Landmarks of Monroe County, New York ...

Preface

County h,stories are not always the most entertaining readine in tl,e wor d, but they are far front being the least valuable of p I d oo In then, ,s found the record of the early, if „ot the earliest sett.^ntent of a eountry ne,v to its ocpupants; the transplantation of ei'v 1 t IT

iLToTr "' '''^'''^'--- "^ -"^^e cont^unities and h ■ growth of those comnntnities, ,n many cases, to prosperous cities Wh re that record rests upon tradition it is of littL J„rth, an the most p eas.ng narratives are entitled to small consideration „n ess tlev are fort.fied by tangible evidence. Thus any historical writin" hlw ever unpretentious, should be convincing to the reason and satistt J; to the understandmg, rather than .ratifying to the taste or the i^ali:

In the work here offered to the pubhc no pain,, have been spared to venfy by more than one authority every statement of fact, an Jhe e an opm.on as been expressed the Judgment has been based upon in ormat.on that seemed to the writer preponderant if not decisive Of he many previous histories of Monroe county and of the region of Western New York all have been consulted carefully, and where error have been observed they have been corrected, recourse be.n/had whenever there was any room for doubt, to omcial documents whose author,ty was beyond question. This book, as will be seen is com posue ,n us character, the various divisions being the work of different iv PREFACE.

persons. If this method be open to criticism, the objection is in this instance overcome as far as possible by the effort that has been made to secure harmony of treatment as well as accuracy of detail. While no claim is made that the whole ground has been covered, or that the last word on the subject has been said, it is hoped, with some confidence, that this volume will be accepted as not inferior to those that have preceded it on the same theme and as offering- a fair presentation of the " Landmarks of Monroe Countv."

ERRATA.

On paj^e 34, fourth line from the bottom, " 1795" should be " 179(5."

On page 50, fourth hne from the top the same correction should be made.

On page 105, sixth line from the bottom, " 1821 " should be " 1818."

Contents

A SKETCH OF MONROE COUNTY.

Bv Wm. F. Peck

Chapter I. The Indian Occupation

The Earliest Residents-Seneca Traditions-Advent ui the Iroquois-The Gen tile Division-The Tribal Division-Formation of the League-The Council of the Long House-Descent in the Female Line-Rights of Women-Rehgious Beliefs and Customs-The New Religion-Architecture-Trails- Indian Nomenclature— Conquests of the Iroquois— Their Cruelty to Prisoners —Population— Adoption of Captives— Extent of Territory j

CHAPTER H.

THE EXPLORERS AND THE JESUITS.

Jacques Cartier-Champlain-His Wars with the Iroquois-Etienne Brule- Jesuit Missions Established-The Seneca Mission -Father Gamier and Father Raffeix— La Salle's Visits— Father Hennepin 15

Chapter III. Wars With The French

Jealousy between Canada and New York— The Iroquois incline to the English- Expedition of Governor Denonville — His Landing at Irondequoit— The March to the Interior— The Fight at Houghton's Hill— A Pyrrhic Victory.. 21

Chapter IV. The Struggle For Supremacy

The Commission of Governor Andros— Extensive Cession from the Indians— The For tdes Sables— Charlevoix's Travels— His Description of the Genesee River —Attempts at Settlement— Other Indian Cessions— General Prideaux's Expedition— Pouchot's Works h

^ CONTENTS.

CHAPTER \'.

SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN.

The Revolutionary War- Altitude of the Iroquois-The Confederacy Divided- Raids of the Indians-The Massacre at Cherry Valley-Reprisals Ordered- Washin^ton's Instructions t<. Sullivan-Advance of the Army— Destruction of Property— Atrocities on Both Sides— Killing of Boyd and Parker— Close of the Conflict - "

IIIAI'TER VI

SOVEKEUiNTV AND PRK-EMPTION.

Surrender of Northwestern Territory— Dispute between New York and Massachusetts— C(.nflictinif Royal Charters— Rights of Conquest from the Dutch- Commissioners Apix)inted— A Settlement Effected 35

CHAPTER VII.

TMK PURCHASE FROM TlIK INDIANS.

The Les.sees— Conspiracy to Defraud Massachusetts- Phelps and Gorham— They Contract f<.r Western New York— They E.xtinguish the Indian Title— The Mill- Yard Piece— Remarkable Errors in the Survey— The Reversion to Massachusetts—Sales to Robert Morris— The Holland Purchase— The Treaty at Big Tree— Present Location of the Senecas . . 40

ciiapt]:r \'iii.

