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 OLIVER FORWARD. 
 
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the 
 
 LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 OLIVER FORWARD 
 
 Read Before the Buffalo Historical Society, 
 January 25, 1875. 
 
 BY 
 
 Hon. JAMES SHELDON, 
 
 . President. 
 
 BUFFALO: 
 PRESS OP WARREN, JOHNSON & CO. 
 
 18 75. 
 
»*z 
 
 
 
 3- 
 
OLIVER FORWARD. 
 
 Tin Buffalo Historical Society, in the prose- 
 cution of its work of gathering all the facts 
 having relation to the early history of our city 
 and generally to the region of western New 
 York and the great lakes, have directed a 
 memorial of the life and public services of 
 Oliver Forward to be compiled, not only that 
 their record may exist in some authentic form, 
 Imt asajusl recognition of his valuable labors 
 The lives of men who have rendered important 
 services to their generation and by their devo- 
 tion to the public good have aided to accom- 
 plish beneficial results should he home in 
 grateful and enduring remembrance. Too 
 often the applause of men is given, with un- 
 sparing hand, to those who were incited to 
 action, solely by selfish considerations and with- 
 held from more deserving objects of approba- 
 tion, whose highest ambition was to advance 
 the interests of their age. It is the duty of the 
 impartial historian to render to each the pro- 
 per meed of honor, and if time and circum- 
 stance have contributed to induce forget fulness 
 ot merit, it well becomes us to review the 
 records of the past and award the just measure 
 of our commendation. 
 
 Samuel Forward, the great-grand-father of 
 the object of this memoir, emigrated from Eng- 
 land before the year 1700, and with his wife 
 settled at Windsor, Ct. They brought with 
 them those stern virtues and characteristics of 
 their parent land which enabled them, with 
 the men of their time to triumph over the trou- 
 bles and hardships endured in the settlement 
 of the wilderness, and which, in the long line 
 of their descendents, have been, upon many oc- 
 casions, so greatly manifested. Their son Abel, 
 was born in 1710, and died at EastGranby, Ct., 
 in L798, leaving a large family of children, of 
 whom Samuel, who was the sixth child, was 
 born .May 1st. 17o2, and settled at East Gran by, 
 where he resided until June, 1803. At this 
 time In 1 sold his possessions at that place and 
 emigrated to Aurora, in the state of Ohio. He 
 went overland with all his family, consisting of 
 himself, his wife, his son Samuel with his wife 
 and children,* his other children, Walter, Julia, 
 Chauncey, Renssalaer, his son Oliver's wife 
 and David Loomis, conveyed in two large 
 wagons, one drawn by a span of horses, the 
 other by two yoke of" oxen and a horse in the 
 lead, one saddle horse and two cows. Thus the 
 train was made up and with them 
 they took farming utensils, domestic arti- 
 cles and provisions. They reached 
 Aurora July 27. 1803, having been forty-eight 
 days on the route which is now traveled in half 
 as many hours, and found his son Oliver there, 
 and three hired men, who had gone there the 
 previous February to prepare for them. A 
 
 clearing had been made and a log house erect- 
 ed, and the pioneer, with his family around 
 him, began the great work of aiding in the de- 
 velopment of the mighty west. Such men, the 
 inheritors of sterling and manly New England 
 virtues, were the very ones to plant the graces 
 of our civilization and the republicanism of our 
 institutions upon the virgin soil of the north- 
 western territory, lie died in 1821, having 
 tilled many positions of Importance, among 
 them, that of judge of Portage county; Ins 
 counsel always being influential and hi- charac- 
 ter entitling him to universal respect. 
 
 Oliver Forward was born in December. 1780, 
 and married Sally Granger of Sutlield, Conn. 
 He settled at Aurora, Ohio, in the spring of 
 1803, and resided there probably about six 
 years and then through the influenc of his 
 brother-in-law, Erastus Granger of Buffalo, he 
 moved to this place about the year 1809. Judge 
 Granger at that time tilled the' position of post- 
 master and collector of customs at Buffalo, and 
 agent for the Indian tribes in western New York, 
 lie had before that settled here, and took up a 
 large tract of land, now, in part, embraced 
 in Forest Lawn and the Park, and resided 
 until his death, at what was known 
 as Flint Hill, a little west of the stone house 
 erected in latter years by his son, our esteemed 
 fellow-citizen, Warren Granger. Judge For- 
 ward immediately assumed the duties of deputy 
 eollecter and assistant postmaster, which were 
 of much importance, as this place was the great 
 distributing office of the frontier. He was also 
 appointed and acted as justice of the peace. 
 
