USA > Indiana > Allen County > Fort Wayne > History of Fort Wayne, from the earliest known accounts of this point, to the present period. Embracing an extended view of the aboriginal tribes of the Northwest, including, more especially, the Miamies with a sketch of the life of General Anthony Wyane; including also a lengthy biography of pioneer settlers of Fort Wayne. Also an account of the manufacturing, mercantile, and railroad interests of Fort Wayne and vicinity > Part 1
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Gc 977.202 F77b 1143263
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
GC.
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02301 6733
Lith. Chs. Shober & Co.Chicago, IL.
Intymwayne
GENEALOGY COLLECTION HISTORY
OF
FORT WAYNE,
FROM
THE EARLIEST KNOWN ACCOUNTS
OF
THIS POINT,
TO THE PRESENT
PERIOD.
EMBRACING AN EXTENDED VIEW OF THE ABORIGINAL TRIBES OF THE NORTHWEST, INCLUDING, MORE ESPECIALLY, THE MIAMIES, OF THIS LOCALITY-THEIR HABITS, CUSTOMS, ETC .- TOGETHER WITH A COMPREHEN- SIVE SUMMARY OF THE GENERAL RELATIONS OF THE NORTHWEST, FROM THE LATTER PART OF THE SEVENTEENTH CEN- TURY, TO THE STRUGGLES OF 1812-14;
WITH A SKETCH OF THE
LIFE OF GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE;
INCLUDING ALSO A LENGTHY
BIOGRAPHY OF THE LATE HON. SAMUEL HANNA,
TOGETHER WITH SHORT
SKETCHES OF SEVERAL OF THE EARLY PIONEER SETTLERS OF FORT WAYNE. ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF THE MANUFACTURING, MERCANTILE, AND RAILROAD INTERESTS OF FORT WAYNE AND VICINITY.
BY WALLACE A. BRICE.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
FORT WAYNE, IND : D. W. JONES & SON, STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 1868.
Entered, according to act of Congress, on the 26th day of February, 1868, BY WALLACE A. BRICK, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the District of Indiana.
1
1143263
TO THE CITIZENS
OF THE
CITY OF FORT WAYNE AND VICINITY, AND
Farmers of Allen County,
AS AN HUMBLE TRIBUTE OF ESTEEM, This Volume is most Kindly dedicated,
BY THE AUTHOR.
PREFATORY REMARKS.
When I first thought to gather together and arrange the material with which to form the HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE, I had little comprehended the magnitude and extent of the field or matter thereof ; and after receiving the ready and liberal assur- ances and aid of a large mass of the citizens of Fort Wayne in substantial subscrip- tions thereto, and made known my intention to issue the work, I soon found myself encompassed on all sides by a vast store of information and facts, from which to draw and form the material for the work.
Though, from an early day, widely known as a point of great interest and im- portance, both as to its aboriginal renown, throughout the northwest, for many con- secutive years : and the whites, for nearly a century before the war of 1812, yet, aside from a few short, hastily-written, and very incomplete sketches of the place and adjacent localities, no one had ever ventured or been sufficiently aroused to the importance and value of such a volume, to write and arrange the history of this old carrying-place, and former center of Indian life, in view of which, the French, the English, and the American soldiers had so long successively stood guard.
Having procured many valuable documents, old and rare, from which to draw much of interest for the work, and received also much important information from those of the Pioneer fathers and mothers among us, who still survive to tell the story of
" the early times out west, ** *
In the days when THEY were Pioneers, Fifty years ago,"
I readily saw that, to do justice to so extended a body of matter, time would not only be required to put it into readable form, but much care needed in the sifting and selection of the material; and so, with large perseverance and a determination not to slight or overlook any important feature of the work, during the latter part of May and first of June last, I began industriously to devote myself to the task of writing and arranging the matter for the volume, often, during the warm months of summer, repairing to the woods in the vicinity, writing much of the work upon the ground, where, in former years, were to be seen many Indian lodges, and also contiguous to points where the early skirmishes between the Indians and whites had occurred.
Thus pushing forward, filling several hundred pages of paper, by the latter part of September, I found my task about complete, and the MSS. in the hands of the printer.
In my efforts to obtain information, I am pleased to say that many not only freely told me all the important facts they could call to mind, but kindly extended to me the use of valuable books, papers, &c. Among these I may name Chas. B.
VI
PREFATORY REMARKS.
