USA > Illinois > Adams County > The history of Adams County Illinois : containing a history of the county - its cities, towns, etc. a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion; general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 3
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guides who conducted the party to a river south of Lake Erie. This proved to be a tributary of the Ohio. They descended it, and thence down the Ohio to the great falls where Louisville now stands. By virtue of this dis- covery the French claimed the country along the Ohio, and many years after established military and trading posts at different points. One of these was Fort Du Quesne, erected in 1654, which was taken from them by the English a few years later and called Pittsburg, in honor of William Pitt, then prime minister of England.
Notwithstanding the discovery of the Ohio by the French under La Salle as early as 1669, the English claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific on the ground that her sea-coast discoveries entitled her to the sovereignty of all the country from "sea to sea." In 1684, Lord Howard, Governor of Vir- ginia, held a treaty with Indian tribes known as the Northern Confederacy, to-wit: the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas. The Tus- caroras being subsequently taken in, these tribes became known as the Six Nations, and the English assumed their protection. They purchased from them large tracts of land and aimed to obtain a monopoly of the Indian trade. The English government made grants of land west of the Alleghanies, and companies were formed for their settlement. France, seeing the Eng- lish obtaining a foothold by planting trading posts in the Northwest, in 1749 sent Louis Celeron with a small force of soldiers to plant in mounds at the mouths of the principal tributaries of the Ohio, plates of lead with the claims of France inscribed thereon. The English, however, still continued to make explorations and establish trading posts. One of these grants of England was to a company known as the "Ohio Company," and embraced a tract of land on the Great Miami, described as being one hundred and fifty miles above its mouth. Christopher Gist was sent by this company in 1750 to inspect thier lands and to establish a trading post. In 1752 a small party of French soldiers, assisted by Ottawas and Chippewas, attacked this post and captured the traders after a severe battle. The English called this post Pickawillany - the name being subsequently contracted to Pickaway or Piqua. The location of this post was doubtless near that of the present town of Piqua, on the Great Miami, about seventy-eight miles north of Cincinnati. Thus on the soil of what became a part of the state of Ohio was shed the first blood between the French and English for the possession of the Northwest.
In 1744 the English had entered into a treaty with the Six Nations at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, by which they acquired certain lands described as being within the "Colony of Virginia." The Indians subsequently com- plained of bad faith on the part of the English in failing to comply with some of the stipulations of the treaty. The Governor of Virginia appointed commissioners to hear the grievances of the Indians. They met at Logs- town, on the north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the present city of Pittsburg, in the spring of 1752. Notwithstanding the complaint of the Indians that the English had failed to supply them with arms and am- munition as they had agreed, they succeeded in obtaining a confirmation of the treaty of Lancaster.
In the meantime the French were quietly preparing to maintain their claims to the country in dispute. They provided cannon and military stores in anticipation of the coming conflict. The French were notified to give up their posts, but they failed to comply. Governor Dinwiddie finally deter- mined to learn definitely their intentions, and for this purpose selected Major
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WESTWARD THE STAR OF EMPIRE TAKES ITS WAY.
YDER
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George Washington, then twenty-two years of age, as a messenger. With Christopher Gist as guide, and four attendants or servants, Washington set out through the wilderness on his perilous journey. He held a conference with the chiefs of the Six Nations at Logstown in November, 1753. He learned something of the condition of the French, but the Indians desired to remain neutral and were disposed to be non-committal. Washington pro- ceeded to Venango, where there was a French post called Fort Machault. Here he delivered to the French governor Dinwiddie's letter, and received the answer of St. Pierre, the commander of the fort, declining to give up without a struggle. Preparations for war were made in all the English col- onies while the French continued to strengthen their lines of fortifications.
