Binghamton, its settlement, growth and development

Front matter

BINOHAMTON

ITS SETTLEMENT, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

AND THE FACTORS IN ITS HISTORY

Preface

The formation of state and town organizations of Sons of the American Revolution, Colonial Dames, local historical associations in almost every hamlet throughout the Union, and the late efforts made by Harvard University faculty to collect and preserve biographical data pertaining to their professors and instructors, all tend to show the universal interest taken in such matters by leaders of public opinion. I make no apology, therefore, for the part I have taken in the publication of this work. It was needed, and that it is the most complete record of Binghamton and Broome county yet published, I have every confidence. Neither is there egotism in this belief, for the work has been such a stupendous undertaking that the assistance of many able contributors has been secured, who have searched all available written records, both in the capitol at Albany, and those in public and private libraries here and elsewhere, and who have also faithfully sought out facts from the older citizens. My work has been largely that of revising and condensing the mass of material thus brought together; a heavy task, and yet a light one. Those who are ever pleased (and who is not?) to know the past history of their homes; that this street or highway was once a noted Indian trail, that an old legend tells of wonderful happenings among the natives on play-grounds they loved as children, that a noted chief of the red men once held high carnival on the same spot where he first saw the light of day;

IV I'REFACE.

readers who take delight in such facts will understand what a pleasure it has been to superintend the work, and yet can readily see how difficult to free it from all errors, — for errors undoubtedly exist.

Those who would have given us dates — those who came on life's stage at the dawn of the century — have gone to their reward. Would that we could turn the dial back and stand face to face with the rugged, common sense men, who constituted the first settlers of this vicinity, and hear from their lips the story of distinguishing events, which would stand out like bold landmarks indicating the line of march through many trials to final success.

The Pioneers are asleep!

Their influence only survives them. By their pluck in overcoming obstacles; by their untiring industry; by their economy and thrift, they laid foundations deep and wide for their children to build upon. The men whose memory we desire to perpetuate were free from the ambition and love of gain which seem to be the mainsprings of this generation. With them the ownership of a home was the height of their hope and aim.

When the preparation of this volume was begun, at the first step it was found that the general public (without whose co-operation the undertaking would have been futile) looked askance at the enterprise. Many prejudices had to be overcome because of the shortcomings of pievious publications ■ purporting to be historic. Other matters of which it is needless to speak stood in the way. But " a good tale will bear telling twice," especially when improved in the manner of the telling. The gathering of this tale has been attempted many times, with varying success in the manner of production. The reason for failure in some past works was carelessness. Not so in this work, for it represents eighteen months of tireless application to the task.

PREFACE. ' V

The writers of this latest " Binghamton " have labored under disadvantages, which have been overcome by painstaking effort and research that do not become apparent to the reader in the perusal of the volume. Much of the matter has been obtained under circumstances of difficulty, owing to the fact that nearly all the traditions are fast disappearing. " The rude forefathers of the hamlet " have long been in their silent, narrow beds. Their children's children remember nothing of the trials and hardships of their ancestors, nor of the events of the early days of the land which gave them birth.

To those who have helped in the preparation of this work, I wish to give due credit. It being impossible to mention all who have given facts never before recorded, facts which were the more valued for that reason, or to personally thank those who have aided the several contributors, I will content myself with naming a few who have specially assisted in lightening this labor of love: Lewis C. Aldrich, John P. E Clark, Edward K. Clark, George B. Curtiss, Israel T. Deyo, John J. Doolittle, Dr. George F. Hand, Walter M. Hand, Major Charles H Hitchcock, Dr. David Post Jackson, Julius P. Morgan, Dr. John Gay Orton, Clinton F. Paige, Dr. Frederick W. Putnam, Dan S. Richards, and Peter D. Van Vradenburg.

Bespeaking a kindly and charitable reception to this volume over which I have devoted so much thought and care, I leave it as my contribution to the Historical Literature of this community.

W. S. Lawyer.

BiNGHAMTON, MaY 1, 1900,

Chapter I

Our Country — Early European Discoveries and Explorations— Champlain Invades Iroquois Territory — The First Battle— The French in Canada, the Puritans in New England and the Dutch in New York— Rival Powers— Overthrow of the Dutch — French and English Rivalries — The Iroquois Confederacy — Its Origin, Its League and Its Conquests — The Tuscaroras United with the Five Nations — Occupy the Valley of the Susquehanna 1

CHAPTER n.

