USA > Indiana > An illustrated history of the state of Indiana: being a full and authentic civil and political history of the state from its first exploration down to 1879 > Part 24
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William HI. Lilley, from 1816 to 1829. Morris Morris, from 1829 to 1844. Horatio J. Harris, from 1844 to 1847. Douglass McGuire, from 1847 to 1850. Erastus W. H. Ellis, from 1850 to 1853, John P. Dunn, from 1853 to 1855. Hiram E. Talbott, from 1855 to 1857. John W. Dodd, from 1857 to 1860. Albert Lange, from 1861 to 1863. Joseph Ristine, from 1863 to 1865. Thomas B. McCarty, from 1865 to 1869. John D. Evans, from 1869 to 1871. John C. Shoemaker, from 1871 to 1873. James A. Wildman, from 1873 to 1875. Ebenezer Henderson, from 1875 to 1879. Mahlon D. Manson, from 1879 to- TREASURERS OF STATE.
Daniel C. Lane, from 1816 to 1823. Samuel Merrill, from 1823 to 1835.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Nathan B. Palmer, from 1835 to 1841. George II. Dunn, from 1S41 to 1844. Royal Mayhew, from 1844 to 1847. Samuel HIanna, from 1847 to 1850. James P. Drake, from 1850 to 1853. Elijah Newland, from 1853 to 1S55. William B. Noffsinger, from 1855 to 1857. Aquilla Jones, from 1857 to 1859. Nathaniel F. Cunningham, from 1859 to 1861. Jonathan S. Harvey, from 1861 to 1863. Matthew L. Brett, from 1863 to 1865. John I. Morrison, from 1865 to 1867. Nathan Kimball, from 1867 to 1871.
James B. Ryan, from 1871 to 1873.
John B. Glover, from 1873 to 1875. B. C. Shaw, from 1875 to 1879. William Fleming, 1879 to- ATTORNEYS GENERAL.
James Morrison, from March 5, 1855. Joseph E. McDonald, from December 17, 1857. James G. Jones, from December 17, 1859. John P. Usher, from November 10, 1861. Oscar B. Hord, from November 3, 1862. Delano E. Williamson, from November 3, 1864 Bayliss W. Hanna, from November 3, 1870. James C. Deny, from November 6, 1872. Clarence A. Buskirk, from November 6, 1874. Thomas W. Woollen, from November 6, 1878. JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT
James Scott, from 1816 to 1831. John Johnston, from 1816 to 1817. Jesse L. Holman, from 1816 to 1831. Isaac Blackford, from 1817 to 1853. Steven C. Stevens, from 1831 to 1836. John T. Mckinney, from 1831 to 1837. Charles Dewey, from 1836 to 1847. Jeremiah Sullivan, from 1837 to 1846.
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OFFICIAL REGISTER.
Samuel E. Perkins, from 1846 to 1865. Thomas L. Smith, from 1847 to 1853. Andrew Davidson, from 1853 to 1865. William L. Stewart, from 1853 to 1857. Addison L. Roache, from 1853 to 1854.
Alvin P. Hovey, (appointed,) from - to 1854. Samuel B. Gookins, from 1854 to 1857.
James L. Worden, (appointed,) from 185S to 1865. James M. Hanna, (appointed,) from 185S to 1865. Charles A. Ray, from 1865 to 1871. Jolın P. Elliott, from 1865 to 1871.
James S. Frazier, from 1865 to 1871.
Robert S. Gregory, from 1865 to 1871. James L. Worden, from 1871 to -. Alexander C. Downey, from 1871 to 1877. Samuel II. Buskirk, from 1871 to 1877. Jolm Pettit, from 1871 to 1877 Andrew L. Osborn, from 1872 to 1874. Horace P. Biddle, from 1874 to -. William E. Niblack, from 1877 to -
George V. Howk, from 1877 to- Samuel E. Perkins, from 1877 to- - --
UNITED STATES SENATORS.