It will thus be seen that what is known as the French and Indian war liad its origin in this dispute about the possession of what is now one of the fairest and richest portions of our Republic. It resulted, not only in Eng- land maintaining her right to the territory in dispute, but in wresting Can- ada from France. It was a war of eight years duration, commencing with the attack of the French and Indians on the English post at Piqua in 1752, and virtually ending with the fall of the city of Montreal in April, 1760. Ticonderoga, Crown Point, Niagara, and Quebec had all previously surren- dered to the English, the first two without resistance. After the fall of Montreal the Governor of Canada signed a capitulation surrendering the whole of Canada to the English. One post, however, that of Detroit, still remained in possession of the French. Major Rogers was sent from Mon- treal to demand its surrender. Beletre, the commander of the post, at first refused, but on the 29th of November, having heard of the defeat of the French arms in Canada, he also surrendered. September 29th, 1760, the treaty of peace between France and England, known as the treaty of Paris, was made, but not ratified until February 10tl1, 1763. Meantime the Northwest territory was entirely under English rule and settlements began to extend. The Indians who had been the friends and allies of the French during the war were not reconciled to the English, claiming that they had not carried out their promises. Under the famous Ottawa chief, Pontiac, they united in a general conspiracy to cut off all the English posts on the frontier. The Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawnese, Delawares and Mingoes, buried the hatchet in their local quarrels, and united to exterminate the English.
Owing to treachery on the part of some of Pontiac's followers, he failed in the complete execution of his plans, but in May, 1763, several British posts fell, and many whites were victims of the merciless tomahawk. In the arrangement among the Indians it was agreed that Pontiac's own imme- diate field of action was to be the garrison at Detroit. He laid siege to the post May 12th, and continued it until October 12th. To obtain food for his warriors during this time, he issued promissory notes, drawn upon birch bark and signed with the figure of an otter. All these notes were faithfully redeemed. Being unsuccessful in reducing the garrison, the tribes generally sned for peace, but Pontiac remained as yet unsubdued. To Alexander Henry, an Englishman who visited Missillimacinac the next spring, he said: " Englishman, although yon have conquered the French, you have not yet conquered us. We are not your slaves ! These lakes, these woods, these mountains, were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, cannot live without bread, and pork and beef ; but you ought to
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know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains."
Pontiac still entertained the hope that the French would renew the war, and finally conquer the English, and endeavored to incite the Indians on the Miami, and in other parts of the West, to continue hostilities. He applied, but unsuccessfully, to the French commander at New Orleans. Being un- able to unite again those who entered so eagerly into his original conspiracy for destroying the English settlements, he went to the Illinois country, where he made a stand, and had for a time the sympathy and co-operation of the French fur traders in that region. Soon, however, all but his immediate followers deserted his cause, and he then reluctantly accepted peace on the terms offered by the English. From this time he had but little influence with the tribes. He was killed by an Illinois Indian, while drunk, at Ka- hokia, in 1769. At the time of his death he was about fifty-seven years of age.
Great Britain now held sovereignty over the entire Northwest, and to pre- vent Louisiana from also falling into the hands of the English, France by secret treaty, in 1762, ceded it to Spain. The next year the treaty of Paris formally gave to England possession of the Northwestern Territory. The English now began to prepare for settlement and occupation of the country. In 1770 persons from Virginia and other British provinces took up the valuable lands on the Monongahela and along the Ohio to the mouth of the Little Kanawa. In October of the same year George Washington with a party descended the Ohio from Pittsburg to the Kenawa, which last named stream they ascended about fourteen miles, and marked out several large tracts of land. Buffalo were then abundant in the Ohio valley, and several of them were shot by Washington's party. Pittsburg was then a village of twenty houses, the inhabitants being mostly Indian traders.
The British government was inclined to observe a liberal policy toward the French settlers in the West. In 1763 the king, by royal proclamation, had forbidden his subjects from making settlements beyond the sources of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic ; but his subjects in the colonies were little disposed to observe this restriction. Finally, in 1774, Governor Dun- more, of Virginia, began to encourage emigration to the West. A number of settlements were made in the Ohio valley, the settlers often coming in conflict with the Indians. Several battles were fought, ending in the battle of Kenawa, in July, when the Indians were defeated and driven across the Ohio. During the years following, up to 1776, several land companies were formed, and engaged in extensive operations. One, called the "Illinois Land Company," obtained from the Indians large tracts of land on the Mis- sissippi river, south. of the Illinois. An association, styling itself the "Wa- bash Land Company," obtained a deed from eleven chiefs to 37,497,600 acres of land. The War of the Revolution interfered with these and many other similar schemes of speculation. The parties interested subsequently made efforts to have these land grants sanctioned by Congress, but did not succeed.
