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 WILLARD FISKE 
 
 LIBRARIAN OF THE UNIVERSITY 1868-1883 
 
 1905 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028676744 
 
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 THE BIRTH-PLACE 
 
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 OR THE INDIAN 
 
 ^9-fve G^ea-t GBvafcyc ©I -tlve Se-necao. 
 
 WITH A FEW INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE, 
 
 BY GEO. S. CONOVER, GENEVA, N. Y. 
 
 Published by the 
 
 WATERLOO 
 
 Hbrarg mtd historical jtocutg. 
 
 -<£~o=<>€s€^3><>==* > <i > - 
 
 WATEBLOO, N. T. : 
 Seneca County News Book and Job pbintino House. 
 
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RED JACKET. 
 
 HIS BIRTH-PLACE. 
 
 During the month of May, 1879, a delegation of the 
 Waterloo Library and Historical Society, comprising 
 Col. H. F. Gustin, F. H. Furniss and C. M. Hubbard, 
 under the leadership of Gen. John S. Clark, went over 
 the ground in Seneca County, covering the march of 
 Sullivan's army in 1779. The result of the investiga- 
 tion was written out by C. M. Hubbard. In relation to 
 the birth-place of Red Jacket in connection with their 
 visit to Canoga, which Morgan in his " League of the 
 Iroquois" gives the Indian name of Ga-no-geh, and 
 the signification being " oil floating on the water," the 
 following was recorded : 
 
 " One of the most important results of our investiga- 
 tions at this point will be found in the establishment 
 of the birth-place of Red Jacket, the most eloquent 
 orator among the Indians. His birth-place has been 
 quite as much a matter of dispute as that of the Gre- 
 cian poet, to whose name as many as seven cities laid 
 claim. Seneca county has always marked the spot 
 where he was born near the present site of Canoga, but 
 the claim has been disputed by the counties of Ontario, 
 Steuben and Schuyler~the respective points designated 
 being the Seneca Castle, (near Geneva,) Hammonds- 
 port and Havana." 
 
William L. Stone, in his " Life and Times of Red 
 Jacket," says: "He is believed to have been born 
 about the year 1750, at a place called Old Castle, three 
 miles west, (one and one-half miles north-west) of the 
 present beautiful and flourishing town of Geneva ! The 
 grounds for this " belief " are not stated, and it is cer- 
 tain the author had no authentic evidence in support of 
 the claim or he would have made a more positive and 
 conclusive statement." 
 
 Hon. Lewis H. Morgan, in his ' ' League of the Iro- 
 quois," published in 1851, states in the most positive 
 terms that Red Jacket was born near Canoga, and in a 
 letter written a few months since in regard to the mat- 
 ter, Mr. Morgan states that the Seneca Indians always 
 told him that their famous orator was born at Canoga. 
 The statements of the Senecas to Mr. Morgan ought to 
 be quite satisfactory, but we have gathered up some 
 fragmentary evidence that is even more conclusive, 
 and which, we believe establishes the claim of Seneca 
 County beyond a question." 
 
 " In the spring of 1829, soon after General Jackson 
 had become President, Red Jacket stopped over night 
 in W aterioo, en route to Washington. It was the last 
 visit the old Chief made to the Capital of the Nation, 
 as his death occurred early in the following year. Be- 
 fore leaving Waterloo he made a short speech in front 
 of the hotel, in which he made this declaration : — 
 
 '' I was bom over there by the big spring," 
 pointing at the same time in the direction of Canoga, 
 and meaning, the large spring near the site of that 
 hamlet. Col. H. F. Gustin, now an aged and highly 
 respected citizen of Waterloo, and librarian of the 
 Historical Society, [since deceased,] listened to Red 
 Jacket's remarks on that occasion, and made a note at 
 the time of his statement concerning his birth-place. 
 
The late John C. Watkins (but recently deceased), also 
 heard Red Jacket's speech, and gave substantially the 
 same words as coming from him in regard to his birth- 
 place. Other men are undoubtedly living to-day in 
 the vicinity of Waterloo who were among Red Jacket's 
 hearers on that occasion, but I have not had an oppor- 
 tunity to make the necessary inquiries, nor is there any 
 necessity for seeking further witness, as the character 
 of these gentlemen is a sufficient guarantee for their 
 statements." 
 
