Consider the life of my 3rd great-grandmother, Atteley (Smith) Scott, the eighth of Isaac and Roxa (Morton) Smith's nine children. In 1802, her parents and their five children made the 270-mile trip from Whately, Massachusetts to Gorham, in Ontario County, New York. Three more children were born there, including Atteley.
In 1810, the Smiths made the 120-mile journey to Sheridan in Chautauqua County. Atteley was only one year old. The Smiths moved again about a year later, going eight miles east to Hanover. Their ninth child was born there in May 1811.
During this early time, western New York was essentially an unbroken wilderness covered with hardwood forests. The family would have used the most often traveled routes across New York: the Mohawk Trail (solid red) from Albany to Utica and the Great Genesee Road (solid green) to travel to Gorham. These followed the old, well-worn trails created by the Seneca and other regional tribes. When the family migrated to Chautauqua County they probably used the Great Genesee Road again, and followed the Lake Shore Path (purple) to what would become the Town of Sheridan in Chautauqua County.
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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) [Town of
Gorham in Ontario County added.]
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Later in 1811, another set of 4th great-grandparents, Erastus Scott and Polly Haskins,
moved to Chautauqua County from Charlemont, Massachusetts with their four
children. On August 7 of that year, Isaac Smith and Erastus Scott bought lots 45 and 53 together in the Town of Hanover west of
present-day Smith Mills.
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| Map of Chautauque County, New York : from actual surveys. 1854. (Library of Congress) [Lots 45 and 53 are highlighted.] |
The Smiths were poor. Isaac was trying to eke out a living and make a home for his large family under difficult circumstances—pioneer
life was not for the faint of heart. The family would have had a small
log home, a
cow, and minimal home furnishings that were simple and handmade. Isaac, Roxa, and the children, even the younger ones, would have shared the hard work necessary to stay alive in the
wilderness, clearing land for crops, hunting for and preparing wild
game for food, and other essential tasks.
Since crops were used to sustain the family, settlers had to find a way to earn some cash. They usually depended upon the sale of ashes from the felled trees they had burned. The ashes could be made into lye, which was used to make soap; the lye could be boiled down to create potash. One of its uses was as a leavening agent in baking (baking soda was not invented yet). The remaining ashes and potash would be shipped to growing cities such as Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Montreal. In 1790, our rural New York State ancestors could expect
to be paid between $3.25 and $6.25 per acre from the sale of ashes [about
$100-$200 in 2025]. (Wikipedia) This was helpful, but did not provide a steady income.
– THE WAR OF 1812 –
On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on Great Britain. Life was about to change for the Smith family. Isaac Smith was among the 300 Chautauqua County militia men who fought in the Battle of Buffalo on December 30, 1813. They were called out on short notice and were no match for the disciplined British soldiers. Even though the Americans outnumbered their foe, by the end of the day, they were routed by the British and their terrifying Native American allies. The situation was chaotic as the enemy set fire to homes and other buildings in the small village of Buffalo, while they murdered civilians, young and old; some were scalped.
During good weather, it would have taken Isaac about twelve hours to walk from Buffalo to his homestead in Hanover, a distance of around thirty-four miles. But it was late December and the weather was cold, snowy and miserable. And Isaac was ill, reportedly suffering from "a fever contracted on the forced march from Buffalo." It's doubtful there was such a march given the circumstances, or that the exposure would cause him to become ill. Since typhoid bacteria can survive in extreme cold, it's much more likely that he contracted typhoid fever or some other affliction due to unsanitary conditions or unclean water. Left untreated, which it would have been during that time period, dehydration from the fever and diarrhea could cause someone's demise in a matter of weeks.
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| Present-day Route 5 follows the Lake Shore Path to Buffalo (Google map with added locations) |
Isaac
Smith died intestate in early 1814. Erastus Scott, the Smith family's neighbor and friend, was
appointed administrator of Isaac's
estate on April 11, 1814. Erastus would have overseen the disposition of the Smith property, although there was likely little.
While Isaac was away and then ill, the family's survival became a bigger challenge for Roxa and the older children. When the family's cow died of starvation it created extra hardship. Isaac's death was another blow to the family. Then Roxa passed away, probably within a few months of Isaac. I haven't found any details of her death, but it's possible she contracted something from Isaac and died from it.
At the time of their parents' deaths in 1814, the Smith children ranged from 21 years of age down to just under 3 years. The first five children were born in Whately, Massachusetts.
- Henry, 21 – 21 Oct 1792,
- Benjamin, 19 – 2 Aug 1794,
- Matilda, 17 – 12 Nov 1796,
- Rodney B., 15 – 3 Feb 1799, and
- Roxa, 12 – 25 Oct 1801.
The next three were born in Ontario County, New York,
- Tirzah, 9 – 18 Jul 1804,
- Hiram, 6 – 25 Oct 1807, and
- Atteley, 4 – 21 Dec 1809.
