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Ge 977.201 P84& 1139180
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02300 2949
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017
https://archive.org/details/historyofposeyco00leff_0
John le. Leffel.
HISTORY
OF
POSEY COUNTY,
INDIANA
JOHN C. LEFFEL EDITOR
ILLUSTRATED
STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO 1913
De 9.77.201 P84l
.
1139180
PREFACE
In the preparation of this work the central purpose has been to present an impartial history of Posey county. With this end constantly in view, the editor and his assistants have sought with painstaking exactness to ascertain, as nearly as possible, the truth of Posey county history from its dawn to the present time. To such a task those who have been engaged in this work have devoted their best energy and most faithful service. It is hoped that the accuracy of the work is commensurate with the efforts that have been put forth to make it so.
Grateful acknowledgment is hereby made for much valuable assist- ance received from many citizens of the county in the compilation of this work. Especial thanks are due the librarians, the county officials and the newspapers of the county for their many courtesies and coopera- tion in the research incident to a work of this character ; and to Mr. Joel W. Hiatt, of New Harmony, and Dr. David W. Welch and Mr. Jacob Cronbach, of Mt. Vernon, for special articles contributed by them.
JOHN C. LEFFEL.
Mt. Vernon, Ind., November 20, 1913.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
ABORIGINES.
The Mound Builders-Indian Tribes-Explorers-Missionaries-Indian Troubles-Wars and Treaties-Battle of Tippecanoe and Other Bat- tles-Extinguishing Indian Titles-Exodus of the Indian. . Page 17
CHAPTER II.
GEOLOGY AND TOPOGRAPHY.
Drainage-Soil-Strata-Fossils-Minerals-Eminent Scientists-Early Headquarters at New Harmony-Geological Survey-Archaeology -Relics of Pre-historic Races-Analysis of Water and Soil-Nat- ural Resources Page 40
CHAPTER III.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
Customs and Hardships of the Pioneer-Early Day Defenses-Incidents of Pioneer Life-Settlement of Posey County-First Land Entries- Early Homesteaders-First Mill-Flatboating-Runaway Slaves- Primitive Justice Page 46
CHAPTER IV.
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY.
Location of County Seat-Early Courts-Elections-County Officers- Changing County Seat-Selling Town Lots-Location of Present County Seat-Early County Government-Changes Under New Constitution Page 64
CONTENTS
CHAPTER V.
ESTABLISHMENT OF TOWNSHIPS.
Appointment of Officers-First Elections-Early Settlements-Land Entries-Primitive Occupations-First Grist Mills-Distilleries- Cotton Gins-Tanneries-Origin of "Hoop Pole Township" .. Page 75
CHAPTER VI.
FOUNDING OF CITIES AND TOWNS.
Early Settlements-Pioneer Merchants-Municipal Organizations- Early Officers-Libraries-Parks-Other Institutions and Im- provements-Original Plats-Incorporation of Towns-First Coun- cils-Rappites-Cholera Epidemic Page 87
CHAPTER VII.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Primitive School Houses-Subscription Schools-Pioneer Teachers- Educational Progress-School Legislation-Uniform School Term -Consolidation of Township Schools-New School Buildings. . Page 122
CHAPTER VIII.
CHURCHES.
Pioneer Churches-Their Growth and Progress-First Religious Ser- vices-Pioneer Priests and Ministers-Early Organizations-New Churches-Parochial Schools-Town Clock. Page 132
CHAPTER IX.
THE BENCH AND BAR.
Early Courts and Lawyers-First Cases Tried-Pioneer Court Houses -Important Litigation-Judges-Members of the Bar-First Juries -New Constitution-Change in Procedure-First Case Appealed.
Page 147
1
CONTENTS
CHAPTER X.
THE MEDICAL PROFESSION.
Pioneer Practitioners and Later Posey County Physicians. Page 160
CHAPTER XI.
AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE.
Classification of Soil-Its Productiveness-Drainage-Natural Re- sources-Posey County Products-The Farmer of Today-Improved Methods-Agricultural Society Page 182
CHAPTER XII.
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES.
Navigation and Steam Railroads-Early Steamboating-First Railroad -Voting Bonds-Electric Railway Page 187
CHAPTER XIII.
