksburg ; 
to which place the first passenger train passed over the road, June 22, 187 1. 
The road was afterwards completed to Warren, and continued to Titusville. 

TVq Buffalo and Jaineskmni Railroad \n'\?> chartered in 1872. It passes 
through the towns of Hamburgh, Eden, and Collins, in Erie county ; Persia 
and Dayton, in Cattaraugus county ; Cherry Creek and Ellington, in Chau- 
tauqua county ; Randolph, in Cattaraugus ; Poland and Ellicott, in Chautau- 
(jua county. 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 



Early Parties. 

Ever since the organization of the government under the constitution, 
there have been two great national political parties in this country. The first 
had their origin in the convention which framed the constitution of the United 
States. Prior to the formation of the present government, national affairs 
were conducted under the articles of confederation, which were adopted during 
the Revolutionary war. This confederation was a mere league between thir- 
teen sovereign and independent states. This league was formed for the more 
effectual resistance to the power of Great Britain in the struggle for American 



156 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

independence. It was hardly entitled to be called a government. It had 
neither a legislature, an executive, nor a judiciary. There was what was 
sometimes called a legislature — the Congress — consisting of delegates from 
the several states, sitting in a single body. It could pass no law that was 
binding upon the states or individuals. 

In this Congress all the states were equal. In the decision of all ques- 
tions, each state had but one vote; and that vote was determined by the major- 
ity of its delegates. Each state, large or small, was entitled to an equal 
number of delegates, not exceeding seven ; but its vote was not counted 
unless at least two of its delegates were present and voting. Also, if its 
delegates were equally divided upon a question, it had no vote. 

The weakness of the confederation appeared during the war. Congress 
could not compel a state to raise men or money to carry on the war. Its 
business was to pass ordinances^ so called, assigning to the states their respect- 
ive quotas of men and money to be raised ; but it could not enforce its 
requisitions. Generally, however, they were obeyed, all the states being 
united to avert a common danger. But after the war was over, the states 
did not long continue in harmony. Laws were enacted in some states giving 
their own citizens undue advantages over the citizens of other states ; and 
mutual jealousies and animosities soon arose which threatened to break up 
the Union. 

It was now evident that, to preserve the union of the states, a government 
possessing more extensive powers was necessary ; a government that could, 
in all needful cases, control the action of the state governments. Under the 
confederation, Congress had no power to lay and collect taxes. It borrowed 
money to carry on the war ; but, as the power of taxation was in the states 
alone, Congress was wholly dependent on the states, which were not always 
ready and willing to comply with its requisitions. 

But what originated the movement for a constitutional convention, was the 
want of power to lay duties to protect American labor. Other countries, 
especially Great Britain, where manufactures had become firmly established, 
were flooding this country with their fabrics, and were draining it of its specie, 
and impoverishing our people. Great Britain had built up her manufac- 
turing interest by high duties upon foreign goods ; and our Congress had not 
the power thus to protect capital and labor by countervailing duties. The 
states had the power, but they would not agree upon a uniform system of 
duties ; and without uniformity the object could not be accomplished. Mr. 
Madison and other eminent statesmen, after several unsuccessful attempts 
to have the evil remedied by the action of the state legislatures, requested 
Congress to call a convention of commissioners from all the states, to alter 
the articles of confederation so as to confer upon Congress this needed power, 
and to make such other alterations " as the exigencies of the Union might 
require." 

The request for the calling of a convention by Congress was granted ; and 
the delegates met at Philadelphia on the second Monday of May, 1787. 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 1 57 

There was soon found a wide difterence of opinion among the members 
respecting the plan of government to be formed. Some wished to retain the 
existing plan with a slight enlargement of the powers of Congress. Others, 
instead of a simple confederation of equal and independent states, desired a 
complete national government, with a legislative, an executive, and a judicial 
department — a government that could enforce its laws upon states and indi- 
viduals. A resolution in favor of such a government was introduced. It 
was the occasion of a long, earnest, and, at times, angry debate, which came 
near breaking up the convention. But the friends of a national government 
prevailed ; and a plan, of which Mr. Madison was the reputed author, was 
introduced as the basis of action, and was called the " Virginia plan." Mr. 
Patterson, of New Jersey, presented a plan in accordance with the views of 
the friends of the confederation. This was called the " New Jersey plan," 
The convention had not proceeded far in its labors, when some members of 
the defeated party left the convention and returned to their homes. The 
delegates from the state of New York were Alexander Hamilton, Robert 
Yates, and John Lansing, Jr., the last two of whom were among the depart- 
ing members. Mr. Hamilton being the only remaining delegate from this 
state, New York had no longer a vote in the convention, as the presence of 
at least two members was necessary to entitle a state to a vote. 