 In 1811, Charles Townsend and George Coit, 
 honorable names in the history of our city, 
 came here as traders, bringing about twenty 
 tons of merchandise— a heavy stock for that 
 time — which was boated from Schenectady on 
 the .Mohawk river, carried across the short 
 Portage to Wood creek and thence Soated to Os- 
 wego and to Lewiston, carted around the Falls 
 to Schlosser,and thence brought in boats up the 
 Niagara river to Buffalo. Judge Townsend 
 furnished a paper before his death, from which 
 the following facts in regard to the village at 
 that early day are extracted. "In 1811, Buffalo 
 contained less than one hundred dwellings and 
 a population of some four or live hundred. The 
 only public buildings were the old stone 
 jail on Washington street and an unfinished 
 wooden court house. A small wooden 
 building, built and claimed by Doctor 
 Cyrenius Uhapin, near the southwesl cor- 
 nel- of Pearl and Swan streets, put up for a 
 school-house, served also as a town hall, a 
 church for all religious denominations, and in- 
 deed for all public purposes. Three taverns were 
 kept,one bj Joseph Laudon,on Exchange street 
 
and occupying a part of the site of tbe Mansion 
 House ; another of more moderate pretensions 
 at the corner of Main and Seneca streets, by 
 Raphael Cook, and the third by Gamaliel St. 
 John, near the corner of Main and Court 
 streets. The only merchants were Juba 
 Storrs & Co., Grosvenor & Heacock, Eli Hart 
 and Isaac Davis; the first being located on the 
 northwest corner of Washington and Exchange 
 streets, and the others on Main, between South 
 Division and Exchange streets. A mail from 
 Albany, brought once or twice a week in a 
 wooden spring lumber wagon, was opened by 
 Oliver Forward, a justice of the peace. Judge 
 Granger held the office of postmaster, ami also 
 that of collector of the port; the latter an 
 office rather of honor than of business or profit. 
 The commerce of the lakes was small. I think 
 (says Judge Townsend) there were only four or 
 five small vessels on our side, and two or three 
 merchantmen, besides two British armed ves- 
 sels on the other. There was no harbor here. 
 The mouth of the Buffalo creek was usually so 
 much obstructed by a sand-bar that small ves- 
 sels could but rarely enter, and even canoes 
 were sometimes shutout, and footmen walked 
 dry shod across the mouth. Vessels were 
 loaded and unloaded at a wharf near Bird 
 Island, at Black Rock." 
 
 Before 1811 Judge Forward had built a small 
 one-story wooden dwelling on Pearl street, in 
 the rear of what is now No. 102, where he re- 
 sided, and in a small addition thereto carried on 
 the post-office and the business of collector of 
 customs as the deputy of Judge Granger. This 
 was the central part of the village, where the 
 news from all parts of the world was received 
 and disseminated. He continued thus to 
 act and live until the British and Indians, 
 on the 30th day of December, 1813, burned the 
 place and massacred the defenseless women and 
 children. The post-office was removed to 
 Judge Granger's residence where the public 
 business was transacted until the following 
 spring, when iUbecame safe for the scattered 
 inhabitants to return to the village. As soon as 
 possible in the year 1814 Judge Forward com- 
 menced the erection of a new dwelling on 
 Pearl street. It was a double two-story brick 
 house, and was considered the most elegant res- 
 idence in the place. The northern portion of it 
 is yet standing, being the parlor of the house 
 No. 102 Pearl street,' the hall of which is of 
 comparatively recent erection. In this part of 
 his residence the post-office was established and, 
 as Judge Granger had before this resigned the 
 position of collector, to which Judge Forward 
 succeeded, the business of collector of customs 
 was also transacted there. For many years he 
 was also the treasurer of Niagara county, be- 
 fore Erie county was organized, and in the 
 performance of the duties of these positions of 
 trust he manifested the greatest integrity. 
 
 The village of Buffalo was incorporated by 
 the legislature in April, 1813, and Eli Hart, 
 Zenas'W. Barker, Ebenezer Walden, Oliver 
 Forward and Cyrenus Chapin were the trust- 
 ees nominated by the act. On the 11th of April. 
 1817, he was appointed one of the judges ol 
 Niagara county, which position he held many 
 years. The original commission, in my posses- 
 sion, appoints Oliver forward, Charles Town- 
 send, Samuel Wilkinson, Gideon Frisby and 
 
 Samuel Russel judges of the county of Niagara, 
 and among the justices for the territory of 
 what is now Erie' county appear the names ot 
 James Cronk, afterwards sheriff, Joshua Hen- 
 shaw and Jonathan Bowen, of Willink; Seth 
 Abbott and Silas Patrick, of Hamburgh; Amos 
 Smith and John Hill, of Eden ; Frederick Rich- 
 mond, of Concord; James Sheldon, Ezra St. 
 John and Alexander Hitchcock, of Buffalo, and 
 Otis R. Hopkins, of Clarence, men who were 
 prominently identified with the early history of 
 our county. 
 
