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A NAEEATIVE 
 
 OF 
 
 THOMAS HATHAWAY, 
 
 AND OTHERS. 
 
 M ««"> 
 
 AWAY, Jr., 
 3, 1869. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD: 
 
 E. Anthony & Sons, Pbintebs. 
 
 1869. 
 
A NARRATIVE 
 
 THOMAS HATHAWAY AND HIS FAMILY, 
 
 FOEMEELY OP 
 
 NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, 
 
 WITH INCIDENTS IN THE LU'E OP 
 
 JEMIMA WILKINSON", 
 
 AND THE TIMES IN WHICH THEY LIVED. 
 
 BY MES. "WILLIAM HATHAWAY, Jr., 
 flaw Bedford, Mass,, April 23, 1860. 
 
 NEW BEDFORD: 
 
 E. Anthony & Sons, Pointers. 
 
 1869. 
 
Mir^J 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1869, 
 By Mrs. Wm. Hathaway, Jk., 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This Narrative was at first prompted by an historian who 
 wished to procure as full an account as possible of the. early 
 settlers of Yates County, State of New York. It is very much 
 to be regretted that the history of persons who acted so prom- 
 inent a part in the early settlement of that part of this country, 
 as did Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hathaway, Jr., Mr. Botsford, and 
 many others, should have passed away without a more full 
 account of their lives. Their history, written now, must neces- 
 sarily be detached and imperfect, as it is the recollections of a 
 daughter, calling to mind statements from time to time, in the 
 family conversation, and regrets to find it necessary to omit 
 many interesting incidents for want of connecting circumstances 
 
 and data. 
 
 Mrs. Wm. Hathaway, Jr. 
 New Bedford, Mass., April 23, 1869. 
 
HISTORY OF THOMAS HATHAWAY. 
 
 Thomas Hathaway, who emigrated to Western 
 New York in 1790, was a native of ISTew Bedford, 
 Massachusetts, a son of Jonathan and Abigail 
 Hathaway. He was born in the year 1732; other- 
 wise of his early history, no record is kept. 
 Thomas being their oldest son, inherited by will the 
 principal part of his father's large landed estate, 
 as was the custom of that period. A few extracts 
 from the curious will of the ancestor, Jonathan 
 Hathaway, dated 1759, may not be uninteresting 
 as a comparison with the customs of the present 
 day. He says, " I give my soul to God, my body 
 to the dust, and order that my funeral expenses 
 shall be paid out of my live stock." " I bequeath 
 to my beloved wife Abigail," (at the time of his 
 death-isEwas quite aged,) "as long as she remains 
 my widow, the use of one half of the lower rooms 
 of my own dwelling house, the use of the little 
 pantry closet and the use of one half of what is 
 called the big closet, the use of the two drawers 
 in the big chest in the kitchen, the use of one third 
 of the puter dishes, the wool from six sheep every 
 year, half the apples of the orchard every year, 
 and two pairs of stout leather shoes every year." 
 
" It is to be understood that all this is for my wife 
 Abigail as long as she remains my widow." " I 
 also will, that my son Thomas shall live with and 
 be clever to his mother, keep a horse and pillion, 
 and see that his mother goes to meeting." 
 
 In 1764 Thomas Hathaway, being a gentleman 
 of wealth, commenced the business of ship building 
 near "McPherson's wharf, upon Acushnet river," 
 two miles North of (the then called) "Bedford 
 village," and carried it on with profit until the 
 commencement of the Bevolutionary War in 1776. 
 He erected for a residence in New Bedford the 
 three story dwelling on the south-west corner of 
 South "Water and School streets, which he moved 
 into in 1772. It was a very elegant private resi- 
 dence for the times, and a mark for the British 
 soldiers in 1778, but not much injured, and is now 
 (1869) still standing in its original style. 
 
 At the breaking out of the war, Mr. Hathaway 
 espoused the Tory cause, being connected by mar- 
 riage with the family of Colonel Bradford Gilbert, 
 of Nova Scotia. His wife was Miss Deborah Gil- 
 bert, a daughter of that gentleman. In January, 
 1777, owing to his Tory principles, Mr. Hathaway 
 was obliged to leave the States. He went to Nova 
 Scotia and remained nearly six years, in the family 
 of Colonel Gilbert, with the exception of thirteen 
 months' service upon a British ship of war. Before 
 leaving home, Mr. H. placed his family for safety 
 
in his country residence (the homestead) a short 
 distance north of New Bedford, (now owned by 
 Mrs. Nash,) where his wife lived in retirement, 
 devoting herself to the instruction of her four 
 children. The accomplishments for ladies of those 
 days were painting, needle and other fancy work, 
 of which Mrs. Hathaway executed many beautiful 
 specimens; some of them are now in existence. 
 Her son, Thomas Hathaway, Jr., often spoke of 
 his mother as a " lady of great personal dignity 
 and refinement," qualifications bor-ne in his charac- 
 ter in a very great degree. He was a fine scholar 
 in mathematics and penmanship, and often boasted 
 that his instruction was entirely from his mother. 
 
 In 1778 when the British, under the command 
 of General Grey, landed to burn New Bedford, 
 Thomas their oldest child, born in 1768, was nearly 
 eleven years of age. It was towards evening. 
 Mrs. Hathaway with her little children stood upon 
 the door-step to watch the flames as they rose anew 
 from one building after another. "The country 
 people were going to-and-fro past her house, prom- 
 ising them protection if possible." 
 
 "At about eight o'clock in the evening, three 
 gentlemen on horseback came riding at a furious 
 rate, to alarm the inhabitants, for the British were 
 marching in that direction." On they came with 
 very little military order, and the affrighted citizens 
 were flying before them. When they appeared in 
 
sight of her house, she sent her son Thomas (old 
 enough she thought to be kidnapped) with other 
 boys, to the neighboring woods for safety. There 
 said he, "I climbed into a tree and watched the 
 depredations by fire that the British were commit- 
 ting along the road." I have now in my possession 
 a. wineglass and plate given to me in 1836 by an 
 aged lady, " Miss Mary Tallman, who, as a child 
 saw picked up from the lawn in front of her 
 father's house, where much of the furniture of 
 their home had been thrown by the invaders the 
 night previous." 
 