 "Garry V. Sackett, of Seneca Falls, the life-long 
 friend of William H. Seward, and during his life-time 
 one of the leading politicians of western New York, 
 had a personal acquaintance with Red Jacket, whose 
 eloquence and forensic powers he greatly admired. At 
 Judge Sacket's request, Red Jacket pointed out the 
 . spot where was born, near Canoga, and in subsequent 
 years Judge Sackett purchased the ground and declar- 
 ed his intention to some day erect a monument there 
 in honor of 1he illustrious old chief." 
 
 " William H. Bogart, of Aurora, in his book of per- 
 sonal recollections, and reminiscences related to him, 
 entitled: " Who goes There ? " embodied what he had 
 learned concerning Red Jacket's birth-place up to the 
 time he published his book, in the following paragraph: 
 " I wish I had worthier memories of that really remark- 
 able man of the tribe, Red Jacket, than that I saw him 
 intoxicated in the street. It was his doom and he ful- 
 filled his weird. Judge Sackett told me that when Red 
 Jacket was questioned as to his birth-place, he would 
 answer, " one, two, three, four,, above John Harris' — 
 by which he intended to say, Four miles above the fer- 
 ry house of John Harris, — a famous pioneer of the 
 Cayuga county. Mr. Sackett, with historic zeal, has 
 purchased and owns the ground where the forest orator 
 was born; and it may one day have a monument." 
 
" George B. Mathews, of Canoga, now in his seventy- 
 ninth year, and who has spent seventy-five years of 
 his life near this point, is perfectly familiar with the 
 location marked by Judge Sackett, and in company 
 with Hon. D. Willers, he directed our party to the 
 spot. It is about sixty rods northeast from the stone 
 grist mill, on the banks of the creek emptying into the 
 lake, and some rods west of the site of the Indian town. 
 The wigwam in which Red Jacket was born, according 
 to Judge Sackett, stood directly underneath a. syca- 
 more tree and was also sheltered by the tendrils of a 
 wild grape vine. Mr. Mathews stated that before 
 Judge Sackett's death, some unknown party set fire to 
 the old sycamore tree and burned it to the ground. 
 Mr. Sackett owned tbe land upon which it stood, and 
 offered a reward of five hundred dollars for informa- 
 tion leading to the discovery of the party who caused 
 its destruction. Mr. Mathews and other residents of 
 Canoga are able to point out the spot where the tree 
 stdod, and a movement should be made to mark the 
 plaGe in such a manner that all traces of it will not be 
 lost. A' wild grape vine thrives there to-day, and as it 
 has been well established that these vines, if the roots 
 are not disturbed, will live for centuries, it is highly 
 probable that this is at least an off-shoot of the origin- 
 al which sheltered the wigwam in which Red Jacket 
 was born." 
 
 " These facts must now pass into history, as they 
 are both authentic and reliable. The statement of 
 Red Jacket himself, in the hearing of men who are still 
 living, his statements to Judge Sackett, as recorded by 
 Mr. Bogart, and as related to-day by men who received 
 them, from Mr. Sackett's lips, the statements of the 
 Seneca Indians to Mr. Morgan, and the traditions of 
 more than three-quarters of a century that have been 
 handed down from the first settlers in that locality, 
 
certainly produce a chain of evidence which sub- 
 stantiates beyond a question the claims of Seneca 
 county to the birth-place of that remarkable forest ora- 
 tor, whose eloquence was unrivalled in the councils of 
 Iroquois confederacy — an organization which exhibited 
 the highest development ever reached by the Indians 
 in their hunter state." 
 
 The foregoing is very positive and in ordinary cases 
 would be entirely conclusive, that Canoga was the 
 birth-place of Red Jacket. The evidence of Mr. Morgan 
 alone should be sufficient. There are some however, 
 who having formed another opinion, are loth to give 
 up their previous belief, and still others who think that 
 during the later years of his life, in consequence of his 
 addiction to intoxicating liquors, Red Jacket would 
 sometimes make loose and unreliable statements to 
 gratify and please his hearers, some going even so far 
 as to aver their belief that he was willing to have been 
 born any where, for a bottle of whiskey. Fortunately 
 there is additional testimony which the delegation of 
 the Waterloo Library and Historical Society were 
 ignorant of at the time of their investigations. 
 
