Past and present of the city of Zanesville and Muskingham County, Ohio, Part 1

Author: Sutor, J. Hope, 1846-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 898

USA > Ohio > Muskingum County > Zanesville > Past and present of the city of Zanesville and Muskingham County, Ohio > Part 1

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977.101 M97s 145 5355

GENEALOGY COLLECTION

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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02484 0792

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PAST AND PRESENT

OF THE

CITY OF ZANESVILLE

AND

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, OHIO BY

J. HOPE SUTOR

TOGETHER WITH

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES

OF MANY OF ITS LEADING AND PROMINENT CITIZENS AND ILLUSTRIOUS DEAD

ILLUSTRATED

CHICAGO: THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO. 1905

Dedicated to the Pioneers of Muskingum County

PREFACE.

T HE publishers take great pleasure in presenting this volume to the public, which is to be congratulated that the serviees of J. Hope Sutor were secured to write the history. No man in Muskingum county is better qualified for the task. In addition to the general history, which is a model of its kind, our eorps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise and industry, brought this county to a rank second to none among those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life struggles. No more interest- ing or instruetive matter could be presented to an intelligent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and economy have aeeumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for seeuring an education, have become learned men and women, with an influence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to eminenee as statesmen, and whose names have beeome famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how that suecess has usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very many, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued the "even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them, as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy -"They have done what they could." It tells how many, in the pride and strength of young manhood, left the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's eall went forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace onee more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after.

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which would otherwise be inaeeessible. Great eare has been taken in the compilation of the work and every opportunity possible given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written; and the publishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a work with few errors of consequenee. In addition to biographical sketches, portraits of a number of representative eitizens are given.

The faees of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. For this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper eoneeption of the work, some refused to give the information necessary to compile a sketeh, while others were indifferent. Occasionally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of suel opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men never could be found, though repeated ealls were mad . at their residenee or place of business.

October, 1905.

THE S. J. CLARKE PUBLISHING CO.

EX LIBRIS

Albert I. Dugan

5/14/69

Pages 603 and 604 are not missing- there is anerror in numbering

1455355

Hayman $ 45.00 Phones And. 2616

ThyRo Autor

PAST AND PRESENT OF

MUSKINGUM COUNTY

CHAPTER I.

THE ANTE - STATE PERIOD, COMPRISING THE MOUND BUILDERS, INDIAN HISTORY, THE SUR- VEY OF THE PUBLIC LANDS, THE ORGANIZA- TION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY, AND THE TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.

There is indisputable testimony that the mys- terious, prehistoric people, whom we term Mound Builders, inhabited not only the county of Mus- kingum but had a settlement within the present limits of the city of Zanesville ; the evidence con- sists not in the magnitude but in the number of these prehistoric remains, and while entirely cir- cumstantial, is as conclusive and abundant as ex- ists elsewhere. Numerous small mounds have been found in and about the county and the whip- ping post, which the law once required each county to maintain, was erected upon a small mound which stood upon the site of the present courthouse. A terrace originally ran from about Main and First streets diagonally to Fifth and Center and continued through to the existing high ground along the river at Seventh street ; as laid out, the town limits on the north were at North street, and when the outlaying fields north of that street, where the High School and the McIntire Academy now stand, were cultivated, the plow turned up spalls of flint, arrow and spear heads, and stone hammers and axes. Flint is not found nearer than Flint Ridge, a distance of sixteen miles, and the granite from which the tools were made must have been brought from an even great- er distance ; the presence of spalls indicates the manufacture of the implements on the spot from minerals received from distant points, and the quantity of the refuse suggests a permanent resi- dence as temporary manufacture would have been conducted nearer the source of the supply of the raw material.

This work, however, is not designed to con- sider theoretical subjects ; all that may be alleged respecting the Mound Builders is conjecture and this reference is made that the reader may not conclude that the absence of a chapter on these people is an oversight, and to give assurance that the omission is intentional, as matter irrelevant to a narrative of historical facts.

