USA > Indiana > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County Indiana, her people, industries and institutions > Part 2
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44
Northwest Territory, Organization
of
42
O
Oats
70
Oddfellowship
357
Omega
356
Ordinance of 1787
39
Organization of Counties
.43,
51
Digitized by
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Organization of Hamilton County_ 64, 119
Organization of Northwestern Terri-
tory
42
Orphan Asylum
137
Patriarchs Militant
364
Petit Jury, First
122, 386
Physician, First in County
378
Physicians
196, 225, 228, 240
250, 375, 381
Pioneer Cabin, A
98, 110
Pioneer Clothing, Making of.
102
Pioneer Customs
99
Pioneer Elopement
483
Pioneer Experiences
115
Political History of Indiana
57
Pontiac's Conspiracy
36
Poor, Asylum for the
134
Population of Indiana by Decades
59
Population, Territorial
45
Postoffices of the County
505
Precipitation, Average Annual.
69,90
Presbyterian Churches
312
Present Court House
133, 396
Press, the
.244
406
Primitive Justice
472
Probate Judges
141, 393
Prosecuting Attorneys
140
Public Buildings
126
Public Offices
138
Public Square
131
Purchase, The New
119
Q
Quakers
159, 181, 237, 246, 320
Quebec Act
36
R
Railroads
199, 267
Recorders, County
139
Red Men, Improved Order of 373
Regiments Containing Men from
Hamilton County
417
Related State History
33
Relief, War
414
Religious History
300
Reminiscences
456
Representative Stage of Government
42
Representatives
145
Revolutionary Period
36
Rhoads, John, Story of
494
Richland
246
Richland High School
342
Road System
66,
90
Roads, the First
264
Roberts Settlement
173
Roman Catholic Churches
320
Royal and Select Masters
354
Royal Arch Masons
354
Rural Schools
350
S
St. Clair's Defeat
34
Sawyer Murder Trial
475
School Fairs
278
School, First in the County.
103
School Statistics
340
School Superintendents, County
.__ 143
Schools
149, 152, 164, 171, 175, 180
185, 191, 196, 225, 231, 234
237, 247, 250, 256, 257, 260, 331
Second Court House
130
Secret Societies
352
Seminaries
341
Seminary Trustees
144
Senators, State
144
Settlement of the County
94
Settlement in Indiana Territory
45
Settlers' Experience
115
Sheridan-
Banks
294
Business Men, Pioneer 220
Churches
.220, 303, 307, 309, 315, 326
Early Business Interests
321
Fires
222
Incorporation
222
Location
220
Lodges
335, 359, 372
Milk Company
223
Newspapers
407
Physicians
382
Platting
321
Schools
344
Sheriffs
139
Shielville
233
Shintaffer, John
251, 502
Shipping Facilities
65
Digitized by
-
/
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Shirts, George
95, 113
Slavery, Efforts to Establish
50
Society of Friends __ 159, 181, 237, 246, 320
Soils
72, 91
Soldiers' Monument
4 416
Spanish-American War
56, 452
Spargerville
233
State Benevolent Institutions
61
State Educational System
61
State Military History
55
State Political History
57
State Roads, Old
265
State Senators
144
Strawtown
250
Streams of the County
64
Struggles of Early Farmers
275
Superintendents of Infirmary
143
Superintendents of Schools.
143
Surveyors, County
140
Surveys, First Territorial
39
T
Tanning Industry
107
Taxation, Early Rates of
121
Telephone, Early Rates of
121
Telephone Interests
211
Temperature, Average Annual.
.66,
90
Territorial Congressional Delegates, 49
Territorial Election, First.
48
Territorial Government
46
Territorial Legislature, First.
43
Territorial Surveys, First
39
Territory Northwest of Ohio.
34
Terry, Eli, Experience of
477
Threshing, Pioneer
105
Toll Gates, Passing of the
267
Topography of Hamilton County, 63
90
Townships Established
121, 125
Traction Lines
272
Transportation
264
Treasurers, County
139
Tribe of Ben-Hur
374
U
Underground Railroad
148, 238, 487
United Brethren Churches
313
V
Value of Land
71
Vestal, Judge Meade
400
Vincennes, Capture of
37
Vincennes, Oldest Settlement in In-
diana
38
Votes for Constitutional Convention
52
W
War Bounties
414
War of 1812
410
War of the Rebellion
413
War Relief
414
Warren, Zira, Reminiscences
456
Wars, Indiana's Part in
55
Wars with Indians
33
War-time Incident
394
Washington Township-
Churches, Pioneer.