MANUFACTURING AND COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES.
Their Organization-Development-Officers and Products-Flouring and Cereal Mills-Machine Shops-Brick-Tile-Cigar-Ice-Coop- erage and Handle Manufacturers Page 189
CHAPTER XIV.
BANKS AND BANKING.
Pioneer Banks-Later Financial Institutions-Their Organization- Capitalization and Officers. . Page 195
CONTENTS
- CHAPTER XV.
NEWSPAPERS.
Early Newspapers-Progress of the Press-Newspapers of Today- Editors-Political Policies-Modern Equipment. . Page 199
CHAPTER XVI.
MILITARY HISTORY.
Posey County in the Wars of the Nation-Indian Wars-Battle of Tippecanoe-War of 1812-Mexican War-Civil War-Posey County Organizations and Officers-Campaigns-Spanish-Ameri- can War . Page 203
ILLUSTRATIONS
John C. Leffel Frontispiece Court House Page 17
County Jail 64
County Infirmary
75
Sherburne Park
86
Alexandrian Library
96
Rappite Rooming House 98 Workingmen's Institute 105
Owen-Maclure-Corbin Home II2
Mt. Vernon High School. I22
Public School, New Harmony I28
Rappite Church. I34
City Hall, Mt. Vernon. I46
Central School, Mt. Vernon 188
G. V. Menzies.
217
J. H. Moeller.
256
L. J. Wilkinson 304 First Christian Church. 305
John Corbin 336
Martin Golden
368
INDEX
Alcorn, David C. .291
Alldredge, Alonzo J. 379 Alldredge, John S. 380
Arburn, Charles
35I
Barker, Daniel O. 233
Barker, Roscoe U. 234
Barter, Julius C.
.222
Becker, Jacob 356
Bennett, William D. .27I
Bender, Valentine
295
Benthal, S. 397
Bixler, Enoch B. 278
Boren, William O. 308
Brinkman, Henry
315
Brown, Henry 302
Cale, James . 292
Cale,, Oscar
293
Cale, Ellison 298
Calvert, Henry T. 288
Carroll, Samuel
325
Carson, Walter G. 393
Cartwright, Vincent M. 250 Causey, Joseph M. .248
Cleveland, Arthy M. 309
Cleveland, Lewis W. 309
Corbin, John
.336
INDEX
Cox, Clarence
363
Curtis, George William 220
Curtis, George William, Sr. 219
Dausman, Charles
326
De Fur, Kelly .245
Deig, John A. 266
Deig, Frank 348
Dieg, John W. 335
Dixon, John O.
349
Donner, Henry 32I
Downen, Timothy S. 320
Edson, William P. 242
Ehrhardt, George J.
333
Ehrhardt, John F.
349
Ellis, Elisha E. . 400
Erwin, David M.
259
Erwin, William D. 38I
Espenlaub, Henry
335
Espenlaub, John 330
Espenschied, William 245
Fisher, Henry 332
Flucks, Carl 343
Fogas, William H. 226
French, Raymond A. 370
Frier, William 227 Fuhrer, William C. 373 Funke, Ferdinand A. 255
Gill, John T. 265
Grabert, Michael
376
INDEX
Greathouse, Francis M. 365
Greathouse, James M. 263
Golden, Martin 368
Gonnerman, William 236
Gudgel, James E. 283
Hagerman, Fred O. 395
Hagerman, Fred H. 394
Haines, Joseph R. 264
Hall, Marshall H. 228
Hastings, William E. 400
Hellenberg, Herman 382
Henderson, Samuel C. .39I
Herrmann, John 277
Herschelman, Henry 392
Hiatt, Joel W. 300 Hoehn, George L. 27I
Holton, William M. 239
Holton, William E. .240
Hovey, Alvin P. 345
Hovey, Charles J. 347
Howard, Silas G. 243
Jeffries, James C. 375
Johnson, Pitts 385
Johnson, Thomas J. 225
Jones, Thomas 391
Keck, John 273 Keeling, James L. 374
Kemper, Frederick A. R. 252
Kettelhut, Charles G. 325
INDEX
Klein, Arno
249
La Duke, Elliott W. 377
Lawless, Frank R. 307 Layer, John G. 330
Leffel, John C.