Unfortunately, much of the early history of the county will ever remain unwritten, as a full cen- tury has elapsed since it began its political exist- ence, and of those who conquered the wilderness and whose recollections were the only record, it must be written

Their swords are rust ; Their bones are dust ; Their souls are with the Lord, we trust.

However difficult the task is to ascertain what occurred a century or less ago, the historian of a hundred years to come will experience even greater difficulties in selecting his material from the multiplicity of records the books and news- papers of the period are creating for him.

INDIAN HISTORY.

Indian records in Muskingum county are very meagre and the reason is very succinctly and truthfully stated in an article on The Ohio Indians in Ohio Archaelogical and Historical Society Publications, volume vi, page 82:

"As illustrating the fierce nature of the conflicts between the tribes north of the Ohio and those south of it in times past, it is an important fact that no tribes lived along the banks of that river or permanently occupied the contiguous territory. The Ohio as it flowed through the wilderness was and has always been considered one of the most beautiful rivers on the globe and its banks pre-

PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.

sented every allurement to, and advantage of per- manent occupation. Yet, there was not on it from its source to its mouth, a distance of more than a thousand miles, a single wigwam or struc- ture in the nature of a permanent abode. General William Henry Harrison, in his address before the Historical Society of Ohio, says :

"'Of all this immense territory, the most beau- tiful portion was unoccupied. Numerous vil- lages were to be found on the Scioto and the head- waters of the two Miamis of the Ohio; on the Miami of the Lake (the Maumee) and its southern tributaries and throughout the whole course of the Wabash, at least as low as the present town of Vincennes ; but the beautiful Ohio rolled its amber tide until it paid its tribute to the father of waters through an unbroken solitude. At and before that time and for a century after its banks were without a town or single village or even a single cottage, the curling smoke of whose chimneys would give the promise of comfort and refresh- ment to the weary traveler.'"

This was the result of the long and fierce strug- gle which was waged between the Indians north of the Ohio and those south of it. Its banks were not safe for permanent occupation by any of the Indian tribes. Even the vast and fertile territory of Kentucky was not, so far as known or as tradi- tion informs us, the permanent abode of any con- siderable number of red men. It was indeed a dark and bloody ground long before its occupancy by the white men. In that territory there were great numbers of buffalo and wild deer and other game which made it a most desirable hunting ground, and hither came the Cherokees and Chick- asaws of the south as also the tribes north of the Ohio to hunt and to obtain salt, and to wage war with each other; but it was not the permanent abode of any considerable number of any of these tribes. It was rather a battle ground and seat of conflict between the northern and southern tribes which had been waged for a long period of time.

Muskingum county was sparsely occupied by Wyandottes, Delawares and a few Senecas and Shawanese, and years before the arrival of the white man an Indian village existed in the vicinity of Duncan's Falls, and because of its antiquity was referred to as "Old Town." A large Shaw- anese town called Wakatomaca was located upon ground now partially included within the corpor- ate limits of Dresden ; the cemetery was quite ex- tensive and when the white man first came re- mains of the Indian cabins were in existence.

The depredations of the Indians upon the Pennsylvania and Virginia frontiers caused Earl Dunmore, governor of Virginia, to order men from the western part of Virginia to rendezvous at Wheeling, in June, 1774, and four hundred responded under Michael Cresap ; Jonathan Zane, Thomas Nicholson and Tady Kelley were pilots

and the party descended the Ohio in boats to the mouth of Captina Creek, in Belmont county, Ohio, and started in the most direct route to Wakatom- aca, carrying seven days' rations. They were overtaken by Col. Angus McDonald who had been commissioned by Dunmore as commander and he ordered a halt of three days, which greatly incensed the men who complained they were consuming their provisions in idleness.