We have now come to the origin of the first two political parties : one in 
favor of a utiion of sovereign, independent states ; or, as it has sometimes been 
called, a union of states as states ; the other, in favor of what is called in the 
preamble to the constitution, " a more perfect union "—a union of " the people 
of the United States." It is proper to here correct a prevailing error. It 
is generally supposed that, from the beginning, those who were in favor of 
the constitution, were called federalists. This is a mistake. Those who, in 
the convention, advocated the continuance of the confederation, were, as the 
word itself imports, _^^(?/-^//i-/j-, and were distinguished by that name to the 
close of the convention, and for some time afterwards ; and the friends of the 
constitution were termed anti federalists. But while the constitution was be- 
fore the people for ratification, its friends came to be called federalists. Al- 
though the contemplated government was natio/ial, it was also still in some 
sense, or to some extent, a confederacy. And as the articles of confederation 
were too weak to preserve the union, the anti-federalists, believing the only 
way to perpetuate the confederacy or federal union, was to adopt the consti- 
tution, took the name of federalists. And by this name they and their fol- 
lowers and successors were called until the party disbanded, soon after the 
first election of President Monroe. 

Among the earliest federalists whose names are familiar to the American 
people, were George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander 
Hamilton, John Jay, John Marshall, and others. Mr. Madison, however, 
soon after the new government went into effect, joined the opposite party, 
though not on account of any change of views in relation to the constitution. 

Notwithstanding this early division of sentiment Gen. Washington was 



158 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

unanimously chosen president by the presidential electors ; and although the 
leading measures of his administration were opposed from its commence- 
ment, there seems to have been for several years no organized opposition 
party. His second election, like the first, was unanimous. 

The earliest measures of his administration which received material oppo- 
sition were his financial measures. One of these was the funding of the 
public debt, including the debts of the states contracted during the war. 
Another was the incorporation of a national bank, in 1791. His foreign 
policy also encountered much opposition. France was in the midst of a 
revolution. In the war of Europe, then existing, Great Britain and France 
were the principal belligerents. Some of our people were in favor of taking 
part with France against Great Britain ; but Washington, though friendly to 
France, determined to maintain a strict neutrality. The opponents of the 
federalists at length took the name of the republican party, and obtained con- 
trol of the government after the expiration of the presidential term of John 
Adams, having elected their leader, Thomas Jefferson, over Mr. Adams, who 
was a candidate for reelection. 

These were the two national parties when the settlement of this county 
commenced. Thomas Jefferson had taken his seat in the presidential chair, 
March 4, 1801, for whom not a vote had been cast within the bounds of the 
present county of Chautauqua ; the electors by whom he was chosen hav- 
ing been elected in the fall of 1800. Probably there was not a vote given 
for his reelection in 1804, by any settler within these bounds. The town of 
Chautauqua had been formed by the legislature of that year, but no election 
was held in it until 1805. This town was then a part of Genesee county; 
and it is not likely that any one of the few settlers then here made a journey 
of eighty or ninety miles to vote. Besides, there was not among them one 
who had the required . qualifications of property and term of residence to 
vote for president, if the election had been at his own door. 

One of the causes — perhaps the principal cause — of the unpopularity and 
decline of the federal party, was the passage of two acts during Mr. Adams" 
administration, called the alieji and sedition laivs. The alien Jaw, entitled, 
" An act concerning aliens," authorized the president to order out of the 
country any alien suspected of any treasonable purpose, or deemed danger- 
ous to the safety of the country, unless satisfactory proof should be given 
that no injury or danger should arise from his residing here. The other law 
was entitled, " An act in addition to ' an act for the punishment of certain 
crimes against the United States ' " ; but it was generally called the " sedi- 
tion law." It provided for punishing persons for conspiring to oppose any 
measure of the government, or for hindering any public ofiicer in discharging 
his duties ; also for punishing any person for slandering or libeling the 
government, congress, or the president. Although these acts were well- 
intentioned, and approved by wise and good men, among whom were Wash- 
ington and Patrick Henry, as being necessary to check the influence of 
numerous meddlesome foreigners then in the country, who were active in 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 159 