 A British officer (possibly the noted Major 
 Andre, for " he was in that expedition,") entered 
 the house of Mrs. Hathaway, and demanded her 
 husband's whereabouts. "He would not believe 
 her statement of his being in Nova Scotia, etc., 
 and took her by the shoulders and shook her, giving 
 her a fright from which she never recovered." 
 " From that time her health failed, and she died in 
 1783, soon after the return of her husband to his 
 family." ' 
 
 Soon after the close of the war, Jemima Wilkin- 
 son, of Rhode Island, a tall woman, of graceful 
 deportment, and rather gifted in public speaking 
 among the Quakers of that State, appeared in New 
 Bedford on a proselyting tour. Her object was to 
 get together a community, particularly persons of 
 wealth, to emigrate to an unsettled part of the 
 
country. She traveled through some of the New 
 England States, holding her meetings with success. 
 She professed to have passed through a trance 
 and received supernatural revelations, "particularly 
 that she was called upon to carry out the unfin- 
 ished work of the Lord," and assumed the title of 
 "Universal Friend." She possessed a commanding 
 and audible voice, used the plain or Quaker lan- 
 guage, also like them intoned her words when 
 preaching, and began hei»Sabbath or day of rest 
 on Saturday evening, in the old Puritan way. 
 Jemima made two religious tours of some length 
 through Connecticut, preaching nearly every day, 
 and gathered from that State many followers, some 
 of them highly influential persons, both men and 
 women. She was three times hi New Bedford, 
 once nearly a year, and found favor with the Qua- 
 kers, also with many of other religious denomina- 
 tions. She with her followers (a retinue generally 
 quite numerous) "sojourned" as she expressed 
 herself in private families. " It was no small tax in 
 many instances, for Jemima and her followers, 
 often to the number of twenty peasons and never 
 less than twelve, rode on horseback, herself always 
 riding a short distance in advance, until from the 
 restiveness of her horse she came near a catastro- 
 phe, when Thomas Hathaway, Jr., a lad of sixteen 
 years, dashed forward to the rescue. From that 
 time he Was allowed to ride by her side, the head 
 
10 
 
 of his horse not quite up .even with hers, as if "I 
 am holier than thou." Thomas Hathaway joined 
 her society in 1784, and his son, Thomas Hatha- 
 way, Jr., traveled with her on both of her religious 
 visits to Connecticut. In the daily journal kept 
 by that young gentleman, partly dictated by Je- 
 mima, now in possession of his family, he says: 
 "The great friend studied the Bible and quoted free- 
 ly from its sacred truths, preached with eloquence 
 and effect, always drawing a large audience." Also 
 it says, "Many of the most respectable people 
 came from distant parts of the State to invite her 
 to their neighborhood and homes, and it seemed to 
 be with us as with the Disciples in breaking of 
 bread from house to house in singleness of mirid." 
 Jemima always sought natural occurrences out of 
 the common course to show the design of God to 
 use her mind as a medium, calling them " certain 
 Divine revelations." In 1785 she got intelligence 
 of an earthquake occurring near Naples, Italy, and 
 made great use of the event as a theme for her 
 exhortations. The journal says: "It was revealed 
 to the great friend, that an island was swallowed 
 up with five hundred youths under the age of 
 twenty yeirs, being not fit by wickedness for man- 
 hood, so God swept them from the face of the 
 earth." " At the same instant the earth yawned 
 and swallowed up a theatre full of sinning human 
 souls." At another time " the great friend saw in 
 
11 
 
 a vision four men standing together cursing the 
 Lamb of God, and the arrow of death struck them 
 dead." The vision came however from a gentle- 
 man of the neighborhood having died in the street 
 by paralysis while standing with three of his ac- 
 quaintance. "Whenever the friend preached she 
 seemed to wish to terrify her hearers, and the 
 asserted revelations often had their desired effect. 
 
 In 1788 Jemima left New Bedford with a large 
 band of followers for Philadelphia, designing to go 
 from thence to New York and "establish herself in 
 the western wilderness of that State. 
 
 Thomas Hathaway sold all his property in New 
 Bedford, and much of it at a sacrifice, and with his 
 four children, Thomas, Mary, Elizabeth, and Gilbert, 
 accompanied the friend through her tour in Penn- 
 sylvania and to her settlement in western New 
 York, called the " Genesee country." She remained 
 a year in Philadelphia and vicinity, enlarging her 
 band of followers to a considerable degree. Some- 
 time during that year Thomas Hathaway, Sen., 
 Abraham Dalton, and Richard Smith, as a delega- 
 tion, were sent west by the Society to find a local- 
 ity. They passed up the rivers in the southern 
 part of New York as far as Painted Postj an 
 Indian council and trading point on the Canisteo 
 river, and on their return to Philadelphia did not 
 report very favorably. The Universal Friend was 
 not to be daunted, and in 1790 she with her fol- 
 
12 
 
 lowers left Philadelphia. They traveled lip the 
 Susquehanna river to Wyoming and New Town 
 (now Elmira,) under the guidance of General John 
 Sullivan, who had been through that route in 1779 
 to drive back the Indians. At New Town Jemima 
 was left by General Sullivan, she not being willing 
 to fully compensate him for his services. They 
 made their way best they could with the compass 
 only as a guide to the head of Seneca lake, where 
 they encamped and sent out small parties to explore 
 the region about th'em. William Potter and Ben- 
 jamin Barton, from Rhode Island, Richard Smith 
 from Connecticut, and Thomas Hathaway, Jr., 
 passed down the east side of Seneca lake to ascer- 
 tain its length and the lay of the country approxi- 
 mate to it. On a bright evening they rested at a 
 small cove, now Bailey Town Landing, as the sun 
 was sinking below the dense dark forest upon the 
 west of the lake that cast its tall phantom-like 
 shadows upon the water. While they were par- 
 taking of their frugal repast from a knapsack, and 
 " Mr. Potter with his usual taste for the sublime 
 was predicting the future greatness of the coun- 
 try," Mr. Smith, who had lopped down upon the 
 ground, sprang to his feet and exclaimed, " I hear 
 water falling." "More likely," said Mr. Potter, 
 "you hear a rattlesnake." Mr. Smith persisted, 
 and they each put an ear to the ground and dis- 
 tinctly heard across the lake the low moan of a fall 
 