 For many years Judge Forward was a 
 director of the Bank of Niagara, and at one 
 time was called upon by all interested in the 
 bank to take the position of Cashier, which he 
 accepted, the expectation being that his name 
 and influence might in some way retrieve the 
 fortunes of that institution. 
 
 Early in 1817, Judge Forward, then being col- 
 lector of the port, was authorized by the treas- 
 ury department to purchase a site for a light 
 house, and after some negotiations with Joseph 
 Ellicott, the agent of the Holland Land Com- 
 pany, selected the point where the residence of 
 I he light-house keeper now stands.that being at 
 the time, as stated in the correspondence, near 
 the outlet of Buffalo creek. The price paid 
 was $350, which was advanced by him in order 
 to hasten the negotiation, and contracts were 
 let for the building of the light-house and an 
 adjacent building for the residence of the keep- 
 er." His letter of December 2(5, 1818, to the de- 
 partment, states that in obedience to directions 
 received by him, he had notified Mr. John E. 
 Skaats of lus appointment as keeper, and that 
 in pursuance thereof he had taken charge of it 
 without a moment's delay. He also adds that 
 the light-house and building were completed on 
 the first of the preceding November, and as a 
 light was at that time an important aid in navi- 
 gating the lake, he had employed Mr. George 
 W. Fox to take charge until a keeper was ap- 
 pointed. These incidents are only mentioned 
 as being matters of local history, of sufficient 
 moment to be recorded. 
 
 The project of a grand canal to unite the 
 waters of Lake Erie with those of the Hudson 
 river at Albany, began in those years to receive 
 universal attention. The citizens of Buffalo, 
 at an early day, appreciated the importance ot 
 their village with reference to its being the 
 proper and natural western terminus of the 
 canal. Naturally enough, they looked forward 
 with solicitude to the accomplishment of this 
 event, which would render this place the em- 
 porium of the west. After the determination 
 of the state authorities that the canal should be 
 constructed, ami which was not arrived at un- 
 til after a struggle, great and powerful influ- 
 ences, not only in the canal board, but of some 
 of the most "distinguished politicians on the 
 frontier, were at work to locate the termina- 
 tion at Black Rock. That seemed to be the 
 place designed by nature, being the very out- 
 let of the lakes arid so situated upon the Niagara 
 river that a safe and commodious harbor, when 
 reached, was provided for all the commerce 
 that could ever float upon our inland seas. This 
 view was taken by many disinterested persons 
 in authority and strongly urged by Peter B. 
 Porter and others who had made large invest- 
 ments at Black Rock and whose political influ- 
 
ence was commanding. The only way the 
 argument could be met was by actual demon- 
 stration that a harbor, easier of access and 
 equally commodious could, be created at Buf- 
 falo. It uiust be remembered that the mouth 
 of Buffalo creek was generally closed by a bar 
 of sand and vessels never entered but received 
 and discharged their cargoes from lighters. 
 Few believed that any means could be devised 
 whereby an entrance could be created which 
 could be relied upon for durability, and if this 
 was so, no reasonable hope could be entertained 
 that the canal would he extended to this point. 
 The history of that crisis, in which the subject 
 of our memoir was so conspicuous an actor, has 
 been told in the sketches furnished by .Indue 
 
 Wilkinson to the Buffalo Commercial Adver- 
 tiser, the main features of which will more 
 faithfully relate it than the effort of anyone 
 now living. 
 
 In April. ISIS, at the instance of the citizens 
 of Buffalo, an act of the legislature was passed 
 authorizing the survey of the creuk at the ex- 
 pense of tiie county of Niagara, which then 
 embraced it, with reference to determining the 
 feasibility of constructing a harbor, and 
 William Peacock made the survey in the follow- 
 ing summer, gratuitously. Although the re- 
 port was favorable, neither tin' general govern- 
 ment nor the state would assume the work. 
 Bnt the latter, in 1819, by law agreed to loan 
 $12,000 tor its construction on being secured by 
 bond and mortgage for its re-payment. 
 
