he could not find a place in the main room, so he went into the gallery. From this, he looked down upon a room twice as large as this, crowded as full as it could be, and the din arising from it was like the roar of Niagara. There was not a desk to be seen, and he inquired how it was possible to transact business. He was pointed to the floor which was marked off like a checkerboard, on which every man had a square of about four feet, and which he always occupied or had a substitute in it. In this way all confusion is avoided, and every man does business "on the square." He suggested that when the business of Buffalo should develop its just proportions this plan might be adopted by our merchants.

He said he regarded this institution and the merchants of Buffalo as the life-blood of its prosperity. This is a good point for manufacturing and their growth should be studiously fostered; but when trade prospers everything prospers, and when it languishes all feel its depressing influence. "Buffalo in the progress of history is destined by its position to be what Alexandria and Venice were. The merchants of Buffalo, you who are now here, are to assist in giving our city this prosperity. Your names will go down to posterity in connection with this event, as marking one of the progressive strides toward the great and undeveloped future." The ex-President closed his speech with a courteous acknowledgment of the compliment given him, and his assurance of the love he cherished for the city and his gratification at such proof of her prosperity.

INAUGURAL ADDRESS BEFORE THE

BUFFALO HISTORICAL

HISTORICAL SOCIETY

At American Hall, Buffalo, July 1, 1862, Mr. Fillmore delivered his inaugural address as first president of the Buffalo Historical Society:1

GENTLEMEN OF THE BUFFALO HISTORICAL SOCIETY: When men erect a statue to commemorate the virtues of some distinguished civilian, or the heroism or gallantry of some great warrior, they inaugurate it with all due ceremony; and so a newly-elected President, before he enters upon his term of office, is usually inaugurated with great pomp and ceremony; and he generally indicates in an address the policy which he intends to pursue in administering the Government.

We cannot think of comparing this infant society, which has yet to win its fame, with such august events. Nevertheless, the Buffalo Historical Society having been organized, it seems fit and proper that it should be inaugurated; and we have met this evening for that purpose.

But the question is generally asked, why establish an Historical Society in Buffalo? We all know its history and that of the surrounding country. The town itself-as village and city-is scarcely older than its oldest inhabitant, and the whole of Western New York has been settled within the memory of men now living; and we can, therefore, learn its history by talking with our neighbors. Such persons may

I. Reprinted from Buffalo Historical Society Publications, Vol. I, 1879, now out of print.

say, that we do not require historical records to tell us all that we desire to know of the city and its inhabitants.

I grant that this may be true of some of this generation, but certainly not of all. Even now the inquisitive mind wishes to know a thousand things connected with the origin and expansion of this great city, and the labors of its enterprising inhabitants, of which it can find no authentic record. But even if all its present inhabitants knew, by tradition or actual observation, everything connected with the commencement and growth of this city, and the men who have acted a distinguished part on its theater, still this historical association would be necessary. It must be borne in mind, that its labors are not for the present generation merely, or chiefly, but rather for posterity.

"The object of this society," as expressed in its constitution, "is to discover, procure, and preserve whatever may relate to the history of Western New York, in general, and the city of Buffalo in particular." It is, therefore, apparent that the object of this society is not the study of history, either ancient or modern, general or local, or the formation of a library for that purpose; but its chief object is to collect and preserve the materials of history relating to Western New York, and especially to Buffalo, for future reference and use. Those who would learn the history of nations which have arisen, flourished and passed away, leaving nothing but a name, and the records and monuments of their works, to tell that they ever existed, and those who would trace the origin and history of the nations among which the earth is now divided, must seek that information from other sources than this society. Its object is not to teach, but to preserve history. And it is certainly a grateful task to commemorate the virtues of those who have built up this city and its noble institutions, and to be sure that their names shall not be forgotten. Now is the time to photograph their characters in all the lineaments of active life, that the generations who shall come after us may see them as we have seen them, and be stimulated to emulate their virtues, and if possible rival their enterprise.