French Influence Among the Indians — English Jealousy Aroused — Missionary Laborers in the Province — Beginning of the French and English Wars — The Final Struggle for Supremacy — Overthrow of the French Power in America — The Mohawks and Tuscaroras Fight under Col. William Johnson — Return to the Former Habitations 8

CHAPTER HI.

Before the Revolution — Johnson's Influence Among the Indians — Causes Leading to the War — The Johnsons Depart for Canada— The Continental Congress— Outbreak of the War— British Make Allies of the Iroquois— Employ Them to Attack American Settlements— Brief Allusion to Events of the Period — The Susquehanna Valley Becomes a Frequent Route of Travel — Sullivan's Campaign— Gen. Clinton Invades the Valley— Indian Villages Destroyed — Ochenang on the Site of the City, and Otsiningo, on the Chenango, Destroyed - -- H

CHAPTER IV.

Reminiscences of the Revolution, with a Roll of Honor Showing the Names of Patriots of that War Who Afterward Settled in Broome County- The Memorial to Congress Praying that Pensions be Granted to Soldiers of Militia and State Troops 22 viii CONTENTS.

CHAPTER V.

The Land Titles — Charters by the Crown — Conflicting Claims of Massachusetts and New York — The Hartford Convention — The Boston Purchase — Bingham's Patent — Brief Sketch of William Bingham, in whose Honor Bingham- 1 on was Named — The Castle Reservation — --- 32

CHAPTER VI.

Earliest Settlers in the Vicinity of Binghamton — Rise and Downfall of Chenango Village .- - -- -

CHAPTER VII.

COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND CIVIL HISTORY— CIVIL LIST. 45

CHAPTER VIII.

REMINISCENCES OF EARLY LIFE AND SETTLEMENT IN BINGHAM- TON CA

CHAPTER IX.

SETTLEMENT CONTINUED— EARLY BUSINESS MEN. _ .. 112

CHAPTER X.

VILLAGE ORGANIZATION AND MUNICIPAL HISTORY 126

CHAPTER XI.

CITY BUILDINGS AND DEPARTMENTSOFMUNICIPALGOVERNMENT iri5

CHAPTER XII.

THE BINGHAMTON FIRE DEPARTMENT... . ..178

CHAPTER XIII.

EDUCATIONAL... 214

CONTENTS. ix

CHAPTER XIV.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS one

CHAPTER XV.

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS _ 291

CHAPTER XVI.

BANKING INSTITUTIONS . . 300

CHAPTER XVII.

THEBENCH AND BAR . .. 314

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE MEDICAL PROFESSION .38.5

CHAPTER XIX.

THE BINGHAMTON PRESS 446

.CHAPTER XX.

INDUSTRIAL BINGHAMTON -^ 4.^8

CHAPTER XXI.

SOCIETIES— SECRET, SOCIAL AND BENEVOLENT,, .-. 497

CHAPTER XXII.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. --- 518

CHAPTER XXIII.

CEMETERIES 553

X CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE WAR OF 1861-65 ^^^

CHAPTER XXV.

THE SPANIvSH-AMERIC.-\N WAR— THE HISTORY OF COMPANY H.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE TOWN OF UNION. AND ITS INCORPORATED VILLAGES, UNION

AND LESTERSHIRE 613

CHAT^TER XXVII.

THE TOWN OF CHENAN(iO --- 668

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THETOWNOF LISLE. 676

CHAPTER XXIX.

TH E T( ) WN OF P,INGH AMTON. 690

CHAPTER XXX.

THE TOWN OF NANTICOKE. ... 693

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE TOWN OFCOLESVILLE 698

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE TOWN OF MAINE 710

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE TOWN OF VESTAL 717

CONTENTS. xi

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE TOWN OF WINDSOR 73.5

CHAPTER XXXV.

THE TOWN OF TRIANGLE 743

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE TOWN OF BARKER. 768

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE TOWN OF FENTON __ .761

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE TOWN OF SAN FORD 777

CHAPTER XXXIX.

THE TOWN OFCONKLIN.- 796

CHAPTER XL.

THE TOWN OF KIRKWOOD 804

CHAPTER XLI.

THE TOWN OF DICKINSON - 813

CHAPTER XLII.

ECCLESIASTICAL 816

PART 11.

PORTRAITS.

