Note Lee Place by the outcropping....
I copied this story from The Chautauqua County, NY web site.
Oliver Lee in Silver Creek
By Grove L. Heaton, 1884
Transcribed by Douglas H. Shepard, 2014
The Fredonia Censor 30 July 1884, Early History of Hanover, And Biographical Sketches Of Early Settlers -- Resumed.
Oliver Lee was born in or near the city of New London, Conn., in 1792. When not over 19 or 20 years of age he became impressed with the idea of obtaining a home where land was less expensive than about his native town. At that period the mail stage was the only mode of public conveyance and for those who were on long journeys was quite expensive. Young Mr. Lee had decided on having a look at the western part of this state, also of the country through which he passed. With this in view and his wearing apparel in a pack upon his back, he started on foot and walked the entire distance from his native place up through the state of Connecticut. Crossing the Hudson river at Albany, he then walked through this state to the town of Orange, Genesee Co., where he purchased a farm or tract of wild land and at once set out with energy and determination to clear himself a homestead and build a comfortable habitation.
While engaged at this the order came for all able bodied men of specified ages to immediately report in person to the General commanding the United States forces at Black Rock for the defense of the frontier. Oliver Lee was one of the first in the vicinity where he resided to respond to this call. He with three or four others started the same evening after receiving the notice and at the close of the second day reported at headquarters at Black Rock. He was at once placed on guard duty, in which service he continued for some weeks. About this time the expedition against Fort Erie, across Niagara river, was being planned, but it was well known to all the officers of the army that they could not compel the militia which had been called out to the defense of the frontier to go into the enemy’s country, but they thought the men had sufficient pride and patriotism so that when called upon they would not hesitate.
When the night came for this expedition to the move the militia were formed in line and told what was expected of them and from their patriotism it was hoped they would all volunteer to join the expedition. When the order was given for volunteers to step two paces to the front Oliver Lee was one of the first and most prompt to move. The way this heroic band crossed the Niagara river and assaulted the stronghold of the British in Fort Erie has many years since passed into history and is well known to every schoolboy. Oliver Lee went with them and was in the midst of the hottest part of the contest but was fortunate in not receiving any serious injury and in returning to this side of the lines.
After this he remained at Black Rock on duty for some time until the militia were discharged, when he returned to his home in Genesee county; where he resumed the clearing of his land. As soon as he had fifteen or twenty acres cleared suitable for raising grain he gave his attention to building a small, comfortable house. When this was completed he returned to New London and shortly afterward was married to Miss Eliza Downer, a native of the same county. Not long after their marriage this young couple started with all their worldly effects in an ordinary farm wagon, hauled by an ox team, for their new home in the far off western part of the state of New York.
Very soon after settling on his farm Mr. Lee commenced to take rank with the first men in the county. By hard work, industry and economy, he commenced to accumulate property. He was soon appointed deputy sheriff, which position he filled with honor and credit. He was also a hotel keeper in Warsaw, Wyoming county, for a short time. About 1822 he commenced the mercantile business in the town of Sheldon in the same county. Two years after he moved his family and stock of goods to Westfield, this county, where he continued the business.
In the fall of 1827 he sent a stock of goods to Silver Creek. At that time there was no regular store here, it being very soon after the failure of Ezra Convis’ Farmer’s Store. He employed John M. Cummings to take charge and occupied the same building that had a short time previous been occupied by Rogers & Cummings. Early in the spring of 1828 Mr. Lee had purchased the property of John E. Howard, which consisted of over 350 acres. In June of the same year he moved his family here, occupying the house which Howard had kept as a tavern so long.
Mr. Lee had not been here over a week before he commenced arrangements for putting up a brick building for a store. A place was selected for making the brick, and work commenced at once. Everything progressed as rapidly as could be expected, so that in less than three months from the time the first brick was moulded [sic] the walls for a building large enough for two stores were up nearly ready for the roof, when a heavy wind storm from the west came up during the night time and laid the front wall level with the ground. Mr. Lee was in New York at the time for goods to replenish his stock and fill up his new building. He had employed Mr. Jacob Burns of Westfield to take charge and superintend the construction of this new building. With his energy and perseverance it was not long before Mr. B. had the walls up again and roof on so that before cold weather set in they had the store fully completed and stocked with the largest and best assortment of goods that up to that time had ever been brought to the town of Hanover.