Lasselle, Esq., of Logansport, Ind., John P. Hedges, Esq., Hon. J. W. Borden, Louis Peltier, T. N. Hood, Dr. J. B. Brown, J. L. Williams, Esq., Mr. J. J. Comparet, Mrs. Griswold, Mrs. Laura Suttenfield, and others.
Among the historical works referred to, and drawn from, I have been par- ticularly careful to "keep good company," and have used the material of those volumes only which have well sustained a reputation for accuracy, some of which have long since gone out of print. Among these, I may mention "The History of the Late War in the Western Country," by Col. Robt. B. M'Afee, who was here with the army during much of the war of 1812 and '14-(this volume is now fifty years old) ; Butler's " History of Kentucky"-1836 ; Drake's " Life of Black Hawk" -1833; " The Hesperian, or Western Monthly Magazine"-1838; "The American Pioneer ;" " Wau-Bun, the ' Early Day' in the Northwest ; " " Western Annals ;" Sparks' " American Biography," "States and Territories of the Great West ; " Park- man's "History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac;" Dillon's " History of Indiana;" Judge Law's "Address"-1839; etc., etc., together with a number of papers containing inter- esting and valuable sketches.
Much more might have been added to the work; but the price charged for it would not well admit of an enlargement beyond the number of pages presented. In actual amount of matter, however, the pages being "solid," it will not fall far short of many works of a similar character, which, though containing a less number of lines on each page, are yet much more bulky and voluminous. Indeed, so ex- tensive were many of the facts and matter generally from which the work has been drawn, that, in some instances, I have been compelled to leave out and cut short much matter that I should liked to have presented in the present issue. But all will " keep," very well, subject to a further call by the public.
In the latter part of this volume, the reader will find, together with some other matter of interest, several sketches of early settlers of Fort Wayne, conspicuous among which will be found a very lengthy Biography of our late most beloved and lamented fellow-citizen, Hon. Samuel Hanna, from the able pen of his old friend and companion, one of Fort Wayne's most worthy and respected citizens, G. W. Wood, Esq. A short sketch of the father of Charles B. Lasselle, Esq., " the first white man born at Ke-ki-ong-a," will be found in this part of the work ; one also of Mr. H. Rudisill, father of our county Auditor. But all will be read with equal care and interest by the reader. Thanking the citizens generally, of Fort Wayne and Allen county, including especially the publishers of each of our city papers, for the interest manifested in behalf of the work, and the liberal aid extended to it, in the form of subscriptions, I trust, in return, the volume may not only prove a source of much interest and value to all, but be successful in rescuing from a com- parative oblivion the historic importance to which Fort Way ne is so justly entitled.
WALLACE A. BRICE.
FORT WAYNE, IND., Dec., 1867.
BIOGRAPHY OF GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE.
SKETCH OF THE LIFE
OF
GENERAL ANTHONY WAYNE.
" Lives of TRUE men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Foot-prints on the sands of time."
·0-
ANTHONY WAYNE was not alone a valiant officer and soldier. He was a moral hero. His frontal brain was large, and the crown of his head well expanded. Largely intuitive, ever thoughtful, sagacious, and resolute of will; his soul was imbued with a large feeling of benificence as well as de- termination-a high admiration of the beautiful and picturesque in nature. While clinging to the sword, as a means of safety, he was disposed to invite his antagonist to join in a council of peace. Always on the look-out- cautious and most prudent in his movements-bold, intrepid, and fearless, when called to the field of battle, his opponents were sure, sooner or later, to come to defeat. He was, by nature and organization, a soldier, a tac- tician, a hero. Somewhat scholarly, he wrote not only a fair hand, but an agreeable diction ; and was noted for his laconicism .*. Born with the great spirit of true Freedom deeply impressed upon him, at an early age he became imbued with the importance of freeing his country, and making it an asylum for the out-growth, establishment, and perpetuation of un- sullied liberty, free institutions, and good government. Thus actuated and impelled, the name of ANTHONY WAYNE is found among the first to lead the way at the commencement of the American Revolution; and when, a few years after the long struggle for Independence, the West called for the services of one equal to the emergency of the time, he was soon sent to her relief; and the country, after the lapse of a few months, sub- sequent to his movement thither, was made to rejoice under a new reign of peace and safety.f
The grand-father of Wayne was an Englishman by birth, who left his native country during 1681, and removed to Ireland, where he devoted
#At the capture of Stony Point, he addressed the following to Gen. Washington : STONY POINT, 16TH JULY, 1776, 2 O'clock, A. M.