CONNECTING LINKS.

The Tory Walker- His Cabin at the Mouth of the River— Erection of the Mills —Transfers of Land— " Indian " Allan— His Murderous Career— His Plurality of Wives— His Robbery from his Children — Mary Jemison, "the White Woman of the Genesee"— Her Abduction and her Captivity— Her Change of Race— Murders of her Sons — Her Admirable Character 52

CIIAI'TICR IX.

SETTLEMENT OF Till". WHITES.'

The Twenty-Thousand Acre Tract — The Deed to Robert Morris — Settlement of the Lusks — Settlement of the Sheffers — Visit of Chateaubriand — Of Rochefoucault-Liuncourt— Of Other Frenchmen — Settlement of William Hencher —Gideon Kmg and Zadock Granger — Kings Landing — Hanford's Landing—Town Meetings, Schools and Churches — Roads and Mail Service — Tryon Town— Ca.stleton— Carthage— The Great Bridge— The War of 1812— Defense of Charlotte (12

CONTENTS. vii

CHAPTER X.

FORMATION OF THE COUNTY.

Original Counties of the State — The Evolution of Monroe — Struggle over its Formation — First Board of Supervisors — Derivation of the Towns — The First Court Hou.se— Population of the County — The County Treasurers — Representatives in Congress — State Senators — Collectors of the Port 75

CHAPTER XI.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTY.

The First Deed Recorded — -Lake Navigation — The Commerce of Carthage — Revenues from Customs — The Erie Canal — Its Inception, its Construction, and its Cost — The Genesee Valley Canal — River Navigation — The Jail — The Second Court House^The State Industrial School — The Deaf Muteln.stitute — The Almshouse — The Insane Asylum — The Bible Society — The Agriculr tural and Horticultural Societies — County Taxes 81

CHAPTER Xn.

THE COUNTY IN THE CIVIL WAR.

The First Call — Monroe's Response— Our Regiments, Battalions and Companies of Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Sharpshooters and Engineers — Ten Thousand Men Enlisted — Their Service in the Field — General Officers — Grand Army of the Republic — The Veteran Brigade 93

A SKETCH OF ROCHESTER.

Chapter I. The Genesis Of The Community

The One-Hundred-Acre Tract — Its Successive Owners — Purchased by Rochester, Fitzhugh and Carroll — Sketch of Colonel Rochester — Jeremiah Olmstead — Charles Harford — Enos Stone — The First White Child— The First Log Cabin — Hamlet Scrantom — Abelard Reynolds — The Postmasters — The Early Bridges — Business Enterprises — Incorporation of the Village — Its Officers— Its Population in Succeeding Years 103 viii CONTENTS.

niAl'TlCK II.

Vn.I.AdE LIFE.

The Ne vspapers of Rochester— The Gazette and the Telegraph— The Principal Jou nals to the Present Time— German Newspapers— Sunday Journals— Villag. Churches— St. Luke's. St. Paul's and St. Patrick's— The Second Presbyt rian— The Friends, the Methodists, the Baptists and the Unitarians- Latayette's Visit in IMi.j— Canal Celebration— Commerce and Transportation—Travel by Canal and Stage— The Bank of Rochester— The Bank of Monroe— The Morgan Abduction— The Village Divided into Wards— Director)' of 1827— The \'illage Fire Department— Sam Patch— Beginning of M( rmonism— The Cholera in 1H:12. and in Other Years— Incorporation of the City— List of the ( )rticials and their Successors 112

e'IlAPTl-:R III.

CITY LIFi:.

Chang«;s in the Charter— Extension of the Limits— The City Fire Department — The Volunteer System— Change to the Paid Department — Notable Fires- Amusements— Early Theaters— '1 heMuseum— Corinthian Hall— Early Schools —The Old Hi^h School— Catholic Schijols- The Free Academy —Early Burying Grounds-Mt. Hope— Catholic Cemeteries— Railroads— The Tonawanda— The Auburn and Rochester— The New York Central and Others — The Carthage Road— The First Telegraph— The Western Union and Speculation therein— The Patriot War— The Civil War — Anti-Slavery and the Un- • dc ground Railroad— The Rochester Knockings — Disastrous Floods— Water W >rks — ( )ur Semi-Centenuial 128

CIIAPTI-R TV.

THE LAST DECADE.

