^ LANDMARKS OF WAYNE COUNTY NEW YORK HUustratefc EDITED BY HON. GEORGE WTCOWLES OF CLYDE, N. Y. ASSISTED BY H. P. SMITH AND OTHERS SYRACUSE, N. Y. D. Mason & Company, Publishers 1895 VB> FTa.7 Bequest Albert Adsit demons Aug. 24, 1938 (Not available for exchange) INTRODUCTORY. In presenting this historical and biographical record of Wayne county to its readers, the editor and his associates feel that no apology is demanded, either for the motives which first prompted the undertaking or for the accomplished results. While several more or less incomplete works treating upon the history of this locality have been published prior to the inception of this volume, it is true that the field has never been properly occupied. This fact was realized and appreciated by the representative people of the county, most of whom had. lqng.entertained the desire that a work worthy of the subjeet, and comprehensive and reasonably cor- rect, might be published before many "of the sources of information should become extinct. No person unfamiliar with work of this kind can properly appre- ciate its difficulties. Were it otherwise, and could the many who will turn these pages have followed the long course of the task, their censure would fall very lightly upon the heads of the editor and his helpers. No writer ever has, probably never will, produce such a volume, containing a great mass of material and thousands of names and dates, without numerous errors. For this reason, if for no other, absolute accuracy will not be expected herein. It is believed that all who may read these pages will feel kindly disposed and pass over the occasional errors to the perusal of that which fully meets their expectations. iv INTRODUCTION. To all who have aided in the preparation of this work (and they are so numerous as to render it impracticable to name them here), the gratitude of editors and publishers is due and hereby expressed. No worthy history of this county could have been written without such aid. The editor of the work desires to make especial acknowledgment of the assistance rendered him in his part of the work by H. P. Smith and W. Stanley Child, for their intelligent and faithful co- operation ; and to the press of the county, county officers, pastors of churches, school officials, and all of the many who have other wise contributed to the work. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Original Civil Divisions of New York State — Subsequent Divisions — Physical Characteristics of Wayne County — Fish and Animals of this Locality — Cli- matic Peculiarities — Effects of the Climate upon the Health of the Settlers — Coming of Wayne County Pioneers. i CHAPTER II. Indian Occupation of Western New York — Treatment of Indians by White Men — Relation of the Indians to Wayne County — The Jesuits and their Work — Local Operations in the War of the Revolution — Indian Remains 9 CHAPTER III. Early Conditions in Western New York — Sketches of the "Genesee Country" and the Phelps andGorham Purchase — The Pre-emption Lines — Organization of Companies to Secure Lands in Western New York — A Very Extensive " Mill-Yard "—The Morris Reserve— The Military Tract as Related to Wayne County. ...14 CHAPTER IV. Early Conditions in the "Genesee Country" — Efforts of Great Britain to Retain the Territory — Fears of Indian Invasion — Lack of Means of Communication with the East — Charles Williams and his Work — Colony on the Genesee River — Quaker Settlement at Jerusalem — Settlement at Canandaigua — List of Set- tlers West of Pre-emption Line — Opening of Roads — A Journey Westward from Albany — Privations of Pioneers. . . _ 26 CHAPTER V. Beginning of Settlement in the Territory of Wayne County — Early Map of West- ern New York — Map of the "Genesee Lands" — Localities First Settled in Wayne County — Beginning at East Palmyra — Importance of Ganargwa Creek — First Improvement at Sodus Bay — Improvement of Highways — Set- tlements in Various Localities — The Threatened Canadian Invaion — Final Establishment of Peaceful Conditions — Estimate of Williamson's Policy 39 vi CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. Circumstances of the Pioneers — Current Prices of Produce — Inconvenience of Distant Markets — Gradual Improvement of Roads — Old Stage Lines — Erec- tion of Early Mills— Outbreak of the War of 1812— Effects of the Conflict in Wayne County — Military Operations at Sodus Bay — Account of a Skirmish — Descent upon Pultneyville — General Improvements Following the Close of the War. - 52 CHAPTER VII. Further Improvement in Means of Transportation — Discussion of the "Grand Canal" — Investigation and Surveys — Progress and Completion of the Great Work — Its Effect upon Wayne County — Other Public Improvements — The First Railroad — The Railroads of Wajne County — Brief History of Mormon- ism — Inception of Spiritualism 65 CHAPTER VIII. End of the Reign of Peace — The First Gun — Military Enthusiasm — Wayne County The President's First Proclamation — The First Company Recruited in Wayne County — Sketches of the Various other Wayne County Organizations 83 CHAPTER IX. Since the War — Internal Improvements — Legislative Acts— Agricultural Pro- ductions — Peppermint — Statistics, etc. — Civil List — Recapitulation. 91 CHAPTER X. Comparison of State Law with the Common Law — Evolution of the Courts — The Court of Appeals — The Supreme Court — The Court of Chancery — The County Court — The Surrogate's Court — Justice's Court — District Attorneys — Sheriffs — Court House — Judicial Officers — Personal Notes. 101 CHAPTER XI. The Medical Profession — Wayne County Medical Society — Wayne County Homeo- pathic Medical Society — Sketches and Reminiscences. 121 CHAPTER XII. The Press of Wayne County. - - . 131 CHAPTER XIII. Secret Societies 146 CONTENTS, vii CHAPTER XIV. Agricultural Societies, County Institutions, &c. 159 CHAPTER XV. History of the Town of Palmyra. 165 CHAPTER XVI. History of the Town of Sodus. 197 CHAPTER XVII. History of the Town and Village of Lyons. . . 221 CHAPTER XVIII. History of the Town of Galen. 251 CHAPTER XIX. History of the Town of Wolcott 282 CHAPTER XX. History of the Town of Williamson. 304 CHAPTER XXI. History of the Town of Ontario 319 CHAPTER XXII. History of the Town of Macedon 329 CHAPTER XXIII. History of the Town of Savannah 346 CHAPTER XXIV. History of the Town of Arcadia. __ 357 CHAPTER XXV. History of the Town of Marion. ..382 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVI. History of the Town of Walworth. ... . .' 394 CHAPTER XXVII. History of the Town of Rose. . - . 402 CHAPTER XXVIII. History of the Town of Huron. . . . . 417 CHAPTER XXIX. History of the Town of Butler. . 427 PART II. Biographies 1-42 PART III. Family Sketches ...1-321 Index to Part I 323-328 Index to Part II 329 Index to Part III 330-343 Index to Portraits.. 343 Landmarks of Wayne County. CHAPTER I. Original Civil Divisions of New York State — Subsequent Divisions — Physical Characteristics of Wayne County — Fish and Animals of this Locality — Climatic Peculiarities — Effects of the Climate upon Health of the Settlers — Coming of Wayne County Pioneers. The original ten counties of what is now the State of New York were created November 1, 1683, and named Albany, Dutchess, Kings, New York, Orange, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester. On the 11th of March, 1772, Montgomery county was erected under the name of " Tryon " (the change in name was made in 1784), and em- braced nearly the whole of the central and western part of the State. In 1789 all that part of the State lying west of Phelps & Gorham's pre- emption line (see outline map of the county on a later page), was erected into the county of Ontario, which ultimately gave a part of its territory to Wayne county. Two years later (1791), Herkimer county was taken from Montgomery; in 1794, Onondaga county was set off from Herkimer ; in 1799, Cayuga was taken from Onondaga, and in 1804, Seneca county was taken from Cayuga, and ultimately gave a part of its territory to Wayne county. Seneca county was embraced in the military tract, described herein. From the two counties of On- tario and Seneca, Wayne county was erected on the 11th of April, 1823. Most of that part of the county lying east of the pre-emption line was taken from the military tract, and now embraces the towns of Savannah, Galen, Butler, Rose, Wolcott and Huron; and all of the county west of that line, embracing the towns of Lyons, Arcadia, Sodus, Williamson, Marion, Palmyra, Ontario, Walworth and Macedon, was taken from Ontario county. The dates of the formation of the fifteen towns now composing Wayne county were as follows : Palmyra l 2 LANDMARKS OF and Sodus, January, 1780; Williamson, February 20, 1802; Ontario, March 27, 1807; Wolcott, March 24, 1807; Lyons, March 1, 1811; Galen, February 14, 1812; Macedon, January 21), 1823; Savannah, November 24, 1824; Arcadia, February 15, 1825; Rose, February 5, 1826; Huron, February 25, 182(3; Butler, February 26, 1826; Wal- worth, April 20, 1829. It will be noticed that several of these towns have been erected since the formation of the county. The law erecting Wayne county states that it should contain the towns of Wolcott and Galen, in Seneca county (from which have been taken four other towns), and Lyons, Sodus, Williamson, Ontario, and Macedon, and all that part of Phelps north of an east and west line from the southwest corner of Galen to the east line of Manchester, from Ontario county; from these six towns, three others have been erected since the county was set off, making the present fifteen. That part of Phelps above described was added to the town of Lyons. The act of organization also gave the new county two members of Assem- bly, and ordered the first election to be held on the first Tuesday of May, 1824, and the two succeeding days. It also made the county a part of the Twenty-sixth Congressional District, and of the Seventh Senatorial District, now in Twenty-eighth Senatorial District. The county received its name in honor of Gen. Anthony Wayne, of the Revolutionary Army. It is bounded on the north by Lake Ontario; east by Cayuga county; south by Seneca and Ontario counties, and west by Monroe county. The surface of Wayne county is level or slightly rolling, and is gen- erally admirably adapted to agriculture. It has a general slope north- ward towards the great lake. Proceeding southward from the lake a quite uniform rise continues to what is known as " The Ridge." This is an elevation extending across the county from east to west, follow- ing to a certain extent the shore conformation of the lake and continuing on westward through Monroe, Orleans, and Niagara counties. Its height is from 150 to 188 feet. This peculiar elevation, its situation with reference to the lake shore, its constituent soil, have revealed to ardent and persistent students of geology the assurance that in past ages it constituted the southern shore of Lake Ontario, the waters of which have since receded northward. J The accompanying outline 1 Professor Hall, State geologist, says of this ridge: "It bears all the marks of having been the boundary of a large body of water, and of having been produced in WAYNE COUNTY. 3 geological map indicates not only the line of the ridge, but also other interesting matters, with the probable location of the once great glacier that is believed to have existed to the northward. Map of Lake Iroquois. Showing the line of the present lake shore, the original shore line, the former supposed outlet of the lake by the Mohawk River, and the situation of the great northern ice sheet. 1 On the Wayne county lake shore is by far the largest indentation on the southern shore of the lake — Sodus Bay. It is a safe as well as a beautiful harbor, its projecting headlands, varied shore line and pictnesque island commanding unqualified admiration. One traveler of early times described it as "rivalling the Bay of Naples in the purity of its waters and the romantic nature of its scenery." It was visited the same manner as the elevated beaches bordering the ocean or our larger lakes. . . Its seaward side is usually covered with coarse gravel and often with large pebbles, resembling the shingle of the sea beaches. The top is generally of coarse sand and gravel, though sometimes of fine sand, as if blown up by the wind, similar to modern beaches." 1 From "The Niagara Book," Underhill & Nichols, Buffalo, 1893. 4 LANDMARKS OF by the Jesuits and given by them the name "Assorodus," or "silver waters." It was also a noted loeality with the Indians, who made it a meeting place for various purposes. The ridge has an upper surface width of from fifty to two hundred feet, and southward of this the surface of the county is somewhat broken by north and south ridges, with rather abrupt northward head- ings and sloping of southward, rising in some places to the dignity of hills, but in almost all sections susceptible of tillage. These ridges are composed of clay, sand and gravel, and seem to be deposits from strong currents of water. The soil of the county generally is derived from drift deposits and composed of a sandy or gravelly loam, with minor intermixture of clay. Along the lake shore it is principally derived from the disintegration of the Medina sand stone, making a reddish, sandy loam. In the val- ley of Clyde River is a rich soil of gravelly loam and alluvium. There is considerable marsh land in the county, along the Clyde and Seneca Rivers and north of the ridge, the surface of which when drained is covered with a deep and rich vegetable mold, which is very fertile. The lowest rock in this county is the Medina sandstone, which is so extensively quarried in various localities in Western New York for building and paving purposes. It appears on the lake and in the ravines near to it, occupying a strip about two miles in average width and widest in the western part. This sandstone embraces four species, which are geologically described as the red marl, which decomposes by exposure and is the source of the red clay of this locality; the gray quartzose sandstone, which succeeds the one just mentioned, and is the hardest of the group; the red shale, or sandstone, a red shaly or marly mass, as its title indicates, mottled with spots of greenish gray; and the greenish -gray argillaceous sandstone, similar to the one last named, except in its color. The extent of the Medina group seems quite limited when compared with the remaining rocks of this period. It occurs through Western New York, thinning out to the eastward and is not found beyond Utica. Southward of the Appalachian region it extends through to Pennsylvania and Virginia, attaining in some places a thickness of 1,500 feet. On the Niagara River it is from 350 to 400 feet thick, passes into Canada and has been found as far north as the Straits of Mackinac. Next above the Medina stone comes the Clinton group of limestone and shales, extending to the foot of the limestone ridge. Then sue- WAYNE COUNTY. 5 ceeds the Niagara limestone, forming the summit ridge and occupying a strip about three miles in width. This gradually increases in depth to the westward; is thirty to forty feet thick in Wayne county, from seventy to eighty in Rochester, while at Niagara Falls it is more than 160 feet thick. In Pennsylvania its thickness exceeds 1,500 feet. Minerals are found in this stone, but none of great value. South of the lim&stone in this county is the Onondaga salt group of red and green shales and gypsum, extending to the southern border and oc- cupying nearly one-half of the county. These rocks are mostly covered with thick deposits of drift, and are not extensively exposed except in ravines. Weak salt and sulphur springs are found in various localities in the Medina sandstone and the red shales of the Onondaga salt group. Wayne county is well watered Ganargwa, or Mud Creek, enters the southwest corner of the county from Ontario, flows in a general easterly course to Lyons, where it unites with the Canandaigua outlet and forms the Clyde River. This considerable stream received its name from William McNab, a Scotch settler; it continues eastward to the eastern bounds of the county, where it discharges its waters into Seneca River. The Clyde, like all other streams, was once of considerable more volume than it now has and was navigable as far as Lyons and the Ganargwa (Mud Creek), even farther, constituting a highway for the pioneers and a link in the chain of interrupted waterways from Albany westward. Mud Creek and the Clyde receive from the north- west Red Creek, East Red Creek, and Bear Creek, and several small brooks from the south. The streams flowing into Lake Ontario are Bear, Ueer, Davis, Salmon, Thomas, Wolcott, and Big and Little Red Creeks. First, Second, and Third creeks flow into Sodus Bay. The only considerable body of water in the county is Crusoe Lake, in the southeast corner. The climate of Wayne county is more equable and healthful than in many other localities of the same latitude. This was not fully under- stood in earl}'' years, and much of the sickness of those times was at- tributed to climatic influences. This was undoubtedly an error ; the causes of prevailing diseases were more specific and local, such as clear- ing the lands along streams like Ganargwa Creek, thus lowering the water and leaving decaying vegetation exposed to the sun; the plowing up of new lands, etc. With the termination of these causes, their ill effects also disappeared in large measure. The equable climate of this locality is rightly attributed to the proximity of the great lake, whose 6 LANDMARKS OF waters it is believed absorb the excessive sun heat of summer and modify the severe cold of winter. The mean temperature here extend- ing over a period of several years has been shown to be a little over forty-eight degrees. No section of the State of New York at the present time has a more varied and at the same time delightful climate than Wayne county. The prevailing sickness of early years was fever, and it was wide spread and often fatal in all parts of the Genesee country. In an essay prepared by Dr. Ludlow on this subject he said: None were exempt from the intermittent fevers which prevailed (in 1801). Peruvian bark was generally a remedy, but was of rare use. When left to nature, the disease became typhoid, and endangered recovery. All fevers, except fever and ague, were called by the people, "Lake or Genesee fevers." After tracing the course of these diseases through several years, Dr. Ludlow said that the principal disease up to 1822 was dysentery, which was most fatal to children. While after 1828 fevers became rarely fatal, and that now records of health and longevity are favorable to Wayne county. Into this region came during the last decade of the preceding century and the early years of the present century, a class of pioneers who were, as a rule, well adapted to the work of founding homes and com- munities in the wilderness. They were men and women endowed with ambition, firmness of purpose, industrious, and frugal. Such qualifica- tions were necessary to enable them to succeed in their undertaking; and their success was in very many instances dearly bought, as the reader of these pages will learn. Aside from the natural sources of food before mentioned, provisions were scarce and costly. Even the necessary article of salt was almost impossible to obtain, except by a long and tedious journey to Onondaga. As an example of what it cost to secure a little salt, it is related that three men started from the town of Victor (Ontario county), in the fall of 1790 for Palmyra on their way to the salt springs, they and their neighbors being destitute of the article. At Palmyra they took a Schenectady boat and went their toil- some way. A little below the junction of Ganargwa Creek and the outlet, they encountered a stretch of drift wood fifteen rods or more in extent, and had to haul their boat up a steep shore and around the ob- struction on rollers, and re-embark below. After days of hard labor they reached the salt works of Asa Danforth at Salina, where they pro- WAYNE COUNTY. 7 cured twelve barrels of salt and started homeward. While in Seneca River a snow storm came on and ice formed in the stream. Often the men were forced to get into the freezing water in order to proceed at all. Both boat and salt had to be transported around the driftwood, and at Lyon's landing boat and cargo were left, and later were carried from there to their destination by the aid of six yoke of oxen, wagons and sleds, through the wilderness. This is only an incident, but it clearly indicates what the pioneers often had to undergo to avoid suf- fering and keep their families in even tolerable comfort. Those who live in the comfortable homes of Wayne county to-day, and especially those of the younger generation, can scarcely realize the hardships endured by their ancestors, except as they may have heard their stories related, or have read them in the records that have been laboriously gathered and preserved in the few volumes devoted to local history. The lake shore in Wayne county is generally bold and varies greatly in height ; at the mouth of Salmon Creek it is ten feet high, a little lower in Williamston, and at Sodus Point, from eighty to a hundred feet. The Erie Canal is carried along the valley cf the Clyde, from both sides of which the surface rises very gradually. Canandaigua, Crooked, Seneca and Cayuga Lakes charge northwardly into the stream which traverses this valley. The stream is known first as Mud Creek, (it has recently taken the more euphonius Indian name of Ganargwa), until joined by the Canandaigua outlet, when it becomes Clyde River, and so continues eastward to Montezuma, where it receives through the Seneca outlet, the waters of Crooked, Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, continues east into Onondaga county, where it joins the outlet of Oneida Lake to form the Oswego River. The Cayuga (or Montezuma) marshes occupy a part of the town of Savannah, surrounding both sides of Crusoe Island, and extend into the south part of Butler. What is known as Cooper's swamp is situated in the south part of Williamston. There is also a cranberry swamp at the head of Port Bay. These swamps contain deposits of marl, in which are found quantities of fresh-water shells. There are several sulphur springs about one and a half miles south of Newark. Another is situated on Salmon Creek in Sodus; others near Palmyra, Clyde and Marion Center. The waters of these springs have not been used extensively. 8 LANDMARKS OF 111 the early history of this locality, a large salt spring was dis- covered in the town of Savannah on the western edge of the Cayuga marshes. Salt was manufactured here in limited quantities in early years. Salt springs were also discovered in the town of Wolcott, where an impure salt was made as early as L815. A salt spring was found on a small creek emptying into the bay near Sodus Point. Bor- ings were made many years ago for salt about two miles east of Lock- pit near the canal, and originally a spring existed at tins point. A limited product was manufactured here for a time. In 1832, a company was organized and borings for salt begun near Clyde village. The im- mediate locality showed no indications of salt, but at a depth of four hundred feet salt water was obtained of good strength, but in limited quantity. No salt is now made in the county. Iron ore has been discovered in various places. About a mile east of Lockpit bog-iron occurs near the surface. A bed of argillaceous oxide of iron crosses the county from east to west at about two miles from the lake. This ore has been worked in furnaces in the towns of Wolcott, Sodus and Ontario; it lias also been ground for paint. Further details of the iron manufacturing industry will be given in the later town histories. In the towns of Butler, Rose, Sodus, Marion and Walworth the Niagara limestone occurs and has been extensively burned for lime. A slaty limestone is found near Newark, and also in the southern part of Williamston, from which lime has been made. The Niagara lime- stone before mentioned furnishes in man}' localities excellent building stone. Wavne county contains 356,513 acres of land, of which about 275, 0(H) acres are improved. At the time of the first settlement of this locality by white men, the streams of the county abounded with fish. Salmon ran up Salmon Creek and other streams in great numbers, and they added much to the food supply of the pioneers. The land was covered with a thick forest, principally of hard wood trees, such as oak, hickory, beech, birch and maple, with some soft woods on the low lands. The cutting away of these forests by the pioneers was a task of great magnitude ; but it gave them a source of cash income at a time when there was almost no other, through the manufacture of potash from the ashes of the burned logs, and in later years from the timber and fire-wood. The forests were filled with wild animals — deer, bears, wolves, all of which were WAYNE COUNTY. numerous, with such smaller animals as the beaver in very early years, the raccoon, hedgehog, squirrels, etc. While the bears and wolves were destructive of domestic animals, they with the numerous deer furnished an ever-ready source of food to the settlers. CHAPTER II. Indian Occupation of Western New York— Treatment of Indians by White Men — Relation of the Indians to Wayne County — The Jesuits and their Work — Local Operations in the War of the Revolution — Indian Remains. The first white man who penetrated the wilderness which once covered what is now the State of New York, found its northern and western parts inhabited and dominated by nations of that remarkable race of copper-colored people whom we call Indians — in reality the native Americans. The question whence they originated is shrouded in mystery and so must remain ; but we well know whither they are going. Unnumbered ages hence their disappearance from the earth may be enveloped in the deep oblivion that now hides their origin. The detailed history of this race cannot be followed in this volume, nor is it desirable that it should be; for it is writ upon the glowing pages of the past by many gifted pens. As to the right or wrong of their conquest and rapidly approaching extinction, wise men differ. At the foundation of the question is the fact that in the world's history, civilization must advance at whatever cost to the uncivilized; the ignorant must go down before the educated; the weak before the strong; might, if not always right, will triumph. If the Indians with their undisciplined passions fired by the white man's rum, armed with the guns placed in their hands in exchange for valuable furs at a ten- fold profit, driven from their hunting grounds when no longer a source of gain to the invaders — if they finally retaliated and committed bar. barities, the record of which fills the pages of history with horror, what else should have been expected? The fact remains that there is not an instance on record where the natives did not receive the first visit of the white man with hospitality and kindness. We may well, there- fore, give a thought to what it was that produced the great change in 2 10 LANDMARKS OF the attitude of the Indian towards his Caucasian superior. The former never desired to part with his lands; and the latter stole what he could not buy. 1 The Indians retaliated by murdering" the thieves. With Champlain shooting with his terrorizing gunpowder upon the guileless Iroquois in 1600 on the lake that bears his name; 2 with the sancti- monious Jesuits beguiling the natives to secure their allegiance — and their furs — for France; with the sagacious Dutch following Hendrick Hudson up the great river that bears his name, within a year or two after Champlain killed his first Indian a little farther north ; and with the English landing on the Atlantic shores a few years later, to hood- wink the natives out of their lands — with all this going on it is scarcely a marvel that the gradually aroused Indians became revengful. The correspondence of that lifelong friend of the Indians, Sir William Johnson, with his superiors, is one long catalogue of remonstrances against the wrongs of every kind to which the natives were subjected. The Iroquois Indians, as they were first called by the French, known as the Five Nations (subsequently the Six Nations) by the English, were established across the State of New York beginning with the Mohawks on the east, with the ( hieidas (with whom the Tuscaroras were subsequently practically amalgamated), the Onondagas, the Cayugas, and the Senecas next, in the order named. What is now Erie county, and contiguous territory on the west and north, was oc- cupied by a nation called by the French the Neuter Nation, from the fact that they endeavored to and generally did, remain at peace with 1 As late as July. 1755, an Iroquois chief, in addressing Sir William Johnson, said: "Brother — you desire us to unite and live together and draw all our allies near us; but we shall have no land left either for ourselves or them, for your people when they buy a small piece of land of us, by stealing make it large. We desire such things may not be done, and that your people may not be suffered to buy any more of our lands. Sometimes it is sought of two men who are not the proper owners of it. The land which reaches down from Oswego to Schanandowana (Wyoming) we beg may not be settled by Christians. The governor of Pennsylvania bought a whole tract and only paid for half, and we desire that you will let him know that we will not part with the other half, but keep it." This seems a reasonable speech for a savage, regarding what he believed to be his own property; and even an Indian is likely to light when he is robbed. - The moment they saw me they halted, gazing at me and I at them. 1 raised my arquebus, and aiming directly at one of the three chiefs, two of them fell to the ground by this shot; one of their companions received a wound of which he died afterwards. I had put four balls in my arquebus. The Iroquois were greatly aston- ished seeing two men killed so instantaneously. — From Champlain 's 'Journal. WAYNE COUNTY. 11 the warlike Eries, still farther west, and the Iroquois on the east, until they were all finally subdued by the latter, long before the coming of white men. From that time onward until the natives were conquered by the new comers the Iroquois roamed over a large part of the country, conquering and triumphant, lords of the soil that bore them. As far as relates to the territory of which this work is to treat, it was shared alike by the Cayugas in its eastern part, and by the Senecas in the western part. "The Cayugas possessed the country between the Onondagas and the Senecas. It was laved on the north by Lake On- tario, and stretched southward about ninety miles. It contained all of the county of Seneca, the easterly half of Wayne, and western parts of Cayuga and Tompkins. Their main stations were on the east and west sides of Cayuga Lake a little south of the outlet. Canoga, their chief town, was on the east side of the lake. Here they had a castle." 