357
Leffel, Edward
359
Leonard, Frederick P. 37I
Lewis, Edward
338
Lewis, Frank E.
. 290
Lewis, James R.
327
Lewis, Thompson P. 339
Llewelyn, Edgar J. 33I
Loesch, George T.
334
Luebbermann, Francis B.
298
McFaddin, Enoch W. 387
McFaddin, James F.
389
McFaddin, Noah 389
McReynolds, Samuel M. 296
MacGregor, Francis B. 244
Macy, Carlos B. 287
Marvel, Alexander L. 400
Marvel, Thomas 397
Meinschein, Conrad 338
Menzies, G. V. 217
Menzies, Winston 218
Miller, Lorenz C. 385
Moeller, John H. 256 Montgomery, Samuel B. 282
Morrow, Lannie G. 350
Moye, James H.
362
INDEX
Nash, Eugene W. 303
Newman, Schuyler C. 287 Nolte, Frederick W. 235 Oliver, William A. 359
Owen, Horace P. 30I
Pendell, James
328
Phillips, Elisha H.
383
Pote, M. B.
34I
Press, Rev. Paul
.270
Raben, Theodore
230
Raben, Louis W.
.232
Ramsey, Douglas C. .253
Reister, Christ 363
Renschler, William
324
Ribeyre, Alferd
317
Rinear, Edwin 269
Ritzert, Frank 328
Robertson, George W. 235
Roche, Peter W.
343
Sarlls, Howard H. .260
Sarlls, Richard
254
Schenk, Andrew A.
275
Schenk, Clem V. .277
Schenk, Eberhardt B. 276
Schenk, Fred . .386
.311
Scherer, John C.
Schick, Peter 329
Schieber, August 354
Schieber, August F.
355
Schmitt, Joseph 322
Schreiber, John H. 323
Schulthies, John L. 223
INDEX
Seib, George
393
Seifert, George J. 329
Shelton, Jesse J. 296
Shelton, Thomas D.
294
Smith, Alfred E.
396
Smith, Charles, Jr.
246
Smith, John C.
314
Spencer, Elijah M.
270
Taylor, George C. .390
Templeton, Armenius 25I
Thomas, A. C.
.340
Thomas, Enoch E.
268
Thomas, George G.
224
Thomas, Miles W.
274
Trainor, George F.
.312
Tretheway, W. O. .. 299
Turman, Ira L. 280
Turner, John W.
261
Uhde, Henry 381
Wade, George B. 361
Wade, Warren
360
Webb, William H.
.313
Weissinger, Henry
267
Welborn, Joseph R. 319
Welch, David W. 253
Whipple, Elijah D.
382
Whitehead, James N. 306
Wiggins, James W.
293
Williams, Dan
352
Willman, Earnest 323
Williams, John H. .310
Wilkinson, Levi J. . 304
Wilson, William O. .34I
Wolfe, Clarence P. . 400
Wolfinger, Frederick .367
Yunker, Henry
378
POSEY COUNTY COURT HOUSE AND SOLDIERS AND SAILORS' MONUMENT
CHAPTER I.
ABORIGINES.
THE MOUND BUILDERS-INDIAN TRIBES-EXPLORERS-MISSIONARIES-INDIAN WARS AND TREATIES.
These people, who inhabited the central portion of our continent at so early a period that no trace can be had of their character or manner of life, except the numerous sepulchres which betoken certain religious beliefs, were the first people known to have possessed that part of the country now called Posey county. That they reached a degree of intel- lectual development far above the Indian tribes inhabiting the country at the coming of the white man seems certain, yet they did not attain the civilization of the ancient peoples of the eastern continents, as is proven by their lack of literature and by the fact that their immense tombs were built of earth instead of the more enduring materials, like the pyramids of Egypt where engineering must have been a well devel- oped science. However, they were miners and agriculturists and had many flourishing colonies in the great basin between the Alleghany and Rocky mountains. They were in some ways related to the Mongolians and are supposed to have emigrated from Asia under the mysterious spell which occasionally possesses the race to face all dangers in order to subdue a new land. Their fate is a matter of conjecture. It is hardly reasonable to believe that they were exterminated by the sav- ages who later possessed their lands. It is more probable that they con- tinued on south and founded the civilization of Mexico and the southern continent. The State of Indiana is rich in their relics, among the most important of which is a point in Posey county ten miles above the mouth of the Wabash river known as "Bone Bank," now very rap- idly being washed away by the current of the river. At one time this mound was on an island in the stream, but as the Wabash has for a long time been changing its bed and the same river which at one time afforded it protection is now gradually destroying the mound and wash- ing away its rich relics of pottery, tablets of stone and human skeletons. Some of this pottery is of quaint design and shows skillful workman- ship and all of it is of material resembling Portland cement.