181, 305, 313, 321
Early Industries
180
Early Settlement
179
Election, First
179
Establishment of
125
First Death
182
Industries, Early
180
Pioneer Schools
180
Quaker, Influence of
182
Roads, Pioneer
183
Schools
180
Schools, Pioneer
181
Settlement
179
Topography
179
Waukesha Soils
83
Wayne, Gen. Anthony
41
Wayne Township-
Boundaries
184
Churches, Pioneer
186, 305, 311
Early Highways
185
Early Industries
187
Early Settlement
184
Establishment of
125
Highways, Early
185
Mills, Early
187
Natural Features
184
Pioneer Churches
186, 305, 311
Schools, Early
185
Settlement
184
Topography
184
Digitized by
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Wealth of Indiana
60
Weather Statistics 67.
90
Wesleyan Methodist Churches.
308
Westfield-
Bank
296
Churches
308
Early Stores
235
238
Location
235
Lodges
356, 360
Pioneer Industries 236
Platting of
235
Postoffice History
236
Quaker Influence
23-
Schools
237, 341, 345
Underground Railroad
238
Wheat Crops
69
Whiskey Distilleries
,08
33
White River Township-
Boundaries
188
Churches, Pioneer
195, 305
Commerce, Early
190
Early Commerce 190
Establishment of
121,
125
Incidents
189
Mills, Early 192
Natural Features
188
Schools, Pioneer 191, 348
Settlement
189, 192
Streams 188
Topography
188
Towns
193
Woodmen, Modern 371
Woodville
250
Y
Yankee Trick, a
461
.
Digitized by
1
Industries and Commerce
Library
240
White Men, First in Territory
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX
A
Aldred, Marion 686
Almond, Anson V. 904
Anderson, John W.
803
Anderson, William W.
844
Axline, William E.
679
B
Baker, Albert R. 536
Baker, Thomas D.
711
Beales, Milton C.
717
Beals, Thomas E.
694
Beaver, William H.
756
891
Beeson, Isaac N.
Bert, John E.
882
Blanton, Marion 621
Booth, Charles W. 755
Boothe, Wilbert C.
664
Boughner, Berlin
639
Boxley Family, The
.973
Bray, Charles L.
607
Bray, Joel D.
538
Bray, Perry A.
684
Bray, William C.
659
Brigham, Edward V.
993
Bright, Isaac
860
Brock, Carl T.
668
Brooks, Earl
651
Brooks, Eli
736
Brooks, Joseph A.
749
Brooks, Madison 653
Brown, Alonzo J.
588
Brown, Charles N.
816
Brown, Frederick L.
617
Brown, Henry
521
Brown, John R.
819
Burroughs, Alfred
825
C
Caca, Grant 682
Cammack, Elihu 633
Carey, Horace W. 929
Carey, Lindley
831
Carey, Sylvanus
870
Carpenter, R. Philip 527
Carpenter, Simeon E. 922
Castor, Clinton E.
960
Castor, John H.
962
Castor, Roy B.
945
Caylor, Henry M. 721
Christian, Hon. Ira W. 509
Cloe. Judge Ernest E.
730
Collins, Robert H.
740
Cook, Charles A. 937
Corbin, James D. 921
Covode, Herman L.
840
Cox, Erwin
590
Cox, Stephen 608
Craig, William E. 655
Craycraft, Daniel
645
Craycraft, George
637
Curtis, Cassius C.
650
D
Davenport, Dr. Isaac W.
781
Davis, Israel H.
768
Decker, Emil G. 524
Doan, Abel
842
Drake, George W.
794
Driver, James M.
855
Dunn, William E.
864
E
Eller, John
851
Elliott, Oliver C.
704
Evans, Albert
883
Digitized by
Brock, David M. 817
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
F
Faulstich, August
778
Fesmire, Thomas A.
838
Fisher, James
947
Fodrea, Dr. Zeri H.
746
Follett, Robert J.