1 The Senecas possessed the whole country to the westward indefinitely. Among these nations of Indians came that remarkable order of French religious enthusiasts to convert them to Catholicism and secure their fealty to the French crown. From 1611 to towards the close of that century, priests of that order came over to Montreal and from there penetrated all sections of what is now Northern and Central New York, enduring almost unparalleled privations and often suffering death in the cause. They were the discoverers of the Onondaga Salt Springs and taught the natives how to boil the water to obtain the coveted article. In some instances they appear to have made religious impres- sions upon the Indians, but with little permanent results toward civiliz- ing them. With La Salle, in 1669, came two of the Jesuit missionaries, De Casson and De Galinee. The party landed on the 10th of August at the mouth of Irondequoit Bay. Father Chaumonot, who labored among the Onondagas, had been in this region thirteen years earlier. In November, 1668, the Senecas sent to Montreal a request that a mission be established among them. Father Fremin came on promptly and found a pestilence raging among the nation, and called Father Gamier from the Onondagas to his aid. Fremin established himself in what is now Ontario county four miles southeast from Victor, and there founded the Mission of St. Michael. He labored there until 1671, while Gamier founded the Mission of St. James, also in what is now Victor, and remained until 1683. 1 History of the State of New York, James Macauley, 1829, Vol. II, p. 300. 12 LANDMARKS OF It is not known that the Jesuits had a mission or a station in what is now Wayne county. It is extremely probable that they did not. But it is just as probable that their boats often landed on the shores of Sodus Bay, and possibly at other points along the present shore line of the county. With the decline of the French power and its final extinc- tion, the Jesuits were driven from the country, and were succeeded throughout the State by English missionaries, chief among whom was the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, who labored long among the Senecas and Cayugas. But it cannot be said that all the religious labor and sacri- fice that has been expended upon the Indians of the country has accom- plished much good. The Indian had his religion and his deity, the "Great Spirit," and it has been easier for the white man to exterminate, than to convert him. As far as relates to the immediate territory of which this work treats, it almost or quite wholly escaped the effects of the wars which at various times during more than one hundred and fifty years, were pros- ecuted between the French, the English and the Indians. Here the Senecas and the Cayugas trod the deep forest in quest of game, or followed the trails to and from the great lake; but as far as known no conflict occurred in this immediate region. While the Mohawks and other eastern nations of the Iroquious were, as a rule, loyal to the English, or neutral, in the long struggle with France, the power of the French constantly increased for many years among the Senecas; but in spite of this the French never obtained a firm foothold in what is now New York State. The English arms, allied with the greater part of the Iroquois, prevented such a result. With equal facility had France, England, and Spain as well, parceled out vast provinces in the new world. The French established a fortified trading post on the Niagara River in 1683—4, but it was captured for the English under Sir William Johnson in 1759, and surrendered to the United States in 1796, several years after the close of the Revolutionary War. In 1729 a trading post was built on the site of Oswego, under the administration of the colo- nial government of New York, and five years later it was strengthened into a considerable fortification. The place was captured by the French in 1750, and destroyed. The works were rebuilt in 1758 by the English, and continued in their possession until 1799. Bloody wars continued until the final extinction of French power in 1763. There was strife from the beginning to gain the fealty of the Indians. They were not only extremely useful as fighters for either power, but their friendship WAYNE COUNTY. 13 was equally desirable for purposes of trade. (Of course they were regularly swindled by either party towards which they leaned. ) When the Revolutionary War broke out and England was to be taught that there were some small portions of the earth whose people would not submit to practical slavery, the provincials held a council with chiefs of the Six Nations at German Flats (now in Herkimer county) and secured from the Indians a promise that they would remain neutral through that struggle. But through the influence of the Johnsons and other prominent tories the Iroquois, with the exception of the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, violated their pledge and adhered to the English cause through the war. The barbarities of the tories and Indians in the Mohawk Valley and elsewhere in this State, are too familiar to need attention here. To punish the Indians, and especially the Senecas, and to capture Fort Niagara, Sullivan's expedition was organized in 1779. Under that general a large force met the enemy near the site of Elmira and defeated them with great loss. Thence northward through the country of the Senecas the victorious Americans marched, destroying villages by the score and all other property belonging to the natives. Although not many of the Senecas were killed after the first battle, they were thoroughly humbled and frightened into submission. Abandoning from that time their villages east of the Genesee River, they settled down near Geneseo, Mount Morris and other points in Western New York. Indian relics and remains have been found in various parts of Central and Western New York, many of them merely indicating the former presence of the natives, while others of more permanent character, point to a very remote period of antiquity and to the possession of characteristics by their former owners differing in considerable degree from those of the Indians with whom the white men first became familiar. An account of these remains would be out of place in these pages, and the reader is referred to the various works on that and allied subjects which are to be found in every library. As far as relates to the territory of Wayne county, nothing has been found to lead to the belief that it was more than a part of the transient huntino- grounds of the Cayugas and the Senecas, or that it was ever the site of a permanent Indian village. 14 LANDMARKS OF CHAPTER III. Early Conditions in Western New York — Sketches of the "Genesee Country" and the Phelps and Gorham Purchase — The Pre-emption Lines — Organization of Com- panies to Secure Lands in Western New York— A Very Extensive "Mill Yard"— The Morris Reserve— The Military Tract as Related to Wayne County. As we have before pointed out, the larger part of what is now Wayne county, formerly constituted the northeastern corner of the great county of Ontario ; while the larger part of the remainder of the county's territory lay in the northwest corner of the military tract. The territory of the county also formed a small part of that compara- tively vast and largely undefined section of the State long popularly known as "The Genesee Country," celebrated alike for its beauty and its fertility. Moreover, that part of the present county west of the new pre-emption line (see outline map) was the northeastern corner of the great Phelps and Gorham purchase. A brief description of these several divisions becomes pertinent to our purpose. Previous to the Revolution little was known in Eastern New York and New England, of the western part of the State. During the twenty-four years while it was in possession of the English, communi- cation had been kept open between western posts and the east by water via Niagara and Oswego. Through this channel and, possibly, from reports of the missionary, Samuel Kirkland, some slight knowl- edge of the afterwards famous locality reached eastward. Sullivan's campaign in 1779, directly into the heart of the Genesee country, gave it a wider fame. There were many soldiers and officers in his army who were eagerly watching for a desirable locality in which to settle when their services in the field were ended; and they were quick to discover the attractions of Central New York. "Returning to the firesides of Eastern New York and New England, they relieved the dark picture of retaliatory warfare — the route, the fighting, smouldering cabins, pillage and spoliation — with the lighter shades — descriptions of the lakes and rivers, the rolling uplands and rich val- WAYNE COUNTY. 15 leys — the Canaan of the wilderness they had seen." 1 Less than four years after Sullivan's expedition, the war closed and the restive and ambitious American spirit began its westward progress. In the rather reckless division and gathering of the new world by European powers before their claims to it were fully established, the English king granted to the Massachusetts Colony a section of territory larger, propably, than his entire landed possessions, the boundaries of which grant neither he nor the colonists were then able to define. In brief, the territory chartered extended from the southern bounds of the colony to the northern, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean; but what the distance was between the two oceans no one then knew. To further complicate the situation, the king afterwards chartered to New York a section of the same territory previously granted to Mas- sachusetts. When the Revolutionary War ended and it became there- by wholly unimportant to the English monarch what should be the destiny of the country which he had claimed, abused, and lost, the thrifty Massachusetts colonists urged the validity of their rights as against New York; but a compromise was effected by a Board of Com- missioners on the 16th of December, 1786, which gave to New York the sovereignty of all the disputed territory within her chartered limits, at the same time giving Massachusetts title in the soil, or the right to buy the soil from the Indians, who were then in actual possession (the pre-emption right), embracing all the territory lying west of a line be- ginning at a point in the north line of the State of Pennsylvania, eighty- two miles west from the northeast corner of that State, and running due north through Seneca Lake, and on the north to Lake Ontario, excepting a strip one mile wide along Niagara River. Massachusetts was given also the pre-emption right to a tract of 230,400 acres between the Owego and the Chenango Rivers; this was equal to ten townships, each six miles square, and became known as "The Massachusetts Ten Towns." The north and south line above mentioned was nearly identi- cal with the east lines of Steuben and Ontario counties, and its north- ern continuation is shown on the outline map herein as "The Old Pre- emption Line. " The following account of the two ' 'pre-emption lines, " shown on the accompanying map, we transcribe from Turner's Phelps and Gorham's Purchase: Of course it was mere conjecture where this pre-emption line would fall as far north as Seneca Lake, and parties were interested to have the line fall west of 1 Turner. c WAYNE COUNTY. 17 Geneva, leaving that place and a considerable tract of land between the military tract and the Massachusetts lands. Seth Reed and Peter Ryckman, both of whom had been Indian traders, applied to the State of New York for remuneration for ser- vices rendered in some previous negotiations, with the eastern portion of the Six Nations, and proposed to take a patent for a tract the boundaries of which should be- gin at a tree on the bank of Seneca Lake and run along the bank of the lake to the south until they should have 16,000 acres between the lake and the east bounds of the lands ceded to Massachusetts. Their request was acceded to and a patent issued. Thus situated they proposed to Messrs. Phelps and Gorham to join them in running the pre-emption line, each party furnishing a surveyor. The line was run which is known as the old pre-emption line. Messrs. Phelps and Gorham were much disap- pointed in the result — suspected error or fraud, but made no movement to a resurvey before they had sold to the English association. Their suspicions had at first been excited by an offer from a prominent member of the lessee company for "all the lands they owned east of the line that had been run." They were so well assured of the fact that in their deed to Mr. Morris they specified a tract in a gore between the line then run, and the west bounds of the counties of Montgomery and Tioga, those counties then embracing all of the military tract. Being fully convinced of the inac- curacy of the first survey, Morris, in his sale to the English company, agreed to run it anew. They new survey was performed under the superintendence of Major Hoops, who employed Andrew Ellicott and Augustus Porter to perform the labor. A corps of axe-men were employed, and a vista thirty feet wide opened before the transit instrument until the line had reached the head of Seneca Lake, when night signals were employed to run down and over the lake. So much pains were taken to insure correctness that the survey was never disputed ; and thus the "new pre- emption line" was established as the true division line between the lands of the State of New York and those that had been ceded to Massachusetts. . . . The old pre- emption line terminated on Lake Ontario, three miles west of Sodus Bay, and the new line very near the center of the head of the bay. . . . The strip of land be- tween the two lines was called "The Gore." In addition to the patent granted to Reed and Ryckman, the State had presumed the original survey to be correct, and made other grants, and allowed the location of military land warrants upon what had been made disputed territory. As an equivalent to the purchasers of this tract, com- pensation lands were granted by the State in the present towns of Wolcott and Galen, in Wayne county. The foregoing- interesting description of the two pre-emption lines has taken us a little out of the chronological order of events. Previous to the establishment of the second pre-emption line, a com- bination, or a syndicate, as it would now be termed, was formed in New York and Canada to obtain control of the Indian lands in this State. Two companies were organized — "The New York and and Genesee Land Company," of which John Livingston was manager; and the "Niagara Genesee Company," composed chiefly of Canadians, with Col. John Butler at his head. As the State Constitution forbade 3 18 LANDMARKS OF the sale of Indian lands to individuals, these companies, working- in harmony, sought to evade the provision by a lease. So great was the influence of Butler and his friends that in 1787 representatives of the Indians gave the New York and Genesee Company a lease of all their lands (excepting some small reservations) for a period of 999 years. The consideration was $20,000 and an annual rental of $2,000. Who can say what would have been the effect of this stupendous deal, if it had been consummated! But when the lessees applied to the Legis- lature in the following winter for recognition of their lease, it was promptly declared void. The next scheme of these magnanimous pro- moters of early settlements in the Genesee country was to procure a conveyance by the Indians of all their lands in the State, provided the State would reimburse Livingston and his comrades for all their expenses, and convey to them one-half of all the land! As an example of unblushing business impudence, this proposition stands unrivaled, for by it Livingston, Butler and company would have secured a prac- tically free gift of four or five million acres of the best land in America! The proposition was promptly rejected. Oliver Phelps was a native of Windsor, Connecticut, and had been a contractor in the Revolutionary Army. He was a man of prominence and ability, and from Major Adam Hoops, who had been one of General Sullivan's aids, learned of the prospective value of the Genesee country. He determined to secure an interest in the lands over which Massa- chusetts held the right of pre-emption ; but before he matured his plans, Nathaniel Gorham had made proposals to the Legislature for the purchase of a portion of the Genesee lands. The two men met and after a conference, Mr. Gorham joined with Mr. Phelps and a few others to consummate the desired purchase. The first proposal was made in 1787 for the purchase of 1,000,000 acres, at one and sixpence currency per acre. The Senate refused to concur in the sale, and the matter was postponed until the session of 1788. Other persons had taken steps to secure tracts, and a compromise was therefore made admitting all such to the association, with Messrs. Phelps and Gorham as representatives. They made proposals for all the lands embraced in the cession to Massachusetts, which were accepted, the consideration being $1,000,000, payment to be made in a sort of scrip issued by Massachusetts and called "Consolidated Securities," which were worth at the time of the sale about fifty cents on the dollar. As this sale was, of course, made subject to the Indian rights, Phelps arranged with WAYNE COUNTY. 19 Livingston to aid him in negotiating with the Six Nations for the release of their lands. This resulted in a council held on Buffalo Creek in July, 1788, which was the most memorable of all the later large gatherings of the Indians. All of the famous chiefs of the Six Nations were present in at least a semblance of their past glory ; but with all their native sagacity, they were no match for the shrewd Yankees — the unscrupulous Butler, the thrifty Oliver Phelps, the greedy Livingston, and the rest. Rev. Samuel Kirkland, the noble old man, was also present as an agent for Massachusetts. The council was generally harmonious. The Indians were then ready to sell and not particular about the price; this was a strong influence for harmony. But they insisted that the west line of the territory to be sold should be along the Genesee Ri,ver, while Phelps desired that it should run several miles farther to the West. After days of discussion the Yankees out- witted the Indians by a request from Phelps that the Indians should let him have enough land west of the river for a mill-seat, or mill yard, so that he might build a mill at the falls (now Rochester) which would benefit the Indians and white men alike. It was a happy thought and silenced the opposition by the natives. They would let him have his mill yard ; and in response to an inquiry as to how much land would be required for the purpose, Phelps replied that he thought a strip twelve miles wide and extending from the site of Avon to the mouth of the river would be about right. The Indians finally consented to this, and thus disposed of about 200,000 acres — probably the largest mill-yard the world has ever known ! The west bounds of the Phelps and Gorham purchase have been thus described : Beginning in the northern line of Pennsylvania, due south of the corner or point of land made by the confluence of the Genesee River and the Canaseraga Creek ; thence north on said meridian line to the corner or point aforesaid ; thence north- wardly along the waters of the Genesee River to a point two miles north of Canawagus village; thence running due west twelve miles ; thence running north- wardly so as to be twelve miles distant from the western bounds of said river, to the shore of Lake Ontario. The reader will note the westward deviation in the line to include the "mill-yard." The eastern line of the purchase has been described and the accompanying map shows the whole purchase, with a black line cutting out the northeast corner that ultimately went into the formation of Wayne County. The names of many the purchasers of lots shown on this map are of considetable interest in this connection. The whole tract was surveyed into seven ranges, the lines running 20 LANDMARKS OF north and south, and these into lots, as indicated on the map. When Mr. Phelps reached home after the purchase was effected he reported to his associates: "You may rely upon it that it is a good country; I have purchased all that the Indians will sell at present; and, perhaps, as much as it would be profitable for us to buy at this time." The Phelps and Gorham purchase embraced, as estimated, about 2,600,000 acres; and the complaisant Indians left the fixing of the price to be paid them to Butler, Brant, and Elisha Lee, Mr. Kirkland's assistant. It was settled at $5,000 in hand and $500 annually forever. This was equal to about half a cent an acre! "The reader need hardly be told that the poor Indians never realized the sum promised by the lessees, except in the form of bribes to some of their chiefs; and in that form but a small portion of it. And yet the lessees, in one form or another, realized a large amount for their illegal 'long lease.'" 1 The great sale to Phelps and Gorham had the effect of advancing the market price of the "consolidated securities" to such a figure that the association was unable to buy them to carry out their contract with the State. As a consequence about two-thirds of the original purchase was abandoned by Phelps and Gorham and reverted to the State of Massachusetts. It was resold by that State in 1701 to Robert Morris, for thirty thousand pounds New York currency, and a large part of the tract on its western side was subsequently sold to a company of Dutch and became the well known Holland Land Purchase. The remainder constituted the "Morris Reserve. " The east line of the Morris purchase commenced on the Pennsylvania line, forty-four and seventy-eight- hundredths miles west of the pre-emption line and ran due north to an elm tree at the forks of the Genesee River and Canaseraga Creek; thence northerly along the Genesee River to a point two miles north of Cannawagus village; thence due west twelve miles, and thence north twenty-four degrees east to Lake Ontario. The line forming the boundary between the Morris Reserve and the tract sold to the Holland Land Company began on the Pennsylvania line twelve miles west of the west line of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, and thence ran due north to near the center of Stafford, Genesee County ; thence due west 2.07875 miles, and thence due north to Lake Ontario; this last named line became and is known as the Transit Line, and crosses the county of Orleans on the western line of the east tier of towns. 1 Turner. WAYNE COUNTY. 21 The Morris Reserve was sold out in several large tracts. A tract containning 87,000 acres, lying just west of the Phelps and Gorham "Mill-Yard" was sold to Le Roy, Bayard and McEvers, and is known as the "Triangle," in the western part- of Monroe county. Imme- diately west of this, in Orleans county, is the "Connecticut Tract" of 100,000 acres, which was purchased by the State of Connecticut and Sir William Pulteney, and divided between them. The Cragie tract of 50,000 acres joins the Connecticut tract on the south, and immedi- ately east of this is the "40,000 acre tract." Still other tracts were sold off from other parts of the original purchase; but in none of them are we directly interested in treating of Wayne County. The title which Mr. Morris acquired from Massachusetts was merely the right of pre-emption. The soil was still the property of the Seneca Indians, and it does not appear that Mr. Morris attempted after his purchase to obtain the extinguishment of the Indian title. If he did, he failed; for the Indian title was not wholly extinguished until 1797. In that year a council was held at "Big Tree" on the Genesee River, near the site of Geneseo, and a treaty was made under which the Indians sold to Morris all their remaining lands in New York west of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, excepting the following reservations: Two square miles at Canawagus, near Avon; two squre miles at Big Tree; two square miles at Little Beard's Town; two square miles at Squakie Hill ; the Gardeau Reservation on the Genesee River, containing four square miles; the Canadea Reservation, extending eight miles along the Genesee River and two miles wide ; a reservation at Cat- taraugus Creek and Lake Erie ; another on the south side of Cattaraugus Creek; forty-two square miles on the Allegany River, and two hundred square miles to be laid out parti y at Buffalo and partly at Tonawanda Creek. At various times since then these reservations have been sold to the State of New York, except a few insignificant tracts. A short sketch of the military tract, a part of which went into the formation of Wayne county, will close these brief notes of the early territorial divisions in which readers of this work will be interested. On the 16th of September, 1770, while war measures were under consideration in Congress, the following resolutions were adopted: That eighty-eight battalions be enlisted as soon as possible, to serve during the present war; and that each State furnish their respective quotas in the following proportions, viz: [The quota of New York was four battalions ; those of other States may be omitted here.] ■- a o 'J 2 C O > z u ^ WAYNE COUNTY. 23 That twenty dollars be given as a bounty to each non-commissioned officer and private soldier who shall enlist to serve during the present war, unless sooner dis- charged by Congress. That Congress make provisions for granting lands in the following proportions to the officers and soldiers, who shall so engage in the service, and continue therein until the close of the war, or until discharged by Congress, and to the representatives of such officers and soldiers as shall be slain by the enemy. Such lands to be provided by the United States ; and whatever expenses shall be necessary to produce such lands, the said expenses shall be borne by the States in the same proportion as the other expenses of the war, viz. : to a colonel, 500 acres ; to a lieutenant-colonel, 450 acres; to a major, 400 acres; to a captain, 300 acres; to a lieutenant, 200 acres; to an ensign, 150 acres; to each non-commissioned officer and soldier, 100 acres. By an act of 12th of August, 1780, Congress also made provision for land bounties for major-generals, 1,100 acres, and brigadier-generals, 850 acres. When the war closed, in 1783, the New York Legislature undertook the discharge of this obligation, and also granted gratuities in lands on its own account. This was accomplished by a resolution granting lands in addition to the before- mentioned bounties, in the following proportions: To a major-general, 5,500 acres; to a brigadier-general, 4,250 acres; to a colonel, 2,500 acres; to a lieutenant-colonel, 2,250 acres; to a major, 2,000 acres; to a captain and regimental surgeon, each 1,200 acres; to each chaplain, 2,000 acres; to every subaltern and sur- geon's mate, 1,000 acres; to every non-commissioned officer and private, 500 acres. Another resolution contains the following provisions: That the lands so to be granted as bounty from the United States, and as gratuity from the State, shall be laid out in townships of six miles square; that each township shall be divided into 156 lots of 150 acres each, two lots whereof shall be reserved for the use of a minister of the gospel, and two lots for the use of a school or schools; that each person above described shall be entitled to as many such lots as his bounty and gratuity will admit of ; that one-half the lots each person shall be entitled to shall be improved at the rate of five acres for each one hundred acres, within five years after the grant, if the grantee shall retain the possession of such lots; and that the said bounty and gratuity lands be located in the district of this State reserved for the use of the troops by an act entitled, "An act to prevent grants or locations of the lands therein mentioned, passed the 25th day of Juy, 1782. '^ 1 These lands are bounded on the east by the country of the Oneidas ; north by Lake Ontario ; on the west by a line drawn from the mouth of Great Sodus Bay, through the most westerly inclination of the Seneca Lake ; and on the south by a line 24 LANDMARKS OF On the -20th of March, 1781, the State Legislature passed an act which further provided for the raising' of troops to complete the "line" of this State in the United States service, and for two regiments to be raised on bounties of lands, for the further defence of the frontiers of the State. The land granted by these last mentioned acts was known as "bounty" land, and those granted under the previous action of the State government were known as "gratuity" lands. The original acts granting these lands were afterward modified and amended until finally it was ordered by an act passed February 28, 1789, "that the commissioners of the land office shall be, and they are here- bv authorized to direct the surveyor-general to lay out as many town- ships in tracts of land set apart for such purpose, as will contain land sufficient to satisfy the claims of all such persons who are or shall be entitled to grants of land by certain concurrent resolutions, which townships shall respectively contain GO, 000 acres of land, and be laid out as nearly in squares as local circumstances will permit, and be numbered from one progressively to the last inclusive; and the com- missioners of the land office shall likewise designate every township by such names as they shall deem proper." The same act ordered the surveyor-general to make a map of these townships, dividing each into one hundred lots of six hundred acres each, and number them from one upwards. The same act ordered : All persons to whom land shall be granted by virtue of this act, and who are en- titled thereto by any act or resolution of Congress, shall make an assignment of his, or her, proportion and claim of bounty or gratuity lands under any act or acts of Congress, to the surveyor-general, for the use of the people of this State. It was also provided that for all lands thus assigned, an equal number of acres should be given by the State, and so far as possible in one patent, "provided the same does not exceed one-quarter of the quanity of a township." These grants were to be settled within seven years, or the lands would revert to the State. A tax was laid upon fifty acres in one cor- ner of each six hundred acre lot, of forty-eight shillings, as compensa- tion for the survey, which tax was to be paid in two years, or the lot would revert to the State and be sold at public auction. The proceeds drawn through the most southerly inclination of the Seneca lake, embracing to the country of the Oneidas 1,800,0(1(1 acres. It comprises, generally speaking, the coun- ties of Onondaga, Cortland, Cayuga, Tompkins, and Seneca, and the east half, or nearly so, of the county (if Wayne, and that part of Oswego county west of the Os- wego River." — M acanley s History of Nev York, /Ssg. WAYNE COUNTY. 