Class 1. James Noble, from 1816 to 1831. Class 3. Waller Taylor, from 1816 to 1825. Class 3. William Hendricks, from 1825 to 1537. Class 1. Robert Hanna (appointed), 1831. Class 1. John Tipton, from 1831 to 1839.
Class 3. Oliver II. Smith, from 1837 to 1543.
Class 1. Albert S. White, from 1839 to 1845.
Class 3. Edward A. Hannegan, from 1843 to 1849. Class 1. Jesse D. Bright, from 1845 to 1861. Class 3. James Whitcomb, from 1849 to 1852. Class 3. Charles W. Cathcart (appointed), from 1552 1S53.
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
350 Class 3. John Pettit, from 1853 to 1857.
Class 3. Graham N. Fitch, from 1857 to 1861.
Class 1. Joseph A. Wright, from 1861 to 1863.
Class 3. Henry S. Lane, from 1861 to 1867.
Class 1. David Turpie, 1863.
Class 1. Thomas A. Hendricks, from 1863 to 1869.
Class 3. Oliver P. Morton, from 1867 to 1877.
Class 1. Daniel D. Pratt, from 1869 to 1875.
Class 3. Joseph E. McDonald, 1875 to -.
Class 3. Daniel W. Voorhees, 1877 to-
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PART SECOND.
COUNTY HISTORIES.
CHAPTER XLI.
INTRODUCTORY.
TN the first part of this work we have treated only of mat- ters pertaining to the State, in a general sense. It is our purpose, from this point, to present sketches of the moral and material progress of different localities within the State, or, of each county. In taking up these county histories, we shall observe no particular order, unless it be to follow the lines of early immigration through the State. One, and the most important of these, is by the way of the Maumee, and the Wabash, to the Ohio, the oldest route ever traveled by the whites, on the territory now within the borders of the State of Indiana. We shall first take up this route, observing the pioneer history, and giving brief sketches of the condition of each county during our progress.
A good many people, and some modern writers, are not a little mixed on the question of the date of the first settlement in Indiana. It must be admitted that the question is an important, and interesting one, and yet, after all, no great good would follow an authentic elucidation of the subject. It is important only as a starting point for the subject of the following chapter, and to satisfy one species of curiosity not
351
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
altogether worthless. We shall take more pride in pointing to the causes that led to the first settlement of the territory, and in defining their relationship with the government of the county, than to demonstrate, exactly, when and where the first outpost of civilization in Indiana was established. Nev- ertheless, we shall be able to draw our lines with some degree of certainty as to the latter.
The first white man who visited the territory was a French Jesuit missionary, who came from the old French mission of the St. Joseph of Lake Michigan, which was one of the oldest Jesuit missions in the lake region. This missionary (or mis- sionaries) came among the Miamis in the latter part of the seventeenth century, probably in 1675. It was through the adventurous spirit of these carly representatives of the Cross, that the route from "New France " to "Louisiana," by the Maumee, Wabash, and Ohio rivers was discovered. This dis- covery has directly to do with the carly settlement of Indiana, for with the knowledge of the route mentioned, and the con- sequent travel over it, came the necessity of military estab- lishments along the line for its protection. It will be remem- bered that at the close of the seventeenth century, France held extensive possessions in Louisiana and in Canada. There was no established trade between the two colonies, as the former had direct communication with the mother country by the way of the Mississippi and the Gulf, and the latter by the way of the river St. Lawrence and the Gulf of that name. Not- withstanding this, there was, at the date mentioned, a commu- nication established between them. About the same period, the French Government, from its knowledge of the wealth and extent of the Mississippi Valley, as well as of the adjacent territory on either side, resolved on the full possession of the country. The English appeared to be content with but a nar- row strip of land on the Atlantic seaboard, while the French were constantly pushing their conquests or discoveries west- ward. In 1700, the French foresaw the conflict that termi- nated with the fall of Quebec, over fifty years later, and with a view to strengthen themselves in their new and valuable possessions, they adopted incasures looking to the speedy
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ALLEN COUNTY - EARLY HISTORY.