DEAR GENERAL :- The fort and garrison with Col. Johnson arc ours. Our officers and men behaved like men who are determined to be free. Yours most sincerely Gen. Washington. ANT'Y WAYNE.
+See Chapter XII of this volume.
-
IX.
BIOGRAPHY OF GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE.
himself to agriculture for a period of several years. Entering the army of William of Orange, against King James, the exile, in 1690, he fought at the battle of the Boyne, and took part in the siege of Limerick, making himself quite servicable to the state, for which he seems never to have been duly rewarded, and becoming eventually much dissatisfied with the gen- eral relations of his adopted country, at the age of sixty-three he left Ireland, and ventured upon a voyage across the Ocean, reaching Pennsyl- vania in 1722. With the new country he was much pleased, and soon purchased a farm and settled in Chester county of that state; and it was here that his grand-son and name-sake, the subject of this sketch, was born, on the 1st of January, 1745.
But little is known of the early life of Wayne, further than he was accounted a " pretty wild boy," and from his youth seemed to have had a greater fondness for the art and peril of war than any thing his mind could be called to. For this pass-time and amusement, he forsook school, school- books, and gave little heed to much earnest advice. His uncle, Gilbert . Wayne, to whom Anthony was sent as a pupil to acquire the common rudiments of an education, wrote to his father as follows concerning his nephew :
" I really suspect," said he, "that parental affection blinds you ; and that you have mistaken your son's capacity. What he may be best qualified for, I know not; but one thing I am certain of, that he will never make a scholar. He may make a soldier; he has already dis- tracted the brains of two-thirds of the boys under my direction, by rehersals of battles, and sieges &c. They exhibit more the appearance of Indians and harlequins than of students ; this one, decorated with a cap of many colors; and others, habited in coats as variegated as Joseph's of old ; some, laid up with broken heads, and others with black eyes. During noon, instead of the usual games and amusements, he has the boys em- ployed in throwing up redoubts, skirmishing, &e. I must be candid with you, brother Isaac ; unless Anthony pays more attention to his books, I shall be under the painful necessity of dismissing him from the school."
The result of this was a severe lecture from his father, who threatened. likewise, to withdraw him from school and place him upon the farm at hard work, if failing to conduct himself differently, in the future, and give over his sham battling, erection of redoubts, military rehearsals, and building of mud forts. The earnest, resolute words of his father, for whom he entertained a strong affection and regard, were deeply impressed upon him ; and he resolved to return to his uncle, devote himself to his studies, and forsake all that had given rise to former complaint against him. Thus acting and applying himself diligently to his studies for a period of eighteen months, his uncle was compelled to admit that he had not only " acquired all that his master could teach," but that " he merited the means of higher and more general instruction," which induced his father at once to send him to the Philadelphia Academy, where, at the age of eighteen years, he had acquired an extended knowledge of Astronomy and Mathematics. Returning again to his native county, he now entered upon the business of land surveying.
It was about this period that the peace between the powers of Great Britain and France was terminated, which placed Nova Scotia in the
x.
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
possession of the former, and the British government at once bethought to colonize her newly acquired territory ; and associations soon began to be formed in some of the older provinces with a view to colonizing these newly acquired regions. Prominent among these was a company of mer- chants and others, from Pennsylvania, embracing among their number Benjamin Franklin, and through the recomendation of Franklin, young WAYNE, then in his twenty-first year, was readily chosen special agent to visit the newly-acquired territory, to examine the soil best adapted to agricul- tural pursuits, and to gain information as to " the means of commercial facilities connected with it." Upon this important mission young Wayne not only soon embarked and performed the duties thereof most satis- factorily to all concerned, but was continued in the trust till the year 1767, when the difficulties, then assuming a serious attitude between the mother country and the colonial settlements of America, had the effect to break up the enterprise and call the attention of the colonists to matters of self-defense directly within the colonial settlements.
Returning again to Pennsylvania, young Wayne, in 1767, was united in wedlock to the daughter of a distinguished merchant in Philadelphia, of the name of Benjamin Penrose, whither he soon returned to Chester county, and again embarked in the occupation of surveying, engaging also in agricultural pursuits when a short cessation or pause in his profes - sion occurred ; and in this latter vocation he is said to have " found much to gratify his taste."
