USA > Ohio > Williams County > County of Williams, Ohio, Historical and Biographical > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
This is a reproduction of a library book that was digitized by Google as part of an ongoing effort to preserve the information in books and make it universally accessible.
Google books
http://books.google.com
D
R
UN
ERSITY
LIBKAR
ES
"Digitized by
I
Digitized by
Digitized by Google
Digitized by by Google
Digitized by by Google
COUNTY
OF
WILLIAMS,
OHIO.
HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL.
WITH An outline Sketch of the Northwest Territory, of the State, and Miscellaneous Matters.
ILLUSTRATED.
WESTON A. GOODSPEED, Historical Editor
CHARLES BLANCHARD,
Biographical Editor.
CHICAGO: F. A. BATTEY & CO., PUBLISHERS. 1882.
Digitized by Google
The reproduction of this book has been made possible through the sponsorship of the Williams County Historical So- ciety, Montpelier, Ohio.
F497 W7C6 1975
ulver Hage Moyne 22, PRINTERS 18 &120 MONROE ST CHICAGO
Reproduction by UNIGRAPHIC, INC. 1401 North Fares Avenue Evansville, Indiana 47711 Nineteen Hundred Seventy Five
Digitized by Google
PREFACE.
THIS volume goes forth to our patrons the result of months of arduous, un- remitting and conscientious labor. None so well know as those who have been associated with us the almost insurmountable difficulties to be met with in the preparation of a work of this character. Since the inauguration of the enterprise, a large force have been employed-both local and others-in gathering material. During this time, most of the citizens of the county have been called upon to contribute from their recollections, carefully pre- served letters, scraps of manuscript, printed fragments, memoranda, etc. Public records and semi-official documents have been searched, the news- paper files of the county have been overhauled, and former citizens, now living out of the county, have been corresponded with, all for the purpose of making the record as complete as could be, and for the verification of the information by a conference with many. In gathering from these numerous sources, both for the historical and biographical departments, the conflicting statements, the discrepancies and the fallible and incomplete nature of pub- lic documents, were almost appalling to our historians and biographers, who were expected to weave therefrom with any degree of accuracy, in panoramic review, a record of events. Members of the same families disagree as to the spelling of the family name, contradict each other's statements as to dates of birth, of settlement in the county, nativity and other matters of fact. In this entangled condition, we have given preference to the preponderance of authority, and while we acknowledge the existence of errors and our inability to furnish a perfect history, we claim to have come up to the standard of our promises, and given as complete and accurate a work as the nature of the surroundings would permit. Whatever may be the verdict of those who do not and will not comprehend the difficulties to be met with, we feel assured that all just and thoughtful people will appreciate our efforts, and recognize the importance of the undertaking and the great public benefit that has been accomplished in preserving the valuable historical matter of the county and biographies of many of its citizens, that perhaps would otherwise have passed into oblivion. To those who have given us their support and encourage- ment, and they are many, we acknowledge our gratitude, and can assure them that as years go by the book will grow in value as a repository not only of pleasing reading matter, but of treasured information of the past that becomes a monument more enduring than marble.
OCTOBER, 1882.
THE PUBLISHERS.
Digitized by Google
Digitized by
-
CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
PAGE.
American Bettlements.
59
Early Explorations .. ....... .... ..... 20
Black Hawk and the Black Hawk War 73
English Settlements .. ...
Discovery of the Ohio River .... 32 Geographical Position .. 19
Division of the Territory.
65
Tecumseh and the War of 1812 ...
HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO.
Ancient Works ..
174
Governors of Ohio .. 160
Banking
126
History of Ohio. 99
Brief Mention of Prominent Ohio Generals. 191
Improvements. 132
Canal System .. 128
Ohio Land Tracts 129
Comments upon the Ordinance of 1787. 204
Obio's Bank During the War. 182
Conclusion ... 200
Ordinance of 1787, No. 32. 106
Description of Counties. 137
Early Events. 137
Some Discussed Subjects.
196
French History. 96
State Boundaries,
136
General Characteristics. 177
War of 1812
122
HISTORY OF WILLIAMS COUNTY.