861
Ford, William E.
805
Forrer, Martin V.
753
Forsythe, Edward
584
Foster, Charles Y.
900
Foulke, John B.
702
Frazer, W. P.
878
G
Gaeth, Henry C.
533
Garrity, Dennis
615
Gascho, Levi
707
Gentry, Cassius M.
530
Good, John L.
625
Graham, Dr. William B.
559
Gray, Gilbert
898
Gwinn, James M.
866
H
Hadley, Benjamin F.
534
Haines, Prof. John F.
896
Hair, Freeman J.
938
Hanson, Milton
743
Hare, Elbert M.
968
Hare, Wesley D.
966
Harvey, Othniel B.
906
Haskett, Albert A.
943
Heath, Cyrus R.
558
Henley, Elwood
672
Henley, John C.
924
Heylmann, John George
540
Hill, James H.
779
Hines, Frederick E.
548
Hinshaw, Edwin M.
978
Hinshaw, Francis T.
798
Hinshaw, George W.
893
Hinshaw, Jacob
769
Hinshaw, James T.
544
Hinshaw, Seth J.
766
Hobbs, David C.
719
Hodgin, Iva S.
933
Hodson, John
700
Horney, Iva J.
776
Horton, William O.
591
Hoskins, John B.
619
Hubbard, J. T. 713
Hussey, Thomas
599
I
Indiana Condensed Milk Company __ 879
J
Jenkins, Charles B.
550
Jennings, Joseph L.
631
Johnson, William A.
956
Jones, Charles B.
709
Joseph, Louis N.
604
K
Kane, Ralph K.
734
Kendall, William C.
826
Kepner, Jacob G.
988
Kester, John T.
586
King, Harry E.
889
Kinzer, Jacob
623
Klepfer, Edward F.
751
Kline, George B.
999
Klotz, Joseph W.
642
Knotts, Alva W., M. D.
640
L
Lafeber, Joseph B.
853
Lindley, Thomas J.
974
Longley, William E.
566
Lowther, William E.
675
Mc
McCoun, Daniel B.
858
McDonald, Thomas E.
940
McGill, Theodore G.
847
Mckenzie, Dr. Lawson W.
790
McShane, William F.
964
M
Mabrey, Henry C.
981
Macy, Charles B.
528
Macy, John E.
931
Maker, Hugh A.
576
Males, William
808
Digitized by
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Mallery, Curtis H.
955
Manlove, George W. 887
Matthews, John A. 556
Mendenhall, Albert E.
612
Michner, Ulysses G.
970
Millikan, Clark
760
Moffitt, Jonathan W.
629
Moore, Sylvanus
763
Morris, Clarence E.
732
Morrow, Thomas
595
Murphy, Edwin B.
823
Musselman, Francis M.
958
Musselman, Oscar J.
792
Myers, Charles F.
985
N
Neal, E. E.
972
Neal, John F.
725
Neher, Daniel I.
997
Newby, Dr. Alonzo C.
880
Newby, Thomas H.
635
Noble, George W.
800
O
Osbon, Eugene
666
Osborn, George W. 747
Owen, John
593
Owen, Thomas C.
885
P
Pardue, Buzan E.
523
Passwater, Enoch M.
908
Patterson, Thomas J.
580
Peck, Joseph C.
872
Powell, George
602
Powell, Zora T.
849
Power, Alvin S.
902
Q
Quick, Nicholas
867
Quickel, Jacob
876
R
Ray, Charles C., M. D
716
Richey, Theodore
785
Richwine, George C.
568
Roberts, Alonzo J. 850
Roberts, Charles F. 738
Roberts, Lewis
927
Roudebush, Scott
797
S
Sanders, Foris L.
627
Scott, George W.
983
Shank, William R.
919
Shelburne, Elias M.
597
Shoemaker, James B., M. D.
995
Simmermon, John B.
810
Simmermon, John S.
952
Smeltzer, Elias
875
Smith, James W.
553
Sowers, Ernest E.
715
Sowerwine, Charles W.
661
Sowerwine, Noah W.
821
Spencer, Thomas S.
787
Stalker, Eli
829
Stanford, Clem C.
688
Stanley, Irvin
836
Stottlemeyer, Aaron
801
Stubbs, Leonidas
665
Stubbs, Oliver M.