establishment of a chain of fortifications, extending from Canada to Louisiana. For a time, the great question with the French colonial authorities was the location of these for- tifications. The route by the Maumee and the Wabash was, at length, adopted, and in 1701 a fortification was established on the Detroit river. This was the first step towards carry- ing the measure into effect, but it was not the last. During the four years that followed, forts with military garrisons were established at the head of the Maumee, where the city of Fort Wayne now stands; at Ountanon, on the Wea prairie, in what is now Tippecanoe county, and at Vincennes. These posts were probably garrisoned first in 1704-5, but as to which of them should take precedence in point of antiquity, there is considerable doubt. They were, however, all established about the same time.
In the foregoing we have pointed out, with some clearness, the causes that led to the first settlement of Indiana by the French. We will now speak of the characteristics and growth of those settlements.
CHAPTER XLIL.
ALLEN COUNTY - EARLY HISTORY.
TT was at Fort Wayne, or near where the St. Mary's and St. Joseph rivers form the Maumee, that the somewhat celebrated family of Indians of the Algonquin nation, the Miamis, had their ancient capital. Around this spot, for many years, perhaps for centuries, the Miami chiefs assem- bled in council to deliberate upon the affairs of their confed- eracy, or to decide for war or peace. How often have the echoes of Indian oratory sounded along the valley of the Maumee, and the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers! It has
23
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
broken the silence of the forests many times in defense of justice; it has excited the savages to war to repel an Indian enemy; it has eloquently pleaded the case of the red man against the oppressions of the whites.
Kekionga was, to the patriotic Miami, the dearest of all places in his broad domain. There was an eloquence in the scenery around the place that won high admiration in his savage heart. To the simple Indian mind there was some- thing supernatural, something. unspeakably grand, in the quiet of this fertile valley. It was here that they buried their illustrious dead. It was in this valley, and particularly at the head of the Maumee, where all their important cer- emonies were commemorated. Returning from the chase, these Indians would assemble in the beautiful groves along the banks of these rivers, and pass the time in their usual sports. Games of chance, feats of strength and agility, and the feast were all enacted here with native enthusiasm. But, at length, say in 1676, the white adventurer found his way to the Miami capital. . He was not a warrior, not a trader, but a simple, pious, yet zealons Jesnit, who came, in his mysterious robe, telling the story of the Cross, which the savages could never fully appreciate.
Here, at once, we pass from tradition to history, in which connection it is expedient to state that the sources of much of the information following is through the recollections of the oldest settlers of Fort Wayne, still living. The compiler being aware that previous efforts to produce a history of Fort Wayne have not resulted to the satisfaction of those inter- ested, first sought to learn the errors already committed by hasty writers. Collecting every scrap of history pertaining to the settlement of the place, he proceeded to Fort Wayne, where he remained some three weeks, interviewing the oldest settlers, and comparing their statements with the incomplete writings previously published. By this method he has been enabled to present a straightforward, truthful and complete history of Allen county.
It has not been our custom in this work to present inter- views verbatim, but in this single instance the ends in view
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ALLEN COUNTY - EARLY HISTORY.
can best be accomplished by departing from the rule. On the twenty-sixth of October, 1874, a compiler of this work called upon Judge -, a gentleman well informed on matters of local history, at his residence in Fort Wayne, and was kindly favored by the following conversation :
Compiler .- "Judge, I have been frequently referred to you as a person well qualified to give me much information con- cerning the early history of Fort Wayne. Have you any objection to state to me what you know about the carly his- tory of Allen county, and the sources of your information?"
