Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I, Part 145

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 1006

USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I > Part 145

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" In 1871 there were five church buildings in Napoleon : Presbyterian, Metli- odist, Catholic, Episcopalian, and German Lutheran. The Swedenborgians have also a church organization. There are two well-conducted newspapers : The Northwest, by L. Orwig & Co., and the Napoleon Signal, by P. B. Ainger ; two

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banks : the First National, organized February, 1872, and that of Sheffield & Norton, a private institution, established in 1866."-Knapp's Maumee Valley.

NAPOLEON, the county-seat, about 105 miles northwest of Columbus, thirty- six miles southwest of Toledo, is on the Maumee river, Miami and Eric canal, and W. St. L. & P. R. R. County Officers for 1888 : Auditor, George Russell ; Clerk, James Donovan ; Commissioners, William N. Zierolf, Andrew J. Saygers, George Daum; Coroner, Conrad Bitzer ; Infirmary Directors, Peter Schall, Ed- ward Dittmer, Henry Bostleman ; Probate Judge, Michael Donnelly ; Proseeut- ing Attorney, James B. Ragan ; Recorder, Thomas W. Durbin ; Sheriff, Elbert T. Barnes ; Surveyor, Charles N. Schwab ; Treasurer, James C. Waltimire. City Officers, 1888 : Mayor, John Thiesen ; Clerk, E. C. Dodd ; Treasurer, Oliver Higgins ; Marshal, Oscar Rakestraw ; Street Commissioner, Daniel Hess. News- papers : Democratic Northwest, Democratic, L. L. Orwig, editor and publisher ; Henry County Democrat, German, C. F. Clement, editor and publisher ; Henry County Signal, Republican, J. P. Belknap, editor and publisher ; Catholic Com- panion, Catholic Juvenile, Schmil & Brennen, editors and publishers. Churches : one Methodist, two Lutheran, one Presbyterian, one Catholic, one Evangelical. Bank : Meekison's, W. H. Brownell, cashier ; J. C. Sauer & Co.

Manufactures and Employees .- A. Bruner, hoops, 47 hands ; Thiessen & Hil- dred, doors, sash, etc., 8 ; Joseph Shaff, carriages, ete., 4; John Miller, carriages, etc., 4 ; T. Ludwig, potash, 3; A. J. Saggers, lumber, 4; M. Britton, boat oars, etc., 12; Napoleon Woolen Mills, flannels, blankets, etc., 25; C. Voek, flour, etc., 4; F. Rocssing, beer, 5; J. Koller & Co., flour, etc., 6; C. F. Beard, founder and machinist, 5; Napoleon Foundry, castings, 5; Napoleon Elevator, grain ele- vator, 2 .- Ohio State Reports, 1887.

Population, 1880, 3,032. School census, 1888, 1,053; W. W. Weaver, school superintendent. Capital invested in industrial establishments, $119,000; value of annual produet, $179,500 .- Ohio Labor Statistics, 1887.

In our original edition we stated, "The notorious Simon Girty once resided five miles above Napoleon, at a place still called 'Girty's Point.' His eabin was on the bank of the Maumce, a few rods west of the residence of Mr. Elijah Gunn. All traces of his habitation have been destroyed by culture, and a fine farm now surrounds the spot."

Our authority for this statement, in the lapse of time, it is now impossible to trace, but probably some old pioneer whom we interviewed. It is now known that it was George Girty, the brother of Simon, that resided there. He was an Indian trader, and alike infamous in character. Opposite the spot is a beautiful island of about forty acres, called Girty's Island, with an extremely dense growth of vegetation. Girty's cabin and trading-house were on the left bank of the river, and it was said, "When he was apprehensive of a surprise he would retire to the island, as a tiger to his jungle, with a sense of almost absolute security from his pursuers."

After making our original statement, as above given, we followed with an article upon the Girtys, which we repeat here verbatim :

Simon Girty was from Pennsylvania, to which his father had emigrated from Ireland. The old man was beastly intemperate, and nothing ranked higher in his estimation than a jug of whisky. "Grog was his song, and grog would he have." His sottishness turned his wife's affection. Ready for seduction, she yielded her heart to a neighboring rustic, who, to remove all obstacles to their wishes, knocked Girty on the head and bore off the trophy of his prowess. Four sons of this interesting couple were left, Thomas, Simon, George and James. The three latter were

taken prisoners, in Braddock's war, by the Indians. George was adopted by the Dela- wares, became a ferocious savage, and died in a drunken fit. James was adopted by the Shawnese, and became as depraved as his other brothers. It is said, he often visited Kentucky, at the time of its first settlement, and inflicted most barbarous tortures upon all captive women who came within his reach. Traders who were acquainted with him say, so furious was he, that he would not have turned on his heel to save a prisoner from the flames. To this monster are to be at-

Gardner & Son, Photo.

