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His name appears on Judge Samuel Wilkeson's list of men who worked on the docks and harbor which also gives the sums they contributed for the building of the Buffalo Harbor. William Folsom's contribution of $25.00 seems small to us, but at that time it was a considerable amount of money, and the record proved that he worked on the docks.
The history of the building of the canal is extremely interesting and sheds light on the influences which helped to form the character of our progenitor, William Harrison Folsom.
The first full-fledged settlers of Buffalo Creek were Ezekiel Lane, his wife, her father Martin Maddough, and Cornelius Winney. They came from the Hudson River and established a trading post. By 1794~ a blacksmith shop and a silversmith shop were established and the population had increased to twenty-five. Then in 1801 the Holland Land Company set up headquarters in the village of Batavia, New York, about thirty miles east of Buffalo Creek. A few people from the eastern states came to take up homesteads and in 1807 the great Genesee County was divided to form Niagara County, designating Buffalo as the county seat.
Forty-three families and a few young businessmen now comprised the population of this town. By popular consent a school house was constructed, and in 1809 Dr. Ebenezer Johnson opened a drugstore of sorts and commenced the practice of medicine. They also had a newspaper, the Buffalo Gazette, but the national news must have been quite ancient by the time it reached Buffalo. However, they reported the surrender of Detroit and the raid of the United States at Newark, Canada. Then came General McClure and burned both Buffalo and Black Rock. December 30, 1813. Forty corpses lay side by side in the blacksmith shop of David Reece, one of the three buildings remaining after the raid and fire.
Some of the inhabitants, who fled to neighboring villages for safety, returned to rebuild the town. Following the war~ great numbers of people left their worn-out farms in the East and flocked to the western frontier. This influx of population created a demand for better roads for transportation. The earnest ambition of the New York politician DeWitt Clinton soon showed his fellow citizens the benefits to be derived from the construction of a waterway from Lake Erie and Lake Champlain to the tidewaters of the Hudson Riber. A survey was commenced in 1810 to determine the feasibility and approximate cost of the project, but it was not until 1815 that he presented the memorial for its construct ion.
"Eighteen Hundred and froze to death" or "Poverty Year" was spoken of the year 1816. Not only did the crops of the nation freeze~ cutting off the food supply, but there was much political strife in regard to the National Bank and tariff regulations. Consequently it was 1817 before the bill was passed authorizing the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton was elected governor of the state of New York.
The population increased rapidly and prosperity reigned. Old towns expanded and new ones arose. With the promise of cheap transportation~ commerce and manufacturing skyrocketed, and wealth came pouring in, as well as boatloads of Irish immigrants for the railroad construction work, By the time the canal was completed in 1825, the population had increased to over one million people.
Slowly and tediously the William Folsom family made its way from canal town to canal town until they reached Buffalo, about 1819.