The Title Dilemma: Finding the One

−with a brief introduction to the Smith and Scott families.

   

Isaac Smith (1772-1814)       Erastus Scott (1775-1855)

 Roxa Morton (1773-1814)      Polly Haskins (1778-1855) 

Maternal 4th great-grandparents 

Choosing titles for high school essays and college papers was never my forte, and decades later I still fight that battle. The first obstacle I had to overcome when I decided to create a blog about my ancestors was what to name it. I did my usual thing – rearranged words, brainstormed, and walked away numerous times waiting for an impressive title to fall in my lap. Then I realized something. No matter how many times I reworded what I had or stepped away to let ideas simmer, I always came back to the first title that had come to mind − Puritans, Pilgrims and Pioneers.

I liked it for several reasons. When I read the title aloud, the words had a nice rhythm – three syllables, then two, then three. The repetition of the letter P at the beginning of each word added to the rhythm. Most importantly, though, the title was an apt description of my ancestors. But I needed to convince myself it was the perfect title – that it was the one.

– THE PURITANS –

Both of my maternal grandfather's lines (the Scotts and Kilburns) are deeply rooted in England. These ancestors are found primarily in my 9th great-grandparents' generation; most were born in the late 1500s to early 1600s. While I haven’t identified every one of the Scott and Kilburn 9th great-grandparents (there are 512), I have traced nearly a third back to England. The lines I haven’t verified or explored yet will almost certainly add to the number. These ancestors were among the approximately 20,000 English Puritans who emigrated to Colonial America from 1620 to 1640. The period is now called the Great Migration. 

My 9th and, to a lesser degree, some of my 8th and 10th great-grandparents came to America in two waves. The first group sailed from England on the Mayflower (1620), the Fortune (1621), and the Anne and Little James (1623). These were Puritan Separatists who wanted to break from the Church of England and worship freely in a manner that suited them. But that was a significant problem. Because there was no separation of church and state in England, breaking from the Church was an act of treason – and that carried serious consequences. Their solution was to leave England and establish Plymouth Colony. This group became known as the Pilgrims.

Mayflower on Her Arrival in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall. Oil on canvas. 1882. (Wikimedia) The snow and ice on the ship and in the harbor was due to the December arrival at Plymouth.

The second wave came in the period from 1630 to 1640. The people in this group were Puritan Non-Separatists who were well-educated and wealthy. They wanted to remain in the Church of England while they reformed it. However, because King Charles I and the Church didn't look upon this favorably, the group was persecuted. As a result, eleven ships known as the Winthrop Fleet sailed for New England throughout the summer of 1630. 

 

The fleet's ships carried 700 passengers, their belongings, livestock, food, water, supplies, and a forward-looking plan. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded under the leadership and guidance of John Winthrop, whose vision was for the world to look up to the colony as "a city upon a hill." By 1640, more than thirty ships made the voyage under Winthrop.

 

The Arrival of Governor Winthrop's Fleet in Boston Harbor, 1630. (King’s Handbook)

– THE PILGRIMS – 

The word pilgrim evolved from the Latin peregrinus, meaning foreigner or from abroad. It has several definitions.

• A person who journeys to a holy place for religious reasons (a pilgrimage).

• Any wanderer or wayfarer (someone who makes a long and arduous journey); a traveler, especially one on foot.

• A term used when referring to the Separatists that settled in Plymouth in the 1620s. This usage coincided with the approach of the 1820 bicentennial of the Separatists' arrival in America. "Pilgrims" (versus "pilgrims") refers to those who arrived on the Mayflower, Fortune, Anne, and Little James.

The last two definitions are well-suited to our earliest ancestors in New England, as well as their descendants who time and again chose to see what was over the next mountain. Yet the definitions also describe those who came to America even a century or more later. They, too, made difficult journeys − the Atlantic crossing was never easy, nor was walking hundreds of miles across the densely forested hills and mountains of what would become the Northeastern United States.

 

– THE PIONEERS –

Nearly two centuries after the arrival of our Puritan forefathers, their descendants were still exploring and settling new territories across the continent. Initially, the majority moved from the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth Colonies to the wilds of present-day central and western Massachusetts and Connecticut. From there, they spread to the wilderness of New York and Pennsylvania.

With each move west, the descendants cleared patches in the dense forests, as they fended off wolves, bears, panthers, and rattlesnakes. Soon they engaged in a series of fierce, bloody battles with Indigenous peoples, the French, and eventually the British – all while trying to build and maintain suitable shelter, farm the land, and raise their families.  