25 of the sale were to be devoted to the payment of the expenses of the survey and sale, and any surplus funds to be expended "in laying out and making- roads in the said tract." By an act of February 28, 1789, six lots in each township were re- served, "one for promoting the gospel and a public school or schools, one other for promoting literature in this State, and the remaining four lots to satisfy the surplus share of commissioned officers not cor- responding with the division of six hundred acres, and to compensate such persons as may by chance draw any lot or lots, the greater part of which may be covered with water." It was provided also, "that whenever it appeared that persons ap- plying for bounty or gratuity land, had received from Congress the bounty promised by that body, or in case they failed to relinquish their claims to such land, then the commissioners were to reserve for the use of the people of the State, one hundred acres in each lot to which such persons were entitled; designating particularly in which part of said lot such reserved part was located." This action gave rise to the term, "State's hundred," so frequently heard in connection with the military tract. At a meeting of the land commissioners held at the secretary's office in New York city, on Saturday, July 3, 1790, there were present, "his excellency, George Clinton, esq., treasurer; Peter T. Curtenius, esq., auditor." The secretary laid before the board maps of twenty-five townships, made by the surveyor-general, Simeon De Witt. These townships were named as follows and numbered from one upward in the order given: Lysander, Hannibal, Cato, Brutus, Camillus, Cicero, Manlius, Aurelius, Marcellus, Pompey, Romulus, Scipio, Sempronius, Tully, Fabius, Ovid, Milton, Locke, Homer, Solon, Hector, Ulysses, Dryden, Virgil, and Cincinnatus. To these were afterwards added the town of Junius (Seneca county), to compensate those who drew lots sub- sequently found to belong to the "Boston ten towns." From Junius was taken Wolcott, in 1807; and Galen in 1812. Wol- cott then included the present towns of Huron, Rose and Butler, and Galen included the present town of Savannah. Galen was also added to the military tract, to supply lands to those who belonged in the hos- pital department of the army. This gave substantially what are now the six eastern towns of Wayne county, to the military tract. The 4 26 LANDMARKS OF town of Sterling, Cayuga county, was added to the tract to satisfy all other unsettled claims. ( )n January 1, 17'.) 1, the commissioners began to determine claims and ballot for individual shares. Ninety-four persons drew lots in each of the townships, and the reservations before alluded to were made. The adjustment of these individual claims was a source of al- most infinite perplexity to the commissioners, as well as to the real owners. On account of the many frauds committed respecting the land titles, an act was passed in 1794, requiring all deeds and conveyances executed prior to that time to be deposited with the county clerk of Albany county, and such as were not so deposited were to be considered fraudulent. But the trouble did not end here, and the courts over- flowed with business relating to the claims. Soldiers coming in to take possession of their lots often found them occupied by pugnacious squatters, and discouraging and costly litigation followed. Finally the inhabitants of the tract became so wearied and exasperated with con- tinued contentions that, in 1797, they united in a petition to the Legis- lature for a law under which the whole matter could be equitably ad- justed. An act was accordingly passed appointing Robert Yates, Tames Kent, and Vincent Mathews a Board of Commissioners, with power to settle all disputes respecting the land titles. After laborious investigation the vexatious differences were all adjusted with reason- able satisfaction to all concerned. CHAPTER IV. Early Conditions in the "Genesee County" — Efforts of Great Britian to Retain the Territory — Fears of Indian Invasion — Lack of Means of Communication with the East — Charles Williams and his Work — Colony on the Genesee River — Quaker Settle- ment at Jerusalem — Settlement at Canandaigua — List of Settlers West of Pre- emption Line — Opening of Roads — A Journey Westward from Albany — Privations of Pioneers. Before proceeding to separately consider the pioneer settlement of what is now Wayne county, a brief chapter may be profitably devoted to early conditions in the great Genesee country as a whole. The treaty of peace made at the close of the Revolutionary War did not by any means end the difficulties and anxieties of the pioneers in WAYNE COUNTY. 27 Western New York. The English king and his chief councillors could scarcely realize, and were reluctant to admit, they were whipped by a few weak colonists, and deprived of a prospectively vast and rich ter- ritory. Their only solace lay in the confident hope that our efforts to establish a free government would fail, in which contingency they be- lieved they might retain the allegiance of the Indians and renew the struggle. When this prospect began to fade away, they turned their attention and hopes in another direction. By continuing their alliance with the Six Nations and the Western Indians, with the latter of whom the Americans were still fighting, the English would endeavor to re- tain all of Canada that had been under French dominion, with Western New York and the lake and Mississippi country. To carry out this de- sign England, through various flimsy pretexts, disregarded the plain terms of the peace treaty, withheld the posts on Lake Ontario and at other points and steadily followed a policy of commercial outrage and annoyance, influenced the Indians against us in our negotiation with them, and in many other ways exhibited a spirit of revenge and irrita- tion. Lord Dorchester, governor-general of Canada; his deputy -gen- eral, Simcoe; Sir John Johnson, the notorious tory; Col. John Butler, then living at Niagara and occupying a position of great influence with the Senecas, all united in efforts to breed and continue hostility. Valuable presents of goods and arms were made to the Indians to win their favor and incite them against the settlers. "There was a long period of dismay and alarm, in which the new settlers of the Genesee country deeply and painfully participated; every movement in the west was regarded with anxiety ; and the Senecas in their midst were, watched with jealously and distrust. . . The hindrances to peace negotia- tions with the Indians were vastly augmented by British interference. Not content with encouraging the Indians to hold out, and actually supplying them with the means for carrying on the war, on one occa- sion they refused to let a peace embassy proceed by water via Oswego and Niagara ; and on another occasion, with a military police, prevented commissioners of the United States from proceeding to their destina- tion — a treaty ground." 1 These shameful acts on the part of the British were opposed by Colonel Pickering, Samuel Kirkland, and particularly by Gen. Israel Chapin, who had been a brigadier-general in the Revolutionary War 1 Turner's Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, p. 295. 28 LANDMARKS OF and was afterward appointed agent among the Six Nations. He was fully qualified for the difficult office and took up his residence in Canan- daigua. The season of 1794 opened amid gloomy prospects. Negotia- tions with the western Indians had failed, and their atrocities on the borders continued, while war with England was considered not improb- able, and her agents continued their iniquitous work. General Chapin did all in his power to quiet apprehension and keep the settlers from fleeing from their homes. Throughout all the country west of Utica, danger was feared. A boat load of stores belonging to Sir [ohn Johnson, which he was attempting to take from Albany to Canada, was waylaid at Three River Point, in Onondaga county, and captured; this was in retaliation for British annoyance of lake commerce at Oswego and in hatred of Johnson. The lawless act led to threats of an invasion of Onondaga by a force which would land at Oswego, and rumors that Johnson and Brant were organizing for that purpose. But the time at last came when the settlers in Western New York could pursue their peaceful avocations without fear. General Chapin made arrangements for a council with the Indians to be held at Canandaigua on the 8th of September, 1794; but it was far into October before the Indians could be gathered, their final assembling being stimulated by the victory of Wayne in the West. By this time, also, all anticipations of war with England were quelled. In speaking of the treaty made at this council, General Chapin said: Since the Indians were first invited to it, the British have endeavored, if possible, to prevent their attendance, and have used every endeavor to persuade them to join the hostile Indians, till at last they found the Indians would not generally join in the war; the governor told them in the council at Fort Erie that they might attend the treaty, and if anything was given them by the Americans to take it. A successful treaty was concluded and mutual pledges of peace and friendship made which led to enduring quietude. The great purchase made by Robert Morris in 1791 has been men- tioned. Morris was the celebrated financier of the Revolution, his personal credit alone being sufficient to carry Washington and his army through the period of danger and distress. He was also the owner of immense tracts of land, for the sale of which he had numerous agents in Europe. His agent in London was William Temple Franklin, a grandson of Benjamin Franklin, to whom he wrote after he had made his purchase, that " Ebenezer Allan, the oldest settler in the country, had assured him that hemp grows like young willows, it is so rampant WAYNE COUNTY. 29 and strong, and that he has raised forty bushels of the finest wheat he ever saw, and so of other articles in like abundance." In another letter he assured his agent that he had the most flattering reports concerning his lands in the Genesee country. At just about the time that Mr. Morris had become thoroughly convinced of the fertility and beauty of his great purchase, he received word from Franklin that he had sold it to an "Association" consisting of Sir William Pultney, John Hornby, and Patrick Colquhoun. Sir William Pultney was a London capitalist and occupied a high position as a citizen and a statesman ; the other two were also men of character and wealth. The price paid for what was supposed to be about 1,100,000 acres, but was in reality, almost 1,200,000 acres, was ^35,000. The sale included, of course, the terri- tory of Wayne county west of the pre-emption line. As bearing upon what has been stated in respect to apprehensions of danger from the Indians and British the following extract from a letter written by Mr. Morris to Mr. Colquhoun, soon after the sale to the association, is given. He said: These worthy but timid people had grown afraid 'since the Indian war at the westward had become so general as it is, to let their sons go out even to the town- ships they have bought, lest the Six Nations should become parties, and attack the Genesee settlements. Now as there is not the least danger of this happening, the Six Nations having already decided for peace, yet these timid people will await their own time. I will, however, announce to them that I can supply them with the lands they wanted, and as I think the Indian war will be of short duration, there is little doubt but they will buy when it is over." The London association who purchased of Mr. Morris took imme- diate steps towards sale and settlement on their lands. In this work Mr. Colquhoun seems to have been the most conspicuous of the three. As their active agent they secured. Charles Williamson, a native Scot, who had held a captain's commission in the British army at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, but the ship in which he sailed for this country was captured and he was taken to Boston and held a prisoner until the close of the war. He returned to England with a valuable store of information relating to this country, and when the attention of European capitalists began to be drawn in this direction, he very naturally became associated with them. After his appointment as agent by the association he sailed for America with his family and two intelligent Scotchmen, John Johnstone and Charles Cameron, who came as his assistants. From the day of his arrival in this country Charles Williamson became a most important factor in the settlement 30 LANDMARKS OF of the Genesee country. He learned from various sources of the great beauty, fertility, and value of the lands placed in his hands, and began energetically and intelligently to push forward the work expected of him by his employers. "Want of communication," he wrote to the association, "is the great draw back on back settlements distant from the rivers that run into the Atlantic. Remove this difficulty and there can be no doubt that the gentlemen of the association will reap an advantage fifty times their outlay; and come to their purpose many years sooner. Nothing will draw the attention of the people of America more readily than the idea of their settling under the protec- tion of an association who will take every means to render their farms convenient an profitable." In the winter of 1701-2, leaving his party in Northumberland, Pa., he made a hurried trip through the Genesee country. Of this trip he wrote Mr Colquhoun that he passed through an uninhabited wilderness more than one hundred miles before reaching Geneva, " which consisted of a few straggling huts." " There is not a road within one hundred miles of the Genesee country," said he, "that will admit of any sort of conveyance, otherwise than on horseback, or on a sled, when the ground is covered with snow." "The price of land has, in a few instances, exceeded two shillings per acre; some few farms of first rate quality have been sold on a credit for four shillings per acre. " After full consideration of the subject of opening communications between the east and the Genesee country, Mr. Williamson determined that the proper outlet for the country was southward to the Susque- hanna River. He accordingly took steps to construct a road from what is now Williamsport, Pa., to the mouth of the Canaserga Creek on the Genesee River, a distance of about 150 miles. Before the road could be opened, a ship load of goods reached Baltimore consigned to Will- iamson by Mr. Colquhoun. The heaviest of the cargo was sold off in Baltimore, and the lighter portion sent westward via Albany. Before the close of 1792, Mr. Williamson had determined to make his first settlement at the termination of his road on the Genesee River; in pursuance of this plan he laid out a village there and called it Williams- burg; he built a long row of structures, plowed some land and pre- pared for the reception of a proposed German colony. Here were settled a large colony who came over through the immediate influence of one Berezy, who gained the confidence of Mr. Coloquhoun. While they proved useful to Mr. Williamson in building his road, before men- WAYNE COUNTY. 31 tioned, they proved an undesirable acquisition in every other way. They remained in Pennsylvania until the spring of 1703, when they removed to Williamsburg. Each family had a house, fifty acres of land, tools, stock, and provisions appropriated to its use ; but they developed into an idle and more or less dissolute colony, with Berezy at their head. Mr. Williamson finally determined to rid his country of their presence, and in his efforts to accomplish this result, provoked a riot and had to call on the authorities of Ontario county to aid him and his friends. The Germans were at last scattered, many of them ultimately settling in Canada. Other attempts to colonize Europeans were scarcely more successful. Previous to and during the course of the events we have briefly chronicled, a colony of Quakers, or "Friends," under the leadership of a woman, a native of Rhode Island, whose correct name was Jemima Wilkinson, had settled in 1787-88 in what is now Yates county, about a mile south of the site of Dresden village. The original party con- sisted of twenty-five members, who had sent delegates ahead to search for an eligible location. Their first land purchase was on "The Gore," previous to the establishment to the new pre-emption line, and comprised a tract of 14,000 acres lying in the east part of the present town of Milo, and a part of Starkey, in Yates county. Soon afterward their delegates purchased what is now the town of Jerusalem, in that county. It was through the agency of these settlers that the first grist mill was built in Western New York ; it was situated two and a half miles from Penn Yan, and turned out flour in the year 1789. The woman "Jemima," as she was known, exercised a powerful influence over her followers in all their affairs, public and private. The community, while apparently thriving and successful for a time, showed evidences of decline before many years. They had settled there in quest of seclusion from the world and its wickedness; but their selection of lands was too wise to enable them to long hold a monopoly over the region ; and they soon found themselves in a thickly settled neighbor- hood. Jemima died in 1819, and was succeeded by Rachel Malin; but their teachings were long ago forgotten, though their descendants are still numerous in that section of the State. In 1793 operations towards settlement began at Bath and rapidly progressed under Mr. Williamson's energetic direction. 1 Mills were 1 In 1799 an advertisement of the "Bath Theater" appeared in the Bath Gazette; the plays announced were "The Mock Doctor, or The Dumb Lady Cured." "A 32 LANDMARKS OF built there and immigration from Pennsylvania and Maryland became active. l In the following- year (17 ( .)-t-) improvements were begun at Geneva, a feature of which was the building of the Geneva Hotel, which was finished in December and soon gained a widespread fame. It had no competitor for some time between there and Qtica. Canandaigua, also, was a point of importance in the early settlement of the Genesee country and the great county of Ontario — mother of Wayne and many other counties. After Mr. Phelps had decided on the foot of Canandaigua Lake as a desirable and central point for the founding of a village, he took measures to open primitive roads over which to reach the site. Operations were begun at Geneva and a pass- age way opened to the foot of Canandaigua Lake, following substan- tially the old Indian trail. Joseph Smith was the first settler west of Seneca Lake and located at Canandaigua in the spring of 1789. He built a block house and opened a tavern. In May of that year Gen. Israel Chapin arrived at the outlet and built his log house. With him and interested in surveys and land sales w r ere eight or ten others, and they were soon followed by a Mr. Walker, agent of Phelps and Gorham. The settlement progressed rapidly, much of its growth and the toler- ably peaceful relations with the Indians being due for a number of years to General Chapin. In 1700 the heads of families on township 10, range 3, were as follows: Nathaniel Gorham, jr., Nathaniel San- born, John Fellows, James D. Fish, Joseph Smith, Israel Chapin, John Clark, Martin Dudley, Phineas Bates, Caleb Walker, Judah Colt, Abner Barlow, Daniel Brainard, Seth Holcomb, James Brocklebank, Lemuel Castle, Benjamin W T ells, John Freeman. To these were added quite a Peep into the .Seraglio." The prices of admission were: "Pit six shillings; Gallery three shillings." The Bath Races were also advertised. 1 The proprietors of the Pultney estate indulged in visions of boundless wealth to result from the settlement of their lands. They supposed that the natural avenue to market from the rich Genesee country was down the Susquehanna, and that a city might be founded upon some of the headwaters of that stream which would command the entire trade of the West. After a survey of the region, the present site of Hath was selected as the location of the future city. Every inducement was held out to lure settlers; and for several years the markets of Bath proved a mine of wealth to the few who raised more grain than enough for their own use. Williamson erected a theater within a few years after the first settlement, in anticipation of the future metropolitan character of the place. A race course was also established, which for many years attracted sportsmen from all parts of the country. The golden visions of civic grandeur were never realized. — French 's Gazetteer, />. (>jj. WAYNE COUNTY. 33 number of settlers during L790-1. The place was made the county scat in L793, and in the same year a court house, jail and clerk's office were built; and here the first courts were held, as described further on in these pages. To conclude this necessarily brief description of the early settlement at various points in the old county of Ontario, before turning our at- tention to the immediate locality in which our readers will be more deeply interested, it will be desirable to reproduce from the census report of 1700 a list of all the heads of families who had settled west of the old pre-emption line, as follows; the list is given by townships and ranges as shown in the abbreviated headings: No. 9, 7th R. William Wadsworth Phineas Bates Daniel Ross Henry Brown Enoch Noble Nicholas Rosecrantz David Robb Nahum Fairbanks No. 1, 2d R. Eleazer Lindley Daniels Samuel Lindley John Seely Ezekiel Mumford Eleazer Lindley, jr. No. 2, 2d R. Arthur Erwine Henry Culp William Anchor Martin Young Peter Gardner Nos. 3 & 4, 5th & 6th R's. James Headley William Baker Jedediah Stevens Uriah Stephens Uriah Stephens, jr. John Stephens Richard Crosby Solomon Bennett Andrew Bennett John Jameson 5 No. 11, 2 R. Sweet Ezra Phelps No. 10, 3d R. Nathaniel Gorham, jr. Nathaniel Sanborn No. 11, 5th R. Jonathan Ball William Moores No. 13, 5th R. John Lusk Chauncey Hyde Timothy Allen Jacob Walker No. 10, 6th R. John Minor Asel Burchard Abner Miles Davison No. 11, 6th R. John Ganson Philemon Winship Abel Wilsey Elijah Morgan Solomon Hovey John Morgan William Webber William Markham Abraham Devans No. 7, 7th R. Niel No. 9, 1st R. James Latta David Benton Samuel Wheaton Rice No. 10, 3d R. John Fellows Joseph Smith James D. Fisk Israel Chapin John Clark Martin Dudley Phineas Bates Caleb Walker Judah Colt Abner Barlow Daniel Brainard Seth Holcomb James Brocklebank Lemuel Castle Benjamin Wells John Freeman No. 11, 3d R. Abraham Lapham Isaac Hathaway Nathan Harrington John McCumber Joshua Harrington Elijah Smith John Paine Jacob Smith John Russell Nathan Comstock Israel Weed 34 LANDMARKS OF Reuben Allen No. L2, 3d R. Webb Harwood David White Darius Com stock Jerome Smith No. 8, 4th R. Gamaliel Wilder Ephraim Wilder Aaron Rice Aaron Spencer No. 9, 1st R. David Smith Phineas Pierce Esther Forsyth Thomas Smith Harry Smith Thomas Barden No. 10, 1st R. Seth Reed Thaddeus Oaks Jonathan Whitney Solomon Warner Jonathan Oaks Joseph Kilbourne John Whitcomb Phineas Stevens Benjamin Tuttle No. 11, 1st R. John D. Robinson Pierce Granger No. 8, 2d R. Francis Briggs Michael Pierce Benjamin Tibbits Henry Lovell John Walford In order to give families by towns, what is now Wayn census of 1790 : William Hall Arnold Potter No. 10, 2d R. Sweet No. 9, 4th R. James Goodwin William Goodwin Nathaniel Fisher No. 10, 4th R. Ephraim Rew Lot Rew Matthew Hubble John Barnes Oliver Chapin Nathaniel Norton John Adams Michael Rodgers Allen Sage No. 11, 4th R. Seymour Boughton Jared Boughton Zebulon Norton Elijah Taylor No. 9, 5th R. Gideon Pitts No. 10, 5th R. Peregrine Gardner Amos Hall Benjamin Gardner Peck Sears Samuel Miller John Alger Sylvanus Thayer No. 12, 5th R. Jared Stone Simon Stone Israel Pan- tile reader a clearer idea of and to aid him in locating e county, we reprint the fol Thomas Cleland Silas Nye Josiah (iiminson Alexander 1 )unn 1 )avid Davis No. 10, 2d R. Daniel Gates Thomas Warren Israel Chapin Piatt Day West of Genesee River Gilbert R. Berry Darling Havens 1 )avid Bailey William Rice Gershom Smith Hill Carney Morgan Desha William Desha Horatio Jones William Ewing Nathan Fowler Jeremiah Gregory Nicholas Philips Jacob Philips Caleb Forsyth Nathan Chapman Nicholas Miller Asa Utley Peter Shaeffer Ebenezer Allen Christopher Dugan Zephaniah Hough Edward Harp [oscph Skinner the distribution of these those who had settled in owing: list, also from the Painted Post ID Milo 11 Benton 3 Seneca, including Geneva is 59 65 115 Phelps 2 11 Middlesex T 38 Hopewell II 14 East Farmington 2 4 WAYNE COUNTY. 35 West Farming-ton 12 55 Brighton 4 20 Canandaigua 8 106 Lima 4 23 West Palmyra 4 14 Rush 9 :,(; South Bristol 4 20 Henrietta 1 s North Bristol 4 13 Sparta 1 5 East Bloomrield 10 65 Geneseo s 34 West Bloomfield 7 26 Wayne 1 9 Indian Lands (Leicester) 4 17 Erwin 11 59 Victor 4 2(1 Canisteo 10 50 Richmond... ... 1 2 Avon 10 W Mendon 2 10 Caledonia 10 44 Pittsford 8 28 Total 205 1081 Most of the pioneers of Ontario county and the military tract who came in prior to the beginning- of the present century, and who did not come from southward, as before mentioned, took the water route from Albany, by way of the Mohawk River, Wood Creek, Oneida Lake, Os- wego River, and the Clyde. In 1701 what was called the "Geneva road" was built, extending from Whitestown to Geneva, and thence on to Canandaigua. It was for much of the distance merely a cleared track through the forest ; but bad as it was it was influential in pro- moting the western settlements. Here is what Charles Williamson wrote to England regarding it : To improve our communication with the coast seemed to be all that was necessary to render the country equal to any part of America for comfort and convenience ; in many things, particularly the climate, we had much the advantage. To remedy this inconvenience as to roads, the Legislature of the State had, tw an act passed in the Sessions of 1797* taken the road from Fort Schuyler to Geneva under their patronage. A lottery had been granted for the opening and improving of certain great roads ; among these this road was included. The inhabitants made a volun- tary offer of their services, to aid the State commissioner, and subscribed 4,000 days work, which they performed with fidelity and cheerfulness. By this generous and uncommon exertion, and by some other contributions, the State commissioner was enabled to complete this road of near one hundred miles, opening it sixty-four feet wide, and paving with logs and gravel the moist parts of the low country. Hence the road from Fort Schuyler on the Mohawk River, to Genesee, from being in the month of June, 1797, little better than an Indian path, was so far improved that a stage started from Fort Schuyler on the 30th of September, and arrived at the hotel in Geneva, in the afternoon of the third day, with four passengers. Settlements along this road were rapidly increased after its opening. This highway was greatly improved within a few years, particularly in 1794, when a commission was appointed to open " The Great Genesee 36 LANDMARKS OF Road" six rods wide from old Fort Schuyler to the Cayuga Ferry; and again in L796-7, when a considerable sum was expended in improving the road. In the year 1800, what was called "The Seneca Road Com- pany " was chartered for the improvement of the highway from Utica to Canandaigua. The capital stock of the company was $11,000, and [edediah Sanger, Charles Williamson, Benjamin Walker, and Israel Chapin were appointed commissioners. In L798 the first State roads were laid out from Conewagas, on the Genesee River, to the mouth of Buffalo Creek, and to Lewiston, on Niagara River. Other early roads more directly connected with the settlement of Wayne county will be described in the next chapter. This chapter may be properly closed with a quotation from a descript- ive letter on the Genesee country written in 1792, as follows: On the 12th of February, 1792, I left Albany on my route to the Genesee country; but the country was thought so remote and so very little known, that I could not prevail on the owner of the sled I had engaged to go further than Whitestown, a new settlement on the head of the Mohawk River, one hundred miles west of Albany. The road, as far as Whitestown, had been made passable for wagons, but from that to the Genesee River it was little better than an Indian path, just sufficiently opened to allow a sled to pass, and the most impassable streams bridged. At Whitestown I was obliged to change my sled; the Albany driver would proceed no further. He found that the next 150 miles we were not only obliged to take provision for our- selves and our horses, but also blankets as a substitute for beds. After leaving Whitestown we found only a few straggling huts scattered along the the path at the distance of ten to twenty miles, and they affording nothing but the convenience of fire and a kind of shelter from the snow. On the evening of the third day's journey from Whitestown we were very agreeably surprised to find ourselves on the east side of Seneca Lake, which we found perfectly open and free from ice as in the month of June; and what added to our surprise and admiration, was to see a boat ami canoe plying on the lake This, after having passed from New York over 360 miles of country completely frozen, was a sight pleasing and interesting. We then crossed the outlet of the lake, and arrived at the settlement of Geneva, consisting of a few families, who had been drawn thither from the convenience of the situation and the beauty of the adjoining country. . . . From Geneva to Cana- darqua the road is only the Indian path, a little improved the first five miles over gentle swellings of land, interspersed with bottoms seemingly rich; the remainder of the road to Canadarqua, the county town, sixteen miles, was, the greatest part of the distance, through a rich, heavy-timbered land. On this road there were only two families settled. Canadarqua, the county town, consisted of only two small frame houses and a few lints, surrounded with thick woods. The few inhabitants received me with much hospitality 1 found there abundance of excellent venison. From Canadarqua to the Genesee River, twenty-six miles, it is almost totally uninhabited, only four families residing on the road. The country is beautifully diversified with hill and dale, and, m many places, we found openings of two and three hundred WAYNE COUNTY. :!? acres, free from all timber and even bushes, which, on our examining, proved to be of a rich, deep soil. It seemed that, by only enclosing with one of these openings a proportionable quantity of timbered land, an enclosure might be made similar to the parks of England. At the Genesee River I found a small Indian store and tavern; the river was not then frozen over, but was low enough to be forded. As yet there are no settlements of any consequence in the Genesee country. That established by a society of Friends, on the west side of the Seneca Lake, is the most considerable ; it consists of about forty families. But the number of Indians in the adjoining country, when compared with the few inhabitants who ventured to winter in the country, is so great, that I found them under serious apprehensions for their^safety. Even in this state of nature, the county of Ontario shows every sign of future respectability. In subsequent letters descriptive of the county in 1796, four years later, the same writer pictures the country under somewhat different conditions. Various settlements, he said, "had begun to assume an appearance of respectability never before instanced in so new a country." It is probably true that not in the history of the country has a wil- derness country been so rapidly peopled and improved as the old county of Ontario. " Much pains had been taken," continued the writer, "to induce the different settlers at an early period to build mills, and every encouragement was given them." A newspaper had been established at Bath. The town of Canadarqua (Canandaigua), had assumed the appearance of a handsome village. The town of Geneva in that year had received a great addition by the laying out of a street on the sum- mit of a rising ground, along the west bank of the lake ; at the present day one of the handsomest village streets to be found anywhere. A sloop was on the stocks to run between Geneva and Catharine's Town, at the head of the lake. A printing office was established in Geneva, and several new settlements had been begun. The Mud Creek region in which we are especially interested, received the writer's attention also. Speaking of new mills, he said that one was built on the outlet of Canadarqua Lake near its junction with Mud Creek (Lyons), both of which are very considerable streams, and "run through a great extent of country already well settled." "In the settlement of Mud Creek alone, there were for sale, last fall, not less than 10,000 bushels of wheat, of an excellent quality." The settlers on the Genesee River were then receiving their salt from the Onondaga works, and their stores from Albany. "Mr. Granger," he continues, "last winter built a schooner of forty tons which was launched early in April; before the middle of May she made a trip to Niagara, with two hundred barrels of provisions, and there 38 LANDMARKS OF were then laying on the beach two hundred barrels more, ready to be put on board on her return." As to the character of the people who were settling in this section the writer said: "The rapid progress of this new country, in every comfort and convenience, has not only caused the emigration of vast numbers of substantial farmers, but also of men of liberal education, who- find here a society not inferior to that in the oldest country settlements in America. The schools are far from being indifferent, and even the foundations of public libraries are already laid." After describing the climate and soil of the country in favorable terms, the writer continues: "The settlements already formed on the principal navigations, and whose inhabitants are used to business, and respectably connected, find, at an early period, the most advantageous markets for their surplus produce. To Canada, beef, salt, pork, flour, and whisky, are already sent to a great amount." " The success of every individual who has emigrated to the Genesee country, has stamped a greater value on the lands than was ever known in any place so recently settled, and so distant from the old settled country." As to the facilities for reaching this section near the close of the cen- tury, the writer said: "The most convenient route for Europeans to come to the Genesee country will be to land at New York; they will with much ease reach Albany by water, and from thence they can either hire wagons or take navigation by the canals (the canal of the Inland Lock Navigation Company), or the Mohawk river, to Geneva. Unless the water be in good order, I should certainly prefer the land journey. A wagon, with two oxen and two horses will go twenty miles per day with a load of ">(> ewt." It is unnecessary to continue these extracts further, and we need only add that the writer of that earl}- da}-, now almost a century ago, could as a rule find no terms too complimentry in describing the region of which Wayne county now forms a part. It was, indeed, a settlers' paradise, and to-day will compare favorably with any other section of the country. WAYNE COUNTY. 