“This essay was originally published in the 1940 OCHS Yearbook. Please note that this essay was published over 84 years ago. While still useful for general education, language may be outdated and at times offensive. The Oswego County Historical Society does not stand by the language used in this essay. All photos were added in 2024 when this article was uploaded to the web. To view the original document, please visit NYHeritage.org.”
Paper Presented Before Oswego Historical Society at Fulton, October 28, 1940, by John E. Horrocks of the Faculty of Fulton High School
Cornelis Maesen Van Buurmalsen, the first of the American line of the present Van Buren family, sailed for the new world in the summer of 1631, bringing his wife, Catalyntje Martense and a son, Martin. Cornelis came as an articled servant of the patroon [sic], Van Renssalaer [sic], and settled on the Van Renssalaer [sic] holdings at a place called Papsknee, on the east side of the Hudson, near Greenbrush. A descendant, thinking the name Van Buurmalsen cumbersome in its new environment, changed it to Van Buren, though, since he was unable to write, he never did get around to setting it down on paper.
Cornelis’ son, Martin, in turn had a son, Peter Martense, who following the precepts so ably set forth in Genesis, in turn had a son Martin, who becomes of interest to us, because in 1669 he moved to Kinderhook, the town from which his grandson, John, the ancestor of the Van Burens of this vicinity, moved to come to Oswego county. Apparently Martin had risen above the station in life occupied by his ancestors, for in Kinderhook he settled on land deeded to him by Derick Wessels of Albany. Incidentally, Martin was the grandfather of the man who was one day to be President of the United States, a distinction that he could hardly have anticipated as he looked at the infant form of the baby named for him. The Van Burens, down through history, have kept certain names for their own and have given them to their offspring with, to us, bewildering regularity: John, David, Peter, Martin, and Volkert—over and over again.
While the Van Burens of Kin derhook[sic] and Rennsalaerwyck were growing used to the country that they must have found so different from their native Hol land[dic), there was a vast tract of land to the west to which white men had never penetrated. We of Oswego County today look up on ourselves as “Easterners” [sic] in every sense of the word, except perhaps that we lack the twang of the real down east Yankee, but in those days, following 1670, the Oswego River wended its way to Ontario in the midst of a vast tract of unchartered and, except for the Indians, unpeopled, wil derness[sic].
Oswego River in the 1750’s
An early writer (Cooper) speaking of the 1750s, was able to describe this vicinity from Three Rivers to Oswego thus: “The Oswego . . . was a deep, dark stream, of no great width, its[sic] still, gloomy looking current winding its way among overhanging trees, that, in particular spots, almost shut out the light of the heaven. Here and there some fallen giant[sic] of the forest lay nearly across its surface, rendering care necessary to avoid the limb; and, most of the distance the lower branches and leaves of the trees of smaller growth were laved[sic) by its waters… The entire scene was… luxuriant, wild, and full of promise, even in its rudest state.” It is true that a fort did exist at the mouth of the river and the lake was used, but “there existed a blank space of 100 miles between the last fort at the head of the Mohawk and the outlet of the Oswego.”
Soon after the formation of the United Colonies the new government received the land in this vicinity as a cession from the Iroquois tribes and soon, in 1790, made arrangements to dispose of it as bounties for Revolutionary services. But few of the land patents issued, however, went to the soldiers who had done the fighting as most of them had already sold their claims to others. On the west side of the river, including the present site of Fulton, were the survey townships of Hannibal and Lysander, which had been surveyed into lots comprising about 600 acres each. Within these survey townships was the political township of Granby, which did not, of course, coincide wholly with the Granby of today.
Early Settlers Suffer Hardship
To this vicinity, in the spring of 1792, there came together three settlers from Stillwater, in what was then Albany County, but is now Saratoga. These men were Major Lawrence Van Val kenburgh, Captain Henry Bush, and a Mr. Lay. Captain Bush had purchased Lot 74 of Gansevoort. The nearest settlement at this time was at “Salt Point,” (modern Syracuse) where Major Van Valkenburgh bought a yoke of oxen to lighten his labors as a settler. The men at once set to building [sic] cabins. Captain Bush built his near the west end of the present lower dam. It is supposed to have been quite a good one for the period. The first several years were hard ones which included a death and at least one serious brush with the Indians. The Indian trouble seems to have arisen as a result of a love affair between Valentine, one of Van Valkenburgh’s hired men, and an Indian squaw.
