s*^ .^ cO". ■9? ■<> >?t,. 4 o 4 o <. 'o. ,0^ •J - 5>" "^^ - ^ o V- .0 -<.. ,0^ c >■ ■ , %^^^^ ,>v.,:.. \,/ .■^•, *,^^<.* .>,v,.-. \^/ .. <^ . 'i- ■ing heads, — for the Indians were a superstitious race, — but they heard nought of any people that pre- ceded them. In their opinion thev were the first that had li\-ed within 4 26 HISTOR y OF J 'A TES CO Ui\ T J '. their territories; they were the autociithones ; at Hare Hill, in Middle- sex, they came out of tlie ground and thence spread northward and eastward to the positions where the French first found them ; they were Oiigwe Honive, the real men. So far as they could remember no change had ever occurred in their social and political institutions, save only their adherence to the League. The same sachems governed them as in the earliest dawn of their history, and their language and religion saw no change." So far as authentic history goes to show the first and original occu- pants of the region of this part of Western New York were the North American Indians. When the first Spanish adventurers set foot on the soil of this country they found its territory to be inhabited b)' a race of people who called themselves Lenni Lenapes, meaning " original peo- ple." They occupied the region of country that bordered on the coast and along the valleys.of the great rivers in the States now known as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey, and others even to tlie ex- treme South. They styled themselves original people from the fact that they were then the most powerful Indian nation in this broad land; but they were not a warlike race of savages and were content to dwell at peace among themselves and with others, notwithstanding the claim that they had a grievance against the people who were originally called the Mengwe, but afterward the Five Nations of Indians — the all-pow- erful Iroquois Confederacy. According to the ancient Indian tradition, and it is a story so often told that it seems to be an assured fact, there once journeyed from the country far west of the Mississippi River two nations of Indians, and that they by mere accident met one another. After meeting the\- joined together and traveled in common. On approaching the Missis- sippi they were told by their runners that the banks of the river were in possession of a Avarlike people, and from whom they should obtain permission to cross. For this purpose messengers were sent forward with the request that the pilgrim tribes be allowed to pass the river and settle on the other side. Permission was given to cross the stream, but the travelers were ordered not to take up their abode in the country of the Allegwi, they who were in possession, but to journe\' to the far East beyond the region of the Mississippi. Then commenced the crossing AN INDIAN TRADITION. 27 of the river, which required much time, as there were thousands of the emigrants. When a portion had crossed the Allegwi, fearing treach- ery or from pure wantonness, fell upon those who were on the east side, slew many of them, and scattered the others in the boundless forests. After a time all were gathered together, a council was held, and it was determined to return and make war upon the cruel and merciless Al- legwi. It was done and a long and bloody battle followed, with the re- sult that the Allegwi were beaten and driven from the region to the far South. The eastward journe\' was again resumed, but the Lcnni Le- napes clamied that through the acts of tlieir companions, the Mengwe, the brunt of the battle fell upon them, while the Mengwe hung in the rear and fought but little. Thereafter, though they traveled together, they had but little in common. And when the pilgrimage was ended the nations parted, the Lenni Lenapes occupying the country on the coast and along the great interior rivers, while the Mengwe settled in the region of the lakes and through the interior of New York State (as it afterward became) between the Hudson River and the western part of Lake Erie. The seat of government of the former people was on the Delaware River, from which fact the Lenape in after years became know n as the " Delaware," but the numerous tribe branches took names suited to the locality in wliich they severally lived, all, however, paying allegiance to the same parental head. Among the descendants of the Lenni Lenapes there was formed a crude system of government, and by firmly adhering to it they maintained for many years a suprem- acy over other Indian nations, in a numerical sense at least, but at length the so-called Iroquois Confederacy became of such strength that they waged a war against all other Indian nations, overcame them, and were for many years the acknowledged rulers of the whole country. As early as the year 1620 the Jesuit missionaries first visited the region of Western New York. They came to instruct the Indians, and if possible to extend the power and influence of the Romish Church. They found the e.xtreme western part of this State, bordering on Lake Erie, to be in possession of a tribe of Indians whom they called the Neuter Nation. Their Indian name has been given by some writers as Kaltquahs and by others as Attiivoiuiaronk. The French called them the Neuter Nation because they lived at peace with the fierce tribes 28 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. which dwelt on either side of them. They were reported by their first European visitors to number 12,000 souls, but that was beyond doubt a very great exaggeration, as the Iroquois in the days of their greatest glory did not number so many souls as that. However the Neuters were undoubtedly a strong people and were scattered over a consider- able region of country. The Eries also lived along the lake that now bears their name. Northwest of the Neuter Nation dwelt the Algonquins or Hurons, reaching to the shores of the great lake which bears their name, wiiile to the eastward was the home of those powerful confederates whose fame has extended throughout the world, whose civil policy has been the wonder of sages, whose warlike achievements have compelled the admiration of soldiers, whose eloquence has thrilled the hearts of the most cultivated hearers, — the brave, sagacious, and far- dreaded Iroquois. They then consisted of but five nations, and their " Long House," as they termed their confederacy, extended from east to west through all the rich centra! portion of the present State of New York. The Mohawks were in the fertile valley of the Mohawk River ; the Oneidas, the most peaceful of the Confederates, were beside the lake that still bears their name; the Onon dagas were in the region of the lake so called, and in their territory, near the site of the present city of Syracuse, were lighted the council fires of the Confederacy ; the Cayugas lived in and guarded the region of the lake called Cayuga ; while westward from Seneca Lake ranged the fierce, untamable Sonnonthonans, better known as Senecas, the warriors par excellence of the Confederacy. Their villages reached westward to within thirty or forty miles of the Niagara, or to the vicinity of the [)res- ent village of B;itavia. From what has alrcadj' been nanated, and from what has otherwise been conceded as an established fact, the territory now embraced in this county was a part of the lands of the Senecas. In fact here was their favorite hunting and fishing resorts, but not within the region of the county is there understood to have been any extensive villages. To be sure during General Sullivan's campaign against the Senecas a detach- ment of his army was sent to destroy the village near the mouth of Kashong Creek, but the village there was then of but recent establish- ment and was the trading post of Debartzch and Poudre. These ad- INDIAN STRUCTURES. 29 venturous tradesmen had located some miles away from Kanandesaga (Geneva), where their operations would be less obstructed and where they might find less opposition. At the time of its destruction the village at Kashong was small, but there had been made some eftbrt at improve- ment, as corn and vegetables had been planted about the place. It has been said that the Indians never built breastworks, and that such defences were beyond their patience and skill. But they certainly did build palisades, frequently requiring much labor and ingenuity. When the French first visited Montreal they discovered an Indian town of fifty huts which was encompassed by three lines of palisades some thirty feet high, with one well secured entrance. On the inside was a rampart of timber, ascended by ladders, and supplied with heaps of stones ready to cast at an enemy. When Chaniplain with his allied Hurons, or Algonquins, and St. Francis Indians attacked the principal village of the Onondagas in October, 161 5, he found it defended by four rows of interlaced palisades so strong that, notwithstanding the number of his force, he was unable to overcome the resistance of the Onondagas, and was compelled to retreat. Also, in Genesee County, in the town of Le Roy, was one of the largest fortresses in Western New York, which contained when first discovered great piles of round stones, evidently intended for use against assailants, and showing about the same progress in the art of war as was evinced by the palisade builders. There are evidences, too, of fort or palisade constructions in Yates County, which were unquestionably the work of the Senecas. On the farm of Lewis Swarthout, in the town of Milo, on a slightly elevated piece of ground, there has been discovered the remnants of an old structure of some sort, but of what particular character there is no evi- dence to determine. Some of the older jieople of the town have a distinct recollection of hearing some talk of the " old fort " at or near that place, but all traces of its existence have long since disappeared. It is said also that an Indian burial ground was in the same vicinity ; and Mr. Swarthout, the present owner of the property, says that in ex- cavating for his barn foundation he found the skeleton of a buried human being. From these things we may fairly infer that there was probably an Indian fortification of some sort at this place, but to inquire concern- ing the necessitv of such a structure in this interior land of the Senecas 30 HISTORY OF YATES COUXTY. would be putting forth a question unanswerable. In the town of Jeru- salem, too, there is said to have been an ancient Indian structure of some sort, but ail inquiries concerning its true character have produced no substantial or satisfactory results. The land of the Senecas included an immense area, and throughout its whole extent they traveled and dwelt sometimes in one locality and again in another, as best suited the Indian fancy. Their principal vil- lages in this locality were at Ganundagwa and Kanandesaga (Canan- daigua and Geneva), the one at the foot of Canandaigua and the other at the foot of Seneca Lake. Between these points ran the principal trail used by the Iroquois in traversing their " Long House." Up and down Seneca Lake on both sides were other principal trails, while another of lesser importance led from Kanandesaga to the foot of Keuka Lake, known to the Indians as Ogoyaga. Between the Iroqupis and the Hurons there prevailed a deadly en- mity, while the hostility between the former and the Eries was scarcely less fervent. Betwixt these contending foemen the peaceful Kahquahs long maintained their neutrality, and the warriors of the East, of the Northwest, and of the Southwest suppressed their hatred for the time as they met by the council fires of these aboriginal peacemakers. Down to about tiie year 1641 the Kahquahs succeeded in maintaining their neutrality between the fierce belligerants on either side, though the Jesuit missionaries reported them as being more friendly to the Senecas of the Iroquois than to the Hurons. What cause of quarrel arose be- tween the peaceful possessors of the lake shore and their whilom friends, the Confederates, is entirely unknown, but some time during the next fifteen years the Iroquois fell upon both*the Kahquahs and Eries and ex- terminated them as a nation from the face of the earth. The precise years in which these events occurred are uncertain, nor is it known which of the tribes first felt the deadly anger of the Five Nations. French accounts favor the view that the Neuter Nation was first de- stroyed, while according to Senaca tradition the Kahquahs still dwelt on their land when the Iroquois annihilated the Eries. The Senaca tradition just referred to runs somewhat as follows : The Eries had been jealous of the Iroquois from the time the latter formed their confederacy. About the time under consideration the Eries chal- s VICTORIES OF THE IROQUOIS. 31 lenged their rivals to a grand game of ball, a hundred men on a side, for a heavy stake of furs and wampum. After two years the challenge, being thus often repeated, was accepted with result in the Eries! defeat. The vanquished then proposed a foot-race between ten of the fleetest young men on each side, and again the Iroquois were successful. Still later, at the home of the Kahquahs, the Eries proposed a wrestling match between ten champions on each side, the victor in each match to have the privilege of knocking out his adversary's brains with a toma- hawk. In the first bout the Iroquois was successful, but declined lo play the part of executioner. The chief of the Eries, infuriated by his champion's defeat, himself struck the unfortunate wrestler dead as he lay supine where his victor had flung him. Another and another of the Eries was in the same way conquered by the Iroquois and in the same way was dispatched by his wrathful chief The jealousy and ha- tred of the Eries was still more inflamed by defeat, and they soon laid a plan to surprise and if possible destroj' the Iroquois, but a Seneca woman, who had married among the Eries and was then a widow, fled to iier own people and gave notice of the attack. At once the men of the Confederacy were assembled and led forth to meet the invaders. The two bodies met near Honeoye Lake, half way between Canandai- gua and the Genesee. After a terrible conflict the Eries were totally routed, the flying remnants pursued to their homes, and the whole nation almost completely destroyed. It was five months before the Iroquois warriors returned from their deadly pursuit. Afterward a powerful party of the descendants of the Eries came from the far West to attack the Iroquois, but were utterly defeated and slain to a man Such is the tradition. It is a very pretty story — for the Iroquois. According to their own account their opponents were the aggressors throughout, the young men of the Five Nations were invariably victorious in the ath- letic games, and nothing but self-preservation induced them to destroy their enemies. From the destruction of the unfortunate Kahquahs and Eries down to the time of the last great sale of land by the Iroquois those Confed- erates were the actual possessors of the territory that now includes Yates County and as well the major portion of all that is now the State of New York. For all these 230 years the Iroquois have been closely 32 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. identified witli the history of tliis county, and the beginning of this com- munity of record forms a proper point at vvliich to introduce an account of the interior structure of that remarkable Confederacy at which we have before taken but an outside glance. It should be said here that the name " Iroquois " was never applied by the Confederates to themselves. It was first used by the French and its true meaning is veiled in obscurity. In the province of Ontario an old map showed a tribe of Indians called " Couis," living near the site of Kingston, while another map designated the territory then occupied by the Iroquois as belonging to the " Hiro Couis." Plainly this is the deri- vation of Iroquois, but as to the meaning of "Hiro" or "Couis" there remains great doubt. Tiie men of the Five Nations (afterward th.e Si.x Nations) called themselves " Medonosaunee," ' which means literally " They form a cabin," describing in this expressive manner the close union e.xisting among them. The Indian name just above quoted is more liberally and commonh- rendered " The People of the Long House," which is more fully descriptive of the Confederacy, though not quite so accurate a translation. The central and unique characteristic of the Iroquois League was not the mere fact of five separate tribes being confederated together, for such unions have been frequent among civilized and half civilized peoples, though little known among the savages of America. The feature that distinguished the people of the Long House from all other confedera- cies, and which at the same time bound together all these ferocious war- riors as with a living chain, was the system of clans extending through all the different tribes. Although this clan system has been treated of in many works there are doubtless thousands of readers who have often heard of the warlike success and outward greatness of the Iroquois Confederacy, but are unacquainted with the inner league, which was its distinguishing characteristic, and without which it would in all proba- bility have met at an early day with the fate of numerous similar alli- ances. The word clan has been adopted as the most convenient one to designate the peculiar artificial families about to be described, but the Iroquois clan was entirely different from the Scottish one, all the members of which owed undivided allegiance to a single chief, for whom they ' Morgan's map of the Iroquois country gives the name thus : Ho-de-no-iau-me-ga. LAWS OF THE CONFEDERACY. 33 were ready to fight against all the world. Yet "clan " is a much better word than " tribe," which is sometimes used, since that is a designation ordinarily applied to a separate Indian nation. The people of the Iroquois Confederacy were divided into eight clans, the names of which were as follows : Wolf, Bear. Beaver, Turtle, Ueer, Snipe, Heron, and Hawk. Accounts differ, some declaring that every clan extended through all the tribes, and others that only the Wolf, Bear, and Turtle clans did so, the rest being restricted to a lesser num- ber of tribes. It is certain, however, that each tribe, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas.Cayugas, or Senecas, contained parts of the tliree clans named and of several of the others. Each clan formed a large artificial famil)-, modeled on the natural family. All the members of the clan, no matter how widely separated among the other tribes, were considered as brothers and sisters to each other, and were forbidden to intermarry. This prohibition was strictly enforced by public opinion. All the clans being thus taught from earliest infancy that they belonged to the same family, a bond of the strongest kind was thus created throughout the Confederacy. The Oneida of the Wolf clan had no sooner appeared among the Cayugas than those of the same clan claimed him as their special guest, and admitted him to the most confidential intimacy. The Senecas of the Turtle clan might wander to the country of the Mohawks, at the farthest extremity of the Long House, and he had a claim upon his brother Turtle which they did not dream of repudiating. Thus the whole Confederacy was linked together. If at any time there appeared a tendency toward conflict between ti)e different tribes it was instantly checked by the thought that if persisted in the hand of the Heron must be lifted against his brother Heron; the hatchet of the Bear might be buried in the brain of his kinsman Bear. And so potent was the feeling that for at least 200 years, and until the power of the League was broken by overwhelming outside force, there was no serious dissension between the tribes of the Iroquois. Iroquois tradition ascribes the founding of the league to an Onondaga chieftain named Tadodahoh. Such traditions, however, are of very little value. A person of that name may or may not have founded the Confederacy. It is extremel)- probable that the League began with the union of two or three tribes, being subsequently increased by the addi 34 HIS TOR \ ' OF YA TES CO UN TV. tion of others. Tliat such additions niiyht have been made may be seen by the case of the Tuscaroras, whose union with the Confederacy in 17 12, long after the advent of the Europeans, changed tlie Five Nations into the Six Nations. Whether tiic Iledonosaunee were originally su- perior in valor and eloquence to their neighbors cannot now be ascer- tained. Probably not ; but their talent for practical statesmanship ga\e them the advantage in war and success made them self-confident and fearless. The business of the League was necessarily transacted in a con- gress of sachems, and this fostered oratorical powers until at length the Iroquois were famous among a hundred rivals for wisdom, courage, and eloquence, and were justly denominated by Volney the " Romans of the New World." Aside from the clan system just described, which was entirely unique, the Iroquois League had some resemblance to the great American Union which succeeded and overwhelmed it. The central authority was supreme on questions of peace and war and on all others relating to the general welfare of the Confederacy, while tribes, like the States, re- served to themselves the management of their ordinary affairs. In peace all power was confided to "sachems"; in war to "chiefs." The sachems of each tribe acted as its rulers in the few matters which re- quired the exercise of civil authority. The same rulers also met in congress to direct the affairs of the Confederacy. There were fifty in ail, of whom the Mohawks had nine, the Oneidas nine, the Onondagas fourteen, the Cayugas ten, and the Senecas eight. These numbers, ho\\ever, did not give the proportionate representation in the congress of the League, for all the nations were equal there. There was in each tribe the same number of war chiefs as sachems, and these had absolute authority in time of war. When a council as- sembled each sachem had a war chief standing behind him to execute his orders. But in a war party the war chief commanded and the sachem took his place in the ranks. This was the system in its simplicity. Some time after the arrival of the Europeans they seem to have fallen into the habit of electing chiefs (not war chiefs) as counselors to the sachems, who in time acquired equality of power with them and were considered as their equals by the whites in the making of treaties. It is ditticult tc; learn the truth regarding a political and social system IROQUOIS LA WS OF DESCENT AND INHERITANCE. 35 which was not preserved by any written record. As near as can be as- certained the Onondagas had a certain pre-eminence in the councils of tiie League, at least to the extent of always furnishing the grand sachem, whose authority, however, was of a very shadowy description. It is not certain that he ever presided in the congress of sachems. That con- gress, however, always met at the council fire of the Onondagas. This was the natural result of their central position, the Mohawks and Oneidas being east of them, the Cayugas and Senecas to the west. The Senecas were unquestionably the most powerful of all the tribes, and as they were located at the western extremity of the Confederacy they had to bear the brunt of war when it was assailed by its most formida- ble foes who dwelt in that quarter. It would naturally follow that the principal war chief of the league should be of the Seneca nation, and such is said to have been the case, though over this, too, hangs a shadow of doubt. As among many other savage tribes the right of heirship was in the female line. A man's heirs were his brothei' and his sister's son ; never his own son nor his brother's son. The few articles which constituted an Indian's personal property, even his bow and tomahawk, never de- scended to the son of him who had wielded them. Titles, so far as they were hereditary at all, followed the same law of descent. The child also followed the clan and tribe of the mother. The object of this was evi- dently to secure greater certainty that tiie heir would be of the blood of his deceased kinsman. The result of the application of this rule to the Iroquois s\'steni of clans was that if a particular sachemship or chieftiancy was once estab- lished in a certain clan of a certain tribe, in that clan and tribe it was expected to remain forever. Exactly how it was filled when it became vacant is a matter of some doubt, but as near as can be learned the new official was elected by the warriors of the clan, and was then " raised up," /. c , inaugurated by the congress of sachems. If, for instance, a sachemship belonging to the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe became vacant it could only be filled by some one of the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe. A clan council was called, and as a general rule the heir of the deceased was chosen to his place, to- wit.: One of his brothers, reckon- ing only on the mother's side, or one of his sister's sons, or even some 36 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. more distant male relative in tlje female line. But there was no positive law and the warrors might discard all these and elect some one entirely unconnected with the deceased. A grand council of the Confederacy was then called, at which the new sachem was formally " raised up," or as we should say " inaugurated " in his ofifice. And while there was no unchangeable custom compelling the clan-council to select one of the heirs of the deceased as his successor the tendency was so strong in that direction that an infant was frequentlj' chosen, a guardian being ap- pointed to perform the functions of the ofifice till the youth should reach the proper age to do so. All ofifices were held for life unless the incum- bent was solemnl\- deposed by a council, an event which verj- seldom occurred. Notwithstanding the modified system of hereditary power in vogue the constitution of every tribe was essentially republican. \\'arriors, old men, and even women attended the various councils and made their in- fluence felt. Neither in the government of the Confederacy nor of the tribes was there any such thing as tyranny over the people, though there was a great deal of tyranny by the League over conquered nations. In fact there was very little government of any kind and but little need of any. There were substantially no propert)' interests to guard, all land being in common and each man's personal property being limited to a bow, arrows, tomahawk, and a few deer skins. Liquor had not yet lent its disturbing influence and few quarrels were to be traced to the influence of woman, for the American Indian of that day was singularly free from the warmer passions. His principal vice was an easily aroused and unlimited hatred, but the tribes were so small and enemies so convenient that there was no difficulty in gratifying this feel- ing outside his own nation. The consequence was that, although the war parties of the Iroquois were continuallj- shedding the blood of their foes, there was very little quarreling at home. They do not appear to have any class especially set apart for religious services, and their re- ligious creed was limited to a somewhat vague belief in a " Great Spirit " and several inferior but very potent evil spirits. They had a few simple ceremonies, consisting largely of dances, one called the " green corn dance," performed at the time indicated by its name, and others at vari- ous seasons of the year. From a very early date their most important CHARACTERISTICS OF THE IROQUOIS. 