In 1771, according to the best information we have, Kaskaskia contained eighty houses, and nearly one thousand inhabitants, white and black. Ka- hokia contained fifty houses, with three hundred white inhabitants, and eighty negroes. There were a few families at Prairie du Rocher, on the Mississippi river, opposite St. Louis. At Detroit, there were in 1766, about one hundred houses. This place was founded by Antoine de la Motte Ca- dillac, in 1701, and is the oldest town in the Northwest.
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When the War of the Revolution commenced the British held Kaskaskia, Kahokia, Vincennes, Detroit, and other important posts in the West. Col. George Rogers Clark, a master spirit of the frontier, who was familiar with all the important movements of the British in the West, and also with the disposition of the Indians, formed a plan unequalled in boldness, for subju- gating these posts. He repaired to the capital of Virginia, Patrick Henry being then Governor, and presented to the authorities his plan of operations, which was approved by Governor Henry. He was accordingly furnished with two sets of instructions-one secret and the other open. His open in- structions authorized him to enlist seven companies to go to Kentucky, sub- ject to his orders, and serve three months from their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized him to arm and equip his troops at Pittsburg, and proceed to subjugate the country. Col. Clark succeeded in raising but three companies, but with these and a few private volunteers, he descended the Ohio as far as the falls, in the spring of 1777. Here he fortified a small island, known as Corn Island, and then announced to his men their real des- tination. Leaving a small garrison, on the 24th of June, during a total eclipse of the sun, he moved down the river. Under a burning July sun, with his chosen band, he marched to Kaskaskia, reaching that post on the evening of July 4th. Without the loss of a man on either side the fort and village were captured. He easily induced the Indians to give their allegi- ance to the American cause. They accompanied him to Kahokia on the 6th, and through their influence the inhabitants of that place surrendered without resistance. The priest at Kaskaskia, M. Gibault, hastily joined in rendering all the aid he could to forward the purposes of Clark. He estab- lished a government for the colonies he had taken, and then made ready to march upon St. Vincent, or Vincennes, as it is more commonly known. But Gibault offered to go alone and induce the post on the "Oubache " to throw off the authority of England. Clark accepted the offer, and on the 14th of July Gibault started on his mission. On the 1st of August he re- turned, with intelligence of entire success, the garrison at Vincennes having taken the oath of allegiance to Virginia. Col. Clark placed garrisons at Kaskaskia and Kahokia, and sent orders for the erection of a fort at the Falls of the Ohio, where the City of Louisville now stands. He also sent Roche- blave, the former commander of Kaskaskia, a prisoner of war to Richmond. The county of Illinois was established in October of the same year, by the Legislature of Virginia. John Todd was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel and acting governor. Courts were established, and the colony was provided with a government complete. The Indians acknowledged allegiance to the new government.