The origin of the North American Indian is still a matter of con-
18
HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
jecture from circumstantial evidence, but the theory generally agreed upon is that he is Asiatic, on account of the resemblance in physiog- nomy, traditions and language to the tribes inhabiting the northeastern part of that continent. If the mound builders had not preceded him on this continent we might as well suppose that he originated here as to assign him to any other country. That the homes of the mound builders were destroyed by the southern tribes from Mexico and that the Indians represent the remnant of a despoiled people is the theory entertained by some. Those putting forth this explanation say that those that escaped death by taking refuge in the wilderness were put to such straits that their finer arts and civilization were lost in the hard battle for mere existence and their desperate condition developed a stolid and fierce disposition. Whether this is true or not, it is nevertheless certain that after the white man began the war of extermination against the red man the latter did not live the sort of life to which he was accus- tomed before the invasion. We think of the Indian as a wild, roving, ferocious savage, living entirely by hunting and fishing, having no fixed abode, no friendly intercourse and no commerce. This was the Indian as he existed after he had been driven half way across the continent, but does not represent his earlier condition before his manner of life became so precarious and before he was constantly menaced, harassed and driven by the ever-encroaching white foe. In the Seventeenth century the agriculture and industrial organization of the Five Great Nations occupying the Mississippi river land from the Great Lakes to the Ohio river are not incomparable with those of Europe a century or two earlier. They built villages of log houses, planted orchards and cultivated plantations. They had commercial intercourse with the southern tribes. Their industrial organization was of that order in which each tribe or division of a tribe had a monopoly on some staple article of trade which they had exclusive right to manufacture and sell, though the right was probably the mere grant of custom.
The area now known as Posey county was successively occupied by a number of different tribes as the red men were gradually pushed west- ward. For many years previous to 1670 this territory was held by the Miami Confederacy, which was formed in the early part of the Seven- teenth century for protection against the Five Great Nations, with whom they were in constant conflict for the possession of this region. The confederacy consisted of several of the Algonquin tribes, notably the Twightwees, the Weas, the Piankeshaws and the Shockeys. They lived in small villages along the rivers in Indiana, extending their do- minions east as far as the Scioto river, west as far as the country of the Illinois and north to the Great Lakes. Their principal settlements were along the headwaters of the Great Miami, the banks of the Maumee, the St. Joseph of Michigan and the Wabash and its tributaries. At one
19
HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
time they had been important among the nations of the lake region but their powers were weakened by repeated defeats in war and they were in a demoralized condition when first visited by the French and their villages presented a very untidy appearance. They were living in con- stant terror of the Five Nations and were practicing only enough indus- try to avoid starvation. Their resources were depleted and they were indulging all their vicious passions so that they were in a state of retrogression. In the latter years of the Seventeenth and the early years of the Eighteenth centuries the French came to the Miamis bearing aloft the cross of Christ, under the cloaks the whiskey jug to further degrade an already declining people, and in their hearts the lust of gold and the greed of conquest.