 Oliver Forward, Charles Townsend, George 
 Coit and Samuel Wilkeson gave the requisite 
 security in the fore part of IS-JO, and the pier 
 was forthwith commenced. It was prosecuted 
 and finished under the supervision of Judge 
 Wilkeson m 1821, in 221 working days, and ex- 
 tended into the lake for about eighty rods into 
 twelve foot water. Every person in the place 
 seems to have been agitated by, and to have 
 participated in the projected improvement, and 
 it was carried forward earnestly and with that 
 rare determination which bends to no adverse 
 circumstances and always wins success or glory. 
 Discouragements clustered aroundthem in vain. 
 It seems mavellous that such an undertaking 
 was persevered in amid the jeers of neighbors 
 and the buftets of adversity by the people oi 
 an inconsiderable town, who were not aided by 
 experience, nor stimulated by the eye of gen- 
 eral observation. The narrative is worthy oi 
 DeFoe. The make-shifts and substitutes 
 for the unattainable machinery they needed 
 were most ingenious. And though "they en- 
 countered gravel where sand only was sup- 
 posed to be, and storms often jeopardized and 
 sometimes nearly destroyed their labors, they 
 were not to be deterred. And when all seemed 
 successfully completed, the first steamboat of 
 the lakes, the Walk-in-t he-water, having been 
 lost, and her owners having determined to 
 build the second,— the old Suverior, — the build- 
 ing of it was nearly secured to Black Bock and 
 lost to Buffalo, and was gained for the latter 
 only by the giving of a stringent judgment 
 bund by nearly all its responsible citi tens, c< u- 
 ditioned to pay to the steamboat company One 
 hundred and fifty dollars for every (lay's deten- 
 tion of the boat in the creek after thelstof 
 May, by harbor obstruction. The boat was 
 built in our creek in 1822, and ready to enter 
 
 the lake in the spring of 1823. The completion 
 of the harbor, sm-h as it was, had given force 
 to the general considerations in favor 
 
 of continuing the canal to Buffalo, 
 and the decision of the canal board 
 
 to that effect was published in the report of 
 L823, to the great joy of its careworn and 
 anxious inhabitants. But their joy was damped 
 and they were suddenly summoned to a re- 
 newal of their labors. The spring freshet, 
 which was to perfect the harbor entrance by 
 expelling all obstructions and so give egress to 
 the Superior, encountered a huge body of 
 anchored ice and being repelled by it, formed 
 an eddy and whirled large beds of sand and 
 gravel into the channel, reducing its depth to 
 three feet and a half for a full hundred yards. 
 And yet, on the first day of .May, the voluntary 
 subscriptions and exertions of the citizens had 
 reopened it, and the Superior Boated through 
 into the lake; the bond was cancelled, and the 
 title of Buffalo to consideration as the future 
 great city of the lakes was first established. 
 
 Before this was accomplished it was evident 
 that some master mind must be selected to rep- 
 resent our village in the councils of the stale 
 at Albany, and in 1819 Oliver Forward was 
 elected to the assembly as a d< legate from the 
 district containing Chautauqua, Cattaraugus 
 and Niagara counties, in which latter Erie 
 county was then embraced, lie entered the 
 house at a period of great political excitement. 
 The project of the Erie canal was not then 
 fully determined and was opposed by the ele- 
 ments then arrayed with such bitter hostility to 
 De Witt Clinton, the friend and champion of 
 the measure. Judge Forward, as was expected, 
 sustained the canal policy with great zeal and 
 influence and with that effective and patient 
 policy which was characteristic of his nature, 
 lie was the compeer of great men in that re- 
 markable session. John C. Spencer was speaker 
 and such men as Elisha Williams, of Hud- 
 son; Peter Schuyler, of Albany ; Erastus 
 Root, of Delaware; Abraham Bockes and 
 Thomas J. Oakley, of Dutchess; Nathaniel 
 Merriam, of Lewis; Jonas Earll, Jr., of Onon- 
 daga, and John A. King, of Queens, renowned 
 as statesmen and orators and jurists, exercised 
 commanding influence. Not only in the legis- 
 lature was Judge Forward enabled to sustain 
 the canal policy with success, but he labored 
 with the officers of state and with all nun 
 whose support was of moment. His corres- 
 pondence reached all quarters, freighted with/ 
 arguments and persuasions, such as a man of 
 superior intellect and a judicial turn of mind 
 could adduce in favor of the great work, and his 
 record was of such a character that his consti- 
 tuents determined to retain him at Albany, 
 and he was elected senator in the spring of 1820. 
 Then came the session of the senate in the 
 fall of 1820 and the sessions of 1821 and 1822, 
 during which he maintained a conspicuous po- 
 sition and faithfully accomplished the great ob- 
 jects of his mission, [tisnottoo much to say 
 of his course in the state legislature, that upon 
 every occasion he was found to be the warm 
 supporter of all measures thai appeared to be 
 for the general public good and which promot- 
 ed the cause of morality and education and the 
 interests of the indust rial elates. .More effec- 
 tual as a writer than as a debater, hi- sound 
 
judgment and the power of urging his opinions 
 made his counsels influential, and his great in- 
 tegrity prevailed where more brilliant men 
 would have met with disappointment. 
 