PREFATORY .... ......
211
Agricultural Society.
227
Auditors and Commissioners 234
Bar of Williams County.
243
Common Schools ...
229
County Commisioner.' Session, June 7, 1841. 232
Court House, County .....
293
Early Social Conditions 212
Fair Grounds ... 228
Fair of 1882. 228
223
First Court House and Jafl.
238
Formation of County ..
221
Infirmary ..
244 232
Pipes 277 Stone Implementa. 276
Utensils, Domestic and Other. 277
MILITARY HISTORY
278
Aid Societies 294
Calls for Troops, New
298 Cavalry, The Third ....
308 ( avalry, The Ninth 309
Close of the Rebellion. 296
Continued Enlistment of Volunteers 285-288 Draft, The First 288 Enlistment in 1862 286
Railroad Enterprise, The First 217 Railroad Projects, Other. 219 Recordere, 1824 to 1882 238 Rival Railroad Schemes. 217 Bettlers, First White .. 222
Enlistment in 1863 289 Fimt War Meetings 279
Fourth of July, 1861. 282
Infantry, The Fourteenth 290 Infantry, The Thirty-eighth. 300
Infantry, The Sixty-eighth ...
304
Infantry; The One Hundredth 305
Infantry, The One Hundred and Eleventh 306 Infantry, The One Hundred and Forty-second 307 Lincoln, Assassination of ... 297
Then and Now .. 213
GEOLOGY, POLITICS AND PRESS (Continued).
Election Statistics ... 257
Geological Structure .. 248
Journalism of the County 264
Politics of the County ... 253
Stryker Mineral Water 251
Timber, Native ..
252
Topographical Features 247
250
OHIO AND MICHIGAN WAR. 272
ARCH MOLOGICAL REMAINS. 275
Jail, County.
June Frost of 1869.
228 243
Medical Society. 244
Murder, Convictions for. 241
Native Timber, Destruction of. 224
Population.
231
Post Ofices. 220
Proceedings of County Commissioners. 222
Railroad Conductor, The First. 218
Tax on the Professions 234
Taxation, Basis of, in 1882. 231
Terms of Court at Bryan. 238
GEOLOGY, POLITICS AND PRESS. 247 Building and Road Material. 250 Drainage. 253 Meetings, Political and War, in 1863 290
Digitized by
Landmarks, Destruction of ..
Water ...
Financial Condition.
Organiz tion of Counties. 137
Geology of Ohio. 179
PAGE.
vi
CONTENTS.
MILITARY HISTORY ( Continued).
PAGE
Mexican War ..
Militia Organizations. 891
Militia System ..
879
Opposition to the War.
289
Political Sentiment in 1860 ST9
Recruiting, Additional.
891
Regiments, Sketches of. 990
Return of Three Months' Mon 282
Return of the Troops.
Summary of Troops. 298
War Measures, Further. 293
Work of Aid Societies.
..
BRYAN, TOWN OF. 312
Benevolent and Social Institutions. 336
Bryan Manufacturing Company. 321
Burial Grounds, 339
Cabins, First. 317
Churches.
328-336
Corporation .. 327
Dry Goods Stores, First ..
318
Establishment as County Seat.
312
Fires and Fire Department ..
327
Fountain Grove Cemetery Association 340
Grand Army of the Republic. 336
Hotels .... 318-324
Industries, Early. 318
Industries and Trade. 321-326
Library, Public .. 324
Literary Societies 336
Manufacturing in 1882.
321
Marriage, First. 317
Museum ...
324
Plat of Bryan, Additions to. 313
Schoolhouse, First 317
339
PULASKI TOWNSHIP 841
Adult Males, Enumeration of ... 345
Christian Worship, First Places of. 346
Church Buildings, First 347
Elections and Voters 841
Justices of the Peace. 344
Miscellaneous Notes 347
Organization 341
Sunday Schools 847
Towns in Pulaski 346
ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP
848
Asheries.
854
Birth, First.
350
Bridges
853
Cometerics. 350
Church Organizations.
3.83
Death, First 350
Edgerton's Public and Business Men. Elections ..
