THE FIRST SETTLER.

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Interesting Story of the Indians and the First White Man on the East Cayuga Reservation.

[The place of settlement was within the present town of Springport, at and about Cross Roads station on the Lehigh Valley railroad now passing through the town.-Ed.]

Thomas Thompson, whose oldest son and child was always conceded to have been the first white man who ever cut a tree as a settler on the East Cayuga Reservation, was himself born and brought up in County Antrim in the north of Ireland. He sailed from beautiful Belfast and landed in the lovely city of Philadelphia. He was an orthodox Presbyterian, who appeared in that wonderful net work of Divine Providence to have become the worthy husband of one of the noblest and most heroic namesakes that Queen Isabella ever had in the new world.

Mr. Thomas Thompson and Miss Isabella Maxwell were married and lived for some time previous to the Revolutionary war in Carlisle, in the state of Pennsylvania. They had, however, finally moved to, and settled in the eastern part of the valley of the Kishacoquillas, Mifflin county, Pa.

The official records of the Keystone State in the archives at Harrisburg, prove that John Thompson served as a volunteer in the revolution, before he was sixteen years of age and his pension for such service was awarded in 1853 under President Pierce’s administration.

The original Thompson family, the youngest member of which came to America, consisted of four brothers, named respectively, John, Alexander, James and Thomas. They were farmers and manufacturers on their own account. They raised their own flax; then pulled, prepared,,,,, and with their own hands spun and wove it into fine Irish linen. These gentlemen with their younger brother Thomas, who sailed for America were all Protestants of the Presbyterian faith. Thomas the tailor, no doubt thought that America would afford plenty of elbow room for his business, but he never dreamed that he would be called to start a tailor shop among savages.

The Lewiston Democrat and Sentinel, of March 29, 1893, contains a full and interesting account of the centennial celebration of the First Presbyterian church ever organized in the east end of that now populous valley, the great Kishacoquillas and Thomas Thompson’s name appears as one of the signers of the call to Rev. James Johnson its first pastor.

Some of the oldest settlers in that section had learned in broken English from the lips of Logan of whom we have all heard so much, something of the lovely lake country on this side of the Allegheny mountains. Stimulated by the glowing account of this friendly red man, himself a friendly Cayuga Indian in process of time, three young men, who had all been comrades in arms, and all members of the same company and regiment, with knapsacks and a pocket compass, struck out for, and finally found Cayuga Lake. Their names were John Campbell, James Culbertson, and John Thompson. They all found plenty of work and good pay as axmen and chainmen, in surveying out lots with the surveyors on land that had been sold to the state by the Cayugas outside of the east Cayuga reservation. This lasted until the setting in of winter, and would be resumed again when the suitable weather came in the spring, even this was some inducement for those hardy pioneers.

Campbell and Culbertson returned home the first fall; but John Thompson heroically remained to further spy out the goodly land before he returned to make his report by word of mouth, for he had only learned to read a little in the old Dilworth spelling book during the less than six months common school education which he had enjoyed. Still, by the blessings of God and the prayers of his believing and persevering parents, he finally became a beautiful reader of the Old and New Testament.

Poor Campbell and Culbertson returning the next spring, were both drowned in crossing a stream this side of the Great mountain. They had broken through the ice.

Remaining over winter, young Thompson had become a favorite with the Indians on the reservation. They gave him the name of Jenetoga. The true meaning of that word as understood among those wonderful people was “pine bush bent with snow.” To students in school or college, pine bush bent with snow might not signify anything beautiful or striking, but to those students of nature who have so much more time to study the true meaning and power of natural eloquence than white men, though they be business men or scholars, it meant much. In the dead of winter they had noticed the delicate spray of the tiny evergreen leaf, how it caught the particles of falling or driving snow until the boughs bent gracefully by increasing weight. Their cheerful guest had not been taken prisoner or captive in time of war though belonging to the pale faced family. Like white people, they admired his stalwart frame, his well rounded form, seemingly complete in all its proportions, the raven-like locks, the florid complexion with cheerful smile and spirits as bright and lively as the beaming morning. They had chosen their own emblem that to them signified so much of elegance, grace and beauty. They took Jenetoga by the hand and tried to teach him as best they could to talk their tongue. The real Cayuga seldom moves his lips when he speaks. He could talk and hold his knife between his teeth. Yet neither red or white man need have cause to blush for those well chosen words, when we consider the beautiful names given by the five nations to so many in that chain of lovely lakes found in central and western New York.. Was it strange then that after having showed their hospitality for an entire winter season that a young man having nothing beside a daily wardrobe excepting the grand outfit with which a bountiful nature and the great infinite author of nature had furnished him said. “This is a good place to pitch our tents.” “White people will soon own the ten mile square without war. Heaven helping me I will make this the home of the Thompson family.”