39 CHAPTER V. Beginning of Settlement in the Territory of Wayne County — Early Map of Western New York — Map of the "Genesee Lands" — Localities First Settled in Wayne County —Beginning at East Palmyra — Importance of Ganargwa Creek — First Improvement at Sodus Bay — Improvement of Highways — Settlements in Various Localities — The Threatened Canadian Invasion — Final Establishment of Peaceful Conditions — Estimate of Williamson's Policy. From the foregoing pages the reader should have gained a general knowledge of the progress of settlement in the Genesee country down to near the beginning of the present century (aside from that portion now embraced in Wayne county), and the bright prospects offered by this favored region to further immigration. We may, therefore, now turn our attention to the story of the first settlements in what is Wayne county, which carries us back to a few years earlier date than the period under consideration in the final pages of the preceding chapter. It is not surprising that the pioneers of our county settled where they did — on or near the banks of the Ganargwa. It was a picturesque stream, winding its devious way through the thick forest; its waters teemed with fish ; there were available mill sites along its course ; the land along its valley was fertile and easily tillable ; and, moreover, its generally sluggish stream was a highway on which the pioneer could bring to his wilderness home his household goods far more easily than by any other method. It must be remenbered that the first road opened (1796) westward from Whitestown, near Utica, came on to Geneva, and that the Cayuga bridge was built in 1800, making that route the one selected for nine- tenths of the westward travel. This highway left the territory of Wayne county in a measure isolated and added to the importance of the water way that was followed by many of the pioneers of thiscountv — up the Hudson or to Albany from New England points; thence to Schenectady by land; up the Mohawk to the site of Rome; a short portage to Wood Creek; down Oneida Lake to the Oswego River; thence to the Seneca River, up the Clyde, and from the "Forks" WAYNE COUNTY. 11 (Lyons) along- the Ganargwa (Mud) Creek and the outlet. It was a toilsome journey, but was generally preferable to the overland route, especially in summer or autumn, for several years after settlement began. The accompanying map shows the earl)' lines of travel across the State, and other interesting" facts. It was only a very short time after the beginning of improvements at Canandaigua and Geneva, noticed in the preceding chapter, when preparations were made to open up the rich lands along the Ganargwa. What is called "The New State Road" on the map of 1809 was built during the first decade of the century, and passed directly across Wayne county. A glance at the accompanying map of the Phelps and Gorham purchase will show that in the part which finally became Wayne county, in township 12, range 1, William Bacon and others were purchasers; township 13, range 1, was sold to Elijah Austin or George Joy, his assignee; township 12, range 2, was purchased by John Swift and John Jenkins; and township 12, range 3, by Warner, Comstock and others. It was in township 12, range 2, that settlement in Wayne county began. John Swift and Col. John Jenkins, who bought it, began its survey into farm lots in March, 1789. Jenkins was a practical surveyor and built a cabin on the bank of Ganargwa Creek, about two miles below the site of Palmyra village. His assistants were Alpheus Harris, who was a nephew, Solomon Earle, Baker, and Daniel Ransom. A tragedy was at hand. One morning while the party were asleep in their cabin, beside a fire, a party of four Tuscarora Indians crept up, fired their guns through spaces between the logs, killed Baker and severely wounded Earle ; the other two escaped unhurt, encountered the murderers, secured two of their rifles and a tomahawk and drove them away. In the morning after burying Baker, they took Earle and started for Geneva to give an alarm. The Indians were pursued, two of them captured and executed at what is now Elmira. They were killed with the tomahawk. The trial was by a sort of lynch court, but the whole proceeding and the bloody method of execution seem to have been justified. During the summer of 1789, John Swift moved into the township, and built a log house and storehouse at "Swift's Landing," as it was called for a time, a little north of the lower end of Main street, Pal- myra. He was not long alone, for before the close of the year 1789, Webb Harwood, from Adams, Mass., came in with his wife and built a 6 49 LANDMARKS OF cabin on high ground near the site of the first lock west of Palmyra. He was accompanied by Noah Porter, Jonathan Warner and Bennet Bates, all single men. Mr. Turner collected the following" names of settlers who came in during 1790, 1791, and 1792, giving them in the order of their arrival as nearly as possible: Lemuel Spear, David Jack- ways, James Galloway, Jonathan Millet, the Mattisons, Gideon Durfee the elder, and his sons, Gideon, Edward, Job, Pardon, Stephen, and Lemuel; Isaac Springer, William, James and Thomas Rogers, John Russell, Nathan Harris, David Wilcox, Joel Foster, Abraham Foster,Elias Reeves, Luther Sanford ; and in addition to these there came to what is now Macedon, but then in Palmyra, Messrs. Reid, Delano, Packard Barney, Broan, Adam Kingman, Hill, Lapham, Benjamin and Philip Woods. What became East Palmyra was settled in 1791 by a company which took the name of the Long Island Company, through their agents, Joel Foster, Elias Reeves, and Luke Foster. The company sailed from Long Island in April, 1792. The located on or near Ganargwa 1 Creek. The details of this settlement, and all others in this town will be found in the later history of the town of Palmyra. Soon after Mr. Williamson had perfected his title to the "Gore" 2 his 1 Mud Creek until recently, The old name was blended with the recollection of stagnant waters, bogs, chills and fevers. When its whole aspect had been changed by the hand of improvement, and it became even picturesque and beautiful in its meanderings through cultivated fields, and a rural scenery seldom equaled, the dwellers in its valley were enabled, with the help of Lewis Morgan, esq., of Rochester, to come at its ancient Seneca name, which they adopted. — Turner' s 1' helps and Cor ham' s Purchase, foot note, p. 263. 2 Before the State had acknowledged the correctness of the new pre-emption line, patents had been issued covering nearly the whole of "The Gore." Mr. Williamson having purchased through the agency of Johnstone, all the patents, had so fortified the claim of his principals, that he had ventured upon exercising ownership; though title was yet an open question. In March, 1795, while a bill was pending in the Legislature, providing for running a third line, by the surveyor-general, and if the one run by Mr. Ellicott should prove correct, to give the associates other lands in lieu of those that had been patented upon the gore; Philip Schuyler introduced amendments, which prevailed, making it discretionary with the surveyor-general, allowing him to waive the running of a new line, if he satisfied himself that Mr. Elli- cott's line was correct; and leave it to the commissioners of the land office to ar- range matters between the holders of the patents and the associates, or, Mr. Will- iamson, holding, as he did, by purchase, most of the patents, t<> perfect the title to "The (lore," nearly 84,000 acres. As an equivalent for what he had paid in the pur- chase of patents, the commissioners of the land office conveyed to him about the same quantity of land embraced in the patents, off from the military tract, in what is now Wolcott arid Galen. — Turner's Phelps and Gor ham's Purchase, p. 261-62. WAYNE COUNTY. 48 attention was drawn to the conditions surrounding" the region at the junction of Ganargwa Creek and the Canandaigua outlet. He saw the natural beauty and desirability of the locality and determined to im- prove it. The two streams at this point reminded him of the Rhone and the Saone, which, with a certain similarity in the landscape, led him to give the place the name of Lyons. In May, 17^9, a small colony, made up of the families of Nicholas Stansell, William Stansell, and a brother-in-law, John Featherly, had reached that point by the water route already described and built log huts half a mile south of the site of Lyons' village. William Stansell had been here as one of Sullivan's expedition. The Stansells and Featherly were the pioneers of that region. Joining with the pioneers of Phelps they opened a road to that neighborhood and in the direction of the mill at Waterloo (now in Seneca county). A little corn and potatoes was raised by them in 1789, which were the first crops raised in the county. They suffered severe hardships for a time, and a son of one of the first Stan- sell families told Mr. Turner that they once got out of corn and bought some of the Onondaga Indians ; for days they were without provisions, only such as could be obtained from the forest, the streams, and their cows. Mr. Williamson made Charles Cameron his agent at Lyons and began operations there in the summer of 1794 The first framed house in that region was built for Mr. Cameron, with a barn. Nearly 1,000 acres of land was reserved and afterwards sold to Judge Tower. Be- fore the close of 1790, Henry Tower, then agent for Mr. Williamson, built what was long known as Tower's mills at "Alloway, " as the place was then called. Meanwhile Williamson had also selected Sodus Bay as a point for establishing what he hoped would prove a great commercial center. His hopes were based largely upon the belief that the waterway already described, with Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River would be the future paths of transportation for all this region. In the spring of 1794 he had roads cut out from Palmyra to Phelpstown. His presence at Sodus Bay with a corps of surveyors, road makers, and other aids, convinced the settlers that they were to witness the planting of a vil- lage that would some day be a city. Williamson preceded the improve- ments by a written announcement of his plans. These contemplated the survey of "a town between Salmon Creek and Great Sodus Bay, and a spacious street, with a large square in the center, between the falls of Salmon Creek and the anchorage in the bay, and mills are to be 44 LANDMARKS OF built at the falls on Salmon Creek." To this somewhat inspiring- declaration he added: "As the harbor of Great Sodus is acknowledged to be the finest on Lake Ontario, this town, in the convenience of the mills and extensive fisheries, will command advantages unknown to the country, independent of the navigation of the Great Lake and the .St. Lawrence." There is a vein of similar enthusiasm running through all of Williamson's operations, and it must be said that many of the plans of himself and the association were more or less visionary. This is not to be wondered at, when we consider the wholly undeveloped condition of the country, and the primitive modes of travel and trans- portation. The new town was to be surveyed by Joseph Colt. The in-lots con- tained a quarter of an acre, and the out-lots ten acres. The in-lots were offered for one hundred dollars, and the out-lots for four dollars per acre ; the farming lands in that region at one dollar and fifty cents an acre. Thomas Little and a Mr. Moffat were made the local agents. A hotel was built at a cost of over $5, (Kin, and opened by Moses and Jabez Sill. Mills were built at the falls on Salmon Creek, a pleasure boat placed on the bay, and other minor improvements made. In making roads, surveys, and erecting buildings, etc., more than $20,- ooo were expended in the first two years. It was a characteristic of Mr. Williamson to be liberal in the use of money and sanguine of the results; but as we have before intimated, there was much to justify his enthusiasm regarding this particular locality. While Williamson and others named were thus actively engaged in promoting the early settlements of Wayne county, this energetic agent was no less industrious in other parts of the purchase. He was con- spicuous in the measures adopted for opening the old road from Fort Schuyler to Geneva, and in 1 7 i » 8 joined with Ellicott in making the "Niagara road, " from the Genesee River westward (the new "State road" on the map of 1809). He was also active in the building of the roads from Lyons to Palmyra; from "Hopeton to Townsend's;" from "Seneca Falls to Lyons mills;" and other early highways. He was elected to the Legislature from Ontario county in 1796, and in that body for three years devoted his great energy to the advancement of the interests of Western New York. 1 1 About the time of the projection of the State road west from Rome, Mr. William- son was riding upon Long Island, in company with De Witt Clinton, who, remark- ing upon the smoothness of the road, said to Mr. W. : "If you had such roadstoyour WAYNE COUNTY. 45 It was fortunate for the rapid settlement of this region that Mr. Williamson was backed by men with ample means. They could, and did, sell their lands with little or no cash payments, and advanced large sums for improvements, as we have noted. So liberal had been the expenditures that as late as 1800 the entire enterprise seemed a doubtful one as to ultimate profits. Mr. Williamson's first engagement with the London Associates was for seven years, though he remained considerably longer. Those who came with him from vScotland, were Charles Cameron, who has been mentioned, as assisting Mr. William- son in many of his early undertakings. He was the local agent at Lyons and probably shipped from there the first produce sent to an eastern market from the Genesee country. He was afterwards a mer- chant at Canandaigua; John Johnstone, also an employee of William- son; Henry Tower, an agent in the building of the mills at "Allo- way" — Lyons, and afterwards purchased them and lived there man3 T years; Hugh McCarthy, settled in Sparta. Besides these there were James Tower and Andrew Smith. When Sir William Pulteney and Governor Hornby made a division of their lands, John Johnstone be- came agent for the Hornby estate, and thus continued until 180G. Mr. Williamson died in London in 1808. Besides the settlements at the three points named — Palmyra, Lyons, and Sodus — the pioneers who came into the county prior to the year 1800 located chiefly along the Ganargwa. Even in this favorite locality there was as late as 1819, according to Mr. Turner, a space of several miles where farm improvements were insignificant and log houses pre- dominated. Some of the earliest settlers along the creek, besides the .Long Island colony, were Thomas Goldsmith, Philip Lusk, Jacob Lusk, Isaac Lusk, John Tibbits, Oliver Sanford, Luther Sanford, Oliver Clark, James Parshall, Thomas Cornell, James Galloway, Humphrey Sherman, Reuben Starks. John Spoor settled early where " Lockpitt " was founded, and was succeeded there by Nicholas Stansell. The Lusks settled where Newark has grown up. Other settlers in old Pal- myra were: Thaddeus Taft, Joshua Bridge, Weaver Osborne, Cyrus Foster, Jeremiah Smith, Caleb McCumber, Israel Parshall, Joseph country I would make you a visit." "It can be done with proper exertions." Mr. Clinton promised him his co-operation, and afterwards assisted in procuring the in- corporation of the Seneca Turnpike Company, in which the State road was merged. Mr. Clinton's first visit to this region was in 1810. — Foot Note, Tin-tier' s Phelps and Gorham s Purchase, p. 2-J2. 46 LANDMARKS OF Shoemaker, Oliver Booth, Ahaz Aldrieh, Samuel Millet, John Sher- man, Silas Hart, Thomas Glover, Joseph Tinkum, James Galloway and William Starks. What is now the town of Walworth was first set- tled in 1799, by the families of Andrew, John, Samuel and Daniel Mil- ler: a younger brother of these named Alexander, also came in at that time, and two years later, in 1801, Stephen and Daniel Douglass moved into the town. In what is now the town of Williamson, and near the village of the same name, were located a little prior to 1794 the families of Timothy Smith and Henry Lovell ; the latter was one of the first Board of As- sessors of the town. Maeedon was settled in 1789 and 1790 by Webb Harwood, Ebenezer Reed, Israel Delano, Darius Comstock and Paul Reed. Settlement in Huron began in 1796, when Col. Peregrine Fitzhugh and William Helms came in. Other towns as at present constituted were first settled a little later; but it is not our purpose to continue details of pioneer arrivals at this point in the narrative, as they will all be described in the subsequent town histories. An early road was opened along the' lake shore, fol- lowing generelly the Indian trail, from Pultneyville to Irondequoit; this preceded the Ridge road. Many of the settlers in the northern part of the count}" located along this road. The condition of the pioneers of Wayne county was not in all respects a happy one, notwithstanding that they were greatly favored in others. During the first five or six years there was ever present the harassing fear of Indian attacks, to which we have alluded in a preceding chap- ter. This was not wholly dissipated until the successful conclusion of the Pickering treaty in the fall of 1794 at Canandaigua. This, with Wayne's victory in the W r est, brought substantial peace. A brief refer- ence, however, should be made to an attempted invasion of the Genesee country from Canada, which was projected even while the arrange- ments for the Pickering conference were in progress. Governor Sim- coe was in power at that time in Canada, and evinced a contemptible jealous)' and hatred of the people who were so rapidly coming into Western New York. It is said that he threatened to send Mr. William- son to England in irons if he ever ventured into Canada. In August, I 79 I, Simcoe sent a representative to Williamson with a protest against his work in establishing the settlement at Sodus Bay, pending the com- plete execution of the treaty terminating the Revolutionary War. WAYNE COUNTY. 47 Williamson was absent at Bath and the messenger left his errand with Mr. Moffat, with notice that he would return in ten days for a reply. Williamson arranged to go at once to Sodus and meet Simcoe's messen- ger. It developed that Mr. Williamson had known the messenger in England and their interview was friendly; at the same time the mes- senger was directed to inform Governor Simcoe that no attention would be paid to his message and that Mr. Williamson would proceed, as he had before, with his work at settlement; that if interfered with, the invaders would be met with forcible resistance. It should be explained that after the declaration of peace following the Revolution, Great Britain complained that those parts of the treaty which required that those States in which British subjects were prevented by law from re- covering debts due to them prior to the Revolution, had been repealed (as by the treaty they ought to have been), and also that British prop- erty had been confiscated since the period limited in the treaty for such confiscations, and no compensation had been allowed to those who had suffered thereby. On the other hand, the Americans complained that after the cessation of hostilities, negroes and other property were carried away by the British soldiers, contrary to stipulations in the preliminary peace treaty. The British retained possession of posts on our borders until the settlement of all these matters in 1796. All the settlements in the Genesee country soon learned of the threat- ened invasion; and at the same time it was noticed that the conduct of the Indians seemed to favor such a movement. Harmar and St. Clair had been defeated in the West, and Wayne's success was yet problem- atical. It was well known that the British were aiding and abetting the Indians against Wayne, and many of the Senecas had armed and gone to join the forces in the West. Should Wayne be defeated, as all the settlers thought extremely probable, what would be more likely than that the Senecas and their allies would return flushed with victory to lay waste the new country? With these things in view, it is not sur- prising that the landing of the messenger from Simcoe and his little party created widespread dismay. Immediately after the departure of Simcoe's messenger, Mr. William- son and his coadjutors took immediate steps to prepare for possible trouble and to assure the settlers of protection. He sent a post rider to both Albany and Philadelphia, with messages explaining the whole situation. In one of the letters he said: 48 LANDMARKS OF It is pretty well ascertained that for some time past, quantities of military stores and ammunition have been forwarded to Oswego. This makes me think it not im- probable that Lieutenant Sheafe (he was Simcoe's messenger) will take a forcible possession of Sodus on his return. I shall, however, without relaxing, go on with my business there, until drove off by a superior force. It is needless for me to trouble you with any com meDts on this unparalleled piece of insolence, and gross insult to the government of the United States. l While Mr. Williamson was thus exerting- himself to support his posi- tion in his settlement and to provide for adequate protection by the government, affairs were reaching a climax in another direction. " Mad Anthony Wayne " was on the war-path and four days after Sim- coe had sent his message to Mr. Williamson, met the Indians in the West and crushed them. The importance of this victory, both to the settlers in the (ienesee country and to the country at large, was great It gave security and hope to the harassed settlers and permanently ended the long succession of Indian treaties that had been more or less fruitless. The Senecas returned to their homes humbled and subdued, 1 It is worth while to gain a new knowledge of Simcoe's operations during the year in question (1794), as detailed in another letter from Mr. Williamson to Sir William Pulteney, in which he wrote as follows: " I shall make no further comment on this business, than to observe, that anything short of actual hostilities, it com- pletes the unequalled insolent conduct of Mr. Simcoe toward this government. Mr. vSimcoe's personal treatment of myself and you, I treat with the scorn it deserves, but I beg leave to give you a sketch of his political conduct. On his first arrival in this country, by deep-laid schemes he has prevented every possibility of an accommoda- tion between the country and the hostile Indians, and this summer, by his intrigues, he has drawn several tribes of friendly Indians from the territory of the United States to the British side of the lines, and left nothing undone to induce the Six Nations, our neighbors, to take up the hatchet the moment he gives the word. You must be acquainted with his marching a body of armed troops, and erecting a fort at the rap- ids of the Miami seventy miles within the territory of the United States, but this being an extensive wilderness, seemed of less importance. Not content with this, he has now interfered with our settlements, in a manner so unlike the dignity of a great nation that it must astonish you. If it is the intention of the British ministry, by low and underhanded schemes, to keep alive a harassing war against helpless women and children, or by murders on the frontier, to add to the list of the murders already committed by the influence of their servants here, and to treat this govern- ment with the most unwarrantable insolence and contempt, I allow that Mr. Simcoe is a most industrious and faithful servant the British government ever had. But if it is their intention to cultivate a friendly intercourse with this country, it never can take place while such is the conduct of their governor here. . . . If these trans- actions are in consequence of orders from Great Britain, and their views are hostile, there is nothing further to be said. 5 {, o fr \ O fL&LA. It sJ-0LA?!t c/~L< WAYNE COUNTY. 49 and entertaining ideas of Wayne born in the consternation and awe that fell upon them when they saw the warriors fall like leaves before his onslaught. Prior to the visit of Lieutenant Sheaffe to Mr. Williamson with Sim- coe's message, and on the 3d of July, the War Department had been specifically informed of the exposed condition of the settlers in the Genesee country. The acts of the British to which we have alluded were made the subject of a letter from General Washington to John Jay, then minister in London, in which he wrote as follows: ( )f this irregular and high-handed proceeding of Mr, Simcoe, which is no longer masked, I would rather hear what the ministry of Great Britain will say. . . This may be considered as the most open and daring act of the British agents in America, though it is not the most hostile and cruel ; for there does not remain a doubt in the mind of any well informed person in this country, not shut against conviction, that all the difficulties we encounter with the Indians, their hostilities, the murders of helpless women and children, along our frontiers, result from the conduct of agents of Great Britain in this country. In the same letter Washington predicted that it would be impossible to keep this country on peaceful terms with England long, unless the various posts were surrendered to us. Congratulations upon Wayne's victory and the resultant peace were general, and nothing more was heard of invasions from Canada. There were other hardships which the early settlers were forced to endure, but they were mostly men of stability, perseverance and energy. Buying his land on easy terms at a low price, and inspired with the vigor of young manhood, the pioneer thought the road to independence would not be a long nor a very hard one ; but many were grievously disappointed. The meager crops raised on the small clearing were needed for home consumption ; or, if there was a small surplus, it was difficult to dispose of it. The roads to a market were often impassable for teams ; interest accumulated, and what was worse than all else, sickness was very prevalent in many localities, and good medical attendance almost impossible to obtain. Fever and ague was espe- cially afflicting and disheartening. This intermittent disease gave the settlers their "sick days" and their "well days," * and they could work 1 Dr. Coventry, who lived near Geneva in 1792-4 said that those seasons were very sickly in proportion to the population, in all the Genesee country. "I remember," said he, "when in Geneva there was but a single individual who could leave her bed. In 1795 no rain fell in June or July; water in the lakes was lowered ; every inlet 7 50 LANDMARKS OF only on the latter. These troubles, with the others we have described, would doubtless have driven many away from their homes, had it not been for the liberal, energetic and protective policy adopted by Mr. Williamson. This chapter may be closed with an original article, showing clearly the policy of Mr. Williamson, and its effects on settlements, which was printed in the Commercial Agricultural Journal, in London, England, in August, 1799. It was as follows: This immense undertaking' is under the direction and in the name of Captain Williamson, formerly a British officer, but is generally supposed in America to be a joint concern between him and Sir William Patence, of London; in England Patence is believed to be the proprietor and Williamson his agent. The land in the Genesee country, or that part of it which belongs to the State of Massachusetts, was sold to a Mr. Phelps for five pence per acre; by him in 1790, to Mr. Morris, at one shilling per acre, being estimated at a million of acres, on condition that the money was to be returned provided Captain Williamson, who was to view the lands, should not find them answerable to the description. He was pleased with them, and, on survey, found the tract to contain one hundred and twenty thousand acres more than the estimate, the whole of which was conveyed to him. This district is bounded on one side by Lake Ontario, and on the other by the River Genesee. Williamson also bought some other land of Mr. Morris, so that he is now proprietor of more than a million and a half aci'es. After surveying the whole, he resolved to found at once several large establishments rather than one capital colony. He therefore fixed on the most eligible place for building towns, as central spots for his whole system. These were Bath, on the Conhockton, Williamsburg, on the Genesee; Geneva, at the foot of Lake Seneca; and Great Sodus, on Lake Ontario. The whole territory he divided into squares of six miles. Each of these squares he forms into a district. Sure of finding settlers and purchasers when he had established a good communica- tion between his new tract and Philadelphia, and as the old road was by way of New York and Albany, Williamson opened a road which has shortened the distance three hundred miles. He has also continued his roads from Kath to Geneva, to Canandaigua, and to Great Sodus, and several roads of communication. He has already erected ten mills — three corn and seven sawing — has built a great many houses, and has begun to clear land. He put himself to the heavy expense of trans- porting eighty families from Germany to his settlements; but owing to a bad choice made by his agent at Hamburg, they did little, and after a short time set off for Canada. He succeeded better in the next set, who were mostly Irish. They put the roads into condition, and gave such a difference to the whole that the lands which he sold at one dollar an acre was soon worth three and he disposed of eight hundred thousand acres in this way so as to pay the first purchase, the whole expense incurred, and has made a profit of fifty pounds. The rapid increase of property is owing to to the money first advanced, but the great advantage is Williamson's constant became a seat of putrefaction. . . In the Autumn of 1796 along an extent of four miles of a thinly-inhabited road, '24 deaths took place from dysentery." WAYNE COUNTY. 