807
Stultz, Larkin M.
917
Sturdevant, Dr. Joel D.
582
Sturdevant, Walter L.
834
Swain, William S.
991
Sylvester, John H.
913
T
Thayer, Elmer Q.
692
Thom, John
690
Thompson, Dr. Henry H.
562
Tomlinson, Carleton H., M. D.
774
Tomlinson, E. B.
846
Tucker, Albert R., M. D.
570
Tucker, Frederick A., M. D.
573
V
Vestal, Judge Meade
519
W
Wall, William F.
564
Wann, Charles H.
543
Digitized by
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Washington, Robert E. 989
Wild, Leonard
647
Wells, Isaac N. 813
Wright, Paul B. 832
Wheeler, Charles J. 911
Whetsel, Leander F. 758
Z
Whisler, Daniel P.
784
Whisman, Edmund P., Jr.
677
Zeis, Charles 915
White, Barnabas C. 934
Zeis, Edward P. 910
White, John F. 856
Zimmer, Christian D. 812
White, William H.
670
Zimmerman, Floyd W. 949
Digitized by Google
HISTORICAL
CHAPTER I.
RELATED STATE HISTORY.
The first white men to set foot upon the Northwest Territory were French traders and missionaries under the leadership of La Salle. This was about the year 1670 and subsequent discoveries and explorations in this region by the French gave that nation practically undisputed possession of all the territory organized in 1787 as the Northwest Territory. It is true that the English colonies of Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts claimed that their charters extended their grants westward to the Mississippi river. However, France claimed this territory and successfully maintained posses- sion of it until the close of the French and Indian War in 1763. At that time the treaty of Paris transferred all of the French claims east of the Mississippi river to England, as well as all claims of France to territory on the mainland of North America. For the next twenty years the Northwest Territory was under the undisputed control of England, but became a part of the United States by the treaty which terminated the Revolutionary War in 1783. Thus the flags of three nations have floated over the territory now comprehended within the present state of Indiana-the tri-color of France, the union jack of England and the stars and stripes of the United States.
History will record the fact that there was another nation, however, which claimed possession of this territory and, while the Indians can hardly be called a nation, yet they made a gallant fight to retain their hunting grounds. The real owners of this territory struggled against heavy odds to maintain their supremacy and it was not until the battle of Tippecanoe, in the fall of 1811, that the Indians gave up the unequal struggle. Tecumseh, the Washington of his race, fought fiercely to save this territory for his people, but the white man finally overwhelmed him, and "Lo, the poor Indian" was pushed westward across the Mississippi. The history of the Northwest
(3)
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34
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
Territory is full of the bitter fights which the Indians waged in trying to drive the white man out and the defeat which the Indians inflicted on general St. Clair on November 4, 1792, will go down in the annals of American history as the worst defeat which an American army ever suffered at the hands of the Indians. The greatest battle which has ever been fought in the United States against the Indians occurred in the state of Ohio. This was the battle of Fallen Timbers and occurred August 20, 1794, the scene of the battle being within the present county of Defiance. After the close of the Revolutionary War the Indians, urged on by the British, caused the settlers in the Northwest Territory continued trouble and defeated every de- tachment sent against them previous to their defeat by Gen. Anthony Wayne at the battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Although there was some trouble with the Indians after this time, they never offered serious resistance after this memorable defeat until the fall of 1811. when Gen. William Henry Har- rison completely routed them at the battle of Tippecanoe.
TERRITORY NORTHWEST OF THE OHIO ( 1670-1754).
Ohio was the first state created out of the old Northwest Territory, although Indiana had been previously organized as a territory. When the land comprehended within the Northwest Territory was discovered by the French under La Salle about 1670, it was a battle ground of various Indian tribes, although the Eries, who were located along the shores of Lake Erie, were the only ones with a more or less definite territory. From 1670 to 1763, the close of the French and Indian War, the French were in possession of this territory and established their claims in a positive manner by exten- sive exploration and scattered settlements. The chief centers of French settlement were at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Fort Crevecour and at several missionary stations around the shores of the great lakes. The French did not succeed in doing this without incurring the hostility of the Iroquois Indians, a bitter enmity which was brought about chiefly because the French helped the Shawnees, Wyandots and Miamis to drive the Iroquois out of the territory west of the Muskingum river in Ohio.