Cannibalism in the Greely Relief Expedition — Foundry Strike in IHSo — The Bell 1 elcphore Struggle — Sketch of HenryO'Reilly — The Naphtha Explosion Disaster — Awful Loss of Life at the Lantern W^orks Fire — Death of Gen. A. W. I« »iey, Hiram Sibley and Seth Green — Street Car Troubles and Changes — Sketch of Henry E. Rochester — And of President Anderson — Church Buildii g in 1H91— Sketch of Josiah W. Bissell— Dedication of the Soldiers' Monun. ent— Charitable Relief Work in 189-1 — Introduction of Individual Communion Cups — Dedication of a Jewish Temple — Sketch of Darius Perrin — Diphtheria and Anti-Toxine — Sketch of Frederick Douglass and of William S. Kimball 150

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

THE PRESENT DAY.

The Female Charitable Society — The Society for the Organization of Charity —

Orphan Asylums — The Industrial School^Infant's Summer Hospital

Home for the Friendless — The Church Home — Home of Industrj- — The humane Society — Children's Aid vSociety — Young Men's Christian Associat^jn — University of Rochester — The Theological Seminary — Wagner Memo'^ul College — Mechanics' Institute— Public Schools — The Reynolds Libran, — Academy of Science— The Historical Society — The Churches — Clubs of ^^il Kinds — The Chamber of Commerce— The Banks — The Parks — ^The Bridges — The Railroads — Municipal Government — The Fire and Police Department — The City Expenses — Sewers and Water Works— Miscellaneous Statistics. .

THE GEOLOGY OF MONROE COUNTY.

Bv Herman Le Roy Faikchii.d 193-195

THE BENCH AND BAR.

By L. C. Aldrich, edited by Thomas L. Raines 19fi-'?2()

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.

By L. C. Aldrich 221-232

THE TOWNS OF MONROE COUNTY.

CHAPTER I.

The Town of Brighton .'2^0

CHAPTER III. The Town of Clarkson.. ....'. - -'1

The To\'. n >>i (iates

The Town of (Greece. .

Ihi- Town of Hamlin

The Town of Henrietta

The Town of Irondequoit

I'll.- Town of O^den

The Town of Parma . . .

INDEX, PART I 311

INDEX, PART II. 328

INDEX, PART III .' -329

INDEX, PORTRAITS - - 338

A SKETCH OF MONROE COUNTY.

BY WILLIAM F. PECK.

Chapter I. The Indian Occupation

Tlie Earliest Residents — Seneca Traditions — Advent of the Iroquois — The Gentile Division — The Tribal Division — Formation of the League — The Council of the Long House — Descent in the Female Line — Rights of Women — Religious Beliefs and Custonas — The 'New Religion — Architecture — Trails — Indian Nomenclature — Conquests of the Iroquois — Their Cruelty to Prisoners — Population — Adoption of Captives — Extent of Territory.

No one knows how long ago this region was first inhabited by human beings, or what manner of men first had their permanent settlement in this locality. The natural disposition to refer the source of an^^ historical sequence to the earliest possible antecedents has led many writers to advance the conjecture that the " mound-builders," who have left such evidence of their existence in Ohio, were here at some remote period, and this theory has possessed so much attraction that others have endeavored to improve upon it by maintaining that there was a race here prior to those pyramidal architects. But nothing has been found to establish either proposition, for nobody knows, or probably ever will know, to whom belonged the rude utensils, the firebrands and the split wood that are turned up, occasionally, in the lowest excavations. If any race was here before the red Indians it died and left no sign that can be understood, and the only safe position on which to stand is that the first people known to have dwelt here were the Iroquois, the immediate predecessors of the Anglo-Saxons, who X

LANDMARKS OF MONROE CQT^NTY.

scarcely a century ago followed up tlic work of war and starvation and began \o occupy the ancestral soil of tiic dusky savages.

Of course the Iroquois, and particularly the Seneca nation, which dwelt in this immediate locality, had plenty of traditions about their own origin and about those who li\ ed in this region before them and who had, according to the best elaborated story, all been devoured by .1 great serpent near Canandaigua lake, whereupon the Senecas, by a kind of special creation, came fortli out of the mountain near the head of the lake and entered upon the possessions of those who had gone down the throat of the monster. To speculate, as some have done, upon the allegorical or typical meaning of this legend is worse than idle, as it bears ni»l the remotest resemblance to the known facts in the case. As far back as they can be traced, and that not with much certainty, the Inxjuois came, many centuries ;igo, from some region west of the Mississippi and settled along the St. Lawrence river, whence they made their way into New York, stopping first at the mouth of the Oswego river. Remaining there for many generations, they broke up their encampment and separated into three distinct tribes — the Mohawks, the Onondagas and the Senecas.