13 
 
 of water. As the shades of night came, on the 
 savage camp-fires were visible from the opposite 
 shore, and the vigil of the weary night-watch was 
 often aroused by. the howl of wild animals. In his 
 old age Mr. Hathaway often remarked, that " no 
 stranger to the scene could understand the awful 
 stillness that pervaded all nature on that night." 
 The exploration was continued to the foot of the' 
 lake, where the beautiful village of Geneva, JS~. Y., 
 is situated. There they found two settlers with 
 their families in log houses, living a sort of trapper 
 life. The name of one of the men was Haslet, 
 who boasted that he had been an officer in the 
 Revolutionary "War. In passing up the west side 
 of the lake they came upon a stream of water trib- 
 utary to Seneca lake, which in reality is the outlet 
 of Crooked lake, eight miles in length. The ex- 
 plorers followed up the stream three miles, where 
 they found the fall of water previously mentioned, 
 in height, width and quantity exactly suited to the 
 necessity of a flour mill. They at once decided 
 that that vicinity was the best suited to locate a 
 settlement. The marvelous accounts brought into 
 camp by the different exploring parties " of ser- 
 pents and wild beasts of exaggerated size, rich 
 soil, oak forests and fine streams of water, were 
 somewhat discredited." They however, after a 
 brief council, determined to locate near the conven- 
 ient water course K outlet of Crooked lake.'" Ten 
 
14 
 
 of the party, headed by Thomas Hathaway, Jr., in 
 Indian canoes, paddled down the shores of the 
 Seneca lake to the mouth of the outlet, where now 
 is the small village of "West Dresden. The re- 
 mainder and largest part of these adventurers, on 
 their jaded horses accompanied the Friend through 
 the wilderness, inhabited only by Indians, (who 
 were at all times friendly to the " Quaker settlers," 
 as they learned to call them,) to the designated 
 spot for the settlement. The country near the lake 
 is undulated in its configuration, and they very 
 properly called the locality "City Hill." There, 
 in 1791, the first settlers purchased from the gov- 
 ernment a large tract of land, and upon it was built 
 the- first framed house in now, Yates county, a 
 habitation for the Universal Friend. All the clap- 
 boards were hewn out from logs with the broad- 
 axe, and the shingles, nails, window-glass, and 
 hinges, were brought from Utica, eighty miles dis- 
 tant, on pack horses. The «men immediately com- 
 menced cutting down trees and clearing the land 
 preparatory to the sowing of seed, and such was 
 their energy and expedition that, when the first 
 acre of wheat was ripe for harvest they had quite 
 a respectable flour mill erected and in order to 
 grind it, called "Smith's mill." The millstones 
 were brought upon pack horses from Utica to the 
 foot of Seneca lake, there put upon a sailboat built 
 by Thomas Hathaway, Jr., and his brother Gilbert, 
 
15 
 
 the first vessel that spread a sail upon its waters. 
 It was several years before there was any public 
 highway for traveling better than an Indian trail 
 between Utica and the late, therefore for heavy 
 packages Thomas Hathaway, Jr., constructed a 
 sort of rack to hang between two horses, one 
 before the other, and in that way he attended 
 mostly to the transportation of all the produce for 
 the " Friends' settlement," as it .was called. " He 
 built two flat boats on the Mohawk river, for that 
 river was navigable from Albany to a few miles 
 below Utica, consequently afforded great relief and 
 comfort to the destitute condition of the early set- 
 tlers of that region." 
 
 Thomas Hathaway, Sen., in company with other 
 gentlemen, bought large tracts of the public lands, 
 particularly in the tract called " the gore," now a 
 part of Yates county. He was a staunch follower 
 of the Friend to his death, and gave freely of his 
 possessions to gratify her many whims. Otherwise 
 than the common incidents to the settlement of a 
 new country, Mr. Hathaway was not conspicuous. 
 He died in Jerusalem, N. Y., in 1798, aged 66 
 years. His daughter Mary married Eliphalet Mor- 
 ris, and lived most of her life upon a plantation in 
 Maryland. His daughter Elizabeth, a lady of rare 
 brilliancy of mind and dignity of character, mar- 
 ried Judge Joshua Ferris, of Tioga county, ]ST. Y., 
 a gentleman of culture and for many years the 
 
16 
 
 principal surveyor of public lands in the southern 
 section of the State. He also held many offices of 
 trust in the gift of the government, his commis- 
 sions being from Presidents "Washington, Adams, 
 and Jefferson. Gilbert Hathaway was a large land- 
 holder in Yates county, 1ST. Y., and lived to the age 
 of 81 years. 
 
 In 1793 Thomas Hathaway, Jr., married Mary 
 Botsford, daughter of Elnathan Botsford, a fol- 
 lower also with his family of Jemima Wilkinson, 
 from New Milford, Connecticut. Their marriage 
 was an act contrary to the rules of the Universal 
 Friend, and they were both excommunicated from 
 her society and forbidden to enter her meetings. 
 
 " Mr. Hathaway was for many years one of the 
 principal surveyors of the public lands of western 
 New York, and many of the early maps drawn by 
 that gentleman are still in existence, also the deeds 
 and contracts on file are in his beautiful hand- 
 writing, as he was almost universally called upon 
 by those who knew him to transact such business." 
 " He was honorable in his dealings with men, cour- 
 teous, but unassuming in all his business relations. 
 In official matters he discharged some important 
 public duties with credit to himself and benefit to 
 his country." " He held four military commissions, 
 one signed by Governor George Clinton, in 1802, 
 one by Governor Morgan Lewis, 1805, and two 
 by Governor Daniel D. Tompkins, 1809 and 1810, 
 
17 
 
 the latter a Major's commission." " He was also 
 one of the three commissioners appointed to divide 
 the old town of Benton into school districts under 
 the administration of Governor Tompkins, which 
 duty was discharged with marked ability by the 
 three gentlemen." 
 
 With the exception of Jemima Wilkinson's 
 meetings, preaching on Sunday was mostly from 
 itinerant clergymen to the early settlers of western 
 New York. Thomas Hathaway, Jr., saw the ne- 
 cessity of some kind of organization to interest his 
 neighborhood on the Sabbath, and in 1819 he 
 opened a Sunday-school in a school-house built 
 upon his farm many years previous, where children, 
 and also adults, were instructed in the scriptures 
 by himself and others. The school was a success, 
 and continued through the Summer. Owing to the 
 deep snows, such opportunities were prevented in 
 winter, but the following Summer Mr. H. engaged 
 the Rev. Mr. Silwell, a blind clergyman, who 
 preached in the school-house every Sunday. The 
 reverend gentleman was known through the coun- 
 try by the appellation of " the blind preacher." 
 
 Mr. Hathaway lived fifty nine years upon the 
 farm where he settled at the time of his marriage, 
 raised seven children, and his was the first death 
 that occurred under his roof. He died May 22d, 
 1853, aged 84 years. " He retained his memory to 
 the la^t, and apparently slept his honorable and 
 
18 
 
 useful life away without a struggle, leaving a 
 memory that is cherished and loved by his wide 
 circle of friends and associates." 
 