 In the spring of 1821 an Indian woman was accused 
 of being a witch in causing the death of a man whom 
 she had nursed and tenderly cared for. She was ar- 
 rested by the Indians, tried according to their customs, 
 convicted and condemned to death. In the execution 
 of this decree, So-non-gise, or as he was commonly 
 called Tommy Jemmy, a Seneca Chief, despatched the 
 convicted sorceress by cutting her throat with a knife. 
 It was such a flagrant offence that he was arrested, 
 indicted for murder and finally tried. This caused the 
 most intense excitement among the Indians, as they 
 held that the woman had been judicially executed ac- 
 cording to their own laws and usages, and that it Was 
 a great act of injustice for the white people to interfere 
 
with them in such matters, insisting that it was a mat- 
 ter of which the courts of New York had no cognizance. 
 An account of this trial is to be found in Stone's Life of 
 Red Jacket, J. J. Munsell, Albany, 1866, chap. XII. See 
 also Drake's Book of the Indians, 1834, Book V, 
 chap. VI. 
 
 The following extract is taken from Vol. I. Publica- 
 tions of the Buffalo Historical Society, page 370 : 
 
 " On the trial of Tommy Jemmy here in Buffalo, 
 many of the leading chiefs of the Seneca nation were 
 examined as witnesses for the prisoner; — among these 
 Red Jacket, Young King, Little Billy, Destroy Town, 
 Captain Pollard, James Stevenson, Big Kettle, besides 
 others, whose names I cannot recall. Captain Horatio 
 Jones, interpreter for the New York Indians, was inter- 
 preter for the court on this trial. When Red Jacket 
 was called to the stand, he remarked to the court that 
 not only the life of his friend, So-non-gise, but ques- 
 tions of paramount importance to his nation, were at 
 stake; he therefore, desired as interpreter, his friend, 
 Mr. Pratt, O-w ay-non-gay (Floating Island), who was 
 master of both the English and the Seneca languages, 
 that what he had to say might be accurately inter- 
 , preted. He did not in the least distrust the integrity 
 or ability of the United States interpreter, Captain 
 Jones, but for other reasons preferred that his friend, 
 Mr. Pratt should officiate on this occasion. Captain 
 Jones, glad to be rid of the responsibility, stepped 
 aside, Mr. Pratt was speedily obtained, and the trial 
 proceeded." 
 
 "In the course of his direct examination Red Jacket 
 was asked, How old are you? Answer, ' I don't know, 
 but my mother told me that when Fort Niagara was 
 captured from the French by the British, I was just 
 big enough to crawl around on the floor.' * * 
 He also stated at the same time, and on the same 
 
authority, that he was born at Canoga, on the west 
 bank of Cayuga lake, where his parents were encamp- 
 ed on a fishing excursion." 
 
 Surely this testimony is strong enough to convince 
 even the most prejudiced mind, as to his birth-place. 
 Here was Red Jacket in the midst of the greatest ex- 
 citement that existed among his people, acting with' so 
 much caution as even to object to the court interpreter, 
 although his friend, fearing that he too might, even 
 though in a slight degree and perhaps unintentionally, 
 be prejudiced to the disadvantage of his friend who 
 was on trial. Wary and cautious in his answers to the 
 questions that were put to him, to such a degree that 
 not the slightest advantage could be taken against his 
 evidence. He was in the full vigor of his mind with all 
 his senses sensitively acute to the position of every turn 
 of the trial, and in his palmiest day could not have 
 been more himself than he was on this occasion. This 
 is fully acknowledged and is a matter of history. 
 