exciting opposition to the administration, and were combined in organized 
associations which were considered dangerous to the peace of the United 
States ; they were, nevertheless, disapproved by a majority of the people, who 
regarded them as infringements upon popular rights, especially upon the 
freedom of speech and of the press. Hence, to render the act against sedi- 
tion the more odious, its opponents gave it the title of "gag law." 

These laws gave rise to the famed " Virginia and Kentucky resolutions of 
1798," which were for more than half a century referred to as expressing the 
principles of the old republican party. Those passed by. the Virginia legis- 
lature were drawn up by Mr. Madison, then a member. They declared that 
the constitution was a compact to which the states were parties, granting 
limited powers ; that in case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exer- 
cise of other powers not granted, it was the right and duty of the states to 
interpose for arresting. the progress of the evil, and for maintaining the rights 
of the states within their respective limits ; and that the alien and sedition 
laws were palpable and alarming infractions of . the constitution. 

The resolutions of the Kentucky legislature were drafted by Mr. Jefferson. 
They declared the Union to be "a compact between the states as states ; 
that, as parties to this compact have no common judge or superior, each 
party has an equal right to judge for itself," of the constitutionality of a law. 
"as well as of the mode and measure of redress." 

The reader who recollects the action of the convention of the framers of 
the constitution, as given on preceding pages, will be surprised at the declar- 
ation of sentiments like those expressed in the above resolutions. The idea 
of a confederation of states as states Avas rejected by the convention. Yet, 
after the lapse of only ten years, the most eminent statesmen assert that the 
Union is a compact between the states as states. Mr. Madison, the head or 
leader of the party in favor of a national government to supersede the eo^i- 
/ederation, which was a union of states as states, can hardly be supposed to 
have intended to convey the impression that the Union was a compact 
between the states as such. He calls it " a compact to which the states are 
parties." He may have meant simply, that, in the ratification of the con- 
stitution, the people of each state acted separately by state conventions. 

The Kentucky resolutions do not admit of so favorable a construction. It 
is expressly declared that there is no higher authority than that of a state, to 
judge what is a violation or " infraction " of the constitution — thus denying 
the right of the supreme court of the United States to decide questions of 
constitutionality; and claiming the right to nullify any act of Congress which 
the highest state court shall decide unconstitutional. It must seem strange, 
especially to the younger class of our citizens, that doctrines like the above 
should ever have been so explicitly asserted, and so extensively accepted. 
Yet, for more than thirty years, "the principles of 1798" were regarded as 
the test of political orthodoxy ; and that man's chance of an election to 
an important office was small, indeed, who could not avow his adherence to 
the doctrine enunciated in the resolutions above referred to. In the series 



l60 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

of Ksolutions adopted by the legislatures of these states, were some that 
are unexceptionable. Declaring the opinion that the alien and sedition laws 
were unconstitutional was the right of any man or body of men. But a 
doctrine that a law is null and void before it has been so pronounced by the 
highest judicial authority, is dangerous and disorganizing in its tendency. 

The doctrine of state sovereignty, to the extent asserted by the Kentucky 
resolutions, never received the unanimous assent of republican statesmen. 
According to Mr. Madison's own exposition of the constitution, not the 
states, as states, but i\\Q people of the several states, w§re parties to the com- 
pact; and in 1830 he expressly repudiated "nullification as a right remedy." 
So also President Jackson, in his proclamation against South Carolina in 
December, 1832, denied such right, and maintained the doctrine now held 
by American statesmen generally, that, instead of there being ?io co?nmon 
judge, it is the prerogative of the supreme court of the United States to judge 
of the validity of the acts of Congress. If every state might disobey any 
law which its authorities should pronounce unconstitutional, no general gov- 
ernment could be maintained ; secession would be constitutional. 