51 residence on the settlement, which enables him to conclude any contract or to remove any difficulty which may stand in the way; besides, his land is free from all dispute or question of occupancy, and all his settlement is properly ascertained and marked out. There has been a gradual rise in values, and a proviso is always inserted in the deed of sale to those who purchase a large quantity, that a certain number of acres shall be cleared, and a certain number of families settled, within eighteen months. Those who buy from five hundred to one thousand acres are only obliged to settle one family. These clauses are highly useful, as they draw an increase of population and prevent the purchase of lands for speculation only. Captain Williamson, however, never acts up to the rigor of his claim where any known obstacles impede the execution. The terms of payment are to discharge half the purchase in three years, and the remainder in six, which enables the industrious to pay from the produce of the land. The poorer families he supplies with an ox, a cow, or even a home. To all the settlements he establishes, he takes care - to secure a constant supply of provisions for the settlers, or supplies them from his own store. When five or six settlers build together, he always builds a house at his own expense, which soon sells at an advanced price. Every year he visits each settlement, which tends to diffuse a spirit of industry and promote the sale of lands, and he employs every other means he can suggest to be useful to the inhabitants. He keeps stores of medicines, encourages races and amusements, and keeps a set of beautiful stallions. He has nearly finished his great undertaking, and proposes to take a voyage to Eng- land to purchase the best horses, cattle, sheep, implements of agriculture, etc. Captain Williamson has not only the merit of having formed, and that in a judicious manner, this fine settlement, but he has the happiness to live universally respected, honored and beloved. Bath is the chief settlement, and it is to be the chief town of the county of the same name. At the town he is building a school, which is to be endowed with some hundred acres of land. The salary of the master, Williamson means to pay until the instruction of the children shall be sufficient for his support. He has built a session house and a prison, and one good inn, which he has sold for a good profit, and is now building another which is to contain a ball-room. He has also constructed a bridge, which opens a free and easy communication with the other side of the river. He keeps in his own hands some small farms in the vicinity of Bath, which are under the care of a Scotchman, and which appear to be better plowed and managed than most in America. In all the settlements he reserves one estate for himself, the stock on which is remarkably good. These he disposes of occasionally to his friends, on some handsome offers. To the settlements already mentioned he is now adding two others, one at the mouth of the Genesee the other at Braddock, thirty miles farther inland. Great Sodus, on the coast of this district, promises to afford a safe and convenient place for ships, from the depth of water, and it may be easily fortified. The climate here is much more temperate than in Pennsylvania. The winter seldom lasts more than four months, and the cattle even in that season, graze in the forest without inconvenience. These settlements are, however, rather unhealthy, which Captain Williamson ascribes to nothing but the natural effects of the climate on new settlers, and is confined to a few fits of fever with which strangers are seized the first or second year of their arrival. The inhabitants all agree, however, that the climate is unfavorable, and the marshes and pieces of 52 LANDMARKS OF stagnant water are thickly spread over the country ; but these will be drained as the population increases. On the whole, it promises to be one of the most con- siderable settlements in America. CHAPTER VI. Circumstances of the Pioneers — Current Prices of Produce — Inconvenience of Dis- tant Markets — Gradual Improvement of Roads — Old Stage Lines — Erection of Early Mills— Outbreak of the War 1812— Effects of the Conflict in Wayne County— Military Operations at Sodus Bay — Account of a Skirmish — Descent Upon Pultneyville — General Improvements Following the Close of the War. With the establishment of peaceful relations with the Indians and the British, the further opening of roads, and the rapid influx of settlers during the first ten years of the present century, came an era of com- parative prosperity to the pioneers of Wayne county. J Hardships and privation were, of course, still common to all. The area of cleared land was yet small, and difficult of tillage; prices of crops were low and markets far distant ; and sickness, which seems to prevail in all new settlements, was still general in many localities. A partial idea of what the community had to contend with in some respects may be gained from the following list of prices of 1801: Wheat, seventy-five - cents; corn, three shillings; rye, fifty cents; hay, six to twelve dol- lars per ton ; butter and cheese, eleven to sixteen cents a pound ; salt pork, eight to ten dollars per cwt. ; whisky, fifty to seventy-five cents per gallon; salt, five dollars per barrel; sheep, two to four dollars per head; milch cows, sixteen to twenty-five dollars a head ; horse, 10<> to 125 dollars per span; working oxen, fifty to eighty dollars per yoke; laborers, wages, ten to fifteen dollars a month, with board. A home- made suit of clothes sold for four to five dollars. In 1805 a settler on the Purchase began building a frame house, and wanted a small quantity of glass and nails. They were not to be easily obtained. He started with an ox team and sled, and fifty bushels of 1 The reader will have noticed that we often use the name of Wayne county in de- scribing events that occurred long before the county was organized. In doing so, reference is made only to the territory afterwards embraced in the county. We adopt this course to avoid useless repetition and explanation. WAYNE COUNTY. 58 wheat, for Utica, more than a hundred miles distant, where he sold the grain for $1.68 per bushel to Watts Sherman, the early merchant of that place, bought the wrought nails for eighteen cents per pound, and two boxes of glass for $7.50. The bill of goods was made out by B. Gibson, the subsequent prominent banker of Canandaigua. Stephen Durfee left a record that wheat in the few first years of settlement sold often at thirty-seven and a half cents, and on one occasion at twenty- five cents a bushel. In the fall of 1804 a hundred bushels of wheat were taken on a wagon from this locality to Albany, with the help of four yoke of oxen — two hundred and thirty miles. The wheat was bought in Bloomfield for five shillings currency per bushel ; it sold in Albany for seventeen and one-fourth shillings. This was a good profit; but it was a long distance to haul, and over very poor roads. In fact it was seen clearly enough that the conditions of transportation from one point to another governed prices of crops and merchandise, and that the great need of the new country was better roads. As the high- ways were improved, and the quantity of grain, and particularly of wheat, grown in the county and vicinity greatly increased, many hardy men engaged in teaming and the roads eastward presented a bus) 7 scene. The so-called "Pennsylvania wagons" were numerous, drawn by six horses, and carrying immense loads. This business was very prosperous until about the time of the opening of the canal. In the latter part of this period wheat was sometimes carried to Albany at two shillings and sixpence per bushel. Large quantities of grain went into the distilleries and were turned into whisky, which found a ready sale. Small distilleries were very numerous, though few were large, and many of them were built of logs. Their operation constituted a large part of the business enterprise of the first quarter of the present century, and whisky drinking was as common as water drinking. The sale of ashes and the manufacture of crude potash was of great im- portance to the pioneers. The ashes cost nothing but the transporta- tion, for their production was incumbent upon the clearing of land, and as late as 1815 their sale was a principal source of obtaining groceries and occasionally a little money. Stages were running regularly over the great turnpike from Utica to Canandaigua at the beginning of the century. The long bridge at Cayuga was finished in 1800, and many branch roads were laid out and somewhat improved before 1815. Ganargwa Creek was made a public highway in 1799, with many other streams of this section. In 1800 a 54 LANDMARKS OF good road was made twelve miles westward from the Genesee River at the site of Avon; and at the road called the "new State road" between Lewiston and Rochester, on the accompanying map of 1809, was begun about the same time. But the roads westward from the county were of little importance to the settlers, as far as improving their markets was concerned. In 1804 a road was made through Galen and Palmyra, and onward to the Genesee River. There was only one mail between Canandaigua and Rochester in 1812, and that was carried on horse- back, and, as related, part of the time by a woman. As late as 1813 the ridge road between Rochester and Lewiston was almost impassable in many places, and $5,000 were appropriated by the Legislature for cutting out the path and bridging the streams. For a considerable period, it was thought that land transportation from Wayne county eastward would never, or at least not in many years, compete with the water route. It was this belief that led to the building of Durham boats at Palmyra and elsewhere at a very early date. The erection of the first grist mills in the county created another avenue for disposing of a part of the wheat crops, and at the same time supplied one of the greatest necessities of the pioneers. A mill was built at Lyons in 1800, and one at Palmyra still earlier. Augustus Porter built and operated several mills in different localities in this sec- tion, and in L812 advertised that he would pay one dollar a bushel for wheat at any of his mills. Within a year later it was worth eleven shillings. The multiplication of early stores for barter enabled the farmers who were raising crops prior to he war of 1812, to exchange them for household goods, bringing long-missed comforts to their homes, but generally at high prices. School -houses sprang up in the wilderness, as they always have done in the track of the American pioneer, and simultaneously churches were organized at various points. The Presbyterian church at Palmyra came into existence in L797, and was followed by the Baptist in 1800. In the latter year, also, the Presbyterian church at Lyons was organized. All of these subjects will be further treated in the subsequent histories of the several towns of the county. At the close of the first decade of this century the population of Wayne had reached only 1,110. The entire population of what is now Monroe county, east of the river; Wayne, excepting the eastern towns, and Ontario, Yates and Livingston, was: Males, 21,835; females, L9,681; slaves, 211; total, 42,026. WAYNE COUNTY. 55 A number of the pioneers brought skives into the country with them at an early day and held them in bondage for considerable periods. In what is now the town of Huron, Thomas Helms, who settled about the year 1800, brought about seventy slaves from Maryland and settled at Port Glasgow, on Big Sodus Bay. There is no doubt but he expected to establish the institution permanently. He is reported as a brutal character who cruelly treated the slaves, by whose labor about a hun- dred acres around the bay were cleared up. Upon the death of Helms the hated institution soon expired in that region, but under what con- ditions we have not learned. Col. Peregrine Fitzhugh, who was also from Maryland, brought his slaves with him to Sodus Point. The colonel had been a Revolution- ary soldier, and lived in Geneva three years before settling at the Point. His family, including the slaves, numbered forty persons. These slaves were freed within a few years after their' arrival, and with others, formed a little colony on the " out-lots "at " the city." An act of the Legislature passed April 5, 1810, provided that all per- sons who emigrated hither from Virginia and Maryland in the preced- ing ten years, " who held in their own right slaves, which they brought with them from the said States, be and they are hereby authorized to hire out said slaves to any citizen of this State for a term not exceeding seven years." At the end of this term the slaves so hired out were to be free. The peaceful and hopeful conditions which we have briefly pictured as existing in Wayne county down to about 1812, were now to be rudely dispelled by the culmination of the persistent injustice of Great Britain in her assertion of the right to search neutral vessels for deserters from the royal navy, under which claim hundreds of Americans had been taken from American vessels under the pretense that they were sus- pected of desertion, and compelled to serve under a flag which thev especially detested. On the 20th of June, 1812, President Madison, by authority of Congress, declared war against the mother country. Wayne county constituted a part of the frontier, and, as such, her in- habitants appreciated their exposed situation and were correspondingly agitated at their immediate prospects. Opposite Buffalo was Fort Erie with a small garrison. At the mouth of Niagara River was Fort George, an insignificant work, and a little above the falls was Fort Chippewa, also a small stockade. The war began in the West and on the ocean, but we are concerned only with the operations of Northern New York, 56 LANDMARKS OF which did not commence till considerably later. A general order of the War Department, issued April 21, L812, organized the detached militia of the State into two divisions and eight brigades. Of one of these brigades William Wadsworth, of Ontario county, was made com- mander. The capture of two trading vessels at Ogdensburg in the spring of L812 began hostilities in Northern New York. On a Sabbath morning late in July, a conflict took place at Sackett's Harbor, between five British vessels, and the Oneida, an American vessel under com- mand of Lieut. Melancthon Woolsey, with a few guns on shore. The British vessels were defeated in a humiliating manner and driven off. The command of Lake Ontario now seemed more than ever important. Gen. Henry Deaborn was made commander-in-chief of the Northern Department. The battle at Oueenston in October followed, in which the Americans were finally defeated, losing in one day in killed, wounded and prisoners, about 1,100 men. But this disaster was avenged by several memorable and successful battles on the ocean. An unsuccessful attack was made upon Ogdensburg in September; and early in November, Commodore Isaac Chauncey appeared on Lake On-, tario with a little squadron of American schooners. With these he blockaded a British squadron in Kingston harbor, disabled the Royal George, destroyed one armed schooner, captured three merchant ves- sels, and took several prisoners. He then returned to Sackett's Har- bor. On the 21st of November (1812), a heavy bombardment was made by the British upon old Fort Niagara, which led to preparations for the invasion of Canada by General Smythe, in command at Buffalo; but his loudly proclaimed intention ended in nothing but words. Meanwhile there were active operations in the West. September !(>, L813, Commodore Perry won his memorable victory on Lake Eric and sent his immortal message to his superior, General Harrison: "We have met the enemy and they arc ours." On the 2*2d of February, L813, ( )gdensburg was sacked and partially burned. In April, the fortified position at York, Canada, was captured by the Americans, who, flushed with victory, sailed in considerable force from Sackett's Harbor to attack Fort George. This work was captured, and Forts Erie and Chippewa were abandoned, leaving the Canadian frontier in possession of the Americans. On the 29th of May a large force attacked the post at Sackett's Harbor, which was abandoned by the Americans, and an immense quantity of stores was lost. The other principal events of L813 were ah attack by the British on Schlosser on the night of July 4, WAYNE COUNTY. 57 and an unsuccessful attack by the British on the post of Black Rock, whence they were driven back by the Americans under Gen. Peter B. Porter. In August there was activity on Lake Champlain, and Platts- burg was seized, plundered and partly burned by a British land and water force. In October a large force sailed from Sackett's Harbor, destined to Montreal, but after severe hardships and considerable fight- ing in the freezing weather, the expedition as planned was given up and the flotilla went into winter quarters at French Mills on the Salmon River. Still more distressing events were to occur before the cam- paign closed. Early in December General McClure abandoned Fort George as untenable, and crossed over to Fort Niagara; before leaving the Canada shore he burned the little village of Newark. Fierce re- taliation quickly followed. The enraged British captured Fort Niagara and massacred a part of the garrison ; sacked and burned Buffalo and Black Rock and drove the poor inhabitants far through the winter snows. Meanwhile the naval operations of 1813 were important and resulted generally in success to the American cause. The British began vigorous operations with the opening of the cam- paign of 1814, the events of which can only be briefly alluded to here. Both parties to the conflict had been preparing during the winter to gain the mastery of Lake Ontario. Sir James Yeo appeared on the lake; left Kingston harbor when the ice went out, in command of a large squadron and about 3,000 men. Proceeding to Oswego he cap- tured that post on the 5th of May. They abandoned their purpose of penetrating up the Oswego River and withdrew on the 7th, carrying away several prisoners. In June General Brown marched from Sackett's Harbor and on the 1st of July was near the site of burned Buffalo. Opposite him on the Canadian side was the principal military force un- der command of Lieutenant-General Drummond. Brown was under orders to invade Canada. His force consisted of two brigades of infan- try, one of them commanded by Gen. Winfield Scott, and some artil- lery. This force crossed the river early in the morning of July 3, ap- peared before the fort, and at 6 o'clock the little garrison surrendered. At the same time General Riall, a brave British officer in command under Drummond, was marching towards Fort Erie, when he heard of its investment and capture. He resolved to attack the invaders, and was soon joined by reinforcements from York. General Scott was sent with his brigade to meet this force, accompanied by Towson's artillery. Scott moved on the morning of July 4, pushed on toward Chippewa, 58 LANDMARKS OF and drove in an advanced detachment of British. There he was joined by Brown's whole force, and on the morning of the 5th the two con- tending armies were only two miles apart. A fiercely-fought and san- guinary battle followed in which 604 British and 355 Americans were killed and wounded. It was a crushing defeat for the enemy in that section. Prompt advantage was taken of this situation and the mem- orable and successful battle of Lundy's Lane w r as fought and won on the 24th, in which General Scott gained undying fame; the immediate fruits of the victory, however, were not important. From the 7th to the 14th of August the British besieged Fort Erie, but the Americans successfully resisted the operations. The British force continued to invest the works, and on September 17 the Americans made a brillliant sortie from the fort and captured the advanced works of the enemy, who were driven back to Chippewa with a loss of 1,000 in killed, wounded and prisoners. These several victories, with the triumph of the American arms at Plattsburg, caused great joy throughout the country. In October, General Izard came to the Niagara frontier with 5,000 troops and took command, his rank being higher than General Brown's. The entire force now numbered about 8,000 men. Before they could attack Drummond, he withdrew to Fort George. Early in November General Izard caused Fort Erie to be blown up and he then crossed the river and went into winter quarters at Buffalo and Black Rock. Dur- ing most of this campaign Commodore Chauncey had been blockaded at Sackett's Harbor. He suffered from sickness, but after his partial recovery went out on a cruise and blockaded Kingston Harbor. Dur- ing the occurrence of these events in Northern New York, important operations of the war were conducted in other parts of the country, the course of which need not be followed here; they are found described on the pages of general history in numerous works. The bloody battle of New Orleans, fought on the 8th of January, L815, was the last en- gagement of the war, and a treaty of peace had been signed between the two countries on the 24th of December, L814, which was ratified by the British government on the 28th of December, and by the United States on the 17th of February, 1815. At the time of the breaking out of the war, Sod us Point had not ceased to be regarded as a place of great importance. Its exceptionally tine harbor and its situation on the line of east and west lake naviga- tion, seemed to assure it a future of consequence as a lake port. Its WAYNE COUNTY. 59 retention in the hands of the Americans was hence considered impera- tive. Some military stores were placed there early in the struggle and in 1813 a military force was established to guard the locality and particularly to protect the property of the government. A company of which Enoch Morse was captain, Noble Granger, lieutenant, and Mil- ton Granger, orderly sergeant, was posted at the Point, which had been threatened by the fleet of British vessels. On the 12th of June, the fleet having retired, the local militia started for their homes. On the same day, the British fleet returned in force of some ninety vessels, and threatened a landing. To avert the impending invasion, a horse- man rode rapidly away towards South Sodus, shouting to the inhab- itants to turn out to meet the foe. A logging bee was in progress at South Sodus, and those engaged hurriedly left for the Point, some of the men not waiting to go to their homes. From Sodus village, too, where about forty men had just returned from a "raising," they all huried off to the threatened locality. The following carefully prepared account of the ensuing events was prepared in 1877 for the Everts & Ensign history of the county, and is worthy of transcription: The space of cleared land was limited to a small area, and a dense growth of trees and brush came across the public square. This was almost impassable, save by one road north to the present lighthouse, thence west along the lake bank, bearing south and intersecting the present road. A foot path from near the site of the Methodist Church led off southwest. Part of the stores had been taken from the warehouse and lay concealed in a ravine between what is now West and Ontario streets. During the early evening. Elder Seba Norton was the leader, but Col. Elias Hill, of Lyons, arriving, he took command. The night was dark and a slight rain was falling, when it was agreed to form in the skirt of the bushes and advance upon a reconnoissance. If the enemy was met a volley was to be fired, and then "each for himself." On the high ground a little south of the present (1877) Johnson house, they heard the enem}- advancing and displaying a few lights. Amasa Johnson shot down one light and drew the British random fire. A volley from the militia and then followed a British retreat of marvellous celerity. The enemy re-embarked, having captured two men, a Mr. Britton and Harry Skinner, whom they set on shore the next day. Nathaniel Merrill and Major Farr each thought the other the enemy. The major got entangled in fallen timber and brush and could not extricate himself until daylight. George Palmer passed Elder Norton, who had been at Monmouth and Saratoga, and the veteran refused to run. Chester Eldridge from the bushes shouted, "I am killed; I am killed." Examination showed that a bullet had cut a gash in his throat which bled profusely. One Knight was wounded, and a Mr. Terry was so badly injured as to die from the effects of a shot. Next day the enemy threw a few cannon shot, landed a small force, and took away the contents of the storehouse. The British evidently feared the presence of a heavy force, and dared not venture from the land- ing. Mr. Warner was mortally wounded by the British soldiers. All the buildings 60 LANDMARKS OF save one were burned. The tavern of. Nathaniel Merrill, the store of Mr. Wickham, with its contents, his dwelling, the Fitzhugh house, the bouse of William Edus, a warehouse, and perhaps others, were destroyed. The building saved was a part of the Mansion House, then recently erected by Barakins & Hoylarts. In this house Mr. Warner was placed and there he died. It is said that the British placed a pitcher of water near him, and that the officers twice extinguished a lire kindled by the men to destroy the building. Following is a list of those at the Sodus skirmish: Elder Seba Norton, George Palmer, Byram Green, Timothy Axtell, Freeman Axtell, Knight, Terry, and Warner, Lyman Dunning, Elias Hull, Alanson M. Knapp, Amasa Johnson, Nathaniel Morrill, Major Farr, Isaac Lemmon, Robert Carpthers, John Hawley, Joseph Ellis, Alanson Corey, Galusha Harrington, Chester Eldridge, Ammi Ellsworth, Isaac Davis, Payne, Pollock, Benjamin Blanchard, Robert A. Pad- dock, Britton, Jenks Pullen, Daniel Norton, John Holcomb, Thomas Johnson, Lyman Seymour, Harry Skinner, Daniel Arms, and Alexander Knapp. Among other citizens of Sodus, who took part in the general service were George Palmer, Daniel Norton, Alexander Morrow, Dr. Gibbs, Byram Green, and others. This is not the record of a great battle, but it must be remembered that there were not probably 2,000 persons in the county at that time, which would indicate about 200 heads of families. It is well known that most of these took part in the war in some capacity and for longer or shorter periods. At any rate, Wayne is one of the few counties of interior and Western New York that was hallowed by the blood of the enemy in the last war with the mother country. 1 One of the companies of the early militia was in existence at Lyons as early as 1808, having been recruited in the vicinity. It was com- manded in the year named by Capt. William Paton, Lieut. Peter Per- rine, Ensign James Beard, and Orderly Sergeant William Duncan. When the war began a large share of this company entered the service and went to the Niagara frontier. At that time the officers were : Captain, Elias Hull; lieutenant, David Perrine; ensign, William C. Guest. The following account of the part taken by this company in the action at Sodus Point is taken from the files of the Lyons Republi- can : At an early day Sodus Point was regarded as destined to become a place of com- mercial importance. Here was safe and commodious anchorage for vessels, and here was an outlet for the produce of a large section of country. Long lines of wagons 1 In these humble annals, let it be recordedasan actof justice, withheld by partial historians of the war, that citizen soldiers who had faltered under inefficient leaders, won laurels, vindicated this branch of national defense, when better leaders and bet- ter auspices prevailed. — Turner s Plielps and Cor ham' s Purchase, p. jjg. WAYNE COUNTY. 01 were often to be seen passing northward through Lyons, from Phelps, Geneva, and other places, loaded with flour, pork and potatoes — in those (Hays the principal articles of export. The declaration of war, in 1812, was received with serious alarm by the people living- along our northern borders. This was increased by tidings of the sur- render of Detroit and our northern army under General Hull, and we were illy pre- pared to meet the incursions of our hostile neighbors. There was a small fleet on Lake Ontario, but it was altogether inadequate to protect the coast. Volunteers were therefore called to defend our county. Age and youth vied with each other in filling the ranks, and soon a very formidable army appeared at Sodus Point. These were organized and placed under command of General Swift. Hastily gathered under strong excitement, hardship soon cooled their ardor and and a desire to return home prevailed. The general gave orders for a dismissal. Preliminaries were soon settled and the men freed from the restraint and the monotony of camp life. A large quantity of government property lay concealed in the woods some distance from the Point. The company under Capt. Elias Hull was detailed to guard these stores. The captain had been some time in service without opportunity of dis- tinguishing himself, and conceived the time had arrived. He therefore ordered a night march down to the Point, and gave command to his men, if they met the foe, to give him one volley, and then fall back in good order behind the barrels and await the enemy's advance. Captain Hull was cautious as he was ambitious. Arrived in one of the small hollows near the Point, he halted, drew the command up in line, and sent two men, Pease and Gibbs, forward to reconnoitre. They had just reached the top of the hill when they met two platoons of British regulars marching up the opposite side. The scouts fired and gave the alarm. Captain Hull shouted, "Fire," and a wild, harmless volley whistled through the trees ; then, "Retreat," and the cap- tain rapidly led the way to the rear, and took shelter under a large hemlock log, where he passed the night. The British moved quickly to the top of the hill, re- turned the fire, and, advancing on the double-quick, caught sight of the long line of barrels, Avhich assumed the apparent character of a battery. They halted, then beat a hasty retreat, and burnt the mills on their return to the bay. The command to halt not being given several of the company were seen in Lyons early next morning and "lived to fight another day." At a town meeting held in 1814 in Sodus, the following- resolutions were adopted. They indicate the general feeling of all this region along the frontier : Resolved, That we deem it inexpedient to send delegates to the convention to be held at Canandaigua the 15th of September. This town being most exposed to the enemy, it is deemed best to provide ourselves for the defense of the frontier. Resolved, That we make immediate preparation for defense. Resolved, That William M. Loomis, AVilliam Wickham, John Fellows, Thomas Wafer, and Ashur Doolittle be a committee for the town of Sodus. Resolved, That a notice signed by a majority of the Committee of Safety, giving notice of the approach of the enemy, be sufficient to justify said office. Resolved, That said committee offer a subscription to the good people of Sodus for funds to defend said town, and that such subscription be demanded only in case of the enemy obtaining command of Lake Ontario. 