Continuing to menace the colonies, and insist upon her policy of tax- ation, up to the period of 1774-5-to which time we find Wayne still engaged in the business of surveying and farming-Great Britain was at length met with a formidable front by the colonists, who had determined to resist the further aggressions of the king and Parliament of the British government, even to the sword. Indeed, matters had now assumed such a shape as to leave no room or hope for escape on the part of the colonial settlements ; and WAYNE was among the first to step forward and de- clare for a positive stand against the further encroachment of the British Crown.
The events now surely leading to a long and severe struggle against the mother country, in which he was to take so active a part, had years before, when but a boy, been foreshadowed in his ardent love of military sports-his fondness for the erection of redoubts and mud forts, of which his uncle so earnestly complained ; and seeing largely the importance of readiness for such a campaign, Wayne began at once to withdraw him- self from all political assemblies of the country, and devote himself to the organization and instruction of military bodies. In this he was not only wise, but successful ; for, within the period of six weeks, he was able to bring together and form a company of volunteers, " having," says the account,* from which the foregoing was principally drawn," more the appearance of a veteran than of a military regiment."
The energy and capacity of WAYNE had now begun to attract public attention ; and during the early part of January, 1776, the Continental Congress readily conferred upon him the title of Colonel, and gave him the command of " one of the four regiments required from Pennsylvania, in reinforcement of the northern army." In his new capacity, he was ever
#Prepared by his son, Isaac Wayne, and first published in a work printed in Philadelphia some years ago, called " THE CASKET."
1
XI.
BIOGRAPHY OF GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE.
noted for his diligence and activity, and his efforts were always attended with marked success.
The regiment under his command having been speedily raised and equiped, he soon took up his line of march for Canada ; whither he arrived about the latter part of June, ('76,) and formed a part of Thompson's brigade, at the mouth of the river Sorel. Major-General Sullivan, then in command of the northern army, arrived at this point about the same pe - riod of Wayne's arrival, and learning that the British commander had sent a detachment of some six hundred light infantry to the westward, as far as the village of Trois Rivieres, unattended by any relief corps, a plan was at once agreed upon for the capture of the detachment and post, and establishing there a formidable battery, "which, if not sufficient en- tirely to prevent the ascent of the British armed vessels and transports to Montreal, might, for a time so embarrass the navigation, as greatly to retard their progress thither."*
Accordingly, on the 3rd of July, with St. Clair's, Wayne's and Ir- vine's regiments, Major Sullivan dispatched Thompson to a little village on the south side of the St. Lawrence, called Niccolete, which stood nearly opposite to the village of Trois Rivieres.
Learning " that a place called the White-house (still nearer to the as- sailants than Trois Rivieres) was occupied by an advanced guard," and Thompson, a tactician of the old school, being of the opinion that " troops acting offensively should leave no hostile post in their rear," began to move in the direction of the supposed position of the enemy, but soon found that the point was unoccupied.
After the loss of much time and the encounter of many perplexities, besides placing his men in a fair position for a surprise and capture, Thompson now directed the troops to return to the place of their landing. Having, for some hours previous, been shielded by the night, the dawn now began to appear, and the enemy caught sight of the detach- ment, and were soon driving it from point to point, until, at length, the troops under Thompson were compelled to seek safety in a consider- able morass, " from which he had just extricated himself," where " he and a few others," were soon captured ; and Col. St. Clair, second in command, having, about the same time, been disabled in one of his feet, the fur- ther direction of the forces remaining fell upon Col. Wayne; and though badly wounded, so successful was he in the conduct of the move- ment, that he soon gained the western side of the river Des Loups, and rapidly made his " way along the northern bank of the St. Law- rence, to the village of Berthier," gaining the American camp at the mouth of the river Sorel in safety.
Late in June, General Sullivan began to perceive, from the move- ments of the British, that his position was no longer a safe onc; and im- mediately issued an order for the evacuation of the fort of the Sorcl, and a retreat upon Lake Champlain.
In this movement Wayne and the Pennsylvania regiments were di- rected to cover the rear. So close was the enemy, in this move, "that the boats latest getting into motion were not beyond the reach of musket shot, when the head of the enemy's column entered the fort." Without fur- ther molestation or alarm, the army, on the 17th of July, succeeded in reaching Ticonderoga.
*St. Clair's narrative.
XII.
HISTORY OF FORT WAYNE.
Thus we see, in the very out-set of the struggle for Independence, how our hero, step by step, made himself most serviceable to his country and, laid the foundation for lasting renown.