The same fall Mr. Lee arranged with Maj. C. C. Swift of Batavia to come here and take an equal interest in the mercantile business with him. The arrangement was for Maj. Swift to have a general supervision of the store while Mr. Lee devoted his attention to outside interests. Major Swift was a young man in the prime of early manhood. He had been fully educated to the mercantile business and understood it in all its various branches, so that the senior member of the firm had full confidence in entrusting that portion of his interest to him.
Although the name of the post-office here had been changed to Silver Creek in 1825, the village had continued to go by the name of Fayette; but soon after Mr. Lee settled here he consulted with some of the leading citizens and it was decided that the village should be called Silver Creek as well as the postoffice. Also the present Main street as it now runs had not been opened. At the point where Mr. Augustus Day now resides the street turned towards the lake and ran through where Mrs. Young now resides, thence through the present park into what is now Howard street. Mr. Lee had been here but a few weeks before he arranged to have Main street opened from the point where it diverged down past where the Silver Creek House is now located and past the works lately erected by McNeil & Spaulding.
He also arranged with the town authorities for building a bridge across Silver creek at the east end of Main street and a road was cut through the steep bank of the east side of the creek. This bridge was kept up by the town for many years and all travel crossed the creek there. At that time there was not a single building with the exception of the John E. Howard house standing east of the Day property. As we have stated in a previous article, what little business there was transacted here was done in the vicinity of the crossing of Walnut creek. The locality each side of the creek was regarded as the business center but after Oliver Lee commenced in the summer and autumn of 1828 it became evident that he was about to make an effort to bring the business to his locality.
He had Dunkirk street surveyed out and opened to the west line of his property, which was some distance beyond the crossing of the Lake Shore railroad. He also had Jackson street opened to the lake. The flats through which both these streets pass were covered with immense large black walnut and oak trees, and to show how little value was placed upon black walnut lumber at that time we have only to state that these trees were cut down and burned up to get them out of the way.
Mr. Lee was a sagacious and far-seeing person as regarding business operations. He at once saw the great advantage a harbor or pier where boats could stop, discharge and take on freight and passengers, would be to the village that was just then starting. Nature had done considerable to assist in this project by forming quite a bay with a high bluff extending some distance into the lake on the west side. An examination was made but it was ascertained that piles could not be driven on account of the smooth rock bottom of the lake. It was determined to build a pier by forming cribs of timber and filling them with stone and sinking them. Contracts were immediately let for the delivery of a large amount of square hewn timber and for quarrying an almost unlimited amount of stone from the high bank or bluff on the west side of the bay. Men were also set at work preparing the timber and getting the cribs ready to put together. Nearly everything seemed to favor the project.
Soon after the 1st of December there came good sleighing, which was of great advantage in hauling the timber. Also ice formed in the lake quite early, and long before Christmas it had become of sufficient strength so that men and teams could work upon it with perfect safety. A point was selected, about 350 feet from the shore, where the water was of sufficient depth to float the largest sail vessels or steamboats of the day. Some twelve or fifteen teams were employed in hauling stone on the ice and fifty or more men were kept constantly employed in framing and putting the cribs into position and sinking them. This work was continued until after the middle of March next spring, before the workmen were compelled to stop by the breaking up of the ice in the lake. They succeeded in sinking cribs for about 150 feet of pier running toward the shore, with an L portion of about 75 feet on the outer end running down the lake. This was all planked over and notwithstanding communication with the shore had to be made with a small boat, business very soon commenced.