62 LANDMARKS OF This was patriotic action and shows that the people appreciated their exposed situation and were prepared to defend their homes. A descent of the British upon Pultneyville wasa part of the campaign by the British in June, 1814. Commodore Yeo was then cruising along the lake coast with his squadron, and landed a considerable force at this point. Gen. John Swift was in command of the small force of militia at that time, and sent out a flag of truce to the commander of the fleet. Under this a stipulation was made by which the invaders were allowed to take all the public property in the place, and requiring that private property and the persons of inhabitants should be respected. The government stores had been largely removed previous to this time. The British boats landed and a quantity of flour from the storehouse was taken on board, the militia remaining meanwhile stationed some distance to the rear. It was the understanding of the militia that the British would confine their operations to the warehouse and its yard ; and when two or three of them came outside they were fired upon by the militia and a British officer was wounded. A signal to the fleet caused it to open fire upon the place, while the soldiers who had landed proceeded to the tavern and captured Richard White and Russell Cole, and thence to the storehouse and took Prescott Fairbanks. Cole escaped before he could be put in a boat ; the others were taken to Montreal. Fairbanks was soon afterward released and White was exchanged later. It is believed that the fleet was thereupon called to other points, fort- unately for Pulteneyville, and the party who had landed hurried to their boats and rowed away. Two of the British were killed and two wounded in the little skirmish. There are no accessible records showing in full the names or numbers of those Wayne settlers who shared in the war of 1812; but we may safely assume that nearly all able-bodied men did so. Micajah Harding, of the town of Marion, who raised a company of sharpshooters and went to the front, left a statement that the draft took nearly all the men in that town; that there were more soldiers than families. Asa Swift, who attained the military position of brevet-general, and who was the first male child born in the town of Palmyra, was in the battle of Queenston, and led a party against Fort George. He was wounded there, taken prisoner, and died shortly afterwards. He was buried on the 12th of July, 1 s 1 4. William Rogers, of Williamson, served through the war, was made a major, and afterwards kept a tavern until IS Id. Col. Ambrose Salisbury, who settled at East Palmyra after the war, WAYNE COUNTY. 63 was conspicuous in that conflict. He volunteered when the first call was made for volunteers ; but his services were not then needed. Again a few months later he marched to the Niagara frontier as orderly sergeant of Capt. Selma Stanley's company in the 31st Regiment. At the expiration of his term of six months, he returned home; and in June, 1813, went out again as substitute for his uncle, in a company from Geneva. In later years he held the post of ensign in the militia and gradually rose to colonel in 1834. Gilbert Howell, of Lyons, was in the army and was at one period an aid to General Swift. Daniel Patterson, of Wolcott, was drafted and served at New York harbor. Ephraim Green, of Macedon, was a captain in the service. Turner says : " Most of the immediate recruits for frontier defences were drawn from the local militia of Western New York ; men who left the plow in the furrow, the new fallow unfenced, their recently cultivated fields ripe for the scythe and the sickle, the axe and the maul, the rude mill, manufactory or workshop, to go out and contend with a powerful foe." The same writer testifies that "never at any period, in any exigency, did men more cheerfulty or promptly take up arms, and from citizens become soldiers, than did most of the able-bodied men of all this region, on the breakiug out of the war of 1812." The effects of the war on the inhabitants of Wayne county were momentous. In the first place, it almost stopped immigration. People who dwelt in the better protected Eastern States and portions of this State, were not disposed to jeopardize their lives and property on the frontier. A few adventurous families, who had already made arrange- ments to remove westward, persisted in their purpose and on some occasions met refugees, both soldiers and civilians, fleeing from the frontier. While many of the settlers had left their homes on account of sickness, privation and hardship prior to the breaking out of the war, the number was augmented by the event, though many who left, returned after the close of the conflict. The high prices that prevailed for whatever could be sold by the the settlers during the war and the active markets created through its influence, were some compensation for the hardships and anxieties of the people. None of the settlements had increased and in many locali- ties the opposite was true, while improvement in all material respects almost ceased. All of Western New York was left in a deplorable con- dition by the war; and many sections showed its devastating effects much more than Wayne county. But after the establishment of peace fi4 LANDMARKS OF the country responded quickly to better conditions, and the year L815 was devoted to recovery from the paralyzing- effects of the conflict. Those who had fled from their homes and those who had entered the service, returned ; the high prices of the necessaries of life dropped rapidly, and all the avocations of peace were taken up with renewed energy. Improvement in public roads and bridges; building of churches and schools; clearing the lands and the tillage of those already cleared; establishment of mills and places for trade progressed with encouraging speed, only to receive a severe check by the memorable cold season of 1 S 1 6-17. The summer of 1810 has probably never been equaled for cold, severe frosts occurring as late as June and destroying crops every where. Fields had the appearance in many places of having been burned over, so complete was the destruction of all vegetation. The hopes and dependence of the settlers were dissipated. The wheat harvest was light and protracted till later than usual, and many families actually suffered for food. The price of wheat rose to from $2 to $3 per bushel, and the lightness of the crop kept up the price even after the harvest. Some settlers paid the Indians on the Genesee River $2 a bushel for corn that they had kept over from 1815. In some of the newer settlements wheat and corn were shelled out while "in the milk" and boiled and eaten instead of bread, while others subsisted largely on milk and the roots and herbs of forest and field. The following season was an especially fruitful one and the condition of the people would have changed suddenly from destitution to com- parative luxury, had there been ready markets for surplus produce. As it was the relief was wide-spread and gratefully appreciated. Such was the condition of the people in Wayne county and adjacent territory, when the first whisperings began to be heard of the possibility of there being constructed a great water way from Lake Erie to the sea, which should pass through the very heart of this great fertile region, and enable the farmers and manufacturers and the merchants to place their products and their wares upon immense boats to be easily wafted to the best markets of the country. The history of that great enterprise is left for another chapter. WAYNE COUNTY. 65 CHAPTER VII. Further Improvement in Means of Transportation — Discussion of the "Grand Canal" — Investigation and Surveys — Progress and Completion of the Great Work — Its Effect Upon Wayne County — Other Public Improvements — The First Railroad — The Railroads of Wayne County — Brief History of Mormonism — Inception of Spir- itualism. The reader of the foregoing" chapters cannot have failed to perceive the supreme importance to the inhabitants of Wayne county of better means of transportation and communication between their homes and the eastern markets, and the consequent deep interest manifested by them in the preliminary discussions, surveys, etc., which finally cul- minated in the construction of the Erie Canal. Not that they were for several years convinced of the practicability of the future accom- plishment of the great work, for they were not. It is the destiny of all daring innovations and new and important projects, to call out the sneers and ridicule and opposition of the pessimists; and the Erie Canal was no exception to this universal experience. Outside of a few prac- tical engineers and men who had gained a knowledge of the feasibility and existence of similar waterways in other countries, the masses of the people were unbelievers and scoffers, and even the well-informed long doubted the success of the various measures necessary to the completion of the project. The inhabitants of Wayne county, as well as those in other districts along the line of the proposed canal, continued their efforts in opening and improving highways, and clung persistently to the settled belief that over them, or by way of Lake Ontario, the transportation of their surplus products and their incoming merchandise must continue in- definitely. In this connection a legislative act of April 15, 1816, named commissioners to lay out a road from "the bridge at the Canandaigua outlet to Great Sodus Bay, where vessels that navigate Lake Ontario can conveniently come." Another act of the same month and year, designated commissioners to open a road "from the bridge crossing the Genesee River opposite the village of Rochester on the most direct • 9 66 LANDMARKS OF and eligible route to the Four Corners, on the Ridge road, in the town of Murray " (then in Genesee county). Prior to the enactment of these laws, and on March 31, 1815, the Legislature had incorporated the Montezuma Turnpike and Bridge Company, which was authorized to build a road from Throopville to the village of Montezuma, and " from the west side of the marsh lying along the border of the Sen- eca River opposite said village of Montezuma to the village of Pal- myra." This company was afterwards authorized to extend their road eastward to Camillus in Onondaga county. On the Uth of March, 1817, the Oswego Falls and Sodus Bay Turn- pike Company was incorporated, its purpose being to construct a road from "the west side of the Oswego River, near the termination of the road from Utica, " to Port Glasgow, "on the eastern shore of Sodus Bay." Again, in April, 181!) (in which month and year the village of Pal- myra was incorporated), the Sodus Bay Bridge Company was incor- porated, to build a bridge " over Great Sodus Bay at or near the route of the Niagara Ridge or State Road, in the town of Wolcott." On the 22d of March, 1822, commissioners were named by the Legislature to lay out a road "from Adams' Mills, in the town of Wolcott, and from Cooper's Mills, in the town of Sterling, to the bridge over the Seneca River in the town of Conquest, " aud thence "to the State Prison in Auburn." A year later, April 3, 1823, commissioners were appointed to lay out a road from near Oswego Falls to Hannibal, and thence through Sterling to Wolcott Cemetery " (to connect) "with one of the present roads leading to the bridge at the head of Sodus Bay." The reader will clearly observe the general trend of these several improvements; they were a part of the general struggle to obtain bet- ter means of communication with the East, a struggle that was to largely cease after the opening of the Erie Canal. It is not necessary in these pages to enter into a lengthy and detailed account of the inception and progress of the canal. Every intelligent reader has been made familiar with it through one or more of the very numerous publications in which its history is found. The subject of water communication from the Hudson River westward was discussed some years prior to the beginning of the present century, and in 1792 the Western Inland and Lock Navigation Company was organized, and within the next few years completed the canal around the rapids at Little Falls and improved the channels of the Mohawk and Wood WAYNE COUNTY. G7 Creek, greatly facilitating navigation from the Hudson to Oneida Lake and conferring vast benefit on the State at large. The claim is made that Gouverneur Morris suggested the construc- tion of a canal westward to Lake Erie to Simeon De Witt, then sur- veyor-general, as early as 1803, and that De Witt, like most others at that time, considered the scheme wildly visionary. 1 Morris talked with James Geddes, a practical engineer of Onondaga county, about the project, and he believed the scheme a feasible one, and began cor- respondence with other engineers on the subject, thus awakening gen- eral interest. In 1805 Jesse Hawley, a native of Connecticut, was buy- ing wheat in the Genesee Valley, transporting it to a mill at Seneca Falls, and thence carrying the flour to the Albany market. However he may have become impressed with the desirability of a canal, he wrote a series of newspaper articles in favor of the undertaking, which created considerable favorable influence. The subject finally became a political issue and was taken in hand by Hon. Josuha Forman, of Syracuse, who was elected to the Assembly on the "canal ticket." Mr. Forman from that time on until the canal was an accomplished fact was its enthusiastic advocate, and to him as much as to any other person is due the credit for the great work. He secured a small appro- priation of $600 and Mr. Geddes received authority to make a prelim- inary survey. As between the two proposed routes, the one by way of Lake Ontario and the other direct to Lake Erie, Mr. Geddes reported in favor of the latter. This took the line directly along or across the southern part of Wayne county, and we quote as follows regarding the local features of the project: Mr. Geddes suggested that there might ' ' be found some place in the Ridge that bounds the Tonawanda Valley on the north, as low as the level of Lake Erie, where a canal may be led across and conducted onward without increasing the lockage by rising to the Tonawanda Swamp." The latter difficulty was involved in the route 1 There is a tradition that Governor Colden as early as 1724 expressed the hope that sometime the western part of this State might be penetrated by boats independent of Lake Ontario. In his memoir on the fur trade, written in the year just named, cer- tainly occurs the following passage: " There is a river which comes from the country of the Sinnekes and falls into the Onondaga River, by which we have an easy car- riage into that country without going near the Cataracqui (Ontario) Lake. The head of this river goes near to Lake Erie and probably may give a very near passage into that lake, much more advantageous than the way the French are obliged to take by the way of the great falls of Niagara." It seems possible that the old governor had a faint vision of clear water communication to Lake Erie. 68 LANDMARKS OF that had been contemplated by Joseph Ellicott. He supposed the summit on that line would not be more than twenty feet above Lake Erie, and that upon it a suffi- cient supply of water might be obtained from Oak Orchard Creek and other streams. In this he was mistaken; the summit was found to be seventy-five feet above Lake Erie, and to be supplied with no adequate feeder. It is entirely probable that the canal could never have been a suc- cess through Western New York, except for the discovery through the great genius of Mr. Geddes, that it could follow the course finally adopted, permitting a continuous flow eastward from Lake Erie. Commissioners were appointed at the legislative session of 1810 to thoroughly explore the proposed routes of water communication across the State, which they did and reported on the 2d of March, 1811. They recommended the route favored by Mr. Geddes. The estimated cost of the work was $5,000,000. The Legislature approved this report by continuing the commission and voting $15,000 for further operations. Attempts to obtain congressional aid for the undertaking failed, and in the following year the Legislature authorized the commissioners to borrow $5,000,000 on the State credit, for the construction of the canal. The oncoming of the war with Great Britain put a stop to the under- taking; but in 1815, it was revived and public meetings were held in various parts of the State, where enthusiastic speakers advocated the speedy completion of the work. The Legislature of 1810 appointed a new canal commission, and in the next year Governor Clinton pre- pared an act authorizing the beginning of the work. The canal was divided into three sections, eastern, middle and western, Mr. Geddes being made chief engineer of the western section. Up to the year 1820 nothing but the survey had been accomplished on this division, aside from the adoption of the route advised by Mr. Geddes. In 1820 he was succeeded by David Thomas, who in that year made an examina- tion of the course adopted from Rochester to Pendleton and made some modification east of Oak Orchard Creek in Orleans county. A more important change was made in reference to the point of passing the mountain ridge in Niagara county, and which determined the site of the city of Lockport. The whole western part of the canal was put under contract in L821. The work was pushed energetically and dur- ing tlie autumn of 1825 the canal was navigable as far west on the western section as Holley (Orleans county), and during the following season readied the loot of the ridge at Lockport. The great rock-cut- ting at the latter place was the last piece of work finished between WAYNE COUNTY. 09 Buffalo and Albany. William C. Bouck, afterwards governor of the State, was the commissioner in charge of the construction of the west- ern portion of the canal. On the 20th of September, 1825, he wrote from Lockport to Stephen Van Rensselaer, another commissioner, as follows : Sir: The unfinished parts of the Erie Canal will be completed and in a condition to admit the passage of boats on Wednesday, the 26th day of October next. It would have been gratifying to have accomplished this result as eaidy as the first of Septem- ber, but embarrassments which I could not control delayed it. On this grand event, so auspicious to the character and wealth of the citizens of New York, permits me to congratulate you. By extra exertion the final filling was finished on the 25th of Octo- ber, and in the forenoon or the next day a flotilla of five boats left Buf- falo, laden with the highest State officers and other prominent men. Cannon had been stationed a few miles apart along the whole line of the canal, to be discharged in order as fast as they were reached by the boats. A few boats had started westward from Lockport about the time of the sailing of the flotilla from Buffalo, and met the latter in Tonawanda Creek, whence all sailed on eastward. 1 Enthusiastic crowds of people, among them, we may be sure, many who had ridiculed and opposed the undertaking, met the fleet at the various villages — Newark (what there was of it), Palmyra, Lyons, and Clyde — in a general celebration of the event. 2 The Erie canal was at first 302 miles long, and its original cost was $7,143,780.86. Under an act of Legislature of May, 1835, the canal was enlarged from a width of forty feet at top and twenty-eight at bottom, to seventy feet at top and fifty-two and one-half at bottom, and so much straightened as to reduce its length to 350 and 1-2 miles. The cost of the enlargement was more than $30,000,000. x It was considered an impossibility to make the Erie Canal. People said it might be possible to make water run up hill, but canal boats never. Some said the}- would be willing to die, having lived long enough, when boats in a canal should float through their farms; but afterwards when they saw the boats passing by, they wanted to live more than ever, to see what would be done next. — Reminisce?ices of George E. Mix. 2 At the prominent points from Rochester to Albany, where the fleet was to pass by daylight, celebrations had been arranged: there were processions, congratulatory addresses, firing of cannon, music and other demonstrations of popular enthusiasm; even when small villages were passed in the night, crowds were assembled, and some form of greeting tendered. "It was," said one of the western committee men, "like a continuous or protracted Fourth of July celebration." 70 LANDMARKS OF This great waterway was quite generally known in early years as "the grand canal;" and its wonderful influence upon the material con- ditions in Wayne county and Western New York generally, it was "grand" indeed. Those who had from the first ridiculed the project, were now either silent or converted into enthusiastic eulogists, as they saw the laden freight boats and the well-patronized packets silently and rapidly (as compared with other existing means of travel) floating east- ward and westward along the turbid tide. Wayne county lands, even to the lake shore, appreciated in value; farmers were encouraged to new energy and to extend their planting and sowing ; money became more plenty, and freights fell from $100 per ton to Albany, to ten dol- lars; a new era of prosperity began. Villages along the canal line that already had an insignificant existence, took on new life and growth, while others sprang into being around the warehouses and docks that were built especially to accommodate the active traffic. Clyde, Lyons, Newark and Palmyra, with other points of shipment in the county, promptly felt the influence of the canal (while Newark ma}- be said to owe its existence to the same influence). The first boat on this division of the canal left the basin on the east side of the Genesee River at Rochester, loaded with flour for Little Falls, on the 20th of October, 1822. The first cargo of wheat from Ohio reached Rochester in 1831, the vanguard of the great current of western grains that have since gradually grown into active, if not ruinous, competition with those of New York State. When navigation opened in 1823, 10,000 barrels of flour were shipped eastward from Rochester in the first ten days after the opening. Among those who were early engaged in the canal trade in this county were Joel and Levi Thayer, of Palmyra, who built a number of freight boats. The two men were twins, and on that account one of their boats was named "The Twin Brothers." Davenport, Barnes & Co. were extensive produce and commission men at Jessup's Basin, and were succeeded by S L. Thompson & Co. Aaron Griswold built a boat near King's Bridge in 1822, which plied between that point and Lyons and was the first boat to run into the town. Mr. Griswold, in association with Stephen Ferguson, built two boats in 1820, near Lock- Berlin, one of the settlements that was born of the canal. Griswold was an early merchant at that place. Seymour Scovell was an early merchant of Palmyra; became a canal contractor and built the boat "Myron Holley," one of the early crafts on the canal. Esbon and Ran- WAYNE COUNTY. 71 som Blackmar were merchants and extensive shippers by canal in New- ark, a village that was practically created by the great waterway. There were occasions during- the most active period of canal business, previous to the opening of railroads, when fifty or more teams were in waiting to unload produce at the warehouses and docks in Newark. The active market for grain and kindred products thus established, led to the building of quite a number of flouring and grist mills in Lyons and elsewhere within the county. In March, 1827, the Palmyra Manu- facturing Company was incorporated, with $30,000 capital, to produce flour, etc., by George Palmer, Joel McCollum, and Thomas Rogers, 2d; and in the same spring the Pultneyville Steam Mill Company was incorporated by Daniel Grandin, Joseph Granger, Andrew Cornwall, Russell Whipple, Roswell Nichols, Jeremiah B. Selly, and Philander B. Royce. The capital stock was $15,000 and the purpose to grind grain. Every phase of this condition of prosperity was shared, either directly or indirectly, by all the towns of Wayne county, and the influence thereof is felt to the present day. Following soon upon the opening of the canal, and on April 14, 1827, the Legislature incorporated the Canal Turnpike Company, to build "a good and sufficient road along the north bank of the canal from Lyons, through Clyde, to intercept the Montezuma turnpike on the Cayuga marsh." The capital of the company was $20,000. In April of the following year (1828), commissioners were named in an act of the Legislature to lay out a road between Palmyra and Man- chester in Ontario county. Other similar improvements followed in later years. The immediate and unequivocal success of the Erie Canal inaugu- rated what may be termed a period of "canal fever" throughout the State of New York and to a less extent in several other States. During the ten years succeeding the opening of the Erie, the various Legislatures were besieged with petitions and bills for the incorpora- tion of canal companies, as they were a little later in the interest of railroads. The first of the canal schemes having a direct bearing on Wayne county was the Sodus Canal Company, incorporated March 19, 182!), with capital stock of $200,000. This company was authorized to construct a canal from the Canandaigua outlet, or Seneca River, "where the Erie Canal crosses said streams, near Montezuma, to such convenient place on Great Sodus Bay as is accessible to vessels navigating Lake Ontario." This canal was to be finished in ten years, 72 LANDMARKS OF and was designed to open a large waterway from Lake Ontario to the head of Cayuga Lake, at Ithaca, with a possibility of future connection with the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay. It was a most attractive scheme! In Tompkins county, and especially at Ithaca, it commanded widespread attention, as that place was belived to be the one that would be most benefited by it. Eloquent speakers advocated the project and inspired visions of future commercial greatness for the little village at the head of the lake, as well as for the less important trade centers of Wayne county. An old painting of Ithaca and the lake in that vicinity, made just after the canal was projected, shows the water thickly studded with vessels, many of them apparently large sea-going ships. A little work was done on the canal at Soclus Bay, after subscriptions to the stock had begun, and later the State Legis- lature was asked to aid the undertaking. This request was refused and the project began to languish. Capitalists did not support it as had been expected, and in 1861, after repeated amendments and extensions, the charter expired by limitation. In 1862 a new act was passed pro- viding that if the general government would supply money to finish the canal, it should have perpetual right of transit through its waters for government vessels, free of toll. But Uncle Sam declined the speculation and the Great Sodus Canal, like very many other similar projects, died from lack of nutrition. It is probable that this canal scheme was in some measure due to lingering influence of the early hopes we have before alluded to, of a southern water outlet for the products of the Genesee country. The only other canal company in which Wayne county felt a direct interest was called the Ontario Canal Campany, which had its incep- tion at a public meeting held in Canandaigua August 21, 1820. There the plan was discussed of building a lateral canal from Canandaigua Lake to "the Grand Canal." A committee was appointed consisting of John C. Spencer, James D. Bemis (long a conspicuous newspaper publisher of Canandaigua), Asa Stanley, Dudley Marvin, and William H. Adams, to locate a route for the canal. Their report was made December 21, 1820, to the effect that the proposed waterway would lie nineteen and one-half miles long; that its northern terminus should be at the Erie Canal three and one-half miles west of Palmyra village ; that the descent from the lake to Ganargwa Creek was 22.') feet, requir- ing twenty-three locks in the canal; that the gross cost would he not more than $60,000. The proposed eapital of the company was $100,- WAYNE COUNTY. 