The winters were very severe for the new settlers and forced them twice to abandon thir[sic ]homes during the winter season. One winter (1794) was so severe that Major Van Valkenburgh spent the whole winter at the fort in Oswego with his family as the guest of the Hessian commander, Captain Schroeder. Captain Bush seems to have been particularly ambitious, for he built, during the first years of his residence, a barn which was afterwards quite celebrated; being about 30 feet long, 20 feet wide and 12 feet high. It was built of logs over a foot in diameter. Despite all this work he moved away in 1797, and on the land that he had left vacant moved John [sic ]Van Buren, a cousin of President Martin Van Buren and the grandson of the Martin[sic] whose new station in life had permitted him to become a Kin derhook landowner.
First Van Buren Settler Came In 1796
John was born in Kinderhook in 1753 and after the usual, married Catherine Van Valkenburgh, who died after presenting him with a son named, Peter[sic ]. Catherine was a relative of the Major [sic ] Van Valkenburgh who moved here in 1792. John married again, this time, Elizabeth Sharpe, and by her had four sons, John, Jacob, David, and Volkert. Not long after his second marriage, in 1790, John moved from Kinderhook to Canada. While there he corresponded with Major Van Valken burgh and finally decided to join him here in what is now Oswego County. In 1796 he came down the Oswego river and located [sic ] on “Indian Point” near the lower landing on the west side of the Oswego river. From there he moved to Captain Bush’s property and came into possession of the “fine” house and the big barn. It was there that David, the youngest of John’s five sons, was born in 1798.
One day while the family were living on the Bush place the father was working some distance from the house, and Mrs. Van Buren, confronted with the appetites of a lusty male family made some porridge and placed it outside to cool. Some time later she went out to get it and discovered the last of it vanishing down the throat of a bear who also had a lusty appetite.
Shortly afterwards (1798) they moved once again, this time to the east side of the river. (One account gives the date of this moving as 1796). As a matter of fact, by 1799, everyone of the early residents who had settled on the west side of the river, with the possible exception of the Frenchman, Penoyer, had left for a new location on the East side of the river.
It would be interesting to know the real reason for such an egress from the west side. Possibly it may have been because of the swampy nature of the ground; or possibly because of the fact that there had been a great deal of difficulty about the titles of many of the lots on “the military tract” since some of the soldiers who drew grants of land had sold them over and over again. Or perhaps it was just fashionable to move across.
The Van Burens Were “River Men” In any event, John Van Buren and his family moved to the east side of the river and built a temporary log cabin on some land which Major Van Valkenburgh had purchased from George Scriba. Soon after the family moved over, John’s wife died, and the other boys were left with the care of their one-year-old brother, David.
John Van Buren and his sons gained a great deal of their livelihood on the river, along which they became quite celebrated. They rafted logs, boated, canalled, and after a time became proprietors of several riverside business ventures.
In those days, before the Oswego canal was built, goods were brought down from the East through the Mohawk River, Oneida Lake, and Oswego River to a point just above the falls in the Oswego River at what is now Fulton in what were called “Durham” boats—large flat-bottomed boats carrying about twenty five tons of freight each and propelled on the river by men going from stem to stern on “running boards” provided with cleats and pushing poles against the bottom. When the “Durham” boats [sic ]reached the falls the freight was transferred to ox wagons on one side of the river or other, carried down stream [sic ] a mile and a quarter and re-embarked below the rapids in bateaux propelled by oars, and carrying about eight tons each. The bateaux then moved down to the mouth of the Oswego. Sometimes “Durham” boats might be found below the falls and still more frequently bateaux were found above them. The Van Burens, big, burly men that they were, were well suited for the tasks that this sort of work involved.
The land history of the east side of the river, the new home of the Van Burens, forms an interesting chapter in the history of the state. Members of the Roosevelt family purchased a great deal of land (about 500, 000 acres) from the State of New York, paying three shillings, one penny (39 cents) an acre, and in 1792 the Roosevelts sold the land to George Frederick Wil liam Augustus Scriba, who had it surveyed into townships by Benjamin Wright. Town No. 17 was called “Fredericksburg” after George Scriba’s son, Frederick. Town 17 is of particular interest to us because it was in “Freder icksburg” and its vicinity that much of the subsequent history of the Van Buren family centers.