 Drake says: "Before Red Jacket was admitted to 
 give evidence in the case, he was asked if he believed 
 in future rewards and punishments and the existence 
 of a God. With a piercing look into the face of his in - 
 terrogator, and with no little indignation of expression 
 he replied; " Yes ! Much more than the white men, if 
 we are to judge by their actions." On his cross-exam- 
 ination he was asked what rank he held in the nation, 
 and, says Col. Stone, " he answered with a contemptu- 
 ous sneer, "Look at the papers which the white people 
 keep the most carefully, (meaning the treaties ceding 
 their lands) they will tell you what I am. " During the 
 course of the trial, while yet on the witness stand "per- 
 ceiving that the subject of witchcraft was being ridi- 
 culed, he suddenly said ; 
 
 " What ! do you denounce us as fools and bigots, be- 
 cause we still believe that which you yourselves believ- 
 
ed two centuries ago ? Your black coats thundered 
 this doctrine from the pulpit, your judges pronounced 
 it from the bench, and sanctioned it with the formali- 
 ties of law; and you would now punish our unfortunate 
 brother for adhering to the faith of his fathers and 
 yours ! Go to Salem ! Look at the records of your 
 own government, and you will find that hundreds have 
 been executed for the very crime which has called 
 forth the sentence of condemnation against this 
 woman, and drawn down upon her the arm of 
 vengeance. What have our brothers done more than 
 the rulers of your people have done ? And what 
 crime has this man committed, by executing, in a 
 summary way, the laws of his country, and the com- 
 mand of the Great Spirit ? " 
 
 " The appearance of Tied Jacket," says Col. Stone, 
 " when delivering this sarcastic philippic, was noted as 
 remarkable, even for him. When fired with indigna- 
 tion, or burning for revenge, the expression of his eye 
 was terrible, and when he chose to display his powers 
 of irony, which were rarely excelled, the aspect of his 
 keen sarcastic glance was irresistable." 
 
 From the evidence of Red Jacket, he could only 
 have been about a year old when the British took 
 Niagara in 1759, and consequently only about twenty- 
 one years old at the time of the Sullivan campaign in 
 1779, at which time he was not a chief, although pos- 
 sessing some influence. Nothing more is heard of him 
 until the great Indian trea/ty at Fort Stanwix in 1784, 
 where Col. Stone and others have ascribed his presence, 
 a,nd where it is stated he made a speech. Mr. TCetchum, 
 however, in his ' Buffalo and the Senecas ' insists that 
 he was not a chief as early as 1784 and endeavors to 
 prove that he was not present at the Fort Stanwix 
 treaty, and also states that the first authentic record of 
 Red Jacket having made a public speech was at the 
 
great Indian council held at the mouth of the Detroit 
 river in 1786. At this place he did indeed deliver a 
 ' master piece of oratory,' and "every warrior present 
 was carried away by his eloquence." 
 
 In regard to the customs of the Iroquois in naming 
 their children, it may be said, that when a child was 
 born, the near relatives of the same clan to which the 
 mother belonged selected a name for the infant. As 
 the descent was in the woman, the child belonged to 
 the clan of the mother and not to that of the father. 
 Each clan had a large number of names which belong- 
 ed exclusively to the same clan, whether of Seneca, 
 Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida' or Mohawk. When a 
 Mohawk heard the Dame of a person of the Seneca 
 nation, although he had never before seen or heard of 
 the person named, he knew at once from the name 
 whether of his clan or not, and if of his clan he could 
 claim hospitality and relationship, for the members of 
 the same clan in the different " nations " were consid- 
 ered as brothers and sisters to each other, and a marri- 
 age between such would be as disgraceful and disgust- 
 ing to them as a marriage of a reai brother and sister 
 with us would be. Hence a member of the wolf clan 
 of the Senecas could not marry into the wolf clan 
 of the other "nations," and so with the other clans. 
 The members of the clan having selected a name for 
 the infant, it was then publicly announced at a coun- 
 cil in connection with the name and clan of its father 
 and mother. If the child was subsequently "raised up" 
 as a sachem or chief, his original'name was "taken 
 away " from him and a new one conferred upon him 
 by the council of the " nation " or of the league. The 
 first name given to Red Jacket was O-te-ti-an-i, signi- 
 fying, " Always ready," but when he was made a 
 chief this name was taken away and he was named 
 Sa-go-yb-wat-ha, signifying "Keeper Awake," or 
 