350
" Podunk "
414
Religious Societies. 423
Reminiscences of Pioneer Life. 411
Saw-mill, First ...
418 421
Secret Organisations
418
Social Progress .. 419
Town Plat of Pioneer.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP. 495
Birth, First.
499
Bridges, Early
Churches ....
Death, First. 498
Drainage ....
Early History. 496
Educational
430
Election and Other Statistics.
General Fentures .. 495 Incorporation of Stryker. 438 Interesting Facts. 433
Marriage, First. Oil Well Company
Poll Book, Early. 429
Post Roads, etc ...
453
Production Statistics. 495
AST
Saw and Grist Mille 494
Secret Societies ... 437
431
Stryker, Village of.
Merchants, First ... 375 Teachers, Early ..
SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP (Continued). PAGE.
Montpelier ... 878 1 --
Moral and Benevolent Agencies. 381
Organization ...
Physicians, Early. 378
Roads and Bridges. STT
Schools ...... STO
Sewerage Facilities. STT
St. Joseph as & Highway. 878 Township Government ..
Water Supply ..........
877
W., St. L. & P. R. R.
ST6
BRADY TOWNSHIP .. 881
Birth, First ...
Board of Education, West Unity ..
Brady Insurance Company ...
Business, Extent of Prosont
Churches and Schools.
Death, First ...
Facts of Interest, Additional ..
885
General Progress ...
Horse Thief Society
387
Hotels ...
Incorporation of West Unity
887
Marriage, First.
883
Merchants, etc ...
Miscellaneous Items.
Name, Origin of ....
882
Pioneers and Industries ..
Postmasters of West Unity
Roll of Honor ........... School Districts
403
Secret Societies ...
Teachers of West Unity
898
Unity Mill Company
West Unity .... 883
West Unity Cornet Band.
MADISON TOWNSHIP 406
Additions to Pioneer.
419
Birth, First ... 418
Churches of Pioneer. 494 Enterprises of Pioneer. 416
First Election ... 408
First Permanent Settler.
AOT
Incidents and Amusements
411
Incorporation of Pioneer ..
419
Industries of Pioneer.
417 414 413
Officers of Pioneer.
419 Pioneer Cornet Band 495
Pioneer Village.
415
Families, First 362
Indian Trails 353
Introductory Remarks 348
Lawyers 358
Manufactories. 354
Marriage, First ..
350
Newspapers of Edgerton
362
Politics.
362
Public Halla 359
363
Retrospective. 367
School Books. 361
Schools and Teachers. 358 359 Secret Societies. Settlements, Early
349 Spelling School 360
Sunday Schools 366
Taveros, Early 353
Villages and Stores 354
351 Wild Animals
SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP. 368
Additions to Monpellier 376
Agricultural Wealth. 377
Business Resources. 376 Churches 380 Settlements, Early. Lawyers 378 Springfield Grange
Manufacturing, Early. 375
Digitized by
1
:
L
.
r.
First Events in West Unity
885
General Improvement.
Kunkle's Corners ..
Mound-Builders' Works.
Schools of Township ...
419 Physicians
358 Post Officee. 357
Rebellion, During the
Professional Men of Stryker.
Schools, Early
296
...
878
vii
CONTENTS.
PAGE
FLORENCE TOWNSHIP.
447
Blakeslee, Town of.
400
Churches.
466
Edon, Town of. 455
Edon's Trade and Population. 460
Education, Development of ..
461
Elections at Edon
458
First Settlers. 448
Growth of Township. 454
Hunting Exploits. 452
Incidents of Pioneer Life. 451
Incorporation of Edon
457
Life in the Back woods. 450
Mercantile Pursuits at Edon 456
Schools of Edon. 465
Secret Societies. 459
West Buffalo, Village of
461
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP
468
Birth, First ..
472
Beaver Township ..
468
Churches ......
Death, First. 472
Development, Gradual. 471
Effort at Removal of County Seat.
471
Laod Entrice.
476
Markets, Early
472
Mariage, First ..
472
Murder, Case of.
475 468
Products of Field and Forest
471
Population by Decades.
