Editing Livingston County, New York (section)

== Senecas and Pioneer history ==
The [[Seneca Nation of Indians]], once the most numerous and powerful of the [[Iroquois|Six Nations of the Iroquois]], were called the "Keepers of the Western Door" because they guarded the western boundaries of the [[Iroquois|Haudenosaunee]] territory, which included the lands around [[Seneca Lake (New York)|Seneca Lake]] west to Lake Erie. Many of the principal towns were in the fertile Genesee Valley, part of what is now Livingston County. [[Little Beard's Town]], or Genesee Castle, located near present-day [[Cuylerville, New York|Cuylerville]] in the Town of [[Leicester, New York|Leicester]], was one of the largest.

=== Sullivan Campaign of the Revolutionary War ===
In 1779, [[George Washington|General George Washington]] ordered [[John Sullivan (general)|General John Sullivan]] to organize the largest American offensive movement of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]] to displace the Iroquois and gain control of New York's western frontier. Sullivan's army of approximately 5000 men trekked into the heart of the [[Seneca Nation of Indians|Seneca]] territory with orders to destroy all settlements.

On September 13, 1779, hundreds of Indians and [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] ambushed roughly 25 of Sullivan's scouts on a hill overlooking [[Conesus Lake]] at a site now known as the [[Boyd and Parker ambush|Ambuscade]] in the town of Groveland. At least 16 Americans were massacred including an [[Oneida Indian Nation|Oneida]] guide. Scout leader Lt. Thomas Boyd and Sgt. Michael Parker were captured and their mutilated remains were discovered a day later when the army reached Little Beard's Town in Cuylerville, a hamlet in the town of Leicester. This site was the largest Indian settlement in western New York and the western limit of the Sullivan Campaign. Sullivan's army found the village deserted as most of the Indians and Loyalists had retreated west to [[Fort Niagara]] to avoid confrontation.

The army buried Boyd and Parker then burned the village and thousands of surrounding acres of crops. Upon retreat, the army discovered the bodies of the soldiers of Lt. Boyd's scouting party at the Ambuscade and buried them with [[Military funeral|military honors]].

After fulfilling General Washington's instructions to destroy more than 40 Indian settlements and food supplies throughout the [[Finger Lakes]], Sullivan's army returned to [[Easton, Pennsylvania]]. The mission was considered successful and helped to lessen the threat to white settlers across the state.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Sullivan Campaign of the Revolutionary War: the Impact on Livingston County, New York, 1779–2004|last=Alden|first=Amie|publisher=Pioneer Print and Copy|year=2006}}</ref>[http://www.sullivancampaignlivingstoncounty.com/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616113955/http://sullivancampaignlivingstoncounty.com/ |date=June 16, 2017 }}

The enthusiasm generated by soldiers of General Sullivan's army prompted the rapid development of the Genesee Valley and the area that now comprises Livingston County. Within five years following the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War, [[Settler|colonists]] branched out from well-established settlements in [[New England]] and the [[Mid-Atlantic states]], with visions of reaping the benefits this vast wilderness land had to offer. News of the beauty and fertility of the area spread as far as Western Europe.

=== Seneca treaties ===
The destruction of the Iroquois villages during the Sullivan Campaign greatly impoverished the Senecas but did not deprive them of title to the land. This led to the creation of a series of treaties in order to facilitate westward expansion of white settlers. These treaties were not all supported by the Iroquois and consequently forever altered their culture.

After the Treaty of Paris, Messrs. [[Phelps and Gorham Purchase|Phelps and Gorham]] purchased from [[Massachusetts]] the rights to approximately eight million acres west of what is referred to as the old [[Preemption Line|Pre-emption Line]]. The two men negotiated a treaty with the Seneca which was intended to extinguish Indian claims to this land. Approximately two-thirds of present-day Livingston County was covered by this treaty.

In 1790, Phelps and Gorham sold about 1,200,000 acres to [[Robert Morris (financier)|Robert Morris]], known as the "financier of the [[American Revolution]]." Morris then sold the land to a company of English capitalists, with [[Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet|Sir William Pulteney]] obtaining the majority interest. Charles Williamson, agent for Pulteney, took an absolute conveyance of the "Genesee Tract." The first permanent white settlement he established was the small village Williamburgh in Groveland at the confluence of the Genesee River and the [[Canaseraga Creek|Canaserega Creek]]. The village prospered until 1806 before it was abandoned.