10 
 
 as Col. Stone says, " He keeps them awake," evidently 
 referring to his powers of oratory. Red Jacket never 
 was a sachem, and obtained the position of chief by in- 
 trigue and through his natural gift of oratory. The word 
 sachem is not an Iroquois word, but of Delaware origin 
 and is rarely used by our Indians. The title in the Mo- 
 hawk dialect is ' ' Royaner " meaning nobleman or lord, 
 and the office was hereditary in the clan of the "nation" 
 to which it was originally assigned, the selection of the 
 successor being made by the clan itself, subject to the 
 approval of the " nation " and also of the council of 
 sachems, or hereditary councillors, by whom the person 
 was " raised up " to the office, and the name of the 
 sachemship bestowed upon him, his previous name, be- 
 ing taken away. The son of a sachem could not inherit 
 the sachemship of his father, as he was of the mother's 
 clan, and the sachemship belonged to the clan of his 
 father. The chiefs were elected on account of the in- 
 fluence of the aspirant which he obtained by personal 
 bravery and success in the chase and on the war-path, 
 by gifts of eloquence or by wisdom in council. It is a 
 remarkable fact that the leading and most influential 
 men among the Iroquois were among the class of chiefs, 
 and not among the sachems or hereditary councillors. 
 It has been with our Indians as it has in Great Britain 
 where the leading statesmen are almost always com- 
 moners. We may compare the greal Indian orators 
 and diplomatists; Garagontie. Garangula, Dekanasera, 
 Cannasatego, Old King, Red Jacket and others with the 
 English Premiers, Walpole, Pitt, Fox, Canning, Peel, 
 D'Israeli and Gladstone, who, whhout being noble, have 
 wielded more influence than any of the peers. 
 
 In relation to this matter, President Dwight, said- 'In- 
 fluence in the tribe was always the result of merit- the 
 man of the greatest talents and efficiency being the most 
 powerful mamwhatever might be the family from which 
 he derived his origin." 
 
■At&.'i^m^is): '"' 
 
 
 In relation to the manner in which Sa-go-ye-wat-ha 
 obtained the name of Red Jacket, the Rev. John 
 Breck'enridge, D. D., in Mc Kenny's " Indian Biogra- 
 phy." states, tha,t a British officer, during the revolu- 
 tionary war, "presented him with a richly embroidered 
 scarlet jacket which he took great pride in wearing. 
 When this was worn out, he was presented with an- 
 other; and he continued to wear this peculiar dress 
 until it became a mark of distinction, and gave him 
 the name by which he was afterwards best known." 
 Captain Parish, one of the United States interpreters, 
 at a treaty held at Canandaisjua, in 1794, presented 
 him with another red jacket "to perpetuate the name 
 to which he was so much attached." He however 
 often wore different and other colored clothing as will 
 appear from the following : 
 
 According to the description given by the late Orlando 
 Allen, of Buffalo, Red Jacket "was above the medium 
 size ; five feet ten inches in height ; large limbs ; well 
 rounded muscles ; physically as well as intellectually 
 strong. Sometimes he was dressed in a blue coat', cut 
 after the peculiar Indian fashion, and girt about the 
 waist with a wampum or beaded sash ; blue leggins, 
 ornamented at the sides and around the bottom with 
 white beads ; and a red silk handkerchief knotted sail- 
 or fashion, around his neck ; plain moccasins on his 
 feet, which were considerably mishappen by rheumatic 
 pains : and always when in full dress, with his Wash- 
 ington medal suspended from his neck, and his toma- 
 hawk-pipe in his hand. At other times he was dressed 
 in a smoke-tanned deer skin coat and leggins, fringed 
 with the same material at the seams." 
 