 Yery soon after that energetic pioneer, Jemima 
 Wilkinson, was established in the Genesee country, 
 it became noted as a new tide for emigration, and 
 the rich lands between Seneca and Crooked lakes 
 soon invited the agriculturist, and the country 
 filled up fast with enterprising farmers, mechanics, 
 tradesmen and speculators, establishing, to the an- 
 noyance of the Friend, the various religious views 
 of other denominations. Her curiously formed 
 and quaint looking home was erroneously styled by 
 the world's people "the synagogue," "which Jemi- 
 ma said she only considered the sneers and scoffs 
 of a vain world." She soon however became un- 
 easy on account of the proximity and observation 
 of comprehensive people, and in 1795 moved, with 
 her community, west of Crooked lake. She was 
 allowed to name the town herself, calling it New 
 Jerusalem. It now bears the name, as one of the 
 towns in Yates county. 
 
 For the final settlement of the Universal Friend, 
 twelve hundred acres of land were purchased by 
 Thomas Hathaway, Senior, and others, for the par- 
 ticular accommodation of herself, and the deed 
 was taken out in her own name, Jemima "Wilkin- 
 son, as " Universal Friend " would be illegal. She 
 also owned small farms about the country, " coaxed 
 
19 
 
 out of her followers," said a gentleman, " after she 
 had preached a long and particularly impressive 
 discourse." She usually introduced such requests by 
 saying, " The Friend hath need of these things." 
 After the death of the wealthy and main stay of 
 her society, (for she outlived a large number of 
 them), their children contested her right to some of 
 her possessions, and Thomas Hathaway, Jr., was 
 „for eleven years in dispute by law with her, and 
 gained every case. Aaron Burr and Elisha Will- 
 iams were his counsellors. Jemima built on a plan 
 of her own a large and handsome house for a resi- 
 dence, with a commodious meeting room on one 
 side of the large hall. There she preached in 
 Winter and in the open air in Summer. Her audi- 
 ence was often so large that , it was necessary to 
 open all the lower rooms to accommodate it. In 
 her K open air exhortations," as she called her 
 public speaking, she. always stood upon a large 
 platform built to mount her horse from, and the 
 gentlemen of her society would take turns as a 
 privilege, to hold an umbrella over her head while 
 preaching. After such exercises the gossip of the 
 following week would often be, that the Friend 
 had preached from the horse-block. Jemima was 
 naturally austere, and often tyrannical in her inter- 
 course with her society, and when she could gain 
 sufficient influence over a family in her community 
 she did not scruple to set at variance husband and 
 
20 
 
 wife, or parents and children, and with her avarice, 
 kept them impoverished by the constant drafts for 
 money and the produce of their farms, to keep up 
 her sumptuous home. Her evening meetings were 
 often silent, unless some of the audience told a 
 dream, which they often did, calling them " Divine 
 revelations." Her peculiar and established mode 
 of «dress was a broad brimmed beaver hat of light 
 brown color, only tied down at the sides when she. 
 rode, and a rich silk skirt of the same color, with a 
 long waistcoat loosely fitted, and much resembled 
 the vests worn by men in old continental times. 
 Over these she wore on all public occasions, preach- 
 ing or otherwise, a long black satin robe sweeping 
 the ground, the fashion ' entirely her own, with 
 white bands on a necktie such as Episcopal clergy- 
 men wear. She had a strongly marked and rather 
 masculine stamp of face, with broad forehead, large 
 black eye and beautiful black hair, turned straight 
 back from her face and falling over the neck in 
 glossy ringlets. She would neither give her age 
 or write her name, and whenever her signature 
 was required she made a handsome Roman cross. 
 "When she died in 1819, her society expressed the 
 event as, "The Universal Friend had left time." 
 Her remains were placed in a vault that she caused 
 to be built in her garden many years previous to 
 her death. 
 
 Jemima "Wilkinson was a person with an indomi- 
 
21 
 
 table will that made her preference the law in her 
 society. She was particularly opposed to individ- 
 ual enterprise and success, and did much that all 
 persons of good intention disapproved. Notwith- 
 standing, it must be acknowledged that she was 
 the means of settling western [New York at a very 
 much earlier period than it would otherwise have 
 been. 
 
 Early in her ministry, 1784, she published a pam- 
 phlet of sis pages entitled, "Universal Friend's 
 advice." It is commenced in this way: "The 
 Public Universal Friend adviseth all who desire to 
 be one with the Friend in spirit, and to be wise 
 unto salvation, that they be punctual in attending 
 meetings at the tenth hour of the day, as near as 
 possible." " That those who cannot well go to meet- 
 ings sit down at their several homes about the time 
 meeting begins, in order to wait for and upon the 
 Lord." " That they shun at all times the company 
 and conversation of the wicked world as much as 
 possible; but when any of you are under a neces- 
 sity of being with them, do your business with 
 few words and retire from them as soon as you get 
 your business done, remembering to keep on your 
 watch and pray for assistance, especially when the 
 wicked are before you." " That you do not inquire 
 after news, or the public reports of any one, and 
 be careful not to spread any yourselves, that are 
 not of the Lord." " Live peaceably with all men 
 
22 
 
 as much as possible ; in an especial manner do not 
 strive against one another for mastery, but all of 
 you keep your ranks in righteousness and let not 
 one thrust another." " Let not debate, evil surmis- 
 ings, jealousies, evil speaking, or hard thinking be 
 named among you, but be at peace among your- 
 selves," etc., and concluded with this quotation: 
 "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and 
 what doth the Lord reqxiire of thee, but to do 
 justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy 
 God?" 
 
 It will be observed by the extracts selected from 
 her short and only publication that Jemima found, 
 in order to retain the influence she wished over 
 her society, it was necessary to be extremely exclu- 
 sive, a plan she carried out through the whole 
 course of her ministry. 
 
Mrs. Mary Botsford Hathaway, whose life 
 began before the birth of our National Indepen- 
 dence, and continued until after the close of the 
 war of the rebellion of 1861, was among the early 
 settlers of Ontario, now Yates county, New York, 
 and her history is preserved as one of the repre- 
 sentative women in the settlement of that part of 
 this country. She was born in New Milford, Con- 
 necticut, in January, 1772, when the fire for inde- 
 pendence was just kindling in the minds of the 
 American people, and as she possessed a remark- 
 ably retentive memory, she related in after years 
 many interesting incidents of the Revolutionary War. 
 