GIETY'S ISLAND.

Gardner & Son, Photo., 1887.

NAPOLEON.

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tributed many of the cruelties charged upon his brother Simon ; yet he was caressed by Proctor and Elliott.

Simon was adopted by the Senecas, and became an expert hunter. In Kentucky and Ohio be sustained the character of an unre- lenting barbarian. Sixty years ago, with his name was associated everything cruel and fiendlike. To the women and children, in particular, nothing was more terrifying than the name of Simon Girty. At that time it was believed by many that he had fled from justice and sought refuge among the Indians, determined to do his countrymen all the hart in his power. This impression was an erro- neous one. Being adopted by the Indians, he joined them in their wars, and conformed to their usages. This was the education he had received, and their foes were his. Al- though trained in all his pursuits as an In- dian, it is said to be a fact susceptible of proof

that, through his importunities, many pris- oners were saved from death. His influence was great, and when he chose to be merciful, it was generally in his power to protect the imploring captive. His reputation was that of an honest man, and he fulfilled his en- gagements to the last cent. It is said, he once sold his horse rather than to incur the odium of violating his promise. He was in- temperate, and, when intoxicated, ferocious and abusive alike of friends and foes. Al- though much disabled the last ten years of his lite, by rheumatism, he rode to his hunt- ing grounds in pursuit of game. Suffering the most excruciating pain, he often boasted of his warlike spirit. It was his constant wish, one that was gratified, that he might die in battle. He was at Proctor's defeat, and was cut to pieces by Col. Johnson's mounted men.

The above we derive from Campbell's sketches. We have, in addition, some anecdotes and facts which throw doubt over the character of Simon Girty, as there given.

In September, 1777, Girty led the attack on Fort Henry, on the site of Wheel- ing, during which he appeared at the window of a cabin, with a white flag, and demanded the surrender of the fort in the name of his Britannic Majesty. He read the proclamation of Governor Hamilton, and promised the protection of the crown if they would lay down their arms and swear allegiance to the king. He warned them to submit peaceably, and admitted his inability to restrain his war- riors, when excited in the strife of battle. Colonel Shepherd, the commandant, promptly replied, that they would never surrender to him, and that he could only obtain possession of the fort when there remained no longer an American soldier to defend it. Girty renewed his proposition, but it was abruptly ended by a shot from a thoughtless youth, and Girty retired and opened the siege, which proved unsuccessful. Baker's station, in that vicinity, was also attacked, not far from this time, by Girty and his band, but without success.

In August, 1782, a powerful body of Indians, led by Girty, appeared before Bryan's station, in Kentucky, about five miles from Lexington. The Kentuck- ians made such a gallant resistance that the Indians became disheartened, and were about abaudoning the siege ; upon this, Girty, thinking he might frighten the garrison into a surrender, mounted a stump, within speaking distance, and com- menced a parley. He told them who he was, that he looked hourly for reinforce- ments with cannon, and that they had better surrender at once ; if they did so, no one should be hurt ; but otherwise, he feared they would all fall victims. The garrison were intimidated ; but one young man named Reynolds, seeing the effect of this harangue, and believing his story, as it was, to be false, of his own accord answered him in this wise: " You need not be so particular to tell us your name; we know your name and you too. I've had a villanous, untrustworthy cur dog this long while, named Simon Girty, in compliment to you ; he's so like you- just as ugly and just as wicked. As to the cannon, let them come on ; the coun- try's roused, and the scalps of your red cut-throats, and your own too, will be drying on our cabins in twenty-four hours; and if, by chance, you or your allies do get into the fort, we've a big store of rods laid in, on purpose to scourge you out again." This method of Reynolds was effectnal ; the Indians withdrew, and were pursned a few days after, the defenders of the fort being reinforced, to the Blue Licks, where the Indians lay in ambush and defeated the Kentuckians with great slaughter. Girty was also at St. Clair's defeat and led the attack on Colerain.

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HENRY COUNTY.

Dr. Knight, in his narrative of his captivity, and burning of Colonel Crawford (see Wyandot County), speaks of the cruelty of Simon Girty to the colonel and himself. Colonel John Johnson corroborates the account of Dr. Knight. In a communication before us he says : "He was notorious for his cruelty to the whites who fell into the hands of the Indians. His cruelty to the unfortunate Colonel Crawford is well known to myself, and although I did not witness the tragedy, I can vouch for the facts of the case, having had them from eye-witnesses. When that brave and unfortunate commander was suffering at the stake by a slow fire, in order to lengthen his misery to the longest possible time, he besought Girty to have him shot, to end his torments, when the monster mocked him by firing pow- der without ball at him. Crawford and Girty had been intimately acquainted in the early settlement of Pennsylvania ; I knew a brother of the latter at Pittsburg in 1793."