477
Picachers.
473 473 474
School Lands ..
475
Settlers, First.
469
Stream, The Only 468
Taverna, Early.
472
West Jefferson Village ...
CENTRE TOWNSHIP 477
Bear Trap ..........
483
Bear and Cube ... 480
Centre, Village of. 489
Churches ..... 496
Freedom, Village of 489
495
Hunting Incidents. 479
Industrial Enterprises
487
Locations of Settlers.
486
Lost Child. 485
Melbern, Village of.
493
Methodist Church at Centre. 492
Hills and Shops at Centre .. 491 Miscellaneous Incidents .. 484
Original Limits. 477
Schools ....
494
Schoolhouses and Cemeteries. 498
Village of Columbia 540
Way to Trap & Bear.
529
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Bryan and Pulaski ...
541
652
Mill Creek Township. 801
Northwest Township. 809
Springfield Township .. 706
St. Joseph Township.
605
Superior Township
622
PORTRAITS.
Alvord, I. D ..
535
Gleason, P. 8 .. 265
Hart, Frank O ..
571
Bradley. J. H
151
Hodson, Thomas 445
Cameron, J. G. 427
Kent, Thomas 255
Kniffin, B. F. 115
Lamson, R. F. 499
Money, George W 205
Fulton, F. H. 169 Ogle, E. M 337
553
Owen, Selwyn N 225
Gardide, James. 517
Ringe, George 245
Gaudern. Richard 373 Stough, William 235
Gaudern, Mrs. M. J. 391
Stubbs, John W
301
Gendera, " Mother " .. 409 Stubbe, W. M ...! 319
Digitized by
533
Pottawatomie Indians
526
Pre-historic Occupation.
537
Settler, First.
525
Settler, Second
527
Schools.
537
School Valuation
540
Stores, etc. 533
Unfortunate Occurrence 530
Bettlers, Early.
477
CENTRE TOWNSHIP (Continued).
PAGE.
Settlers, Subsequent. 479
Struggle for Life .. 483
Valuation of Township. 498
485 Wild Honey ..
BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP. 498
Birth, First. 507
Bridgewater Centre. 510
Chased by Wolves 503 Death, First .. 507
Early Pioneers. 601
Early Taverna, Stores, Asheries, Mille, etc 508
Election, Second General. 506
First Sale of Merchandise.
504
First Settlement .... 498
Interesting Events 502 507
Marriage, First ..
Miscellaneous Notes. 507
Organization ... 505
Physician, First .. 507
Post Office, First.
507
Religious Organizations
513
School Districts 511
MILL CREEK TOWNSHIP. 515
Adventure with a Bear 515
Alvordton at Present 520
Amusing Incidents .... 520
First Birth, Death and Marriage. 519
519
Physicians .. 622
Primrose Village. 521
Settlers, First .. 515
Schoolhouses and Churches. 519
Schools and Teachers 622
Township Officers. 522
Villages in Township. 519
NORTHWEST TOWNSHIP. 523
Asheries, Etc. 533
Bear Story .. 528
Catalogue of Early Settlers. 531
Development of Morals
539
First Election. 534
Formation of Township.
534
Further Events of the Early Settlement.
530 532
Milling Interests
Ownership of Land.
624
Post Offices ..
Madison Township. 696
Brady Township ..
Bridgewater Township 785
Centre Township. 764
Florence Townabip. 743
756 Jefferson Township.
Bradley, E. D.
133
Holmes, David. 481 Cameron, S. P. 463
Carr, W. H. 355
Elliott, T. G. 283
Finch, G. W ..
187 Gamble. R.
473
Organization ....
General Features ..
Schools and Teachers
School Districta,
472
High School, The ..
viii
CONTENTS.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Black Hawk, Sac Chieftain
...
74
Perry's Monument
91
Buffalo Hunt ..
Pioneer Dwelling
High Bridge ...
Pontiac, Ottawa Chieftain.
49
Indians Atracking Frontiersmen 55 Present Site of Lake Street Bridge, Chicago, 1839 ... 58
Indians Attacking a Stockade.