 The canal board in 1823 finally decided upon 
 continuing the canal to Buffalo, and when the 
 harbor was completed in May of that year as 
 before related, the great work of fixing the des- 
 tiny of this city was accomplished. It is use- 
 less to speak of our obligations to such men as 
 Forward and Wilkeson, and Townsend, and 
 Coit, and the other of our citizens who labored 
 incessantly, and at the peril of all their prop- 
 erty, to ensure that result. We acknowledge 
 them with gratitude, and though the tale of 
 their patient labors and untiring efforts may 
 be thrice told, we should never weary in the 
 recital. 
 
 At the close of the session of 1822, on his re- 
 turn to Buffalo, Judge Forward was again 
 elected chahman of the board of trustees of the 
 village, as a mark of confidence and respect, in 
 which position he continued to exercise his 
 watchful care over the growing interests of the 
 place. He was reelected a trustee of the village 
 at the annual elections in 1823 and 182 -t and 
 chosen chairman of the board, that being the 
 highest position his fellow-citizens could confer 
 upon him. 
 
 The contract for constructing the section of 
 the canal from Little Buffalo creek to Black 
 Bock having been entered into and preparations 
 made for actually commencing the work, the 
 occasion was deemed by the citizens here to be 
 of so much moment that it was resolved it 
 should be celebrated by proper formalities. 
 
 Friday, the 9th day 'of August, 1822, was the 
 day appointed by the contractors to commence 
 their labors and on that day the citizens of our 
 village and of the adjacent country united in the 
 very interesting ceremonies so appropriate to 
 the" occasion. They assembled at the Eagle 
 tavern about nine o'clock and marched in hand- 
 some order through the village, preceded by 
 martial music, to the place where the canal 
 was to terminate and first to. receive into its 
 bosom the waters of Lake Erie. This point 
 was where the Commercial street bridge now 
 stands. Here the national flag was hoisted and 
 a cannon planted upon an eminence at a little 
 distance from the interesting spot. 
 
 When order had been restored the Bev. Mr. 
 Squires, the Presbyterian clergyman of the 
 place, addressed the Throne of Grace in a 
 prayer peculiarly appropriate, alter which the 
 Bev. Mr. Galusha in a short but neat and ani- 
 mated speech referred to the importance of the 
 work then to be inaugurated, and predicted 
 gnat results therefrom. Then the ceremony 
 of breaking ground was performed by several 
 of the olilest citizens of the place. Judge For- 
 ward, as the chairman of the board of trustees 
 and the representative of the village, planted 
 the first spade in the earth and raised the (irsl 
 soil, and then Colonel Chapin, Judge Barker 
 and Judge Walden joined, after which all the 
 principal citizens and many respectable stran- 
 gers with plows and spades united in the com- 
 mencement of the grand canal. The proces- 
 sion then moved down the line of the canal 
 about half a mile, where the citizens partook 
 of the hospitality of the contractors, and then 
 returning finally dispersed amid resounding 
 
 cheers. A contemporary writer says that on 
 this interesting occasion' all were united in the 
 same interest, the same feeling, the same senti- 
 ment. Clintonians and Bucktails, the Krem- 
 lin aristocracy and those opposed, democrats 
 and federalists, all joined hands and exchanged 
 fraternal congratulations. Political feuds and 
 animosities were lost in the grandeur of the 
 scene, and nothing was heard but one universal 
 expression of heartfelt approbation. 
 