The steamboat Pioneer, which was then running regularly between Barcelona and Buffalo, commenced to stop here for freight and passengers. The next winter work on the pier was resumed and continued until communication was made with the land so that teams loaded with wood, lumber and farm products, could be driven to the outer end. Also at the land end a large building was put up for storing goods and products received or for shipment. The locality fast assumed a business appearance. Several buildings were erected for family uses and th[r]ee or four years after the pier was started, a hotel was erected for the accommodation of those coming here or going from here by boat.
The village also became quite a point for the purchase of lumber brought from the south-east towns of this county and from portions of Cattaraugus county. This lumber was nearly all bought for an eastern market and most of it went to New England states, consequently was shipped from here by water. It was no unusual affair for two or three of the largest size of sailing vessels to be lying at our pier at the same time, taking in cargoes of lumber or discharging cargoes of grain, which at that time frequently came here by the vessel load.
The business increased so rapidly and became so great that Mr. Lee was compelled to put an addition to the pier. This was done by extending the principal part 75 or 100 feet farther into the lake, then adding on another L portion, which formed a slip where vessels could lie and discharge or receive freight in all weather. Through the influence of Mr. Lee about the year 1833 or 1834 government made an appropriation for the erection of a building for a beacon light at the outer end of the pier, and the year following an appropriation was made for the erection of a lighthouse on the outer end of the point. Both these lights were sustained by the government for quite a number of years, and we believe the one on the point was not abandoned until after the Lake Shore railroad commenced running through to Erie.
There are but a few people of today who realize [sic] the great revolution railroads have created in travel and traffic, but even fifty years ago travel by lake steamers, especially in the spring, was immense. At that period there was no railroad running west of Utica in this state. The canal was the great artery through which the travel passed up through the state to Buffalo. There it was changed to lake steamers. Whenever steamers were prevented by ice from leaving Buffalo until after the opening of the canal, that city soon became full to overflowing with strangers, all anxiously waiting to proceed on their journey westward.
There were three or four spring seasons between 1835 and 1840 when Buffalo bay became packed with ice so that it completely blockaded that harbor until long after the opening of the canal. At each of these periods boats from western ports came as far as this place where they remained, two or three days or long enough to pick up a number of passengers for their trip west. As soon as it was known in Buffalo that there were boats here waiting for passengers the crowd would start. Animals that could hardly travel and vehicles of every description were brought into requisition for the purpose of conveying passengers and baggage from Buffalo here.
All prices were charged, from three dollars to ten dollars a person, in accordance with style of conveyance and the person’s amount of ready cash. Some individuals who had remained in Buffalo until their funds were nearly exhausted were compelled to make the distance on foot and often those who had paid a high price for conveyance were compelled to walk a large portion of the way or be left alongside the road. They were compelled to be content with having their baggage brought through safely. As soon as one crowd got away from Buffalo their places were usually taken by newcomers. This tide of excitement and travel was kept up for two or three weeks. During the time it made business lively here at this end of the route.
Since the completion of the railroad through to the west there has been no such delay to travel. Now it does not require many more hours than it did at that time days to go from Albany to Chicago. Mr. Lee engaged in several enterprises outside of the mercantile line, all of which were an advantage to the village as well as to the surrounding farmers. One business which has now become entirely obsolete in this section of the country was the purchase of the wood ashes coming from the clearing up of the land and made by families, and converting them into pot or pearl ashes, which were shipped to New York and were regarded as near a cash article as any product of the country. At this age it might appear that the ashes resulting from burning the timber from 15 or 20 acres of land would be a small matter but half a century ago it was quite an item to the young farmer who had just commenced to clear up a new farm. They often made their ashes pay for the sugar, tea and many other necessaries their families required during during [sic] the year.
To show that there were frauds and deceits practiced at that time as well as now, though perhaps on a much smaller scale, we must relate a trifling fraud perpetrated upon Mr. Lee’s ashery. At that time there was an old log house in quite a dilapidated condition standing some distance back from the road a short distance below where Mrs. Dr. Ward now resides. This house was occupied by an elderly widow woman and her son, a lad of 14 or 15 years of age. This house had what was known to the early settlers as a Dutch chimney or fire-place, which was nothing more than a hole in the roof for the smoke to pass out and some stone piled up at one end where a fire could be built of logs and wood from ten to twelve feet long. A short distance from this building there had been an ashery some ten or twelve years previous and near by there lay large piles of ashes that were leached and thrown out years before and were perfectly worthless for using again.