37 religious ceremony was the " burning of the white dog," when an un- fortunate canine of the requisite color was sacrificed by one of the chiefs. To this day the pagans among them still perform this rite. In common with their fellow savages on this continent the Iroquois have been termed " fast friends and bitter enemies." They were a great deal stronger enemies than friends. Revenge was the ruling pas- sion of their nature and cruelty' was their abiding characteristic. Re- venge and cruelt}- are the worst attributes of human nature and it is idle to talk of the goodness of men who roasted their captives at the stake. All Indians were faithful to their own tribes and the Iroquois were faithful to their Confederacy, but outside of these limits their friendship could not be counted on and treachery was always to be apprehended in dealing with them. In their family relations they were not harsh to their chil- dren and not wantonly so to their wives, but the men were invariablj- indolent, and all labor was contemptuously abandoned to the weaker sex. They were not an amorous race, but could not well be called a moral one. In that respect they were merely apathetic. Their pas- sions rarely led them into adultery and mercenary prostitution was en- tirely unknown, but they were not sensitive on the question of puritj- and readily permitted their maidens to form the most fleeting alliances with distinguished visitors. Pol)'gamy, too, was practiced, though in what might be called moderation. Chiefs and eminent warriors usually had two or three wives, but rarely more. They could be divorced at will by their lords, but the latter seldom availed themselves of their privileges. Such was the character of the Iroquois Confederacy and such were the characteristics of its tribes and people. For 130 years tliey were undisputed masters and for upwards of two centuries they were in pos- session of the territory now included within the county of Yates. After the overthrow of the Kahquahs and ICries the Iroquois lords of this region of country went forth conquering and to conquer. Stimu- lated, but not yet crushed by contact with the white man, tl)e\- stayed the progress of the French into their territories, they negotiated on equal terms with the Dutch and English, and having supplied them- selves with the terrible arms of the pale- faces they smote with direst vengeance whomsoever of their own race were so unfortunate as to pro- 38 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. voke their wratli. On the Susquehanna, the Allegheny, the Ohio, even to the Mississippi in the West and the Savannah in the South, the Iro- quois bore their conquering arms, filling with terror the dwellers alike on the plains of Illinois and in the glades of the Carolinas. They strode over the bones of the slaughtered Kahquahs to new conquests on the Great Lakes beyond, even to the foaming cascades of Michillimacinac and the shores of the mighty Superior. They inflicted such terrible de- feat upon the Hurons, despite the alliance of the latter with the French, that many of the conquered nation sought safety on the frozen borders of Hudson's Bay. In short they triumphed on every side save only where the white man came, and even he for a time was held at bay by these fierce Confederates. The foregoing narrative is in brief an outline history of the famous Iroquois Confederacy from the time of the supposed Indian occupancy of the territory by their ancestors down to the early permanent settle- ments by the whites. From what has already been stated the reader has learned that the Seneca tribe, who occupied the immediate terri- tory now of Yates County, were the possessors and dwellers here- abouts, and with them directly and with the Confederacy generally were had the negotiations that eventually led to the sale of their lands to the Massachusetts Company. They were first induced to dispose of their lands to the obnoxious lessee company through the means of a perpetual lease, but that disposition was held by the power of the State, to be invalid and the lease was consequently nullified. But the events just referred to occurred at a much later period, at a time when the power of the Confederacy had become substantially broken. The greatest blow against the strength of the Senecas was struck by General Sullivan in his memorable campaign against them during the progress of the Revolution. At this time, too, another corps of leaders was in the field in command of the local occupants of the soil. The conquest over all the other Indian nations by the Iroquois was made somewhere between the years 1640 and 1655, before white settlement had made any substantial progress in Western New York or the territory afterward so called. Therefore it will be observed that the negotiations and treaties for the extinguishment of Indian titles oc- curred more than a century after the Iroquois made their conquering EARL ) ■ DISCO I 'ER/ES. 39 tour, and that none of the red warriors wlio participated in the early struggle could have been living when the more peaceful conquest of their territor)' was made by the whites. But this is a subject that will be more fully discussed in another chapter of the present volume. CHAPTER III. Early explorations and Discoveries — The French in Canada — The Puritans in New England — The English in Virginia — The Dutch in New Yorl< — Founding of New France — Champlain incurs the enmity of the Iroquois — ■ Its after Effects — Ad- ventures of De Nonville and La Salle — Neutrality of the Iroquois during the early French Wars — The French make friends with the Senecas — Joncaire's Influence — French forts built in the Seneca Countrv — Discomfiture of the English — The Final Wars — Extinction of French power in .-Vmerica. rULL four hundred years ago Christopher Columbus first set foot upon North American soil. He was sailing in the interest of the government of Spain, and the reports of his voyage soon induced other European powers to fit out similar exploring expeditions for a like pur- pose, the extension of their influence and domain in the New World. Within a very few j-ears after the discovery of America by Columbus we find the French government sending out Jacques Cartier upon an errand similar to that of Spain, but the latter navigator touched the northeast coast, entered the St. Lawrence River, and gave to that stream the name it still bears. These were but the beginning of discoveries, and althougli an occasional visit was afterward made to the country by some advent- urous navigators it was more than 100 years later before any explor- ers ventured into the region of what afterward became Western New York. In 1603 Samuel de Champlain made a voyage to the country, having in view the fur trade, but the result of which was the establish- ment of a new colony. On the occasion of his second visit in 1608 and 1609 he planted the settlement and explored the region of the St. Law- rence, though but to a limited extent. He, during the latter year, voy- aged up Lake Champlain, which he so called in allusion to his own 40 HIS TORY OF YA TES CO U.V T 1 '. name; he also discovered and named Lake St. Sacrament, but now Lake George. Upon the occasion of this voyage Champlain was accompa- nied by two other Frenchmen and a party of Huron and Algonquin Indians, and while on his part the voyage was one of discoverj' and exploration the Indians on the contrary were actuated by other motives, for they hoped to bring on a battle with the Iroquois in the belief that with their European allies supplied with firearms they would terrify and conquer their antagonists, which proved to be the case, as the parties met in battle near Lake St. Sacrament, and at the first discharge of tlieir weapons by the Frenchmen two Iroquois chiefs were killed, while the others were so amazed at the noise and fatal effect of the guns that they fled in terror. Commenting upon this occurrence in particular, and upon the progress of settlement tiius far, Turner says: " This was the first battle of which history gives us any account in a region where armies .since often met. And it marks another era, the introduction of firearms in battle to the natives in all the nortiiern por- tion of tiiis continent. They had now been made acquainted with tiie two elements that were destined to work out principally tiieir decline and gradual extermination. They had tasted French brandy upon the St. Lawrence, English rum upon the shores of the Ciiesapeake, and Dutch gin upon the banks of the Hudson. They had seen the mighty engines, one of which was to conquer them in battle and the other was to conquer them in peace councils where cessions of their domain were involved." From the time of his first voyage to the St. Lawrence country down to the )'ear 1627, when Cardinal Richelieu organized the Company of New France, otherwise known as the Company of a Hundred Partners, the Marquis Champlain was a frequent visitor to the region, and by that time a considerable number of Frenchmen had become colonists in America. But as early as 1615 an association of French merchants had secured a charter to lands in America indefinite and almost unlimited in e.Ktent, and to the entire region was given the name of New France. Although there appears no record by which the fact can be demon- strated, yet it is generally conceded that the French claim included the whole Genesee country, as afterward called, and therefore included what is now Yates County. And although at that time explorations EARL Y COLON IZA TION. 4 1 had not extended into this part of tiie country all European nations recognized the right of discovery as constituting a vahd title to lands occupied only by scattered barbarians, but there were numerous dis- putes as to application and especially as to the amount of surrounding country which each discoverer could claim on behalf of his sovereign. Hut during this same period other powers than PVance and Spain were also active in the work of planting colonies in the new country. In 1606 King James granted to the Plymouth Company the territory of New England, but it was not until the year 1620 that any permanent settlement was made under that grant. On the 9th of November of that year the Mayflower with its Pilgrim Fathers landed on American terri- tory and afterward founded the colony at Plymouth. In 1 607 an Eng- lish expedition entered Chesapeake Bay and founded the colony at Jamestown, that being the oldest English settlement in the land. In 1609 the doughty English navigator, Henry Hudson, while in the em- ploy of the Dutch East India Company, discovered the river which bears his name, and soon after that time the Hollanders established for- tified trading posts at its mouth and at Albany and had opened com- merce in furs. They, too, made an indefinite claim of territory west- ward. Thus at the end of 1620 there were three distinct streams of immigration with three attendant claims of sovereignty converging to ward a common center. Let but the French at Montreal, the English in New England, and the Dutch on the Hudson all continue the work of colonization, following the natural channels, and all would ultimately meet in the Genesee country. In the work of advancing settlements the best opportunities lay witli the French, while the Dutch were sec- ond and the English last. The French were by far more active in advancing their settlements than were either the Dutch or the English. The Company of a Hundred Partners had agreed to transport to the Canadian territory a colony of 6,000 emigrants, and to furnish them with an ample supply both of priests and artisans. Champlain was made governor of the colony and province, but his experiences for a few years were unfortunate. England and France were at war and a British fleet sailed up the St. Lawrence and captured Quebec. The French, too, suffered sorely at the hands of the Iroquois, whose territory Champlain and the Huron- 42 HIS TORY OF YA TES CO UN T ] '. Algonquiiis had invaded. They, the Iroquois, about the time of tlie capture of Quebec, made an expedition against the Canadian residents, both French and Indians, with disastrous results to the latter. But at length a peace was declared between the contending countries and the New France was again restored to its discovers, and Champlain resumed charge of its governmental affairs. With this restoration of peace and power the French became at once active in extending their possessions and influence. In this dut\' the van was led by the ever zealous Jesuit priests and missionaries. They first made firm friends witli the savages throughout the Canadian region of country and gradually' stretched out to the westward, reaching in a few years as far as the western shores of Lake Huron. But as energetic as they might be in extending their possessions in that direction the Frenchmen carefully avoided for a long time any contact with the Senecas of the Iroquois, for Champlain's foolish and wanton attack near Lake George had incurred for him the most bitter enmity of the Con- federacy, and all the arts and influence of the priests failed to overcome or pacify them. However, in 1 640, the Reverend Fathers Breboeuf and Chaunionot, after their labors in the Western country, made a visit to the Neuter Nation and during the succeeding year to the Kahquahs, but not with either people did they succeed in establishing a foothold. But the Neuters and the Kahquahs received the Jesuits and harbored them for a lime, which, coming to the knowledge of the Senecas, in a measure at least aroused the ire of the Confederacy and maj' possibly have con- tributed as an auxiliary event that finally led to the destruction of the peaceful nations. But as years passed away the men of the Iroquois Confederacy became more and more accustomed to the presence of white faces. In 1677 Wentworth Greenhalgh, an Englishman, visited the Five Nations and counted not only their villages, but their inhabitants as well. At that time he reported the Senecas as having 1,000 warriors ; the Cayugas 300; the Onondagas 350 ; the Oneidas 200; and the Mohawks 300. From this we may discover that the aggregate number of Iroquois in 1677 was 2,150 men. But in 1712, by the acquisition of the Tusca- roras, who had been driven out of the Carolinas by the whites and allied Pohattans, the strength of the Confederacy was considerably augmented. FALL OF THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY. 43 then luinibering about 2,6oo warriors. But tlie power of the Iroquois league was at last doomed to be broken. In 1669 Robert Cavelier de la Salle, a Frenchman of excellent family, rich in purse, and filled with love of country and love of adventure, with only two companions, made a visit to the Seneca country, explored the region more thoroughly than had any predecessor, and drove the entering wedge which ultimately separated a portion of the Senecas from their brothers, thus weakening the power of the Iroquois. In 1678 La Salle received a commission from King Louis XIV. to discover the western part of New France, and in the next year the adventurer succeeded in penetrating the strongholds of the Senecas. He was authorized by the King to build forts and de- fences, but at his own expense, being granted in return the right to trade in furs and skins. Under La Salle's authority was made tlie visit to the Senaca country by Father Hennepin, the somewhat famous priest and historian from whose record has come the greater portion of all that is written by subsequent authorities on the subject of Indian history and tradition. In the fall of 1678 La Salle and his followers commenced the con- struction of a sloop, but it was not completed and launched until the succeeding spring. His men worked constant!)-, wliile meats for their subsistence were supplied by two Indians of the Wolf clan of the Seneca tribe. On the 7th of August, 1 679, witli a crew of thirty men, Le Griffon ( The Griffin) set sail for a tour of the lakes and the exploration of the western part of New France. For a period of nearly half a century after the adventures of La Salle the French maintained a nominal though not substantial ascendancy in this region of the country. They made a foothold among some of the Senecas, but the great body of that tribe, true to their league with the eastern Indians, were but little inclined to forget, much less to forgive, the wrongs perpetrated by Champlain, and every movement on the part of the Frenchmen was watched with jealous mterest. The Jesuits labored and the traders bartered with the Indians, and while the savages received one party and traded with the other they felt no interest in the welfare of the visitors. In 1687 the Marquis de Nonville, governor of New France, made a landing at Irondequoit Bay with nearly 2,000 French troops and about 500 Canadian Indians. True to their instincts the Senecas attacked the invaders as they were about 44 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. to la)' battle to one of their villages, but as the Senecas only numbered about 800 they were defeated. They burned their villages and fled to the Cayugas, lea\-ing the Frenchmen for the time masters of the Genesee country. This victory of the almost unconquerable Senecas was a great achievement for the French, for it gave them a strong foot- ing in the lake region and so disheartened the former possessors of the locality, the Senecas, that they abandoned their late villages and took up their iiomes at Kanandesaga (Geneva) and on the Genesee River above Avon. De Nonville then sailed to the moulh of the Niagara, where he erected a small fort on the east side of the river. This was the origin of Fort Niagara, one of the most celebrated strongholds of the country, and was the key of Western New York and of the whole upper lake country. And in later years, when the American colonies were struggling to throw off the British yoke, the remnant of Senecas left from Sullivan's destruct- ive expedition against them made this point their place of refuge dur- ing the remaining years of the Revolution. In 1687 De Nonville, the French commander, drove the Senecas from the region of Fort Niagara, but in 1779 General Sullivan reversed the order of things and drove them back from the eastern part of the Genesee country to their ancient home on the Niagara. And while the F'rench were the direct cause of their former leaving thej' were also indirect auxiliaries in compelling their return. But the F'rench did not long succeed in maintaining the positions they had gained in the land of the Senecas. De Nonville soon returned to Montreal, leaving a few troops to garrison the fort, and the}' became so weakened through sickness that the post was abandoned and not again occupied for nearly forty years. By this time, too, the whole Iroquois Confederacy had become aroused by the intrusions of the French, and under British instigation made an attack upon their strong- hold and seat of operations at Montreal. In 1688 came the English revolution, followed immediately by open war with France. Count de Frontenac was governor- general of New France under the French rule at this period, but his administration was no more successful than was that of his predecessor. He, too, invaded the country of the Iro- quois, but the result was a success to his arms. The war was continued FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS. 45 witli varying fortunes until 1697, during whicli time, on this side of tlie Atlantic, hostilities were constant. The English colonists in America were lending substantial aid to the Indians and constantly inciting them to depredations against the now common enemy. During this period the Senecas again possessed their ancient land, but the not infrequent visits of French troops had the effect of deterring them from attempt- ing a permanent occupation. The war between England and I'"rance was terminated by the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, and by which was divined to a certain extent the possessions in America of the contending nations, but there were no certain provisions relating to the lands of the Senecas. The English claimed sovereignty over the entire region of country occupied by the Five Nations, while the PVench likewise asserted their rights to the same rich district ; but in actual possession of the disputed territory were the Iroquois themselves, who repudiated alike the claims of both Yonondio and Corlear, as they denominated the governors respectively of Canada and New York. Following close upon the peace of Ryswick came Queen Anne's war, an event having its outbreak in 1702, and by which the rival nations, the English and French, again had recourse to arms. During this con- flict the Iroquois maintained a strict neutralit}', thus commanding the respect of both contending governments: of the French because tiiey dreaded the results of again arousing the fierce Confederates, and of the English for the reason that the Iroquois country furnished a shield of protection all along the frontier colonies. However during the prog- ress of Queen Anne's war the French profited by the neutrality of the F'ive Nations, for thej' were given an opportunity of strengthening their line of positions and fortifications. Moreover, being at acknowledged peace with the Iroquois, their missionaries and politic leaders could visit the Senecas in entire safety, and the result was the establishment of a friendly relation between the French and the Senecas and a part of the Cayugas. So rapidly, indeed, was this friendship formed and so firmly rooted had become the relation between the French and the Senecas that the latter were almost ready to take up arms against the English, and that despite the neutrality of the Confederacy and the bonds of union that bound together its members. 46 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. About this same time another occurrence worked to tlie great ad- vantage and favor of tlie French among the Senecas. Chabert Jon- caire, a French youth, had been captured by the Senecas and was adopted by and grew up among them. He married a Seneca wife, but was released by the tribe from any compulsion of remaining among the Indians. Thereupon Joncaire was employed by the French to promote their influence with the natives. Pleading his claims as an adopted child of the tribe he was given permission by the chiefs to build a cabin on the site of Lewistown, which soon became the center of French in- fluence. This was the source of much anxiety and discomfort to the English, and all their influence with tlie eastern tribes was not sufficient to dislodge him, " Joncaire is a child of tlie Nation " was the reply made to every complaint. Whether due to the influence of Joncaire among the Senecas or to some other cause is not fully known, but the French soon succeeded in lodging themselves firmly in the affections of the tribe. In 1725 they commenced rebuilding Fort Niagara and completed the task without opposition, and by so doing came into possession of one of the most im- portant and strong posts in tlie country. The Frencli undoubtedly were poor colonizers, but they nevertheless possessed the peculiar faculty of ready assimilation with savage and half- civilized races, thus gaining an influence over them. Whatever the cause, the power of the French constantly increased among the Senecas. The influence of Joncaire was maintained and increased by his half-breed sons, Chabert and Clauz- onne, all through the second quarter of the eighteenth century. In 1744 was begun another war between England and France, during which the Six Nations (being increased from Five Nations by the aquisition of the Tuscaroras in 17 12) generally maintained a neutrality, although the Moiiawks gave some aid to the English. This outbreak was closed by the Treaty of Aix-la Chapelle in 1748, and a nominal peace of eight years followed, although during the interval both coun- tries were earnestly engaged in increasing their possessions, strengthen- ing their fortifications, and preparing for the inevitable outbreak which must end the dominion in America of the one or the other. The storm of war broke in 1756, after two years of open hostilities. The Mohawks again took up arms with the English, but the Senecas, EXD OF FRENCH I'O WER IN AMERICA. 47 notwithstanding their afiection for the l-'rcnch, were unwilling to go to battle against their friends at the eastern door of the Long House. The friendship of the Mohawks for the l^nglisli was gained through the influence of Sir William Johnson, the skillful English superintend- ent of Indian affairs, and who had come to America in 1734 as the agent of his uncle, the latter being an extensive landowner in the Mo- hawk Valley. At the commencement of the last great struggle for supremacy in America the French were everywhere victorious. Brad- dock, almost at the gates of Fort Duquesne, was slain and his army cut in pieces. Montcalm captured Oswego, and the French lines up the lakes and across to the Ohio were stronger than ever. In the next year the tide of victorj' set toward the British arms. Duquesne was recaptured by the Throne, while to the northward Frontenac was siezed b\' Bradstreet, and other victories prepared the way for still grander suc- cess in 1759. Then Wolfe assailed Quebec, the French stronghold in America ; and almost at the same time General Prideaux with 2,000 British troops and provincials, accompanied by Sir William Johnson with a thousand faithful Iroquois, sailed up Lake Ontario and laid siege to Fort Niagara, which was defended by only 600 men. A strong resistance was made by the brave commander, but when his re- enforcements were about to come they were ambushed by Sir William Johnson's fierce warriors and unmercifully slaughtered. Hearing of this disaster the garrison at once surrendered and Fort Niagara pa.ssed into the hands of the British, and with the capitulation was the end of F'rench supremacy and dominion over any of the territory of New York. In September, 1760, the Marquis \^andreuil surrendered Montreal, and with it Detroit, Venango, and all the other posts within his jurisdiction. This surrender was ratified by the treaty of peace between England and F"rance in the month of February, 1763, which ceded Canada to the former power. This ended the French dominion in America. So far as the same applied to the locality of Yates County it had no special significance or importance except as this shire formed a part of the region that was claimed to be New France. That the Jesuit fathers visited this locality is quite probable, and it may have been through their agency that the old fort was built in the town of Milo. The chief seat of operations, 48 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. however, in this locality was at Canandaigua or at Geneva, at the foot of the respective Lakes Canandaigua and Seneca, and any pilgrimages to this immediate locality were merely incidental. CHAPTER IV. The English Dominion — A brief resume of Events — English conquest of the Dutch Settlements — Condition of the Indians — Still friendly to the French — Pon- tiac's League — The Senecas involved with Pontiac — Devil's Hole and Black Rock — Sir William Johnson makes friends with the Senecas — The Revolutionary War — Attitude of the Iroquois — Wyoming and Cherry Valley — Sullivan's Campaign — Destruction of Indian Villages — Cashong, in Yates County, Devastated — The In- dians retire to Fort Niagara— Their treatment by the British — Close of the Revolu- tion — Overthrow of British Rule — The United States of America. THE preceding chapter has made mention of the fact that in 1606 King James made an extensive grant of land to the so-called Plymouth Company, and in pursuance of that grant the colony of New England was founded in 1620 ; and further, that under the authority of a similar grant from the same source, made in 1607, the colony of Eng- lish settled in Virginia. The same power also made another charter, which was granted to John Smith, and which resulted in the founding an English settlement in what afterward became the Province and State of Maine. The same chapter likewise states that in 1609 Henry Hud- son, in the employ of the Dutch East India Company, founded a colony where is now the city of New York, which was first settled by the Dutch, although the discoverer and navigator — Hudson — was hiinself an Englishman. But the Dutch settlement was not confined to the vicinity of New Amsterdam, as they called their ancient burgh, but their line of possessions extended up the Hudson River as far and even beyond the present city of Albany. On this site last named was erected a fortification called Fort Orange. The rule of the Hollanders in the Netherlands, however, was not of long continuance. It commenced with the planting of their colony CLAIMS AND CONTESTS FOR SUPREMACY. 49 soon after Hudson's discovery and closed with the year 1664, its peo- ple and patron government having become involved in a dispute wiili England and the latter proved the master. The claims of each pow er were founded on the right of discovery, but the Englisli extended tlieir settlements the more rapidly and soon occupied tlie territory of the Dutchmen. More than tliat England was the stronger power and granted-away the lands of the region to an indefinite extent, and that without regard to rights or claims of other governments; and when there came a conflict over the right to possession tlie weaker was com- pelled to yield to the stronger power. Having overcome the Dutch in 1664 the government of Great Brit- ain next turned her attention to the French, and although the latter were by man)- years the prior occupants of the country and of this region, and had extended their settlements over a considerable country and claimed indefinitely westward and to the south, yet tlie English were not disposed to concede any rights to the French on this continent ; therefore, after extending and fortifying their own settlements, war was declared against the French with tlie results as told in the preceding chapter. The outbreaks and conflicts between these powers were by no means confined to this side of the Atlantic, for at home was the chief seat of war, while on this side were heard and felt but the echoes and reverberations from abroad. With the English the principle that " might makes right" ever prevailed in extending and advancing tiicir interests until that government finally came in conflict with the united American colonies in 1775 and the years following, during which period the mother countr\' was taught a salutary lesson. There proved to be at least one country on the earth which she could not subdue nor con- quer. But this is a subject which more appropriately belongs to later pages of this chapter. Notwithstanding the results of the war between the French and the F2nglish, and the disappearance of the former from the region, the Western Indians were still disposed to remember with affection and were yet inclined to wage war upon the English. The celebrated Pontiac united nearly all these tribes in a league against the redcoats immediately after the advent of the latter ; and as no such confedera- tion had been formed against the French during their years of posses- 50 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. sion the action of Pontiac must be attributed to some other cause tiian mere hatred of all civilized intruders. In May, 1763, the league surprised nine out of twelve English posts and massacred their garrisons. Tliere is no positive evidence to sustain the assertion, yet tliere is Httle doubt that the Senecas were involved in Pontiac's league, and were active in the fruitless attack upon Fort Niagara. They were unwilling to fight against their brothers of the Iroquois, but had no hesitation in killing the English soldier)- when left alone, as was soon made terribly manifest in the awful tragedj' at Devil's Hole in September, 1763, at which time a band of Senecas ambushed a train of English army- wagons with an escort of soldiers, in all ninety-six men, and massacred every inan with four exceptions. And during the month of October of the same year the Senecas came in contact with a body of British troops who were on their way to re- enforce the post at Detroit. This battle took place within the limits of the present county of Erie. The victor)- was not for either side, but the Britons lost more men than did the Indians. But at last becoming convinced that the French had really yielded up their claims and possessions in this country, and that Pontiac's scheme had failed as to its main purpose, the Senecas agreed to aban- diMi their Gallic friends and be at peace with the English. In April, 1764, Sir William Johnson concluded a treaty of peace with eight chiefs of the refractor)- Senecas ; and by the terms of the agreement there was conceded to the King of England a tract of land four by fourteen miles for a carrying-place around Niagara Falls. And it may further be said that by this time Sir William Johnson had succeeded in winning the affections of all the Iroquois tribes and had enlisted them under the banners of the King. The treaty made with the Senecas by Sir Will- iam Johnson was considered sufficiently conclusive, but it was at that time provided that the same should be ratified by a grand council of the Iroquois to be held at Fort Niagara during the following summer. Accordingly General Bradstreet, with 1,200 British and American sol- diers, accompanied by Sir William and a large body of his Iroquois warriors, came to Fort Niagara as previously agreed. A grand coun- cil of the friendly Indians was held and satisfactory terms proposed and agreed upon, but the Senecas sullenly refused attendance at the pro- SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON. 51 ceedings and were said to be meditating a renewal of tiie war. At length General Bradstreet ordered their immediate presence at tiie council under penalty of the destruction of their settlements and vil- lages, whereupon they came at once, ratified the treaty, and adhered to it pretty faithfully, notwithstanding the peremptory manner in which it was obtained. The English had now established a peace with each tribe of the Iroquois Confederacy; and there was also then existing a peace between the fre- quently contending nations, England and F"rance, consequently there was no strife among the civilized people on this side of the Atlantic. The Iroquois, though the seeds of dissension had been sown among them, were still a powerful confederacy, and their war parties occasionally made in- cursions among the Western Indians, generally returning with scalps or prisoners. The Senecas made frequent com|)laints of depredations committed by the whites or some of their number who had villages on the headwaters of the Susquehanna and Ohio. " Cressap's war," in which the celebrated Logan was an actor, contributed to render them uneasy, but they did not break out in open hostilities. Tiiey, like the rest of the Six Nations, had by this time learned to place ever\- confi- dence in Sir William Johnson and made all their complaints through him. He did his best to redress their grievances, and sought to have them withdraw their villages from those isolated localities to their chief seats in New York, so that they would be more completely under his protection. Ere this could be done, however, the attention of all men was drawn to certain yet unmistakable mutterings in the political sky, low at first, but growing more and more angry, until at lengtli there burst upon the country that long and desolating storm known as the Revolutionary war. Sir William Johnson, who has been so frequently mentioned in this narrative, was an Irishman by birth, of good family, and well educated. In 1734' he was sent to America as the land agent of his uncle. Sir Peter Warren, an admiral in the English navj' and the proprietor of large estates in this country. Sir William, soon after his arrival in America, was appointed superintendent of Indian affairs, and were it not for iiis skill in handling the savages it is quite likely that the entire Iro- ' Turner says 1737 or '%%. 