The history of a city like this, naturally divides itself into two parts-material and personal; and the combination of these in due proportion constitutes its history. The material is first and most enduring; but the personal, which sketches individual life, and social, religious, charitable and political combinations, is much the most interesting; though the actors, like those in the theater, appear upon the stage but to perform the part assigned them by Providence in the great drama of life, and then pass from our view forever; but their works, material and moral, remain to bless or curse mankind, as they have been good or evil.

I am sure that it cannot be that any of us know all of Buffalo which we ought; and if we neglect our duty, posterity will know much less than we do. Buffalo! Is it not a strange name for a city? To our ears it is familiar, indicating only the name of a pleasant and beautiful city. But a foreigner, when you say you are from Buffalo, looks at you as though he thought the inhabitants of the place where you reside were buffalos, and you unavoidably feel that you would be glad to give some reason why this singular name has been attached to your place of residence. But who among us can tell? I am sure I cannot. I do not mean to say that it is difficult to ascertain how the city came by this name, for it is manifest that it took its name from the creek. But the question is, why was this stream that runs through our city called "Buffalo creek," and when and by whom was it thus christened? To this question I confess that I have never seen any satisfactory answer. I have never seen any reliable statement that the buffalo in his wild state was ever found in Western New York. I believe that his native haunt was the great prairies of the West, and nowhere else on this continent. It is true that early French travelers have spoken of seeing "wild cows," especially in the northern part of the State; but it is evident to my mind from their description, when they give any, that they meant either the moose or the elk. It is clear, then, that this name could not have arisen from the fact that this locality was once the haunt of the wild buffalo.

About 1845, the question of the origin of this name for the creek was considerably discussed in the papers of this city. It seemed to be conceded by all those who professed to understand the Indian language, that it was not a translation of any Indian name for the creek; but, so far as appears, they had none, but called the place at or near the mouth of the creek, "Tush-ua" or "Dush-ua," which all agree meant the place of the "peeled bass-woods"; so that we cannot trace this name to an aboriginal origin.2

The first historians after the Dark or Middle Ages, had apparently no difficulty in accounting for the origin of nations and cities and their names. For we are informed by an historian of great research, that "it was believed by every people that they were directly descended from ancestors who had been present at the siege of Troy. That was a proposition which no one thought of doubting. The only question was as to the details of such lineage. On this, however, there was a certain unanimity of opinion; since, not to mention inferior countries, it was admitted the French were descended from Francus, whom everybody knew to be the son of Hector; and it was also known that the Britons came from Brutus, whose father was no other than Æneas himself. They say that the capital of France was called after Paris, the son of Priam, because he fled there when Troy was overthrown; and that the city of Troyes was actually

1.

See the Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, July 29, 1845.

2. On the origin of the name of Buffalo, see the paper by William Ketchum, "Origin of the Name of Buffalo," Buffalo Historical Society Publi cations, Vol. I, in which the author calls attention to certain errors, of fact or inference, in this address by Mr. Fillmore; also correspondence on the subject by Rev. Asher Wright of the Seneca Mission and Nathaniel T. Strong, a Seneca chief, supplementing Mr. Ketchum's paper. Mr. Fillmore's examination of the subject was far from thorough. Numerous variants of the Indian name of Buffalo creek are given by Ketchum, O. H. Marshall ("Historical Writings") and others, but none of them give "Tush-ua" or "Dush-ua." In the Seneca, the creek was called "Te-o-sah-way," "the place of basswoods"; in the Mohawk this was "Te-hos-o-ro-ron" or "Te-hos-e-ro-ron." [Ketchum.] Morgan ("League of the Iroquois") gives "Do-sho-weh" as the Seneca form. Marshall cites authorities for "Te-hos-e-ro-ron" and "Do-se-o-way ga-hon-da," and "Tu-se-o-wa." (Alden's "Seneca Missions," p. 163.) See also on this subject, Dr. William M. Beauchamp's "Aboriginal Place Names of New York," New York State Museum Bulletin 108, pp. 56-63.