 In the fall of the year 1825, the canal was 
 fully completed, and it only remained to dedi- 
 cate it to the world by ceremonies suitable to 
 the occasion. Committees of conference on the 
 part of Xew York and Albany taking the lead, 
 a general plan of celebration was agreed upon 
 and concurred in by a conference of committees 
 of Rochester, Lockport and Buffalo. An im- 
 portant feature in the general arrangements 
 for the celebration was the stationing of cannon 
 from Buffalo to Sandy Hook to announce the 
 departure of the first boat from Lake Erie to 
 tide water, and answer the purpose of a con- 
 tinuous salute. On the evening of the 2.">th of 
 October, 1825, the entire canal from Buffalo to 
 Albany was in a navigable condition. Buffalo, 
 then a village of only twenty-rive hundred in- 
 habitants, from its position at the head of navi- 
 gation, was, of course, to lead off in the cere- 
 monies, and well did the germ of a now great 
 city acquit itself. The Xew York committee 
 that arrived here on the evening of the 25th, 
 stated in their report that they found every- 
 thing in readiness for the commencement of 
 the celebration. At nine o'clock on the morning 
 of the 26th of October, a procession was formed 
 in front of the court house. It coi sistedof the 
 governor and lieutenant-governor of the state, 
 the New York delegation, delegations from vil- 
 lages along the whole line of the canal, various 
 societies of mechanics with appropriate banners 
 and citizens generally ; the whole escorted by 
 the Buffalo Band and Capt. Bathbun's rifle 
 company. The procession moved down Main 
 street to* the head of the canal where the pioneer 
 boat, the Seneca Chief, was in waiting. The 
 governor and lieutenant-governor, and the 
 committees, including that of Buffalo, were re- 
 ceived on board. The whole, standing upon 
 the deck, there were mutual introductions and 
 congratulations. Jesse Hawley, in behalf of 
 the Rochester committee, made a short address 
 which was properly replied to by Judge For- 
 ward on behalf of the authorities and citizens 
 of Buffalo. All things being in readiness, the 
 signal gun was fired and continuing from gun 
 to gun, in succession, in one hour and twenty 
 mintes the citizens of New York were apprized 
 that a boat was departing from the foot of Lake 
 Erie, and was on its way, traversing anew 
 path to the Atlantic, ocean. The Seneca Chief 
 led off in fine style drawn by four gray horses, 
 fancifully caparisoned. Three boats, the Perry, 
 Superior and Buffalo followed, and the fleet 
 moved from the dock under a salute from the 
 rifle company, accompanied by music from the 
 band. The procession then moved to the court 
 house where an address was delivered by Shel- 
 don Smith. Esq.. and a public dinner succeeded ; 
 the festivities of the day being closed by a 
 splendid ball at the Eagle Tavern. 
 
 The correspondence of Judge Forward with 
 Governor Clinton and other distinguished men 
 
of our state, from lsis to 1826, in regard to the 
 canal policy and also as to its termination here 
 and as ti> our harbor, and the letters to him in 
 answer, have in pari been preserved, and show 
 thai he was constantly urging the fair consid- 
 eration of the claims of our village and set- 
 ting forth all the arguments and facts that 
 could he adduced in support of those measures. 
 Al this day, surrounded with all the evidences 
 of wealth and civilization, one rises from the 
 perusal of such papers almost with a doubl that 
 
 it could he possible thai hut little more than 
 fifty years ago the greal men of the time were 
 fearful lest t he work would never he accom- 
 plished. Jt seems more like some fairy tale | han 
 a reality, and illustrates on every page the pat- 
 riotism and devotion of those who so sueci — 
 fully carried the measure to a conclusion. In 
 all this correspondence it appears that Governor 
 ( 'linton was at all times friendly to the interests 
 ' of Buffalo as against Black Rock, believing 
 that this point was in every way better adapt- 
 ed to be tli" emporium of the lakes, and a- one 
 <>f the canal board lent his powerful influence 
 in support of the claims of our citizens. 
 
 These relations of the history of the Erie 
 Canal have been ajiven for the reason that the 
 life and labors of Oliver Forward were for so 
 many years directed to the accomplishment of 
 that great work. How earnestly and with 
 what self-denial he devoted his services to that 
 end; hew patiently but firmly he encountered 
 the determined opposition of rival and power- 
 ful interests, with arguments and persuasions 
 in place of invectives; with what statesman- 
 like abilities he made use of political power are 
 matters that have almost been forgotten in our 
 generation. 
 
 But when cotemporaneoushistorv is examin- 
 ed, and the public journals of the time, and pri- 
 vate papers and correspondence consulted, it 
 will he found that he was one of the most 
 active and influential men of his day, and con- 
 tributed as much as any other to the success of 
 measures which laid the foundation of the 
 opulence and splendor of our city. 
 
 In the year 1825, it will he remembered that 
 General Lafayette visited this country, and was 
 received as the nation's guest with the most 
 distinguished consideration. He arrived at 
 this piace.from the west,on the steamboat Supe- 
 rior on the 4th day of June, 1825, and as Judge 
 Forward was the one who addressed him on 
 behalf of our citizens, it is proper to recall this 
 item of local history by giving the account pub- 
 lished in a paper of that time. 
 