52 H/S TOR Y OF YA TES CO UiX T Y. quois Confederacy would liave become allied to the cause of the French. Associated with Sir William in his life and duties among the Indians was his son, Sir John Johnson, and his nephew, Col. Guy Johnson. After the death of Sir William in 1774 the son succeeded to his posi- tion of influence among the Six Nations, while the office of superin- tendent of Indian affairs was given to his nephew. When Tryon County was organized and set off from Albany County Guy Johnson was the " first" judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and was associated in that office with the afterward celebrated John Butler. The war for American independence in fact commenced in the month of April, 1775, with the battle at Lexington, but before the actual out- break, as the danger of hostilities increased, the Johnsons showed them- selves clearh' on the side of the King. Sir William said little and seemed greatly disturbed by the gathering troubles. There is little doubt, however, had- he lived, that he would have used his power and influence in behalf of his royal master. But his sudden death termin- ated his career, while his position among the Indian tribes descended like an inheritance to his son and nephew. Upon the outbreak of the war the superintendent persuaded the Mohawks to remove westward with him, and made his influence felt over all the Six Nations except the Oneidas and Tuscaroras, though it was near two years from the breaking out of the war before they committed hostilities. John Butler established him- self at Fort Niagara and joined a regiment of Tories known as Butler's Rangers, and he and the Johnsons used all their influence to induce the Indians to attack the Americans. The Senecas held off for awhile, but the prospect of both blood and gold was too much for them to with- stand, and in 1777 tlie\', in common with the Cayugas, Onondagas, and Mohawks, made a treaty with the British at Oswego, agreeing to serve the King throughout the war. Mary Jemison, the celebrated " white woman." then living among the Senecas on the Genesee, declares that at that treaty the British agents, after distributing presents among the Indians, promised a bounty on every scalp that should be brought in. However this is a question that has been widely debated. As had characterized their actions on other occasions the Senecas were reluctant to attack or make war against their brothers of the Long House, but they did not withdraw from the British interest and remain EVENTS FOLLOW fNG THE YEAR 1777. 53 neutral during the years following 1777. Tiiey were relieved from any embarrassment by the fact that tiie Oneidas decided to take no active part in the war, while the Tuscaroras were confederates by compara- tively recent adoption, having become members of the Iroquois League many years after its formation and were not brothers within the strict meaning of the clan system. From the latter part of 1777 the four tribes named were active in the British interests and Fort Niagara again became the center of operations, although the savage warriors were scat- tered all through the Genesee country and even eastward to the Susque- hanna River. The most prominent chief of the Confederacy during the Revolutionary period was Joseph Hrant, or Thayendenaga, a Mohawk whohad received a moderate English education under thepatronage of Sir William Johnson. The then conspicuous Seneca chiefs during the same period were Farmer's Brother, Cornplanter, and Governor lilacksnake, but which of these was leader is not well known. At the massacre at Wyoming the author of the " Life of Brant" says the chief in com- mand of the Senecas was Guienguahtoh, supposed to mean the same as Guiyahgwahdoh, " the smoke- bearer." That was the official title of the Seneca afterward known as " Young King," but the latter was then too young to have been at Wyoming, yet his predecessor (probably his maternal uncle) might have been there. Brant was certainly not there. At Cherry Valley, following the slaughter at Wyoming, the Senecas were present in force together with a bod)' of Mohawks under Brant and a part)' of Tories under Capt. W'alter Butler. These and other similar events, the sudden and unexpected attacks upon frontier settlements and outposts, and the merciless slaughter of their inhabitants induced General Washington and Congress to set on foot an expedition in the spring of 1779, having for its object a retali- ation upon the Indians and especially upon the Senecas for the out- rages perpetrated by them down to that time. This duty devolved njjon Gen. John Sullivan, who at that time was an officer in the American army. The full force organized for the expedition amounted to 5,000 men, which was formed in three divisions. Sullivan himself com- manded the troops that marched through and laid waste the Indian villages and improvements in the region of Seneca Lake ; and as that was the only part of the several campaigns that is pertinent to this work 54 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. this narrative will be confined to the acts performed in the region here- abouts. General Sullivan organized his force in Pennsylvania and ascended the Susquehanna to Tioga Point, where he was joined by Gen. James Clinton's force, the latter having come from the Mohawk country. From Tioga Point the combined forces proceeded westward to the Clie- iiiuiig River, where they found Tories, Indians, and British entrenched behind a breastwork of logs and earth. On the 29th of August the attack was made by Sullivan's men, and being well provided wiih artillery the work of demolishing the entrenchments was quickly done. The British and Tories fought manfully, but a portion of the Iroquois fled before the destructive canonade. However Brant succeeded in rallying a few of the Indians, who fought desperately from behind trees, bushes, rocks, or whatever place afforded concealment or pro- tection. The battle continued about two hours, when the British and their allies were routed and fled in great disorder. This battle, which occurred on the site of the present city of Elniira, was the only regular en- gagement between the contending forces. The results here were so ex- ceedingly disastrous to the Indians that wherever Sullivan's men after- ward appeared the redskins fled in terror, and all that remained for the American troops to do was to burn and destroy the villages and grow- ing crops which were found in the vicinity of the line of march. From Chemung and Newtown Sullivan marched northward to the so- called " French Catharines town," at the head of Seneca Lake, thence down the lake on the east side to Kanandesaga, where was a village of some size. On the east side of the lake between Catharines town (Wat- kins) and Kanandesaga were several small Indian villages, all of which were destroyed. At the point last named Brant used every effort to induce iiis Iroquois warriors to make another stand against the invaders, but the attem])t was of no avail. The Indians had already been severely punished and one of their chiefs, said to be the king of Kanandesaga, had been killed. This was enough for them and with Sullivan'a appear- ance every village was abandoned. So it was at Kanandesaga, where it is said were about sixty houses with gardens and apple and peach orchards. Here Sullivan met with no opposition, and his men destroyed every building and all growing crops. GENERAL SULLIVAN'S EXPEDITION. 55 From this point detachments were sent out to lay waste other villages of small note. One of these was within the present county of Yates, at the point commonly called Kashong, on the creek which still bears that name, in the town of Benton, and on the farm recently owned by W, \V. Coe. In regard to the' destruction of tiiis village that popular writer, W. L. Stone, says : " A detachment of 400 men was sent down on the west side of the lake to destroy ' Gotheseunquean ' and the plan- tations in the neighborhood." The point designated unquestionablj- refers to the same now called Kashong or Cashong. The diary of Captain Fowler, in every way reliable, mentions the village as " Kash- anquash," while the official report of General Sullivan gives the name as " Gotheseunquean," already referred to above. Which is correct and which is incorrect is not material to this narrative, but, however spelled or pronounced, the objective point of destruction was, as stated, in the town of Benton, this county. There was no battle at Cashong, as in many other cases the inhabitants fled before the approach of the troops. After using Kanandesaga as a base from which to operate in the de- struction of Indian villages General Sullivan proceeded westward upon a like errand, and then in the same manner to the eastward, laying waste every possible thing that could be of use to the Indians or for their sus- tenance, after which the campaign was regarded as successful and com- plete. And such proved to be the case, for the Indian occupants with- drew themselves to the protection of Fort Niagara and in that localit)- the)' remained until after the close of the war. The results of Sullivan's expedition are best summed up in quoting from the official account of General \\'ashington, which in part was as follows : " Forty of their towns have been reduced to ashes, some of them large and commodious, that of Genesee alone containing 128 houses. Their crops of corn have been entirely destroyed, which, by estimation, it is said, would have provided i6o,OOObuslicls, besides large quantities of vegetables of various kinds. Their whole country has been overrun and laid waste, and they themselves compelled to place their security in a precipitate flight to the British fortress at Niagara ; — and the whole of this has been done with the loss of less than forty men on our part, including the killed, wounded, captured, and those who died nat- ural deaths." ,6 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. A preceding paragraph has incidentally mentioned the fact that the king of Kanandesaga was killed at the battle at Newtown or Elniira. The main fact was undoubtedly correct, but it is highly questionable whether the dead official held any such title as king, for no such office ever existed among the Iroquois Confederates. On the contrarj' reports go to show tiiat Kayingwaurto was a subordinate Seneca chief and at that period in command of the Indians of that tribe who inhabited Kan- andesaga and its vicinity. He was a chief and nothing more. Are- port of the death of the chief was brought to General Sullivan a few days after the battle at Newtown by an escaped prisoner, and after an accurate description the general remembered having seen such a war- rior among the slain on the field of battle. On the person of the dead chief was found a written mcmoranduni which strongly tends to prove the often disputed fact that the British agents agreed to a bounty for each white scalp taken by their redskinned allies. The paper found read as follows ; •'This may certify that Kayingwaurto, the Sanakee chief, has been on an e.xpedition to Fort Stanvvix and taken two scalps, one from an officer and a corporal. They were gunning near the fort, for which I promise to pay at sight ten dollars for each scalp. '•Given under my hand at Buck's Island and the allies of his Majesty. "John Butler, Col. and Supt. of Si.x Nations." As has already been stated the campaign of General Sullivan had the effect of driving the unfriendly Indians out of the eastern part of the Genesee country and of the State, and obliging them to seek refuge and protection at the British post at Fort Niagara. Not only had their vil- lages been wholly destroyed, but as well their corn-fields and gardens, leaving them with no means of subsistence through the winter follow- ing. They were fed and otherwise provided for by the agents of Great Britain, but with the coming of spring an attempt was made to persuade them to return to their old haunts and cultivate crops for another win- ter's use. This effort was partially successful, but instead of returning to their ancient camps the Indians settled and established villages in the region of Fort Niagara, not being willing to venture again into the ter- ritory where they might be subjected to another destroying visit as Sullivan's men had inflicted upon them. In the country around Niagara the squaw portion of the Indian popu- lation planted crops of corn and x'egetables which yielded a haivest tor UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 57 the succeeding winter. But the suppi)' was not equal to the demand, and the natives again, in the winter of 1780-81, had recourse to their friends, the British. The warriors of the community were kept con- stantly busy by Guy Johnson and Colonel l^utler marauding upon frontier settlements of their enemies, but the Indians had become so thor- oughly broken up that they were unable to produce such devastation as at Wyoming and Cherry Vallej'. With the surrender of Cornwailis in October, 1781, there was a practical cessation of hostilities, but it was not until the fall of 1783 that peace was formally agreed upon between Great Britain and the revolted colonies, henceforth to be universally acknowledged as the United States of America. By the terms of the treaty then made the boundary lines between the British lands and the territory of the United States was established along the center of Lake Erie, the Niagara River, and Lake Ontario" and the St. Lawrence River, and northward and eastward to the Atlantic Coast. Still for several years the British posts on the American side were held in the posses- sion of the King's soldiers, and the same leaders who controlled them during the war continued to exercise an unfriendly influence among them as against the United States and the State of New York. CHAPTER V. Situation of the Indians at the close of the Kevoliilion — They are recognized as rightful owners of the Territor)^ — Treaties for the purchase of Indian Titles — The (">rand Council at Fort Stanwix — Red Jacket opposes the Sale — A brief sketch of the famous Chief — The Medal — The subject Resumed — Conflicting claims by New York and Massachusetts — Their Settlement — Massachusetts owns the Genesee Country — Yates County a part of it — The New York Genesee Land Company — The Niagara Genesee Land Company — They Lease from the Si.\ Nations — Looking to the formation of a new State — Imitating the action of \'ermont — The attempt Fails — Prompt action of Governor Clinton —The Compromise and its Reward. AFTER the close of the Revolution it was found that the treaty agree- ment entered into between the previously contending govern- ments had made no provision for the Indian allies of Great Britain. The English authorities offered them lands in Canada, but ail the tribes ex- cept the Mohawks preferred to remain in New York. * 58 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. They were entitled to no consideration at the hands of the United States government, for by their action in participating in the war on the side of England they had forfeited their right to possession and were in much the same position as was the English government in that respect — a conquered nation having lost their rights in a conflict at arms, liut the United States and the State of New York treated the Indians with great moderation, and declined to avail themselves of their right to claim the lands formerly occupied by the Iroquois, and even admitted the unfortunate savages to the benefits of peace, although the latter had twice violated their pledges and plunged into a war against the colonies. However a property line, as it was called, was established between the whites and Indians, which line ran along the eastern boundary of Broome and Chenango Counties and thence northwestward to a point seven miles west of Rome. Conceding after same discussion and dissension that the Indians had some rights in the territory formerl}' occupied b\' them the legislature of New York passed an act constituting the governor and certain other designated persons as superintendents of Indian affairs. George Clin- ton, then governor, assumed at once the responsible duties of arranging a council with the chiefs and sachems of the several tribes, and for this purpose sent emissaries to confer with the Indians and bring them if possible to an amicable understanding of the matter. After much labor and the lapse of considerable time a council was held at Fort Schuyler on the first of September, 1784 There were present the New Yoik representatives together with deputations from the Mohawks, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Senecas. The Oneidas and Tuscaroras were not at first represented, but after three days they appeared. During the proceed- ings the Cayugas and Tuscaroras exhibited to the commissioners a letter from the committee of Congress, wherein it was stated that the Indians should not treat with representatives of New York, as the governor had no authority to conduct such council, but tliat the committee of Con- gress would meet the Indians in council at Fort Stanwi.x on the 20th of September "to settle a peace with all the Indian nations from the Ohio to the Great Lake." After distributing presents and provisions among the Indians Governor Clinton resolved to postpone further action until the arrival of the United States commissioners. RED JACKET. 59 In the montli of October, 1784, the treaty at Fort Stanwix was held. On tlie part of the United States there were present Commissioners Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, while the celebrated Frenchman, Marquis de Lafayette, was with them in the capacity of interested spectator. The Indians were also present, being represented by chiefs and sachems. The proceedings of this first grand cour.cil had no special relation to the lands of this locality, but at the meeting there was brought into prominent notice one who is claimed to have been, and beyond question was, a native of the territory afterward erected into Yates County. This personage was the famous Red Jacket, who, though a youth at the time of the council, afterward became a con- spicuous figure in the frequL'nt treaty meetings. Lfpon the occasion above referred to Red Jacket was bitterly opposed to making any con- cessions whatever to the whites and openly advocated a renewal of the war. But in this efi'ort Red Jacket was opposed by the noted war chief Cornplanter, and the council of the latter prevailed, with the result of a treaty fixing the western boundary of the territory to be considered as belonging to the Six Nations. Here the reader will pardon a slight di- gression from the general course of this narrative that he may take a glance at this celebrated son of Yates County, Red Jacket, although the son may be said to have occupied the somewhat anomalous position of being many years older than his parent. Sagoyewatha, the Seneca name of the chief, was born near Branch- port on the western arm of Ogoyago Lake, but as to the date of his birth there appears to be no record, nor is it known who of the Sene- cas were his parents. At the time of the treaty at Fort Stanwix the chief was a young man and had just been elevated to the position lie held. He was the recognized orator of his tribe, not even second to the eloquent Cornplanter, but the latter held pre-eminence, was a war- rior of mature years, and one who had carved his way to fame among his people through his cruel and merciless slaughter of white men, women, and children. As a speaker for his tribe and nation Sagoye- watha stood without a peer. Indeed so powerful was his speech at the treaty ground that Levasseur, the French writer who derived his information from Lafayette, said of lum : "His speech was a master- piece, and every warrior who heard him was carried away with his elo- quence." 6o HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. Red Jacket had, wb.eii a j'outli, heard a number of prominent speakers among the Indians, and he determined to and did instruct himself in the art of oratory ; and liis first or maiden effort was made on the occasion referred to, and tliat brought to him the name of Sagoyewatha, " The Keeper Awake," or literally "he keeps them awake," as more descrip- tive of his oratorical powers. But among the whites he was generally called by the rcdiculous appellation of Red Jacket, a name which he transmitted to his descendants. He, too, had been an actor in the border wars, but had won no laurels in them. Brant and Cornplanter both hated him, declaring that he was both coward and traitor ; but theirs was the hatred of envy and jealousy. They were accustomed to tell of the time when he made a glowing speech urging the Senecas to battle, but while the conflict was going on was discovered cutting up tlie cow of another Indian which he hatl killed. After that he was frequentl}' called " The Cow Killer," a name which was inserted in two or three public documents, but afterward crossed out and " Red Jacket " substituted. The treason with which he was charged seems to have consisted in making several efforts for peace during Sullivan's campaign without the sanction of the war chiefs. At one time he is said to have secretly sent a runner to the American camp inviting a flag of truce. Brant heard of this and had the unlucky messenger intercepted and killed. Prob- ably some of the stories of his timidity and treachery are false, but there were many of them and all pointed the same way. Notwithstanding all this such was the charm of his eloquence, and such the clearness of his intellect, that he rapidly gained in influence and was made a chief, that is a civil chief or counselor of the sachems. At the beginning of the Revolution he was a youth of about twenty. The British officers had been attracted by his intelligence and frequently employed him as messenger, for which he was well qualified by hisfleet- ness of foot and shrewdness of mind. The\' compensated him by a succession of red jackets, in which he took great pride and from which he derived his name. In later years Red Jacket had risen to a high position, being mentioned by Proctor as "the great speaker and a prince of the Turtle tribe." As a matter of fact, however, he belonged to the Wolf clan. RED JACKET. 6i In 1792 Red Jacket and Farmer's Brotlier were two of fifty cliicis who visited the seat of government, then at Philadelphia. The former then claimed to be in favor of civilization, and it was at this time that Washington gave him the famous medal which lie afterward wore on all great occasions. It was of silver, oval in form, about seven inches long by five wide, and represented a white man in a general's uniform presenting a pipe of peace to an Indian. The latter had flung down his tomahawk. Behind them is shown a house, a field, and a man plowing. The manner in which Red Jacket acquired his characteristic name is told by his biographer: On one of his visits to tlie seat of government General Knox, then Secretary of War, presented the distinguished Sen- eca with the full uniform of a military officer, with cocked hat and all equipments complete. Red Jacket requested the bearer to inform Knox that he could not well wear military clothes, he being a civil sachem, not a war chief If any such present was to be made to him he would prefer a suit of civilian's clothes, but would keep the first gift until the other was sent. In due time a handsome suit of citizen's clothes was brought to his lodging. The unsophisticated savage accepted it and then remarked to the bearer that in time of war the sachems went out on the war-path with the rest, and he would keep the military suit- for such an occasion. And keep it he did. The foregoing anecdote is slightly at variance with the former statement tiiat Red Jacket was first clothed in military uniform by the British officers, but the reader must do as in all tales of Indian heroes, read all and believe whichever best suits his convenience or fancy. But Yates Count)' is not the onh- claimant to the place of nativity of Sago^ewatha or Red Jacket. A State Historical Gazetteer published some tliirty years ago fixes his place of birth in the present town of Fayette in Senaca County, and the spot as being near Canoga Spring. This was undoubtedly an error, for there can be produced satisfactory evidence to show that the famous chief was born in what is now the town of Jerusalem in this county, and not far from the hamlet called Branciiport. In fact it is said that Red Jacket himself told the late Judge Lewis that he was born at the place indicated. After the treaty and great council at Fort Stanwix held bj- the com- 62 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. niissioners respecting the general government the Board of Indian Af- fairs, under the authority of New York, met and frequently called the Indians together for the purpose of acquiring and purchasing their lands. The several councils thereafter held resulted each in the surrender on the part of the natives of vast tracts of their former territory, but in each and every case tiie authorities made to them a just compensation. In this inanner matters progressed favorably for some time, but of a sudden there arose a spirited controversy which in various forms in- volved the question of title or right to purchase, the greater part of which was due to the imperfect understanding had by the King of the situation and extent of territory in America. It was the custom of the sovereign to make extensive grants, charters, or patents of land to cer- tain favorites, or for consideration, but with the most indefinite and un- certain boundaries. One of these vast and almost boundless areas was granted by King Charles to his brother James, the Duke of York, which included all the lands betv\een the Connecticut River on the east and westward to the Delaware Bay, north to the province of Canada, and westward indefinitely. This neat little estate, had the title been subse- quently confirmed as granted, would haveincluded millionsand millions of acres and would have made brother James " quite well off," to use a com- mon expression ; but the same ruler made another grant of territory to the Plymouth Company, which likewise extended several degrees of lati- tude north and south and stretched east and west from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The last mentioned grant was made in 1620 and the former in 1628, and of course that last made overlapped the first, but did not vacate or supercede it. The first grant, that made in 1620, founded the colony tract for New England, while the latter eventually resolved into the colony, province, and lastly the .State of New York. Many complications and controversies were the outcome of these conflicting grants. One of them very nearlj- involved the stalwart Green Mountain Boys in a civil war against the authorities of the province of New York, and would probably have so resulted but for the outbreak of the Revolution. The principal discussion concerning ownership and jurisdiction of the territory under the letters patent, and that which more particularly concerns the present reader, was that carried on be- tween the authorities of the province of the then caUed Massachusetts LAND TITLE CONTROVERSY. 