When Simon Kenton was taken prisoner, his life was saved through the inter- position of Girty. (See a sketch of Kenton in Champaign County.)

Mr. Daniel M. Workman, now living in Logan county, gave us orally the following respecting the last years of Girty. In 1813 (1816), said he, I went to Malden and put up at a hotel kept by a Frenchman. I noticed in the bar-room a gray-headed and blind old man. The landlady, who was his daughter, a woman of about thirty years of age, in- quired of me, "Do you know who that is ?" pointing to the old man. On my replying, ". No !" she rejoined, "It is Simon Girty !" He had then been blind about four years.

In 1815 I returned to Malden and ascertained that Girty had died a short time previous. Simon Kenton informed me that Girty left the whites, because he was not promoted to the command of a company or a battalion. I was also so informed by my father-in-law, who was taken prisoner by the Indians. Girty was a man of extraordinary strength, power of endurance, courage and sagacity. He was in height about 5 feet 10 inches and strongly made.

Oliver M. Spencer, who was taken prisoner by the Indians while a youth in 1792, in his narrative of his captivity makes some mention of the Girtys. While at Defiance, the old Indian priestess, Cooh-coo-Cheeh, with whom he lived, took him to a Shawnee village, a short distance below, on a visit. There he saw the celebrated chief, Blue Jacket, and Simon Girty, of whom he speaks as follows :

One of the visitors of Blue Jacket (the Snake) was a plain, grave chief of sage ap- pearance ; the other, Simon Girty, whether it was from prejudice, associating with his look the fact that he was a renegado, the murderer of his own countrymen, racking his diabolic invention to inflict new and more excruciating tortures, or not, his dark, shaggy hair, his low forehead, his brows con- tracted, and meeting above his short flat nose ; his gray sunken eyes, averting the ingenious gaze ; his lips thin and compressed, and the dark and sinister expression of his countenance, to me, seemed thie very picture of a villain. He wore the Indian costume, but without any ornament ; and his silk handkerchief, while it supplied the place of a hat, hid an unsightly wound in his forehead. On each side, in his belt, was stuck a silver- mounted pistol, and at his left hung a short broad dirk, serving occasionally the uses of a knife. He made of me many inquiries ; some about my family, and the particulars of my captivity ; but more of the strength of the different garrisons ; the number of

American troops at Fort Washington, and whether the President intended soon to send another army against the Indians. He spoke of the wrongs he had received at the hands of his countrymen, and with fiendish exulta- tion of the revenge he had taken. He boasted of his exploits, of the number of his victories, and of his personal prowess ; then raising his handkerchief, and exhibiting the deep wound in his forehead (which I was after- wards told was inflicted by the tomahawk of the celebrated Indian chief, Brandt, in a drunken frolic) said it was a sabre cut, which he received in battle at St. Clair's defeat ; adding with an oath, that he had "sent the d-d Yankee officer" that gave it "to h-1." He ended by telling me that I would never see home : but if I should turn out to be a good hunter and a brave warrior, I might one day be a chief. His presence and conversation having rendered my situa- tion painful, I was not a little relieved when, a few hours after ending our visit, we returned to our quiet lodge on the bank of the Maumee.

Just before Spencer was liberated from captivity, he had an interview with James Girty, and not a very pleasant one either, judging from his narration of it.

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Elliot ordered Joseph to take me over to James Girty's, where he said our breakfast would be provided. Girty's wife soon fur- nished us with some eoffee, wheat bread, and stewed pork and venison, of which (it being so much better than the food to which I had been lately accustomed) I ate with great gout ; but I had not more than half breakfasted, when Girty came in, and seating himself op- posite me, said, "So, my young Yankee, you're about to start for home." I answered, "Yes, sir, I hope so." That, he said, would depend on my master, in whose kitchen he had no doubt I should first serve a few years' apprenticeship as a scullion. Then, taking his knife, said (while sharpening it on a

whet-stone), "I see your ears are whole yet, but I'm d-n-y mistaken if you leave this without the Indian car mark, that we may know you when we catch you again." I did not wait to prove whether he was in jest, or in downright earnest ; but leaving my breakfast half finished, I instantly sprang from the table, leaped out of the door, and in a few seconds took refuge in Mr. Ironside's house. On learning the cause of my flight, Elliot uttered a sardonic laugh, deriding my un- founded childish fears, as he was pleased to term them ; but Ironside looked serious, shaking his head, as if he had no doubt that if I had remained, Girty would have executed his threat.

We finished this notice of the Girtys by a brief extract from the MSS. of Jonathan Alder (then in my possession), who knew Simon-showing that he was by no means wholly destitute of kind feelings.