As in most cases of successful invasion the missionaries in their black robes preceded the traders. They were the Jesuit priests and were kindly treated by the Miamis. The Indians would listen patiently to the strange theory of the Savior and salvation which they could not in the least understand, but in which they would manifest a willing belief by way of courtesy and hospitality, and then they would attempt to entertain their visitors with a recital of their own simple faith in the Manitous, and were disappointed and dissatisfied because the mission- aries would not accept their religion with the same politeness that they showed toward the white man's God. Missionary stations were estab- lished in the principal villages and the work of converting the savages begun. The principal stations were at the villages of Maumee, those of the Weas about Ouiatenon on the Wabash, and those of the Pianke- shaws around Vincennes, the latter having been established in 1749. However, the missionaries were active in the Miami country at least twenty years before that. There was a regular daily order of services at the missions. Early in the morning the priests would gather the In- dians together at the church for prayers and for the teaching of the Catholic religion. This was followed by singing, at the conclusion of which the congregation was dismissed, the Christians only remaining to take part in mass. This service was followed by prayers. During the forenoon the priests spent the time in visiting the sick and com- forting the afflicted. In the afternoon another service was held in which all the Indians were allowed to appear in their finery, and each without regard to rank or station answered questions put by the mis- sionaries. This exercise was concluded by the singing of hymns set to airs familiar to the Indians. In the evening all again assembled at the church for instruction, prayers and singing. The Indians greatly enjoyed the singing of their favorite hymns. The priests for the most part were zealous and conscientious and were greatly beloved by their dusky converts. Close upon the heels of the black robed fathers came the advance guard of the French fur traders dressed in gay attire and
20
HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
with coarse blue and red cloths, their fine scarlet, balls, knives, rib- bons, beads, vermilion, guns, powder, tobacco and rum. These were the "coureurs des bois" or rangers, and they were engaged to conduct canoes along the rivers and trade for furs which they brought back to the trading posts. Many of them carried on a remunerative business inland by carrying the goods for many miles on their backs. They min- gled freely with the Indians, lived their life, intermarried and many of them became renegades, sinking below the level of the self-respecting savage. Intoxicating liquors were freely introduced and found a ready sale. The distribution of it was made in the following way: a certain number of persons have delivered to each of them a sufficient quantity to get drunk on so that the whole were often drunk for days at a time. The drinking would begin in the villages as soon as the sun had set, and night after night the woods and fields echoed with the most hideous howling. A line of trading points was established in 1719 on the Wa- bash, around Vincennes and at Fort Wayne. A fort was built at the Piankeshaw village near Vincennes in 1750, the next year after the build- ing of the permanent mission at that place. At the same time a fort was erected near the mouth of the Wabash. These forts drew a large number of French traders and in a few years they had become impor- tant settlements with a mixed population of French and Indian. At the close of the French and Indian wars, when Canada and its depend- encies fell into the hands of the British, the French, for the protection of their business interests, swore allegiance to the British government and were allowed to continue in the occupation of their lands with the slight improvements they had effected.
But with the change in governments came a change of policy toward the Indian. The French had been very polite and deferential toward the native. They were robbers none the less, but they were polite about it and managed to get along beautifully. But when the English came into power they assumed an arrogant manner toward the Indians that aroused their enmity. The British opposed any strengthening of the interior settlements lest they become self-supporting and independent. The government held the land and would not let it be apportioned out to the settlers and so provoked the Americans that the British govern- ment had no friends upon this continent. At the close of the French and Indian war the number of families in what was known as the Northwest Territory did not exceed 600, none of whom, as far as we are able to ascertain, were in Posey county. The Miamis at this time had 1,050 warriors, about 300 of whom belonged to the Wea tribes on the Wabash. The British policy toward the settlement of the new lands was one of the things which led to the American Revolution, which ended in the establishment of the new government on this con- tinent in 1783. The American government made liberal propositions to settlers and civilization pushed rapidly westward.