Arms. Taylor L -..facing 330

Balcom, Ransom ....facing 323

Bartlett, Isaac L... facing 106

Bartlett. James H facing 828

Bennett, Abel facing 305

Bingham, William facing 37

Brigham, Elijah W.._ . facing 666

Chapman, Orlow W ...facing 346

Crary, Horace H. facing 836

Curtiss, George B. ..facing 368

Day, Frank A facinglOlO

Dickinson, Daniel S facing 336

Doubleday, Dr. Arami facing 405

Downs, Francis W. . - . facing 367

Dunham, Thomas L ...facing 952

Dunn, George W facing 882

Faatz, William G facing 948

Ford, Rodney A facing 832

Green, George E facing 892

Grummond, Fred W. ■ facing 938

Hand, Stephen I). , M. D facing 414

Hill, William H ..facing 956

Hitchcock, Charles H 608

Hodge, Hial, Dr., .. ...facing 939

Hotchkiss, Giles W facing 342

Jenison, Lewis facingl018

Johnson, C. Fred.. facing 968

Johnson, George F facing 886

Jones, Edward F facing 841

Lentz, William F facing 854

Lincoln, George D. facing 964

Magoris, A. Eugene, M. D. facing 434

Martin, Celora E facing 324

Millard, Stephen C facing 362

Moon, George Q facing 908

O'Connor, Edmund .. .. facing 348

Orton, Dr. John Gay facing 419

O.sborn, William R facing 934

Perry, Isaac G .facing 916

Richards. Dan S facing 356

Schulte. John ..facingl0l6

Scott, Marcus W facing 848

Seymour, Lewis.. facing 345

Squires, Merritt S facing 665

Swift, John H. ...facingl014

Talbott, Page W facing 904

Wells, John Stuart ._ facing 844

Wilson, Dr. William H facing 970

CONTENTS.

IVIAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Bevier Street School 244

Binghamton — 1840 137

Binghamton— A View of Court street from the Chenango bridge to the Court

House, drawn June 4, 18 10, by George Park, esq. 129

Binghamton in 1856— View east of the Court House ... 115

Binghamton in 1856 — View showing corner of Court and Chenango streets and

buildings northwest 116

Binghamton in 1856 — Brigham Hall in the foreground 118

Binghamton in 1856 — Showing buildmgs on the north side of Court street between State street and the Weed building... 119

Binghamton in 1856 — Showing Congdon's marble shop, Way's hotel and other

buildings 120

Binghamton Academy 227

Binghamton City Hospital .• facing 160

Cafferty House, the. . 491

Central Fire Station— 1899 206

Central High School 250

Chenango street in 1856 302

Court House, Second' County 48

Court House, Third County 51

Court House, 1897-98 53

Court House Square. 1889 52

Exchange Hotel, the 493

Faatz Brush and Felting Works .- 665

Fairview School - 246

Granite Block, the original... 489

Jarvis Street School - 248

Laurel Avenue School 243

Lestershire Fire Station, Municipal Building and Club House 654

Lewis House, the — - - 494

Map of Bingham's Patent 37

Map of Village of Binghamton in 1808 127

Map of Binghamton in 1825 131

Map of Binghamton in 1838 134

Map of Chenango Point in 1797 126

Municipal Building - --- 159

Oak Street School - 234

Peterson's Inn - 492

Rossville School - *47

St. John's Avenue School 249

BINGHAMTON,

Its Settlement, Growth and Development.

CHAPTER I.

Our Country — Early European Discoveries and Explorations — Champlain Invades Iroquois Territory — The First Battle — The French in Canada, the Puritans in New England and the Dutch in New York — Rival Powers — Overthrow of the Dutch — French and English Rivalries — The Iroquois Confederacy — Its Origin, Its League and Its Conquests — The Tuscaroras United with the Five Nations — Occupy the Valley of the Susquehanna.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus, a Genoese, sailing under the flag- of Spain, landed on the shores of the American continent. This event has always been mentioned in history as the discovery of America, yet the first Europeans to visit the western hemisphere were Scandinavians, who colonized Iceland in A. D. 875, Greenland in 983, and about the year 1000 had cruised southward as far as the Massachusetts coast. Following close upon the discoveries of Columbus and other early explorers, various foreign powers fitted out fleets and commissioned navigators to establish colonies in the vast and then unknown country. These events, however, will be briefly treated and only those will be mentioned which had at least an indirect bearing upon our subject.