While Col. Clark was arranging for the government of the Illinois colo- nies, the British Governor, Hamilton, was planning an expedition to move from Detroit down the Wabash to Vincennes, intending to recapture the posts which had surrendered to Clark, and thence extend his operations to Kentucky. He knew nothing of the capitulation of Vincennes until his arrival, when he found the fort in command of Capt. Helm, who had been sent by Col. Clark to take charge of the garrison. Hamilton demanded the surrender of the fort, and being granted the rights of a prisoner of war, Capt. Helm surrendered to a superior force. On the 29th of January, 1879, Clark received intelligence of what had transpired at Vincennes, and of the in- tended operations of Hamilton. Having sufficiently garrisoned Kaskaskia and Kahokia, and dispatched a force down the Mississippi to ascend the Ohio
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and operate with the land forces in that direction, on the 5th of February he set out himself with one hundred and twenty men on his hard march to Vincennes. He reached the fort on the 22d, and was joined by the re- mainder of his command, which had come by water. He immediately com- menced his attack on the fort, and on the 25th Gov. Hamilton surrendered. He was sent as a prisoner of war to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement, and thus failed to accomplish his purpose of uniting the In- dian tribes against the Americans. All the important posts in the North- west, except Detroit, were now in the hands of the Americans. Had Clark received reinforcements, which had been promised, he would doubtless have captured Detroit also ; but Virginia and the other colonial governments at this time doubtless had all they could do to attend to the operations of the war east of the Alleghanies. The Legislature of Virginia passed resolutions complimenting Col. Clark and his men, and in 1781 he was promoted to the rank of general. Previous to this he had taken part with Steuben against Arnold, when the latter invaded Virginia, in 1780. Subsequently, Virginia gave to Gen. Clark and his men one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, wherever they might choose to locate it, north of the Ohio. They made selection of a tract opposite the Falls of the Ohio, between New Albany and Jeffersonville, Indiana. Gen. Clark died near Louisville, Ken- tucky, February 13th, 1808.
The years 1781 and 1782 were dark years in the history of the infant set- tlements of the Northwest, in consequence of the many outrages practiced by the Indians. Many deeds of cruelty were committed under the leader- ship of the outlaw, Simon Girty, occurring chiefly in the Ohio Valley. Sev- eral battles between the Indians and frontiersmen occurred north of the Ohio, while in Kentucky the famous Daniel Boone and his companions were engaged in protecting the frontier outposts.
In 1783 the treaty of peace, which ended the Revolutionary struggle, was concluded, and by its terms the boundaries of the West were defined as fol- lows : On the north, to extend along the center of the Great Lakes ; from the western point of Lake Superior to Long Lake ; thence to the Lake of the Woods ; thence to the head of the Mississippi river, down its center to the 31st parallel of latitude ; thence on that line east to the head of Appa- lachicola river, down its center to the junction with the Flint ; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's river ; and thence down along its center to the Atlantic Ocean.
For some time after the cessation of hostilities, General Haldimand, the British commander at Detroit, refused to evacuate, on the ground, as he claimed, that his king had not ordered him to do so. It shortly, however, passed under the control of the United States, and so remained, except when held by the British, through the surrender of Gen. Hull, for a few weeks in August and September, 1812.
The war of independence had been fought and gained, and England, as we have seen, had renounced her claim to the Northwest, but the Indian title was not yet extinguished. From 1783 to 1786 various treaties were made, by which the Indians relinquished their title to extensive tracts of territory. The individual States also held claims to the territory surrendered by Great Britain, and acts of cession were necessary to vest the title to the soil in United States ; but of this we shall treat more fully in another place. In 1779 Virginia had passed her "land laws," by which grants made to set- tlers were confirmed, and providing for selling the rest at forty cents per
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acre. Kentucky was included in the territory of Virginia until 1792. It was originally explored by Daniel Boone and his compeers about the year 1769. Harrodsburg was founded in 1774, and Lexington a year or two later, when the news of the battle of Lexington was fresh in the minds of its founders.
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Territory held by States-Articles of Confederation-Objections of certain States-Delaware Resolutions-Action of Congress-Maryland-New York-Cession of Territory by States- Ordinance of 1787-Territorial Organization of the Northwest-Fort Washington-Wm. H. Harrison. Arthur St. Clair-Early American Settlements-New England Company- Gen. Rufus Putnam -- John Cleves Symmes -- Cincinnati Founded-Treaty with Spain- Division of the Northwestern Territory- Organization of the Territory of Indiana- Division of Indiana Territory-Territory of Michigan-Gov. Wm. Hull-Destruction of Detroit by Fire.