L: Jamestown: Building the First House in Jamestown. [Virginia] (U.S. History Images)  R: Settlement of Batavia, Genesee Co., N.Y., by the Holland Land Company to 1846: Man clearing land in winter; rough log cabin. (LOC)

– THE LAND GRABS –

I would like to say the westward movement through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania was gradual but it wasn't. From the early 1600s through the late 1700s, the British Crown purchased huge tracts of land in its zeal to quickly expand its colonies and make a profit while doing so. The Crown had little regard for the culture and history of the Indigenous peoples who had occupied the land for centuries. After the Revolutionary War, a young America continued the practice. I envision a steamroller whenever I think about it. 

Even though the list below is far from comprehensive, it still paints a picture of events in the latter part of the 18th century.

1782:          The Military Tract is set aside for Revolutionary War veterans. 

1788:          The Onondaga Indian title to the land is extinguished; the Onondaga         

                    Indian Reservation is created (Treaty of Fort Stanwix).

Feb 1789:    The Cayuga Indian title to the land is extinguished; the Cayuga Indian         

                    Reservation is created (Treaty at Albany).

 

1789:          The Military Tract is surveyed.

 

1792-93:     Dutch speculators make the Holland Land Purchase.

Sep 1797:    The Seneca Nation's title to the land is extinguished; the Seneca Indian 

                    Reservation is created (Treaty of Big Tree).

Simeon DeWitt Central NY Military Tract c. 1792 (WikimediaCommons)

Note the Cayuga and Onondaga reservations (in yellow).

The Pre-emption Line, located just west of Seneca Lake, was the agreed-upon western boundary of the Military Tract. It was supposed to remain that way – an imaginary line that would contain our land-hungry ancestors to the east. But it didn’t last. Deals were struck and treaties were signed, only to be repeatedly broken. By 1804, the entire area west of the Preemption Line was purchased by land speculators.

This map shows land holdings in western New York in 1804. The Pre-emption Line is on the far right. Also shown are the Tuscarora, Tonawanda, Buffalo Creek, Cattaraugus, and Allegany Reservations. (History of Buffalo)

 

The Holland Land Company Purchase was equivalent to 5,100 square miles; the Phelps and Gorham Purchase consisted of 3,500 square miles.

 

A map of central and western New York shows the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, Holland Land Company Purchase, the Mill Yard Tract, Triangle Tract, and Morris Reserve. The Pre-emption Line is in green. (WikimediaCommons – User:Bill1745 - CC BY-SA 3.0)

 

 – THE SMITH & SCOTT FAMILIES –

My 4th great-grandparents, Isaac Smith and Roxa Morton, along with their four children, were part of the western migration that resulted from the land grabs made by the British Crown and land speculators. In 1802, they moved 300 miles west from Whately, Massachusetts to Gorham, New York, part of the original Phelps and Gorham Purchase. In 1810, the Smith family which included my 3rd great-grandmother, Atteley, born in 1809, settled in the wilderness that was Chautauqua County, over 125 miles from Gorham.

What route would they haven taken, given the difficult terrain and potentially dangerous surroundings?

The Mohawk Trail, Lake Shore Path, Forbidden Path, and Old Connecticut Path were some of the ancient trails and footpaths of the Indigenous peoples of the region. The colonists and settlers generally followed those routes. Due to heavy usage as more settlers moved westward, improvements were made and the trails were sometimes renamed. The dates accompanying the map refer to those later times.

 

[Below: The Erie Canal was completed in 1825; the towns of Whately and Charlemont were added.]

 

A migration route map of New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. (FamilySearch, drawn by User:DiltsGD)

It seems likely the Smiths would have first made their way to the Massachusetts 2^nd Turnpike north of Whately (in red on the map above). From there, they could go to Albany and follow the Mohawk Trail to Utica. Finally, the Great Genesee Road would lead them to Gorham. The Mohawk Trail and Great Genesee Road (see map below) were the most often used routes as pioneers traveled across New York.

[Shown below: Mohawk Trail 1722, Great Genesee Road 1798, Lake Shore Path 1792, Champlain Canal 1823, and the Lake Champlain Trail - an ancient path from the Albany area to Canada.]

 

The Mohawk or Iroquois Trail. Map of the Mohawk or Iroquois Trail to Fort Oswego and Fort Niagara, New York and connected migration pathways. (FamilySearch, drawn by User:DiltsGD)  [I added the town of Gorham in Ontario County.]