Van Valkenburgh’s [sic ] Tavern
In the spring of 1795, Major Lawrence Van Valkenburgh had left his location on the west side and purchased “Cluet’s location” on the east side of the river below the falls which is just south of the boundaries of Town 17. He built his summer home on the peninsula afterward called “Orchard Lock.” Perceiving the need of a tavern for accommodating travelers using the River highway, he opened his home for that purpose. The house was a frame structure with log compartments at either end, the middle parts being used for parties, dances, town meetings, and other entertainments. It became a headquarters for the people of the surrounding country. S a 1 i n a [sic ], the girl who afterward married Jacob, John Van Buren’s son, related that the first dance she ever attended was at Van Valkenburgh’s tavern, where the music consisted of the melodious voice of a colored woman, a servant of Peter Sharp. The British at that time still held Oswego, and a story is told that one time some British soldiers from the fort were holding a drinking party at Van Valken burgh’s tavern. During the party the soldiers began to cheer for King George. John Van Buren, who had been drinking on the other side of the room, sprang to his feet and gave three cheers for George Washington. For this act of patriotism he was obliged to take to horse with the soldiers in hot pursuit. John was an interesting character who during his lifetime had done enough hard work for several men. One time when asked why he kept up such a pace replied, “It is better to wear out than to rust out.”
Carried Corn To Salt Point On Back
Even as late as the above incident (shortly before 1800) the entire population of what is now the site of Volney was scattered along the river bank a little above, but principally below, the site of the present city of Fulton. At that time the place was celebrated mainly for its portage and fisheries. The few improvements that had been made were crude and unimportant. No dams or bridges had been thrown across the river. Quantities of silver eel, salmon and other fish were caught in aboundance[sic ]. The Van Burens, who had begun to grow corn on their property, usually took it to Salt Point (Syracuse) on their backs, finding their way there by blazed trees. One day one of the Van Buren boys was taking some corn into town when he was chased up a tree by a bear and was forced to stay there all night. Soon after that the Van Burens built a boat and rowed their corn a good part of the way.
The Van Burens now found themselves becoming prosperous and substantial citizens of the region. The log cabin was abandoned for a wooden house which was distinquished [sic ] because it bore KO nails in any part of it.
Terms of a Scriba Lease
The eldest son, Peter, who was born in Kinderhook in 1781, had married Elizabeth Altlu use, and on October 12, 1805, he entered into an agreement with George Scriba which made him a land holder. He leased twenty-three and a half acres in lots 10 and 12 of the village of Fredericks burgh (town 17). The lease ran for a period of fourteen years and cost Peter $4.70 rental a year, the first rent to be paid three years after he took possession. But this was not so easy as it sounded, for he was supposed to plant 70 apple trees “of good fruit, not less than eight feet in height when planted, to be set in due season, and arranged in regular and proper form for an orchard, at least forty feet distant from each other, and to be enclosed with a good, strong, lawful fence”. As though that were not enough— “and it is further agreed . that the . . lessee . shall leave for the accommodation of his neighbors, a road or a street around the said lot of one rod wide.” And in addition, to make sure that there was no loafing, “and shall also . . cut and clear off all the wood and timber on said ground so left for a street; and also . . enclose said lot with a good straight fence, leaving said street as aforesaid.” All of which had to be completed in the first three years of his tenancy.
Peter also rose to prominence as constable of Mexico in 1803 and 1804. (This was before Volney was formed.) He had three children, Janet, Rachael, and John, known as “Black John” or “Black Jack.”
In the meantime the Fredericksburg settlement was beginning to grow. John Van Buren had finished his frame house and had rented a second one from George Scriba. While this was happening, John Van Buren’s friend, Whitman Church, hearing of the advantages of this country had moved here in 1809 from Kinderhook and put up the second frame house in the town not far from John’s. He must have found the country a bit more frontierlike than Kinder hook for his life was made miserable by wolves who took a fancy to the sheep he was trying to raise. One night the wolves crept under the house and killed six or eight sheep without disturbing the family who slept overhead. John Van Buren called on Church the next morning before he was up and startled him with, “Hallo, Neighbor! Are you going to sleep all day and let the wolves kill all of your sheep?”
