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BUTTERWORTH DICKINSON FAULKNER GOODHUE JONES KENNEDY MOON STREETER
History of "New Providence": Kanona, Bath Township, Steuben Co., NY
I am seeking all genealogical and biographical details for the individuals documented below. All additions and corrections, however speculative, will be greatly appreciated. Please send a copy of any response directly to me. I subscribe to many lists and post to many websites; I would not want to miss your reply! Thank you!
Perry Streeter (pstreeter@acccorp.com)
Canandaigua, New York
Thomas-1 Streeter (William-A, Richard-B), son of William-A and Ann (_____) Streeter, was born probably at Dunnings Farm in the parish of East Grinstead, Sussex, England on 22 [or 25] June 1753 (bible records in possession of Kaye Evelyn (Kenfield) Hall, hereinafter Hall BRs). Thomas was christened in the Parish Church of St. Swithun at East Grinstead on 16 June 1754 (EGPR); emigrated from London, England to "New Providence," on the site of modern-day Kanona in the township of Bath, Steuben County, New York in late 1794 and died in Canisteo, Steuben County, New York on 18 September 1831 (Hall BRs).
In 1795, there were only 160 people living at Bath (Cowan, 100) when Thomas Streeter and several others purchased lots #5 -_#11 in township #4, fourth range on the northeast side of the Cohocton River on 25 October. This settlement was northwest of the village of Bath, on the site of modern-day Kanona; Charles Williamson dubbed it "New Providence" (William Kersey, 1795 survey of New Providence). Thomas purchased lot #7, a total of 85.5 acres, from Charles Williamson for £201, 15 shillings money of New York (Bath, New York, Deeds, hereinafter BD, 1:7). A mortgage for this transaction, due on 1 October 1800, was made on 29 October 1795 and recorded in the records of Ontario County, New York (Ontario County Mortgage Liber 2:60, hereinafter OCML) on 2 November 1795.
Thomas may have begun farming there in 1794, when the first reference to him in Williamson's ledger calls him "of Providence." This deed, the fifth one recorded in Steuben County, was witnessed by William Jones and Thomas Faulconer. It was not recorded until 22 July 1796, indicating that Thomas was still in possession of this lot at that time. Most of the Pulteney Estate lands were bought on contract, with no deed conveyed until the purchase price and interest were completely paid off (James Donald Folts, Bibliography of Steuben County, New York, 67, hereinafter Folts). By Williamson's ledger (folio 44) the price of Thomas' mortgage "on his lot in Providence" was $308.98.
The other lots of "New Providence" were purchased by William Faulconer Jr., Thomas Faulconer, Richard Moon, William Faulconer, William Jones and James Butterworth. Thomas Streeter's immediate neighbors were Thomas Faulconer and Richard Moon. Remember that Thomas' sister, Elizabeth, married William Faulkner. On 25 December 1795, Thomas Streeter was assessed £1.5.0 for the survey of his farm by William Kersey; his fellow settlers paid similar amounts (Journal A). From their mortgages (OCML 2:47-50), we know that the other settlers of "New Providence" were farmers; Richard Moon was a "Taylor."
Henry Kennedy is often credited as Kanona's first settler in 1800 (W. Woodford Clayton, History of Steuben County, New York, [Philadelphia: Lewis, Peck & Co., 1879] 167, hereinafter Clayton), yet the Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt commented on a settlement at the same site in 1795 (Harlo Hakes, Landmarks of Steuben County, [Syracuse, New York: D. Munson & Company, Publishers, 1896], 332, hereinafter Hakes). From Maps: Pulteney Estate - Steuben and Allegany (Davenport Library, Bath, New York, circa 1813-1818; hereinafter Pulteney Maps), it is evident that Henry Kennedy owned one-half of lot #6, formerly deeded to "New Providence" settler, Thomas Faulconer. At one time, Kanona was called Kennedy's Corners or Kennedyville.
The following excerpt is from a rare book Travels Through The United States of North America, The Country of the Iroquois, and Upper Canada, in the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797; with an Authentic Account of Lower Canada (printed for R. Philips, London, 1799). In this passage from Friday, 12 June 1795, Alexandre François, the Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt and an exile of the French Revolution, comments on a small settlement just outside of Bath on the way to Canandaigua. Although none of the residents of "New Providence" or the settlement is specifically named, the description certainly matches all of the known facts.