 

Chautauqua County, the westernmost county in the state and where I grew up, was formed in 1808. By 1810, its assessment rolls showed five hundred voters (taxable inhabitants) – the county had hit a milestone. An elected assemblyman could now represent the county in the state legislature. Chautauqua County became an official (organized) county on February 9, 1811.

Later in 1811, another set of 4^th great-grandparents, Erastus Scott and Polly Haskins, moved to Chautauqua County from Charlemont, Massachusetts with their four children. On August 7, 1811, Isaac Smith and Erastus Scott bought lots 45 and 53 together in the Town of Hanover west of present-day Smith’s Mills (see map below). [Erastus and Polly's son, Chandler, later married Isaac and Roxa's daughter, Atteley.]

 

Map of Chautauque County, New York : from actual surveys. 1854. (LOC)  [Lots 45 and 53 are highlighted. Red dots indicate homes and businesses of members of the Smith and Scott families.]

 – IS IT THE ONE? –

Our ancestors' journeys began with the Puritans who fled England to find a place where they could practice their religious beliefs without persecution. In doing so, they braved the perilous 3,000-mile voyage across the Atlantic to forge new lives in an unfamiliar land. Their descendants took risks of their own, enduring hardships and dangers as they explored and settled the unknown northeastern regions of America. In the end, what began as the Puritans' quest for religious freedom gave rise to the pilgrims and pioneers of the next generations.

Puritans, Pilgrims and Pioneers? It's the one.

 

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– DIG A LITTLE DEEPER –

 

The historical markers below, located at the scenic overlook on the east side of Chautauqua Lake, provide a little insight into the history of the area. From this vantage point we can get a sense of what our ancestors might have seen, although the area would have been more heavily forested.

 

 Transcription: 

 

The Land Around Us – Barcelona Harbor. Courtesy: Chautauqua County Historical Society, Westfield, N.Y.

 

Limited information exists regarding the early occupants of this area. Indications of the culture known as the "Mound Builder" have been found, followed by evident of Erie Indian occupation. The Seneca were the next occupants dominating the area. The descendants of the Seneca, many still living in Chautauqua County, maintain four reservations in western New York.

   

French explorers landed in Chautauqua County on the shore of Lake Erie in the 1740's, seeking a southward passage to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The route connecting Barcelona Harbor on Lake Erie with Chautauqua Lake, later known as the Portage Trail, offered the answer.

 

 

Transcription: 

 

The Land Around Us – Farmhouse Settlement. Courtesy: Fenton History Center, Jamestown, N.Y.

 

By the end of the 1700's, the Holland Land Company was operating in western New York, including Chautauqua County. The first permanent European settlers arrived soon after, and by 1811 the county's population surpassed 500 European inhabitants.

 

Chautauqua Lake sits 700 feet higher than Lake Erie, although only six miles away. Lake Erie's waters drain into the Atlantic Ocean, while Chautauqua Lake's waters drain into the Gulf of Mexico.

 

 

 

– THE MOUND BUILDERS: AN ANCIENT CULTURE –

Evidence is given in History of Chautauqua County, New York, and Its People Vol I, published in 1921, of the habitation in Chautauqua County by the ancient people known as the Mound Builders:

The pioneers of Chautauqua county found it an unbroken wilderness; yet often when exploring its silent depths, where forest shadows hung deepest, they were startled at the discovery of unmistakable evidences of its having been anciently inhabited by a numerous people.

 

 

Left: Indian Mounds in Chautauqua County. Archaeologists have found pestles, mortars, numerous stone implements, human bones, and other relics of these ancient people scattered throughout the county and the state in generous numbers. (History of Chautauqua County)

 

 

 

 

 

The following excerpt from History of New York State 1523-1927, Vol. I, published in 1927, describes the extent of the Mound Builders' habitation in New York:   

The regions showing the greatest evidence of the mound culture are: (1) the south shore of Lake Erie from Westfield to the mouth of Cattaraugus Creek; (2) the valley and terraces of the Cattaraugus to Gowanda; (3) the Allegheny  Valley; (4) the valley of Chautauqua Lake and the Chadekoin River; (5) the Conewango Valley; (6) the Cassadaga Valley; (7) Clear Creek Valley; (8) the valley of Buffalo Creek; (9) the valley of Tonawanda Creek eastward to the overland trails to the Genesee… .

~ Read more about the Hopewell Mound Group that occupied Chautauqua Country from about 100 BC to 500 AD.   

 

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 Bradish-Scott Family History - April 2022