AT the time the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union were pend- ing a number of the States held, or claimed, large tracts of territory not now included in those States. New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia, all held such territory. Vir- ginia claimed all that vast region which now embraces the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and that part of Minnesota east of the Mississippi river. That State had made provision, by legislative enactment, to dispose of her lands to settlers. Certain States, claiming that the unoccu- pied western lands were rightfully the common property of all the States, in- sisted on limiting the area of those States claiming western territory. This was a subject of warm and protracted discussion in the adoption of the Arti- cles of Confederation. The delegates from Maryland, under instructions from the General Assembly of that State, declined, in the Congress of the Confed- eration, to sign the Articles of Confederation until provision was made for restricting the boundaries of the States, and vesting the soil of the western territories in the Confederation for the common benefit of all the settlers. Virginia had remonstrated against this course. On the 25th of November, 1778, the act of New Jersey for ratifying the Articles of Confederation was presented in the Congress. Her delegates were directed to sign the arti- cles "in the firm reliance that the candour and justice of the several States will, in due time, remove as far as possible the inequality which now sub- sists." The delegation from Delaware, after having signed the articles, on the 23d of February, 1779, presented sundry resolutions passed by the legislature of that State, among which were the following:
"Resolved, That this State thinks it necessary, for the peace and safety of the States to be included in the Union, that a moderate extent of limits should be assigned for such of those States as claim to the Mississippi or South Sea; and that the United States in Congress assembled, should, and ought to, have the power of fixing the western limits.
"Resolved, That this State consider themselves justly entitled to a right in common with the members of the Union, to that extensive tract of country which lies westward of the frontier of the United States, the property of which was not vested in, or granted to, private individuals at the com- mencement of the present war. That the same hath been, or may be, gained from the King of Great Britain, or the native Indians, by the blood and treasure of all, and ought, therefore, to be a common estate, to be granted out on terms beneficial to the United States."
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The same day, after the presentation of these resolutions, Congress passed the following:
"Resolved, That the paper laid before Congress by the delegates from Delaware, and read, be filed; provided, that it shall never be considered as admitting any claim by the same set up, or intended to be set up."
Eight States voted in favor of this resolution, and three against it.
The State of Maryland still persisting in her refusal to ratify the Articles of Confederation, on the 30th of October, 1779, Congress, by a vote of eight States to three, and one being divided, passed the following:
"WHEREAS, The appropriation of vacant lands by the several States, during the continuance of the war, will, in the opinion of Congress, be attended with great mischiefs: Therefore,
"Resolved, That it be earnestly recommended to the State of Virginia, to reconsider their late act of Assembly for opening their land office; and that it be recommended to the said State, and all other States similarly circum- stanced, to forbear settling or issuing warrants for unappropriated lands, or granting the same during the continuance of the present war."
On the 19th of February, 1780, the Legislature of New York passed an act authorizing her delegates in Congress, for and on behalf of that State, by proper and authentic acts or instruments, "to limit and restrict the boundaries of the State in the western parts thereof, by such line or lines, and in such manner and form, as they shall judge to be expedient," and providing for the cession to the United States of certain "waste and uncul- tivated" territory. This act was fully carried into effect by her delegates on the 1st of March, 1781.
On the 6th of September, 1780, Congress passed a resolution earnestly recommending the States having "claims to the western country, to pass such laws, and give their delegates in Congress such powers" as might effectually remove the only obstacle to a final ratification of the Articles of Confederation, and requesting the Legislature of Maryland to authorize her delegates in Congress to subscribe to the articles.
On the 10th of October, 1780, a further resolution on this subject was passed by the Congress of the Confederation, as follows:
"Resolved, That the unappropriated lands that may be ceded or relin- quished to the United States, by any particular State, pursuant to the recom- mendation of Congress of the 6th day of September last, shall be disposed of for the common benefit of the United States, and be settled and formed into distinct republican States, which shall become members of the Federal Union, and have the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and independence as the other States; that each State which shall be so formed shall contain a suitable extent of territory, not less than one hundred, nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circumstances will admit; that the necessary and reasonable expenses which any particular State shall have incurred since the commencement of the present war, in subduing any British posts, or in maintaining forts or garrisons within and for the defense, or in acquiring any part of the territory that may be ceded or relinquished to the United States, shall be re-imbursed; that the said lands shall be granted or settled at such times, and under such regulations, as shall here- after be agreed on by the United States, in Congress assembled, or any nine or more of them."
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