When about six miles from Wakatomaca, late in the afternoon, the body had just crossed a small stream and was marching along the first bottom in three parallel lines, in Indian file, and some distance apart, when the scouts discovered traces of Indians. The heads of the columns were at once thrown together and when the bank was reached some fifty Indians in ambush opened on them. The contemplated surprise was a fail- ure and the whites deployed to the right and left and began the ascent of the bank; the skirmish became general and lasted about half an hour, when the Indians gave way in every direction ; two white men were killed and eight or ten wounded ; one Indian was killed and several were wounded and it was supposed others were among the killed and wounded, but were carried off ac- cording to the Indian custom. The Indians were pursued by a company on each flank and one in the rear, but when the town was reached it was found deserted.

During the battle McDonald was seen lying behind a log and the intelligence was soon in pos- session of the men ; somewhat after the manner of modern political shouting one man would inquire, in a loud voice, "Who got behind the log?" and a hundred voices would yell in concert, "The Colonel." The nominal commander became furi- ous and threatened the man who started the state- ment, and the man who had seen him walked to him and declared he had seen him ; handing his rifle to a comrade he cut some hickory withes and stood on the defensive ; the company roared and the colonel walked away.

Anticipating pursuit across the river the Indi- ans formed an ambush but scouts had been sent up and down the stream and located the enemy ; a sentinel saw an Indian behind a screen, across the river, who occasionally raised his head for a survey over the river ; the soldier placed a second ball in his rifle, took deliberate aim at the blind and when the head again appeared placed both balls through the savage's neck, and when the whites crossed the next day the body was found and scalped.

About two hours before daylight Cresap formed his men and led them across the stream, surrounded the Indians but failed to capture them as they scattered in the thicket ; they soon asked a parley and were offered peace 'on condition that the chiefs be sent as hostages. Five came and

PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.

were placed under guard and marched in front of the white column to the Indian camp. The cap- tives then represented that they could not con- clude a treaty without the presence of the chiefs of other tribes, and one was sent to bring them in ; he failed to return at the designated time and another was sent on the same mission with simi- lar results. The whites then marched to the next town, a mile or so away, and had a slight skir- mish in which one Indian was killed and one white man was wounded, and upon reaching the town discovered that during the parley the Indi- ans had removed the women, children, infirm and effects, and the town was burned. The whites then returned with the hostages who were sent to and confined at Williamsburg until a peace was effected.

Years before the government secured any nom- inal sovereignty to the land north of the Ohio, and before any surveys and sales had been made, a contriband population came from Pennsylvania and Virginia, encouraged by the traders and land speculators, and formed scattered settlements as far south as the Muskingum, but the land was held by what was termed tomahawk title. The result was the Indians' wrongs were multiplied and the troubles of the peaceful settlers were in- creased. In 1778 Col. Broadhead reported to Washington that he had sent troops to drive off trespassers on Indian lands and the report caused additional troops to be sent to expel squatters. The Indian raids continued and spasmodic dashes were made against the perpetrators, but the meth- ods were wild and aimless and the results tempo- rary and uncertain.

Independent of the actions of the individual members of the white and red races, the govern- ments of both races had good reason to doubt each other's sincerity, and much of the trouble which existed was occassioned by the inability of each contracting party to understand the motives, customs and aspirations of the other; the com- mingling of the two degrees of human develop- ment did not present an illustration of the scrip- tural text of "how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."

The Indians of the northwest were united, in a measure, in a Confederacy, controlled by a Great Council : to be binding on all the tribes an agrce- ment required the sanction of this body. When the Federal officers came to the west they crrcd in ignoring the Great Council and lost its friend- ship by dealing with the separate tribes, who really had no title and could bind no other tribc. In effect the practice was similar to the binding force of a treaty made by a foreign power with the state of Ohio instead of the general govern- ment. Tribal treaties had been concluded by which all the territory south and east of a line up the Cuyahoga river, across the portage to the