 At the time Danbury was burned by the British 
 in 1 777, she was nearly six years of age, and as 
 her home was only four miles from that village, 
 " she distinctly recollected and often described the 
 brilliancy of the clouds in their beautiful red and 
 blue colors, as the flames lighted them up on that 
 night." " Also of sitting in her mother's arms at 
 the window while she explained £he meaning of 
 the conflagration to her children, of her father 
 loading his gun, mounting his horse and leaving 
 them for the scene of action, of his return in the 
 morning and bringing accounts of the great de- 
 struction of public stores at Danbury by the ene- 
 my." " History says was destroyed eighteen hun- 
 
24 
 
 dred barrels of pork and beef, seventeen hundred 
 barrels of flour, two thousand bushels of grain, 
 clothing for a whole regiment, and seventeen hun- 
 dred tents." Another incident of the war impres- 
 sive to her as a child occurred in the winter of 
 1781, when a continental regiment was encamped 
 near Milford village, and the depredations by the 
 soldiers upon the poultry yards of the vicinity were 
 not unfrequent. " On a snowy morning, Mr. Wood, 
 their neighbor, found a small leather bag fastened 
 to the neck of a goose of his flock. It contained 
 six: pennies and the following lines of rhyme. 
 
 ' Mr. Wood, your fowls are good, 
 
 And cook't so very tender, 
 
 We bought six more geese, for a penny apiece, 
 
 And send the money by the gander.'" 
 
 This literary effusion was occasionally repeated 
 by Mrs. Hathaway as a specimen of soldier life in 
 the Revolution. Towards the close of the war 
 party differences in Connecticut ran high, and the 
 tories stood very little chance to escape the vigi- 
 lance of the committees of safety. "One morn- 
 ing while their family were at breakfast, Mr. Jon- 
 athan Botsford, an uncle of Mrs. H., came running 
 to her father's house and begged to know where 
 he should go; "for," said he, "they are after 
 me." " Go ! " said her father, " go out of the door, 
 you are the subject of King George, and I won't 
 
25 
 
 have anything to do with you." Mrs. H., at the 
 time a girl of ten years, slipped away from the 
 table, and with her usual sympathy, locked him up 
 m a closet and put the key in her own pocket. 
 Years after, the old man would say to her de- 
 scendants, "I sayed my neck that morning by 
 getting into Molly Botsford's pocket." She also 
 frequently amused her friends with incidents in the 
 customs of her State commonly called the "blue 
 laws of Connecticut," as she saw them adminis- 
 tered. "One Sabbath morning in 1786, as the 
 congregation was leaving a meeting-house in !New 
 Milford, a stranger came riding leisurely on horse- 
 back along the road. He was commanded by the 
 straight-laced men in authority to stop and give 
 his errand. Upon his hesitating to do so, he was 
 seized and imprisoned until Monday morning, when 
 he was taken before a magistrate for legal exami- 
 nation, where the gentleman demanded their au- 
 thority to arrest him. His determined manner so 
 alarmed the men of justice that they concluded to 
 dismiss him with a reprimand only. The stranger 
 said, ( !No, you have arrested me, and you shall try 
 me'; and the result was, that the transaction cost 
 the town seven hundred dollars." Mrs. H. said, 
 " That act had a great effect upon the community 
 at large, and was a rapid stride towards freedom of 
 thought and action in Connecticut." For another 
 example, she related the " fact of her uncle, the Hon. 
 
26 
 
 Daniel Brinsmead, often tying the hands of the 
 young children of his family behind them on Sun- 
 day, calling it Sabbath-day respect." Mrs. Hatha- 
 way highly disapproved of the deference shown 
 the Christian minister in the early history of her 
 State. She said, in her youth " none of the young 
 members of a family were expected to sit, or speak 
 above a whisper in the presence of the clergyman 
 whenever he visited in his parish, unless he bade 
 them take a seat, which was generally spoken in a 
 stern and ostentatious tone." Her discerning mind 
 soon saw the absurdity, and said she, " I always 
 shunned the worthy divines of New Milford until 
 I could be permitted to speak my sentiments and 
 maintain my own individuality." It is therefore 
 possible that Mary Botsford was one of the first 
 women to unconsciously raise her voice in favor of 
 the prerogative for woman. She did not, however, 
 at any time enter into the extreme measures of the 
 reformations of the present day, more familiarly 
 known as "woman's rights," and in her old age 
 would modestly say she "could not understand 
 why woman wished to don any garment, excepting 
 a hat, resembling male attire, when their own was 
 so extremely graceful." And in regard to women 
 voting at the polls, she discussed the subject with 
 great indignation at all times. She said to a 
 friend, after reading the doings of a "woman's 
 rights convention," " The foolish things, they are 
 
27 
 
 bringing themselves back to a state of barbarism, 
 when the women will be expected to work in the 
 fields and do all the hard labor, while the men sit 
 upon the door-sill of the home and smoke their 
 pipes." 
 
 In 1792 Mrs. Hathaway, with her brother, joined 
 her father's family at the Friends' settlement in 
 the wilderness of Western New York, her father, 
 Elnathan Botsford, having emigrated from New 
 Milford the year previous, 1791, leaving his daugh- 
 ter in the family of her uncle, Judge Buckingham. 
 As transportation was more easy by sleighs and 
 sleds, and no individual travelled alone for fear of 
 Indian depredations, they made their journey in 
 January, in the company of a large party of gen- 
 tlemen going West to seek their fortunes. Among 
 them were the Wadsworths, General William, W. 
 and his brother James, subsequently conspicuous 
 in Geneseo, 'N. Y.; also, Judges Chipman and 
 Barlow, who settled in Canandaigua. " The party 
 had eleven sleighs, and were seventeen days" 
 going a distance that would now be travelled in 
 less than twenty^four hours. Mrs. Hathaway, as 
 one of the three ladies of the party, always spoke 
 of the journey as " a most pleasant era in her life," 
 although her " discouragements were very great on 
 her arrival at the settlement, for she found there 
 very few of the comforts of a regular home," and 
 to the Universal Friend she was an unwelcome 
 
28 
 
 member in her community, as she well knew Mrs. 
 H. had no sympathy with her religious views, 
 and never hesitated to assert her own, or spend her 
 opinion at any time in her presence, as on their first 
 acquaintance " Mrs. EL ridiculed before the face of 
 Jemima her authoritative manner over her deluded 
 followers." On one of her proselyting tours to 
 Connecticut she came with her retinue to the house 
 of Mr. Elnathan Botsford, Mrs. Hathaway's home, 
 to spend two days and hold her meetings. One of 
 the ladies of the party said, "the Great Friend's 
 cloak had no seam in it." " Mrs. H. examined it, 
 and found as many seams as in any cloak of the 
 kind, and took the first opportunity when it was 
 laid aside to spread it out upon the floor and ex- 
 pose the seams." For the act " Jemima declared 
 her an unregenerate child, and said her name 
 ought to have been "Vexation," and took great pains 
 while there to be censorious in her discourses to- 
 wards " disobedient and rebellious children," a term 
 she always used for those who did not readily come 
 under her control. 
 