The transfer of power, however, from the federal to the republican party, 
was not followed by any great changes of policy. The alien and sedition 
laws were designed only to have a temporary effect ; and no act of the new 
administration was necessary for their repeal. The alien law expired by its 
own limitation, June 25, 1800 ; the sedition act, on the 4th of March, 1801, 
the day of Mr. Jefferson's induction into office. 

During our commercial controversy with France and Great Britain, prior 
to and during the war between the latter and the United States, the hostility 
of the two parties toward each other was probably more marked than at any 
other period. The federalists were generally opposed to the declaration of 
war, the causes being in their view insufficient to justify a war. The repub- 
licans maintained the justice and propriety of the war, and charged their 
opponents with hostility to their own country, and sympathy with the enemy. 

Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, it will be recollected, were, for 
several years from the time of their formation, united, for judicial and other 
purposes, with Niagara, which then comprised the present counties of 
Niagara and Erie. And after they had become fully organized with the 
requisite population, [Chautauqua in 18 11,] they formed but one assembly 
district until 1822. It will be recollected, too, that until after the adoption 
of the constitution of 182 1, the general elections for the election of other 
than town officers, were held on the last Tuesday in April. 

On the 14th of April, 1812, the federalists of this assembly district met at 
Buffalo ; and on the next day they nominated for the assembly, Abel M. 
Grosvenor, of Buffalo. The committees of the two towns then composing 
this county, were the following : 

Pomfret — Jacob Hougliton, John E. Howard, Ozias Hart, Orsamus 
Holmes, James Hale, Daniel Warren, Samuel Sinclear, Foster Young, 
Isaac Barnes. 



POLITICAL HISTORY. l6l 

Chautauqua — James McMahan, Anselm Potter, Dennis Brackett, Wm. 
Berry, Thomas Prendergast, Thomas McClintock. 

Having no account of any nominating republican convention, we can 
only give the name of the candidate of that party, Jonas Williams, who had 
a majority in the district. 

In the same year, [1812,] Messrs. Hopkins and Howell, federal candidates 
for Congress, received in this county a majority of 47 votes. 

On the 3d of November, 181 2, a meeting of the "Friends of Liberty, 
Peace, and Commerce," as the anti-war men called themselves, held a meet- 
ing at David Joy's, in Buffalo. (?) Jacob Houghton, chairman ; Anselm Pot- 
ter, secretary. Resolutions were adopted disapproving the administrations 
of Jefierson and Madison. A committee of correspondence was appointed, 
consisting of Orsamus Holmes, Samuel Sinclear, Anselm Potter, James Mont- 
gomery, Jacob Houghton, James McMahan, and Foster Young. The meet- 
ing concurred in recommendations previously made in other places, for a 
state convention to be held at Albany. 

On the 23d of December, 1812, a county meeting of the republicans was 
held at John Scott's, in Mayville ; Matthew Prendergast, chairman ; 
John Dexter, secretary. Resolutions were adopted declaring the justice of 
the war and the purpose to sustain it. Names of delegates, and of the mem- 
bers of a committee, if appointed, are not given. 

On the 17th of March, 1813, another county meeting of delegates of the 
friends of " Liberty, Peace, and Commerce " was held in Pomfret ; Thomas 
Martin, chairman j Isaac Pierce, secretary. Jacob Houghton was nomi- 
nated for the assembly. Committees to promote the election : 

Chautauqua — Thomas Prendergast, Jabez Hurlbut, Elisha Wallis, James 
Montgomery, David Eaton, Asa Hall, Henry Sartwell. EUicott — James 
Prendergast. Gerry — Samuel Sinclear, Robert W. Seaver, 'Wm. Devine, 
Abm. Windsor. Pomfret — Orsamus Holmes, Elijah Risley, Jr., Ozias Hart, 
Isaac Pierce, Thomas Martin, Andrew Bates, Rodolphus Loomis. Hanover 
— ^John E. Howard, John Mack, Bethel Willoughby, Guy Webster, Cushing 
BrQwnell, Abel Flint. 

The republicans of the assembly district met at St. John's, in Buffalo, pre- 
vious to the April election in 1813; David Eddy, chairman ; John Root, 
secretary. Jonas Williams was nominated for the assembly. Committee in 
Chautauqua county : 

Pomfret — Zattu Cushing, Philo Orton, Jehiel Moore, Eliphalet Day. Chau- 
tauqua — David Eason, Wm. Peacock, M. Prendergast, John E. Marshall, 
John Scott. 