Descendants of Early Van Burens
Mr. Church had a daughter, Salina. Jacob, another of John Van Buren’s sons, wishing to be neighborly, often took her to Van Valkenburgh’s tavern to dance. Propinquity at last got in its deadly work and they were married. There were five children, James, Mary, Thomas, Martin, and John. This John was called “White John,” to distinguish him from Peter’s “Black John.” Bert and Cora Van Buren, who live in Fulton now, are descended from James Van Buren, and Harry Payne, an other Fulton resident, is a direct descendant of “White John.” John Van Buren’s third son, John, Jr., who was probably baptized in Canada in 1791, married a girl named Elizabeth Althouse, who was a niece of his elder brother Peter’s wife who was was [sic ]also named Elizabeth Alt house. They had five children, John, called “Stub” to distinguish him from the other Johns in the family, Dan, from whom the Osborne sisters (Helen and Mabel E.) of Fulton are descended, Charles, Morgan, and Elizabeth.
Volkert Amassed Fortune
Volkert, John’s fourth son, was in some ways the most successful of his family. He owned, among other things, the grist and flour mill at Battle Island, and the sawmill on nearby Black Creek. His land holdings totaled 1,000 acres, and he owned land a mile each way from the Bennett house near Black Creek. As a matter of fact, he built of brick the Bennett house which in its day was known as one of the finest mansions in Central New York. (It stands on the west side of the East River road opposite the point where the Black Creek road enters the East River road.) Volkert married Phoebe Fredenburgh and had three sons, Volkert, Jacob, and Edward. The Bennett family, some of whose members reside in the old Volkert Van Buren mansion today, are descended from Edward Van Buren.
David, the baby of John Van Buren’s family, possibly lived the most interesting life. He first went to school at the foot of what is today known as “Seneca Hill.” His teacher was Benjamin Robinson who taught in this vicinity from 1804 on. Afterwards David went to school 96 one summer in Van Valken burgh’s barn. Later, in 1810, the Van Burens and others got together and built a schoolhouse a quarter of a mile south of “Orchard Lock”. While he was in school one of David’s classmates was Andrew Althouse, brother of John, Jr.’s, wife and nephew of Peter’s. David first married Eunice French, and after her death he married her sister, Lucretia French. There were three chldrien[sic ], Henry, Eunice, and Alice. When David finally died in 1887 at the age of 88 years, he had the distinction of being the oldest inhabitant of the town of Volney. His grave may be seen today at the old and abandoned cemetery on Black Creek on the Bennett property. He rests under a fine big stone, flanked on one side by Eunice, whom her stone calb [sic ]his “consort” (died 1830) and on the other side by sister Lucretia (died 1888) whom her stone calls his “wife.” At least David knew two synonyms for the marital state. This cemetery, containing as it does the graves of many of Oswego county’s early settlers, is of great interest. It is a shame that it has been allowed to deteriorate to the extent that it has.
John Van Buren’s Tavern
As John Van Buren’s family became more prosperous he decided to build a fine large mansion which would serve the double purpose of a tavern and a dwelling. He had observed the success that Van Valken burgh had had at the same type of venture, but he was determined to build a much finer house. Work was started immediately which resulted in the very fine old brick house, now owned by Miss Priscilla N. Myers, and located on the east bank of the Oswego river on part of lot 19, town 17. It is one of the county’s finest extant examples of the art of the early builders. (The exact year in which it was built is not known at this time, although continuing efforts are now being made to ascertain this fact from old papers belonging to the Van Buren family.) While the house was being built the family lived in a wooden house, still standing today, near the brick house. Even after all these years, after surviving use as a schoolmaster’s house, a milk house, a tenant house, and a sort of tool house, the building is still rugged and absolutely true. There are, of course, no nails in its construction.
Labor Cost Eight Cents Daily
It took John Van Buren eight years to build his house at a cost of $5,000. He paid 8 cents a day for labor. When one considers the comparative cost today, the result is staggering. The brick that went into its construction was made in a nearby brickyard. Its walls are sixteen inches thick. There is not a single pieced board in the house, and the boards are three inches thick. The downstairs included a barroom, several other rooms, and a kitchen. The floor of the kitchen is made of half logs finished and planed only on the surface side. In the kitchen there is also a huge fireplace with a built-in oven.