71
Source of the Mississippi .....
Lake Bluff.
62
Tecumseh, Shawnee Chieftain
La Salle Landing on the Shores of Green Bay Mouth of the Mississippi.
81
215 Williams County Court House.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Areas of Principal Countries of the World.
Population of the United States ...... 208 Constitution of the United States 79
Population of Principal Countries of the World. 208
Miles of Railroad in Operation ..
203
Trapping .....
Niagara Falls ... 92
Popniation of Ohio. 202 Area of the United States.
Digitized by Google
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.
When the Northwestern Territory was ceded to the United States by Virginia in 1784, it embraced only the territory lying between the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers, and north to the northern limits of the United States. It coincided with the area now embraced in the States of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and that portion of Minnesota lying on the east side of the Mississippi River. The United States itself at that period extended no farther west than the Mississippi River ; but by the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, the western boundary of the United States was extended to the Rocky Mountains and the Northern Pacific Ocean. The new territory thus added to the National domain, and subsequently opened to settlement, has been called the "New Northwest," in contradistinction from the old "Northwestern Territory."
In comparison with the old Northwest this is a territory of vast magnitude. It includes an area of 1,887,850 square miles ; being greater in extent than the united areas of all the Middle and Southern States, including Texas. Out of this magnificent territory have been erected eleven sovereign States and eight Territories, with an aggregate popula- tion, at the present time, of 13,000,000 inhabitants, or nearly one third of the entire population of the United States.
Its lakes are fresh-water seas, and the larger rivers of the continent flow for a thousand miles through its rich alluvial valleys and far- stretching prairies, more acres of which are arable and productive of the highest percentage of the cereals than of any other area of like extent on the globe.
For the last twenty years the increase of population in the North- west has been about as three to one in any other portion of the United States.
(19)
Digitized by by Google
20
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
In the year 1541, DeSoto first saw the Great West in the New World. He, however, penetrated no farther north than the 35th parallel of latitude. The expedition resulted in his death and that of more than half his army, the remainder of whom found their way to Cuba, thence to Spain, in a famished and demoralized condition. DeSoto founded no settlements, produced no results, and left no traces, unless it were that he awakened the hostility of the red man against the white man, and disheartened such as might desire to follow up the career of discovery for better purposes. The French nation were eager and ready to seize upon any news from this extensive domain, and were the first to profit by DeSoto's defeat. Yet it was more than a century before any adventurer took advantage of these discoveries.
In 1616, four years before the pilgrims "moored their bark on the wild New England shore," Le Caron, a French Franciscan, had pene- trated through the Iroquois and Wyandots (Hurons) to the streams which run into Lake Huron ; and in 1634, two Jesuit missionaries founded the first mission among the lake tribes. It was just one hundred years from the discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto (1541) until the Canadian envoys met the savage nations of the Northwest at the Falls of St. Mary, below the outlet of Lake Superior. This visit led to no permanent result ; yet it was not until 1659 that any of the adventurous fur traders attempted to spend a Winter in the frozen wilds about the great lakes, nor was it until 1660 that a station was established upon their borders by Mesnard, who perished in the woods a few months after. In 1665, Claude Allouez built the earliest lasting habitation of the white man among the Indians of the Northwest. In 1668, Claude Dablon and James Marquette founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at the Falls of St. Mary, and two years afterward, Nicholas Perrot, as agent for M. Talon, Governor Gen- eral of Canada, explored Lake Illinois (Michigan) as far south as the present City of Chicago, and invited the Indian nations to meet him at a grand council at Sault Ste. Marie the following Spring, where they were taken under the protection of the king, and formal possession was taken of the Northwest. This same year Marquette established a mission at Point St. Ignatius, where was founded the old town of Michillimackinac.
During M. Talon's explorations and Marquette's residence at St. Ignatius, they learned of a great river away to the west, and fancied -as all others did then-that upon its fertile banks whole tribes of God's children resided, to whom the sound of the Gospel had never come. Filled with a wish to go and preach to them, and in compliance with a
Digitized by Google
21
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
request of M. Talon, who earnestly desired to extend the domain of his king, and to ascertain whether the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean, Marquette with Joliet, as commander of the expe- dition, prepared for the undertaking.
