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