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The Holland Land Company InWestern New York
By: Mark W. Davison
Early Western New York
Kings of England granted land to Plymouth Company & Mass. Bay Colony
Early claims held by MassachusettsDuke of York was then granted the landLord Jeffery Amherst – Hero of F & I WarThe Iroquois Indians also laid claim to the
land due to USA treatiesLand was then sold to Robert Morris
Lord Jeffrey Amherst
Lord Jeffrey Amherst(1717-1797) Title: Governor General of British North America Highlights: High commander of British North America Inflexible policies triggered Pontiac's rebellion Advocated biological warfare against natives
Lord Jeffery Inn – Amherst Mass.
Robert Morris – Land speculator
Robert Morris
Bought 3,000,000 acres in 1791
Also had large investments in Europe
Held land until 1793
Sold land due to debts
Origins of the Holland Land Co. Holland Land Company was created in
1793 by five banking houses in Holland (investment company i.e. Uniland development etc. today)
In the summer of 1797, a council with the Iroquois was held at Big Tree (now Batavia)
In attendance were Morris, James Wadsworth ,both representing the federal govt. Joseph Ellicott for the HLC, and Chief Red Jacket
The Council at Big Tree
The Holland Land Company found it hard to deal with the Indians
Many bribes were given to influential female elders and chiefs
At the end, the HLC was granted the rites and then set aside 200,000 acres for 11 different reservations
Joseph Ellicott
Original boundary markers in Reinstein Woods - Cheektowaga
Chief Red Jacket
Red Jacket speaking, also Handsome Lake & Cornplanter
Chief Cornplanter
John Abeel, Jr. (ca. 1750s–February 18, 1836), known as Gaiänt'wakê (Gyantwachia - ″the planter″) or Kaiiontwa'kon (Kaintwakon - "By What One Plants") in the iroquois language and thus generally known as Cornplanter, was a war chief and diplomat. As a war chief, In both wars, the Seneca and three other Iroquois nations were allied with the British. After the war Cornplanter led negotiations with the United States and was a signatory of many treaties He helped gain Iroquois neutrality during later wars.
Seneca Indian Historical Marker on Buffam St. Bufalo NY
Seneca Indian Church Ground 1880 – Buffalo Atlas
Red Jacket Monument in Forest Lawn.
Martin Midaugh 1797 Log House at foot of
Main St. – perhaps first house in Buffalo.
Holland Land Holdings in Western NY 1804
The Village of Buffalo
1805
Note the names of several streets. These are Dutch investors in the Holland Land Co.
Paul BustiBorn in Milan Italy 1749Worked in Amsterdam
HollandLater lived in PhiladelphiaSole director from 1799 to
1824 of the Holland Land Co.
3,000,000 acres of land in WNY
Reservation – Red Jacket cabin on the left, and interpreter’s house on the right.
Surveying Western New YorkJoseph Ellicott was put in charge of this
trying taskBegan in 1798 with a crew of about 150 menFound the lands heavily forested and
extremely hillyTransit Road (State Route 78) First true
North – South route from which others are measured.
Work was finished in 1800
Location of HLC OfficesThe office from which the land was
sold was located in Clarence HollowThe selling of the land began in 1801The office was soon moved to BataviaOver the next 25 years more sub-
offices were set upMen who ran these offices include
William Peacock and Erastus Granger
Brass Survey Compass, Survey Rod, Chain
Survey rod.
The rod or perch or pole is a surveyor’s tool and unit of measure equal to 51⁄2 yards, 161⁄2 feet or 1⁄320th of a standard mile and one-fourth of a surveyor’s chain. The rod is useful as a unit of length because whole number multiples of it can equal one acre of square measure. The 'perfect acre'[2]is a rectangular area of 43,560 square feet, bounded by sides 660 feet by 66 feet long (660 ft. long x 66 ft. wide), or 220 yards by 22 yards long (220 yd./ long x 22 yd. wide), or 40 rods by 4 rods long. Thus, an acre is 160 square rods.