 Early in March the settlers tapped the maple 
 trees and commenced making sugar, and quite soon 
 after the arrival of Mrs. H. in the western settle- 
 ment " she was invited to a maple sugar party at 
 the Hathaways' camp." " There," she would often 
 say, laying her hand upon the arm of her husband, 
 " in that sweet place, this gentleman and I met 
 
29 
 
 first." A fitting precursor, for their married life 
 of fifty-nine years was marked with unity and 
 great kindness towards each other. 
 
 For a time Jemima Wilkinson reigned supreme 
 over her community at the West, and the most of 
 her followers were sufficiently credulous to be 
 duped by her to perfect submission. For a trivial 
 deviation from her rules, Jemima often imposed the 
 most degrading punishments upon any member of 
 her society, " such as a gentleman to wear a black 
 cap drawn over his hair and forehead on all public 
 occasions for three months." " One of the most 
 dignified gentlemen of her community actually 
 submitted to have a little bell tinkling from the 
 skirt of his coat for six weeks." As her meetings 
 were frequently disquieted by ludicrous persons, 
 Mrs. H. often told the anecdote of " seeing a young 
 member reach his staff over the seat in meeting 
 and touch the little bell to make it ring." At 
 another time the husband of one of the lady mem- 
 bers of her society, disliking her interference in 
 his family, " came to meeting on a Sunday with a 
 dried fox-skin mounted upon his head for a hat, 
 with the head of the animal for the top, and the 
 stiff feet projecting out in front over his face." 
 After Jemima had gazed upon the wild looking in- 
 dividual for several moments, she broke the silence 
 in a low, grum tone, with this quotation, "Now 
 there was a dav when the sons of God came to 
 
30 
 
 present themselves before the Lord, and Satan 
 came also among them." Upon the person being 
 called to an account for disturbing the Friends' 
 meeting, he replied, " All the men kept their hats 
 on their heads, and I did the same." 
 
 As Thomas Hathaway, Jr., settled upon a large 
 tract of land at the time of their marriage in 1793, 
 with the forest still standing, Mrs. Hathaway had 
 many reminiscences to relate in after years of 
 pleasures realized, hardships endured, and dangers 
 from wild animals and Indians to fear. The Ind- 
 ians, however, proved friendly, and were of great 
 service to the explorations for salt springs and 
 other useful localities. 
 
 After a few years of forest life, " Mrs. Hathaway 
 saw from her window one day a stranger on horse- 
 back emerging from the woods with leather saddle- 
 bags dangling on each side of the animal, and a 
 large valise strapped to the back of the saddle. 
 On a near approach it proved to be General 
 Wads worth, the previous travelling companion of 
 Mrs. H., who had been from Geneseo to Utica for 
 shopping, and had turned many miles away from 
 the direct road to pay her a visit. The leather 
 bags contained window-glass, nails and hinges, 
 cotton cloth, broadcloth, calico, tea, coffee and 
 sugar, thread, needles, pins, etc. ; all that a house- 
 hold was expected to require for a very long time 
 in those days." General W. complimented Mr. 
 
31 
 
 ad Mrs. Hathaway upon the symmetry and neat- 
 ess of their rustic home, and " pronounced them 
 xtremely aristocratic, for they were indulging in 
 wo rooms and an oven, while his habitation had 
 nly one room and no oven." 
 Before the axe had cleared away much of the 
 wild wood " that surrounded their home, the bears 
 nd wolves were not at all modest if they wished 
 3 make a meal of any of the domestic animals, 
 t was therefore necessary to keep them in little 
 iens near enough to the house to have an eye over 
 heir safety. In the absence of Mr. Hathaway on 
 •fficial business, as he was often called, the care 
 nd attention to the premises - devolved entirely 
 ipon Mrs. H. She would say with a shudder, " It 
 ailed forth all my strength of mind and alacrity to 
 :eep our little stock, and at tunes to preserve my 
 iwn safety." One morning, after her husband had 
 eft home, and the hired man had gone to the 
 roods to work, she heard an outcry among the 
 wine, caused by the presence of a bear peeking 
 hrough the slats of the pen. Said she, " I was 
 >bliged to stand a long time upon my doorstep and 
 loat a white cloth in the air to frighten the crea- 
 ure. He would look at the swine and then at me, 
 is if he hardly knew which to take." "After many 
 veary hours bruin sauntered off toward the thicket, 
 nrning every few steps to look back, as if trying 
 
32 
 
 to solve the meaning of the fairy white wing that 
 had cheated him out of his expected repast." 
 
 It is a rare occurrence for any new country to 
 be at first settled by gentlemen of so high an order 
 of talents and integrity as was the Genesees, or 
 more properly the county of Ontario, which in the 
 original comprised a large part of "Western New 
 York; and as the house of Mr. Hathaway was one 
 of hospitality, they entertained and enjoyed the 
 society of cultivated people, although the country 
 was for many years rough and forbidding. 
 
 During the war with Great Britain of 1812, Mrs. 
 Hathaway was particularly conspicuous in her kind 
 attention to the weary officers as they passed 
 through the country on military errands, and at 
 the time of her death a General remarked that 
 " that intelligent lady was not aware how much 
 she was admired, not only for her zeal and patriot- 
 ism in the cause of her country at that trying pe- 
 riod, but for her excellent judgment, general 
 knowledge and authentic and useful information 
 she often gave of the passing events of the day." 
 
 In 1814 the " famous Dr. Joshua Lee, a surgeon 
 on the frontiers at Niagara," sent a letter to Mr. 
 Hathaway by a wounded soldier, who returned 
 home to their neighborhood from the army. Mr. 
 H. was absent at the time it came to hand, and 
 Mrs. Hathaway thought it to be an important com- 
 munication, as it was in regard to the Six Nations 
 
33 
 
 of Indians on the Mohawk river, and perhaps in- 
 formation necessary at headquarters. She lost no 
 time in sending it -to Colonel Eobert Troup of 
 Geneva, who always reminded her of the favor 
 whenever they met in after years. The mind of 
 Mrs. Hathaway retained its capacities to near the 
 close of a long and useful life. She read much, 
 particularly the Scriptures, in which she was es- 
 pecially conversant. Her religious sympathies 
 were with the Methodists, and with that denomina- 
 tion she was many years a communicant. In poli- 
 tics she was a strong whig, and always kept herself 
 informed upon the political topics of the day. At 
 the opening of the rebellion of 1861, she expressed 
 a regret that she had lived to see her country at 
 war a third time. Her death occurred November 
 3d, 1866, in the ninety-sixth year of her age, hav- 
 ing survived her husband thirteen years. 
 