Not long after Mr. Lee had his ashery going, this old woman’s son appeared at the store with a ticket from the superintendent for a couple of bushels of ashes he had delivered at the ashery. This ticket was good for 38 cents in goods at the store. This was taken in snuff and tea. In a day or two the young man appeared at the ashery again with two or three bushels more of ashes. This was also traded out at the store and before the end of the week he came again with a still larger amount. It soon became evident that there was something wrong. The young man had already delivered more ashes than twenty cords of wood would make and it was a pretty sure thing that they had not burned one-tenth part of that amount.
The man who had charge of Mr. Lee’s ashery set to work to investigate and found the lad was digging down into the piles of old ashes and getting those that showed least the effects of the winds and storms and placing them in their old Dutch fire-place with a large fire burning over them for ten or twelve hours and during the time stirring them thoroughly, they had all the appearance of fresh burned ashes. As soon as this discovery was made, the goose that laid the golden egg for this old woman and her son was strangled. This was a small fraud but was a complete one.
Mr. Lee also established a distillery, which business was carried on at that period in all sections of our country. The product of this institution was what was known as high wines and was shipped to New York for a market, where it stood next to pot or pearl ashes as a cash product. This distillery made a market for all the surplus product of grain grown by the farmers of this section. In fact, this section did not furnish one-half the grain consumed by the distillery, when it was running at its full capacity, and Mr. Lee had several cargoes brought here from the west by sail vessel during a season of navigation. The distillery also made a market for a large number of hogs and cattle. These were bought of the farmers and fed upon the slops from the distillery until suitable for pork or beef, when they were driven east to market. Mr. Lee also engaged quite extensively in the commerce of the lakes and in vessel building, some account of which we will give in our next article.
The Fredonia Censor 13 August 1884, Early History of Hanover, And Biographical Sketches Of Early Settlers -- Resumed.
As stated in our preceding chapter Oliver Lee was engaged quite extensively in the commerce of the Lakes and in ship building, which industry was carried on quite largely for several years. Between the years of 1828 and 1844, there were some fourteen or fifteen different sail and steam craft built and put afloat at this [p]ort]. As stated in a previous chapter Holom and John Vail were the pioneers in vessel building here and the schooner Victory was the first sail craft that floated from our Creek. From the best information we are able to obtain, we are quite sure that Mr. Lee was a part owner of the schooner Liberty as early as 1826 or 1827 which was previous to his coming to Silver Creek. The Liberty was a schooner of about 125 tons burden and was at the time mentioned commanded by Captain Jack Spears a sharp, enterprising social, wholesouled, first-class seaman. The Liberty was engaged in the coasting trade between Buffalo and Ashtabula, Ohio.
At that time these coasting schooners were the principal medium by which all merchants near the lake shore obtained their goods from the canal which ended at Buffalo. Captain Spears being well known to all the principal merchants along the lakes and being very popular with them, his vessel was very successful in getting both up and down freights where other equally as good vessels had to remain for days and weeks waiting for a cargo. For this reason the Liberty was making money for her owners while other vessels were running their [sic] in debt. Mr. Lee was a stock holder or part owner of several different vessels that was [sic] built here, he furnishing a large amount of the capital to build them.
Within a short time after Mr. Lee erected his store building the principal business centered in that locality. Dwelling houses and buildings for business purposes were erected and all things indicated that that point was to be the leading part of the town. A hotel was very much needed to accommodate not only the traveling public but all who came here to transact business with the Lee interest. In the summer of 1830 Mr. Lee arranged for building the Silver Creek House which was very soon afterwards commenced and was completed and occupied by Mr. Yale in the spring of 1832, who kept the house two or three years when it was purchased by Jonathan Keith who was its proprietor for many years and during a large part of the time it was what was known in those days as a Stage House and was one of the leading hotels between Buffalo and Erie.