Judge .- " I cannot boast of any particular knowledge on the subject, and there are others of our citizens who could give you much more accurate information than I can, but what I have collected is at your service. I must premise, however, that most of it is mere tradition of the Indians, and. therefore, not to be relied upon implicitly. When in Europe, in 1861-2, I spent most of the summer of the latter year in London and Paris. Through the influence of Mr. Dayton, our French minister, and the kindness of Mr. Peabody, I obtained access to the colonial documents and records in the archives of those governments, from which I obtained some information, and when I located here, about thirty-five years ago, I had frequent interviews with the late Miami chief, Richardville, as also with Messrs. Coquillard and Comparet, the earliest French traders then living. I took down in writ- ing their statements, but do not place so much confidence in the tradition of the Indians as some do, yet, I have no doubt, but that the ancient Indian route between the Ottawa (Mau- mee) river and down the Wabash to the Ohio and Mississippi, was first made known to the French in Canada by a visit of one of the French priests from their mission on Lake Mich- igan to Kekionga, about the year 1676. Nor can there be the least doubt but that Baron La Salle was at Kekionga in the year 1680, as his letter to the Governor-General of Canada states that fact, and also mentions that the route alluded to had been already traveled by French traders from Canada, who had pursued this route in their trade with the Indians on the Lower Wabash."
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Compiler .- " Who were the first white men to visit this place?"
Judge .- " The tradition of the Indians, which is undoubt- edly true, is that one of the missionaries from St. Joseph came to Kekionga about four years before La Salle came in 1680. La Salle was the next to follow the missionaries."
Compiler .- " When and where was the first stockade built at Fort Wayne?"
Judge .- " In one local history already published, it is stated that La Salle was at Kekionga in 1680, and at that time caused a small stockade fort to be built here .* The statement is made on the authority of Mr. Goodman, who claims to have obtained his information from the French records at Montreal and Quebec. But in the year 1705, Santer Vincennes, of the French army, was at Kekionga, and found here, at that time, several Indian traders from Pennsylvania. It has been gen- erally supposed that then it was that Vincennes, by the direc- tion of the Governor-General of Canada, erected the French stockade north of the present Catholic hospital, between the canal and the St. Mary's river, in the old Tipton or Rock Hill orchard, near the residence of Judge MeCulloch, our late sec- retary of the treasury, on the same spot where Mass was first said by the Catholic priest in 1676. This was the stockade, ' the dim outlines of which were traced by General Wayne in 1794.' "
Compiler .- " What became of this fort?"
Judge .- "It was destroyed by the Indians at the time of 'Nicholas's' conspiracy."
Compiler .- " Judge, a good many people get this conspir- acy mixed up with Pontiac's conspiracy. This is a sorry mis- take. Will you state your recollections of Nicholas's con. spiracy ?'
* The statement that La Salle built a fort at the head of the Maumee in 1GS0, is probably incorrect. He was at that time returning from his some- what disastrous Mississippi expedition, and being on a journey to Can- ada, in search of the Griffin, and out of supplies, it is unreasonable to assume that he erected a fort at this place. The author is of the opinion that the early records in Quebec and Montreal show only that La Salle reported the place as well suited for a fort.
HON.S
WOLF
HON. M. C.KERR.
HON. D. D. PRATT.
HON. J. P. C. SHANKS.
HON. T. J. CASON.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Judge .- " About the year 1745 the celebrated Indian chief of the Huron tribe, called by the French and English, Nich- olas, but whose Indian name is said to have been Sandosket, and who lived at the Indian village where the city of San- dusky, Ohio, now stands, formed a conspiracy to destroy all the French ports and settlements northwest of the Ohio. The French post at Kekionga, erected by Vincennes in 1705, fell in this war. It was burnt by the Indians-the Miamis, the Otta- was and the Pottawatomies assisting the Hurons."
Compiler .- " Did the French government cause another fort to be erected here?"
