First Settlers Schenck House 1823

painting depicting conestoga wagon. note severe angles @ either end , curved center, characteristics of large conestoga compared other varieties of covered wagon.

samuel schenck 28 years old when emigrated parents michael , catherine schenck in 2 covered wagons lancaster, pennsylvania buffalo, new york area in 1821. emigrated first wife sarah hoopart schenck (july 23, 1798 march 14, 1823) , @ least 1 of 2 sons - jacob , john - based on birth , death recorded on gravestones. schencks lancaster, pennsylvania. conestoga wagon water tight overland vehicle designed cross both rough road , float across rivers. design useful cross mountains , rivers have been barriers on road lancaster , pittsburg, pa buffalo , amherst, ny in 1820s.

“michael schenck emigrated pennsylvania in august 1821 family in 2 large covered wagons, drawn 4 horses, came way of pittsburgh, on mountain erie, thence point called comstock’s, 8 miles buffalo, compelled place 8 horses 1 wagon, in order buffalo, on account of bad roads, settled in amherst, , purchased one-half section of land @ fifteen dollars per acre, near snyder post-office, heavy timber land.”

1827 map showing overland routes buffalo , amherst, ny, schencks took route pittsburg eire, pa following road along water front route 5 today - carey & lea, new york state - buffalo @ time spelled buffaloe .

geographical, statistical, , historical map of new york , 1827

timothy dwight - traveler in 1804 states following, villages, contains, batavia , buffaloe creek... within [indigenous persons] reservation included ground, opposite black rock;... buffalo creek, otherwise called new amsterdam, built on north-eastern border of considerable mill-stream, bears same name... village built half mile mouth of creek; , consists of twenty indifferent houses...we saw many indians in village, white people... [since our journey in 1804 ] village of buffaloe burned down during late war. since period has been re-built, , beautiful , flouring town of 1 hundred , fifty houses - pub 1820. beyond hamlet handsome point stretches south-west; , furnished imperfect shelter vessels, employed in commerce of lake. 7 of vessels, (five schooners, sloop , pettiaugre) lay in harbor @ time.  :new england , new york 1822 page 66 schencks arrived on cusp of migration of british, european , american settlers “greater buffalo region in western new york. city of buffalo saw non-indigenous population increase 2,095 in year 1820 42,470 in 1850. town of amherst saw similar rate of increase 262 in 1820 4,453 in 1850. more specifically, schencks part of migration of german-swiss pennsylvanians along people newly emigrated germany between 1820s 1850s town of amherst , city of buffalo. town of amherst had 1,556 german , 364 pennsylvanians arrive year 1850, or 43% of total population. city of buffalo had 9,409 germans, 69 prussians , 376 pennsylvanians 1850, or 23% of population. each federal census cycle schencks had male , female farmhands or laborers born in germany listed living in household. due this, possible schencks bilingual.