63 Bay and the representatives of the colony and province of New York, although at the time the controversy was adjusted both of these colonics had become States of the Union. To settle the dispute between them the States of Massachusetts and New York ceded all their domain to the federal authority, but before the latter had taken cognizance of the matter the States themselves had taken such action as obviated the ne- cessity of congressional interference. After the settlement of certain preliminaries the contestants agreed upon the appointment of commis- sioners of arbitration, who held a meeting at Hartford, Conn., on the i6tli of December, 1786. The results of their deliberations are best told by Turner, as follows : " According to the stipulations entered into by the convention Massa- chusetts ceded to the State of New York all her claim to the govern- ment, sovereignty, and jurisdiction of all the territory lying west of the present east line of the State of New York ; and New York ceded to Massachusetts the pre-emption right, or fee of the land, subject to the title of natives, of all that part of the State of New York lying west of a line beginning at a point in the north line of Pennsylvania, eighty- two miles north of the northeast corner of said State, and running thence due north through Seneca Lake to Lake Ontario ; excepting and re- serving to the State of New York a strip of land east and adjoining the eastern bank of Niagara River, one mile wide, and e.xtending its whole length. The land, the pre-emption right of which was thus ceded, amounted to about 6,000,000 of acres." The plain interpretation of this agreement was that the land in ques- tion should remain and continue within the State of New York and subject to its laws and government, but that its ownership should be in the State of Massachusetts, subject to whatever rights the Indian occu- pants ma)- have had and then had. This right Massachusetts was at liberty to purchase from the natives. Thus vested with the legal title to the lands all that was required of Massachusetts was the purchase of the Indian claim, as New York had previously done in other localities. The greater part of the terrilorj' included within the county of Yates was also a part of the Massachu- setts tract. And the portion of this county which was not within the pre-emption lands, as sometimes called, is that which lies bordering on 64 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. Seneca Lake in the towns of Torrey, Milo, and Starkey as at present constituted. The proceedings of the arbitration commission were held and its agree- ment reached during the year 1786 and in the year following, 1787, Massachusetts began casting about for a sale of her territory; but at this juncture there appeared an element of disturbance that not only threatened trouble for the Bay State's interests, but, as afterward devel- oped, that same troblesome factor threatened to disrupt the very insti- tutions of the State of New York. The troubles and vexations of the time were all caused by the unlawful operations of the New York Gene- see Company and its auxiliary association, the Niagara Genesee Company. The constitution of the State of New York forbade the purchase of the fee of lands from the Indians by individuals, that right being re- served to the State alone. This measure was adopted to protect the nations against the acts of unscrupulous persons whose chief aim should be to defraud the easily misleil Indians of their possessions ; but the right so reserved to this State, so far as related to the district ceded to Massachusetts, was passed to the latter under the deed of cession. During the winter of 1787—88 there was organized an association of individuals who styled themselves the New York Genesee Company, and the object of which was the acquirement of lands from the Indians ; not, however, by purchase, for that was forbidden by law, but by ob- taining leases of the lands for long period of years, and upon the pay- ment of small cash consideration and an annual rental. The New York Genesee Company was comprised of wealthy persons, most of whom resided in the Hudson River region, and who became members of the association purely for purposes of speculation. This company also caused to be organized an auxiliary association, called the Niagara Genesee Company, the membership of which was comprised chiefly of residents of Canada, with a certain iaw from this State ; but almost with- out exception those who composed the latter com[:)any were persons who had in some manner become acquainted with the Iiulians and who were able to influence them almost at will. Through the machinations of the lesser organization, the Niagara Genesee Company, there was executed a lease with the Six Nations, in LAND TITLE CONTROVERSY. 6; which lease the party of the second part were the associates comprising the principal company, and by the terms of which the second parly therein named became the lessees of an immense tract of land for a period of 999 years from the 30th of November, 1787. The consid- eration provided to be paid by way of rental was the annual sum of 2,000 Spanish milled dollars, added to which was the promise of a bonus of $20,000. The lease consummated the new proprietary at once set about the col- onization of their district, which of course included within its limits the greater part of what is now Yates County ; but no sooner had the intel- ligence of this lease reached the ears of Governor Clinton than tiiat offi- cial at once dispatched trustworthy agents to the land of the Seneca for the purpose of informing the natives of the fact that they had been duped; that the lease would be declared null and void by the State legislature; and that the)', the Indians, should refrain from further nego- tiations with either lessee company or their agents. It appears that the originators of the scheme for the acquirement of Indian lands by lease had another project in view than the mere acqui- sition of title. At tiiat particular time as well as previousl)- and after- ward there was in progress a controversy between the authorities of the State of New York and the people of the indepentlentlj- organized district of New Hampshire Grants, but more commonly known as the State of Vermont. The people then had taken tlieir grants from the governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth, under the belief that the territory was a part of that province, but tlie decree of the King in July, 1764, had determined the eastern boundary of the province of New York to be the west bank of the Connecticut River. The people of the district would have readily submitted to the authority and jurisdic- tion of New Yoric had not the governor of the latter insisted that the township charters be surrendered, and that new ones be taken from New York and full consideration be paid therefor. Against tiiis the people rebelled, and most effectually and determinedly resisted all attempts of the New Yorkers to dispossess or arrest them. In 1777, after the Dec- laration of Independence declared at Philadelphia, the people of the then called New Hampshire Grants assembled in convention and de- clared their district to be an independent State ; and thereafter, and for y 66 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. foui'teen long years, they maintained that independence until finally admitted to the federal Union in 1791. While the situation in Vermont had no parallel in the case of the lessee company, still the latter was inspired with the hope that in ac- quiring a long lease-hold interest in the lands of the Six Nations they, too, might organize a separate and independent State apart from the government of New York. Such was their discovered intention, but the prompt and energetic action of Governor Clinton thwarted their plans, afterward annulled their leases, and made them glad to sue for terms of peace and compromise. The result was that instead of possessing some millions of acres, and forming them into a new State, they were ultimately content with receiving a ten mile square grant off the old Military Tract in the northern part of this State. The lessees were after- ward further rewarded by the Phelps and Gorham proprietary by the grants of several towns ; but consideration of the latter grants was the influence the agents of the lessees commanded with the Indians in en- abling Phelps and Gorham to perfect their title by purchase from the Six Nations. CHAPTER VI. The land Titles — The Phelps and Gorham Purchase — Its e.xtent and Boundar- ies — Troubles created by the Lessee Companies — How Settled — Consolidation of interests — Extinguishment of Indian Titles — The old Pre-emption Line — Fraud Practiced — Town Surveys — Sale to Robert Morris — The latter sells to English cap- italists — Surveying the new Pre-emption Line — The fraud Discovered — New com- plications Arise — How Settled — Occupants of the " Gore " — How Com|iensated — SettleiTient with Charles Williamson, agent of the Pultney Association. WHTH the exception of certain specially reserved tracts of land the Hartford convention of commissioners awarded to the State of Massachusetts, in settlement of her conflicting claims with New York, the greater portion of the territory of the last named State which lay west of Seneca Lake. New York, however, retained and held the right of jurisdiction and sovereignty over this vast area, \\hile the fee in the THE PHELPS ASD GORHAM PURCHASE. 67 territory vested in Massachusetts, subject only to the Indian title which the latter State or her grantees must purchase and extinguish. These lands being quite remote from the State which owned them the authorities thereof deemed it expedient that they be sold and the proceeds used to replenish the depleted exchequer of the Common- wealth. There was no lack of eager purchasers, prominent among whom were Oliver Phelps and Nathanial Gorham. The fornu r of these persons determined to become interested in the jnirchase of 1 ,oco,000 acres of the tract, while the latter also liad the same end in view, each at first acting independently. Later an association of purchasers was formed and a proposition duly made to the State for the sale of the pre-emption tract, or at least of 1,000,000 acres of it, at the price of- fered by Mr. Gorham ; that is at " one and six[)ence currency per acre," payable in the " public paper of the Commonwealth." The Massachu- setts House of Representatives agreed to the sale on these terms, but the Senate failed to concur, whereupon no action was taken until the month of April, 1788. While the question relative to the sale of the land was pending, and prior to the April meeting of the ler;islature, other competitors came into the field for the purpose of making purchases on the pre-emption tract ; but that there should not be any clash of interests or strife over the matter of purchase all the parties united with the Phelps and Gor- ham association. The result was that in April, 1788, the constituted representatives of the association, Phelps and Gorham, made a proposal to the legislature to take all the land ceded by New York to Massachu- setts, at the agreed price of $100,000, payable in Massachu.setts paper currency, which, by the way, was at that time greatly depreciated in value. The preliminaries being settled and the proposition accepted the contract of sale was made complete. The first duty devolving upon the new owners after having purchased the pre-emption right was to make perfect title by the extinguishment title. This task fell upon Mr. Phelps, while to Mr. Gorham was en- trusted the duty of conferring with the New York authorities relative to running the boundary or pre-emption line. Gen. Israel Chapin was at the same time directed to explore the new region of country and re- port its character to the associate proprietors. 68 HIS TORY OF YA TES CO 17A' T \ '. Oliver Phelps found himself charged with a more difficult and doubt- ful undertaking than he at first anticipated. He found the lessees un- der the long lease in constructive if not in actual possession; and lie found, too, that all his endeavors at negotiations with the Indians must prove fruitless, as the lessee company exercised a controlling influence over the natives and over the traders, interpreters, and otliers upon wliose assistance lie had relied in carrying out his own plans for the ac quirement of the title. At last, realizing tliat a compromise of some sort would be the most satisfactory way out of existing difficulties, Mr. Plielps visited the principal lessees at Hudson, and there such negotia- tions were had that the lessees agreed to call a council of the Indians at Kanandesaga, make a surrender of their lease, and take a deed of cession from the sachems and authorized agents of the tribes, the grant ees in the deed to be Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorlumi for them- selves and their associates. Although there appears to be no record showing the actual consid- eration tiiat moved the lessee company to consent to this arrangement it at the same time appeared to be pretty well understood among the holders of the long lease that theirs was an exceedingly doubtful title and one which would not be acquiesced in by the parties who executed it. More than that Massachusetts and New York both refused to con- firm the lease-hold, in the face of which opposition, together with the feelings of discontent prevailing among the Indians, the lessees were themselves easily persuaded to become members of the Phelps and Gorliam association, or syndicate as it would now be called, and in that manner become owners under proper authority. Having made a satisfactory arrangement with the principal men in the New York Genesee Company, and in particular with its leading and governing spirit, John Livingston, Mr. Phelps at once made preparations for a grand council with the Si.x Nations to be held at Kanandesaga, but on reaching that place about June i, 1788, he found an existing difficulty or disagreement between the New York Genesee Company and the Niagara Genesee Company, and that the leading men of the latter were holding the Indinas at Buffalo Creek and had persuaded them not to attend the council. Thereupon Mr. Phelps proceeded to Buffalo Creek and succeeded in removing the objections of some of the THE PHELPS AND GORHAM PURCHASE. 69 principal men of the Niagara Genesee Company by promising them townships in return for their friendly influence with tlie natives. This done a council was at once held with the Indians at Buffalo Creek with result, on the 8th of July, of the Six Nations releasing the lessee company from the provisions of their agreement so far as related to the pre-emption tract; and with the further result of a sale by the Six Nations to Phelps and Gorhani, for themselves and their associ- ates, of the entire tract ceded to Massachusetts, estimated to contain 2.500,000 acres of land. The consideration of the sale was the pay- ment to be made to the Indians of $5,000 and an annuity of $500 forever. By the deed of transfer then executed by the chiefs and sachems of the Six Nations Phelps and Gorham, for themselves and their associates, became the owners in fee simple absolute of all the lands of Yates Countj' that lay west of the pre- emption line. In fact that purchase covered the greater part of what is now Ontario, Wayne, Yates, Steuben, and Livingston Counties, and parts of Monroe and Allegany Counties. The strip of land lying east of the pre-emption line and west of Seneca Lake was claimed by the lessee companies, but the manner in which they afterward became divested of their title will be made clear later in the present chapter. While 01i\er Phelps was busil)' employed in arranging for his nego- tiations with the Indians, and bringing to satisfactory terms the disturb- ing elements in the lessee companies, Mr. Gorham, the associate of Mr. Phelps, was engaged in preparing for tiie survey of the east and west boundarj' lines of the Massachusetts lands as preliminary to the survey and division into townships of the body of the tract. For this work the services of Col. Hugh Maxwell, an engineer of good repute, were engaged and the survey of the line was made during 1788. But the work of surveying the east line was not ])erformed by Colonel Maxwell nor under his immediate direction. He was taken ill about the time the survey began and was obliged to return to his home, while the running of the line devolved upon his assistants and subordinates. Among those engaged in this work were at lea^t one or more wiio were dirccth' the subservient tools of the New York Genesee Company, and who, at the command of their principals, were dishonest enough to survey the line, not as contemplated by the letter antl the spirit of the agreement 70 HIS TORY OF YA TES CO UN T 3 '. between New York and Massachusetts, but so far as possible in the selfish interests of land sharks and speculators of the company above mentioned. At that time Geneva, or Kanandesaga, was a village of some importance, and was the chief seat of operations in the whole Genesee country and withal a very desirable acquisition. This point the ruling spirits of the lessee company desired to retain and control, but could not with a correct running of the line as contemplated in the pre- emption compact. The sudden illness of Colonel Maxwell opened to the lessees a convenient opportunity to defraud Fhelps and Gorham by inducing the assistant engineers to deviate from the correct line, or what should be the correct line, and establish the boundary to the westward of Kanandesaga or Geneva, thus throwing the coveted district without the Massachusetts tract and bringing it within the territory claimed by the lessees under their contract of lease with the Six Nations. This was done. The engineer in charge made a deflection to the westward, and so established the original or first pre-emption line as to defraud PJielps and Gorham of thousands and thousands of acres and brought Geneva well over on the lessee tract. This palpable fraud was not dis- covered until some years afterward, and not until the territory had been surveyed into townships and sold to divers purchasers. And when dis- covered and the new pre-emption line run many complications were created with the unfortunate consequences ever attendant ujjon con- flicting titles. The surveys into townships of the Phelps and Gorham purchase were made from the eastern pre-emption line as run in 1788. That line passed through Yates County, forming the eastern boundary of Barring- ton and Milo, as originally surveyed ; thence northward through Torrey, as now established, and Benton, passing across Kashong Creek about 200 rods east of Bellona. What is commonly called the "old pre-emp- tion road ' " is nowhere on the pre-emption line in the town of Benton, nor until one passes north from Cromwell's Hollow in Seneca town- ship, Ontario County. The survey of the territory into townships was commenced in 1788 1 The road' dividing Starkey and Barriiigton and running about a mile into Milo is on the old pre-emption line ; also in Milo the straight road passing north and south through Milo Center, in Torrey for a short distance near Caleb Legg's, and in Benton for only a few rods on the McMaster property. PHELPS AND GORHAM FINANCIALLY EMBARRASSED. 71 and completed in 1789. So far as the character of the surface would admit the towns were supposed to contain contents of six miles square. Running from south to north were first surveyed the range lines. Therefore the eastern boundary of Barrington being the pre-emption line the land between it and a parallel line si.x miles west from it con- stituted the " first range." Still another line si.x miles farther west and parallel to that last described included the townships of the second range. Traveling northward through each range monuments were placed at the end of every six miles, and by running lines at right angles to the range lines, at the designated points, there would be included six miles square, thirty-six square miles, or a township area. So it was in counting from south to north that the town of Barrington was num- bered "six" in the first range; Milo, being next north, number " seven," first range ; Benton, number " eight," first range. From this is also shown the fact that soutli of Barrington and between that town and the Pennsylvania line were five other townships in the first range. This is but an explanatory example of the system of surveys emplojed in sub-dividing the Phelps and Gorham purchase, as it has been com monly called. Jerusalem and Potter were in the second range and Ital)' and Middlesex in the third range. Township numbers ran from south to north and range numbers from east to west from the old pre eniption line. In 1789 the enterpising land operators, Messrs. Phelps and Gorham, found themselves to be in a substantiallj' embarrassed condition finan- cially. To be sure they were the possessors of upwards of 2,000,000 acres of the best lands in the State of New York, and to a fair pro- portion of that vast area they had succeeded in extinguishing the Indian claim of title. However the expenses incurred in doing what had been done upto this timehad been enormous. The surveyor's chargeshad been large, while the payment to the Indians and the distribution of influenc- ing presents among them amounted to no small cost. Then, too, was the ever present contingent of hangers-on, persons who had helped or claimed to have assisted in bringing about a peaceful settlement of diffi- culties, and who were persistent in their demands for money and lands. During this time the proprietors had succeeded in disposing of about half, slightly less, of their vast estate, but the purchasers were in the 72 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. main persons who lield shares or stock in the association, and who had accepted town grants or deeds in exchange for their interests in the company. Therefore the year 1789 found Plielps and Gorham with a large amount of land remaining, but uitli very httle ready casli, and the payment agreed to be made to Massachusetts, the $ 100,000, was now due. The worthy proprietors had reckoned upon paying the purchase price in Massachusetts money, which at the time they made tiie original contract was worth only about fifty cents on the dollar, but which on account of the State's having funded her debt and re-established her credit among other States of the Union had advanced to nearly par value. The result of this was that, instead of being able to make the payment with about $50,000 actual means, the proprietors found them- selves under the necessity of raising nearly $100,000, an obligation they could not meet. In this emergency Phelps and Gorham memorialized the Massachu- setts legislature, asking that they be released from the payment of the whole principal sum, and expressed a willingness to pay for that por- tion of the lands to which the Indian title had been extinguished. This proposition was agreeable to the State, the more so perhaps from the knowledge they had that the remaining territory could find ready sale to Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, the financier of the Revolution and a man of large means and influence. In the early part of 1790 a sale was effected to Mr. Morris, the deed or contract therefor being executed by Oliver Phelps and Nathaniel Gorham, and the lands embraced in the transfer included all that the grantors had purchased under the pre-emption right except such town- ships as had already been sold, of which there were about fiftj'. The consideration agreed to be paid by Mr. Morris was ^'30,000 New York money, or its ready equivalent of $75,000. Mr. Morris had no sooner become fully possessed of his new purchase than he proceeded to investigate its character and condition, and he soon discovered or had strong reason to suspect that a gross fraud had been practiced in running the east line. For the purpose of accurate information on the subject he engaged Adam Hoopes to explore the country, and particularly to re-survey the east boundary and determine upon the accuracy of the original line. But before anything had been THE PRE-EMPTION LINE RESURVEYED. 73 done in this matter Mr. Morris's agent in England succeeded in mak- ing a sale of the tract to a party of English capitalists, comprised of Sir William Pultne)% John Hornby, and Patrick Coiquhoun. The nego- tiations were had with Charles Williamson, who acted in tlie capacity of agent for the persons named and received the deeds in his own name, which the actual purchasers, being aliens, could not hold. The consid- eration paid Mr. Morris was i^35,000 sterling or, its equivalent, $170,- 000. Mr. Morris's ownership was quite brief, but his profit was none the less substantial. The lands included within this sale amounted to about 1,200,000 acres. Tiie deed was executed April 11, 1792, Among other things Mr. Morris liad agreed with his grantees that he would cause to be made an accurate survey of the pre-emption line, and in accordance with this promise he directed the work to be done under the supervision of Major Iloopes. He also caused Andrew, Jo- seph, and Benjamin Ellicott to be engaged as assistants in the work. The work was performed in 1792, Benjamin Ellicott being in immediate charge and assisted by his brothers and others named Armstrong, Sax- ton, and Briscoe. This party of competent and trustworthy surveyors commenced at precisely the same point as had the previous engineers, at the eighiy- second milestone in the Pennsylvania line, but the new men at once discovered that the original line began bearing to the westward at the \ery outset, and so continued with occasional variations until Sodus Hay was reached. The greatest variation from the correct line was two miles, sixty- five chains, and sixty-four links, and this at a point eighty- one miles from the place of beginning. Throughout the towns that now form a part of Yates Count)' the line was shown to be from one and one-half to two and one- half miles farther west than it should have been. This survey made by the Ellicotts and others also demonstrated very clearly that the running of the old line so far from its true course was the result of fraud and not an error. This discovery worked to the great disadvantage of the State and to the owners and settlers, who had by that time taken possession of their lands. The State had sold and granted to divers individuals all the lands lying between the old pre-emption line and Seneca Lake, and many of the purchasers and grantees under these sales were in posses- 10 74 HIS TORY OF YA TES CO UX T Y. sion. Now the true pre emption had been survejed and fixed, and within the Phelps and Gorham purchase, as by that survey decided, were found the lands and improvements of persons holding titles from the State. Nothing now remained to be done on the part of the State other than to satisfy the claims of the injured parties. In many cases Mr. Williamson confirmed the State titles and received compensation therefor from the State by grants of lands in other localities from the public lands, while in other instances the governor appeased the claim- ants by grants of public lands, but generally was compelled to give from three to six acres for each one possessed b}' the person found to be on the pre-emption tract. The principal settlement in this region at that time was tlie Friends colony in the towns of Milo and Torrey and the vicinity generally. They were found to be in part on the pre- emption tract and in part on State lands. The chapter next following shows how they became quieted in their possession through the generosity of Charles Williamson. The new pre emption line touched the waters of Seneca Lake at a point about two miles north of tiie village of Dresden, and continued in the lake the remainder of its length. The result of the survey showed Geneva to be wholly within the Massachusetts district and therefore a part of the Phelps and Gorham purchase. Neither Phel))s, Gorham, or Robert Morris ever realized any aiiditional remuneration on account of the discovery, but whatever of advantage or profit came of it fell to the Pultney association, of which Charles Williamson was active agent. One of the largest tracts of land that was brought within the purchase after running the new line was the 16,000 acres originally granted to Seth Reed and Peter Ryckman in consideration of services performed by them in acquiring title to the State by influencing the Indians to at- tentl the council. Moreover both these persons were members of the lessee company and the grant was in part made to quiet and satisfy them. Charles Williamson claimed of the State on behalf of his principals compensation for the total amount of 37,788 acres of land, a poition of which land lay within the county of Yates as afterward established. One parcel was a 320-acre tract reserved by treaty to Joseph Poudre, and which was in the towns of Seneca, Ontario County, and Benton, this countj' ; another was a tract of 2,600 acres surveyed to William J. LAND GRANTS. 