 "General Lafayette arrived in this village on 
 Saturday, about two o'clock in the afternoon, 
 and was immediately escorted to the Eagle 
 Tavern by a detachment of Capt. Vosburgh's 
 company of cavalry, and the Frontier guards 
 under Capt. Rathbun. He was preceded by 
 the committee of arrangements and his suite. 
 On his arrival he was conducted with his suite, 
 by the committee, to an elegant pavillion erect- 
 ed in front of the house, where he was nut by 
 the corporation, in whose behalf and that of the 
 citizens of the village Oliver Forward, Esq., 
 addressed him as follows : 
 
 "General— In behalf of the citizens of this 
 village and its vicinity. I have the honor of 
 welcoming you among them, and of tendering 
 
 you that regard which ha- been again and again 
 reiterated trom the centre to the remotest ex- 
 tremities of the Union. Tin- regard we are un- 
 able to testifj io you amidst the splendor and 
 
 magnificence of a state or national emporium; 
 hul to you, we arc aware, it will not he less ac- 
 ceptable it presented in lie- unimposing forms 
 of republican simplicity. We are not less 
 mindful than are the whole people of this ex- 
 tended empire, of the service* Mill have ren- 
 dered our common country, nor less conscious 
 of the gratification the patriot and the philan- 
 thropist musl feel in passing the declivities ol 
 life, carrying with him the richest of all earthly 
 reward, a nation's gratitude. Hul few of us 
 were among those who participated with you 
 in the toils and the dangers of the revolution 
 which established not only the liberties of the 
 confederacy, hut what the world had never be- 
 fore seen, a welcome, a happy and a protected 
 home for the oppressed of all nations. Bui we 
 alike revere tin' memory of the brave and cher- 
 ish witli the same zeal, the principles for which 
 you and our fathers hied; and with all the 
 grateful recollections which a love of liberty 
 can inspire, of the voluntary sacrifices you 
 have made in the support of her cause, we 
 beg you to accept the humble tribute of our re- 
 spect, in conjunction with what has been and 
 will continue to be proffered, not only 1»\ *\ ery 
 citizen of the American nation, but by every 
 friend of liberty and of mankind."' 
 
 It may well he questioned whether a more 
 dignified and happy address was presented to 
 La Fayette during his sojourn in this country. 
 
 The narrative further states that a suitable 
 reply to Judge Forward was made, and at five 
 o'clock the general and company sat down to 
 an excellent dinner, provided by .Mr. Rathbun, 
 and the evening was spent pleasantly and the 
 village handsomely illuminated. 
 
 The last public "services of Judge Forward 
 were rendered at the solicitation of tin- citizens 
 of Buffalo, in connection with a revision of the 
 charter. The city was organized in the spring 
 of 1832, but it was soon evident that in order 
 to accomplish the purposes intended of subserv- 
 ing the public interest, an extension of many 
 of the powers granted was needed. On behalf 
 of the citizens generally a committee of fifteen 
 was appointed at a meeting called to consider 
 the matters in question of whom Judge For- 
 ward was one as a representative from the first 
 ward and the common council added live alder- 
 men to the committee, lie was elected chair- 
 man by common consent and the labors of the 
 committee were extended through the year. 
 During this time, many importanl provisions 
 were originated and many revised and improv- 
 ed, and a foundation laid for a charter that gave 
 ample power to preserve public order, regulate 
 and improve the highways and establish our 
 common schools. The lasl named subject 
 was one that greatly interested Judge Forward. 
 One of his papers refers particularly to this 
 matter and a few extracts from it may well he 
 presented as an illustration of the vigor and 
 terseness of his style, at the sametime illustrat- 
 ing with what thoughtfulness and ability he 
 considered questions of public moment. He 
 says: 
 
 '••At the request of intelligent and respecta- 
 ble citizens, 1 have prepared a series of num. 
 
8 
 
 bers addressed to the mayor and common coun- 
 cil of the city of Buffalo, upon the subject of 
 various improvements in said city and also up- 
 on the subject of powers granted by the char- 
 ter, which by construction may be made too 
 extensive and are consequently too unguarded 
 and indefinite in their character. In addition 
 to this I have taken a brief "view of powers 
 which should be granted by a legislative act to 
 more effectually preserve public order and to 
 make more extensive, permanent and accom- 
 modating provisions for the support of common 
 schools. That our city charter may be benefi- 
 cially improved by salutary additions and im- 
 provements, there can be no doubt in the mind 
 of any intelligent man who will take upon him- 
 self the trouble of carefully examining its pro- 
 visions, and after a full consideration of the 
 subject I have no doubt that, without adding 
 to the public burdens, a city fund may be pro- 
 vided for the education of the poor in common 
 schools which should be under the control ot 
 the city authorities. I cannot forbear remark- 
 ing I luit the subject of common schools is one 
 of vital importance to the interests of the whole 
 community. In them, the children of the poor 
 are educated — indeed they are general sources 
 of early instruction, and upon them will de- 
 pend in a great measure the morals and the in- 
 telligence of each succeeding generation." 
 