In 1508 Auburt discovered the St. Lawrence river; and in 1524 Francis I, king of France, sent Jean Verrazzani on a voyage of exploration to the new world. He entered a harbor supposed to have been that of New York, and it is believed that his crew were the first Europeans to land on the soil of what is now this state. This Gallic explorer sailed along the Atlantic coast about 2100 miles, cruising as far north as Labrador, and giving to the whole region the name of " New France" — a name by which the French possessions in America were afterward known during the dominion of that power, In 1534 the same king sent 1

Jacques Cartier to the country. He made two voyages and ascended the St. Lawrence as far as Montreal. The next year he again visited the region with a fleet which brought a number of the French nobility. This party determined upon the colonization of the country, but after passing a severe winter on the Isle of Orleans, and suffering much from the rigors of the climate, they abandoned the scheme and returned to France.

Here we may properly remark that as a beginning of the long list of needless and shameful betrayals and treacheries to which the often too confiding natives were subjected by early European explorers, Cartier inveigled into his vessel the Indian chief Donnegana and bore him and several others into hopeless captivity and final death.

The real discoverer and founder of a permanent colony in New France was Samuel de Champlain, who in 1608 planted a settlement at Quebec. This intrepid explorer joined with the Canadian Indians and invaded the country southward, where he discovered the lake which now bears his name, and where he met in hostile conflict the Mohawks of the Iroquois confederacy. In the battle which followed the Mohawks lost two of their chiefs, both of whom fell at the hands of Champlain himself. Thus was signalized the first hostile meeting between the white man and the Indian, Low as the latter may have been m the scale of intelligence and humanity, and terrible as were many of the subsequent deeds of the Iroquois, it cannot be denied that their early treatment by the whites could foster in the savage heart any other than feelings of bitterest hatred. "I had put four balls into my arquebus," said the wily Frenchman, and the "Iroquois were greatly astonished at seeing two of their men killed so instantaneously." This event, however, was but a single early testimony of how little mercy the Iroquois were thenceforth to receive from their northern enemies and the pale-faced race which was eventually to drive them from their domain. " It was an age, however, in which might was appealed to more frequently than in later years, and it is in the light of the prevailing custom of the old world in Champlain's time that we must view his ready hostility to the Indian."

A few weeks after the battle between Champlain and the Indians, Henry Hudson, a navigator in the service of the Dutch East India company, anchored his ship (the Half-moon) at the mouth of the river which now bears his name. This event took place September 5, 1609. Hudson met the natives and was hospitably received by them, but before his departure he furnished them freely with intoxicating hquors, from which followed results more disastrous and baneful than those inflicted by Champlain with his murderous weapon.

Hudson ascended the river to a point less than a hundred miles from that reached by Champlain, then returned to Europe, and, through information he had gained, soon afterward established a Dutch colony (for which a charter was granted in 1614) naming the region "New Netherlands." In 1621 the Dutch West India company was formed and took possession of the Netherlands, and five years later the territory was made a province of Holland.

Meanwhile, in 1607, the English made their first permanent settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, and in 1620 planted the historic colony at Plymouth Rock. These two colonies became the successful rivals of all others in that strife which eventually made them masters of the country, but that strong power and dominion was itself overthrown in the results of the Revolutionary war, more than a century and a half after the New England colony was established.

Thus it is seen that on the discoveries and colonizations noted in preceding paragraphs, three European powers based claims to at least a part of the territory of the state of New York : first, England, by reason of the discoveries of John Cabot, who sailed under commission from Henry VII, and in 1497 reached the coast of Labrador, and also those of his son Sebastian, who in the next year explored the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to Florida, claiming thereby a territory eleven degrees in width and extending indefinitely westward; second, France, from the discoveries of Verrazzani, claimed a portion of the Atlantic coast, and also under the title of " New France " an almost boundless region westward; third, Holland, based on Hudson's discoveries a claim to the entire country from Cape Cod to the southern shore of Delaware bay.

The Dutch became the temporary occupants of the region, but their dominion was of brief duration . The miserable and ill-considered policy of Governor Kieft provoked the Indians to hostilities, and disorder reigned throughout the colony for a period of ten years, and until Peter Stuyvesant succeeded to the governorship. His firm and equitable policy restored quiet among the natives, but his control of affairs continued only from 1647 to 1665, when the Dutch dominion in the Netherlands was overthrown.