The second floor was a ball room which was run commercially and as such was the scene of a great many gay parties in early years attended by person ; from all parts of the surrounding region. The ballroom ran across the entire length of the house with windows facing out on the river. One entered it by means of a staircase at the head of which was a ticket office and dressing room. At each end was a fireplace, and on the two ends of the ceiling provision was made for chandeliers, which, however, were never put up. Above the ballroom is an attic in which the hired help may 97 have slept. In the attic, with their necks sticking through the ceiling of the ballroom below, were two large sounding bottles which served [sic ] to ampify [sic ] the sound of the music heard in the ballroom.
John Van Buren died in 1821. and his son, Jacob, carried on his work in the brick house. The canal was finally constructed and business improved. The tavern now became a packet house at which river traffic might stop and at which fresh horses might be secured. From time to time various outhouses were added until the vicinity took on the appearance of a small community. Included among these buildings were tool houses, a blacksmith shop, a grocery store, and a horse stable. Over the horse stable hung a sign bearing much testimony to its painter’s national origin: “Ye ‘Orses’ ‘Ome” [sic ]. The grocery bore the proud title of the “River Grocery”.
The land upon which the house was located was very fertile and returned to its owners many good crops. The river was the center of its existence. In those days people used the canal towpath when they wished to go anywhere. The land where the present concrete highway runs was in those days a woods in which pigs and cattle were allowed to run.
Governor Clinton Came to Open Canal in 1828
When the Oswego canal was first opened in 1828 Governor Dewitt Clinton came up to assist in the ceremonies, which included a canal boat ride from Syracuse to Oswego by the Governor and his staff. Jacob Van Buren was engaged to pilot the craft. He took his biggest horse and his eight year old son, “White John”, and while he steered the Governor’s boat John drove the horse on the towpath by riding on his back. This was the first canal boat to pass over the canal other than the work scows.
Life at the tavern built and conducted by John and Jacob Van Buren must have increased immensely in tempo after the building of the canal. It is perhaps best seen through the eyes of “White John,” the son of Jacob and the same boy that rode on the horse that drew Governor Clinton’s barge through the canal. It seems that the rivermen and neighbors would often gather in the blacksmith shop near the tavern and swap stories until the early hours of the morning. Ghost stories were apparently high favorites, and John related that more than once after listening in on their stories he was too terrified to attempt to go home to the big brick house.
Canal Quickened Life At Van Buren Tavern
“White John” owned a monkey which provided much amusement. One night he was gravely sitting on the bar watching the antics of a group of rivermen who had settled down to a bout of serious drinking. They were making eggnog and had a number of glasses sitting on the bar. The monkey grabbed an empty one and made as though[sic ]to drink from it. One of the river men filled the glass and the monkey drank it down and dropped the cup; whereupon he jumped to the floor to retrieve it and cut his foot on one of the broken pieces. The next day he sat mournfully on the bar nursing both a hangover and T sore foot. Sometime later someone offered him some more eggnogg,[sic ] whereupon he threw the glass at the would be donor [sic ]. In the words of one of the Van Burens, “he had more sense than some humans” [sic ].
On another occasion a customer in “the River Grocery” called the clerk’s attention to the monkey who had cornered the store’s supply of eggs and was dropping them on the floor, one by one.
“White John” in Oswego During Civil War Period
“White John”, growing to manhood and observing the success of his father, moved to Oswego where, during the Civil war period, he opened a canal grocery and a barroom and let horses out to canallers. Things did not [sic ] go so well with him in a business way at Oswego and he returned to the old homestead at the tavern which remained in the possession of his family until about 1900, when it was sold to Charles E. Myers whose descendants still occupy it. (Editorial note: The former tavern, the oldest standing house of the many early Van Buren houses, is now the home of Miss Priscilla H. Myers, daughter of C. E. Myers, who lives there from late spring through December of each year. Miss Myers is a retired teacher of the New York City School System. Her two sisters come each summer to visit Miss Myers. For a time, years ago, the old tavern was the dwelling on a rich tobacco farm but the soil is no longer tilled. The location is a most attractive [sic ] one scenicly [sic ]).