It must not be forgotten that the English also laid claim to the North- west Territory, basing their claim on the discoveries of the Cabots and the subsequent charters of Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut. These charters extended the limits of these three colonies westward to the Pacific ocean, although. as a matter of fact, none of the three colonies made a settle- ment west of the Alleghanies until after the Revolutionary War. New York
.
Digitized by Google
.
ยท
35
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
sought to strengthen her claim to territory west of the Alleghanies in 1701, by getting from the Iroquois, the bitter enemies of the French, a grant to the territory from which the French and their Indian allies had previously ex- pelled them. Although this grant was renewed in 1726 and again confirmed in 1744, it gave New York only a nominal claim and one which was never recognized by the French in any way ..
English traders from Pennsylvania and Virginia began in 1730 to pay more attention to the claims of their country west of the Alleghanies and north of the Ohio river. When their activities reached the ears of the French the governor of French Canada sent Celeron de Bienville up and down the Ohio and the rivers and streams running into it from the north and took formal possession of the territory by planting lead plates at the mouth of every river and stream of any importance. This peculiar method of the French in seeking to establish their claims occurred in the year 1749 and opened the eyes of England to the necessity of taking some immediate action. George II, the king of England at the time, at once granted a charter for the first Ohio Company (there were two others by the same name later organ- ized), composed of London merchants and enterprising Virginians, and the company at once proceeded to formulate plans to secure possession of the ter- ritory north of the Ohio and west of the Mississippi. Christopher Gist was sent down the Ohio river in 1750 to explore the country as far west as the mouth of the Scioto river, and made several treaties with the Indians. Things were now rapidly approaching a crisis and it was soon evident that there would be a struggle of arms between England and France for the disputed region. In 1754 the English started to build a fort at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, on the site of the present city of Pitts- burgh, but before the fort was completed the French appeared on the scene, drove the English away and finished the fort which had been begun.
FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR (1754-63).
The crisis had finally come. The struggle which followed between the two nations ultimately resulted in the expulsion of the French from the mainland of America as well as from the immediate territory in dispute. The war is known in America as the French and Indian War and in the history of the world as the Seven Years' War, the latter designation being due to the fact that it lasted that length of time. The struggle developed into a world-wide conflict and the two nations fought over three continents, America, Europe and Asia. It it not within the province of this resume of
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36
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
the history of Indiana to go into the details of this memorable struggle. It is sufficient for the purpose at hand to state that the treaty of Paris, which terminated the war in 1763, left France without any of her former posses- sions on the mainland of America.
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY (1763-64).
With the English in control of America east of the Mississippi river and the French regime forever ended, the Indians next command the attention of the historian who deals with the Northwest Territory. The French were undoubtedly responsible for stirring up their former Indian allies and Pontiac's conspiracy must be credited to the influence of that nation. This formidable uprising was successfully overthrown by Henry Bouquet, who led an expedition in 1764 into the present state of Ohio and compelled the Wyandots, Delawares and Shawnees to sue for peace.
NORTHWEST TERRITORY AND QUEBEC ACT.
From 1764 to 1774, no events of particular importance occurred within the territory north of the Ohio river, but in the latter year (June 22, 1774), England, then at the breaking point with the colonies, passed the Quebec act, which attached this territory to the province of Quebec for administrative purposes. This intensified the feeling of resentment which the colonies bore against their mother country and is given specific mention in their list of grievances which they enumerated in their Declaration of Independence. The Revolutionary War came on at once and this act, of course, was never put into execution.
REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1775-83).