Tuscarawas and Fort Laurens; thence west to the portage between the Big Miami and the Auglaize, and thence to the Lake, had been re- leased to the general government, and its authori- ties labored under the delusion that all the Indian titles had been extinguished ; the opinion became current that the Indians recognized the authority and sovereignty of the United States, and it was some time before it dawned upon the govern- ment that the cunning of the Indian had been exercised in taking advantage of the ignorance of the white man respecting the tribal relations. The ravages and murders continued, notwith- standing treaties, the punishments inflicted did no permanent good, and in December, 1786, the Indians sent a remonstrance to Congress in which they declared that all treaties "should be with the general voice of the whole confederation and in the most open manner, without any restraint on either side" and it was held to be "indispensably necessary that any cession of our lands should be made in the most public manner and by the united voice of the confederacy, holding all partial treat- ies as void and of no effect." A conference was asked and Congress was warned that their prop- crty would be defended, but the government re- turned an evasive reply.

Upon the authority of Hildreath it is stated that Col. Harmar desired to prepare the Indians for a favorable consideration of the treaties he knew Gen. St. Clair would propose upon his arrival as Governor of the Northwest Territory, and dur- ing the latter part of June, 1788, sent Lieutenant McDowell and thirty men from Fort Harmar with supplies for themselves and presents for the Indians, with instructions to erect a council house and build huts for the men and security of the goods ; the present site of the town of Taylors- ville was selected, because of its proximity to the Indian village at Duncan's Falls and its remote- ness from the influence of the military post at Marietta.

Large numbers of Indians from various tribes had arrived by July 12, among them about twenty pariahs of various nations, and during the night these ruffians stealthily approached the tent con- taining the goods and attacked the guard of ten men, killing two and wounding one or two oth- ers : the white men returned the fire and their comrades coming to their support the thieves were thwarted. one of the number being killed and one wounded. The Delawares pronounced the dead man a Chippewa and denied all knowl- cdge and collusion, and fearlessly came into the white camp with their women and children ; as further evidence of innocence they seized and bound six of the offenders and delivered them to the troops, who sent them to the fort, where they werc kept in irons for a long time. The incident closed the effort to deal with the Indians at the

PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.

time and the men and stores were returned to Fort Harmar.

Gen. St. Clair was averse to trusting the sav- ages, and they objected to holding a convention to adjust peace measures under the guns of the fort, and both parties prepared for peace or war. Young Brant, son of the famous chief of that name, came down the Tuscarawas and Muskin- gum trail with two hundred warriors and camped at Duncan's Falls, and sent runners to Governor St. Clair to inform him that it was desired to complete the preliminaries at the Falls, and al- though nothing had transpired to warrant the con-

clusion, the Governor suspected a plot to abduct him, and the runners were told that an answer would be sent by a ranger. The remainder of the narrative is so tinctured with romance that the fact cannot be separated from the fiction, and it is repeated as related. Hamilton Kerr was a trusted scout at the fort, and the governor's daughter Louisa was well acquainted with him and was herself noted for her equestrian skill and fearlessness, often riding off into the wilder- ness alone and returning with large game. Kerr was dispatched to deliver St. Clair's answer and reconnoitre, and when a short distance above Waterford discovered traces of Indians; while scouting on a bluff he raised to his feet and was astonished to hear a woman's laugh and coming down the bank met the Governor's daughter, on a pony dressed in Indian style, with a short rifle slung to her body ; the ranger was speechless with the vision of the young woman so far from home, and she added to his embarrassment by laughing at his costume, which consisted of a red turban and hunting shirt, no trousers and a breech cloth in their place. Calling him familiarly "Hamm" she told him she had left the fort without any one's knowledge and was going to the Falls to see young Brant, and demanded the letter her father had sent; Kerr's expostulations were unavailing and they continued their journey, their supper consisting of dried deer and water, and she slept against a tree while he stood guard with rifle in hand.