It was probably long before this that another line of division was made, which is kept up to the present day, viz., that into clans — or gentis, as Morgan calls them, using the Latin word, which is more exact — when the whole nation was marked off into eight groups, each named for some animal, like the wolf, the beaver or the hawk. All belonging to one gens were considered as own brothers and sisters, descended from a common ancestor, though whether that forefather was really the beast or bird whose name they bore, or whether the title was recognised as only emblematic, has always been a matter of conjecture. It is quite possible that at some time in the remote past there were eight tlistinct families or tribes known by these zoological names, and that when they were united into one nation they chose to preserve the tradition of their origin by retaining for e^ch one its old cognomen and to perpetuate their integrity by forbidding marriage between members of the same gens. This jiositivc restriction was continued after the nation had been divided into tribes, so that, while there was no objection to gener.il intermarriage among members of the same tribe, as well as among those of different tribes, no union was possible between a Seneca Wolf, for instance, and a Mohawk Wolf, even though they had always been separated by hundreds of miles and the real parents of one had never seen those of the other. At a later period the tribal formation was made, as has been shown, on lines crossing the gentile or clan lines, but without weakening the bond of unity.

On their migration from the Oswego, the Mohawks went eastward, leaving a portion of their tribe behind, who became the Oneidas; the Onondagas settled in the central portion, and the Senecas west of them, while the Cayuga tribe, which was located between those two, was a later offshoot of one or the other, it is not known which. Some time between 1400 and 1450, according to their own traditions, but probably a few years after the latter date, these five independent tribes were formed into a confederacy — a reunion, to some extent, of the original nation, but with a constitution, elaborate though oral, which preserved the independence of the separate tribes, the local territory of each, the representation of each at the grand council of fifty sachems that met at intervals near the present site of Syracuse, and the relation of the various tribes to each other. This constitution, which was the work of the greatest of Indian statesmen, Ha-yo-went-ha — or Hiawatha, as Longfellow has immortalised and fixed his name — joined the tribes together in a civil union that was cemented by the social tie of gentile relationship, so that the league formed a compact mass, elastic and yet cohesive, which was perfectly irresistible. The Ho-de-no sau-nee they called themselves, or " Children of the Long House," from their great council hall ; the Iroquois the French called them — from " hiro," an Indian word, equivalent to " I have spoken," with which they always ended their discourses — while the English usually spoke of them collectively as the F"ive Nations. This name endured till 171 5, when it was changed to the Six Nations, in consequence of the Tuscaroras coming up from North Carolina and being, as their language showed them, of the same lineage with the others, admitted into the confederacy and wedged in between the Mohawks and the Oneidas, where lands were set apart for them from the domain of the latter tribe.

While the grand council consisted by law of fifty sachems, and there were always that number of seats at the council fire, yet in reality there

4 LANDMARKS OF MONROE COTTNTY.

were, after the death of Hiawatha and his leading adviser, only forty-eight living persons present, for the seats of those founders of the confederacy, thouj^h vacant to mortal eyes, were always filled by the spirits of their ori<^inal occupants. The sacheniships were hereditary, according to the Indian conception of heredity, not according to ours — that is, they were not hereditary in the family, hut onl}- in the gens, so that the successor to a deceased sachem could never be his son, for, descent being in the fen)ale line, the son would belong to a different gens from his father, but the new sachem must belong to the same gens with the old one and be chosen by the members thereof While the sachems were the lawmakers and rulers of the league, they had no military power; no sachem could become a war- chief, no war chief could become a sachem. Red Jacket, the Seneca, and Ihant, the Mohawk, were chiefs, but not sachems, and Ely S. Parker, for some time a resident of Rochester, was a sachem but not a chief. Each tribe had its own war-chiefs, chosen for merit only, who had control over the forces of their respective tribes when in battle or on the warpath, and in addition to these there were two principal war- chiefs of the whole confederacy, always chosen from among the Senecas, the "keepers of the western door of the Long House," because on that side lay the only anticipated danger of attack.

