82 



HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK. 



JJrwin. — John E. Evans, Samuel Erwin, and John 

 Cooper, Jr. 



Greenwood. — Levi Davis, Thomas Johnson, Anson Cook, 

 William J. Strong, and Randall Pease. 



Hornby. — Isaac Goodsell, Samuel Oldfield, Josiah Wheat, 

 Francis Northway, and Levi Nash. 



Iloniellsville. — Oliver Coon, Othniel Call, Oliver Petti- 

 bone, Jabez Lamphere, and John J. Sharp. 



Howard. — Daniel N. Bennett, Byram L. Harlow, Wil- 

 liam GofF, John D. Collyer, and Jacob G. Winne. 



Jersey. — Abraham M. Lybolt, Gilbert Reed, Caleb Wol- 

 cott, Peter Houck, and Henry Switzer. 



Jasper. — William Hunter, Benjamin Heliker, Ira Smith, 

 Uzal M'Mynderse, and Hinckley Spencer. 



Fainted Post. — Robert H. Hoyt, Joseph Gillett, Charles 

 Wolcott, Jr., William Webster, and Henry D. Smith. 



Prattsburgh. — Stephen Prentiss, Gamaliel Loomis, Jo- 

 siah AUis, Ira C. Clark, and Joseph Potter. 



PuJteney. — David Hobart, William Sagar, Barnet Retan, 

 Daniel Bennett, and Seth Weed. 



Tyrone. — Henry S. Williams, Henry L. Arnold, John 

 Sobering, Samuel L. Bigelow, and Daniel Child. 



Troupshurgh. — Samuel Cady, Samuel Griggs, Joshua 

 Slayter, Jesse Wilden, and Nathan S. Hayes. 



Urhana. — Henry A. Townsend, John Sanford, Jr., 

 John Powers, Elias Ketchum, and Dyer Cranmer. 



Wheeler. — Jonathan Barney, Nathan Rose (2d), Abram 

 J. Quackenbush, David Barney, and John C. Overhizer. 



Wayne. — Latham Fitch, John H. Sherwood, and Thorn- 

 ton F. Curry. 



Wood/mil. — Caleb Smith, Samuel Stroud, Asher John- 

 son, Jeffrey Smith, and Martin Harder. 



Alfred — Edward Green, Daniel Babcock, Spencer Sweet, 

 Richard Hall, and Clark Crandall. 



Barns. — Stephen Mundy, Nathaniel Bennett, and Jose- 

 phus Miller. 



Almond. — David Crandall, George Lockhart, Joseph 

 Baldwin, James McHenry, and Jasper White. 



Andover. — Philip Wardner, Asa S. Allen, Hiram Har- 

 mon, Elias Purrington, and Stephen Potts. 



Independence. — Alva Wood, William W. Reynolds, and 

 Almond Crandall. 



Italy. — James Fox. 



Samuel S. Haight, Edward Howell, and George C. Ed- 

 wards, at the request of the convention, took their seats as 

 members thereof. The court-house being insufficient to ac- 

 commodate the convention and the spectators, the conven- 

 tion adjourned to the Presbyterian meeting-house. 



The convention having reassembled at the meeting- 

 house, and the objects of the meeting having been discussed, 

 the following preamble and resolutions were unanimously 

 adopted : 



^' Whereas, The unusual and alarming embarrassment of a great 

 portion of the settlers on what are usually termed the Pulteney and 

 Hornby estates, in the counties of Steuben and Allegany, call loudly 

 for the interference of some power to interpose between them and a 

 state of pecuniary depression which threatens eventually to termi- 

 nate in consequences disastrous to the welfare and prosperity of this 

 section of the State, 



" Whereas, In the opinion of this meeting, the propriet^ors of any 

 estate cannot be benefited by th^ existence of a state of things in the 



administration of its affairs productive only of general distress, em- 

 barrassment, and poverty. 



" Whei^eas, In the opinion of this meeting, the true cause of the 

 present embarrassment and depression may be traced to an ill-judged 

 policy in the direction and management of the said estates : 



" By the disposal of their lands at prices above their value and 

 entirely beyond the power of the settlers to meet^ 



" By the practice adopted by the agency of compounding the in- 

 terest annually on demands due, until by its accumulation it has, in 

 most cases, increased the original demand to a sum beyond the value 

 of the land and the improvements thereon ; and 



" By threatening to enforce a course of rigid punctuality on many 

 of the settlers, while at the same time legal restraints are imposed 

 which render it entirely hopeless for them to attempt the payment of 

 any considerable portion of their debts. 



" And whereas, it is not only the privilege but the duty of the peo- 

 ple at all times to assemble in a constitutional manner, with a view 

 to the correction of a state of things evidently prejudicial to the wel- 

 fare of the community of which they are members. 



"Resolved, therefore. That a committee of one from each town rep- 

 resented in this convention, together with the chairman and secretaries 

 and William Woods, Esq., be appointed a committee to draft a memo- 

 rial to the principal agents of the Pulteney and Hornby estates on 

 the subject of existing grievances. 



"Resolved, That the following persons, together with those above 

 mentioned, constitute the said committee, to wit : Lemuel B. Searles, 

 James Warden, Hiram Averill, David Weld, Jeremiah Baker, Thomas 

 M. Brown, John E. Evans, Levi Davis, Isaac Goodsell, Oliver Petti- 

 bone, William Goff, Henry Switzer, Hinckley Spencer, Robert H. 

 Hoyt, Gamaliel Loomis, David Hobart, Henry S. Williams, Samuel 

 Grigges, John Powers, John H. Sherwood, Asher Johnson, Clark Cran- 

 dall, Josephus Miller, David Crandall, Asa S. Allen, Alva Wood, and 

 James Fox. 



" Resolved, That this convention adjourn till nine o'clock this even- 

 ing to hear the report of the committee appointed in the preceding 

 resolutions. 



"Whereupon the convention adjourned, and again assembled at the 

 hour above specified, and the committee reported a memorial, which 

 having been read, it was 



" Resolved, That the same be adopted and be signed by the delegates 

 composing the said convention." 



The convention then adjourned till nine o'clock next 

 morning. 



The convention met on the 20th of January, pursuant to 

 adjournment, when the following resolutions were adopted : 



" Resolved, That Stephen Prentiss, William Woods, Clark Crandall, 

 Ira C. Clark, and George -McClure, together with the chairman and 

 secretaries, be a committee to forward the memorial to Col. Robert 

 Troup and to John Gregge, Esq., on behalf of the inhabitants of said 

 counties, and to correspond and confer with them on the subject of 

 such memorial, as well as any other matter relating thereto; and 

 that they report the result of such correspondence to this meeting at 

 a future day. 



"Resolved, That this convention, when it adjourns, will adjourn to 

 meet again at such time and place as the chairman and secretaries 

 may appoint, and that notice be published by them of such subse- 

 quent meeting. 



" Resolved, That the members of this convention continue to hold 

 their places until the objects of the convention shall be obtained, or 

 until others shall be appointed in their stead. 



" Resolved, That it be recommended to those towns interested in 

 the objects of this meeting, and who are not fully represented in this 

 convention, to choose delegates to at least the number of five, to rep- 

 resent them in all future meetings. 



" Resolved, That the delegation in this convention from each town 

 be a committee to be denominated the Committee of Grievances, 

 whose duty it shall be to collect all information on the subject of 

 existing evils and report the same to this convention at some future 

 meeting. And that said committee be also authorized to collect funds 

 to defray the expenses attending the carrying into effect the object 

 of this meeting, and to pay over the same to the treasurer hereinafter 

 appointed. 