The majority for Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins in this county was 57; for 
Jonas Williams, — . It was said many votes were admitted for governor and 
senators from persons only holding articles for land ; whereas, by the old con- 
stitution, none but freeholders to the value of $250, could vote for those 
offices. 

April 4, 181 4, at a republican convention held at Buffalo, Joseph McCIuer,. 
I r 



1 62 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

of Cattaraugus Co., was nominated for the assembly. Philetus Swift, of On- 
tario Co.; Bennett Bicknell, of Madison Co.; and John J. Prendergast, of 
Herkimer Co., were candidates in the western district for the senate. Peter 
B. Porter, of Niagara, and Micah Brooks, of Ontario, were candidates for 
Congress. 

The federahsts nominated this year for the assembly, Elijah Holt, of Buf- 
falo. This nomination was confirmed at a meeting in this county held in 
Pomfret, April nth. Samuel Sinclear, chairman; D. Sterne Houghton, 
secretary. 

In 1815, the republicans nominated Daniel McCleary, of Buffalo, and 
Elias Osborn, of Clarence, for the assembly. The federalists nominated 
James Prendergast, of Chautauqua, and Daniel Chapin, of Buffalo. There 
was this year a small federal majority in this county. The district was 
republican. 

Parties in New York. 

Next in the order of the birth of parties which divided the people of this 
county, were the Bucktails and the CUntonians. These, however, were not 
national parties, but were confined to the state of New York. Hostilities 
between the two old parties had ceased, if, indeed, they could be said to 
have an existence. The federalists had, by their opposition to the war, 
become quite unpopular. Their weakness may be imagined from the presi- 
dential election of 18 16. Of the presidential electors chosen that year, Mr. 
Monroe received 183, and Rufus King, the federal candidate, but 34. Mr. 
Monroe received for reelection, 213 of the 214 votes cast by the electors, 
there being no longer any federal organization. In April, 1820, about the 
time of the election, forty-eight of the leading federalists published a mani- 
festo, in which they assigned their reasons for dissolving their connection 
with the party, and changing their party relations. Being gentlemen of high 
respectability, they were long spoken of as the " forty-eight high-minded.'' 
Most of them, if not all, joined the bucktails. The rank and file of the 
federalists, having been deserted by their leaders, felt at liberty to go where 
they pleased. Some of them followed their leaders ; others attached them- 
selves to the fortunes of De Witt Clinton. 

Mr. Clinton was an early and ardent republican, and a man of great ability ; 
and, having taken an early and decided stand in favor of the construction 
of the canals, which made him popular, especially in the western part of the 
state, he had become the head and leader of a strong party, called CUntoni- 
ans. The origin of the name of the other party is not so well known. Hon. 
Samuel A. Brown, in a public lecture at Jamestown, in 1843, gave it as 
follows : 

" In the city of New York, a political party had existed for many years, by 
the name of the Tammany Society, so called in honor of a noted Indian 
chief These Tammanies erected Tammany Hall, or the ^vigwam, as they 
sometimes called it. This society had its auxiliaries throughout the state ; 
and its influence was felt even in Chautauqua. They called their officers by 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 1 63 

aboriginal names, and on festival clays wore the Indian costume, and among 
other peculiarities, wore a real buck's tail on the hat." 

We 'have in these local political conflicts a striking illustration of the 
mutability of party associations. In 181 2, as has been stated, having been 
an unwavering republican, and a thorough-going friend and advocate of a 
war with Great Britain, Mr. Clinton was nominated as a candidate for presi- 
dent by the republican members of the legislature of this state, under the 
leadership of Martin Van Buren, Samuel Young, and others; now [1820] 
we find two parties, composed alike of republicans and federalists, arrayed 
against each other, the one under the lead of Mr. Clinton ; the other under 
that of Mr. Van Buren. 