On March 12, 1664, Charles II, of England, granted by letters patent to his brother James, Duke of York and Albany, all the territory from the River St. Croix to the Kennebec in Maine, together with all the land from the west bank of Connecticut river to the east shore of Delaware bay. The duke at once sent a squadron to secure his gift, and on September 8, following, the Dutch surrendered, Gov. Stuyvesant being impelled to such action by the colonists, who preferred peace with the same privileges accorded to English settlers rather than a long and probably fruitless contest with a stronger power. The English changed the name of New Amsterdam to New York.

Thus ended the Dutch dominion in America, but their colonists did not withdraw from the territory after the surrender. Many of them were thrifty and became prosperous by trading guns and rum to the Indians in exchange for furs, thus establishing friendly relations with the natives and supplying them with doubly dangerous weapons. This peaceful relation was established mainly under Gov. Stuyvesant's rule, and was continued after the English accession, but at the same time strife and jealously between the English and French was engendered and rapidly increased in intensity through many years. The English settlements were of a more permanent character than those of their rivals, and moreover, they succeeded in forming an alliance with the Iroquois, thus gaining a steady advantage over the French, whose treatment of the Mohawks through Champlain had not been forgotten. The alliance between the English and the Iroquois was maintained for more than a century, continumg throughout the Revolution (except one or two of the nations who were friendly to the Americans), but the results of that struggle did not have the effect to deprive them of their territory without compensation.

After the termination of the Dutch rule in the Netherlands, the territory comprising this state was held by three powers — two foreign and one native — the French, the English and the famous Iroquois confederacy, the latter better known as the " Five Nations " of Indians. The main possessions of the French were in the Canadas, but through the zeal of the Jesuit missionaries their outposts were extended south and west of the St. Lawrence, and some attempts at colonization (with partial success) had been made. Early French accounts indicate occasional visits by missionaries to the Indian occupants of the Susquehanna valley, but the peculiar situation of the region, lying between the possessions of the Iroquois and their old enemies, the Lenni Lenapes, rendered this an unsafe place of abode even by the red man previous to about the middle of the seventeenth century.

The occupied possessions of the English at the time indicated in the preceding paragraph were chiefly in the eastern part of what is now this state and also in New England and Virginia. With steady and sure advances this people were gradually nearing the French. At this time, and for many years afterward, the French and English were conflicting powers, struggling for the mastery on both sides of the Atlantic; and with each succeeding outbreak of war in the mother countries there were renewed hostilities between their American colonies. But directly between the French and English possessions lay the territory of the Iroquois, The French called them "Iroquois;" the Dutch named them " Maquas, " while to the English colonists they were known as " Mingoes." Among themselves, however, the men of the confederacy were known as " He-do-no-sau-nee," which means literally "they form a cabin," thus in an expressive manner describing the close union existing among them. The Iroquois were also frequently called " The People of the Long House ;" but by whatever names they may have been known, they were a confederation of savages whose peculiar and lasting organization, prowess on the field of battle, loyalty to friends, barbarous revenge upon enemies, stoical indifference to torture, together with eloquence of speech in councils, made them the wonder of all civilized nations, and evoked from Volney their denomination as " the Romans of the New World."

The origin of this famous confederacy has always been clouded in obscurity, and few indeed of our most noted Indianologists agree as to the source whence they came. Iroquois tradition ascribes the founding of the league to an Onondaga chieftain named Tadodahoh, but such traditions are of very little value in fact. Our best and closest students of Indian history assert that the league was formed during the early part of the fifteenth century (about the year 1416), and was thereafter maintained almost wholly intact imtil the outbreak of the war of the Revolution. In 1712 the Tuscaroras, who had been at war with the Powhattans and whites in the south, were driven from their territory and found refuge with the Five Nations. This, according to well authenticated history, was only the payment of a debt of gratitude by the Iroquois, they having been given substantial aid by the Tuscaroras when the Iroquois were waging war against their enemies, the Lenni Lenapes.

When the Tuscaroras were received into the confederacy the Five Nations became the Six Nations, and the added people were assigned

6 BIXGHAMTON. ITS SETTLEMENT,

to territory south of the Oneidas and Onondagas, and therefore became inhabitants of the vSusquehanna valley. In common with all others of the Indian race, the Tuscaroras established villages at convenient points in their country and soon took tribal names suited to the locality in which they lived. In the beautiful valley of the Susquehanna river, after the acquisition referred to, there dwelt the Shawnees, the Susquehannas, the Nanticokes and the Neshaminies, the greater part of whom were descended from the Tuscaroras, with others from the related tribes of the confederacy, and a few from the conquered Delawares of Pennsylvania. The name Tuscarora was preserved in this locality, but during the later years of the confederacy it had lost much of its individual strength.