According to county histories, Henry, the oldest, was away fighting in the War of 1812 when
his parents passed away. The histories also claim he
returned home to become the head of
the family and take care of his younger siblings. Rodney, who turned fifteen
shortly before his mother died, took Henry's place in the military. I
haven't
found any formal military records for Henry or Rodney's service in the
Army or Navy, so most
likely they were part of the Chautauqua County militia.
In 1815, Henry married Beulah Blodgett and
Benjamin married Paulina Scott, Erastus Scott's daughter. This left Matilda, who was now 18, in charge of her younger siblings until Rodney returned from the war. This was a huge responsibility in unforgiving circumstances. The county was sparsely populated in those early days – only two people per square mile – so there would have been few
close neighbors, other than Erastus and Polly Scott and their family.
Matilda
had to make sure the children were clothed and fed, take care of any
animals the family might have had, although livestock was often taken by
starving militia men or others, leaving families with virtually no
food. She also had to protect her siblings from wild animals and marauding
enemies who still roamed the surrounding forest. The younger children would help, but the burden was on Matilda. I don't know if Henry and Benjamin settled nearby with their new wives but, at some point, the older siblings decided it would be best for Atteley and Caroline to live elsewhere.
Legal adoptions were not in place until the late 1800s. Because of this, it
was not uncommon to place
children with other families, usually relatives or friends, when their
birth parents could not take care of them due to serious illness, the death
of one or both parents, or the family had become too large to support. Erastus Scott and his wife, Mary "Polly" (Haskins), would have been likely candidates, but they had six children of their own which would have made it
difficult for them to take care of Atteley and Caroline. Also, it's possible they struggled to take care of their own family, just like Isaac and Roxa.
Per her obituary, at ten months of age, Caroline "was taken to live with an aunt, who, in turn, gave her into the hands of a good,
kind woman, ... , under whose motherly care the child grew to
womanhood...." [She was just under three years old when her father was dying, not ten months.] Since Caroline was so young when her aunt took her in, I suspect her parents and siblings could not support her adequately. (Find a Grave – added by Joe Frerich 1 Jun 2018)
[Caroline died 22 Oct 1890 in Saint Charles, Kane County, Illinois. She is buried in North Cemetery in Saint Charles.]
According
to Atteley's obituary, she was adopted by the Joshua Harrington family
at the age of 5, probably around or after Henry and Benjamin's marriages in 1815. I've been unable to determine the relationship between the Smiths and
Harringtons, but it seems unlikely Atteley's older siblings would send this
little girl to live with total strangers 120 miles away, easily a six-day journey on foot with a small child in tow. I want to believe the Harringtons were a family the Smiths knew from their time in Ontario County.
There
is a Joshua Harrington whose age is 26-44 in the 1800 Federal Census
for Ontario County, New York. Also in that household are two males ages
16-25. Given common naming patterns, one of them would likely be named Joshua, after his father, who would have been the male in the 26-44 category.
Fifteen years later, either of the younger males would have been old enough to raise Atteley.
I imagine this little girl traveling all that distance not
realizing she was going to be left ‒ abandoned in her view ‒ to live
with another family. Unless
there was some connection between the Smiths and Harringtons, she would have been terrified. She was too young to write a
letter, and there weren't any phones or computers. Atteley was cut off from
everyone and everything she had known.
Despite
being sent to live with another family a considerable distance
from Smith Mills, Atteley's siblings must have kept in contact with her. Her obituary says that an 18-year-old Atteley made a trip to Chautauqua
County in 1825 to
visit her brothers, Henry, Rodney, and Hiram. (Benjamin died
in 1823.) She apparently stayed in Chautauqua County because she became acquainted with
Chandler Scott, the son of Erastus Scott. Two years later, they married.
– THE TROUBLE WITH OBITUARIES –
Obituaries aren't always accurate. A great deal depends on how well the informant or author knew the deceased. Time can take a toll as well, blurring dates, in particular. Although there is an inconsistency or two in Atteley's obituary, it still gives us a bigger picture of her life than what is written on a headstone.
Silver Creek Gazette. Successor to Silver Creek Local. Silver Creek, N. Y., Thursday, September 15, 1892. (NYS Historic Newspapers)
[Note: Atteley was born in
Ontario County, NY.]
Obituary Transcription
Died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. S. H. Gage, Sept. 5th, Mrs. Attely Smith Scott. She was born in Hanover, Dec. 21, 1809. Her parents Isaac and Roxy Smith, removed from Whately, Mass., to Gorham, Ontario co., N. Y., in 1802; eight years later the family came to Chautauqua, then an almost unbroken wilderness, the hardships of pioneer life was their lot.
Her father was in the war of 1812, and shared in the memorable disaster at Buffalo. The forced march from Buffalo to his home induced a fever which resulted in his death. The next year the mother died leaving nine children, Attely being next to the youngest.
At
the age of 5 years she was adopted into the family of Joshua Harrington
of Ontario county, N. Y., where she lived until she was 18 years of age
when she came to visit her brothers, Henry, Rodney and Hiram Smith
of Smith Mills. Here she met Chandler Scott whom she married two years later.