75 Fredenburgh in the towns of Torrey and Mile; another was tlie Lan- sing tract of 2,466^ acres also in Torrey and Milo; one of 400 acres surveyed to John Quick in Starkey ; one survey of 1,500 acres in Milo certified to James Walker; the Phillips tract in Starkey of 800 acres; the tract of Samuel Latta containing 200 acres in Starkey; the Nathaniel Owen tract of 200 also in Starkey ; 3,996 acres surveyed to James Wat- son in Starkey; 600 acres in Starkey surveyed to Lansing and DeWitt; and 3,600 acres belonging to John Carpenter and others, 1,000 acres be- longing to Charles McKnight and others, and a small gore of 463 acres, all in Starkey. Other particular instances might be cited, but they are not considered as having any importance in this chapter. The remain- ing portion of the land, that lying between the new pre-emption line and Seneca Lake, was practically undisturbed. It had been granted by the State of New York to individuals who held military land warrants or to others to stop clamorous tongues among the lessee companies. The land lying between the old and new lines became known as "the gore," and by that name it has ever since been designated. When the towns were organized as parts of Ontario County the unsurveyed lands were annexed to the regular towns for jurisdictional purposes. Starkey, however, lying in a great and separate body, became a part of Reading in Schuyler County, and was organized as a part of Yates in 1824. Much that might properly come within the province of this chapter, particularly that which relates to the sale and disposition of the several townships now forming Yates County, is omitted from the present nar- rative, but will be found in the chapters devoted to township history. HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. CHAPTER VII. Jemima Wilkinson, the Public Universal Friend — First emissary of the Friends Society sent to explore the Genesee Country — His unfavorable Report — A Commit- tee of investigation Chosen — The life of The Friend — Her sickness, recovery, and singular Transformation — Her Teachings — Friends Society Formed — Her travels in New England and Pennsylvania — The Friends the pioneers in Yates County — Founding the new Jerusalem — Their Trials and Hardships — First wheat Sown — The first Mill — The coming of The Friend — Her home and Meeting-house — A dis- sension in the Society — Some prominent members Withdraw — The purchase of Jeru- salem Township — The Friend's Purchase — Her removal to Jerusalem — Death of Sarah Richards — Troubles following her Decease — A serious Litigation — Ultimate success of The Friend's Cause — Death of The Friend — Her last Will and Testa- ment — False prophets enter the Society — Its decline and Downfall — Members of the Society. AS early as the year 1786 Ezekiel Sherman made a visit of explor- ation and investigation to the region of the then called Genesee country, the object of which was to find some suitable location for tl e establishing of a permanent settlement by a peculiar sect or class of persons, the devoted followers of Jemima Wilkinson. At that early day, however, settlement of any kind in this region was attended not only with great hardship, but the Indian occupants of the locality were not yet fully reconciled to the singular situation in which they found them- selves on account of the disastrous results of the war j'ust closed ; nor were these savage descendants of the once powerful Iroquois at all dis- posed to readil\- submit to the invasion of their much loved hunting and fishing region by any white people, no matter how peaceable may have been the settlement or how worthy may have been the object of the colonists. Finding the country not ripe for occupation Mr. Sherman returned to the place whence he came and reported to the society the results of his investigation. But far from being dismayed by the unfavorable representations of their emissary the society determined to send a committee of three persons to make a further investigation of the con- dition and situation of the new countr)- and if possible to fix upon a favorable tract for their future occupancy and habitation. JEMIMA WILKINSON. 77 Jemima Wilkinson, as siie was originally named, or tlie Universal Friend, as she styled herself after her somewhat remarkable transforma- tion from the material to the spiritual being, was the founder and tlie conscientious leader of the sect or society just referred to. She was not, neither were her followers, religionists of the order common!)' termed enthusiasts or fanatics, nor were they in any sense the followers of a false doctrine. On the contrary the people who allied themselves to the Friend were earnest, honest, upright men and women, and among her followers were numbered many persons who are remembered as having been among the foremost men of the region that was afterward erected into the county of Yates, and whose descendants many of them still occupy the soil of the county and are among the progressivecitizensof the present time ; and although the society has been for many years extinct, and memory of it lives only in historical records, still no intelligent speaker has given voice to sentiments other than of praise for the society and admiration for its most zealous founder and head. The name of Jemima Wilkinson is known in almost every house- hold in the county, and the story of her life has been published many times and told by parent to child through all the generations of people from the coming of her society and self to this locality to the present. Nothing untold can now be said of her, yet any work of the historian that purports to treat of this region of the State would indeed be in- complete without at least a passing allusion to The Friend and her faith- ful people. Jemima Wilkinson was born in the town of Cumberland, Providence County, R. I., in 1758, and was the daughter of Jeremiah and Amy (Whipple) Wilkinson. Of their twelve children Jemima was the eighth and the only one of them that attained any special celebrity or prominence. The young life of this child was not unlike that of others of her condition and situation, nor is it understood tliat she pos- sessed peculiar traits that marked her in contrast with others of her time. She lived at a time wiien it was not an uncommon thing for numbers of people to separate themselves from established churches or sects and set up a new stantiard of religious discipline or worship ; and while it is known that Jemima was brought under the influence of one of these departures it is not believed that she was led by it. However during her young womanhood she underwent a remarkable and most 78 HIS TOR V OF i \4 TES CO UN T V. singular change. In the summer of 1776, then being eighteen years old, she fell sick and of her disease none of the medical men of the time were able to comprehend, except that it was diagnosed as one of the ailments of the nervous system and not of the physical, for she ap- peared to suffer no pain. At last she wasted in bodily strength and friends despaired of her life ; but during her illness Jemima constantly told them of her strange visions, beautiful in her eyes, which to those around her were evidences of an approaching end and the iiallucinations of a bewildered brain. Gradually she became more weak in strength as her illness continued, when finally, in October, she appeared to fall into a trance state and appeared almost lifeless for a space of about thirtj'- six hours. To the great surprise of her family she suddenly aroused herself, called for her garments, dressed, and walked among the assem- bled members of the household, though frail and wasted with her long prostration. From this time forth she disclaimed being Jemima Wilkin- son, but asserted that the former individuality had passed away and that she was another being, a minister of the Almighty sent to preach his gospel and to minister to the spiritual necessities of mankind. She took to herself the name of the Universal Friend, or the Public Universal Friend, and would recognize no other names even to the end of her life, although to her followers she was commonly known as " Tiie Friend." The first public appearance of Jemima in her new character was made on the Sunday next following her rising from the bed of sickness, and on the day alluded to she attended worship and after the services were ended repaired to a grove of trees, where she delivered a discourse of some length. In the course of her remarks she displayed a surprising familiarity with scripture passages and astonished her hearers with the peculiar force of her delivery. From this time forward she preached frequently, and her audiences were comprised of persons of full mental power; not a band of religious discontents nor a party looking for a Moses to lead them out of a darkness, but rather men of worth, stand- ing, influence, and wealth, who with their families were impressed with the truth of the teachings of Jemima Wilkinson, although she at that time was scarcely more than a girl, being but about eighteen years of age. The Friend traveled about from place to place, visiting and preaching in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, and in THE FRIEXD'S SETTLEMENT. yc, many localities houses of worship were erected by her converted follow- ers. During the summer of 1782 she went to Pennsylvania, to the neighborhood of Philadelphia, accompanied by a small party of her ad hcrents, and there she received a friendly welcome from the Quaker ele- ment of the region. She preached and labored among them for some time, with the result that many new converts were gathered around her standard. Between this field and that of her former labors her minis- trations were divided until the year 1790, when she made the pilgrimage to the new Jerusalem in what afterward became the town of Torrey in the county of Yates. To establish a community home in some new region of the land was the cherished desire of The Friend, and it was for this purpose that Ezekiel Sherman was authorized to visit the Genesee country in 1786, reference to which was made in a preceding portion of this chapter. Notwithstanding the unfavorable character of the report of Ezekiel Sherman the new societ\' determined upon a still further investigation, and if possible to plant their colony in this section of the country. To this end Thomas Hathaway, Richard Smith, and Abraham Dayton were constituted a committee to represent the society and in 1787 set out upon their journey. They first explored some portions of Pennsyl- vania, particularly' in the Wyoming Valley, but at last struck upon tlie trail made b)' General Sullivan's army of some years before, and this led them to and along the shores of Seneca Lake. After visiting Kan- andesaga, now Geneva, they came down the west side of the lake to Kashong, now in Benton, Yates County, and at the latter place fell in with two Frenchmen who were trading among the Indians, and who were respectively named De Bartzch and Poudre. By the traders the committee was informed that the region about them was unsurpassed for purposes of settlement and cultivation ; and in this opinion the worthy commissioners appear to have agreed, for they decided to make a favorable report of the locality, but to leave tlie e.xact situation of the colony to the discretion of whoever of tlie society should first come to make a home. The first settlement by members of the society was made during the latter part of the sunmier of 1788, and the pioneers to whom belonged the honor of that event were Abel Botsford, Peleg Briggs, John Briggs, 8o HIS TORY OF VA TES CO UN T ] '. Isaac Nichols, George Sisson, Ezekiel Sherman, Stephen Card, and others to the number of twenty-five persons. The descendants of a number of these heads of families are still residents of the county, re- siding in various towns. This party of pioneers proceeded along up Seneca Lake until their attention was attracted by the noise of falling waters. This indicated to them a desirable site for a mill and to the spot their steps were directed. This was in August, 1788, and the exact point of location was on the outlet of Keuka Lake not far distant from the place where it discharges into Seneca Lake, at the location which has ever since been known as City Hill. Not only was the first permanent white settlement effected at that time, but the sturdy pio- neers of the party at once cleared the land and sowed about twelve acres of wheat, the first event of its kind in the State west of Seneca Lake. During the year 1789 the little colony on the lake received large accessions in numbers, and even their faithful and devoted leader her- self attempted the overland journey to the new country in the same year, but an unfortunate accident that nearly proved fatal in its results changed her determination, and she returned again to her home near Philadelphia. However The Friend sent her trusted companion and earnest co-worker, Sarah Richards, to the settlement at new Jerusalem to investigate its condition and its people and report to the leader on her return. But it appears that Sarah was not pleased at all she saw among the colonists, upon which she upbraided them in an earnest lecture. After a brief sojourn Sarali returned to The Friend and did not visit the settlement again until 1791. The year 1789 was marked with many trials and hardships for the pioneers of the new country. Mills they had not, neither provisions, and many were threatened with starvation. To grind their corn a stump was hollowed out, and with a stone or mallet the corn was pounded sufficiently to call coarse meal ; but the supply of this conmiodity was exceedingly scarce and many families were compelled to subsist on nettles and milk and the meat of such animals as the forest aft'orded. But after the first year the fertile soil of the locality returned an abun- dant harvest, and from that time forward no family suftered for the necessaries of life ; for luxuries they sought not, for such was not the THE FRIEXD'S SETTLEMENT. 8i cliaracter of the followers of the Universal Friend. The distinguished patron and founder of the society became a dweller among its members during the year 1790, she having left Worcester, Pa., in March and completing the journey in about two weeks. In the same year, and after The Friend's arrival, the society erected a log meeting-house and also a house of abode for its leader. The former stood on the road leading from Norris Landing to the mill, near what has been more lately called the James M. Clark residence ; The Friend's house stood on vvhat is yet called the Townsend farm, and although nuich worn by the storms of a century is still standing, itself a monument to its singu- lar and almost incomprehensible founder. The dwelling of The Friend was built by Elijah Malin and the means for its erection were furnished mainly by Anna VVagener, both of which persons were devout believers in the teachings of The Friend. So far as this narrative has progressed there has nowhere been made mention of any fact tending to show by what means the Society of Friends became possessed of the land upon which their first settlement was made. In a general way it was known to the society that the re- gion was a part of the Massachusetts pre-emption territory subject to the right of jurisdiction reserved to the State of New York; and although a latent fact it was nevertheless true that certain of the follow- ers and adherents of The F"riend were members of the somewhat noted lessee company, and through that channel and the influence of these members in the company the settlement was permitted and effected without the formality of negotiations and purchase. It was assimied, too, that the entire settlement was on the pre-emption tract, although in fact when the line had become determined it was found to be on both sides of the same. This discovery together with the subsequent run- ning of the new pre-emption line led to certain complications, but which were afterward satisfactorily adjusted. But the reader will inquire how was it that Ezekiel Sherman made such an unfavorable report regard- ing the hostile attitude of the Indians, and yet within a year or two afterward so large a settlement was permitted by them to be made without any interruption on their part? In this connection it may be said that at this time the Six Nations had concluded their sale to Phelps and Gorham, but they still lingered about their favorite camps hunting 11 82 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. and fishing, as if reluctant to yield up possession thej' had so long and so peaceably held. Moreover they were at almost open enmity with all white settlers and retired before the onward march of civilization with feelings of hatred for their late conquerers. Occasionally there would be an outbreak, but the savages made no demonstration against the Friends settlement, although it was the first in the region west of Seneca Lake. In truth it appears that the Senecas stood in wondrous awe of the strange people inhabiting the new Jerusalem. The Public Universal Friend not only held her own community of people in a com- mon bond of religious strength and union, but as well did her influence extend over the savage and warlike Senecas, and by them she was looked upon as something more than and totally unlike the average woman. She preached to them on various occasions, and her words being interpreted fell as seed sown upon good ground, for they showed to her and her followers invariable respect and refrained from any unfriendly demonstrations against the infant settlement. Not only that, but occasions are not wanting on which the Indians furnished The Friend with bountiful supplies of game and other necessaries and com- forts of life. On the other hand The Friend and her people always treated the Indians in a most friendly manner, offering them no affront and denying them no unreasonable request. They therefore became friends. In 1791, when the Senecas were on their way to the treaty grounds at Newtown (Elmira), a body of them to the number of about 500 camped at Norris Landing. Among them were Cornplanter, Red Jacket, Good Peter, Rev. Mr. Kirkland, Horatio Jones, Jasper Parish, the latter being interpreters. On this occasion The Friend preached to the Indians and was received by them with much favor. On a still later occasion, in 1794, at Canandaigua, at the final treaty The Friend also addressed the Indians, usnig this te.vt for the subject of her remarks: " Have we not all one heather ? Hath not one God created us all ? " For this and other similar appearances she was called by the \xo<\no\'s> Squaw Shiii-ne-waw-iia-gis-tawgc, meaning "A great woman Preacher." In 1788 the so-called "old pre-emption line" was surveyed and run, Init the Friends had not more than an indefinite idea of its e.xact loca- tion. They of course desired to possess the land in fee simple, for which purpose they addressed an application to George Clinton, governor MEASURES TAKEN TO POSSESS THE LAND. S3 of New York, believing themselves to be on the State lands, reqiieslint,' that they be allowed to make purchase. The governor directed tlitni to attend the land sale at Albany, which was done with the result of a purchase of a tract embracing 14,040 acres, the certificate of title being given to James Parker, William Potter, and Thomas Hathaway and their associates as tenants in common, they representing and acting for the society. The certificate of sale was dated October 10, 1792, but the con- sideration has been variously expiessed by standard writers. Turner in his history of the land titles in general, and the Phelps and Gorham pur- chase in particular, says the purchase price was "a little less than 2s. per acre," while Cleveland states that no consideration was expressed, "ex- cept the requirement that there shall within seven years be one family located on each 640 acres." The latter statement would appear to be the more reasonable, for had the State granted or sold the tract for actual and substantial consideration money restitution would necessarily have been required by the grantees \\hen it was discovered that the pre-emption line rightly run brought a considerable portion of their lands on the pre-emption tract. This proved the case. The new line was run in 1 79 1 and passed through the Friends settlement more than a mile eastward of the old line, showing that their location was in part on the Phelps and Gorham tract proper. But at this time Phelps and Gorham had passed their title to Robert Morris, and by the latter it was sold to the London Association, the agent of the latter being Charles Will- iamson. This unfortunate condition of affairs left those of the societv no resource other than to seek a confirmation of their title from the agent of the association. The nimiber of settlers on the gore, as it was called, in the Friends settlement was twent\-three and they addressed themselves to Mr. Williamson as follows: "Jerusalem, 13th of the ist Month, 1794. " Friend Williamson : We take this opportunity to let thee know our wishes, who are now on thy land at the Friends Settlement, in Jerusalem, in the county of Ontario, and in the State of New York. We. the subscribers, wish to take deeds from friend Williamson for the land our improvements is on. rather than any other person. Our desire is that thee would not dispose of the land to any other person l)ut to us who are on the land. " Benajah Botsford, Eleazer Ingraham, Solomon Ingraham, Richard Smith, Abel Botsford, Enoch Malin. William Davis, John Brij;gs, EInalhan Botsford, Daniel In- 84 HIS TOR y OF YA TES CO UXTY. graham. Richard Mathews, Iilnathan Botsford, jr.. Asahel Stone, Samuel Dooliltle, John Davis, Benedict Robinson, Philo Ingraham. Samuel Parsons, Jonathan Davis^ Elijah Malin, Thomas Hathaway, Mercy Aldrich, Elisha Ingraham." Charles Williamson, the representative of the London Association, to whom tlie above petition was addressed, showed to the petitioners the greatest consideration, treated them not only with fairness but with great liberality, and confirmed to them in the name of his principals the title to their lands agreeable to their request. From the time of the organization of the Society of F"riends in 1776 down to the closing years of the eighteenth century there appears to have been no serious interference with its prosperity and progress. Its numbers were comprised of persons and families who had heard the early teachings of its remarkable leader and were brought to this lo- cality from the States of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Many of them were strangers to one another before coming to the new Jerusalem, but when arrived there became united by tlie fraternal bonds of love, and faith, and hope, and all were devotees of their leader, The Friend, originally Jemima Wilkinson. Their lands anil estates were held in common, and while each family lived upon that set apart to it the whole belonged to the society, according to the cus- tom that prevailed in the bodj-. In the societj' James Parker was per- haps the most influential and wealthy member, whose tract embraced a thousand acres and on which in parcels dwelt and labored himself, his son, and his sons-in-law. But during the latter part of the century referred to above Mr. Parker became for some unknown reason dissat- i-ficd with the workings of the society, or with the strict and rigorous demands of The Friend herself, and withdrew himself from its member- ship and any and all allegiance to it. The rupture was sudden, but none the less effectual, and there proved to be a permanent alienation of affec- tion between him and The F'riend. Almost at the same time William Pot- ter, another leading member of the society, withdrew himself from his former connection in the bod)', and from that time dated the decline of power and influence, not only of The Friend, but as well the society of w hich she was founder and leader — its acknowledged head. Then fol- lowed a long litigation growing out of the question of title to parts of The Fiiend's tract, in which suit William Potter w;is plaintiff and George VICISSITUDES OF THE SOCIETY. 85 Sibson defendant, with determination in favor of the plaintiff and against the defendant, and therefore adverse to The p-riend's interest. The opinion of the court pointed out a means by which The Friend's cause might find reHef in equity, but in resorting to proceedings fell into the hands of an unscrupulous lawyer, who cheated his clients of a large re- taining fee. Directly the losses in defending and prosecuting the .sev- eral suits fell upon individuals of the society, but indirectly they came upon tlie society at large and had much to do with The Friend's ulti- mate change of residence from the Seneca Lake region to the more remote and less desirable final abode in Jerusalem, a town so named in recognition of her presence within its border. But even before changing her dwelling place from the original site The Friend had in mind the thought of departing from the communitv and making her home in some remote locality, away from the dissentients who were the cause of so great trouble. To this end Abraham Dayton, a faithful servator of The Friend, was sent to Canada to negotiate with Governor Simcoe for a grant of a tract of land upon which she and her still devoted adherents could abide in peace. Friend Dayton succeeded in securing a grant of the township of Beauford, Canada West, but when the society were making preparations to emigrate to the region the governor annulled the charter on the ground that the same was made under the mistaken impression that the members of the society were Quakers, for whom he had great respect, but on learning the pre- cise nature or character of the society deemed it expedient to revoke the grant already made. However he renewed the same to Mr. Day- ton, who moved his family and propert)- to the township and lived there during the remainder of his life. On September 2, 1790, Thomas Hathaway and Benedict Robinson became the owners of township number seven in the second ranL;e by purchase from Phelps and Gorham. In extent the purchase embraced thirty-si.x square miles and the consideration paid therefor was $4,320. Both Hathaway and Robinson were members of the societj', and it is believed the purchase was made with the advice and sanction of The Friend and upon its territory she designed at some time to establish her permanent home. At all events such was the intention of Benedict Rob- inson at least, as might readily be inferred from a letter addressed by 86 HIS TORY OF YA TES COUNT Y. him to Sarah Richards, the nearest companion and faithful counselor of The Friend. In January, 1 792, Robinson conveyed to Sarah Richards on behalf of The Friend and in trust for her four whole lots and halves of two others, containinj^ 1,400 acres of land, Thomas Hathaway having previously sold his interest in these lots to Robinson. By conveyances subsequently executed The Friend became possessed of a large tract of land in this township, amounting in the aggregate to 4,480 acres. On this tract in 1791 The Friend, accompanied by Sarah Richards, made the selection of a site for her permanent home, visiting the land in person. The work of improving and clearing the land, cutting roads, and erect- ing such houses and buildings <'is were necessary was at once com- menced and prosecuted under the immediate supervision of Sarah Richards, but it was not until the spring of 1794 that The F"riend and the members of her household moved to the place. The locality of her domicile was called '"Brook Kedron," a name applied by Thomas Hath- away. However the trusted Sarah Richards did not live to witness the completion of her task, she dying during the latter part of 1793. By her will she bequeathed her trust to Rachel Malin, and by the same means devised her property and estate to the same person. To her daughter, Eliza Richards, she gave only a small property in Connecti- cut and entrusted her future to the generous care of The Friend. Eliza, however, proved recreant to The Friend's teachings ; she escaped one night from The Friend's house and was married to Enoch Malin. This couple, Enoch and Eliza Malin, afterward became the cause of much trouble to The Friend and involved her and her estate in a long and bitter litigation It will be remembered that The Friend in making purchases of land seldom entered in person into the negotiations, and never took title to henself in her own name, but rather the conveyances were executed to her prime minister, Sarah Richards, in trust for The F'riend either expressed or implied. By the extensive purchases of land in JerusalemSarah became possessed of the fee, while the equitable title was in The Friend ; but Enoch and Eliza were not so disposed to regard it, for Eliza, as the child and natural heir of Sarah, contended that a part at least of The Friend's estate, so called, was wholly the property of her mother, and acting on this assumption conveyed away portions of it to sundry persons. Finally, in 181 1, Rachel Malin, the THE FRIEND S HOUSES. 87 successor to Sarah Richards, brouglit suit in equity against Enoch and Eliza Malin, and others claiming to hold title under them. The case was not finally determined until 1828, and resulted in a final decree sustain- ing the trust relation in Sarah Richards and by her passed to Rachel Malin, thus upholding both the legal and equitable titles in The Friend. But before this litigation was ended both the original parties, Enoch and Eliza Malin and The Friend herself, were dead and buried. The death of The Friend occurred on July i, 18 19. The first house of The Friend in Jerusalem, that commenced under the direction of the ever faithful Sarah Richards, was first occupied by The Friend in 1794. It was built in three sections, two of them being wholly of logs and a single story in height, while the third was of logs covered with clapboards, a building of presentable appearance and two stories high. One of the log sections was used as a meeting-house by the society and was otherwise utilized as a school- room. The first teacher appears to have been Sarah Richards, followed by Ruth Prichard and John Briggs. This substantial structure was the abiding place of The Friend and her family until the year 18 14. Before that year, however, Thomas Clark commenced the erection of a more desirable house de- signed for the use of the distinguished leader of the society. His work- was begun in 1 809, but not before 18 14 was it sufficiently complete to receive its tenant. The building was two and one half stories high, having large rooms with high ceilings, and was exceedingly well ven- tilated and lighted. F"or its time this was one of the most pretentious dwellings of the region and was the home of The Friend from 18 14 to 1 8 19, in the latter of which years she died. But notwithstanding the demise of The Friend the home was occupied by her successors as long as the society continued in existence and after its extinction was put to such use as was required by its subsequent owners; and it still stands, showing somewhat the marks of time and the wearing of the elements. F'or the locality, even to the present gcneiation of people, there has been ever slio« n a feeling of respect, for the final house of The Friend is the only substantial monument ever erected to her mem- ory. Indeed for a time it covered her remains, her body having been deposited in a strong vault built in the cellar and securely walled in. After some years it was removed to a more suitable place of burial and 88 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. laid beside the graves of those who had been followers of Tiie Friiiiid. But the necessities of later generations of occupants of the soil requirtd these lands for agricultural uses, and the body was disinterred and re- moved for permanent burial to the cemetery at Penn Yan. Because of the persecutions of The Friend by those who had been her former followers and adherents she felt it incumbent upon herself to remove from her first established home at the new Jerusalem to the remote locality in which her remaining life was spent. At the time or soon after the first of her society came to the Seneca country the region was given the name of new Jerusalem, and that name applied to the region inhabited by members of the society and was not a township so named, as has been erroneously supposed. But when The Friend had moved to her last abode the name Jerusalem had already been given the township. In 1789 Thomas Hathaway and Benedict Robinson made the purchase of the towtiship, and in the same year it was duly organized and named. Very appropriately it was called Jerusalem, for it was then intended to become the permanent home of The F"riend. To her and those of the society who held firmly to its tenets it was indeed a Jeru- salem, for in absolute control of all its lands they were safe from intru- sion by those who sought to destro)- the power and influence of both society and leader. Yox a time only can it be said that The F"riend and her following were so exempted from wordly troubles, for with the death of Sarah Richards, and the sale of portions of The Friend's estate by Enoch and Eliza Malin, there were ever afterward many vaxations and complications that disturbed the quiet community even until after The Friend had died and until the society itself was dissolved. With the removal of The Friend to her new home in Jerusalem there went at the same time or soon afterward a fair proportion of her followers. Some of these bought lands for themselves, but many were given loca- tions on The Friend's tract, which was quite extensive, and which was so intended to be for the accommodation of those who sought to be near her and were not able to purchase. Still The Friend retained a consid- erable tract of land in the original location on the lake, some 300 acres ; and although residing some twelve miles distant from the scene of former labors she occasionally visited the old settlement and preached to those who still lived in the locality. In travelii'g to and THE FRIEXD'S CARRIAGE. 