In spite of the rights of women among the Iroquois, preponderating so far above those of the sex in our own community, their condition was very low. As has been observed already, descent was in the female line, and all children belonged to the gens of the mother — a not unreasonable provision, which largely prevails at this day among the Turks and other semi- civilised people, where maternity is a matter of certainty, paternity only of belief. It was the same way with inheritance; at the death of the mother the children took all her property, but on the demise of the father his goods passed to his brothers and sisters. Women had the elective franchise, voting on terms of equality with the men for sachems and war-chiefs, and their voice was largely potential in the disposition of prisoners, any of whom could be adopted by them to take the place of husbands or relatives lost in battle, and the rest would be enslaved or tortured, according to the feminine caprice, which was seldom on the side of mercy. An illustration of this malignant vindictiveness, more destructive in its consequences than any other instance known to history, is found among the kindred nation of the Eries. This tribe had taken prisoner a chief of the Onondagas and had conchided to let him be adopted by one of their young women who liad lost a brother at the hands of the Iroquois. The girl was absent at the time, but when she returned she utterly refused to consent, all the entreaties of her chiefs were in vain and she insisted that the Onondaga should be burned alive to appease her vengeance. Inexorable custom made her will supreme, the prisoner was sent to the stake and a few weeks later all the Eries, men, women and children, to the number of some thousands, were slaughtered by the enraged confederates. But, to offset all these privileges, the Indian squaw, as long as she lived with her husband, was a mere drudge, subject to all his brutal whims, liable to be abandoned at any moment, almost certain to be beaten frequently, and never secure against a fatal blow, for which reparation could easily be made by the presentation of gifts to her gentile kindred.

Of the religious beliefs of the Iroquois before their very partial conversion to Christianity, but little can be said with accuracy. Polytheism prevailed, a belief in different gods, as personified by the forces of nature, very much as among the Greeks and Romans, only in a cruder and coarser form, but oftentimes with a wealth of poetic fancy far surpassing the myths of the classic nations. At the same time they carried the idea much further, for they not only had deities for the streams, the mountains, the forests, fire, wind and weather, but each production of the earth had its own genius, and there was a spirit of the squash, a spirit of the maize, a spirit of tobacco, and so on. The everlasting contention between good and evil found as full recognition among them as among the ancient Persians, both powers being placated by feasts and offerings, but their supreme veneration was for the mighty Manitou, the spirit of eternal beneficence, and in his honor were held their principal festivals. He was the master of life, the controller of the nation's fortunes in this world and of their individual destiny in the next, to which their abiding belief in the immortality of the soul taught them to look forward. Their religious observances and ceremonies, which were marked by superstition and cruelty, usually took place in or around the lodge of the " medicine man," that combination of priest and physician for whose interest it was that the fears and baser passions of his clients should have full sway and should never yield to the loftier aspirations, the kindlier feelings, that might be engendered by a purer wcrship of nature. With them the dance, which was never a pastime but always a religious act. was, while not so graceful or so rhythmic as among the white races, more studiously developed than elsewhere, each step, each movement being fraught with its jjeculiar meaning. Sacrifices were common among them, the slaughter of their captives being tinctured with that element, though usually animals were chosen, a white dog being peculiarly desirable for that purpose, and this ceremony endured till 1813. In that year the last solemn sacrifice of the white dog among the Senecas took place in Rochester, when the animal was strangled and then burned, on the eminence on the south side of Troup street, near Caledonia avenue.

Having mentioned this event, so far out of its chronological relation to other matters treated of in this chapter, it may be as well to allude, in the same connection, to a singular phase of religion that came to the Indians in this part of the state about 1800, when it was declared that a new revelation had been received from heaven. Handsome Lake, or Ga ne-odiyo, who was born near Avon in 1734, was a sachem of the highest class, belonging to the Turtle gens of the Seneca nation. After he had reached maturity he was deeply impressed with the degradation of his people and with the unmistakable signs of their decadence through their addiction to strong drink. To counteract this frightful evil, as well as to regenerate, as far as possible, the morals of the community in other respects, this wise counselor, perceiving that exhortations delivered from a common plane would be ineffective, announced that, after being sick for a long time, he had been visited by three spiritual beings in the form of men, who had cured him of his illness by means of herbs which they had brought. Subsequent calis from these unearthly visitants were stated to have resulted in the revelation of a new religion, which he proceeded to expound. While the guiding motive of Handsome Lake is clear, the source from which the idea of his scheme emanated is matter of conjecture. The story of the three anthropomorphic visitors, so similar to the experiences of Abraham, is suggestive of the Old Testament ; the prophet's later narration of his translation to heaven, where he stayed for some time in the enjoyment of angelic hospitality and whence he looked down upon the earth to behold the misery of his people, recalls the Koran, with Mahomet's temporary ascent, while the tenderness with which the practice of humanity toward the most helpless of beings is inculcated would seem to find" its inspiration in the New Testament Yet in all of Handsome Lake's teachings, as far as they have been reported, and in all the exposition of them by his successors, who continued his ministrations down to forty years ago, there was no mention made of any sacred writings and no allusion whatever to any of the distinctive dogmas of the Christian theology.