Next day they came in sight of the Indian camp and directing Kerr to conceal himself she rode off with the letter and was soon taken pris- oner ; she asked for Brant who soon appeared in full war costume and she handed him the letter, remarking that she had met him when he was at- tending college, at Philadelphia ; he was much em- barrassed and when he had read the letter she remarked she had risked her life to see him, and asked a guard back to Marietta. He replied he guarded the brave and would accompany her in person, and having found Kerr the trio arrived at Marrietta the third day, and Brant was intro- duced to her father. Upon his return to the Falls he conducted his warriors home without a

treaty, and in love with the Governor's daughter. He attended the treaty meeting in January, 1789, but took no part in the deliberations, feasted at the fort and in vain asked the hand of his inamorata. In 1791 he led the Chippewas in the battle which resulted in St. Clair's defeat, and gave orders to shoot the general's horse but to do him no harm ; St. Clair lost four horses in that engagement and several bullets passed through his clothing but he was unhurt.

After the whites had made strong settlements in the Muskingum valley the Indians were friendly, their depredations being confined to thieving and drunkenness ; the squaws were very kind, especially in cases of sickness and gathered herbs and roots, prepared teas for colds and fevers, concocted lotions for rheumatism and were generally very successful in their treatment, and instructed the whites in the potency of the vegetable remedies which they employed.

SURVEY OF PUBLIC LAND.

A letter from President Washington, respect- ing the surveys of the public lands, is interesting, not only on account of its historical value and relevancy, but as indicating the care with which public officials were chosen in that day. The letter is autograph and covers both sides of the sheet, and is remarkably well preserved.

"PHILADELPHIA 12th Septr. 1796.

"DEAR SIR-By a recurrence to the acts of the last session of Congress, you will find one for dis- posing of the ungranted lands No. Wt. of the Ohio; and for appointing a Surveyor General for the purpose therein mentioned; and you may have heard, that Mr. DeWitt who was Geogra- pher to the army at the close of the war, after the decease of Mr. Erskine, and at present the Sur- veyor General of the state of New York (a man of profound knowledge in mathematics, and suf- ficiently skilled in astronomy) was nominated to that office, and has declined the acceptance of it.

It is yet vacant ; and you have been mentioned to me as a Gentleman to whom it might be ac- ceptable.

"Without taking then a circuitous route to as- certain this fact, I shall apply immediately to your- self for information ; and will frankly ask, because I am sure you will candidly answer (if the ap- pointment should meet your wishes) whether your knowledge in mathematics, practical Sur- veying, and so much of astronomy as is useful to a skillful exercise of the latter, for discovering the Latitude, Meridian, &c., now are or easily could be made familiar to you. These questions are propounded because affirmative qualifications are essential.

"As the season and circumstances befit now to

PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.

press for an appointment and as my continuance here, and the road I shall travel back to Virginia (for the purpose of returning with my family for the winter) are somewhat uncertain, I request the favor of you to put your answer to this letter under cover to the Secretary of State, who will be directed to open it, and to fill up the blank commission which I shall deposit in his office with your name, if you are disposed to accept it ; or with that of another Gentleman who is held in contemplation if you do not. You may if it is not too troublesome, address a duplicate to me at Mount Vernon, to remain in the Post Office at Al- exandria until called for.

"With great esteem & regard, "I am Dear Sir "Your Very Hble. Servant

"Go. WASHINGTON." "The Honble. "James Jewett."

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

The exclusion of French and British authority from the territory northwest of the Ohio river did not cnd the contest for national supremacy over the tract ; there was no general government in fact and several states claimed ownership : none of these claims were based on evidence which an outside power would have respected, but when the states bargained among themselves each pos- sessed value, although Virginia only could claim land which was occupied. This vast and first public domain of the United States was the crea- tion, by voluntary cession, of the states them- selves, and when the cessions had all been made the Federal government had title to 169,959,680 acres northwest of the Ohio river.

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Past and present of the city of Zanesville and Muskingham County, Ohio, Part 1

Author: Sutor, J. Hope, 1846- Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 898

Author: Sutor, J. Hope, 1846-
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 898