89 from lier lionie and the old place The Friend would sometimes ride a horse, but as years advanced she betook herself to a three-seated vehicle, of almost ancient construction, as the most convenient and easy means of making the journey. In this old carriage, it is said on reliable authority. The F"riend traveled from her home near Philadelphia to the new Jerusalem in 1791. During the earlier years of her residence here the carriage could not well be used, as the roads were then in a primitive state and almost impassable to such a cumbrous vehicle as was this. Yox this reason it was put aside for some years and Tlie Friend made her journeys on horseback. She became, too, an expert rider and once eluded her persecutors, who sought to arrest her, by her skillful and rapid riding. But during the later years of her labors, being somewhat broken by overwork and suffering from a dropsical affliction. The Friend had recourse to her carriage to convey her about among the branches of the society. And the old carriage itself, having withstood the ravages of time is still in existence, and is kept as nearly as possible in its original appearance. It is now the property of William T. Remer, of Benton. To describe it understandingly to the reader would be a difficult task, but it is as it was when built except that the wheels have been reduced in size. On its back and sides are still seen The Friend's initials " U. F." in plain script, and also her coat of arms. The vehicle is entered by means of one door, and that on wiiat farmers call the " nigh " side. The carriage is now more than 100 years old and is appearently as strong as when built. Frequently is the old carryall seen on the streets of Penn Yan and the town of Benton, but on none but public days and for occasional use at funerals. Many of the persons who had once been the warmest friends and de- voted followers of the Universal Friend, after they had seceded from and severed their connection w ith the society, became her most unre- lenting and bitter persecutors; and while it is not deemed within the proper scope of this narrative to refer at length to the many false and de- famatory charges brought against her and studiously circulated by the seceders it does become necessary to state the fact that she was once ar- rested upon the charge of blasphemy. Several times did the officers of the law attempt to arrest her, not that they feared she might escape the jurisdiction of the courts, but to make the fact public that she was under 12 90 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. arrest ; that she should be at least to that extent disgraced ; that if pos- sible she sliould be confined in jail at Canandaigua ; and tiiat the tri- umph of their revengeful spirit might be complete. But The Friend was not to be taken unawares, neither did she fear the results of arrest and trial; but her people were determined she should not be unnecessarily detained nor in anj' manner disgraced, therefore they protected her against the persecutions of a relentless enemy. And when the time came right she quietly submitted to the service of legal process of ar- rest, and was provided with bondsmen and attorne\' and gave bail for her appearance without the necessity of leaving her own house. As required b)' the recognizance she duly appeared at the court at Can- andaigua, but the grand jury refused to indict her. At that time she was invited b\' the court and others to preach to them, which she did. After tile sermon was ended Judge Spencer, being asked his opinion of the discourse, said : "We ha\e lieard good counsel, and if we live in harmony with what that woman has told us we shall be sure to be good people here and reach a final rest in Heaven." " The Last Will and Testament of the person called the Universal Friend, of Jeru- salem, in the county of Ontario, and State of New York, who in the year one thousand seven hundred and seventy-si.x was called Jemima Wilkinson, and ever since that time the Universal Friend, a new name which tlie mouth of the Lord hath named. Con- sidering the uncertainty ol this mortal life, and being of sound mind and memory, blessed to the Lord of Saboath and father of mercies therefor, I do make and publish this my Last Will and Testament. " 1st. My will is that all my just debts be paid by my executors hereafter named. " 2d. I give, bequeath, and devise unto Rachel Malin and Margaret Malin.now of said Jerusalem, all my earthly pro])erty, both real and personal, that is to say all my land lying in said Jerusalem and in Benton or elsewhere in the county of Ontario, to- gether with all the buildings thereon, to them the said Rachel and Margaret, and to their heirs and assigns forever, to be equally and amicably shared between them, the said Rachel and Margaret ; and I do also give and bequeath to the said Rachel ^L^lin and Margaret Malin all my wearing apparel, all my household furniture, all mv horses, cattle, sheep, and swine, of every kind and description, and also my carriages, wag- ons, and carts of every kind, together with all my farming tools and utensils, and all my movable property of every nature and description whatever. " 3d. My will is that all the present members of my family, and each of them, be employed if they please, and, if employed, supported during natural life by the said Rachel and Margaret, and whenever any of them become imable to help thetriselves they are, according to such inability, kindly to be taken care of by the said Rachel and Margaret ; and my will also is that all poor persons belonging to the Society of Uni- LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF THE FRIEND. 91 versal Friends shall receive from the said Rachel and Margaret such assistance, com- fort, and support during natural life as they may need ; and in case any, either of my family or elsewhere in the Society, shall turn away, such shall forfeit the provisions herein made for them. "4th. I hereby ordain and appoint Rachel Malin and Margaret Malin executors of my Last Will and Testament. In witness whereof I. the person once called Jemima Wilkinson, but in and ever since the year 1777 known and called the Public Universal Friend, hereunto set my name and seal the 25th day of the 2d mo. 1818. "John Collins. " Ann Collins, The Tuelic Universal Friend. [l.s.J ''Sarah Gregory. " Be it remembered that in order to remove all doubts of the e.'iecution of the foregoing Last Will and Testament, being the person who in the year 1777 was known and called by the name of Jemima Wilkinson, but since that time as the Universal Friend, do make, publish, and declare the within instrument as my Last Will and Testa- ment, as witness my hand and seal the 7th day of the 7th mo. 18 1 8. " Thomas R. Gold, her " John Briggs. Jemima X Wilkinson. ■• James Brown, jun'r. cross mark." With the decease of The Friend, in coiiformit)' witli the provisions of her will, the property and estate which iiad belonged to her were passed to the beneficiaries named in the will, Rachel and Margaret Malin. For soirie time all things went along smoothly and well, but the society was practically witiioiit a leader. And about this time, or some years after The Friend's death, there came to the community one Michael H. Barton, who evidently felt that he had a mission in life to accomplish. He found favor in the eyes of some of the society, but with others he was not so looked upon. He assumed the functions for- merly e.xercised b}' The Friend, preached at the meetings for several years, and otherwise took upon himself the care of the society. And the worthy Barton, too, seems to have been something of a politician, a practice hitherto not dreamed of in the society as a character becom- ing its leader; he took the stump for Harrison in 184O, hoping to be rewarded for his services by an appointment to office, but the death of the successful candidate put an end to his aspirations in that direction. Michael H. Barton died in 1857 and the society received no substan- tial benefit or enlargement during his ministrations. Succeeding Mr. Barton came two other prophets, self called as was their predecessor, and who, in endeavoring to infuse a new spirit 92 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. into the society, only succeeded in working its ruin. While Barton was the politician Hynies was the historian; but the latter was less success- ful in his role than the former had been in his, and he was dismissed bj' the society. George Clark set almost at naught the rigorous relig- ious discipline of the society and labored onl)' for his own selfish ends and personal emolument. He survived the society he had sought to serve, in his own waj-, and afterward died in New York. But the greatest blow against the life of the now declining society came in the death of the faithful and zealous sisters, Margaret and Rachel Malin, the devisees under the will of The F"riend and her immediate successors in the household. Margaret died in 1844, and by her will devised her interest in the estate to James Brown, jr., with the expressed desire that he replace her in the society and at the head of the late Friend's house- hold. By Margaret Malin's will James Brown became possessed of about 700 acres of The Friend's estate, together with several thousand dollars worth of personal ]3ropert\'. Rachel Malin died in 1848, lea\ing her property to the descendants of her brothers and sisters. This last death and the disposition of property following divided eftectually the estate of the Universal Friend, and from that time it may be said that the society became practically extinct. The division of the property was not as The Friend herself originally designed when she made Rachel and Margaret her heirs and successors, but with each successive j-ear the strengtii of the society became less, and outside and worldly influ- ence were constantly working its disintegration with their final and un- avoidable results of effectual dissolution. The preceding portion of the present chapter has related onh- the general outline historx- of The Friend and her society without regard to the individual members who comprised the society, and without ref- erence to the date of arrival in the region that was primarily called the new Jerusalem. Unfortunately there appears to be no record by which can be learned the date of settlement in this locality of the various fam- ilies that were allied to The Friend, but following the coming of the first representatives of the society in 1788 settlement by others became qiiite frequent, and during the first five or so j'ears of the histoi}' o( tliis county subsequent to 1788 there were probably no settlers in the region who were not in some manner identified with the society or in- MEMBERSHIP OF THE SOCIETY OF FRfEA'DS. 93 fluenced in their immigration to the locahty by the community estab- lished by Tlie Friend. There has been preserved, however, a fairly accurate list of those who were adult members of the Society of Univer- sal Friends, and it is proper in connection with this chapter, and as a part of the pioneer history of Yates County, that niention should be made of each to the extent of recording individual names. A preced- ing historical and biographical work has at considerable length recorded the lives of the families and individuals comprising the society, where- fore it becomes this chapter of the present work to furnish not more than the roll of membership. It is as follows : William Aldrich, Joseph Ballou, John Bartleson, Samuel Barnes, Samuel Barnes, jr., Elizur Barnes, Henry Barnes, Jonathan Botsford, sr., Jonathan Botsford, jr., Jonathan Botsford, brother of Elijah, Abel Botsford, Elijah Botsford, Benajah Botsford, son of Elnathan, John Briggs, sr., John Briggs, jr., Peleg Briggs, sr., Benjamin Brown, sr., Benjamin Brown, jr., George Brown, James Brown, Abraham Dayton, Castle Dains, Jonathan Dains, John Davis, Samuel Doolittle, John Gardner, Amos Gurnsey, sr., Amos Gurnsey, jr., Jonathan Gurnsey, Spencer Hall, Arnold Hazard, David Harris, Nathaniel Hathaway, sr., Nathaniel Hathaway, jr., Thomas Hathaway, James Hathaway, Jedediah Holmes, sr., Jedediah Holmes, jr., Adam Hunt, Silas Hunt, Abel Hunt, Eleazer Ingraham, Elisha In- graham, John Ingraham, Nathaniel Ingraham, Remington Kenyon, Ephraim Kinney, sr., Beloved Luther, Elisha Luther, Sheffield Luther, Stephen Luther, Elijah Malin, Meredith Mallory, sr., Isaac Nichols, George Nichols, Josej)!! Niles, Israel Berry, Samuel Botter, Abraham Richards, Asa Richards, Richard Smith, Silas Spink, Asahel Stone, sr., George Sisson, Gilbert Sisson, Joseph Turpin, John Tripp, David Wag- ener, Jacob Wagener, Jaud Weaver, John Willard, Eleazer Whipple, Benoni Wilkinson, Simon Wilkinson. In the Society of Friends also were a number of persons, females, who adhered strictly to the life of celibacy advocated by The Friend, and these, too, are worthy of at least some mention. They were as follows: Sarah Richards, The Friend's intimate associate and counselor, who with her husband became members of the society during their married life; Mehitabel Smith, the sister of Richard Smith; Anna Wagener. sister of David Wagener; Lucy, sister of Daniel Brown; Rachel and 94 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. Margaret Malin, The Friend's devisees and successors ; Mercy Aldrich, wife of William Aldrich and elder sister of The Friend ; Patience Wilkinson, also The Friend's sister and wife of Thomas Hazard Potter; Alice Hazard, daughter of William Potter and wife of George Hazard ; Lucina Goodspeed ; Susannah Spencer, sister of Peleg Briggs, sr.; Mar- tha Reynolds; Patience Allen; Hannah Baldwin; Sarah and Mary Briggs, sisters of Peleg Briggs, jr.; Lydia and Phebe Coggswell ; Mary Gardner, widow, sister to Martha Reynolds; Mary Hunt, daughter of Adam Hunt; Lydia Davis, daughter of John Davis; Eunice Hatha- way, daughter of Freelove Hathaway; Susannah Hathaway, widow ; Mary, widow of James Hathaway; Lavina Dains, daughter of Jonathan Dains, sr.; Elizabeth Carr, called in the society "Mother Carr"; Anna Styer ; Sarah Clark, widow; Mary Holmes, sister of Jedediah Holmes; Catharine White, better known as Aunt Katie White, widow ; Mary Bean; Eunice Beard; Lydia Wood, widow ; Mary Ingraham, daughter of Nathaniel ; Rachel Ingraham, daughter of Eleazer Ingraham ; Chloe Towerhill, born in slavery, became the property of Benjamin Brown, and given freedom by The Friend's influence ; Elizabeth and Hannah Kenyon, mother and daughter — the daughter married George Nichols; Elizabeth Kinney, widow, mother of Ephraim, Isaac, Samuel, and Mary Kinney; Rebecca Hartwell, mother of Samuel Hartwell ; Eliza- beth Luther; Elizabeth Ovett, sister of Abel, Jonathan, and Elnathan Botsford ; Susannah Potter, daughter of Judge William Potter; Re- becca Scott, widowed mother of Orpha and Margaret Scott; Aphi and Margaret Comstock, sisters of Israel Comstock. To those who have been mentioned in the above list Mr. Cleveland has given the appropriate name of " The Faithful Sisterhood," but to the roll so given adds as follows : " There was a noble array of devoted women not of this select band, who as wives and mothers, and true exponents of the highest morality and social virtue, illustrated the pioneer life with examples worthy to be held in honored remembrance, and gave The Friend's society a name for virtue, industry, and matronly worth of which no pen can speak in adequate praise." They are as follows : Sarah Alsworth ; Huldah Andrews; Susannah Avery, wife of Daniel Brown; Abigail Barnes, mother of Henry Barnes; Experience Barnes, HONORED WOMEN OF THE FRIEND'S SOCIETY. 95 wife of Eleazer Barnes; Mary Bartleson, mother of Isaac and Bartle- son Shearman ; Elizabeth Botsford, wife of Jonathan Botsford ; Eliza beth Botsford, daughter of Jonathan Botsford, jr., and wife of Abel Hunt; Lucy, wife of Elnathan Botsford ; Lucy, daughter of Elnathan Botsford; Mary, wife of Abel Botsford; Mary, daughter of Abe! Bots ford ; Elizabeth, wife of Peleg Briggs, sr.; Esther Briggs; Anna Briggs; Margaret Briggs ; Lavina Briggs ; Ruth Briggs, wife of Peleg Gifford ; Anna Brown ; Anna Brown, 2d ; Abigail Brown; Catharine Brown, wife of David Fish and daughter of Benjamin Brown, sr.; Charlotte Brown ; Desiah Brown ; Rachel Brown, daughter of Thomas Clark and wife of Henry Brown, of Benton ; Sarah, daughter of Benjamin Brown, sr., and wife of Judge Arnold Potter; Susannah Brown; Zernah Brown, mother of James Brown, jr.; Hannah Buckingham ; Mabel Bush ; Susan- nah Clanford, sister of David Wagencr and wife, first, of Peter Supplee and afterward of Clanford ; Sarah Comstock, mother of Aphi and Martha ; BathshebaCohoon; Abigail Congol; Eunice Crary; PhebeCarr; Mary Dains, wife of Jonathan- Dains ; Johanna Dains, wife of Castle Dains ; Abigail, wife of Abraham Dayton ; Dinah Dayton ; Anice Day- ton ; Anna Davis, wife of William Davis; Leah, wife of John Davis; Rachel, wife of Jonathan Davis; Sinah Davis, wife of Stewart Cohoon ; Anna Fannin, Hannah Fisher, wife of Silas Hunt; Frances Gardner; Mar)- Green; Kesiali Gurnsey; Mary Gurnsey, wife of Amos Gurnsey ; Mary Gurnsey, Fear Hathaway, daughter of Susannah Hathawa)' and wife of 13ruce ; Deborah Hathaway ; Freelove Hathaway ; Mar)' Hathaway; Mary Hall; Mary Hall, 2d ; Mary IMalin Hopkins, wife of Jacob Rensselaer; Abigail Holmes; Elizabeth Holmes, wife of Elisha Luther; Margaret and Lucy Holmes; Mary Hunt, wife of Adam Hunt; Sarah, daughter of Adam Hunt; Anna Ingraham, wife of John Ingraham ; Abigail Ingraham, daughter of Eleazer Ingraham ; Experience Ingraham, wife of Nathaniel Ingraham ; L)-dia. wife of Eleazer Ingraham ; Lydia, daughter of Eleazer Ingraham ; lilizabeth Jaques; Ruth Jailor; Hannah Kenyon, wife of George Nichols ; Candice and Eunice Kinney ; Martha Luther, sister of Beloved and Reuben Luther and wife of George Brown ; Mary Luther, wife of Reuben Hud son; Lydia Luther; Sarah Luther, wife of Beloved Luther; Elizabeth Miller; Sarah Negers; Anna Nichols, wife of Isaac Nichols ; Margaret 96 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. Palmer; Mary Perr\-; Sarah, Hannah, Susan, and Armenia Potter ; Pen- elope, daughter of William Potter and wife of Benjamin Brown ; Ruth Pritchard, wife of Justus P. Spencer; Orpha and Elizabeth Rose; Bethany, wife of George Sisson ; Lydia, daughter of George Sisson ; Mary Sisson; Tamar Stone, sister of John Davis; Elizabeth Stone; Elizabeth and Rhoda Shearman ; Rachel, daughter of Peter Supplee and wife of Morris F. Sheppard ; Lydia and Mary Turpin ; Lydia and Mary Wall; Rhoda Wescott ; Almy Wilkinson; Deborah Wilkinson, youngest sister of The Friend, wife first of Benajah Botsford and after- ward of Elijah Malin. CHAPTER VHL Early efforts at Colonization and Settlement — Extent of Ontario Countv — Steu- ben County set Off — Towns of Ontario and Steuben which were erected into Yates County — How first organized and their Extent — -The District of Jerusalem — Ben- ton and Milo set Off — Italy formerly part of Middletown — Middlesex originally part of Augusta — Barrington and Starkey come from Steuben County — Torrey taken from Benton and Milo — A Brief allusion to the War of 1812-15 — Public sentiment in this Locality. PRIOR to the year 1 789 the region commonly called the Genesee country formed a part of Montgomery County. Therefore when Phelps and Gorham made their extensive purchase from Massachusetts and from the Six Nations they bought land in Montgomery County. Hut at that time there was no organization whatever in this part of the county ; there had not been made any surveys and the Indian title had not been extinguished. However there was a settlement within the country and in this localit}' — that of the Friends in the new Jerusalem and within what was afterward erected into Yates County. The pur- chase by Phelps and Gorham, the sur\ey of their lands into townships, and the ready sale of these townships to speculators and others, some of whom were desirous of making actual settlement on the town lands, was the first great step toward the creation of a county out of the lands and territory of Western New Yorlc. When the worthy proprietors first made ONTARIO COUNTY FORMED. 97 their purchase and came to view their lands they had no thought tliat Kanandesaga was not a part of their territory, wherefore, being a trad- ing village of some importance and the most direct and convenient en- trance to their tract, they established themselves at that point as a seat of operations. The proprietors were correct in their conclusions that Kanandesaga was on their purchase, although through the selfish schemes of the les- sees the pre-emption line \\as so run as to fall west of the trading post and to bring that place within the territory claimed by the lessees. After the line had been established Mr. Phelps, the active proprietor of the association, although not perfectly satisfied with the survey, neverthe- less acquiesced and submitted, and changed his base of operations from Kanandesaga to Canandaigua. The result was that when Ontario County was erected, Januarj' 27, 1789, and the county seat established Canandaigua received the fortunate designation and the public build- ings were erected there. Ontario County, when erected in 17S9, comprehended the entire re- gion of the Phelps and Gorham purchase, and even all of the country known as Western New York. Therefore all the towns surveyed in this locality, and which were afterward formed into Yates County, were formerly a part of Ontario, although directly at least two towns now of Yates were taken from Steuben County. The last named county was firmed from the mother county, Ontario, in 1796. The towns which now comprise Yates County, and which lie west of the old or first pre-emption line, were surveyed and numbered during the years 1788 and 1789, but they were not generally named until tiiey possessed a sufficient population tojustify their organization. The I-Viends settlement e.\tended over parts of the towns of Mile, Torrey, and per- haps a small portion of Starkey, and was called the new Jerusalem. This fact has led at least one writer of local history into an error, in that he states that the Friends settlement was organized into a town called Jerusalem, which embraced all the present county of Yates except Star- key and Barrington. The only town that was ever called Jerusalem, under proper or recognized authority, was that which still bears the name, and which was originally " township number seven, second range." 15ut let us take a brief glance at the towns of old Ontario which afterward 13 98 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. became Yates County, and notice how, and wlien, and b\' what names they were organized. In 1789, the same year in which Ontario County was erected, the in- habited portions of the county were formed into districts for jurisdic- tional purposes, tliat tliC)- might be properl}' governed, and that the freemen resident therein might avail themselves of their rights and priv- ileges as electors At tiiat time the population of the towns that now comprise Yates County was exceedingly small, and it became neces- sary to group a number of them together, having them partake of the nature of a township, but not actually' becoming such. They were made into a joint organized district and allowed to elect local officers, but there was wanting the distinct townshij) character. The district of Jeru- salem was in this way created and comprised all that is now included in the towns of Jerusalem, Milo, Benton, and Torrey. The district of Jerusalem remained undisturbed as to its territor\- until 1803, when, having acquired a considerable population, it became nec- essary to sub- divide th*e same and create a new jurisdiction. The result was that in February, 1803, all the land now in Benton, Milo, and Tor- rey was separated from Jerusalem and erected into a district by the name of " Vernon." But it appears that a year previous to this event a town named Vernon iiad been established in Oneida County, which necessitated a change in the name of the more recent creation. There- fore Vernon was changed to Snell, and so named in lionor of Jacob Snell, wlio was then State senator from Montgomery County. This name stood until 1810, when on account of some dissatisfaction the name -Siicll was droppetl and Benton adopted in its stead. The latter name was applied in compliment to the first settler in the town proper — Levi Benton. He commenced an improvement near the north end of what is now called Flat street and about a mile west of Benton Center. The town of Benton, as at present constituted, covers township number eight, range first, with the addition of the land lying between the old pre- emption line and Seneca Lake, excepting the territory set off into the town of Torrey, which, however, it originall)- included. The town of Milo was separated from Benton March 6, 1818. Within its boundaries was included surveyed township number seven, range first, together with all the land lying east of the town and west of Seneca TOWNSHIPS ORGANl/.ED. 99 Lake. Its separation from tlie mother town of Benton is said to have been due to the efforts of Samuel Lawrence, one of the represent- atives of Ontario County in the State Assembly. Mr. Lawrence pio- posed the name of Milan for the new town, but as that had been already adopted for another district this was called Milo. Henton, Miio, and Barrington, of what is now \'ates, and other towns as well were deeded by Phelps and Gorham to Caleb Henton in behalf of the lessee company ; and by Caleb Benton the same were conveyed to John Livingston, also one of the famous lessees. The first deed was dated January 16, 1789; the second April 27, 1789. The present town of Jerusalem occupies survey number seven, seconti range, together with a considerable tract of headland commonly called Bluff Point. This was annexed to Yates County and to Jerusalem on I'^ebruary 25, 1814. Jerusalem proper was deeded by the proprietary to Benedict Robinson and Thomas Hathaway, who were shareholders in the association. The purchase price of the township, $4,320, or eighteen pence per acre, was very small for so valuable a town, but the fact that the grantees were among the associated owners of the Phelps and Gorham purchase sufficiently explains the matter. Moreover the)' were both devoted followers of The Friend, and secured the township for the purpose of establishing for their patron a permanent home. The town of Italy formed originally a part of Middletown, the latter having been organized and so named in 1789, but afterward changed to Naples. Italy as now situated covers township number seven, range third. This was one of the towns not sold in parcel by Phelps and Gor- ham, but was by them sold with the entire tract to Robert Morris, and by the latter to the Pultney Association. Afterward the town was sub- divided The town of Italy was set off and organized on the 15th of February, 181 5. Middlesex, lying next north of Italy, occupies the township sur\e\ed as number eight, third range. It was included vvitiiin the district formed in 1789 and called Augusta, but changed in 1808 to Middlesex. The survey of township eight, third range, included lands on the west side of Canandaigua Lake, but the part west of the lake never became a part of \'ates County. This portion was originally convex ed by Thomas Maxwell to Arnold Potter, but there arose a question as to LofC. lOO HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. the sufficiency of the title convej-ed by Maxwell. Subsequently Oliver Phelps quit-claimed to Potter and thus confirmed Maxwell's title. In 1856 six lots in the southeast part of Middlesex were annexed to Potter township. The present town of Potter, number eight, second range, was origi- nally a part of the Middlesex district, and was set off and organized April 26, 1832. It received its name from Arnold Potter, an original proprietor and the first settler in the town. Arnold Potter was the son of William Potter, one of the foremost men of the region in his time. He was originally a follower of The Friend and one of her faithful serv- ants. He, too, was one of the influential dissentients from Tiie Friend's teachings, and whose separation from the society was a serious blow against its after prosperity. At one time William Potter, his son Ar- nold, and another son owned the entire town of Potter. The town of Starkey lies between the old pre-emption line and Sen- eca Lake, but when the new line was surveyed about two- fifths of the territory was brought into the Phelps and Gorham purchase. The greater part if not all of the lands of Starkey were surveyed and granted by the State on military land warrants. The land, too, was claimed by the lessee company as belonging to them under their famous lease. Charles Williamson, agent of the Pultney Association, quieted in their possession many of the owners found on the