How wide is my road?
One rod is approximately 16 ft.Two rod’s is approximately 32 ft.Three rod’s is approximately 48 ft. etc.
Township Map
Location, Location, Location
County Map of Western New York
Asa Ransom HouseClarence Hollow New York (Now a
Restaurant on Main St.)
Holland Land Co. Office Batavia New York
Holland Land company vault at Mayville built in 1810
The First PurchasesThe first recognized purchase was by
William Johnson in 1804Settling was extremely slow because the
new settlers could not afford to buy landA new system of conditional sales was put
in placeMen could now work off the money owed
by building roads and constructing mills
Note: This map is from material supplied by Mr. John W. Percy – for more information see the Western New York Heritage magazine Winter 2004
Counties carved from the HLP
Pioneer “Half Camp”
“Puncheons” being split
Erecting the Camp
Log Cabin with garden, well-sweep-curb, plumping mill
Pioneer Kitchen
First Winter
Next Summer
Ten Years Later
Forty Five years Later
Examples of Stump Fences
Dealing with Settlers
The HLC understood that they had to make the settlers pay without causing a large uproar
If settlers could not make payments, the HLC would not throw them off the land, they would sue the person first
The HLC created a favorable name for themselves in this manner
Generous Acts of the HLC
The HLC improved the land in many ways so it could be settled easier and quicker
HLC undertook an extensive road systemThe company also paid to remove a
sandbar at Portland in Lake ErieAlso, the HLC gave generous loans for
those constructing millsAlso, the HLC supported blacksmiths
Contract or Deeds?The HLC heavily favored using
contracts because it was very easy for them to evict people from their lands
Settlers favored deeds because it meant they owned some of their land before it was fully paid for
In the end, the settlers won and forced the HLC to use deeds
Settlers become Irritable
After providing an extensive road system, the HLC thought it unnecessary to take care of them
After a few years, many of these roads were useless for a majority of the year
Also, the HLC hindered the building of the Erie Canal through the area
The first major outcry occurred in 1819
Early Roads West
The Meeting at Cook’s Inn
The meeting took place in Niagara County after an article critical of the company was published in the Niagara Journal
A petition was sent to Albany asking the state to tax the company’s lands
The petition was passed as a bill by the assembly, but wasn’t passed the New York State Senate
Why all the criticism?
The main factor behind the new found criticism of the HLC was the depression of 1819
The settlers disliked the local head of the HLC, Joseph Ellicott
Many settlers disliked Ellicott and therefore used his position against him
Settlers sought to replace him with a few locals whom they trusted
The New Leader
Joseph Ellicott was asked to resign in 1819He was replaced by Jacob S. Otto, a
Philadelphia businessmanThis new hire brought a calm to the HLC
for the next few yearsOtto would run the company until his death
in 1827
Old Problems Rise Again
In 1827, another petition was sent to Albany to try to create a tax that would hurt the HLC
The hire of David E. Evans brought about swift changes for the HLC
Introducing new contracts with better interest rates, Evans was able to gain the favor of the settlers and allow the HLC to put more money back into the area
Selling off Land
During the 1830’s, the HLC decided to sell off a large amount of their land in WNY
They sold off much of Erie, Genesee, Niagara, and Orleans Counties
The new owners of these lands met a much heavier opposition than they expected
In 1836, one of their fears was realized
The Mob AttacksIn 1836, a mob of about 300 men
attacked and burned down the land offices in Maryville
Agent Peacock was able to escape, but received constant death threats from angered settlers
Another mob tried to attack the offices at Batavia, but was turned back by the local sheriff and about 160 of his men
The End of the HLCIn 1838 the company was officially
done dealing with settlers in WNYWith all debts paid off and all their
land sold, the HLC looked to new frontiers to make a profit
The HLC soon decided not to buy any more American land and began dealing only in Europe
The
End
?’s Anyone
Notes Pages