After leaving Bath, we passed through a small settlement, consisting of about four English families, which arrived here from London only six months ago. They are chiefly sawyers, who had been used to work for the cabinet-makers in that great metropolis. They now work for themselves, and possess each an estate of about ninety acres. These they have already begun to clear for cultivation, assisting each other with their cattle and labour. They cannot fail, in time, to make their fortunes; and in the mean while they enjoy that state of independence, which forms one of the best blessings of life, if accompanied with the means of subsistence. Their log-houses have an appearance of cleanliness, neatness, and order, which plainly bespeak these families to be English. To judge from the choice of their books, which form a part of their furniture, and from the conversation of some of them, they appear to be Methodists. These new English settlers have, this year, already made maple-sugar, and one of them the finest I have yet seen, even that of Asylum not excepting. Two of the wives of these new settlers have already caught the fever, and not one of them appears to enjoy a good state of health.
By 1798, a saw mill had been built in township #4, fourth range, on the northeast bank of the Cohocton River as evidenced by the map of Ontario and Steuben Counties contained in one edition of Charles Williamson's Description of the Genesee Country, Its Rapidly Progressive Population and Improvements in a Series of Letters from a Gentleman to His Friend (Loring Andrews & Co., Albany, New York, 1798). This additional piece of evidence supports the conclusion that the sawyers named in the previous passage were the residents of "New Providence."
Strangely, there are no grantor deeds for any of these "New Providence" lots; they were later resold by the Pulteney Estate to different individuals. It appears that some of these lots were simply abandoned. William Faulconer, William Faulconer Jr. and Thomas Faulconer defaulted on their mortgages; notes on each refer to a "power to sell" subsequently being annexed to the documents. On 22 October 1804, William Faulconer relinquished the power of attorney in the event of nonpayment (OCML, 4:245). As of 18 October 1809, William Jr. and Thomas had made no payments on mortgage principal or interest; their parcels were sold at a public auction on 18 April 1810 (OCML, 5:400).
From the Pulteney Maps, Richard Moon seems to be the only one who retained his lot in the ghost town of "New Providence." During that era, between 1813 and 1818, Thomas Streeter's lot #7 was occupied by John R. Gansevoort, less two small parcels in the western corner. Today, New York State's Southern Tier Expressway, Route 17, probably cuts across the northern ends of the "New Providence" lots.
Thomas Streeter may have sold his "New Providence" plot early in 1798. The following advertisement appeared in The Bath Gazette and Genesee Advertiser on 21 December 1797 and ran each week through 1 February 1798:
For Sale.
The lot of Land formerly belonging to David Dickenson, four miles from the Town of Bath, in the County of Steuben, now in the possession of Thomas Stretor.-The land is of an excellent quality and situate on the Cohocton River, the road from Bath to Williamsburgh is through it. All persons are also, hereby forbid from cutting off any timber from the said mentioned land, those who are guilty may expect to be prosecuted.-The terms of sale will be made known by applying to the subscriber, near Judge Lindsley's, at Coeniska.
20 Dec. GEORGE GOODHUE.
If Thomas Streeter did succeed in selling his farm at "New Providence" by 8 February 1798, he quickly purchased another nearby as evidenced by the 1800 tax assessment roll for Steuben County. The interest in timber conservation further supports the assertion that the sawyers named by the Duke de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt were the residents of "New Providence."
The deeds of "New Providence" to Thomas Streeter and his companions were the first ones recorded in Steuben County. That Thomas' land had been previously owned by David Dickenson highlights the highly fluid nature of early land transactions in Williamson's enterprise. Judge Lindsley's was probably near or identical with the present-day village of Lindley, Steuben County, New York which is not far from the Cowanesque River, just across the Pennsylvania border. The previous owner of Thomas' "New Providence" plot was probably identical with the David Dickinson who purchased land near Lindley on 20 December 1793; he bought lot #5 in township one, third range (OCML 1:186). This transaction was recorded under the authority of Eleazar Lindsley "one of the Judges in and for the County of Ontario."
The End
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