 With many years of industry and frugality, the 
 forest of their farm was cleared away, and commo- 
 dious buildings were erected. Where once only 
 savage life was known, is now fertility, beauty, 
 peace and plenty, and the only primitive object to 
 be found at the home so long of Thomas Hatha- 
 way, Jr., and his wife, Mary Botsford Hathaway, 
 is the 
 
 " Moss-covered bucket, 
 That hangs in the well." 
 
-4HSTOfH^f-*M*TH]«HB0*SP«ftfr 
 
 Elnathak Botsfokd, previously mentioned as 
 one of the early pioneers to Western New York, 
 " was born in New Milford, Connecticut, in 1738." 
 Of his early history nothing is known until the 
 commencement of the French war, in which he 
 enlisted in a Connecticut regiment in 1755, and 
 was in the division of the army at Lake George, 
 " commanded by Sir William Johnson." " He re- 
 ceived a slight wound in an engagement under 
 Captain William Lyman," otherwise the result of 
 his services in that year cannot be recalled. From 
 1756 Mr. Botsford served three years; at first as a 
 sergeant. He was among the forty companies of 
 boatmen " enlisted by General Shirley, to transport 
 stores from Schenectady to Colonel Bradstreet, at 
 Fort Oswego." He was also with Colonel Brad- 
 street when he with an inferior force maintained 
 his position against a large body of French and 
 Indians " on the Onondago river, near the margin 
 of Oneida lake," and was high in his praise for the 
 intrepidity of a young officer on that occasion by 
 the name of Seth Pomeroy, afterwards General 
 Pomeroy, a hero at Bunker Hill. 
 
35 
 
 In 1757 Mr. B. was detached with a party, 
 guided by friendly Indians, to go for snow-shoes, 
 and after great suffering from frost-bitten limbs 
 and hunger, they returned with ninety pairs. They 
 probably went to Canada, for I think the shoes 
 were obtained by the Indian guides from the enemy. 
 
 .In 1758 Mr. Botsford was at the "capture of 
 Fort Frontenae," and often spoke of the courtesy 
 and kindness of Colonel Bradstreet towards the 
 prisoners of the garrison after the surrender. Also 
 can be remembered some of the touching incidents 
 he related of the rescue of men from the colonies, 
 imprisoned in Canada. Directly after Col. Brad- 
 street gained possession of the fort, he negotiated 
 with the Canadians for the exchange of his prison- 
 ers, and soon effected the exchange of one officer 
 for another. "When the redeemed man was fairly 
 in their hands, the " flag they had set up in Fort 
 Frontenae was lowered, and he allowed to raise it 
 again, amidst loud huzzas for his liberty." That 
 officer must have been " Colonel Peter Schuyler of 
 JSew Jersey," then a prisoner in Canada, and " was 
 exchanged by Colonel Bradstreet for the com- 
 mander of the fort." " At the same time General 
 Israel Putnam was held a captive in Canada, and 
 history says treated with savage cruelty." He was 
 also rescued by Colonel Bradstreet, in exchange. 
 Mr. Botsford was one of the guard to march the 
 prisoner to a point, and receive Gen. Putnam. He 
 
36 
 
 would say with a sigh, " Poor Putnam, I knew him 
 well, and shall never forget his tattered garments, 
 haggard looks, and imploring expression, when we 
 received him from the hands of his captors." 
 
 By Mr. Botsford's own request, he was excused 
 from belonging to the regular army of the Revolu- 
 tionary war, and during the seven years he served 
 in a company of home guard in " ISfew Milford and 
 vicinity, and was not called away to any other 
 defence, excepting a short time upon' the Hud- 
 son river, directly after the treason of Benedict 
 Arnold." 
 
 Mr. B. venerated' the name of General "Wash- 
 ington, and whenever the event of " Arnold's trea- 
 son " was mentioned, he would remark, raising his 
 long arm with a gesture of determination, " The 
 treachery of that villain aroused the indignation of 
 this whole country, and made our blessed "Wash- 
 ington all the stronger, for then any of us were 
 ready to lay down our lives whenever that good 
 man required it." 
 
 In stature Mr. Botsford was over six feet, and a 
 marked person in after years for his military bear- 
 ing. He was a communicative old gentleman, and 
 very entertaining in his accounts of the heroism 
 and achievements of the different campaigns in 
 which he served. This venerable grandfather 
 would draw his grandchildren and their young 
 friends around him on a winter evening, to crack 
 
37 
 
 the nuts he had gathered from his farm, and listen 
 to his war stories. The great tankard full of cider 
 was stood upon- the hearth of the- immense fireplace 
 to warm for good cheer, while the veteran, over 
 eighty years of age, would entertain his little audi- 
 ence with the enthusiasm of a young man, not 
 suspecting that his interesting accounts of battles 
 won, forts captured, adventures, etc., were to linger 
 in their young minds, and years after to be called 
 forth in snatches for historic use. 
 
 Mr. Botsford survived his wife, Lucy Stone 
 Botsford, for twenty-two years, and during that 
 time he lived in the family of his son, " Elnathan 
 Botsford, Jr." He died in Jerusalem, Yates coun- 
 ty, N". Y., in February, 1827, in the 89th year of 
 his age, much respected by the community in which 
 he lived, for his industry, integrity and usefulness. 
 
4HST4R¥-0F-tft»GE-A¥ft^^ 
 
 Judge William Potter, previously named in 
 this narrative as a native of Khode Island, was an 
 extremely energetic and useful citizen in the early 
 settlement of "Western New York, and it will be 
 seen by the following interesting document that he 
 was a devoted patriot to his country at the time of 
 the oppressive measures of the English government 
 toward the American colonies. When Judge Pot- 
 ter left Rhode Island, he carried this original man- 
 uscript among his papers, and 'in 1851 it was put 
 into the hands of your informant by Dr. Brinton 
 Hazard of Jerusalem, ~N. Y. 
 
 Colony oe Rhode Island, Feb. 11th, 1774. 
 