On the 13th of May, 1673, the explorers, accompanied by five assist- ant French Canadians, set out from Mackinaw on their daring voyage of discovery. The Indians, who gathered to witness their departure, were astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, and endeavored to dissuade them from their purpose by representing the tribes on the Mississippi as exceedingly savage and cruel, and the river itself as full of all sorts of frightful monsters ready to swallow them and their canoes together. But, nothing daunted by these terrific descriptions, Marquette told them he was willing not only to encounter all the perils of the unknown region they were about to explore, but to lay down his life in a cause in which the salvation of souls was involved ; and having prayed together they separated. Coasting along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the adventurers entered Green Bay, and passed thence up the Fox River and Lake Winnebago to a village of the Miamis and Kickapoos. Here Mar- quette was delighted to find a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the town ornamented with white skins, red girdles and bows and arrows, which these good people had offered to the Great Manitou, or God, to thank him for the pity he had bestowed on them during the Winter in giving them an abundant " chase." This was the farthest outpost to which Dablon and Allouez had extended their missionary labors the year previous. Here Marquette drank mineral waters and was instructed in the secret of a root which cures the bite of the venomous rattlesnake. He assembled the chiefs and old men of the village, and, pointing to Joliet, said : " My friend is an envoy of France, to discover new coun- tries, and I am an ambassador from God to enlighten them with the truths of the Gospel." Two Miami guides were here furnished to conduct them to the Wisconsin River, and they set out from the Indian village on the 10th of June, amidst a great crowd of natives who had assembled to witness their departure into a region where no white man had ever yet ventured. The guides, having conducted them across the portage, returned. The explorers launched their canoes upon the Wisconsin, which they descended to the Mississippi and proceeded down its unknown waters. What emotions must have swelled their breasts as they struck out into the broadening current and became conscious that they were now upon the bosom of the Father of Waters. The mystery was about to be lifted from the long-sought river. The scenery in that locality is beautiful, and on that delightful seventeenth of June must have been clad in all its primeval loveliness as it had been adorned by the hand of
Digitized by Google
22
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Nature. Drifting rapidly, it is said that the bold bluffs on either hand "reminded them of the castled shores of their own beautiful rivers of France." By-and-by, as they drifted along, great herds of buffalo appeared on the banks. On going to the heads of the valley they could see a country of the greatest beauty and fertility, apparently destitute of inhab- itants yet presenting the appearance of extensive manors, under the fas- tidious cultivation of lordly proprietors.
SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
On June 25, they went ashore and found some fresh traces of men upon the sand, and a path which led to the prairie. The men remained in the boat, and Marquette and Joliet followed the path till they discovered a village on the banks of a river, and two other villages on a hill, within a half league of the first, inhabited by Indians. They were received most hospitably by these natives, who had never before seen a white person. After remaining a few days they re-embarked and descended the river to about latitude 33°, where they found a village of the Arkansas, and being satisfied that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, turned.their course
Digitized by Google
23
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
up the river, and ascending the stream to the mouth of the Illinois, rowed up that stream to its source, and procured guides from that point to the lakes. "Nowhere on this journey," says Marquette, " did we see such grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes, deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beavers, as on the Illinois River." The party, without loss or injury, reached Green Bay in September, and reported their discovery-one of the most important of the age, but of which no record was preserved save Marquette's, Joliet losing his by the upsetting of his canoe on his way to Quebec. Afterward Marquette returned to the Illinois Indians by their request, and ministered to them until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that year, as he was passing the mouth of a stream-going with his boatmen up Lake Michigan-he asked to land at its mouth and celebrate Mass. Leaving his men with the canoe, he retired a short distance and began his devotions. As much time passed and he did not return, his men went in search of him, and found him upon his knees, dead. He had peacefully passed away while at prayer. He was buried at this spot. Charlevoix, who visited the place fifty years after, found the waters had retreated from the grave, leaving the beloved missionary to repose in peace. The river has since been called Marquette.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.