12 
 
 +• 
 
 I- 
 
 aito ©@aa^ 
 
 |U] U j ' "HI" i u jU 
 
 Red Jacket died at his residence, near the church and 
 mission house, a,t the Seneca village, near Buffalo, on 
 the 20th of January, 1830, after an illness of two days, 
 from an attack of cholera morbus. Although having 
 lived the life of a pagan, yet there were evidences of a 
 change of views during his later days, and previous to 
 his death he committed the management of his funeral 
 to his wife's son-in-law, William Jones, whom he knew 
 was of the Christian party. His friends of the Wolf 
 clan, to which he belonged, caused his remains to be 
 carried to the church in which they worshipped, and 
 he was buried in the ground belonging to the Christian 
 party. His funeral was largely attended, not only by 
 his own race, but by the white people who came in 
 from the adjacent country. No suitable stone was 
 erected to mark his grave until 1839, when through the 
 personal efforts of Henry Placide, a gentleman of the 
 histrioDic art, a handsome marble slab was placed on 
 his grave. 
 
 Red Jacket's remains, however, were not to lie un- 
 disturbed. Some years afterwards they were taken up 
 and placed in a lead coffin for the purpose of re-inter- 
 ment in a new cemetery at Buffalo. This coming to 
 the knowledge of the family, they interfered, claimed 
 and obtained the remains and removed them to their 
 residence on the Cattaraugus reservation, where, up to 
 1866, they still remained unburied. 
 
 In an interesting published article by Mr. Fred H. 
 Furniss, of Waterloo, N. Y., he quotes from "The Iro- 
 quois " by Minnie Myrtle, and adds : 
 
13 
 
 When upon his death bed, parting with his wife, he 
 said : " When I am dead it will be noised about through 
 all the world — they will hear of it across the waters, 
 and say, Eed Jacket, the great orator, is dead. * * 
 Clothe me in my simplest dress, — put on my leggins 
 and my moccasins, and hang the cross which I have 
 worn so long around my neck, and let it lie upon my 
 bosom — then bury me among my people. * * * * 
 Your minister says the dead will rise. Perhaps they 
 will. If they do, I wish to rise with my old comrades. 
 I do not wish to rise with pale faces. I wish to be sur- 
 rounded by red men." The cross which he wore was a 
 very rich one of stones set in gold ; by whom it was 
 given him his friends never knew. This was all the 
 ornament he requested should be buried with him. 
 
 erb u_m_ ' irftv 
 
 "9 = — i^ra^i "*" 
 
 4XL I 
 
 The erection of a monument at Canoga, to mark and 
 commemorate the spot where Eed Jacket was born, 
 was a favorite project of the. late Judge Garry V. 
 Sackett, of Seneca Falls. Nothing however was done 
 during his life-time, and after his death the matter 
 seemed to be entirely dropped, until the centennial 
 proceedings of 1879,when'the project was again revived 
 and for a time after wards there was some interest 
 manifested. One of the most prominent and active in 
 the matter at that time was Fred H. Furniss, Esq. , of 
 Waterloo, who became so deeply interested and en- 
 
14 
 
 thusiastic, that, in order to awaken an increased inter- 
 est in the minds of the people, he prepared an article 
 on the subject, which was published in one of the local 
 papers in the month of February, 1880, which received 
 responses from persons residing at a distance. As 
 there was not local interest enough manifested to war- 
 rant the undertaking, the matter has never been 
 formally brought before the Waterloo Historical Socie- 
 ty, and is yet in abeyance. Among the communica- 
 tions in reponse to the articles of Mr. Furniss, was one 
 from C. H. Hardy, of Elmira, N. Y., who said " Allow 
 me to congratulate you and the public upon the touch- 
 ing and graceful tribute you pay to Red Jacket and 
 may the monumental honors be consummated." C. M, 
 Hubbard replied from Bay City, Mich., " I have read 
 with much interest your article on Red Jacket. I hope 
 the monument will be erected, and I want to be there 
 when it is dedicated." Response from Hon. R. H. Wil- 
 liams, historian, of Yates county, N. Y., says, "I fully 
 sympathize with the monument movement. The fea- 
 tures of Red Jacket are well presented in many pic- 
 tures. I saw him in 1825 and at once recognized his 
 likeness as engraved on some of the old safety fund 
 bank bills. A granite boulder would represent nature 
 in her first elements, and the Indian as the best type of 
 humanity in the rough." Hon. Deidrich Willers, of 
 Seneca county, and Geo. S. Conover, of Geneva, 
 Ontario county, also replied, the latter saying, "It is 
 eminently proper that the "Waterloo Library and His- 
 torical Society which has done so much to rescue from 
 oblivion so many items of historical interest, should 
 continue its good work by erecting a monument at the 
 place of Red Jacket's birth. The idea of using one of 
 the large native boulders from the vicinity of the birth- 
 place for a monument, is a novel one, but highly proper 
 and appropriate to commemorate the event." 
 