Mr. Clinton, who had been elected governor in 1817, without any material 
opposition, in the place of Mr. Tompkins, elected vice-president of the 
United States, was nominated, in 1820, for reelection; and Mr. Tompkins, 
whose official term as vice-president was near its close, was nominated by the 
bucktails. A spirited contest ensued, which resulted in the election of Mr. 
Clinton. He received 47,447 votes in the state; Mr. Tompkins, 45,990— 
majority for Clinton, 1,457. In this county, Clinton, 744; Tompkins, 455 
— Clinton's majority, 289. The light vote is accounted for by the fact, that 
only freeholders were entided to vote for governor and senators under the 
first constitution of the state. Mr. Clinton held the office but two years of 
the three years for which he was elected. His term commenced the 1st of 
January, 182 1. A new constitution, made the same year, required the elec- 
tion of new officers the next year, when Joseph C. Yates was elected, who 
came into office the ist of January, 1823. 

In a review of the manifesto, or address of the " forty-eight high-minded '^ 
federalists, Mr; Hammond, in his Political History of New York, notices 
them substantially thus : 

" They affirm that the federal party -whose principles they approve, no 
longer exists. They approve the administration of the general government ; 
affirm that the federalists have now ' no ground of principle,' on which to 
stand ; and therefore declare their intention to unite with the great republican 
party of the state and Union. They do not object to the character or 
measures of Mr. Clinton, but allege that he is attempting to form ' a personal 
party.' The absurdity of the address appears from the fact, that Mr. Van 
Buren and his friends also approved his measures, and admitted his talents 
and virtues, but opposed him solely because \\\q federal party did exist \n the 
state, and that Mr. Clinton was secretly inclined to favor it ; yet the high- 
minded gentlemen opposed him because, as they alleged, the federal party 
did not exist ; and they joined the party that held the contrary position. * * 
The anti-Clintonian party, which now fairly deserved to be called the repub- 
lican party, succeeded in electing a majority of the members of assembly, 
and in two of the senatorial districts ; notwithstanding which, Mr. Clinton 
was reelected by a majority of 1,457 votes." 

The election of Mr. Clinton, while a majority of the legislature elected 
were his political opponents, was ascribed to the misfortune of Mr. Tompkins 
in having lost, or having never taken, vouchers for large sums of money 



l64 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

which were disbursed by him while governor, during the war, and for which 
he was unable to account. Although it was generally believed he had 
appropriated no portion of the money fraudulently to his own use, his in- 
ability to account for all the moneys, was turned by his opponents to his 
disadvantage. But what probably contributed most to Mr. Clinton's own 
success, was his able, zealous, and uniform support of the canal policy. This 
gained for him a strong vote in the counties most directly interested in the 
completion of the canals. 

By the election of Gov. Yates, the party opposed to Gov. Clinton had ob- 
tained entire control of the state government, and doubtless anticipated a long 
and uninterrupted possession of it. They could, soon after their accession to 
power, have had no premonition of the political reverse which awaited them. 
The presidential election of 1824 was approaching. The federal party was 
defunct ; and there were no questions of national policy to divide the repub- 
licans. In the selection of candidates, they were simply divided upon men. • 
Many were named as candidates ; but the number was diminished to four : 
John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, William H. Crawford, and Andrew 
Jackson. It had been the practice from and including the year 1804, for 
the republican members of Congress to meet during the last session prior to 
the next presidential election, to nominate candidates for president and vice- 
president. These congressional caucuses had at length become unpopular 
with the party. The meeting in 1824 was held on the 14th of February. 
Of the 258 republican members, only 68 attended. Of the votes of these, 
William H. Crawford received 64. 

The presidential electors were not chosen then as now, in this state, by a 
general ticket, and voted for by the people ; but they were chosen by the 
legislature. Mr. Van Buren was in favor of the election of Mr. Crawford ; 
and it was apprehended that he might influence a majority of the members 
to vote for electors in favor of Mr.. Crawford. To prevent this, a bill was 
introduced in the legislature of 1824, proposing to give to \^q people the right 
to choose the electors of president and vice-president. And notwithstanding 
a large majority of the members of the assembly were republicans, the 
" electoral bill " passed that house, and was sent to the senate for concur- 
rence, where it was defeated by a vote of 17 to 14. It should be stated, 
that the question of changing the mode of choosing the electors was 
agitated before the election of the memliers of the legislature in the fall of 
1823; and that a large portion of them were pledged to vote for the pro- 
posed change. The republicans who were opposed to Mr. Crawford, to a 
congressional caucus, and to Mr. Van Buren and the Albany Regency, 
assumed to themselves the name of the " People's Party." [Albany Regency 
was a name given to the leaders of the democratic party at Albany.] 