 In obedience to our appointment, we have taken 
 into consideration the natural and constitutional 
 rights and privileges of the Americans, and the 
 many infringements to those rights by several acts 
 of the British Parliament, and do report the fol- 
 lowing: 
 
 " Resolved, 1st. That our ancestors by oppres- 
 sion in their native country, being denied the liber- 
 ty of enjoying their religious sentiments, did emi- 
 
39 
 
 grate from Great Britain into America, which they 
 had a just and natural right to, or to any other 
 part of the world. 
 
 " 2d. That upon their arrival in America they 
 purchased the lands of the Indian natives, who had 
 the absolute and exclusive right in the Property 
 and Produce of said Lands, and to dispose of the 
 same. 
 
 "3d. That from the majority of the (a line 
 obliterated) required " from the Sachems, the pro- 
 prietors of the lands thereof; they themselves 
 became possessed in the same right of inheritance, 
 to dispose of the same to all intents and purposes, 
 and might have incorporated themselves into dis- 
 tinct governments ' without connecting themselves 
 with Great Britain, or any other power whatever. 
 
 " 4th. That from a sincere regard and venera- 
 tion for the Parent State, they put themselves 
 under the allegiance of the Crown of Great Britain 
 upon certain laws confirmed and firmly established 
 to them and their heirs, by their respective charter, 
 that all their natural, civil and religious rights and 
 privileges should be secured to them forever, which 
 have been since recognized by several acts of the 
 British Parliament, and for the common safety and 
 interest of both Great Britain and the Colonies, 
 ought never to have been interrupted. 
 
 w 5th. That the British Parliament, claiming a 
 right to tax the Americans and extort their monies 
 
40 
 
 from them without their consent, hath a manifest 
 tendency to enslave the People, and to introduce 
 Despotism, which is inconsistent with their natural 
 rights and privileges confirmed to them by their 
 respective charters, and which as freemen and good 
 subjects they have a right to enjoy. 
 
 " 6th. That the seizing any Person in America 
 and transporting them to Great Britain for trial 
 upon any pretence whatever, is a manifest breach 
 of our natural and confirmed privilege, and in 
 direct violation to the laws of the land. 
 
 " 7th. That it is the Duty of every American, 
 with a due respect to the Supreme Governor of the 
 Universe, and a regard for our most Gracious Sov- 
 ereign, and the rights of America, by all prudent 
 ways and means to oppose such measures as have 
 a direct tendency to lessen the mutual affection 
 which hath for a long time subsisted between Great 
 Britain and the Colonies, and deprived us of our 
 most invaluable rights and privileges. 
 
 "8th. That the East India Company, or any 
 Others, sending their Tea to America, whilst sub- 
 ject to a duty on its being landed here, is a mani- 
 fest attempt to enforce revenue acts, and undoubt- 
 edly designed as a precedent for the future, to 
 establish taxes and monopolies upon all the neces- 
 saries of life in America. Therefore we will 
 neither buy, sell, nor receive upon any condition 
 
41 
 
 whatever, any dutied Teas intQ this Town, and 
 will use our utmost endeavors to prevent the same. 
 
 " 9th. That it is the Duty of any American who 
 regards God, his Country and his Sovereign, to 
 endeavor by all prudent means for a restoration of 
 that ancient and cordial Love, and Affection, which 
 formerly subsisted between Great Britain and the 
 Colonies, and which made them powerful, great 
 and victorious. 
 
 " 10th. That the Inhabitants of this Town ever 
 have been and still are ready, on any occasion, to 
 demonstrate their loyalty and love to their King 
 and Country, and cannot help looting back with 
 regret upon the unhappy measures that have been 
 adopted by the Parliament and ministry of Great 
 Britain, to divest them of those sacred Blessings, 
 and we are ready when called upon in a Constitu- 
 tional way, to grant such aid and assistance to the 
 Crown as the necessity of the case may require, 
 and our abilities admit, and are ready to sacrifice 
 our lives and fortunes for the honor, dignity and 
 interest of our Sovereign and the Parent State, 
 and with a firm attachment to our natural and free- 
 born rights and privileges which are dearer to us 
 than our fives, and are a blessing under God that 
 we will not give up to any Power on Earth. We 
 do solemnly determine that we will heartily unite 
 With the other Towns in this and all the Sister 
 Colonies in every prudent measure, and exert our 
 
42 
 
 utmost force in support of our just Eights and 
 privileges. 
 
 " 11th. We revere the Sister Colonies, Boston, 
 Yirginia and Philadelphia, for their virtuous and 
 noble stand in defence of the common liberties of 
 America, and with Hearts fall of Gratitude in the 
 present alarming situation of the Colonies, we do 
 vow to stand firm with the Sister Colonies against 
 any Oppressive measures from . Great Britain or 
 her ministers. 
 
 "12th. At a Town Meeting held at South 
 Kingston, Colony of Rhode Island, the 11th day 
 of February, 1774, Benj amine Peckham Moder- 
 ator. 
 
 ""Whereby the East India Company, notwith- 
 standing the resolutions of the Americans not to 
 import Tea while it remains subject to the payment 
 of a Duty in America, have attempted to force 
 large quantities thereof into some of our Sister 
 Colonies without their consent, in order to be sold 
 in this country on their account and risque, and 
 whereas they may attempt to introduce it into this 
 Colony, we the Inhabitants of this Town legally 
 convened in Town Meeting, do firmly resolve, 
 
 " That William Potter, Jeffrey Watson, Benja- 
 mine Peckham, Cardon Hazard, Samuel Rodman 
 and Robert Brown, Esq.'s, be a Committee for this 
 Town, empowered to negotiate with all the other 
 Committees that is or may be appointed by any 
 
43 
 
 Town in this or the other Colonies, and if any Tea 
 subject to a duty should be imported into this 
 Town, or any other attempts should be made to 
 subvert our Liberties, the Committee or the major 
 part of them is directed and hereby empowered to 
 call a Town Meeting immediately. 
 
 " Resolutions entered into by ye Town of Kings- 
 ton February 11th, 1774. To be lodged upon file 
 in ye Town Clerk's Office. 
 
 " "Witness, William Potter, Town Clk." 
 
 The usefulness of Judge William Potter was of 
 short duration to the new country he was so es- 
 pecially active in settling. He died suddenly in 
 1798, while on a journey to Philadelphia. Judge 
 Potter was a gentleman of fine talents, and at the 
 time of his lamented death was first Judge of 
 Ontario county, !N". Y. His descendants are nu- 
 merous, and many of them are holding honorable 
 stations at the present day. 
 
j