17 
 
 FRED H. FURNISS. 
 
 The Waterloo Library and Historical Society has no more enthusi- 
 astic member and trustee than Mr. Furniss. He takes great interest 
 in Indian relics and curiosities, and his rooms at Waterloo, Seneca 
 county, N. ¥., are Ailed with choice collections. In Indian history 
 too, be is an enthusiast, and is the authority for disputed points. 
 The parents of Mr. Fred H. Furniss came from Yorkshire, England, 
 in 1825, and after residing at Watertown, Jefferson county, .N. T., 
 until 1840, they came to Waterloo, N. Y. His father was a woolen 
 manufacturer, and the late Richard P. Hunt induced him to settle 
 at Waterloo, where he was employed in the Waterloo woolen mills. 
 The young man Fred, worked several years in these mills as wool 
 sorter. He is the youngest of a family of six sons and four daughters, 
 all living. Mr. Fred H. Furniss was born at Oriskany Falls, Oneida 
 county, N. Y., in 1834. In 1852 he adopted Horace Greeley's ad- 
 vice and went west, to Cleveland, Ohio, and was employed on the 
 Cleveland and Pittsburgh railroad as brakeman. The same year he 
 lost his leg above the knee by being run over by a freight train. 
 He remained in the employ of the company for fifteen years after- 
 wards, holding many important positions. In 1858 he invented and 
 patented what is now known as the Pullman sleeping car, and dis- 
 posed of the patent to Mr. Pullman. Naturally of a thougntful, 
 inventive turn of mind, he has received over twenty patents for 
 useful inventions. 
 
 Mr. Furniss is now a gentleman of leisure, passing his summers 
 at Crystal Springs, N. Y., where his " Fern Lodge," or sylvan park 
 is located. This is his favorite resort, where he receives many 
 visitors and takes pleasure in showing them the beauties of the 
 place. The squirrels in the trees come down and take nuts from 
 his hands, and the little birds will light on his shoulders with per- 
 fect freedom and receive food from him. The poets have written 
 their rhymes on "Fernwood," and a young lady of Geneva, N. Y., 
 has composed a "Fernwood Waltz" in honor of this charming 
 retreat. 
 
 During the winter Mr. Furniss resides at Waterloo, N. Y. He is 
 unmarried, and keeps bachelor's hall, surrounded by his curiosities, 
 and favored with calls from many friends. He recites poems in an 
 
18: 
 
 interesting manner, and is frequently urged to give recitations in 
 public, but only occasionally consents to do so, and then with 
 reluctanoy. 
 
 The family, name is traced back to . 11JI40, i to the. Purness Abbey, 
 one of the noted ruins in England. The name originated from the 
 fact that they belonged to the iron workers and were called Fur- 
 nace men. In early days, nearly ail names emanated from the em- 
 ployment of the families. One .of the magnificent ocean -steamers of 
 the Cuuard line is naraod Furnessia from this celebrated abbey. 
 
 But it is not for his historic name, that Mr.. Fur-nlss is respected 
 and honored, as for his own energy, and ability in making- his own 
 record, and, for his genial disposition in bringing, happiness to those 
 around him. His acquaintanceship is large and varied, his reputa- 
 tion as a gentleman, Inventor, antiquarian, and practical local 
 historian, is excellent, while his, hospitality and unbounded good 
 nature render him a favorite companion, worthy of the good name 
 he bears. 
 
21 
 
 George S. Conover. 
 