The remainder of the original purchase was bought by [[Samuel Ogden]] in 1791 for Robert Morris, who then sold most of it to the [[Holland Land Company]], reserving 500,000 acres, known as the [[Morris Reserve]]. By the terms of the sale, Morris obligated himself to extinguish the Indian title to the land sold. However, his involvement in land speculation left him penniless and imprisoned for debt for several years.

The 1794 [[Treaty of Canandaigua]] recognized the sovereignty of the [[Iroquois|Six Nations]] and restored their title to lands in western New York. But as pressure by western developers increased, the [[Treaty of Big Tree]] in 1797 was negotiated in the Wadsworth brothers' [[log cabin]] in Geneseo. This treaty included the western one-third of Livingston County and extinguished Indian title to practically all the lands west to the [[Niagara Frontier]], excepting a handful of Indian [[Indian reservation|reservations]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=History of Livingston County, New York 1687–1881|last=Smith|first=James M.|publisher=D. Mason and Co.|year=1881}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and Morris' Reserve|last=Turner|first=Orsamus|publisher=Erastus Darrow|year=1851}}</ref>

=== The Pioneer Wadsworths ===
[[Jeremiah Wadsworth|Col. Jeremiah Wadsworth]] of [[Hartford, Connecticut]], one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the post-Revolutionary War era, invested heavily in [[Speculation|land speculation]] in this region. In 1788, he made the arduous trip to the Genesee country to judge its worth and finding it unimaginably rich. After purchasing more than 200,000 acres (50 square miles) along the [[Genesee River]], Col. Wadsworth offered his young cousins, brothers [[James Wadsworth (of Geneseo)|James]] and [[William Wadsworth (officer)|William Wadsworth]], 2000 acres of prime farmland in and around what is now [[Geneseo, New York|Geneseo]]. In return, they represented the Colonel's interests by establishing a home farm (known as the [[The Homestead (Geneseo, New York)|Homestead]]) and promoting settlement and progress.

The Wadsworth brothers acquired thousands more acres, becoming the largest single landowners in western New York. They [[lease]]d the majority of the land to [[tenant farmer]]s with generous lease agreements. James and William were known far and wide for their philanthropy and innovative farming methods. The legacy of James and William Wadsworth and their vast land holdings has been carried forward generation after generation and the prominent family still remains synonymous with the Genesee Valley to present day.

=== Genesee Valley Canal ===
The opening of the [[Erie Canal]] in 1825 brought prosperity across the state and realization of the benefits of internal navigation. The Genesee Valley lacked access to broader markets other than via the [[Genesee River]], often too dangerous to navigate. Planners envisioned a lateral [[canal]], cutting through the core of Livingston County, as the means of uniting the Erie Canal with the [[Allegheny River|Allegany River]], thereby connecting the [[Ohio River|Ohio]] and [[Mississippi River]]s, allowing freight and passenger transportation all the way to [[New Orleans]].

Construction of the Genesee Valley Canal started in [[Rochester, New York|Rochester]] in 1837, reaching [[Mount Morris, New York|Mount Morris]] by 1840. A junction to [[Groveland, New York|Sonyea]] opened in 1841 and then a branch was built to [[Dansville, Livingston County, New York|Dansville]], completing 52 miles. Extending the canal through to Nunda and Portage was most challenging, as workers battled the area's most rugged terrain along the [[Letchworth State Park|Genesee River gorge]]. After years of delays, 17 locks between Nunda and [[Portageville, New York|Portageville]] were completed in 1851.

By the time that the last segment connecting to the [[Allegheny River|Allegany River]] was finally finished in 1862, however, railroad technology had outpaced canals.   This forced the Genesee Valley Canal to close by 1878; the [[towpath]] became the bed of the [[Genesee Valley Canal Railroad]]. Railroads rapidly became the primary mode of transportation as they criss-crossed the entire county. Although the Genesee Valley Canal was short-lived, the lasting effect expanded job opportunities for thousands of new immigrants, opened markets for the area's abundant goods, and overall enriched the quality of life for residents.

Today, the old Genesee Valley Canal Railroad bed has become part of the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail.