MAY
14 2021
DAR chapter rededicates memorial to Allegany County pioneer
Photo provided Erica Mae Torrey will open her new cafe/bakery at the end of the month. Photo by Kathryn Ross Kimberly Marie Conroy, regent of the Catherine Schuyler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, places a wreath on the memorial to Moses Van Campen during a rededication ceremony on May 1.
BY KATHRYN ROSS CANEADEA — Nearly 175 years after his death, the adventures of Revolutionary War soldier and early Allegany County settler Moses Van Campen are still remembered. Members of the Catharine Schuyler Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution gathered May 1 around a boulder in the Town of Caneadea on the old Council House Road. On the boulder is a bronze plaque honoring Van Campen, who died in 1849. The plaque was first placed by the DAR in 1908. The gathering was a rededication and part of the national organization’s program to Honor Our Patriots. DAR Regent Kimberly Marie Conroy told those gathered that on Aug. 25, 1908, the chapter dedicated the boulder and tablet marking the
one spot in Allegany County which played an important part in the Revolutionary War — namely the site of the old Indian Council House near Caneadea. Conroy said the site was also dedicated “to the memory and life of the great and brave man, Maj. Moses Van Campen.” She went on to explain that, at that site in 1782, members of the Seneca Nation, who sided with the British during the Revolution and had captured Van Campen, made him and his companions run a gauntlet — an approximately 495-foot narrow course between two lines of warriors and villagers who struck him with sticks and other implements. Legend claims that near the end of the line a large Seneca woman stepped out to face the 5-8 soldier, who, upon reach-
ing her, leaped into the air, planted both feet on her body thrusting her to the ground and completing the run. It is assumed that if the Senecas had known that they had captured Van Campen — an American officer from Pennsylvania who had taken part in the Sullivan campaign in 1779, in which many Seneca villages and crop stands were destroyed by a Continental army — he would have been killed. However, because of his anonymity, Van Campen was handed over to the British. After spending a year in a military prison on Montreal, Van Campen was paroled and he traveled back down the Hudson. While his Revolutionary War exploits were celebrated, it was Van Campen’s later life that made an impact on Alle-
gany County. After the war, Van Campen returned to Western New York, purchased land, and became the boon companion of tract owner Philip Church. (The DAR Chapter is named after Philip Church’s mother.) He eventually settled and built his home, which still stands, in Angelica. From the early 1790s, Van Campen was a landowner and surveyed more than 150,000 acres. He worked in roadbuilding, contracting and served as a constable, justice of the peace, judge, assessor, elections commissioner, county clerk and Presbyterian minister. Phillip Stockin, an Allegany County legislator who attended the May 1 event,
Rededicates continued on ...... page 7
Third time’s a charm: New bakery/cafe to open in Angelica BY KATHRYN ROSS
will open on Main Street in Angelica on May 26. The business will once again offer baked goods, but will also offer breakfast, lunch and dinner to her customers. “We don’t have anything like this in Angelica and we need something,” she said. Two years ago the very popular Canteen closed on Main Street — for Torrey, that was her wake-up call. “I always liked the space and location,” she said. “Tom and Lynn Murray, the building owners, did a beautiful job
ANGELICA — Entrepreneur Erica Mae Torrey is hoping that the third time is the charm as she prepares to open her third food service business in Allegany County. Torrey is well-known for her scrumptious baked goods — breads, cakes and cheesecakes. Her first business was on Main Street in Angelica, where she lives. While successful, it closed because of rental costs. Her second business was at the old Six S Golf Course, but was not well-known. Her third business, Country Sweets Cafe and Bakery, New Bakery continued on ...... page 7
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