73 000. A committee of fifteen persons was then appointed to petition the Legislature for an act of incorporation, and the desired act was passed March 31, L821. Stock subscription books were opened May 23, by Commissioners Nathaniel Gorham, Zachariah Seymour, Asa Stanley, P. P. Bates, and William H. Adams. Subscriptions were liberal at the first, and ultimately reached about $50,000, when the following persons were elected directors of the company: Evan Johns, H. B. Gibson, Israel Chapin, Asa Stanley, John C. Spencer, Mark H. Sibley, Robert Pomeroy, and H. M. Mead. At this stage for some reason the project was abandoned. It is propable that the extensive shipping facilities supplied by the Erie Canal led to the conclusion that the lateral canal would not prove a paying investment. The next event of importance in chronological order, with which we are interested, was the erection of Wayne county on the 11th of April, L823. (For act of Legislature creating the county see Session Laws, 1823). The new county, with Ontario, Seneca and Yates, was made to constitute the Twenty-sixth Congressional District, and with Cay- uga, Onondaga, Ontario, Seneca and Yates, constitute the Seventh Senatorial District. By subsequent enactments changes were made in these districts as follows: By act of June 29, 1832, Wayne and Seneca counties became the Twenty-fifth Congressional District; by act of Sep- tember 6, 1842, the same counties were made the Twenty-seventh District; act of July 19, 1851, Cayuga and Wayne were made the Twenty-fifth District; act of April 23, 1862, Wayne, Cayuga and Sen- eca were made the Twenty-fourth District. In 1836 Cortland county was added to those above named as constituting the Seventh Senatorial District. (Lists of the various officials of the county will be given in their proper plaee on a later page). Closely following the formation of the county the various courts were established, as described in a later chapter; civil officers were elected, and all the machinery of county government was soon working harmoniously. A kind of local enthusiasm pervaded the inhabitants of the county, as would naturally follow their separation from the larger and more widely-diffused population of Ontario county, and various public improvements were inaugurated to closely precede the oncoming of the first railroad — and Mormonism. A legislative act of February 15, 1825, divided the town of Lyons and erected Arcadia; and on April 18, of the same year, the town of Williamson was divided and the town of Winchester (now Marion) 10 74 LANDMARKS OF erected. February 25, 18*20, the towns of Butler and Rose were erected from Wolcott; and April 20, 1820, Walworth was erected from Ontario. An attempt, which was not very successful, was made under legis- lative sanction of April, 1825, to drain Crusoe Lake, in the town of Savannah. Andrew Chapin, David Arne, jr., and Merritt Candee were appointed commissioners to direct the work, which was to consist of cutting ditches to the channel of " the stream which runs to Lake On- tario through the town of Wolcott, on which the furnaces in Wolcott are situated." On the 20th of April, 1825, William Patrick, John G. Gillespie, and Paul Reeves were named by the Legislature as commissioners to lay out a road from Lyons to the Ridge road "near the dwelling of P. Reeves, in the western part of Williamson ;" and in April, 1826, a road was authorized from Main street in Canandaigna to Palmyra, the com- missioners being Nathan Barlow, of Canandaigua; Stimson Harvey, of Farmington ; and Thomas Rogers, of Palmyra. Meanwhile evidences of prosperity were visible in all directions. The several villages of the county were growing, though their relative status and prospects were soon to be changed by the railroads; schools and churches multiplied in number and improved in character and in- fluence; banks were established ; additional newspapers were founded, and other institutions indicating healthful growth came into being. What was called the Palmyra High School was incorporated in March, 1820, by James White, Ovid Lord, Henry Jessup, and others. It was a stock organization with capital of $12,000. This school absorbed the house and lot of district number one. The Wayne Count}' Bank, at Palmyra, was chartered April 30, 1820, and the Bank of Lyons was in- corporated May 14, 1836. Miller's Bank was established in Clyde in 1837. These financial institutions, as well as the people at large, and particularly tradesmen, were destined to suffer considerably from the financial stringency and succeeding revulsion which swept over the country in 1836-8; but Wayne county was, as it is at present, largely agricultural, and hence felt the effects of the stringency less severely than many other localities. The first railroad in the State of New York was built between Albany and Schenectady by the Mohawk and Hudson River Railroad Company, and was finished in 1831 : its length was sixteen miles. The cars were at first drawn by horses, but soon after the completion of the road a steam locomotive was brought from England and the first steam rail- WAYNE COUNTY. 15 road passenger train in America was run over the road. In spite of the very many objectionable features of this pioneer railroad and its equipment, it was clear to sagacious men that a rival of the canal was at hand. The Auburn and Rochester Railroad was chartered in 1836, but the construction was not commenced until 1838. The first time table for this road was made public September 8, 1840, and trains were run on the 10th over a part of the line. The work of construction was energetically continued and on July 5, 1841, an excursion train passed over the road between Rochester and Seneca Falls. In November, of that year trains were running between Rochester and Albany. As yet no railroad passed through Wayne county ; but the immediate success of the existing lines led to the early agitation of the subject of building many others. As early as 1836 a meeting was held in Lyons to consider the project of constructing a road that should extend east- ward from Rochester and pass through Palmyra, Lyons, Clyde, etc., to Syracuse. While it was several years before further steps were taken in this direction, it was a foregone conclusion that sooner or later the rich territory now traversed by the direct road, as it is termed, between Rochester and Syracuse would be favored with railroad com- munication. A company was finally organized under the corporate name of the Rochester and Syracuse Direct Railroad Company and the road was rapidly pushed to completion. This company with the Auburn and Syracuse, and the Auburn and Rochester companies were consolidated in 1850 as the Rochester and Syracuse Railroad Company. The first regular passenger train passed over the road on May 30, 1853. The improvement was welcomed in general rejoicing in the several vil- lages of Wayne county and elsewhere. An act of Legislature passed April 2, 1853. authorized the consolidation of several companies then existing, as follows: Albany and Schenectady, Syracuse and Utica direct, Sche- nectady and Troy, Utica and Schenectady, Mohawk Valley, Syracuse and Utica, Rochester and Syracuse, Rochester, Lockport and Niagara Falls, Buffalo and Rochester, and Buffalo and Lockport. This consoli- dated company took the name of the New York Central Railroad Company, which in later years absorbed various other lines and added "Hudson River" to its title. The consolidation described went into effect on the 17th of May, 1853. The combined capital of the company was $23,085,600. This road was laid with a double track in 1849 and with two additional tracks during the seventies. It was the first railroad in the world having four tracks and is in other respects one of the most extensive and best managed railroad in the United States. 76 LANDMARKS OF The Sodus Point and Southern Railroad was projected during the fall of 1851, by a company bearing- that title, and was to run directly through Wayne county in a general northern and southern direction, from Newark to Sodus Bay. A general survey was made, the right of way was secured without much difficulty and the work of construction was begun. The company became embarrassed for funds and work was suspended in L854, leaving a long line of grading, which was afterwards utilized and is now a part of the road. The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad, as it was originally termed, traverses the northern tier of towns of Wayne county and has been of great utility. Its termini are Oswego and Lewiston. The company for its construction was organized in Oswego March 17, L868, and Gerrit Smith was elected president; Oliver P. Scoville, vice-president; and Abraham P. Grant, treasurer. De Witt Parshail, of Lyons, was a member of the first board of directors. Work was begun at Red Creek August 23, 1871, amid the firing of cannon and the cheers of a mul- titude of people. The road was finished in L876. It finally passed under control of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad Com- pany, and with the other lines operated by that company, was absorbed by the great New York Central and Hudson River system. The New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railroad was completed from New York to Buffalo and opened on January 1, 1884; but about two years later it was leased by the New York Central. It never espe- cially affected Wayne county, running as it docs, nearly parallel with the Central. Tine Mormon IIii.i — From an Old Print. Most readers of this work, it may be presumed, arc familiar with the general history of Mormonism; but from the fact that its originator WAYNE COUNTY. 77 lived within the limits of what is now Wayne county, and that his early operations were conducted in or near Palmyra village, it seems proper that it shall receive brief mention in these pages, for future reference, if for no other reason. It will also preserve for reference by future generations, facts regarding the beginning of what became a stupend- ous religious movement, which might otherwise be lost. For this pur- pose we can do no better than condense from the writing of the late O. Turner in his history of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase (1851): "Joseph Smith, the father of the prophet, Joseph Smith, jr., was from the Merrimack River, N. H. He first settled in or near Palmyra village, but as early as 1819 was the occupant of some new land on 'Stafford street,' in the town of Manchester near the line of Palmyra. 'Mormon Hill' is near the plank road about half way between the vil- lages of Palmyra and Manchester. The elder Smith had been a Uni- versalist, and subsequently a Methodist; was a good deal of asmatterer in scriptural knowledge; but the seed of revelation was sown on weak ground; he was a great babbler, credulous, not especially industrious, a money-digger, prone to the marvellous ; and withal a little given to difficulties with neighbors and petty law suits. Not a very propitious account of the father of a prophet — the founder of a state ; but there was ' a woman in the case. ' Mrs. Smith was a woman of strong, uncultivated intellect; artful and cunning; imbued with an illy-regu- lated religious enthusiasm. The incipient hints, the first givings-out that a prophet was to spring from her humble household, came from her; and when matters were maturing for denouement, she gave out that such and such ones — always fixing upon those who had both money and credulity — were to be the instruments in some great work of revelation. The old man was rather her faithful co-worker, or ex- ecutive exponent. Their son, Alva, was originally intended or desig- nated by fireside consultations and solemn and mysterious outdoor hints, as the forthcoming prophet. The mother and father said he was the chosen one; but Alva, however spiritual he might have been, had a carnal appetite; eat too many green turnips, sickened and died. Thus the world lost a prophet and Mormonism a leader; the designs impiously and wickedly attributed to providence, defeated; and all in consequence of a surfeit of raw turnips. Who will talk of the cackling geese of Rome, or any other small and innocent causes of mighty events, after this? The mantle of the prophet which Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Smith and one Oliver Cowdery had wove of themselves — every thread of it — -fell upon the next eldest son, Joseph Smith, jr. 78 LANDMARKS OP "A most unpromising recipient of such a trust was this same Joseph Smith, jr., afterwards, 'Joe Smith.' He was lounging, idle (not to say vicious) ; and possessed of less than ordinary intellect. The author's own recollections of him are distinct ones. He used to come into the village of Palmyra with little jags of wood from his backwoods home; sometimes patronizing a village grocery too freely; sometimes find an odd job to do about the store of Seymour Scovell; and once a week he would stroll into the office of the old Palmyra Register for his father's paper. How impious, in us young 'dare-devils' to once and awhile blacken the face of the then meddling, inquisitive lounger — but after- wards prophet, with the old-fashioned ink balls when he used to put himself in the way of the old-fashioned Ramage press! The editor of the Cultivator at Albany — esteemed as he may justly consider himself for his subsequent enterprise and usefulness, may think of it with con- trition and repentance, that he once helped to thus disfigure the face of a prophet, and remotely the founder of a state. " But Joseph had a little ambition; and some very laudable aspira- tions; the mother's intellect occasionally shone out in him feebly, especially when he used to help us solve some portentous question of moral or political ethics in our juvenile debating club, which we moved down to the old red school-house on Durfee street, to get rid of the an- noyance of critics that used to drop in on us in the village; and subse- quently, after catching a spark of Methodism in the camp meeting, away down in the woods on the Vienna road, he was a very passable exhorter in evening meetings. " Legends of hidden treasure had long designated Mormon Hill as the depository. Old Joseph had dug there, and young Joseph had not only heard his father and mother relate the marvellous tales of buried wealth, but had accompanied his father in the midnight delvings and incantations of the spirits that guarded it. "If a buried revelation was to be exhumed, how natural it was that the Smith family, with their credulity, and their assumed presentiment that a prophet was to come from their household, should be connected with it; and that Mormon Hill was the place where it would be found. "It is believed by those who are best acquainted with the Smith family, and most conversant with the old Gold 15ible movement, that there is no foundation for the statement that their original manuscript was written by a Mr. Spaulding, of Ohio. A supplement to the Gold Bible, 'The 'Book of Commandments,' in all probability was written by WAYNE COUNTY. 79 Rio-don, and lie may have been aided by Spatilding's manuscripts; but the book itself is, without doubt, a production of the Smith family, aided by Oliver Cowdery, who was a school teacher on Stafford street, an intimate of the Smith family, and identified with the whole matter. The production, as all will conclude who have read it, or even given it a cursory review, is not that of an educated man or woman. The bungling attempt to counterfeit the style of the Scriptures ; the inter- mixture of modern phraseology; the ignorance of chronology and geography; its utter crudeness and baldness, as a whole, stamp its character, and clearly exhibit its vulgar origin. It is a strange medley of scripture, romance and bad composition. " The primitive designs of Mrs. Smith, her husband, Joe and Cow- dery, was money making; blended with which, perhaps, was a desire for notoriety, to be obtained by a cheat and a fraud. The idea of being the founders of a new sect was an after-thought, in which they were aided by others. "The projectors of the humbug, being destitute of means for carry- ing out their plans, a victim was selected to obviate that difficulty. Martin Harris was a farmer of Palmyra, the owner of a good farm, and an honest, worthy citizen ; but especially given to religious enthu- siasm, new creeds, the more extravagant the better; a monomaniac, in fact. Joseph Smith, upon whom the mantle of prophecy had fallen after the sad fate of Alvah, began to make demonstrations. He in- formed Harris of the great discovery, and that it had been revealed to him that he (Harris) was_a chosen instrument to aid in a great work of surprising the world with a new revelation. They had hit upon the right man. He mortgaged his fine farm to pay for printing the book, assumed a grave, mysterious, and unearthly deportment, and made here and there among his acquaintances solemn enunciations of the great event that was transpiring. His version of the discovery, as communicated to him by the prophet Joseph himself, is well remem- bered by several respectable citizens of Palmyra, to whom he made earty disclosures. It was in substance as follows: "The prophet Joseph, was directed by an angel where to find, by ex- cavation, at the place afterwards called Mormon Hill, the gold plates; and was compelled by the angel, much against his will, to be the in- terpreter of the sacred record they contained, and publish it to the world. That the plates contained a record of the ancient inhabitants of this country, 'engraved by Mormon the son of Nephi.' That on the 80 LANDMARKS OF top of the box containing the plates, 'a pair of large spectacles were found, the stones or glass set in which were opaque to all but the prophet;' that 'these belonged to Mormon, the engraver of the plates, and without them the plates could not be read.' Harris assumed that himself and Cowdery were the chosen amanuenses, and that the prophet Joseph, curtained from the world and them, with his spectacles, read from the gold plates what they committed to paper. Harris exhibited to an informant of the author the manuscript of the title page. On it were drawn rudely and bunglingly, concentric circles, between, above and below which were clear characters, with little resemblance to let- ters. Apparently a miserable imitation of hieroglyphics the writer may have somewhere seen. To guard against profane curiosity, the prophet had given out that no one but himself, not even his chosen co-opera- tors, must be permitted to see them, on pain of instant death. Harris had never seen the plates, but the glowing accounts of their massive richness excited other than spriritual hopes, and he upon one occasion got a village silversmith to help him estimate their value; taking as a basis, the prophet's account of their dimensions. It was a blending of the spiritual and utilitarian, that threw a shadow of doubt on Martin's sincerity. This, and some anticipations he indulged in, as to the profits that would arise from the sale of the Gold Bible, made it then, as it is now, a mooted question, whether he was altogether a dupe. " The wife of Harris was a rank infidel and heretic, touching the whole thing; and decidedly opposed to her husband's participation in it. With sacrilegious hands she seized over a hundred of the manu- script pages of the New Revelation and burned or secreted them. It was agreed by the Smith family, Cowdery and Harris, not to transcribe these again, but to let so much of the New Revelation drop out, as the ' evil spirit would get up a story that the second translation did not agree with the first.' A very ingenious method, surely, of guarding against the possibility that Mrs. Harris had preserved the manuscript with which they might be confronted should they attempt an imitation of their own miserable patchwork. The prophet did not get his lesson well upon the start, or the household of imposters were in the fault. After he had told his story, in his absence, the rest of the family made a new version of it to one of their neighbors They showed him such a pebble as may any day be picked up on the shore of Lake ( )ntario — the common hornblende — carefully wrapped in cotton and kept in a mysterious box. They said it was by looking at this stone, in a hat, WAYNE COUNTY. 81 the light excluded, that Joseph discovered the plates. This it will be observed, differs materially from Joseph's story of the angel. It was the stone the Smiths had used in money digging and in some pretended discoveries of stolen property. " Long before the Gold Bible demonstration, the Smith family had with some sinister object in view, whispered another fraud in the ears of the credulous. They pretended that in digging for money, at Mor- mon Hill, they came across 'a chest, three feet by two in size, covered with a dark-colored stone. In the center of the stone was a white spot about the size of a sixpence. Enlarging, the spot increased to the size of a 24-pound shot, and then exploded with a terrible noise. The chest vanished and all was utter darkness.' " It may be safely presumed that in no other instance have prophets and the chosen and designated of angels been quite as calculating and worldly as were those of Stafford street, Mormon Hill and Palmyra. The only business contract — veritable instrument in writing, that was ever executed by spiritual agents, has been preserved, and should be among the archives of the new State of Utah. It is signed by the Prophet Joseph himself and witnessed by Oliver Cowdery, and secures to Martin Harris one-half of the proceeds of the sale of the Gold Bible until he was fully reimbursed in the sum of $2,500, the cost of printing. " The after-thought that has been alluded to: the enlarging of orig- inal intentions — was at the suggestion of Sidney Rigdon, of Ohio, who made his appearance and blended himself with the poorly-devised scheme of imposture about the time the book was issued from the press. He unworthily bore the title of a Baptist elder, but had by some previous freak, if the author is rightly informed, forfeited his standing with that respectable denomination. Designing, ambitious, and dishonest, under the semblance of sanctity and assumed spiritual- ity, he was just the man for the uses of the Smith household and their half-dupe and half-designing abettors; and they were just the fit in- struments he desired. He became at once the Hamlet, or more appro- priately perhaps, the maw-worm of the play. " Under the auspices of Rigdon a new sect, the Mormons, was pro- jected, prophecies fell thick and fast from the lips of Joseph; old Mrs. Smith assumed all the airs of a mother of a prophet; that particular family of Smiths were singled out and became exalted above all their legion of namesakes. The bald, clumsy cheat found here and there an enthusiast, a monomaniac, or a knave, in and around its primitive 11 82 LANDMARKS OF locality, to help it upon its start; and soon, like another scheme of im- posture (that had a little dignity and plausibility in it), it had its hegira or flight to Kirtland; then to Nauvoo; then to a short resting' place in Missouri, and then on over the Rocky Mountains to Salt Lake City. Banks, printing offices, temples, cities, and finally a State have arisen under its auspices. Converts have multiplied to tens of thousands; while its illegal and disgusting practice of polygamy called down upon it the detestation of all civilized people and the wrath and interference of the general government." It is a somewhat remarkable coincidence that another pseudo-religious movement, the consecmences of which were ultimately scarcely less mo- mentous than those of Mormonism, should have had its rise in Wayne county. Reference is made to the very beginning of what is now known throughout the world by the general name of spiritualism. Like Mormonism, this other new doctrine had its origin in deception. It began in the little hamlet of Hydeville in the town of Arcadia, where Tohn Fox and his family settled. Mr. Fox bore a good reputation and carried on his trade of blacksmithing. On the night of March 31, 1849, the two daughters of Mr. Fox, Margaret and Catharine, and their cousin, Elizabeth Fish, claimed to have heard a mysterious rapping which greatly frightened them. A simple system of brief communi- cation was devised, probably by the girls and their mother, the latter being possibly deceived by her daughters, and the sounds were attrib- uted to spirits from another world, Among the communications said to have been received through the rappings, was one to the effect that a man named John Bell had killed a peddler and buried the body in his cellar. This created much excitement, the news spread, and digging was begun to find the remains of the murdered man. The little place was visited by hundreds of people from the near by villages. The diggers struck a vein of flowing water, which prevented further inves- tigation in that line. As the mysterious rappings continued, thousands of people visited the Fox home, some of whom believed in the super- natural origin of the sounds, while others ridiculed the whole thing. It was not long before a financial return became a part of the plans of the daughters, and to reach a larger audience they removed to Roches- ter and appeared in public, their operations becoming widely known as the " Rochester Rappings. " The alleged intercourse with disembod- ied spirits led to the evolution of so-called " mediums" who professed to be especially adapted for the reception of the news from the other WAYNE COUNTY. 83 world. From the simple rappings of the Fox 'sisters, was developed by others still more bold in their deceptions, the appearance of ap- paritions, the sound of voices, and various other demonstrations. The mania spread in its later varied phases until ultimately it reached over the civilized world. Late in the life of the Fox sisters they claimed to explain the mystery of the Tappings, stating that they were produced by certain movements of some of their joint bones, which could be moved without detection. CHAPTER VII. End of the Reign of Peace — The First Gun — Military Enthusiasm — Wayne Coun- ty — The President's First Proclamation — The First Company Recruited in Wajne Count}' — Sketches of the Various other Wayne County Organizations. The long reign of prosperous peace in America was rudely and ruth- lessly closed when citizens of one of the Southern, States fired the first hostile gun upon Fort Sumter in 1861. Almost before the echoes of that cannonade had died away, a tide of patriotic enthusiasm and indig- nation swept over the entire North, and the call to arms found an echo in every loyal heart, while thousands, young and old, rich and poor, native and alien, sprang forward to offer their services and their lives at the altar of their country. The history of the civil war has been written and rewritten, and al- most every intelligent citizen has become familiar with the story of the great contest. Were this not true, it would be manifestly impossible to follow in detail the various campaigns in which Wayne county sol- diers honorably shared, or to trace in detail the career of those brave officers and privates who fell on the battlefield. Such records are for the general historian who has ample space at his command. The mus- ter rolls of the State, too, that have been deposited in every county clerk's office, are accessible to all and enable the reader to see at a glance the noble part performed by the soldiers in the great struggle for the maintenance of the Union. As a rule the several calls of the president for volunteers were freely met, and though a draft was held in the county on two occasions, it did not reach all of the towns, and its re- quirements were promptly complied with. 84 LANDMARKS OF Prior to the actual outbreak of the Rebellion, the president issued a proclamation calling forth "the militia of this State (as well as of the other Northern States), to the aggregate number of 75,000, in order to suppress combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed." Following this and the first gun of the great conflict, the principal vil- lages of this county became at once centers of military activity and en- thusiasm. ( )n Monday, April 15, 1861, the State Legislature passed a bill ap- propriating $3,000,000 and providing for the enrollment of 30,000 men to be subject to call in aid of the general government. The volunteers under this call were to enlist in the State service for two years and be subject at any time to transfer into the Federal service. This measure caused intense excitement throughout the State, and the villages of Wayne county were ablaze with enthusiasm. The following brief sketches of the complete organizations that left Wayne county for the Southern battlefields will give a general glimpse of their service. Recruiting began here promptly after the first call for volunteers was issued, and before the close of May, 1861, Company I, which joined the 17th Regiment, was chiefly raised in Newark and its immediate vicinity. Andrew Wilson was captain and Isaac M. Lusk, first lieutenant. In this early regiment were a considerable number of recruits outside of Company I. The latter company joined the regiment in New York city and was there mustered in for two years, under command of Col- onel Lansing. The first engagement in which the 17th took part was at Hanover Court House. A part of the command shared in the Seven Days battle, and later the regiment was in the Second battle of Bull Run, where Company I suffered the loss of Captain Wilson. In the battle of Antietam this regiment was actively engaged and again en December 13, 1861, at Fredericksburg. The regiment was mustered out June 2, 1863. Company B of the 27th Regiment was chiefly recruited in Lyons in 1861. The regiment was organized at Elmira in May of that year, un- der command of Col. W. H. Slocum, of Syracuse, who subsequently attained the highest military honors. The Lyons company was com- manded by Capt. Alexander D. Adams, and left Lyons May 10. There were also many other volunteers from Wayne county in this regiment, outside of Company B. The 27th was mustered into the United States service May 2'.t, 1861, and proceeded to Washington. The principal WAYNE COUNTY. 85 engagements in which it took part were at Bull Run (where Colonel Slocuni was wounded), Fairfax, West Point, Mechanicsville, Gaines's Mills (where the Lyons company lost one killed and twenty-three wounded), Manassas, Crampton Gap (in 18G2), and Fredericksburg in L863. The regiment was conspicuous for brave and gallant conduct before the enemy. The 33d Regiment, recruited chiefly in Rochester in 1861, contained one company (B) from Wayne county, most of whom were from Pal- myra. This organization became considerably depleted, and in Sep- tember, 1861, received 240 recruits. The regiment was commanded by Col. Robert F. Taylor, of Rochester, and left Elmira for Washington July 8, 1861. It was under fire at Yorktown in April, 1861, for fifty- four hours, and soon afterwards fought at Williamsburg. In the fight at Mechanicsville in May, 1862, the regiment participated, and in its movements reached a point within six miles of Richmond. Other en- gagements in which the 33d shared were Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, Antietam (where fifty were killed and wounded in this regiment). The recruits before mentioned, many of whom were from Wayne county, joined the regiment October 29, 1862. Then followed the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville (in 1863), and and the charge on Fred- ericksburg Heights (May 5, 1863.) The regiment returned to Elmira May 12, 1863, and was mustered out. The 44th Regiment (known as the People's Ellsworth Regiment), which was designed to be recruited in all the counties of this State, re- ceived its proportionate number from Wayne, eight of whom were from Sodus. The regiment was organized in the fall of 1861 and served to October 11, 1864. Its principal battle was Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. Towards the close of the year 1861 an attempt was made, to raise a full regiment in Wayne county ; but when about 400 men had been re- cruited, an order was given for consolidation, and the Wayne volunteers were organized into three companies and united with seven other com- panies from Franklin county to form the 98th Regiment. William Dut- ton, a Wayne county graduate of West Point, was made colonel of the regiment. The Wayne county men had remained in Camp Rathbone, at Lyons, until February, 1862 ; the three companies were lettered F, I, and K. They were respectively commanded by Captains Kreutzer, principal of the Lyons Union School, Birdsall, a Lyons merchant, and Wakely. Dr. William G. David, a leading physician of the county, went out as surgeon. The regiment left Lyons February 21, 1862. In 86 LANDMARKS OF the movement upon Yorktown in the spring - of 1862 the regiment par- ticipated, and afterwards in the bloody engagement at Fair Oaks. This was the last important battle in which the 98th participated down to February, L864, when the men re-enlisted as veterans and went home on furlough. In April of that year they were again at Yorktown, and they soon became known as one of the best disciplined and equipped or- ganizations in " Baldy " Smith's 18th Corps. In the operations of the Army of the Potomac before Richmond in the summer of 1804, the reg- iment was in active participation, fought in the battle of Cold Harbor, June 1-4, where heavy loss was sustained. Within twelve days at this period the 98th lost 121 killed and wounded. The regiment was then sent to take part in the siege of Petersburg, and on June 21 entered the trenches and continued to share in the operations in that vicinity until about August 29. In the capture of Fort Harrison, September 29, the regiment lost sixty men in killed and wounded, and on October 27 at Fair Oaks it bore an honorable part in the second engagement on that field. The 98th enjoyed comparative quiet from this time until the evacuation of Richmond, and on the 3d of April, 1865, was among the first to enter the Confederate capital. August 31 the muster-out order came and the men returned to their homes. The 111th Regiment, Col. Jesse Segoine, was recruited in the sum- mer of 1862, in Wayne and Cayuga counties, to serve three years. Five companies, A, B, C, D, and E, were from this count)*. The regiment left Auburn for Harper's Ferry August 2, on which day they were surrendered by General Miles to Stonewall Jackson, and were paroled and sent to Chicago, and remained till December and were then trans- ferred. After this regiment was transferred and camped near Wash- ington, Col. vSegoine resigned, and Lieut. -Col. C. D. MacDougall was appointed colonel. A. P. Seely succeeded Colonel MacDougall, who was promoted to brevet brigadier general. During its term of service the 111th participated in engagements at Harper's Ferry on September 15, 1862, and camped near Washington during the succeeding winter; B and C companies were detached, and the balance of the regiment was in the battles at Gettysburg (where 120 were killed and wounded); at Bristow Station, October 14; Blackburn's Ford, October 15-17: Mine Run, November \!8-30, and Morton's Ford, February 6, I Kill. In the Wilderness, early in May the 111th shared bravely in three days of almost continuous lighting, losing forty-four killed, 126 wound- ed, and twenty missing — 190 out of 386 effective men. At Po River, WAYNE COUNTY. 