The second autumn John Thompson went home to the valley and when he returned again in the spring following, he brought with him his next oldest brother named Alexander, a fine grown healthy boy well up in his teens. These two brothers began to make improvements, for they saw if no better way offered, that it was only a question of a very short time when their heroic mother and some of their noble and industrious sisters, who had been born in between John and Alexander, would strike out and make the journey alone on foot, or die in the wilderness or perish in the streams as poor Campbell and Culbertson had already done.

That Thomas Thompson, the father, hesitated somewhat, is natural enough, for he was an accomplished tailor and saw but a poor prospect of doing much with shears and bodkin among a people who needed only leggings instead of pantaloons, and big blankets instead of coats. But like the noble queen who stood by Columbus when he needed help, Isabella, the wife and mother had faith in the enterprise, and with an abiding faith in that over-ruling Providence, without whose permission even a sparrow does not fall to the ground, the entire family set out, some on pack horses and before the half famished animals that had carried their own forage most of the way finally gave out, they reached the head waters of dear old Cayuga, when the canoes of friendly natives could bring them to their new home. Then they all lived in perfect peace with the rightful owners of the soil, as the following important fact abundantly proves: Indians are fine judges of good lands as their valuable reservations testify. White settlers commonly called squatters soon began to press on to the reservation, and especially near the shore of the lake.

Copied from the Thursday, April 2, 1903 issue of the Union Springs Advertiser.

NOTE: It is here suggested that this record of local history may have been drawn from the writings of

Rose N. Yawger, the author of THE INDIAN AND THE PIONEER, published in 1893 by C. W. Bardeen, Syracuse, N.Y. Reference to Vol. II, Chapter VII, Page 88, of that publication indicates very similar phrasing ….L. P. Hecht, 080701.

THE FIRST SETTLERS

Interesting Story of the Indians and the First White Man on the East Cayuga Reservation.

[The place of settlement was within the present town of Springport, at and about Cross Roads station on the Lehigh Valley railroad now passing through the town.-Ed.]

[Concluded.]

The state commissioners, foremost among whom was Gen. Schuyler, tried hard but could not purchase the East Cayuga Reservation. Red Jacket, who though a Seneca, had been born on the West Cayuga Reservation near Canoga Springs, in a memorable speech at Harris’s Point, near what was afterwards called Cayuga Bridge, asked the state commissioners what meant those forty-two houses of white men on their lands on the east side of Cayuga lake? If the great state of New York meant to carry out its part in good faith of the bargain once made with the Cayugas when they first sold out and the great body of them moved off their lands. No need of holding more meetings with the Indians of the East and West Cayuga Reservations until the state does something that proves that their part of the first bargain is to be fairly and finally carried out. When a sheriff with sixty armed troops began to remove the squatters goods out of their habitations, putting them on the further side of big trees, then throwing off roofs of their houses and setting a fire in each corner, the Indians said this means business. The sheriff and his soldiers moved slowly but they kept moving until they reached the house where the Thompson family lived, and there they found Chief Steel Trap stood at the head of his body guard saying to the sheriff, through the state interpreter. “The state officers must not touch this house, or disturb these people or anything that is theirs.” We told Jenetoga early to go bring his father and mother, brothers and sisters, and come and live in peace with us on our land. The state must not harm one of them or anything that is theirs.” This house and the house of Mr. Frederick Gearhart, some of whose grandsons and three children still live in Genesee county, N.Y., were the only two houses left out of the forty-two referred to in Red Jacket’s great speech that had produced such wonderful results between the white men and the red men. The Indians then were ready to sell and sell they did and moved away. The state having issued preemption rights many of these dispossessed settlers returned to their former homes or possessions and took title from the state. Thomas Thompson, the husband and father, with his wife, who had been members of the Presbyterian church before leaving Pennsylvania, had become charter members in organizing the First Presbyterian church on this tract of ten miles square that took in the site where Auburn stands.