The defeat of the electoral bill caused such a popular excitement as has 
rarely been witnessed in this state. The seventeen senators who voted 
against the bill were the particular objects of the displeasure of the friends 
of the bill; and to render them as odious as possible, their names were 



POLITICAL HISTORY. 1 65 

published in the newspapers, and surrounded by heavy black lines. They 
were for years spoken of as the "infamous seventeen." 

The opposition to the electoral law was one of the acts of the dominant 
party which brought upon it the " reverses " before alluded to. Another act 
having a similar effect, soon followed. On the last day of the session, and 
within about an hour before the time fixed for the adjournment of both 
houses, a senator introduced a resolution for the removal of I)e Witt Clinton 
from the office of canal commissioner. The resolution was hurried to its 
passage, and received the votes of all the senators except three. It was 
forthwith sent to the assembly, where it was passed hastily by a vote of 64 
to 34. Mr. Clinton had taken early ground in favor of the canal policy against 
a powerful opposition, and had aided in bringing the Erie canal near its com- 
pletion, and had served faithfully as commissioner from 18 10, fourteen years, 
without any compensation. It was evident that the object was to degrade 
him, and to weaken or destroy his political influence. This act caused an 
excitement throughout the state more intense than did the defeat of the 
electoral law. Public meetings were held in many places, and resolutions 
passed denouncing the act in the most severe terms. 

The removal of Mr. Clinton had an effect the opposite of that which was 
designed. At a state convention of the people's party, in the city of Utica, in 
September, 1824, Mr. Clinton was nominated for governor, and James Tall- 
madge for lieutenant-governor. Mr. T. was a meml^er of the assembly, and 
had ably and zealously supported the electoral bill, but he had voted for the 
removal of Mr. Clinton. In November, Mr. Clinton was elected by a 
majority of 16,906 ov^er Samuel Young; and Gen. Tallmadge's majority over 
Gen. Erastus Root was 32,409. In this county, Mr. Clinton received 1,483 
votes; Mr. Young, 1,093 — majority, 390. Nathan Mixer was elected mem- 
ber of assembly for this county. 

In 1826, Mr. Clinton was renominated for governor, and Henry Hunting- 
ton for lieutenant-governor; and in opposition to them were Wm. B. Roches- 
ter and Nathaniel Pitcher. In respect to national parties, these candidates 
were strangely divided. The four candidates for president, it will be recol- 
lected, were all republicans; and, so far as we may judge from the discussion 
of their claims respectively during the campaign of 1824, they were not 
materially divided on measures of national policy. Almost immediately 
after the commencement of Mr. Adams' administration, an organized opposi- 
tion to it was formed, by the union of the friends of the defeated candidates, 
Crawford and Jackson, and those of Mr. Calhoun, the vice-president. Mr. 
Cliilton was one of the earliest supporters of Gen. Jackson, when Mr. Van 
Buren, the leader of the opposition to the Clintonfans, was strongly opposed 
to him ; the great organ of the party declaring him, " of all the candidates, 
the most unfit for the office of president." Yet, in 1826, we see the party 
supporting for governor a candidate opposed to Gen. Jackson, on a ticket 
with a candidate for lieutenant-governor in favor of Gen. Jackson. Mr. 
Clinton was elected by a majority of 3,650 votes over Judge Rochester; 



l66 HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. 

and Mr. Pitcher by a majority of 4,188 over Mr. Huntington. This result, 
however, is said to have been ow.ing, in some measure, to Mr. CHnton's 
having favored the construction of a state road through the southern coun- 
ties, some of which, though anti-Clintonian, gave him majorities. In Chau- 
tauqua county, CHnton received 1,839 votes; Rochester, 1,612. February 
II, 1828, less than eleven months before the expiration of his term of office, 
Mr. Clinton died suddenly, sitting in his chair, of apoplexy ; and Nathaniel 
Pitcher became the acting-governor. 

In 1828, by the union of the friends of Jackson, Crawford and Calhoun, 
Mr. Adams and Gen. Jackson became the only candidates for president. Of 
the presidential electors chosen, 178 were in favor of Gen. Jackson, and 8