In October 1832 Mr. Lee disposed of his interest in the mercantile business of Lee & Swift to Col. John Barbour and the business was continued under the firm name of Swift & Barbour. Mr. Lee was then enabled to devote his entire attention to his other interests which had become quite large and extensive. In the Autumn of 1833 he decided to engage in trade again. He was owner of an unoccupied store building adjoining the one occupied by Swift and Barbour. He also arranged with Mr. William Van Duzer who had been doing business at what was known at that time as Dibble’s Bay, some ten or twelve miles east on the Lake Shore; to come here and take charge of his new enterprise. Mr. Van Duzer had formerly been a merchant and was a person of considerable business experience and regarded by all who knew him as being a very upright and reliable business man. About the first of November 1833 the new store was opened and ready for business. It became evident in the start that this venture would prove a success.
About that time there was a large amount of lumber from the south east towns of this county and from portions of Cattaraugus County being hauled here for a market. There were several parties here paying cash for lumber most of which went to New England. Many of the parties who came here with lumber left half or three-forths [sic] of their receipts for it with the merchants for goods. At that time we had no rail road connection with Buffalo so that every woman that was in need of a calico dress or two or three spools of thread and a paper of pins could not very conveniently go to Buffalo to shop. Then four or five general stores were better supported and had a larger trade than one or two now have. Hence the system of doing business at that period was quite different from the present. Then every farmer and every man of any business who was regarded as any responsible was allowed to run a bill at the stores. It is a well known fact that many people are prone to purchase articles they do not require or could get along without when they can be bought on time. They do not appear to appreciate that a pay day is coming at some future period and may come when they are least prepared for it.
Mr. Lee was always liberal in giving credit to his customers. He generally gave them to understand that at the end of six months or at least once a year that their account must be settled up, and then if they were unable to pay and the party was responsible, a note on interest was taken. When customers paid no attention to the notice that their accounts must be settled, the accounts were generally placed in the hands of a collector. From this fact some of this class endeavored to create the impression that Mr. Lee was severe on those who were not in condition to pay, when in fact all he required was for them to live up to their agreement or the conditions under which they obtained credit. It is a fact that cannot be denied that it would be far better for all parties if the system of credit was entirely wiped out and all parties were compelled to pay for what they purchase on the receipt of the goods.
During the years 1838 and 1839 the question of banking facilities was discussed here to considerable extent. At that time there was but one bank in the county, which was the Chautauqua County Bank located at Jamestown. The Legislature of this state had a year or two previous enacted a new law in regard to banking on a different system from the former Safety Fund system. Mr. Lee decided that it would not only be advantageous to himself but to other business men in the village to have a bank of issue here. In the summer of 1839 he arranged for establishing the bank of Silver Creek with a nominal capital of $100,000 with Oliver Lee as President and Chancy Smith as Cashier. Very soon after the organization the bank commenced to do business and had an exceeding successful career from its birth until its affairs were wound up about 1876.
This pace was altogether too limited for Mr. Lee’s business abilities; about the year 1841 or 1842 he opened a Banking Office in the city of Buffalo where he continued to do a successful Banking business. In 1844 he with a few other parties established Oliver Lee & Co.’s Bank of Buffalo with Oliver Lee as President. About this time he resigned as president of the Bank of Silver Creek and George W. Tew Esq., who had been Cashier for the Bank for several years, was appointed in his place. Major C. C. Swift was at the same time elected Cashier to fill the vacancy made by the promotion of Mr. Tew. Mr. Lee continued the mercantile business here with Mr. Van Duzer as general Superintendent and manager until the summer of 1840 when his oldest son Charles H. Lee became of age; he then made him an equal partner and the business was continued under the firm name of Oliver Lee & Son, Mr. Van Duzer continuing in the employ of the new firm.