pre-emption lands, for which he received compensation from the State, while others were themselves given other grants in other localities by the governor of New York. The original name of this town, Starkey, was Fredericks- town, so created March 18, 1796,353 part of Steuben County, but changed in iSoS to Waj-ne in honor of " Mad Anthony " Wayne. Still later the name was changed to Reading. While under this name, on April 6, 1824, that part of tlie town now called Starkey was an- nexed to Yates County. Barrington, so named by its pioneers who came from the vicinit\- of Great Barrington, Mass., was surveyed as township number six, first range. When Steuben County was organized Barrington with several other townships, the lands of Starkey being among them, were organ- ized into a district called Frederickstown and so named in honor of Frederick Bartles, who built a mill at Mud Lake in 1793. The name TOUWSHIPS ORGANIZED, loi was afterward changed to Wayne, and when Barrington was itself or- ganized in 1822 the present designation was given. Barrington was one of the towns that came from Phelps and Gorham to the lessees by deed in satisfaction of their interest in the association, or as a reward for their influence and assistance in negotiating a treaty with the In- dians. The town was surveyed into lots and "drawn for" by inter- ested parties. A portion of the town went in some manner to Charles Williamson of the Pultney Association, while another and smaller part fell to the Hornby estate. Torrey is the junior of the towns that comprise Yates County. Its lands were situate on both the east and west sides of the old and new pre-emption lines ; also it comprises parts of townships number seven and eight, range first, and part of the State lands. Directly the town was taken from Benton and Milo, November 14, 185 i. Within wliat is now Torrey was the first home of The Friend in the ntw Jerusalem ; and here, too, were built the first mills and meeting-house and sowed the first wheat in all the Genesee country. Moreover the settlement made here by the Society of Universal Friends was the first pioneer movement in New York State west of Seneca Lake. From the foregoing narrative the reader will discover the fact that nearly all the towns which comprise Yates County had an organized e.xistence of some kind for many years before the count)' itself was erected. Therefore it is proper that some mention should be made of them as parts of older counties before writing of them as sub-di\-isions of Yates County. The county was brought into existence by an act of the legislature of the State of New York passed the 5th of February, 1823. Why and how this organization was brought about will be ap- propriate subjects for consideration in the succeeding chapter. Although in no manner a part of the present chapter, and in no wise connected therewith, it nevertheless becomes necessary in this place to make some allusion to a series of events having their occurrence during and about the period intended to be covered by the present chapter. For a year preceding the War of 1812-15, during that period and even afterward for some time, the towns that were erected into Yates County were making the most rapid growth and progress in the clear- ing of farms and erecting buildings. The settlement by incoming fam- 1 02 HIS TORY OF ] \4 TES CO UN T V. ilies was something remarkable, and peace and prosperity everywhere prevailed. The settlement by the Friends had attained its greatest numerical strength ; the stronghold in Jerusalem had become well pop- ulated, while the goodly number of the society who still dwelt over in Milo and the region round about were fast developing the resources of their localit)'. At that time Yates County had not been organized, nor was its erec- ,tion then even contemplated, and whatever of history the people of the locality were making by their lives and deeds was a part of the his- tor)- of the old county of Ontario. But then the formation of Yates County, although that consummation was not reached until 1823, nec- essarily transferred a wealth of history from old Ontario to the new Yates, and the early record, to be properly preserved, must be incorpo- rated in the volume designed to refer to the region most recently organ- ized, and that notwithstanding the fact that the organization was of later occurrence than the leading events. The second war with England had its actual outbreak in 181 2 and was closed during the year 1815. However before the formal decla- ration the political situation was such that hostilities might have com- menced at anytime during the period of three or four years immediately preceding the first conflict at arms, but both countries were then busily engaged in making preparations for the impending and inevitable strug- gle. During those years, too, the condition of affairs was closely watched by the people living in the southern part of Ontario County, those occupying the particular region of country lying between Canandaigua and Seneca Lakes. Rut their watchfulness was not of the character that is born of warlike ambition, but was rather the interest that comes from deep concern. It so happened that a fair proportion of the inhab- itants of this locality were then or had been members of the Society of Universal Friends, and one of the tenets of that society was opposition to all warfare, whether between countries, societies, sects, or individ- uals. This principle was not born of fear, but of love, which they taught and held should exist among the members of the human family. While such was the governing characteristic of the Friends there was another element of local population whose belief inclined them to advocate American independence as paramount to all other considera- EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR OF iSi 2. 103 tions. Tliey were guided and actuated by the patriotic sentiment, "country first, the citizen afterward." This element of people com- prised the contingent of men furnished by the towns that afterward be- came Yates County, during the War of 1812-15, but unfortunately there exists no record showing who they were or from what towns they came. Nor has there been preserved any record from which we may learn of the service they performed or of the battles in which they par- ticipated. Therefore the reader must be content with but the briefest allusion to the events of the period, and that in a general way, without reference to local interests, for there were no struggles or conflicts within the region that afterward was erected into the county of \'ates. During the five years next preceding 18 12 the whole country was in a state of nominal peace, but throughout this period there was gathering that dark cloud which was destined to involve the nation in another foreign war. The events which led to the second war with Great Britain were numerous. The United States had scrupulously observed the provis- ions of the peace treaty made at the close of the Revolution ; had main- tained, too, a strict neutrality during the progress of the Napoleonic war with the British kingdoni, when perhaps every consideration of gratitude should have induced a participation in it against the mother country. For several years the aggressive acts of the British iiad been the subject of anxiety and regret, and feelings of animosity increased on this side of the Atlantic. The embargo laid by Congress was found so injurious to commercial interests that it was repealed and the non-inter- course act passed in its stead. In April, 1809, the English ambassa- dor in Washington opened negotiations for the adjustment of difficulties, and consented to a withdrawal of the obnoxious " orders in council," so far as they affected the United States, on condition that the non-inter- course act be repealed. This was agreed to and the President issued a proclamation announcing that on the lOth of June trade with Great Britain might be resumed ; but tiie English government refused to rat- ify the agreement and recalled their minister, whereupon the Pnsident revoked his proclamation and the non-intercourse act again became operative. War was fuimallj' declared on the 19th of June, i Si 2, but the measure I04 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. was not invariably sustained throughout the Middle States. The op- posing element was embraced in the Federal party, its chief ground of opposition being that the country was not prepared for war. The Federalists constituted a large and influential minority of the political element of Congress and had a considerable following in the sev- eral States not active in politics. They asked for further negotia- tions and not the denunciations of the ruling party (that is, the Demo- cratic and Republican, for it went by both names) upon the English government with savage and bitter attacks upon Napoleon, whom they accused the leading party with favoring. What may have been the feeling in this locality during the period of which we write would be indeed difficult to determine, but from all that can be learned it appears that the great mass of the people were heartily interested in the American cause, and were therefore identified with the Democratic and Republican parties' welfare, both at the polls and in the measures then being discussed for the conduct of the coming war. Opposed to them was the Federal party, which, though strong in influence and wealth, was numerically weak. They were wont to call their opponents " Screaming War Hawks " and took to themselves the dignified name " Peace part)'." The Friends occupied a neutral ground, not that they had no interest in occurring events or in possible results, but they were checked by a conscientious opposition to warfare in any cause. They were Federalistic in action without themselves being Fed- eralists, but they were nobly and truly patriotic and loyal in their .Vmericanism, but never demonstrative or frankly outspoken in the ex- pression (jf their convictions. In their quiet and unassuming manner they lent substantial aid to the cause of freedom. The old inhabitants of this region, the Seneca Indians, following the advice of their renowned sachem, Red Jacket, at first declared lor neu- trality, but when the British invaded their reservation lands that action was a signal for warlike operations and they became united with Amer- ican soldiers. The militiamen from Ontario County, therefore from Yates, were under the command of Gen. Amos Hall, who at one time commanded the American troops on the Lake Ontario frontier. But it does not become this narrative to dwell at length upon the scenes and events, as they have but a remote bearing upon the subject YATLS COUNTY ORGANIZED. 105 of which this work purports to treat. The results of the war are written in the conflicts on Lake Erie, the repulse of the British on the Delaware, the invasion of New York, and the attempt to control the Hudson River and Lake Champlain. The battles at Black Rock and Lundy's Lane, the capture of Niagara and Oswego, the burning of Newark, the battle at Plattsburgh, together with naval engagements in American waters were the chief events of the war, and were followed by the withdrawal or sur- render of the British forces and the final treaty of peace, wiiich was ratified February 17, 1815. Tlie Americans had fought their last battle with a foreign foe. CHAPTER L\. Organization of Yates County — The Acts of the. Legislature regarding It — Glimpses ai the inside History^ Naming the County — Governor Yates its Godfather — [The first Court-House and Gaol destroyed by Fire — The new Court-House — The second Jail Burned — The present Jail — The Clerk's and Surrogate's Offices — The County Farm and Property — The civil List — Federal Officers — State Officers — County Officers — County Societies and ()rganizations. YATES COUNTY was brought into existence by virtue of an act of the legislature of New York passed and adopted on February 5, 1823. The organization of a new county out of the territory of old Ontario became necessary from the fact that the population and in- terests of its southern towns had by this time assumed large proportions, and the convenience of the people residing in them demanded a sub- division of the mother shire and the erection of a new body politic. This was the ostensible and apparent purpose of the persons most in- terested in the proposed new formation, and was the chief argument used by the promoters of the scheme, — the convenience of the people, — but underneath the surface lay the desire to gratify political ambitioti in the breasts of certain individuals. But whatever may have been the motive which actuated the movement it cannot be the i)rovince of this work to criticise or commend the action of the persons engaged in it. It was a fair proposition and one that could be productive of none but lo6 HISTORY OF YATES COU.XTY. good results. The convenience of the majorit}' of the people was a suf- ficient cause for building up a new county in the State, and had the prime movers in the enterprise been governed by other than pure sin- gleness of purpose the public at large never realized anj' but substan- tial and beneficial results in the final consummation. The enacting clause of the act above referred to reads in part as fol- lows: "All that part of the county of Ontario comprising the territory hereinafter mentioned, viz. : the towns of Benton. Milo, Middlesex, Italy, and Jerusalem, in Ontario County, shall, from and after the passing of this act, be a separate and distinct county by the name of Yates. And the freeholders and other inhabitants of the said county of Yates shall have and enjoy all and every the same rights, powers, and privileges as the freeholders and inhabitants of any of the counties of this State are by law entitled to and enjo}-." Thus was the count)' erected, but not according to its present area and extent. By an act of the legislature passed the 6th day of April, 1S24, supplementary to the original act, an addition was made to the county's territory, as follows: From and after January i, 1826, all that part of the county of Steuben, including Barrington, and all that part of Reading lying north of the north line of lot No. 15, between the old and new pre-emption lines, and north of an east and west line between the lots numbers seven and eight from the new pre-emption line and the Seneca Lake, shall be annexed to the county of Yates. The second section of the same act also provided that all that part of the town of Reading within the limits aforesaid shall be a separate town by the name of Starkey ; and the first town meeting shall be held at the house occupied by Stephen Reeder. At the time of the passage of the original act creating this county Aaron Remer was one of the members of Assembh- from Ontario, the mother county, and as such was of great use and \'alue in bringing the count}' into existence. The news that the bill had passed was no sooner brought to the ears of the people of Penn Yan and its locality than a committee of strong and leading men at once waited upon the e.xecu tive at Albany to urge his approval of the measure. This committee comprised Aaron Remer, Morris F. Sheppard, Joel Dorman, William M. Oliver, William Cornwell, and others. They repaired at once to the ^l-u/^^^ YATES COUNTY AFTER BE/ JVC ERECTED. 107 capitol, paid their respects to Governor Yates, and addressed liini to tlie effect that " they had called to have him own and acknowledge his new born child," one of the committee then handing him a copy of the bill. "Oh yes, gentlemen," responded the governor, "the executive will with pleasure immediately christen and proclaim his own darling off- spring." Then, taking his pen, the governor wrote in a bolder hand than usual these words: "Approved — Joseph C. Yates." This being done the bill was handed back to the visitors with the remark : " There, it is now a law." The county being duly erected the first step to follow was its full and complete organization, the erection of county buildings at the designated shire town, and the organization of courts and various other branches of local government. The act of 1823 also provided "that John Sutton, of Tompkins County, George H. Feeter, of Herkimer County, and Joseph B. Walton, of Otsego County, shall be commissioners for the purpose of examining and impartially determining the proper site or sites for a court-house and gaol." It was further provided that " there shall be held a Court of Common Pleas and a Court of General Sessions of the Peace, to be held in three terms, to commence as follows: 1st Tuesday in June, 1st Tuesday in October, and the 2d Tuesday in Januarj'." Further it was provided that the first term of court should be held in the house of Asa Cole, in Benton, but still in the village of PennYan,and afterward and until the court-house should be completed at such place as the judge of the Common Pleas should designate. Until the " gaol be completed " it was directed by the act that prisoners should be confined in the gaol of On tario County. Also the Board of Supervisors was directed to meet at the house of Miles Benham.in Milo, to raise money for building a court- house and gaol ; the sum of $2,500 to be raised the first year and a like amount the year following. The worthy commissioners who had been designated to act in the matter of locating the county seat found them- selves beset on all sides with aspiring applicants. Penn Yan in Milo of course held the advantage, being the most available and central town of the county, but notwithstanding that the people residing in and near Dresden put forth a claim and re-inforced it with strong argument. Jerusalem also sought the prize, and had her representatives been sue- io8 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. ccssful what is now Kinney's Corners miglit ha\e been the seat of jus- tice of Yates County. The claims of Dresden w ere mainly based upon its proximity to Seneca Lake, the waters of which were then a princi- pal thoroughfare of travel between north and south points. Moreover Dresden lay quite near the ancient site on which first settled the pio- neer Friends, and theirs was almost historic ground. Jerusalem became the final home of The Friend, many of her substantial followers being then residents there, and within the borders of the town was as suitable a location as could be desired, and one which would be central and easily accessible to the people of the whole county. But in the little village of Penn Yan there dwelt men of w-orth and large influence; men who had been chiefly instrumental in bringing about the county erection and whose judgment in the matter was not to be disregarded. Furthermore Abraham Wagener, with his charac- teristic generosity and public spiritcdness, stepped forward with a do- nation of a large lot of land and upon which the count}' buildings should be erected. This tract comprised, according to the deed on record, two acres of land. Penn Yan also was then the most metropoli- tan village in the county, and with the great influence brought to bear in its favor it could not be otherwise than that the county buildings should be erected there. Wherefore, after patientl}' hearing all the arguments of interested parties, and after the customary mature delib eration (as a matter of form perhaps), the commissioners designated the village of Penn Yan, in the town of Milo, as the seat of justice of Yates County. This important question being satisfactorily settled it only re- mained for the supervisors to proceed with the construction of the court- house, jail, and county biiikling. The act had already provided for the raising by tax levy of $5,000, and had also provided that William Shat- tuck, of Benton, and George Shearman and Samuel Stewart, of Milo, should be appointed "commissioners to superintend the erection of the court-house and gaol at the place the commissioners first appointed shall designate, provided that suitable lot or lots therefor be conve)-ed to the supervisors of Yates County and their successors forever." It was this last proviso that Abraham Wagener satisfied when he deeded the two acre tract to the county. Under the direction of Commissioners Shattuck, Shearman, and Stew- THE COUNTY'S COURT-HOUSES. 109 art the first court-house was erected. It is stiU remembered by some older residents as a plain, substantial brick building, not vastly different in appearance from the present court-house, but somewhat smaller in size. Its interior was so arranged and constructed as to furnish accom- modations for county officers, and also was provided with cells for the confinement of prisoners. In fact it was a sort of combination building for use both as court-house and jail. Yet it was honestly and faithfully built, and ample for the requirements of the county at that time. Un- like many more recent structures in this county and elsewhere the old court-house is understood as having been built within the appropriation. In 1834, as near as can at present be ascertained, the old court house of Yates County was destroyed b)- an unfortunate fire. The loss oc- curred just at noon on the 4th or 5th of the month. Of course it became necessary to erect a new building, the site for which was desig- nated as the same upon which the first structure occupied. The new court-house is still standing, although occasional repairs have been made since 1840. It was not completed and ready for occupancy until about 1835, as is evidenced in the fact that the Common Pleas judges in Aug- ust, 1834, designated the house of Robert R. Heecher as the place for holding the next term of court. The second court-house was an \m- provement upon the first in that it was larger, more comfortable, and relieved of the often annoying presence of jail occupants. The lower floor was arranged for county officers' quarters, while the upper story was finished for court uses. The building still stands, and while not at- tractive in appearance is nevertheless a firm structure. The new jail was built about the same time on the land fronting Liberty street. This was also a substantial building of stone and frame, but was burned about 1857, having been set on fire by a prisoner confined within its walls. The prisoner was Albert Hathaway, of Barrington, who had burned several buildings in his town, but was at last arrested, indicted, and put on trial. The defence made was the more recently popular plea of insanity and the trial resulted in acquittal on that ground. In 1857 the new and present substantial jiil and sherift"'s residence was erected. It is of stone, covered with a coating of plastic material. The cells are constructed with solid cast-iron fronts, making the jail de- partment secure as a place of imijrisonment and remarkably free from 1 1 o HIS TOR Y OF YA TES CO UN T Y. the possibility of burning. It was built b)' Charles V. Bush, of Penn Yan, at a cost of about $8,000. In 1889 there was erected on tlie court- house lot an elegant count}' building for the use of the clerk and sur- rogate. It is virtuall)' a double building, the north side being the clerk's oflfice and depository for county records, while the south side is occu- pied on the ground floor as the surrogate's office and above for private offices by the same officer. This building was erected at an expense of about $10,000 or $1 1,000, an amount considerably in excess of the con- tract price. It was built by Hershel Pierce, of Dundee. This was the second building of its special kind in the count)', the former having stood on the same site, but occupying less ground and being less ornamental. The old so-called county building was a small stone structure and was built soon after the burning of the first court- house. The front was occupied by the clerk's office and the rear part by the surrogate. It- was an unsightly affair and unsuitable for the use required of it; therefore it was torn down to make room for a new and more convenient structure, one that should be a credit to the county which owned it. The foregoing is a record of the public buildings of the county of Yates which have been and are in use in connection with its administra- tion and governmental affairs. But the county has one other property which demands some notice in this place. Yates County had not been a separate organization for more than four or five years before its people and officers began discussing the question of establishing a home for the unfortunate and indigent element of local population. In 1824 the State legislature passed an act which made a general provision for the maintenance of thjs poor of the several counties of the State, and under this law the supervisors of the county took the initial steps toward the establishment of a county infirmary. The matter was under discussion early in October, 1829, at which time the supervisors filed with the clerk a certificate which read as follows : " In compliance witli the tenth section of an act passed the 27th of November, 1824, relative to County Poor-Houses, we hereby determine that it will be beneficial to the county of Yates to erect a county poor-house therein. " Given under our hands this loth day of October, 1829. "Jonathan Whittaker, George Youngs. Clarkson Martin, Alfred Brown. Asher Spicer, James Christie, .Abraham Maxfield." THE POOR-HOUSE AND FARM. iii Thereafter the supervisors of the county agreed upon the purchase of lands for poor-house purposes. The deed was executed April 14, 1830, by Alfred Brown, of Jerusalem, to the superintendents of the poor of Yates County, Elijah Spencer, Joel Dornian, Jabez French, John War- ner, and James C. Robinson, wliereby, in consideration of the sum of $1,200, the grantor conveyed to the grantees, or to their successors in office or legal representatives, 125 acres of land in the town of Jerusa- lem. This is the same tract of land now in part used by the county as a poor-house farm, although the area of the same has been increased so as to now contain 180 acres. The Yates County poor- house and its management have at times been the subjects of much discussion, and no little anxiety on the part of the supervisors, the press, and the people of the county as well. There have been charges of corruption and extravagance which may not have been wliolly groundless. It was during the period extending from 1855 to i860 that the subject was uppermost in the jjublic and official mind, but eventually the matter was adjusted, or settled, and aftairs resumed their usual quiet state. From that to the present time there has been no serious disturbance concerning the county poor-house management. Now having at some length referred to tiie various properties and in- terests of Yates County it is proper that there should be also made a rec- ord of the names of persons who have been identified with the county in the administration of its aftairs. In other words the present connection is a proper one in which to publish a complete civil list of officers who have represented Yates Count)' either in Federal, State, or local government : I'reHdential Electors. — Truman Spencer, 1832; Eiisha Doubleday, 1836; Eli Slieldon, 1848; Daiiu.s A. Ogden, 1852; Meletiah H. Lawrence, 18".6; Myron II. Weaver, 18G4; Everttt Brown, 1888. Members of Congress. — William Babcock, 1831-32; Joshua Lee, 1835-36; John T. Andrews, 1837-38 (then living at Bath); William M. Oliver, 1841-42; Samuel S. Ells- worth, 1845-40; Andrew Oliver, 1853-54,1855-06; Daniel Morris, 18G3-64, 18G5-GG. Canal Commissioner Neiv York State. — Darius A. Ogdfu, Novomhtr 7. 187G, to I'ehru- ary 8, 1878. Canal Appraiser. — Darius A. Ogden, appointed March 1, 1853. Inspector 0/ Slate Prisons. — George Wageiier, elected November 3, 1874. Prison Labor Commissioner. — Darius .\. Ogden, appointed February 11. 1884. State Senators. — William M. Oliver, 1827-3(1, president ;yro tempore in 1829; Richard H. William):, 1846-47; James Huntington. 185G-57; Abraham V. Harpeuding. 187M- 71 : George P. Lord, 1880-83. 112 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. Memhers of Assembly.' — Aaron Remer, 1823 ; Philip Robinson, 1824 ; Avery Smilli, 1825; James P. Robinson, 1B26; Morris F. Sheppard, 1827-29; Aaron Remer, 1830- 31; Joshua Lee, 1832; James P. Robinson, 1833; Meredith Mallorj', 1834; Mordecai Ogden, 183.'i-36 ; Miles Benham, 1837-38; Samuel S. Ellsworth, 1839 ; Heman Chap- man, 1840; Henry Spence, 1841; Richard H. Williams, 1842; Thomas Seamans, 1843 ; Kzekiel Castnor, 1844; George W. Wolcott, 184"); Nehemiah Raplee, 1846; Hatley N. Dox, 1847 ; John Wisewell, 1848 ; Melatiah H. Lawrence, 1849 ; Samuel Jayne, jr., 1850; Charles S. Hoyt. 1851; De Witt C. Stanford, 1852; D. G. Underwood, 1853; J. R. Van Osdel, 1854 ; Henry H. Gage, 1855 ; A. V. Harpending, 1850 ; John Mallior, 1857; Daniel Morris, 1858; George R. Barden, 1859; Gilbert Sherer, 1800; Darius A. Ogdeu, 1861 ; Guy Shaw, 1862; 0. G. Loomis, 18G3 ; Eben S. Smith, 1864-65; Charles S. Hoyt, 186(i; Oliver S. Williams, 1867; Foster A. Hixon, 18G8 ; William T. Remer, 1869; George P. Lord, 1870-71; Morris B. Flinn, 1872; George W. Spencer, 1873; Hanford Struble, 1874; John Sutherland, 1875; Mason L. Baldwin, 1876; Joel M. Clark, 1877-78; Asa P. Fish, 1879-80; John T. Andrews, 1881 ; Staflbrd C. Cleveland, 1882; Henry C. Harpending, 1883 ; Clark E. Smiih, 1884-85; George R. Cornwell, 1886-87; William A.Carson, 1888; Calvin J. Huson, 1889; Everett Brown, 1890-91. Judges of Common P/feas.— William M. Oliver, 1823-27 ; Samuel S. Ellsworth, 1828- 32; Cornelius Masten, 18.33-37 ; William M. Oliver, 1838-43 ; Andrew OHver, 1844-46. Surrogates. — Abraham P. Vosburg, 1823-26; Andrew F.Oliver, 1827-39; Edward J. Fowle, 1840-43; Evert Van Buren, 1844-46. The constitution of 1846 abolished the office of surrogate except in counties where the population exceeds 40,000, and devolved its duties on the county judge. County Judges and Surrogates. — Andrew Oliver, 1847-50; John L. Lewis, 1851-54; William S. Briggs, 1855-70; Andrew Oliver. 1871-76; William S. Briggs, 1877-82; Hanford Struble, 1883. County Clerks. — Abraham H. Beiniett, 1823-31 ; George Shearman, 1832-37; Abner Woodworth, 1838-40 ; Samuel Stevens, 1841-43 ; David H. Buell, 1844-46 ; Russell n. Fargo, 1847-49; Alfred Reed, 1850-52; Clarkson Martin, 1853-55; Lewis R. Gra- ham, 1856-61; Alexander Bassett, 1862-64; Samuel Botsford, 1865-67; Alden D. Fox, 18(18-70; George W.Spencer, 1871-73; Joseph F. Crosby, 1874-76; Edward M. Carpenter, 1877-79 ; Horatio N. Hazen, 1880-82; Edward Kendall, 1883-88 ; Joseph Crosby, 1889-91; William S. Cornwell, 1892. JVeasurer.?.