87 May 10-1-2, Spottsylvania, May 13, 14, 18; North Anna. May 23-4; Tolopotomy, May 31 and June 1, and in several minor engagements between June 3 and 1G, the regiment was conspicuous for its heroic deeds. On June 21 the 111th participated in the movement upon the Jerusalem Pland Road; fought at Deep Bottom July 26-8, and again August 12-14; at Reams's Station, August 25; in garrison at Fort Hell was long under constant fire; and March 25, 18G5, repulsed a fierce attack upon their lines. At Gravelly Run, March 30 and 31, the regi- ment shared in the fierce battle and then took up the pursuit of the fly- ing Lee, which ended only at Appomattox. The regiment returned home after the consummation of the great conflict, and was discharged June 6, 1865. The 138th Regiment was locally known as the Second Wayne and Cayuga, and was recruited immediately succeeding the 111th, in Au- gust, 1862. It was commanded by Colonel Joseph Welling, of Wayne; lieutenant colonel, Wm. H. Seward, of Cayuga; major, Edward P. Taft, of Wayne; surgeon, Theodore Dimon, of Cayuga; quartermaster, Henry P. Knowles, of Wayne; adjutant, William R. Wasson, of Cayuga; first assistant-surgeon, Samuel A. Sabin, of Wayne ; second assistant-surgeon Byron De Witt, Cayuga; chaplain, Warham Mudge, Wayne; sergeant- major, Lyman Comstock, Cayuga. Six of the ten companies were raised in Wayne county and were lettered A, B, D, G, H, and K. The regiment left camp September 12, and proceeded to Albany and thence to Washington, going into camp on Arlington Heights. There the or- ganization was changed to the 9th Artillery and placed in charge of forts near Georgetown. In the spring of 1864 the artillery shared in the fighting at the Wilderness, Spottsylvania and North Anna. At the beginning of June the command, as part of Burnside's 9th Corps, saw active service at Cold Harbor. The regiment was engaged in skirmish or battle between June 1st and 9th and lost during that time nine killed and forty-two wounded. Other engagements in which the 9th partici- pated were at Monocacy Junction July 9, losing heavily; on August 7 four companies were detached for service in the Washington defenses, the other eight joining the 6th Corps and going into Western Virginia, where, under Sheridan, in the fall of 1864, they participated in the brilliant operations of that great commander. On the 25th of March, 1865, the 9th was posted at the extreme front before Petersburg, took part in the recapture of Fort Steadman; was engaged April 2, and again on the 6th, at Sailor's Creek. The greater part of the regiment was mustered out in April, 1865. 88 LANDMARKS OF What became the 160th Regiment, and the third from Wayne and Cayuga counties, was recruited from the last of August, 1802, through September. The first company (B) was raised in Palmyra and went into the barracks August 29. The other three Wayne companies were A from Newark; C, from Lyons; and D, from Marion. The regiment went out under command of Colonel Dwight, left Auburn November 18 and was mustered into the United States service at New York on the 21st. Embarked on a transport, the regiment then constituted a part of General Banks's celebrated expedition, and proceeded to Ship Island at the mouth of the Mississippi, reaching there December 14. In the extended operations to the southward of New Orleans, having the cap- ture of that city as their main object, in January, February, March and April, the IGOth took part, while attached to Weitzel's Brigade. While this duty was arduous, the losses were small. In April the regiment advanced with the brigade to Opelousas, and thence by a rapid three davs' march to Alexandria. On the 24th of May Weitzel's Brigade reached Simmsburg, at the head of the Atchafalaya River, whence it went on transports to St. Francisville, fourteen miles by land above Port Hudson. By easy marches the rear of Port Hudson was reached on the 25th of May. Here a part of the regiment shared in the attack on Port Hudson, and on the 27th Company B lost one man killed and the regi- ment about twenty wounded. In the succeeding charge of June 14 Richard Jones was killed and thirty-five wounded. Following the sur- render of Vicksburg, on the 7th of July, Port Hudson did likewise on the 8th, and on the 9th Weitzel's Brigade was the first to enter the works. At evening the regiment embarked and the next day landed at Donaldsonville, and on August I, proceeded to New Thibedeaux, and went into camp. On Thursday, January 7, 1864, the regiment with the 1 9th Corps started for Franklin. In March Weitzel's Brigade was broken up and the IGOth was brigaded with three Maine and one Pennsylvania regiments. The next movement of importance in which the 160th shared was the Red River expedition under General Banks. On this service the IGOth found severe fighting several days and after an engage- ment on the Dth of March, Lieutenant Colonel Van Petten was called to headquarters to receive for his regiment the thanksof Generals Banks, Emory, and McMullen. It was said that the heroism of the 160th turned the tide of the day's battle. Eight of the regiment were killed, among them two captains; thirty-seven were wounded and fourteen missing. The 19th Corps was now ordered north to form a part of WAYNE COUNTY. 89 Sheridan's army in the Shenandoah Valley. In the active operations in that region this regiment performed its allotted share. At the battle of Winchester, September 19, the 160th behaved with great gallantry, and saw the hardest fighting in which the regiment had participated. The loss was about twenty killed and fifty wounded. After the rebels were driven out of the valley the regiment was sent first to Savannah, Ga., and then to Hawkinsville, whence it proceeded to Elmira and was there mustered out in November, 1865. The number of men mustered out then was about 240, under commond of Lieut. Col. H. B. Under- bill. The First Regiment of Veteran Cavalry contained a considerable number of Wayne county men, who were chiefly from Palmyra. The regiment was composed of several bodies of men, many of whom were veterans, that had been- recruited in the summer and fall of 1863, and was mustered in on the 24th of October. The regiment was sent into Virginia over ground that was familiar to many of the veterans. It is almost impossible to follow in detail the operations of a body of cavalry. In the Valley of the Shenandoah, in the spring and summer of 1864, the regiment was constantly in active duty and acquired distinction for its gallantry. On June 1 the regiment, with the 28th Ohio Infantry, was sent across the mountains in charge of 1,200 prisoners. The dis- tance to Beverly, 110 miles, was made in four days. During the re- mainder of the summer the Veteran Cavalry was in the saddle the larger part of the time, and in October was placed in guard of the salt works of Kanawha, in Camp Piatt, Western Virginia. On the 8th of January, 1865, the regiment went into camp at Gauley Bridge, at the headwaters of the Kanawha. After two or three other changes in location the reg- iment returned home about the last of July and was mustered out. The Eighth Regiment New York Cavalry was organized for three years' service, in Rochester, in the fall of 1861, was sent to Washington and into Camp Selden. Though having enlisted to serve as cavalry, the men were not mounted for nearly a year. Meanwhile the regiment was posted for a time along the Potomac and Winchester Railroad. On the morning of May 24, 1862, four companies were ordered to Winches- ter and participated in fighting at that point. Colonel Samuel J. Crooks resigned in February, and the command was given to Benjamin F. Davis, of the Regular Army, his commission bearing date of July 7. On the 8th the regiment was stationed at the Relay House, and in a short time 12 90 LANDMARKS OF the efficient commander had his men well disciplined, mounted and the regiment recruited up to full number. On the 11th of September the 8th was surrounded by Jackson's force at Harper's Ferry. When it was seen the place could not be held, Colo- nel Davis asked and was refused permission to break through the ene- my's lines. He, however, called his officers together on the night of the 14th, expressed his determination, and about midnight led his com- mand across the pontoon bridge, dashed through the rebel army, cap- tured Lee's ammunition train, which was on its way to Antietam, and arrived at Greenfield at noon of the 15th, there finding McClellan'sarmy marching towards Antietam. After sharing in the fighting of the 17th, the 8th pursued and harassed the rear of the retreating army, and after a short rest at Hagerstown, pursued the rebels up the Shenandoah to- wards the Rappahannock. Other minor engagements of the remainder of the year in which the 8th shared were at Snicker's Gap, Philemont, Union, Upperville, Barber's Cross Roads, and Amosville. The regi- ment went into camp at Belle Plain. A summary of the other principal conflicts in which this regiment took part were at Freeman's Ford, April 14, 1863; Rapidan Bridge, May 4; at Chancellorsville, Beverly Ford, Middleburg, Gettysburg (on which field it is said that the 8th was the first to fire a gun), at Culpepper, Raccoon Ford, and at Germania Ford, October 10; Stevensburg, October 11; Brandy Plains, October 13; Oak Hill, October 15; Belton Station, October 26; Muddy Run, November 8; Locust Grove, November 27; at Barnett's Ford, February 6, 1864 (after wintering at Culpepper Court House); Germania Ford, May 5; White Oak Swamp, June 13; Malvern Hill, June 15; Nottoway Court House, June 23; Roanoke Station, June 25; Stony Creek, June 28; Winchester, August 16; Kearneysville, August 25; Occoquan Creek, vSeptember 19 ; Front Royal, September 21; Milford, September 23; Fisher's Hill, September 30; Jones's Brook, October 9; Winchester, November 12, after having gone into winter quarters; Lacy Springs, December 31; Waynesboro, March 2, 1865, where the Eighth displayed the most daring gallantry. Soon after this Major Compson was detailed by General Sheridan as a bearer of dispatches to the secretary of war, taking with him seventeen captured battle flags, ten of which had been taken by the Eighth. In the operations in front of Petersburg in the spring of 1865, which practically closed the war, this regiment was con- stantly active. After the surrender at Appomattox the 8th returned to Petersburg and thence went to Washington and took part in the grand WAYNE COUNTY. 91 review, May 22. It reached Rochester June 28, with 190 of the 940 men who went away in 1861. The battle flag bore the. name of sixty- four actions. Among the slain of the regiment were one colonel, eleven captains, two lieutenants, and one color-bearer. The regiment was disbanded Jnly 3. The 22d Regiment of Cavalry was organized at Rochester, contained a number of Wayne county men, and was mustered into service in Feb- ruary, 1864. It was mustered out, after a comparatively brief term, August 1, 1805. In the various military operations in Virginia of the last campaign, the regiment performed efficient service. It formed a part of the First Brigade, Third Cavalry Division. An order issued April 9, 1865, after the surrender, paid the highest compliments to the valor of this division. These very brief incomplete sketches of the several organizations which contained one or more companies or considerable numbers of Wayne county men, do not, of course, exhibit in detail the deeds of the men who took their lives in their hands in defense of the country. To do this would require an entire volume ; and it is a gratifying fact that such a work has been well performed in Wayne county by Prof. Lewis H. Clark of Sodus, which permanently preserves the deeds of the sol- diers of Wayne county. CHAPTER VIII. Since the War — Internal Improvements — Legislative Acts — Agricultural Produc- tions — Peppermint — Statistics, etc. — Civil List — Recapitulation. The general history of Wayne county since the close of the civil war may be briefly written, exept as it will be found in more detail in the later town histories and chapters devoted to specific topics. With the close of the war we entered upon a period of inflation and expansion in all mercantile and manufacturing centers. Money was plenty, prices of farmers' products were high, markets were active,- and a general spirit of recklessness was abroad. New enterprises of various kinds were established, while the older ones which had passed through a period of success on a rising market, were not, as a rule, prepared for the time of retrenchment that should, perhaps, have been more generally fore- 92 LANDMARKS OF seen. As a consequence, when the inevitable reaction came, in 1872-73, all kinds of business suffered severely. But the same reasons existed to lighten the burden in Wayne county to which we have alluded in re- lation to earlier periods of financial stringency. The county is largely agricultural, and such districts, if healthful in other directions, are the last to feel the effects of financial revulsion. During the period now in question the general statement may be made that the people of this county have enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity. Considerable legislation has been effected since that before chronicled in which the county at large was interested. Among the more impor- tant of these acts was the incorporation of the Palmyra Academy and the Palmyra Savings Bank in 1842, both of which are described in later pages; the act of April 11, 1853, providing for the erection of a new court house and jail ; an act of March 24, 1859, giving Hiram W. Brad- shaw permission to establish a ferry across Sodus Bay "from where the bridge road approaches on the west side, to the highway on the east side;" the incorporation of the Wayne County Savings Bank, April 13, 1861 ; acts authorizing the building of iron bridges over the canal in the town of Macedon and at other points. In the appropriation bill of 187] , the sum of $5,400 was set aside for the vertical wall of the canal in Mace- don, and $2,000 for improvement of the canal in Newark ; act of April 26, 1871, appropriating $3,000 for a bridge over Sodus Bay " at or near the site of the old bridge at Port Glasgow." This sum was to be raised by tax, and Edwin H. Draper, ofWolcott; De Witt Parshall, of Lyons; Merritt Thornton, of Sodus; James M. Cosad and William W. Gatchell, of Huron, were made the commissioners. Act of April 24, 1872, au- thorizing the Canandaigua, Palmyra and Ontario Railroad to construct a draw bridge over the canal at or near Palmyra village; (this was not, of course, ever built. ) Act of May 12, 1873, for the protection of fish in the Clyde and Seneca Rivers (a part of the extensive and beneficent legislation of the past twenty years tending to the preservation of the fish supply of this State.) Act of May 19, 1887, authorizing the super- intendent of public works to build a hoist bridge over the canal at Glas- gow street in Clyde; and a similar act of June 9, 1888, for a bridge over the canal at Geneva street, Lyons, for which $10,000 was appro- priated. Act of April 15, 1887, authorizing the supervisor of the town of ( hitario to pay and cancel the bonds constituting the town indebted- ness. Act of April 9, 189], authorizing the superintendent of the town of Galen to .borrow $5,000 on the town credit, to pay Thomas Reynolds WAYNE COUNTY. 93 for damages and injury sustained by falling off of a defective bridge. Act of February 24, 1891, making the office of sheriff of Wayne county a salaried office, with salary of $1,200. Many other other acts have been passed in recent years incorporating various institutions in the county and amending the several village charters, to place them in line with the best governed municipalities of the State. The reader of the foregoing pages has learned that the attention of the farmers of this county was largely devoted to the growing of wheat in early years. It was the grain that would sell most readily and, of course, supplied the inhabitants with flour. Other grains were culti- vated, but in a more limited way ; and the surplus of all was converted into whisky in the numerous small distilleries that abounded in every town. Apples and pears have always been extensively produced in Wayne county. For the first named fruit the soil and climate seem to be par- ticularly well adapted and the quality of the fruit rivals that of Orleans and Niagara counties, which is the highest praise that can be given it. The first settlers in Sodus, Palmyra, and at other points, planted apple seeds almost as soon as they arrived, and ere long they were supplied with the ever-welcome fruit, the excellent quality of which led to the extensive planting of orchards. Large quantities are shipped annually to market. The first grafted apples brought to Wayne county were brought by William Bond from Long Island and were termed the Long Island, the Long Island Greening, and the Billy Bond. Pears also have been produced successfully in the county, the locally celebrated Sheldon pear and the Osband pear having originated in the towns of Huron and Palmyra respectively. In recent years raspberries have been extensively cultivated, espe- cially in the north and northwest parts of the county. This fruit is mar- keted generally in an evaporated form. Another product which has given Wayne county a world-wide fame is peppermint. The first production of this herb was about 1820, and from 1825 until quite recently the quantity grown was on the increase. For many years the quantity of oil distilled in this county constituted by far the larger part of the product of the world. By the year 1837 considerable quantities of the herb were offered for sale. In 1841 H. G. Hotchkiss was keeping a country store at Phelps, Ontario county, and in the course of his dealings with the farmers of that vicinity he had taken their peppermint oil in payment for goods until he had on hand 94 LANDMARKS OF so much that he would lose money if he could not dispose of the lot for §1,000. He attempted to sell it in New York but without success. This led to the attempt to produce oil at home and was the initial step in what became a very extensive and profitable manufacture. After the year 1841 Mr. Hotchkiss gave his entire attention to this business. Other enterprising men took up the work of manufacturing the oil, and the farmers were thus inspired to further ciiltivation of the herb, until it became almost if not quite the chief agricultural product of the coun- ty. The average annual yield of peppermint oil in this county is 150, ooo pounds, nine-tenths of which is controlled by the Hotchkiss family of Lyons, which is virtually dictating the peppermint oil market, as Wayne county is practically the only peppermint-growing district where the plant is cultivated and the oil distilled. Wayne county oil com- mands from forty to fifty cents a pound more than any other peppermint oil. Twenty-five pounds of oil to the acre is the lowest general average of the crop. It is not uncommon for the market to reach $3 a pound, and it has been as high as $5 a pound. Some farmers distill their own oil, but the product is usually treated by regular distillers, of whom there are about 100 in Wayne county. They toll the crop for the dis- tilling. In 1801 the prices for various products were as follows : wheat, 75 cents; corn, 3 shillings; rye, 50 cents; hay, $6 to $12 per ton; butter and cheese, 11 to 16 cents; salt pork, 8 to 10 cents; whisky, 50 to 75 cents per gallon; salt, $5 per barel; sheep, $2 to $4 per head; neat cat- tle, $3 to $4 per cwt. ; milch cows, $16 to $25 per head; horses, $100 to $125 a span; working oxen, $50 to $80 per yoke; laborer's wages, in- cluding board, $10 to $15 per month; suit of clothes, $4 to $5; shoes, $1.75 to $2 per pair. In 1858 the county had 254,451 acres improved land; real estate val- ued at $12,308,024; personal property, $1,364,222; there were that year 23,964 male and 22,796 female inhabitants, 8,708 dwellings, 9,376 families, 6,844 freeholders, 219 school districts, 17,222 school children, 1 t, 928 horses, 21,695 oxen and calves, 104,845 sheep, 29,799 swine; the county produced that year 45,272 tons hay, 289,734 bushels winter and L, 918, 572 bushels spring wheat. 261,403 bushels potatoes, 509, 626 bush- els-apples, 1,446,080 pounds butter, L63, 764 pounds cheese; and 13,065 yards domestic cloths. The population of Wayne county by decades isas follows: 1800, 1,410; 1810, 6,575; 1820, 20,309; L830, 33,643; 1840, 42,057; 1850, 44,953; 1860, 47,762; L870, 17,710; L880, 51,700; and 1890, 49,729. WAYNE COUNTY. 95 In 1855 the county had 226 blacksmiths, 205 shoemakers, 05 cabinet- makers and dealers, .501 carpenters, 83 clergymen, 126 wagonmakers, etc., 150 coopers, 6,494 farmers, 66 grocers, 4:5 tavern-keepers, 43 law- yers, 44 machinists, 161 masons, etc., 180 merchants, 07 millers, 103 milliners, 83 painters, etc., 110 physicians, 14 printers, 85 harness mak- ers, etc., 257 tailors, 45 tanners and curriers, 203 teachers, 4!) tinsmiths, and 7 weavers. In 1893 the 349,012 acres of land in the county were assessed at $13, 252,206; village and mill property, $0,121,401 ; value of railroads and telegraphs, $4,010,470; personal property, value, $2,398,508; total as- sessed value, $25,782, 230. Schedule of taxes, 1893: town contingent funds, $32,009.33; town poor funds, $12,798.48; roads and bridges, $6, 914. 42; special town tax- es, $34,389.17; re-assessed on towns, $254. 53; audited by supervisors, $4,015.73; reimburse county poor fund, $7,195.14; school taxes, $23,- 588.81; county tax, $50,438.93; state tax, $31,100.91; state insane tax, $8,023.41. Total tax, $210,728.80; dog tax, $2,077.50. The county has forty-five election districts, and at the general elec- tion in 1893 polled 9,143 votes. Wayne county is divided into two school commissioner districts, named respectively First and Second. The First district comprises the towns of Butler, Galen, Huron, Lyons, Rose, Savannah, Sodus, and Wolcott, and the annual report of Everett O'Neill, school chmmissioner, for 1892 -93 gives the following; Districts with school houses, 114; teachers employed during legal term, 170; whole number of children attending school, 0,138; value school buildings and sites, $202,530; assessed val- uation of districts, $13,300,408; public money received from the State, $23,993.11; raised by local tax, $40,007.24; trees planted in 1893, 121. The Second school commissioner district embraces the towns of Ar- cadia, Macedon, Marion, Ontario, Palmyra, Walworth, and Williamson, and from the report of M. C. Finley, commissioner, for 1892-93, is ob- tained the following: Districts with school houses, 101; teachers em- played during legal term, 132; whole number of children attending school, 5,172; value of school buildings and sites, $153,040; assessed valuation of districts, $12,003,000; public money received from the State, $18,450.74; raised by local tax, $34,048.62; trees planted in 1893, 121. 96 LANDMARKS OF Civil List. At the convention held in Albany in Oetober, 1801, to consider the powers of the governor and of the Council of Appointments (which were decided as equal) the number of vState senators was fixed at thirty-two and assemblymen at one hundred. Members of this convention from Onondaga, Ontario and Steuben were Messrs. Carpenter, Moses At- water, and John Knox. A canal commissioner was appointed on April 17, 1810, from Lyons, Wayne county, in the person of Myron Holley. The second constitution was adopted by an election held in February, 1822. Many changes were made and a large number of offices were made elective. These measures were carried by a vote of 71,732, to 41,102. The constitution finally grew into disfavor, and a third consti- tution was formed during the year 1810. The delegates to this conven- tion from Wayne county were Ornon Archer and Horatio N. Taft. By act act of April 17, 1822, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, erected in 182:;, and Yates, same date, were constituted the Twenty-sixth Congressional District. By act of June 2!), 1832, Senecaand Wayne became the Twen- ty-fifth District, changed to the Twenty-seventh by act of September 0, 1812. Cayuga and Wayne were made the Twenty-fifth District by act of July 19, 1851, and Seneca was added by act of April 23, 1802, and the three constituted the Twenty-fourth District. By act of April 13 L892, Wayne, Cayuga, Cortland, Ontario and Yates were made the Twenty-eighth District. The following citizens of Wayne county have been elected to Congress: Esbon Blackmar, 1818-19; Martin Butter- field, 1859-01; George W. Cowles, 1809; John M. Holley, 1847-48; John H. Camp, 1876. The office of presidential elector has been held by the following res- idents of Wayne county: Solomon W. John, appointed by the Legisla- ture in 1824. John Beal, elected in 1828; Alanson M. Knapp, 1830; Charles Bradish, 1810; Jonathan Boynton, 1814 ; Joseph W. Gates, IS is ; William VanMarter, 1800; and George W. Knowles, 1870. The State of New York was divided into eight senatorial districts, and each entitled to four senators; term four years, one elected each year. On April 11, L823, Wayne was annexed to the Seventh District, which then included Cayuga, ( )nondaga, ( hitario, Seneca, Yates, Wayne, and, in L836, Cortland counties. By an act passed April 30, 1892, Wayne, Cayuga, Tompkins, Ontario and Yates were made the Twenty-sixth Senatorial • District. Senators from Wayne have been By ram Green, WAYNE COUNTY. 97 L823-24; Truman Hart, 1826-29; Thomas Armstrong, L830^37; Lyman Sherwood, 1840-41; William Clark, 1854-55; Alexander B. Williams, L858-61; Stephen K. Williams, 1864-69, Samuel C. Cuyler, 1846-47; Thomas Robinson, 1884-85 ; Charles T. Saxton, 1889, the present sen- ator. Upon the organization of Wayne county it was entitled to two repre- sentatives by appointment. The following' persons have held the office from Wayne county from the respective dates given: 1824, James Dick- son, Russell Whipple; 1825, Wm. H. Adams, Enoch Moore; 1820, Thomas Armstrong, Jonathan Boynton; 1830, Luther Chapin, Seth Eddy; 1831, A. Wells, Seth Eddy; 1832-33, James Humeston, A. Salis- bury; 1834, James P. Bartle, Russell Whipple; 1835, E. Benjamin, W. D. Wylie; 1836, Reuben H. Foster, Robert Alsop; 1837, David Arne, jr., Pomeroy Tucker ; 1838, John M. Holley, Esbon Blackmar; 1839, T. Armstrong, A. Salisbury; 1840, Horace Morley, Durfee Os- band; 1841, J. M. Halley, E. Blackmar; 1842, James M. Wilson, The- ron R. Strons; 1843, Philip Sours, Fred U. Sheffield; 1844, Austin Roe, Isaac R. Sanford; 1845, John J. Dickson, A. M. Knapp; 1846, James T. Wisner, Elias Durfee; 1847, I. R. Southard, S. Moore; 1848, E. Pettit, John Lapham; 1849, Isaac Leavenworth, Peter Boyce; 1850, James M. Wilson, Elihu Dunfee; 1851, Ed. W. Bottom, T. G. Yeomans; 1852, William Dutton, T. G. Yeomans; 1853, B. H. Streeter, L. Whit- comb; 1854, Willis G. Wade, John P. Bennett; 1856, Harlow Hyde, Thomas Barnes; 1857, Thomas Johnson, Joseph Peacock; 1858, Ed- ward W. Sentell, Charles Estes; 1859, Henry K. Graves, John A. Laing; 1860, James M. Servis, Abel J. Bixby; 1861, J. S. L'Amoreaux, J. W. Corning; 1862, E. N. Thomas, Abram Payne; 1863-64, Thaddeus W. Collins, Lemuel Durfee; 1865, Thaddeus W. Collins, W. H. Rogers; 1866, John Vandenburg, W. H. Rogers; 1867, John Vandenburg, Ornon Archer; 1868, De Witt Parshall, Elijah M. K. Glenn; 1869, Merritt Thornton, Elijah M. K. Glenn; 1870, Anson S. Wood, Amasa Hall; 1871, Anson S. Wood, Henry Durfee; 1872-73, Edward B. Wells, Lu- cien T. Yeomans; 1874, Emory W. Gurnee, H. H. Clark; 1875, Will- iam H. Clark, A. S Russell; 1876, Emory W. Gurnee, A. S. Russell; 1877, Jackson Valentine, Jeremiah Thistlethwaite ; 1878, Jackson Val- entine, James H. Miller; 1879, John A. Munson, Jefferson Sherman; 1880, Alfred P. Crafts, Jefferson Sherman; 1881, Rowland Robinson, Addison W. Gates; 1882, Oscar Weed, William E. Greenwood; 1883, Oscar Weed, Lemon Hotchkiss; 1884, Ammon S. Farnum, Silas S. 13 98 LANDMARKS OF Pierson; 1885, Amnion S. Farnum, Edwin K. Burnham ; 188(5, William Wood, Barnet H. Davis; 1887-88, Charles T. Saxton, Barnet H. Davis; L889, Charles T. Saxton, Richard P. Groat; 1890, John P. Bennett, Richard P. Groat; 1801, Elliott B. Norris, Richard P. Groat; 1802, George W. Brinkerhoff, Flynn Whitcomb. By the act of April 30, 1 , Wayne county was entitled to but one member of assembly. 1893, ; 1804, George S. Horton. Prior to 1857 school commissioners were appointed by the Boards of Supervisors; since then they have been elected by ballot. The first election under the act was held in November, 1850. In Wayne county the commissioners of the First District have been as follows : Mortimer F. Sweeting, Thomas Robinson, Alonzo M. Winchester, John McGon- egal, Joseph G. L. Roe, Sidney G. Cook, E. C. Delano, Everett O'Neill, and Samuel Cosad. In the Second District : Albert S. Todd ; Myron W. Reed, Jefferson Sherman, Ethel M. Allen, W. T. Goodnough, M. C. Finley, and Freeman Pintler. County Treasurers. — Bartlett R. Rogers, 1848; Philander P. Brad- ish, 1851; John Adams, 1857; Smith A. Dewey, 1802, re-elected 1865, and 1868; Wm. B. Stultz, 1871, and re-elected 1874 and 1877; L. F. Taylor, appointed 1870; Dr. A. F. Sheldon, 1870, and re-elected 1882 and 1885; Volney H. Sweeting, 1888, present imcumbent. Sheriffs during the colonial period were appointed annuall)' in Octo- ber, unless otherwise noticed. Under the first constitution they were appointed annually by the council of appointment, and no person could hold the office more than four successive years. The sheriff could hold no other office and must be a freeholder in the county to which appointed. Since the constitution of 1821, sheriffs have been elected for a term of three years, and are ineligible for election for the succeeding term. The following persons have held the office of sheriff of Wayne county from the respective dates given ; The elections have been held in No- vember of each year. Reuben H. Foster, 1825; Cullen Foster, 1828; Calvin D. Palmeter, 1831; Truman Heminway, 1834; Hiram Mann, L837; vSimon V. W. Stout, 1840; John Borrowdale, 1843; George W. Barnard, 1846; Chester A. Ward, 1840; George W. Paddock, 1852; William P Nottingham, 1855; Adrastus Snedeker, 1858; John P. Ben- nett, L861; Bartlett R. Rogers, 1864; John P. Bennett, 18(17; John N. Brownell, 1870; Richard P. Groat, 1873; Thomas M. Clark, 187