Mr. Thompson died somewhat early in the settlement of the reservation, but his bereaved widow lived many years to enjoy the protection, love, and society of her large and obedient family. Near the dwelling house of her oldest son she found herself provided with a very commodious dwelling that had been built of logs squared on both sides and containing an upper story roofed with shaved shingles made of oak. This was a wonderful improvement on a cabin covered with bark.

On one occasion this spirited wife and mother, while pointing with true maternal pride, which she had a right to do, to her sons and daughters, and their grand achievements and handiwork in the wilderness, said in words worthy of the Roman Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi: “These are my furniture, the only kind I could bring on horseback or on foot through a wilderness of but little less than three hundred miles.”

Surrounded by the prosperous parents of forty grandchildren all enjoying the substantial comforts of life, she made her annual visits. Of course the younger ones always wanted a bear story from grandma and especially that one when two of the girls had helped to kill three bears that had just swam the lake that was nearly or quite a mile wide. Well, the story runs thus: The girls, Polly and Sally were washing under a bower which their brothers had made for them for that purpose on the lake shore. Three bears, one full grown and two cubs were discovered nearing the beach. One of the girls ran for the long-handled big tined pitchfork, but before she could return two of the bears, the old mother and one of the cubs had got up the bank and had taken to the woods; but the tines of the fork were quickly placed across the neck of the other cub and it was readily killed. Then the dogs were called and put on the track of the other two and thy were both treed before they got far away. The boys with their guns quickly dispatched them and the girls went on with their washing as if nothing very unusual had happened.

This remarkable lady seems never to have lost confidence in the wisdom and kindness of the over-ruling power. She had been called upon to face great discouragements in early life. She had with others willingly endured hardships during the Revolutionary war. With here entire family she had braved the wilderness, scaling highlands and fording streams, and when she had reached the new promised lands, saw the state authorities in a short time throwing the bark roofs off dwellings called homes and a fire set in each corner and not one single intimation but that her own home would share the same fate, until the good chief of this reservation said the state must not touch this house or disturb these people. Then to be permitted to live to see her five sons and sons-in-law pressing their improvements until a substantial stone church had been erected in the very midst of the Thompson settlement standing just one mile east from Thompson’s landing on the lake shore, on a site especially prepared by nature with grove and springs, her cup of joy was full and running over. Here stalwart sons all firm supporters of the gospel in the church of her own denomination , one son-in-law a worthy elder in the church, Jesse Davis another serving first as church chorister and then a worthy deacon until the day of his death George McFarland. It was rightly called the Presbyterian church, in the Thompson settlement.

She died full of honors and much beloved by her family and greatly esteemed by good men and good ministers, many of whom had labored early and earnestly to see this growing settlement brought under the benign influence of the gospel at an early day. Nor did they labor in vain. The Rev. Medad Pomeroy, the father of the Hon. Theodore M. Pomeroy of Auburn, had for many years been the beloved and gifted pastor of this church. He had been called to attend many a funeral there among a people he so much loved.

John Thompson had many friends and of course had a large funeral. When Mr. Pomeroy, his old pastor had been called to preach the funeral sermon, he found in the book of Psalms the text he thought appropriate for such a character as he had, by an intimate personal acquaintance long known the deceased to have been: “Mark the perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace.” Psalms, Chap. XXXVII and Verse XXXVII.

Copied from the Thursday, April 9, 1903, issue of the Union Springs Advertiser.