 But the time had almost come when the labors 
 of Oliver Forward were to cease. In the summer 
 of 1832 he suffered from an attack of cholera, 
 and never recovered his physical strength, but 
 gradually failed until he died in April 183$,^ 
 thus closing a life which had been almost en- 
 tirely devoted to the public service. 
 
 Mrs. Forward died in December, 1831, and ot 
 several children one only is now living — Mrs. 
 Julia M. Sterling — who married Mr. Ambrose 
 S. Sterling, a former merchant of this city. 
 Several of the brothers of Judge Forward have 
 been distinguished in our national councils. 
 Walter Forward, of Pittsburg, was well 
 known as one of the first lawyers of his state, 
 and served his constituents as a representative 
 in congress in 1822. In 1837 he bore a promi- 
 nent part in the Pennsylvania convention to 
 reform the state constitution. In March, 1811, 
 President Harrison named him first comptrol- 
 ler of the treasury, which post he held until he 
 was appointed secretary of the treasury by 
 President Tyler. On retiring from that po- 
 sition he resumed his practice at the bar until 
 appointed by President Taylor as minister to 
 Denmark, and on his return home was made 
 president judge of the district court, which of- 
 fice he held at the time of his death in 1852. 
 
 Chauncey Forward was born Feb. 4, 1793 
 and went to Pittsburgh about 1809 with his 
 brother Walter where he was educated and be- 
 came a lawyer and settled at Somerset, Pa. He 
 
 was a member of the state legislature and also 
 of congress for three terms from 1825 to 1831. 
 One of his daughters married Hon. Jeremiah S. 
 Black, who was the attorney-general during 
 the administration of President Buchanan, 
 lb issalear and Dryden, two younger brothers, 
 were educated for the bar, and gave great 
 promise of future excellence, but untimely 
 deaths prevented the realization of the high 
 hopes entertained by their friends. 
 
 In preparing this memorial, use has been 
 made of the contemporary newspapers, which 
 are generally reliable in their statements of 
 facts, and of Turner's history of the Holland 
 purchase, as well as a remarkably well-written 
 paper compiled by the lamented (5uy H. Salis- 
 bury contained in the directory of 1847. Par- 
 ticular obligation is due to Rev. James Rem- 
 ington of Lancaster, in this county, the father 
 of our county clerk, who was the brother-in- 
 law of Judge Forward and intimately associated 
 with him from about the year 1811, for many 
 years in the discharge of the duties of the pub- 
 lic offices held by him, and who has furnished 
 many particulars of which no record existed. 
 
 In person, Judge Forward was of medium 
 stature but portly, of grave and dignified pres- 
 ence, one whose imposing appearance would 
 have been marked in any assembly of men. 
 His mind was judicial in its tone and character; 
 always calm and temperate, dealing with facts 
 and seeking by logical methods to convince 
 others; modest as to self-assertion, but firm 
 and resolute in seeking the ends and purposes 
 he knew were right and justifiable. Above all 
 he bad that mastery of those with whom he 
 became associated, which compelled acquies- 
 cence in his opinions, and the gift of wisely 
 marshaling the abilities of others who joined 
 with him in the prosecution of important pur- 
 poses. He guided the energies of one and 
 availed himself of the acquirements of another; 
 the learning of one and the influence of another 
 were made to contribute to success, while all 
 looked to him for wise and prudent counsel. 
 
 The life of Oliver Forward is but another il- 
 lustration of the fact that it is to circumstances 
 beyond his control more than to his own works 
 that a man is generally indebted for his posi- 
 tion and for the character of the memories that 
 survive him. Had he laid the foundation of a 
 fortune in this city, and died, surrounded by a 
 large circle of descendants and relatives who 
 now worthily represented his name and wealth, 
 how much a larger place in public remembrance 
 would he have filled. Let us not withhold the 
 due tributes of respect and gratitude. Rather 
 let us, by the memorial of his life, preserve the 
 just record of his fame, so that his name and 
 acts and deeds, so indissolubly connected with 
 our welfare and prosperity, may continue to be 
 the objects of public regard. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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