Judge .- " Yes; Captain Dubuisson, of the corps of royal engineers, was sent here, and erected a new fort in 1748. He did not erect this fort on the same spot where Vincennes erected the stockade in 1705, but at a point not far distant to the west, and near the present canal aqueduct, and a little to the cast of the residence of Judge Lowry. The fort, or rather a part of its foundation, was still standing when Colonel John Johnson came here in 1800."*
In the conversation which we have given with Judge -, it will be seen that there were two French forts or stockades erected at Fort Wayne, one in 1705 and the other in 1748. Following this chain of events, we next come to the English fort which was erected on the cast bank of the St. Joseph's river, by Ensign Holmes, in the fall of 1760, or winter of 1760-61. With the fall of Canada in 1759, all the French forts in the northwest fell into the hands of the British, and Major Rogers was sent to Detroit with an army to occupy them. Ensign Holmes, with a small detachment, came to Fort Wayne, but finding the old French post here unfit to pro- tect the garrison, at once commenced the erection of the Eng- lish fort.
Our readers will remember that the British occupation of the northwestern outposts was distasteful to the Indians, who,
* The compiler of this work, who visited Fort Wayne, received much more valuable information from John P. Hedges and Judge Borden. He was also aided by J. L. Williams, F. P. Randall, John Hough, Mr. Edger- ton, and many others.
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ALLEN COUNTY - EARLY HISTORY.
during the old French war, had continued fast allies of their French father. This dissatisfaction was soon augmented into a spirit of revenge by the insolence of British officers, and the Indians, in the Spring of 1763, were strongly united under the great Ottawa chief, Pontiac, determined upon driving the red coats from their country. Francis Parkman, the ablest American writer on the Indian wars of North America, has given us a volume on this Pontiac war -a literary treasure of rare merit-in which he gives us a graphic and thrilling account of the fate of Ensign Holmes and his feeble garri- son at Fort Wayne. Our mention of this affair is necessarily brief.
The Miamis of the Maumee had taken up the hatchet at the will of the Ottawa chief, and in the Spring of 1763, the valley around Kckionga resounded with many a savage war- whoop. Holmes had observed the savages gathering with unusual demonstrations, and, suspecting their designs, kept a close watch upon their movements. Nevertheless he became a victim to savage ingenuity.
An Indian girl with whom Holmes was intimate, and in whom he placed too much confidence, by compulsion, it is said, went into the fort and told Holmes that there was a sick squaw lying in a wigwam not far from the fort, and expressed a desire that he should go and see her. The fatal hour had come .* Unsuspectingly, and with a view to serve and per- haps relieve the supposed sick squaw, (knowing perhaps some- thing of medicine; for, it would seem, had there been a surgeon in the fort, he would have been more likely to have at least been called on by the Ensign than for Holmes to have gone himself,) preceded by the Indian girl, he was soon without the enclosure of the garrison, and advancing with cautious steps in the direction of the hut wherein lay the object of his phi- lanthropic mission. Nearing a cluster of huts, which are described to have been situated at the edge of an open space, " hidden from view by an intervening spur of the woodland," the squaw directed him to the hut wherein lay the supposed
* Parkman's Conspiracy of Pontiac; Bryce's History of Fort Wayne, etc.
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
invalid. Another instant-a few more paces-and the sud- den crack of two rifles from behind the wigwam in view, felled Holmes to the earth, and echoed over the little garrison, start- ling the guards and inmates into momentary surprise and wonder. Amid the confusion, the sergeant unthoughtedly passed without the fort to ascertain the cause of the rifle shots. But a few paces were gained, when, with lond, tri- umphant shonts, he was sprung upon by the savages and made a captive; which, in turn, brought the soldiers within, about nine in all, to the palisades of the garrison, who clam- bered up to see the movement without, when a Canadian, of the name of Godfroi, (or Godfri) accompanied by "two other white men," stepped defiantly forth, and demanded a surrender of the fort, with the assurance to the soldiers that, if at once complied with, their lives would be spared; but, refusing, they should " all be killed without mercy." The aspect before them was now sadly embarrassing. Without a commander - with- out hope, and full of fear, to hesitate, seemed only to make death the more certain, and the garrison gate soon swung back upon its hinges; the surrender was complete, and English rule, at this point, and for a time, at least, had ceased to exer- cise its power.