The religion was that of pure morality and benevolence, and it purported to be based on the old faith of the Indians, which it did not contravene in any way, but rather elaborated, and sought to turn into channels of right living. The revelation started out with the strongest denunciation of firewater, the drinking of which was declared to be a crime, absolutely forbidden by the great spirit, and one that would certainly be visited by eternal punishment in the next world ; the sanctity of marriage, with the necessity of the fidelity of both parties, was inculcated in the strongest manner; the reciprocal duties of parents and children were clearly defined, and all hearers were exhorted to do good to each other — in fine, to practise the golden rule. This religion, if it can be considered sufficiently formal and concrete to merit that tdrm, was preached by the Seneca prophet throughout all the reservations and at all the gatherings of Indians in this state, except those of the Christianised Oneidas and Tuscaroras. The result was amazing, the effect equaling that produced by any revivalist of modern times. Drunkenness was arrested in its course of national destruction, and for a time, at least, good order and outward morality took the place of the general depravity which, before that, had been growing rapidly worse. At the same time no attempt was made by this reformer, and probably he acted sagaciously in that, to change any of the former beliefs, except that those which tended toward cruelty were ignored, and therefore annulled. The ceremonial observances were not interfered with but were rather encouraged, as may be judged by the white dog sacrifice, mentioned above. While the hopes of Handsome Lake for tin com-

8 LANDMARKS OF xMONROK COUNTV.

plete regeneration of his people were never realised, either during his lifetime or afterward, there can be no doubt that their condition was materially, and probably permanently, elevated by the good message that he bore to them.

Only the crudest knowledge of the principles of architecture existed among the Iroquois. Individual wigwams, so noted in song and story, are largely the creation of romance. Among the Senecas, at least, the preference was for communal dwellings, the predecessors of the compartment houses of the present day, rather than for separate habitations for each family. They were constructed by setting upright poles in the ground, fitting others to these horizontally by means of withes, and raising upon them a roof, sometimes arched, sometimes sloping, the whole frame, both top and sides, being covered with strips of bark, usually of elm, fastened with splints or strings. These tenements were from fifty to one hundred feet long by seventeen wide, and were divided into sections eight feet long by six wide, each of which was occupied by one family, no matter how many there were in it — more raised bunks being put into the walls of the chamber as the occupants increased in number. Through the long house ran a passage way, and in this the fires were kept, generally one for every four families, and, as there were no doors to the rooms, a fair degree of warmth was thus obtained, though at the expense of health, for there was no outlet for the smoke except holes in the roof, which were covered in rainy weather, and thus diseases of the eyes were very prevalent among the people. A cluster of these houses — sometimes twenty, sometimes more than a hundred — would make a village, which would be surrounded by palisades as a protection against sudden attack. The so called "castles" of the Iroquois, whether upon the Genesee river or elsewhere, were only aggregations of houses, guarded in this manner. Of all the tribes the Senecas were the most numerous, counting, perhaps, 4,000 souls all told, and they were settled in four towns, one of which, the second in size, was in Monroe county. It was located two miles from where the village of Honeoye Falls, in the town of Mendon, now stands, and was called Totiakton. An English traveler, named Wcntworth Greenhalgh, was there in 1677, and from his description of the houses the place could not have contained less than a thousand persons, probably a little more.

The trail of the Iroquois was generally between a foot and fifteen inches wide, very seldom more than the greater breadth. It was not always direct from point to point, for not only did natural obstacles, like rocks, swamps or bends in a river, cause it to deflect from a straight line, but a wide divergence would almost invariably be made to avoid open spaces and seek the protecting covert of dense foliage, even of the nearly impenetrable forest. It is easy to locate the main trail or Indian highway through this state, for it ran from Buffalo eastwardly, crossing the Genesee at the present site of Avon, and terminating at the Hudson river a little below Albany, thus forming the path which was afterward used as the principal route of the white men till the Erie canal and the Central railroad came through, and which is still known as " the old state road." This was the Appian Way of the Iroquois, and along its course all messages from one nation of the confederacy to another were carried by swift runners who bore with astonishing rapidity the summons to a council, the tidings of war or those of peace.