The command of the northern troops, now devolving upon Gen. Gates, who, learning of the perilous condition of Washington, " with eight regi- ments," marched " to the aid of the Commander-in-chief," leaving the post of Ticonderoga in the command of Col. Wayne, with a force of two thousand five hundred men-an arrangement that not only proved most pleasing to the troops under him, but highly agreeable to Congress, which body, in order the better to encourage and sustain the appointment, soon conferred upon Wayne the title of Brigadier-General, continuing him in command of Ticonderoga until the following spring, at which period he was called to the ranks of the main army under Gen. Washington, reach- ing headquarters on the 15th of May, 1777, where he was at once placed at the head of a brigade "which," said Washington, " could not fail under his direction to be soon and greatly distinguished."
We now find Wayne connected with nearly every important movement of the Revolution; and though, as on occasions already referred to, closely pursued or surrounded, he yet, sooner or later, was ever the successful leader or actor in every engagement.
After the retreat of the British from Philadelphia, in June, 1777, we find the corps under Wayne, with those of Sullivan, Maxwell, and Morgan, sent in pursuit, of which, two alone (Wayne's and Morgan's) were enabled to follow up the retreat, of whom Washington, in his report to Congress, said : " They displayed great bravery and good conduct; constantly ad- vancing on an enemy far superior to themselves in numbers, and well se- cured by redoubts."
At the battle of Brandywine " Wayne was assigned the post of honor, that of leading the American attack; a service he performed with a gal- lantry now become habitual to himself and the division he commanded."*
At the famous engagement of Stoney Point, Wayne's own escapes are stated as " of the hair-breadth' kind."+ Shortly after capturing and entering the fortification of the enemy, he was struck by a musket-ball on the head, which caused his fall ; but he immediately rallied, crying out, " march on, carry me into the fort ; for should the wound be mortal, I will die at the head of the column."
This engagement, considered " the most brilliant of the war," is said to have "covered the commanding general (Wayne) with laurels;" of whom Washington, referring to this occasion, said in his report to Congress: "To the encoumiums he (Wayne) has deservedly bestowed on the officers and men under his command, it gives me pleasure to add that his own conduct throughout the whole of this arduous enterprise merits the warm- est approbation of Congress. He improved on the plan recommended by me, and executed it in a manner that does honor to his judgement and bravery ; " and Congress tendered him a vote of thanks for his valiant efforts on the occasion in question. In addition to these, Wayne was the recipient also of many complimentary letters from men of distinction at the time, one of which, from Gen. Charles Lee, will serve as illustrative, *Sparks' Biography, vol. 4.
+So intrepid and daring was he, that carly in the campaign of the Revolution he re- ceived the appellation of MAD ANTHONY, and ever afterward retained the title, by which he is still familiarly known and called.
XIII.
BIOGRAPHY OF GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE.
perhaps, of their general tenor. Said Mr. Lee: " what I am going to say you will not I hope consider as paying my court in this your hour of glory; for, as it is at least my present intention to leave this continent, I can have no interest in paying my court to any individual. What I shall say therefore is dictated by the genuine feelings of my heart. I do most sincerely declare that your assault of Stony Point is not only the most brilliant in my opinion, throughout the whole course of the war on either side, but that it is the most brilliant I am acquainted with in history; the assault of Schweidnitz by Marshal Loudon, I think inferior to it. I wish you, therefore, most sincerely, joy of the laurels you have deservedly acquired, and that you may long live to wear them. With respectand no small admiration, I remain, &c."
If a mutinous spirit arose among the troops at any time there were none better able to quell it than Wayne. Universally beloved and admired by all the privates under him, he readily exerted a salutary influence over them. This power of Wayne was strikingly illustrated during tho fore part of January, 1781, soon after the distribution of the army for winter quarters. Shortly after the ordinary festivies of the day, "the whole division, with a few exceptions, was found in a state of open and decided insurrection, disclaiming all further obedience, and boldly avowing an intention of immediately abandoning the post, and of seeking, with arms in their hands, a redress of their grievances."* The affair proved a serious one. Every attempt to quell the movement scemed to have been met by blows-" wounds were inflicted and lives lost." The grievances complained of, were " clothing generally bad in quality, and always de- ficient in quantity ; wages irregularly paid, and in a currency far below its nominal value; and, lastly, service greatly prolonged beyond the legal term of enlistment."
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