Reliable chroniclers of Pennsylvania history state that the Susquehannas and the Nanticokes were of Delaware and Lenni Lenape origin while so good an authority as the late Judge Charles P. Avery, one of Tioga county's most accurate historians, informs us that the Susquehannas and Nanticokes were of original Iroquois origin.

The war between the Iroquois and the Delawares was one of the most memorable conflicts ever waged among the savages of America. The feud dated back, according to Indian tradition, more than one hundred years previous to the formation of the Iroquois confederacy, but it was not until about the middle of the seventeenth century that the conflict began in earnest; and it was continued until the Iroquois had conquered and subjugated the Delawares, who occupied the regions of Pennsylvania and the south; until every opposing tribe and race in America was overthrown and made to acknowledge the supremacy and authority of the conquerors. Indeed, after the conquest of the Delawares, the Iroquois were the acknowledged owners of the territory occupied by the former, and the treaty between the Penn proprietary and the Delawares could not be consummated until the consent of the victors had been secured.

History informs us that this memorable conflict took place between 1640 and 1055, and that the subjugation was both complete and permanent. For many years previous to that time the nations had been at enmity and battles of a minor character were frequent. As is well known, the main possessions of the Iroquois lay across the state of New York (or the territory afterward comprising the state), the Mohawks farthest east, then following the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the Cayugas and the Senecas, in the order named, the latter (the most fierce and warlike of the nations) occupying and guarding the western extremity of the Long House.

The Delawares, who were descended from the Lenni Lenapes, were scattered throughout the territory of the (afterward) state of Pennsylvania, occupying chiefly the regions bordering on the larger rivers. They, like the Iroquois, took names from the localities in which were their principal villages, and as their seat of government, on the advent of the whites into the region, was on the Delaware river the whole nation took the general name of Delawares.

The valley of the Susquehanna river from Tioga Point (Athens, Pa.) to Ingaren (a small Tuscarora village on the site of Great Bend) and Onoquaga (Ouquaga) constituted the frontier territory for both the Iroquois and the Delawares previous to the conquest referred to, and was not regularly or permanently inhabited by the Indians of either nation. Indeed, this was disputable and debatable ground, and its occupancy, unless by a superior force, would subject the one people to an attack from the other. Therefore it was the existing condition of enmity that virtually deprived our valley of any interesting Indian history previous to the conquest of the Delawares by the Iroquois; and while the region was afterward a common hunting and fishing ground for both victors and vanquished, there was no permanent Indian occupation of the valley until it was assigned to the Tuscaroras in 1712. According to William Fiske Warner, whose contributions to Indian history in the Susquehanna valley are of great value, the seat of government of the Tuscaroras was at Tioga Point (variously known in the Indian tongue as Teyaogen and Teiohogen, meaning " the gate ") where the Six Nations afterward established a guard for the purpose of ascertaining the character of all persons who crossed over into their country. Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary, passed through the valley in 1750, and found a guard at that point, but in 1778 Col. Hartley destroyed the village and drove the occupants from the region. This subject, however, will be treated more at length in a later chapter.

Chapter II

French Influence Among the Indians — English Jealousy Aroused — Missionary Laborers in the Province — Beginning of the French and English Wars — The Final Struggle for Supremacy — Overthrow of the French Power in America — The Mohawks and Tuscaroras Fight Under Col. William Johnson — Return to Their Former Habitations.

Notwithstanding the unquestioned superiority of both the French and the English over the Iroquois, neither power at first showed a disposition to conquer and drive them from their land.s. In their zeal to actually possess and occupy all the territory claimed under the name of New France, the first half century of their dominion in America witnessed remarkable inroads upon the territory of the Senecas and Cayugas by the French. The task of planting Christianity among the savages was assigned to the Jesuits, a name derived from the Society of Jesus, founded in 1539 by Ignatius Loyola; and while their primary object was to spread the gospel among the Indians, their scarcely less important purpose was to extend the dominion of France. The first Jesuit missionary is said to have come into the province as early as 1625, and within the next twelve years the number had grown to more than fifteen. They increased rapidly and extended their influence throughout the tribes of the confederacy, even to the Mohawks at the eastern end of the Long House, but their progress during the second half century was accomplished as much by force of arms as by moral and Christian influences.