Our friend Charlie, as he was familiarly known by all, he having been raised here from boyhood, at once took his place behind the counter and gave the business that his father had so successfully established his personal and entire attention. He demonstrated at once that he was going to follow in the footsteps of his successful progenitor as far as accumulating property. His pleasant face and genial nature as well as the popularity of his assistant Mr. Van Duzer, which had long be established, brought the new firm many new customers.
We must here relate an incident that occurred late in the fall of 1841, in which our friend Charlie was one of the principal actors, that at the time created considerable amusement among those who were cognizant of the fact. Among their customers was a person whom we will call a Mr. Blank that resided some four or five miles from this village, near where the village of Farnham in Erie Co. now is. This person had been in the habit of visiting the store quite often and at times remaining quite late in the evening. He had often asked for credit for a short time for small amounts but each every time had been refused, for Mr. Van Duzer had known him formerly and had no confidence in his honesty or ability to pay.
The time in question was on a Saturday afternoon about the middle of November. Mr. Blank came to the village and lounged around in and out of the store all the afternoon but finally late in the evening he came into the store and seated himself alongside of the stove. This was situated some thirty or forty feet back from the front door, near the middle of the store, with but little space or room each side of the stove between that and the counters for people to pass back and forth. On the west side of the counter was a row of kegs of nails on top of which was a box cover. These were used for seats by parties who wished to sit and chat and warm themselves but when occupied there was no room for another person to pass between those seated and the stove. The night was quite cold for the time of the year and the evening had slipped away. Their cash had been balanced, the books up to that evening had been all posted up, and Mr. Van Duzer had retired to the society of his family, still Mr. Blank lingered seated there on one of the nail kegs along side of a good warm stove. Finally Charlie observed that it was getting late and he must see if the back doors were all secure &c.
At the back end of the building was a room where all rough articles were kept and it was into this room where Charlie had to go to ascertain if the outside door was locked. It was quite dark in the back room but the light burning in the store proper, gave him a view through the doorway of all that was going on there. As he returned from locking the outside door he saw Mr. Blank step to the back end of the counter on the side of the room where he was seated where there was a large wooden bowl filled with rolls of butter, and deliberately take off his hat which was a fur one of the large bell crown Uncle Sam pattern that were sometimes worn by antiquated people of that age, and put a roll of butter into it, then place it on his head again. Then Mr. Blank very silently and quietly resumed his seat again along side of the stove.
Our friend Charlie immediately determined upon his plan of action. He carelessly walked back into the store as though he had not seen anything wrong and going to the front of the stove on the opposite side from where Blank was seated observed that it was going to be a very cold night, opened the stove door and filled it with dry wood, then seated himself alongside of Blank between him and the front door of the building so that he knew his customer could not get past him to get out unless he went around on the opposite side of the stove.
As Charlie seated himself he slapped Blank quite familiarly on the knee and said, “I must tell you the scrape I got into when I lived in Westfield.” Then he commenced to relate an imaginary [sic] story which he knew would detain Blank until the atmosphere in his immediate vicinity would be somewhat heated. In a short time Charlie again observed that it was going to be a cold night and he was afraid the potatoes in the back end of the store would freeze and got up and filled the stove a second time with dry wood, this time using several box covers that were handy. As he was about to reseat himself Blank rose up and said that it was getting late and he must be going, but Charlie was quick enough to step into the passage way and stopped him saying, “no, I cannot let you go until you hear the remainder of my story, and crowded him back into his seat.
In a short time it began to get quite warm and Blank endeavored to get away but there was no seat futher [sic] from the stove that he could get. Soon the perspiration started and he out with his red bandanna and mopped the sides of his face at the same time observing, “you keep it awful hot here.” Charlie replied by saying he was afraid their potatoes would freeze before Monday morning and again replenished the stove with dry wood.
Soon a greasy substance began to trickle down the sides of the face of Mr. B. -- then out came the red bandana again and the face took another good mopping. Still it grew warmer and warmer and the greasy perspiration ran almost in streams down the man’s face and trickled in large drops all over his coat collar from the ends of his long, unkempt hair. His bandana had been used until it had become perfectly saturated with melted butter and greasy perspiration.