During the War for Independence ( 1775-1783), the various states with claims to western lands agreed with the Continental Congress to surrender their claims to the national government. In fact, the Articles of Confedera- tion were not signed until all of the states had agreed to do this and Mary- land withheld her assent to the articles until March 1, 1780, on this account. In accordance with this agreement New York ceded her claim to the United States in 1780, Virginia in 1784, Massachusetts in 1785 and Connecticut in 1786, although the latter state excepted a one-hundred-and-twenty-mile strip of three million five hundred thousand acres bordering on Lake Erie. This
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37
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
strip was formally relinquished in 1800, with the understanding that the United States would guarantee the titles already issued by that state. Vir- ginia was also allowed a reservation, known as the Virginia Military Dis- trict, which lay between the Little Miami and Scioto rivers, the same being for distribution among her Revolutionary veterans. There is one other fact which should be mentioned in connection with the territory north of the Ohio in the Revolutionary period. This was the memorable conquest of the territory by Gen. George Rogers Clark. During the years 1778 and 1779, this redoubtable leader captured Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vincennes and thereby drove the English out of the Northwest Territory. It is probable that this notable campaign secured this territory for the Americans and that without it we would not have had it included in our possessions in the treaty which closed the Revolutionary War.
CAPTURE OF VINCENNES.
One of the most interesting pages of Indiana history is concerned with the capture of Vincennes by Gen. George Rogers Clark in the spring of 1779. The expedition of this intrepid leader with its successful results marked him as a man of more than usual ability. Prompted by a desire to secure the territory northwest of the Ohio river for the Americans, he sought and ob- tained permission from the governor of Virginia the right to raise a body of troops for this purpose. Early in the spring of 1778 Clark began collecting his men for the proposed expedition. Within a short time he collected about one hundred and fifty men at Fort Pitt and floated down the Ohio to the falls near Jeffersonville. He picked up a few recruits at this place and in June floated on down the river to the mouth of the Tennessee river. His original intention was to make a descent on Vincennes first, but, having re- ceived erroneous reports as to the strength of the garrison located there, he decided to commence active operations at Kaskaskia. After landing his troops near the mouth of the Tennessee in the latter part of June, 1778, he marched them across southern Illinois to Kaskaskia, arriving there on the evening of July 4. The inhabitants were terror stricken at first, but upon being assured by General Clark that they were in no danger and that all he wanted was for them to give their support to the American cause, their fears were soon quieted. Being so far from the scene of the war, the French along the Mississippi knew little or nothing about its progress. One of the most important factors in establishing a friendly relation between the Amer- icans and the French inhabitants was the hearty willingness of Father Gibault,
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38
HAMILTON COUNTY, INDIANA.
the Catholic priest stationed at Kaskaskia, in making his people see that their best interests would be served by aligning themselves with the Americans. Father Gibault not only was of invaluable assistance to General Clark at Kaskaskia, but he also offered to make the overland trip to Vincennes and win over the French in that place to the American side. This he successfully did and returned to Kaskaskia in August with the welcome news that the inhabitants of Vincennes were willing to give their allegiance to the Americans.
However, before Clark got his troops together for the trip to Vincennes, General Hamilton, the lieutenant-governor of Detroit, descended the Wabash and captured Vincennes ( December 15, 1778). At that time Clark had only two men stationed there, Leonard Helm, who was in command of the fort, and a private by the name of Henry. As soon as Clark heard that the British had captured Vincennes, he began to make plans for retaking it. The terms of enlistment of many of his men had expired and he had difficulty in getting enough of them to re-enlist to make a body large enough to make a successful attack. A number of young Frenchmen joined his command and finally, in January, 1779, Clark set out from Kaskaskia for Vincennes with one hundred and seventy men. This trip of one hundred sixty miles was made at a time when traveling overland was at its worst. The prairies were wet, the streams were swollen and the rivers overflowing their banks. Notwithstand- ing the difficulties which confronted him and his men, Clark advanced rapidly as possible and by February 23, 1779, he was in front of Vincennes. Two days later, after considerable parleying and after the fort had suffered from a murderous fire from the Americans, General Hamilton agreed to surrender. This marked the end of British dominion in Indiana and ever since that day the territory now comprehended in the state has been American soil.
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VINCENNES. THE OLDEST SETTLEMENT OF INDIANA.
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Historians have never agreed as to the date of the founding of Vin- cennes. The local historians of that city have always claimed that the settlement of the town dates from 1702, although those who have examined all the facts and documents have come to the conclusion that 1732 comes nearer to being the correct date. It was in the latter year that George Wash- ington was born, a fact which impresses upon the reader something of the age of the city. Vincennes was an old town and had seen several generations pass away when the Declaration of Independence was signed. It was in Vincennes and vicinity that the best blood of the Northwest Territory was
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