21
HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
The principal opening wedge to the occupation of the Wabash coun- try by the white people was the work of Francois Morgan de Vinsenne in the early part of the century. He probably reached the place now known as Vincennes as early at 1732. There is a record of a sale made by himself and Madame Vinsenne dated January 5, 1735. This docu- ment gives his military position as commandant of the post of Ouabache (Wabash) in the service of the French King. The will of his wife's father, dated March Io of the same year, bequeathes among other things 408 pounds of pork which he ordered kept safe until Vinsenne, who was then at Ouabache, returned to Kaskaskia. Another document is a receipt signed by Vinsenne for 100 pistols granted him as his wife's dowry. This officer was killed in Louisiana in a war with the Chicka- saws. Over forty years later, and while the American Revolution was still in progress, Colonel George Rogers Clark led his memorable expedi- tion against the ancient French settlements of Kaskaskia and Post Vin- cennes. This was one of the most gigantic single feats of the whole history of settlement and called for courage and daring, for, while the government of Virginia, Clark's native State, was friendly to the undertaking, they had no authority to assist very largely in the affair. Governor Henry and a few other gentlemen lent private assistance and Clark organized his expedition and laid his plans secretly so that he would not be confronted with organized opposition. The object of the expedition was to open the western territory to active settle- ment to take the French forts, establish American control, wrest the land from the hands of the alien and the savage and blazon a trail for safe immigration. He took stores at Pittsburgh and Wheeling and proceeded down the river to the "Falls," where he took possession of an island of about seven acres. Here he for the first time made known to his troops the real intent of the expedition and disclosed to them his plans for the taking of Kaskaskia and Vincennes. It was a daring proposal and many of his men deserted. He then divided the island among a small number of families, threw up some light fortifications and decided, on account of the weakened condition of his forces, to take Kaskaskia first, as the post at Vincennes had about 400 militia to his handful of men. On the night of the Fourth of July he came near the village, keeping his spies ahead. He took possession of a house for headquarters and the spies returned, saying that the town had laid down arms and that the Indians had all left. He took possession with- out opposition of the fort and the town. The people thought resistance in vain. Having become master of the situation, he treated the inhabi- tants kindly, secured their good will and they swore allegiance to Vir- ginia. The inhabitants were in terror of Clark at first, never dream- ing but that he would lay waste to their homes and separate them from their families and starve their children. This helped him to gain their
22
HISTORY OF POSEY COUNTY
good will, as he explained to them that the French and Americans were now friends and allies against the British, that the war for independ- ence would soon be over, and that their religion would be respected by the American law. The few men who had been arrested were set at liberty and the inhabitants were so pleased that a volunteer com- pany of French militia joined his forces. Clark also enlisted the serv- ices of Father Gibault in the expedition to Vincennes. When they arrived at that fort some time was spent in explaining to the people the nature and intent of the war, with the result that the inhabitans proceeded at once to the church and unanimously took the oath of alle- giance to the American flag. A fort was immediately garrisoned to defend these colors and the flag was unfurled. The Indians were also greatly pleased and were induced to become friendly toward the Amer- icans, and treaties of peace were effected with the Piankeshaws, Ouiatenous, Kickapoos, Illinois, Kaskaskias, Peorias, and some of the other tribes that inhabited the country between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi river. The treaty with the Piankeshaws was accom- plished in the following manner: When Captain Helm, who was ap- pointed by Clark to take charge of Vincennes, set out from Kaskaskia in August he took with him a speech and a belt of wampum from Colonel Clark to be presented to "The Grand Door to the Wabash," or the To- bacco's Son, as the leading Piankeshaw chief was called. He arrived safely at Vincennes and was received with acclamations by the people. After the usual ceremony the "Grand Door" was called and Helm deliv- ered the speech and the belt. Grand Door informed the captain that he was indeed glad to welcome him as one of the Big Knife's chiefs. He thought favorably of the idea of joining the Americans, but accord- ing to their custom asked time to present the matter to the other lead- ing men of the tribe. After several days had elapsed Captain Helm was invited to the Indian council and was told that the chiefs had con- sidered his case and had decided that he was right; that they would tell all the Indians on the Wabash to waste no more blood in behalf of the English. Then the Grand Door jumped up, called himself a man and a warrior, said that he was now a Big Knife and took Captain Helm by the hand. His example was followed by all present and the council ended in good feeling and merriment. This treaty was followed by treaties with all the tribes above mentioned and the American flag waved above Indiana for the first time. When the General Assembly in Virginia met in October, 1778, they passed an act which provided for home government for all the territory west of the Ohio river. Be- fore the provisions of the act could be carried out Henry Hamilton, the British Lieutenant-Governor of Detroit, collected an army of about thirty regulars, fifty French volunteers and 400 Indians. At the head of this force he proceeded down the Wabash and seized Vincennes
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