As our friend was about to replenish the stove the fourth time Mr. Blank made a break. As he went out the front door his persecutor said to him, “Look here Mr. Blank, the next time you attempt to steal butter try and procure something better than your hat to carry it home in.” In his long walk home over the rough roads that cold November night Mr. Blank had an opportunity for reflection and undoubtedly became a wiser if not a better man. He was never seen at the store of Olive Lee & Son again, and within six or eight weeks afterwards left the town of Brant with his family for some point in the far west, no doubt hoping to find some place where he could steal butter under more favorable circumstances.
The firm of Oliver Lee & Son was continued until the spring of 1844 when Oliver Lee transferred all of his interest in the business to his second son, James H. Lee. From that time the business was conducted under the firm name of C.H. & J.H. Lee until in the spring or summer of 1845 they associated with themselves Noah D. Snow, Esq, who had been a partner of their father in the distilling business for some years previous.
Colonel Snow continued an active partner in this firm until the fall of 1849 when he was elected sheriff of this county. From this event it became necessary to make a dissolution. However C.H & J.H. Lee continued the business until the spring of 1856 when they disposed of their entire stock of good[s] to Ephraim R. Ballard of this village who continued the business as their successor. About this time Charles H. Lee was elected one of the directors of the Buffalo and State Line Railroad. He was afterwards elected vice-president of the road and on the death of Mr. Richmond, the president, was some time acting president of the same. At the next election of directors the position of president was tendered him but on account of ill health he felt it his duty to himself to decline the honor which if accepted would necessarily impose upon him much mental labor and confinement. He has always continued to make this village his home and is now a resident—a retired capitalist.
After the establishing of Oliver Lee & Co.’s Bank in Buffalo and his assuming the presidency of it this with other large interests he had through the state took him away from home so much that it could hardly be claimed that he was resident of Silver Creek, although his family continued to reside here until the summer of 1844, when Mr. Lee, deciding that it would be more conducive to his comfort and beneficial to his younger children, transferred them to that city.
His interest in that part of the state took him to Albany quite frequently, the modes of travel at that time being very different from the present day. Then they had no luxurious parlor or sleeping cars, in fact there was no continuous line of railroad like the Great Central of to-day, consequently a continuous journey through to Albany was tiresome and quite fatiguing.
In the early part of the summer of 1846 soon after reaching Albany Mr. Lee was taken seriously ill but with the attention of a good physician he was soon about again and in a few days was able to return to his home in Buffalo but was stricken down again a few days afterwards and died very suddenly on the 28th of July 1846. His remains were brought to this village an interred here. Very soon afterwards the family returned to their homestead here which continued to be the home of Mrs. Lee the remainder of her life, her demise taking place in the summer of 1882.
Mrs. Lee was one of the noble women of the country. Although an invalid and a great sufferer for a number of years during the latter part of her life, she was ever ready to assist in acts of charity and help the needy. The Presbyterian church of this village received much assistance and many noble gifts from her.
From 1830 to the time of his death Oliver Lee was one of the most prominent and leading business men in the state. From his first start to the close of his business career he was successful in all his principal undertakings. He was honorable in his deal and ever ready to pay the full amount of his indebtedness. It is believed that there was never a time during his long business experience that he was not ready to pay one hundred cents on the dollar of any indebtedness due against him. This village was greatly indebted to him for its start and growth from 1828 to 1844 or from the time he came here until he left.
It is not at all probable that there would ever have been a harbor or a pier built here had not Mr. Lee settled here. Without a pier there never would have been any lake commerce which gave the place the start it received about 1835 and 1836. And had that growth not occurred at that time it is not probable that the manufacturing interest would have settled here that did some years later, which makes it to-day one of the most enterprising, lively and smartest villages in Western New York.—In our opinion Oliver Lee should have great credit for it.
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