— William Babcock, 1823-26 ; Henry Bradley, 1829 ; Eben Smith, 1830- 35; E. B. Jones, 1836-39; Leander Reddy, 1841 ; James D. Morgan, 1844 ; WiHiam Whitney, 1847-51 ; Stephen B. Ayres, 1852-54; John Ellsworth, 1855-60; James Burns, 1861-71 ; S. B. Ayres, by appointment, 1872; Seymour Tracy, 1873-75; Oliver G. Shearman, 1876-78; Jareb D. Bordwell, 1879; Daniel F. Randolph, 1880-85; J. Henry Smith, 1886-94. ' In the lists of county officers this explanation is necessary : The date of election is given of mem- bers of Assembly, county judge, and district attorney ; the date of appointment of first judges of Common Pleas ; and the date of commencement or term of office o£ clerk, sheriff, treasurer, and school commissioner. CO UN T T OFFICERS — CO UN T V SOCIE TIES. 1 1 3 Sheriffs. — James P. Robinson, 1823-25; Ebenezer Brown, 1820-28; Miles Benham, 1829-31: Alfred Brown, 1832-34: Joseph Keteluim, 1835-37; Uriah Hanford, 1838- 40; Jeremiah B.Andrews, 1841-43; Smith D. Mallory, 1844-4G; Martin Holmes, 1847-49; George Wagener, 1850-'i2 ; Nathanial Squire, 1853-55 ; Daniel Lanning, 1856-58; William T. Remer, 1859-61 ; John Underwood, 1802-64 ; Joseph Crosby, 1865-67; George Wagener, 1868-70 ; John L. Dinturft', 1871-73 ; Theodore Bogart, 1874-76: Spencer Clark, 1877-79; Charles Bell. 1880-82 ; Charles Spcehnan, 1883-85; Michael A. Pearce. 1880-88; Perry W. Danes, 1889-91; William T. Beaumont, 1892. District Attorneys. — lames Taylor, 1826-30; Chaile.'s G. Judd, 1831-38; John L. Lewis, 1839-40; Daniel Morris, 1847-50 ; D. J. Snnderlin, 1851-52 ; A. V. Harpend- ing, 1853-58; Henry M. Stewart, 1859-61; John L. Wolcott, 1863-67; Hantord Striible, 1868-73; Henry M. Stewart, 1874-76; John T. Knox, 1877-82; Andrew C. Harwick, 1883-85; Charles S. Baker, 1886-91 ; Tliomas Cormody, by appointment from April, 1891, to January 1, 1892; John T. Knox, 1892. School Commi.isioner.1. — Henry A. Bruner, 1858-60 ; George P. Lord, 1859-66; Schuy- ler Snlherland, 1867-69 ; J.Warren Brown, 1870-72 ; Bradford S. Wixon, 1873-75 ; Wdliara F. Van Tuyl, 1876-81 ; Harlan P. Bush, 1882-84; James A. Thayer, 1885-90; Llewellyn J. Barden, 1891. While possibly not appropriate subjects of discussion and narration in this particular connection the writer nevertheless makes bold enough to here devote space to a record of the organizations and societies of the county. Of these there are but two in the countv that are ncit local in their general character, and these are the Yates Count)- Agri- cultural Society and the Vates Count)' Historical Society, which will be treated in the order of seniority. As early as the year i 84O an agricultural society was organized in Yates County under the name as above given, and from that or tlie suc- ceeding year there has been held an annua! fair in the county, generally at or near the county seat, but occasionally in some other town thiin Milo. The records of the first year of the society's existence are mea- ger and imperfect, and it is quite difficult to determine whether or not any fair meeting was held during 1840. The first exhibition was held in the court-house park, as were several after that time. For a time also they were held at Dundee. The society at length, about 1857 or '58, obtained a few acres of land on what is now Pine street, not far from where the Catholic school is situated, and here the annual fair was held until the re-organized society obtained the new and more ex- tensive grounds on Lake street. The first county fair held at Dundee was in the year 185 i, and was 15 1 1 4 HIS TOR Y OF } 'A TES CO UA' T ) ". thereafter occasionally held there for some time. In 1871 the old grounds on Pine street were disposed of and a lease at once made for tile new tract on Lake street. The latter was afterward purchased by the society. The exhibition hall originally used has been transformed into a horse barn and a new and more appropriate building lias been erected near the entrance to the grounds. The latter was built during the year 1891 The racing track, half a mile in extent, was laid out and built soon after the premises were occupied. The grand stand was erected by the Penn Van Driving Park Association, a local organization of the county seat who have a lease- hold interest in the grounds. But what can be said of the history of the Yates County Agricultural Society? With each annual fair there is some change in the character of exhibits, each recurring event showing some new development of the county's resources. To describe them all would require a volume, and there would be .s'hown a record of no special value or importance. Under the system of business inaugurated by the old society the ofifi- cers chosen annually were a president, a vice-president from each town, secretary, and treasurer. At a later period the same officers were elected with the addition of an executive board, one member from each town. In 1855, under the laws of 1S53, a re-organization of the societj- was made and the officers thereafter annually elected were president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The societj' was organized March 14, 1840. From the time of organization, 1840, to the present the chief officers of the society have been as follows : Tliei-e appear.s to have been no ofticers elected in 1840. 1841, John Hatniaker, pres- ident; Darin.« A. Ogden, secretary; Eben Smith, treasurer. 1842, Uriah Hanford, president ; D. A. Ogden, secretary ; E. Smith, treasurer. 1843, Ludlow E. Lapham, president; D. A. Ogden, secretary ; Ezekiel Castner, treasurer. 1844, Romulus Gilder- sleeve, president; L. E. Lapham, secretary; Fitz A. Stebbins, treasurer. 1845, M. H. Lawrence, president; B. L. Iloyt, secretary; F. A. Stebbins, treasurei. 184(J, CJiarles Lee, president; A. Bigelow, secretary; F. A. Stebbins, treasurer. 1847, John Mallory, president; A. Bigelow, secretary; F. A. Stebbin.s, treasurer.' 1848, Adam Clark, presi- dent; A. Bigelow, secretar}'; F. A. Stebbins, treasurer. 1840 and 1850, same as in 1848. 1851, Nathan Raplee, president; James Armstrong, secretary; F. A. Stebbins, treasurer. 1852, M. Holmes, president; R. Gildersleeve, secretary; F. A. Stebbins, treasurer. 185.3, Nelson Thompson, president; Edwin R.Randall, secretary; Guy Shaw, treasurer. 1854, Nelson Thompson, president ; E. R. Randall, secretary : George Wagener, treasurer. 1855, Nel.^on Thompson, president; George A. Sheppard, vice- president; ^V. S. Judd, secretary ; J. S. Gillett, tre.isurer. 1850, Gilbert Slierer, pres- YATES COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 115 ident; Samuel V. Miller, vice-president; B. L. Hoy t, secretary ; W. S. Judd, treas- urer. 1857, William T. Remer, president; EzeUie! Clark, vice-president; B. L. Hoyt, secretary ; W. S. Judd, treasurer. 1858, Job L. Babcock, president; Guy Shaw, vice- president; A. F. Stark, secretary; B. L. Hoyt, treasurer. 1859 and I860, no record. 1861, Guy Shaw, president; John Southerland, vice-president; J. Mallory, secretary; B. L. Hoyt, treasurer. 1862, Guy Shaw, president; John Smith, vice-president; J. Mallory, secretary; B. L. Hoyt, treasurer. 186.3, George Wagener, president ; John Southerland, vice-president; W. S. Judd, secretary; B. L. Hoyt, treasiner. 1864, John Southerland, president; Joseph Abbott, vice-president; \V. S. Judd, secretary; B. L. Hoyt, treasurer. 1865 and 1866, no record. 1867, Thomas J. Lewi.s, president; Charles H. Ketclmm, vice-president; J. D. Jacobus, secretary; James Burns, treasurer, 1868, Thomas J. Lewis, presidontv; C. II. Ketchura. vice-president; G. Y. Eastman, secretary ; 0. G. Shearman, treasurer. 18(iy, Charles H. Ketchum, president ; Darius Baker, vice-president; G. Y. Eastman, secretary ; 0. G. Shearman, treasurer. 1870, C. H. Ketchum, president ; D. Baker, vice-president ; S. C. Hatmaker, secretary ; 0. G. Shearman, treasurer. 1871, Dudley W. Dox, president; John N. Macomb, jr., vice- president ; John W. Stewart, secretary ; 0. G. Shearman, treasurer. 1872, D. W. Dox, president ; J. N. Macomb, jr., vice-president ; J. D. Morgan, secretary ; 0. G. Shearman, treasurer. 187.3, William J. Rector, president; 0. G. Shearman, vice-presi- dent : J. D. ilorgan, secretary'; G. Y. Eastman, treasurer. 1874, William J. Rector, president; 0. G. Shearman, vice-president; J. D. Morgan, secretary; G. Y. Eastman, treasurer. 1875, Rowland J. Gardner, president; Watkins Davis, vice-president; .1. D.Morgan, secretary; B. L. Hoyt, treasurer. 1876, R. J. Gardner, president; J. Warner Smith, vice-president; J. D. Morgan, secretary; B. L. Hoyt, treasurer. 1S77, Watkins Davis, president; S.^muel B. Gage, vice-president ; J. D. Morgan, secre- tary; B. L. Hoyt, treasurer. 1878, Samuel B.Gage, president; Dr. Byron Spence, vice president ; J. D. Morgan, secretary; B. L. Hoyt, treasurer. 1879, Samuel B. Gage, president; James Miller, vice-president; J. D. Morgan, secretary ; W. T. Remer, treasurer. 1880, Ira Brundage, president; Frank R. Cole, vice-president; W. S. Judd, secretary ; 0. G. Shearman, treasurer. 1881 and 1882, Ira Brundage, president ; F. R. Cole, vice-president; James A. Thayer, secretary ; O. G. Shearman, treasurer. 1883, Ira Brundage, president; A. C. Shearman, vice-president; J.A.Thayer, secretary; (». G. Shearman, treasurer. 1884, Frank R Cole, president; James C. Spooner, vice- president ; J. A. Thayer, secretary ; D. F. Randolph, treasurer. 1885, F. R. Cole, president ; J. C. Spooner, vice-president ; George C. Snow, secretary ; D. F. Randolph, treasurer. 1886, F.R.Cole, president; Abner Gardner, vice-president; Charles D. Davis, secretary; O. G. Shearman, treasurer. 1887, Ira Brundage, president; John R. Gardner, vice-president; C. D. Davis, secretary ; Charles W. Taylor, treasurer. 1888, John H. Butler, president; II. C. Tallmadge, vice-president ; James A. Thayer, secre- tary ; C. W.Taylor, treasurer. 1889, John H.Butler, president; H. C. Tallmadge, vice-president; J. A. Thayer, secretary: E. C. (Jillett, treasurer. 1890 and 1891, Reading B. Lefterts, president; Oscar Ha/.en. vice-president; James S. Whitaker, sec- retary; E. C. Gillett. treasurer. 1 1 6 HIS TOR J ■ OF YA TES CO UXT Y. In January, i860, there appeared in the press of the count\ an "Early Settlers Notice," which read as follows : •'A meeting of those who were settlers of the territory' embraced in Yates County prior to its establishment, February 5, 1823, and their descendants, will be held at the office of John L. Lewis, jr., in Penn Van, on Saturday, January i, i860, at one o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of adopting measures to form a County Historical So- ciety, for the collection of the memorials of the early settlement of the towns in the county and of the early settlers, and other kindred facts connected with the history of the county. ■' Dated January i6th, i860. •• Samuel G. Gage, Abner Woodworth, S. S. Ellsworth, \V. M. Oliver, A. F. Whit- aker, Charles Wagener. Henry Bradley, William S. Briggs, Charles C. Sheppard, John L. Lewis, in, Josiah C. Swarthout, John D. W'olcott, M. H. Lawrence,"' and many others. In accordance with the notice a general meeting was held at the time and place indicated, and for the purpose of temporary organization Rtissell A. Hunt was chosen cliairnian and John L. Lewis, jr., secretary. Then a resolution was offered by William M. Oliver and unanimously adopted, as follows: " Resolved^ That it is expedient to organize and form a County Historical Society for the purpose of collecting and preserving the memorials of the early settlement of the county and of the early settlers, and all other facts connected with the history of the county, including Indian antiquity and history, and that the necessary measures he taken for that purpose." By another resolution adopted at this meeting John L. Lewis, jr., William S. Briggs, and M. H. Lawrence were chosen a committee to report articles of association for tlie purpose of incorporating the so- ciety tinder the general ciMporation law. The result was the filing a certificate of incorporation on ihr 4th of Februarj-, i860, which certifi- cate reads in part as follows: ■'We, the undersigned, Samuel G. Gage, William S. Hudson, Martin Brown, Squire B. Whitaker, Horace B. Taylor, George S. Wheeler, David H. Buell, and Jose])h W. H. Havens, of Benton ; James D. Morgan, James Cooley. Cornelius C. Maslen, John Hatmaker, Samuel S. Ellsworth, Russell A. Hunt, Darius A. Ogden, Ebenezer B. Jones, John Buxton, Charles Wagener, Stafford C. Cleveland, Adam Hunt, George A. Sheppard, Abraham W. Shearman, William T. Remer, Samuel H. Wells, Alexan- der F. Whitaker, William S. Briggs, Melatiah H. Lawrence, George D. A. Bridgman, of Milo ; Uriah Hanford and Seneca M. Badger, of Jerusalem ; John Mather, of Mid- dlesex ; ^niX Jeptha A. Potter, of Potter, — being severally citizens of the county of Yates, and of the Stale of New York, and of the United States, and of full age, do THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ORGANIZED. 117 hereby certify that we have this day formed, and do hereby constitute a body politic and corporate, for oiirsehes and our associates and successors, under the provisions and in pursuance of the act of the legislature of this State, entitled ' An Act for the In- corjioration of Benevolent, Charitable, Scientific, and Missionary Societies," passed April 12, 184S, and the amendments thereto. •• That the name and title of the said society and corporation, and by which it is to be known in law, is ' The Yales County Historical Society' and its place of business is to be in the village of Penn Yan in said county of Yates ; that the particular busi- ness and objects of said society and corporation are of a literary and scientific charac- ter, being the collection and preservation of the facts and materials connected with the early history and settlement of the several towns in the county of Yates and of the settlers thereof, and with the civil, and ecclesiastical, and general history of said towns and of the county, and biographies of its citizens from its settlement aforesaid : and of the various benevolent, charitable, scientific, and missionary and other societies and or- ganizations which do now exist and have existed in the said towns or county ; and with Indian history, antiquities, language, manners, and customs within the bounds of said county : and with the natural history and topography of said county, and all other mat- ters not herein enumerated connected with the history of said towns and of the county ; and also the collection and keeping of a cabinet of curiosities and such books, maps, papers, and documents, and other articles as may relate to or be connected with the business and objects of the society. That the number of directors to manage said so- ciety and corporation is nine, and that the names of said directors for the first year of its existence are Uriah Hanford, Alexander F. Whitaker, Meletiah H. Lawrence, Charles Wagener, Darius A. Ogden, William S. Briggs, David H. Buell, Jeptha A. Potter, and John Hatmaker.'' Further the certificate was signed and acknowledged before a justice of the Supretne Court by each of the corporators heretofore named, and by the filing of the certificate with the proper officer the Vates County Historical Society was brought into existence. On the 4th of h'fbruary, i860, a meeting of the citizens friendly to the society was held at tlie court house in Penn Yan at half past lO o'clock A. M., at which time the articles of incorporation were duly approved and adopted. At 2 o'clock in the afternoon the society re-assembled and procctded to elect its first officers, with the following result : President, Samuel G. Gage, of Benton ; vice-presidents, Jonatlian Taylor, of Harrington, ILli- sha Doubleday, of Italy, James Brown, of Jerusalem, John Mather, of Middlesex, Samuel S. Ellsworth, of Milo, Baxter Hobart, of Potter, Waiter Wolcott, of Starkey, and Jolin A. McLean, of Torrey ; recording and corresponding secretary, John L. Le« is, of Penn Yan ; treasurer, William T. Rettier, of Penn Yan, now of Benton. Much other business 1 1 8 HIS TOR Y OF YA TES CO UN T Y. was at tliis time transacted by the society, prominent in which was the appointment of committees for eacli town whose duty it should be to report to the society the names of the pioneer and early settlers in each locality, together with other committees to inquire into and report on various subjects of the county's history. This much of the society's history found its way into a printed pam- phlet published during the j-ear i860. The history that followed was kept in the books of the recording officer of the society, and with his death and the division of his effects the records became scattered, were taken in fact from the county, and are now lost to its people and to the few surviving members of the corporation. From its first meeting and for fifteen or twenty years thereafter meetings of the society con- tinued to be held, but as the original and controlling members were of older stock they did not appear to acquire much of tiie younger blood in its membership, as their ways and methods were hardly in ac- cord with the popular younger ideas. The result was that after a lapse of about ten or twelve years the society began to decline, meetings were held less frequently, and the corporation became virtually extinct. In the year 1887, or about that time, an efifort was made to effect a re- organization of the old society under the name of the Pioneer His- torical Society of Yates County. The invitations and publications of the leading spirits in the mo\ement met with general favor and a new organization was the result. Hon. Hanford Strubie was elected pres- ident, and a largely attended society picnic and re- union was held in the court-house park. Judge Strubie on this occasion delivered one of his most interesting and able addresses, and the meeting was voted a grand success. But even with the young energy infused into the pro- ject the society proved to be short lived, and now with the expiration of but five years no trace of the organization is to be found except in the memorv of a few of tlie once active members. GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS. 119 chapti:r X. GEOLOGY OF YATES COUNTY.' THE surface of Yates County is divided by five great ridges extend- ing in a nortliuardly direction. These ridges gradually decline from a height of 600 to l,8oo feet above Seneca Lake to a gentle un- dulating region in the towns of Torrey, Benton, Potter, and Middlesex. The first ridge is between West River Hollow and Canandaigua Lake, and ends in an abrupt promontory about i.ooo feet above the valley beneath it and about 1,780 feet above the level of Seneca Lake. The next ridge eastward lies between West River Hollow and Flint Creek or Italy Hollow, ending near Potter Center and in the southern portion of the town of Italy, presenting almost perpendicular sides and rising quite as high as the one west of it. The next is called Italy Hill, and at its highest point, which is very near the middle of the eastern bound- ary of the town, rises nearly as higli as those west of it. West Hill Ridge is next in order and joins with Italy Hill in the southern por- tions of Jerusalem and Italy, forming a large area of high land. Cross- ing Larzalier's Hollow, through which the waters of Lake Keuka once flowed into Kashong Creek, we ascend East Hill. This elevation is short, terminating at the north in level lands near the northern boundary of the town of Jerusalem and in Bluf^" Point at the soutli. There is a cutting through this ridge at Branchport to Kinney's Corners, which divided Bluff Point from the main land and made an island of it when the level of the lake was seventy-five feet higher than at present. From East Hill we descend into the vaile}' of another former outlet of Lake Keuka, but more recent than the one through Larzalier's Hollow. Be- tween this hollow and Seneca Lake is an elevation which lerminates in high lands in the town of Barrington. The three western ridges are capped with the coarse sandstones and shales of the lower part of the Chemung group. There are no good outcroppings of this rock in the county, but from surface indications it • By Berlin H. Wright, of Penn Van, X. V. I20 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. woukl appear that some of tlie strata are highly fossiliferous. Tlie coarse white sandstones have yielded us some fine specimens of Dictvo- pliyton tnberosicm (Conrad D.), Nodosnin (Hall), and Lepidodendron corru- gatnin (Dawson). Contrary to statements heretofore made the Che- mung group does not appear in either Starkey or Harrington. Tlie coarse, easily-broken sandstones of the lower Chemung are readily dis- tinguished from the fine-grained and tougher Portage rock, even in the absence of fossil remains; and in Italy Hollow, where the junction of the formations may be seen, the difterence is very perceptible. The greater part of Yates County is occupied by the Portage group. The lower portion of the group contains much iron pyrites and is divided into thick, solid strata o{ sandstone separated hy slialy beds. The sand- stone is quarried in many places and forms a valuable building material. In the southern part of Milo, on the farm of Mr. Valentine, there is a large area of naked rock, or covered in places with a few inches of soil. Here is a fine exhibition of glacial action in the polished and grooved surface. Some of the strice are of considerable depth and all parallel. Deposits Q'i tnfa and travertine are found in moist ravines in this group. Concretions of various sizes and shapes are common and often mistaken for petrifactions. Small cubical crystals of iron pyrites (" fool's gold ") are not uncommon in some places. P"ine water-falls occur in several places. In Eggelston's Gully in Bai- rington there is one of lOO feet in one unbroken descent. Some very good e.xamples of ripple-marks or mud-waves may here be seen. In Bruce's Gully in Milo are two falls of sixty and forty feet each. Here in Bruce's Gully, about forty feet from the base of the portage. Dr. S. Hart Wright found a fossil which Dr. J. S. Newberry pronounces the only Devonian representative of Agassiz's genus Pristocantlins he knows of. The fossil remains are not plentiful, and can best be obtained in quar- ries and cuttings. At W'hitaker's quarry in Milo we have obtained fine specimens of Ortlwecras atreus (Hall) and 0. thyestes (Hall). Within the chamber of habitation of a large specimen of the latter, which we collected in this locality, we found two perfect specimens of OrtUoceras, each about three inches long and with chamber of habitation one inch n diameter. The shell was broken off of one side in getting out the specimen, thus exposing the interior. GEOLOGICAL FOKAfATfOA'S. 121 At a quarry in tlie town of Milo we obtained some specimens of Lepidodendron, which seem to be L. privucvitm (Rogers), but present tlic curious pecuh'arity of having leaf-bases depressed instead of being prominent. (See remarks on this by Dr. J. W. Dawson in the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society, May, 1881.) In the same quarry carbonized remains of immense fern petioles five inches broad and sev- eral feet long occur. Fucoides graphica (Hall) abounds in the argil- laceous strata and a magnificent specimen of Spirophyton, sp. / was found in the upper shales. Lunilicardium oriiatnin (Hall) occurs sparingly. " Cone- in- cone " and pyritifcrons nodules of curious shapes occur in the Big Gully. Cordiopsis robiista (Hall) is met witii quite frequently. William Buxton, of Milo Center, has found three fine specimens of /"////«- alina pluinaria (Hall) in the uppermost shales. One of the specimens is fourteen inches long. We have never found Spirifera hcvis (Hall), though ever on the lookout for it. At the Whitaker quarry in the town of Milo we discovered a fern which Dr. Dawson has indicated as a new genus. The following is his description taken from the Quarterly Jour- nal o{ May, 1881 : ASTEROPrERIS NOVEBORACENSIS. " The genus Asleropteris is established for stems of ferns liaving the axial portion composed of vertical radiating plates of scalariform tissue imbedded in parcnchynin, and having the outer cylinder composed of elongated cells traversed by lead-bun- dles of the type of those of /.ygopteris. The only species known to me is represented by a stem 2.5 centimetres in diameter, slightly wrinkled and pitted externally, per- haps by traces of aerial roots which have perished. The transverse section shows in the center four vertical plates of scalariform or imperfectly retictilaled tissues, placed at right angles to each other, and united in the middle of the stem. At a short distance from the center each of these plates divides into two or three, so as to form an axis of from ten to twelve radiating plates, with remains of cellular tissue filling the angular interspaces. The greatest diameter of this axis is about 1 . 5 centimetres. Ex- terior to the axis the stem consists of elongated cells, with somewhat thick walls, and more dense toward the circumference. The walls of these cells present a curious reticulated appearance, apparently caused by the cracking of the ligneous lining in consequence of contraction in the process of carbonization. Imbedded in this outer cylinder are about twelve va.scular bundles, each with a dumb-bell shaped bundle of scalariform vessels enclosed in a sheath of thick-walled fibers. Each bundle is oppo- site to one of the/ays of the central axis. The specimen shows about two inches of the length of the stem, and is somewhat bent, apparently by pressure at one end. ■■This stem is evidently that of a small tree-fern of a type, so far as known to me, not heretofore described, and constituting a very complex and symmetrical form of the IC 122 HISTORY OF YATES COUNTY. group Palszoic ferns, allied to the genus Zygopteris of Schimper. The central axis alone has a curious resemblance to the peculiar stem described by Unger (' Devonian Flora of Thuringia ') under the name of Cladoxylon mirabile : and it is just possible that this latter stem may be the axis of some allied plant. The large aerial roots of some hiodern tree-ferns of the genus Aiigiopteris have, however, an analogous radi- ating structure. The specimen is from the collection of Berlin H. Wright, of Penn Yan, N. Y.. and was found in the Portage group (Upper Erian) of Milo, N. Y., where it was associated with large petioles of ferns and trunks o{ Lepidodeiidra, probably /.. chemungese and L. priinixvuiit. '■ In previous communications to the society I have described three species of tree- ferns from the Upper and Lower Devonian of New York and Ohio ; and this species is from an intermediate horizon. All four occur in marine beds, and were, no doubt, drift-trunks from the fern-clad islands of the Devonian Sea. The occurrence of these stems in marine beds has recently been illustrated by the observation of Prof. A. Agassiz, that considerable quantities of vegetable matter can be dredged from great depths of the sea on the leeward side of the Caribbean Islands. The occurrence of these trunks further connects itself with the great abundance of large petioles {Rhaclii- opteris) in the same beds, while the rarity of well-preserved fronds is explained by the coarseness of the beds and also by the probably long maceration of the plant-remains in the sea-water." Nowhere in the county does the rock change in character sufficiently to warrant the sub-divisions which Professor Hall gives to this group in Livingston and Allegany Counties. The entire thickness of the group in Yates County cannot be less than 1,000 feet. The next formation in the natural order downward is the Genesee slate. This extends the entire length of the county from north to south, and there are many fine exhibitions of the entire thickness of the dark, fissile, carbonaceous shales, but the fossil remains are but sparingly distributed. In a ravine near Shingle Point on Seneca Lake there is a stiatum about two feet thick, and near the middle of the formation, which abounds in fossils, among which are the following: Lepidodeiidron sp.:' very large and fine; Goniatitcs, sp..' very large and fine; Leiorhyn- chiis qnadricostata (X'anuxeni) ; Liugula spatulata (Vanuxem) ; Disciua /odi'iisis (VanuKcm) ; Discina truncata (Hall); and a large number of small gasteropods. Septaria o{ ■s\\ sizes from a few inches to two feet in diameter and, of many curious shapes occur plentifully. The major part of them are over ten inches in diameter and flattened. They usually contain cavities which are lined with crj'stals. Usually tlie calcareous filling in the scptaria and the body are worn awa)' unequally, producing GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS. 123 many curious forms, and many of the people along the exposure of these shales possess tlieir " petrified turtles." This is the first formation encountered in passing down the outlet of Lake Keuka (Crooked Lake). At Randall's mills these s/iales form an abrupt cliff seventy feet high and intensely black. They extend to the oil-mill, a mile below where the water tumbles over a cascade of four- teen feet, formed by the Tully limestone. It seems proper at this point to describe what we believe to be a fault which occurs in the strata at the outlet. At theoil-n)ill the Tully lime- stone and Genesee slate are almost level in an east and west direction, and incline very slightly to the south. This condition maintains throughout the outlet and in the ravines leading thereto wherever they are visible. The Tully may be traced for many rods below the oil-mill, standing out in bold relief, while the shales above and below it crumble away. It disappears, having "run out," and for about one-half mile we find the upper portion of the Hamilton group (the Moscow shale) filled with its characteristic fossil remains. One mile farther down and forty feet lower we again find the Tully with the Genesee slate above it and the fossiliferous blue Moscow shales beneath, almost perfect!)' Ie\i.l. It is impossible to tell just where the fault occurs and its direction, ow- ing to the superincumbent soil. In Bruce's Gully, a little farther down, it is quite apparent that the break occurs about twenty rods from the entrance, and possibly by removing a few tons of soil the line could be found. We should say that it followed the general direction of the out- let and was, perhaps, its originating cause. Prof S. G. Williams, of Cornell University, examined the locality with me and fully concurs in the opini