 There is a charm iu modern historic research that has peculiar at- 
 tractions for Mr. Conover, and he never seems to enjoy himself quite 
 so much, as when discovering some relic that establishes local facts of 
 history. He has labored for years, and traveled many miles to de- 
 termine boundary lines of Indian villages, to trace out their trails, 
 locate settlements, and discover reliable, tangible proofs of the habits, 
 customs and lives of the red men who inhabited central and western 
 New York centuries ago. In this he has been very successful, and the 
 Waterloo Library & Historical Society is indebted to him largely for 
 valuable information. Mr. Conover is not satisfied with common 
 rumor or tradition, as he frequently demonstrates their error from 
 actual research that briugs to light facts and arguments that cannot 
 be intelligently set aside. He has a large quantity of manuscript of 
 local history that he is gradually arranging, and putting in shape, that 
 it is to be hoped will some day be brought out in a volume that cannot 
 fail of interesting all the lovers of genuine, reliable, authentic history, 
 free from speculation, and based upon facts established only through 
 the most diligent, laborious and incessant effort. 
 
 This little pamphlet, published by the Waterloo Library & Historical 
 Society, is only one of the many historical incidents, for which they 
 are indebted to Mr. Conover's study and patient research. 
 
 George Stillwell Conover resides at Geneva, Ontario county, N. Y., 
 adjoining Waterloo, Seneca county. He was born in the city of Brook- 
 lyn, Nov. 7th 1824. When 25 years of age he removed to the town of 
 Varick, Seneca county, and settled on a farm on the banks of Seneca 
 lake. Several years before, he married Miss Augusta Joralemon of 
 Brooklyn, who lived only about two years after his removal to Varick. 
 Several years afterwards, he married Miss Catherine Elizabeth, daugh- 
 ter of Mr. Joseph Gambee of Varick, who for nearly thirty years has 
 been his life companion. He has two sons by his first wife, one of 
 whom lives at Geneva, and the other on a farm in Varick. By his 
 present wife, he has one daughter who now resides with her parents at 
 Geneva. 
 
 Before living on the farm Mr. Conover engaged in mercantile busi- 
 ness in New York. Alter nearly 20 years on the farm in Varick, he 
 removed to Geneva in 1869 where he was employed in one of the large 
 nurseries there. While in Varick he was elected supervisor, and was 
 chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Seneca county in 1856. At 
 Geneva.he has been village trustee ; two terms presidentof the village, 
 and Police Justice by appointment. On retiring fiom the presidency 
 of the village, Mr. Conover was presented with an elegant gold medal 
 
22 
 
 of badge, handsomely engraved while the annual meeting of the tax- 
 payers and Board of Trustees each passed very flattering resolutions in 
 appreciation of his services, and the high esteem in which he was 
 held, both of which were splendidly engraved and presented to him. 
 
 Mr. Conover is interested in the welfare of the young people. In 
 1853 he organized a large Sunday school celebration at Tunis Dey's 
 woods in Varick, near West Fayette, at which all the Sunday schools 
 of the towns of Fayette, Varick and Bomulus were in attendance. More 
 than 3,000 people were present, and the Central Seneca County Sunday 
 School Association was formed, large celebrations were held in suc- 
 ceeding years, and a general impetus given to Sunday School work. 
 He was also one of the founders of the present Seneca County Sunday 
 School Association. He still continues his Sunday School labors, has 
 been many years superintendent of ihe school in the Reformed Dutch 
 Church of G-eneva.of which he is an active mem ber. Other positions have 
 been held bj Mr. Conover.in all of which, it is not too much to say, that 
 in all things whether great or small, he is faithful, conscientious and 
 devoted. i 
 
 Now, in the 60th year of his age, his time is mostly taken up, in the 
 development of local history, and the resurrection of facts that have 
 died out from human recollections, which are given new life under his 
 directions and are made to play an important part in bringing out 
 most interesting facts and incidents of past generations ; especially in 
 Indian history. He repudiates all shams and hollow pretensions in 
 life as well as in history, and with frankness and generosity, adheres 
 to what is genuine in religious and secular life, finding his greatest 
 pleasure and comfort In the association with those whom he believes 
 to be noble, genuine and reliable. The Waterloo Library & Historical 
 Society, and the cause of honest history,- have no better friend or more 
 ardent supporter than Mr. George S. Conover. 
 

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