But we have some local traditions of this affair. Mrs. Laura Suttenfield, one of the "Mothers " of Fort Wayne, living there since 1814, whose portrait appears in another place in this work informed one of the compilers that she became acquainted with this woman in 1815; that she and her family lived neighbors to her for several years. At the period of Mrs. S.'s acquaint- ance with the woman, she had a son, a man of some years. On one occasion, being at the hut of the woman, the man, her son, came in intoxicated, and somewhat noisy, and the woman, by way of an apology to Mrs. S., remarked that he was a little SQUABBY, or drunk; and concluded with the remark that he was a SAGINASII, (English); and from the age of the man, the infer- ence is drawn that he was a son of Holmes. After leaving here, the woman took up her residence at Raccoon Village. She lived to a very old age, and was known to many of the early settlers of Fort Wayne. Mrs. Suttenfield's recollections
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ALLEN COUNTY - FORT WAYNE.
of the account she received arc, that the Indians at the time of the conspiracy, (probably induced by Godfroi and his asso- ciates) forced her to act as she did towards Holmes, which is quite probable.
In 1764, Captain Morris was sent with a small detachment of English soldiers, and again the English fort on the St. Joseph was garrisoned.
CHAPTER XLII.
ALLEN COUNTY - FORT WAYNE.
F ROM 1764 to 1794, there is but little to record in the history of Fort Wayne, except those general events of war which are sufficiently noticed elsewhere, and which form, more properly, a part of the general history of the State. Passing on to Wayne's campaign, and over that part of its progress which brought his army into the field, we find him at the head of the Maumee in October, 1794. The work of erecting a fort was immediately commenced, and was com- pleted on the twenty-second of the month, when Lieut .- Col. Hamtramck gave it the name of FORT WAYNE. Previous to this date the place was not known by that name.
This was the starting point of tho present city, the nucleus around which the civilization, industry and wealth of northern Indiana early began to accumulate, and to which it still centres.
Colonel Hamtramck commanded at Fort Wayne from its erection in 1794 to 1796, during which time nothing of any great importance transpired.
After the surrender of Detroit to the British, Tecumseh devised a scheme for the reduction of Forts Wayne and IIar- rison, and in September, 1812, began to assemble his warriors
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HISTORY OF INDIANA.
in the vicinity of the forts. The garrison at Fort Wayne, at this time, was under the command of Captain Rhea, " whose habits of intemperance," says Mr. Knapp, " disqualified him for the place; and during a period of two weeks the safety of the fort, principally owing to the incompetency of the com- mander, was in jeopardy."
An express had been sent to General Harrison requesting reinforcements, but many long weary days passed, bringing no tidings of the expected assistance. At lengthi, one day a white man and four Indians arrived at the fort on horseback. The white man was Major William Oliver. He was accompa- nied by four friendly Indians, among whom was the brave Logan. The garrison had been in a state of cruel suspense for more than two weeks, wishing ardently for reinforcements on the one hand, and fearfully expecting the approach of the British forces on the other. It is not surprising, then, that in this extremity they were anxious to hear news from any quarter.
The little party, with Oliver at its head, had reached the fort in defiance of five hundred Indians -" had broken their ranks and reached the fort in safety." Oliver reported that Harrison, having been informed of the dangerous situation of Fort Wayne, had determined to march to its relief. Ohio was raising volunteers. Eight hundred were then assembled at St. Mary's, Ohio, sixty miles south of Fort Wayne, and would march to the relief of the fort in three or four days, or as soon as they were joined by reinforcements from Kentucky. Oliver prepared a letter, announcing to General Harrison his safe arrival at the besieged fort, and giving an account of its beleagured situation, which he dispatched by his friendly Shawanoes, while he determined to take his chances with the occupants of the post. As soon as an opportunity presented itself, the brave Logan and his companions started with the message to Governor Harrison. They had scarcely left the fort when they were discovered and pursued by the hostile Indians, but, passing the Indian lines in safety, they were soon out of reach.
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