After the tavern was built David Van Buren, a brother of the builder of the tavern, constructed a very handsome brick house next door which is still standing. Its main feature is a series of white Ionic pillars. (This house is now owned and occupied by Mrs. David Van Buren, widow of a grandson of the builder.)
It has always been a source of pride to the Van Buren family that they were related to Martin Van Buren, President of the United States. The story of Martin Van Buren’s life has been too well recorded in other places to need repeating here, but his financial connections with this area are not so well known.
Martin Van Buren’s First Visit in 1805
Martin Van Buren knew this region quite well as he had frequent business in Oswego, and his political connections and activities often times made him well aware of this section. His first recorded visit to what we today know as Fulton came in the year 1805 when he and John Hudson (afterwards Canal Commissioner of the state), on their way to Oswego on business, stopped at the house of Ebeneezer Wright, a justice of the peace residing on the east side of the river. It is strange that he seems to have made no attempt to stay with any of his relatives while on this journey.
In any event, after supper Mr. Wright invited his guests to cross the river with him and to be present at a marriage ceremony which he was to perform. Wright and his guests, Martin Van Buren and John Hudson, accordingly crossed the river and went to a house some distance above the lower landing where the marriage, between Polly Huguenin and Jack Waterhouse, took place. The bridegroom was 19 and the bride 16. The wedding was further distinguished by being the first ever solemnized [sic ] in the territory now composing the town of Granby.
How “Van Buren Tract” Originated
Seventeen years later, in 1822, Martin was once again in Oswego county, this time as counselor to one of the claimants to Lot No. 6 in the Military Tract over which there was a dispute. By the end of 1822 the contest was decided in favor of Van Buren’s client. The counselor’s fee more than equalled [sic ]the value of the land in dispute and so the winner thought himself well off when he transferred what was then 99 considered quite inferior land to his lawyers. This land, a part of which is included within the city limits of Oswego, now worth many hundreds of times what it was then, was thereafter designated as “the Van Buren Tract”. It was divided into lots, and sold and rented to the highest bidders. E. M. Waterbury, president of the Oswego Historical Society, is the owner of a deed signed by Martin Van Buren, transferring the property where he now lives, in Montcalm street, Oswego, to the owners whose title succeeded that of Martin Van Buren.
(Editorial note: Martin Van Buren’s land operations in Oswego county largely antedated the period of his greatest prominence in the state and nation. He acquired the “Van Buren Tract” in 1822, but it was not until five years later, in 1827, that he resigned as United States Senator from New York to become Governor of the state. In March 1829 President Andrew Jackson appointed him as Secretary of State. Van Buren succeded Jackson [sic ] in the presidency, taking office in 1836. Martin Van Buren made considerable money through his sale of lands in Oswego County, clearing about $12,000, it is recorded, on one single, early transaction. In respect to his gains through his real estate sales in Oswego County, Martin Van Buren’s experiences seem to have been much more fortunate than were those of Alexander Hamilton, the Roosevelt Brothers, George Scriba and other prominent men in the early nation who speculated in real estate in territory now included in Oswego County most of whom made little or nothing through their realty ventures and some of whom lost the fortunes they had invested.)
Why Van Buren Did Not Vote For Oswego Canal
l There were a few regrets for Martin Van Buren over the land, though. In the Albany legislature it was proposed to build a canal from the Erie Canal to Oswego. Martin, then, a state senator, among others, was in favor and intended to vote for it when it came up. Some of the opponents of the bill, hearing this, took Martin aside and told him that if he, an Oswego landholder, voted for the canal which would increase the value of his land, they would expose him to the people of the state as a dishonest political grafter. Martin did not vote for the canal.
Thus members of the Van Buren family have been a considerable factor in the development of Oswego county. It is said that the family once owned land for ten miles along the Oswego river and for ten miles back. It would be rather difficult to establish that claim, but it may be true. In any event, on a land map published in 1867 there were 17 houses shown as inhabited by Van Burens between Fulton and Black Creek, and most of the rest of the houses in that vicinity were occupied by more or less near relatives [sic ]. It must be remembered that there were five children in the first generation, nineteen in the second, and the family numbers went up in leaps and bounds from that point on until today there are probably hundreds of descendants of the family, known by one name or another, yet resident in the county.