I knew Simon Girty to purchase at his educated. He was certainly a friend to many own expense several boys who were prisoners, prisoners. take them to the British and have them

This finishes our original account of the three Girtys, viz., Simon, James and George. Simon was the leading one of these renegades. It was his name especially that during the Revolution struck terror in every backwoods cabin in Pennsylvania and Virginia. The annals of that period were so full of conflict- ing statements in regard to them, while their lives from boyhood to old age were to a large extent so tragically romantic, as to lead the historian, Consul Willshire Butterfield, to devote his leisure moments to obtain a full and correct history of them so far as it was possible to obtain it at this late day. The result is the publication of a large octavo volume of over 400 pages, "History of the Girtys : A Life Record of the Three Renegades of the Revolution," Cincinnati, Robert Clarke & Co., 1890. The book will greatly enhanee his reputation "as a most industrious gatherer of information and as a forcible writer of history." From his work these statements are gathered and are reliable.

Simon Girty, Sr., was an Irishman who settled on the borders of Pennsyl- vania, and became an Indian trader. About 1737 he married Mary Newton, an English girl, by whom he had four children, all sons, viz .: Thomas, born in 1739; Simon, in 1741 ; James, in 1743; and George, 1745. In 1751 Simon, Sr., was killed in a drunken frolic in his own house, by an Indian named "The Fish." John Turner, who lived with Girty, avenged his murder by killing "The Fish."

Two years later Turner married Mrs. Girty, who was a reputable woman. In August, 1756, the year after Braddock's defeat, Turner with his family were in Fort Granville, a stockade, on the Juniata, which was taken by the French and Indians, and Turner, wife and children were carried into captivity. Turner, according to tradition, was recognized as the slayer of "The Fish," and his fate was sealed, and on their arrival at Kittaning he was doomed to death. "They tied him to a black post; dauced around him ; made a great fire ; and having heated gun barrels red hot, ran them through his body! Having tormented him for three hours they scalped him alive, and at last held up a boy with a hatchet to give him the finishing stroke." Mrs. Turner and her four children were com- pelled to witness the horrid scene.

The family were soon separated. Mrs. Turner and an infant son by John Turner were claimed by the Delawares, and first taken to Fort Duquesne, the infant baptized there by a Récollect priest, Denys Baron, and later carried into the wilderness. Thomas Girty, the oldest son, soon after escaped, and ever lived

HENRY COUNTY.

a useful life. He raised a family and died on Girty's Run, near Pittsburg, in 1820.

The three remaining boys were adopted by the savages-Simon, then fifteen years old, going with the Senecas; James, then thirteen years, by the Shawanese ; and George, then eleven years, by the Delawares. They with their mother and her infant John Turner remained with the Indians three years, until 1759, when as a result of a treaty with the Indians all their prisoners were brought to Pitts- burg and surrendered.

Simon was at this time eighteen years of age, and became to a certain extent a man of influence. He was illiterate, never having learned to read or write. For about thirteen years after his return his employment to a great extent was that of Indian interpreter. James worked as a common laborer and sometimes as an interpreter for the traders. George for a time traded with the Indians on his own account. While living with the Indians the Girtys were kindly treated. Having been taken at a tender age it was natural for them to have become attached to those simple children of nature, who had many virtues.

In the Dunmore expedition, in the fall of 1776, Simon Girty acted as scout, and accompanied John Gibson in his celebrated interview with the Mingo chief, Logan. (See Pickaway County.) Girty from recollection translated Logan's "speech" to Gibson, and "the latter put it into excellent English, as he was abundantly capable of doing."

In the war of the Revolution, up to February, 1778, Simon Girty had sided with the Whigs. On the night of March 28 seven persons secretly absconded from Fort Pitt for the Indian country, on their way to Detroit, to join there Lieut .- Governor Hamilton, the British commandant. Three of these eventually became notorious allies of the enemy. They were Simon Girty, Matthew Elliot, an Indian trader, Irish by birth, and Captain Alexander McKee, also Indian trader, a native of Pennsylvania. On their way they stopped first among the Dela- wares at Coshocton, then at the Shawnee towns on the Scioto, near the site of Circleville. They met there James Girty, who was engaged in trade with the Indians, and easily persuaded him to espouse the British cause, to remain with the Shawanese, and to help those of the tribe who were yet wavering from all thoughts of peace with the United States. James then appropriated presents that had been intrusted to him by government for the Indians. On their arrival all three, Simon Girty, McKee and Elliot, entered the British Indian Department under regular pay, Simon Girty as interpreter for the Six Nations, at two dollars per day. His brother James joined him a few months later, and both from that time forth were devoted to the British interest. They were sent by Hamilton to live with the savages in the Ohio wilderness, Simon to the Mingoes, and James to the Shawanese, to do the best possible service in interpreting or fighting.

George Girty was at this time a Lieutenant in the Continental army ; a year later, May 4, 1779, he deserted to the British, and made his way to Detroit, where he entered the Indian Department as interpreter, and was sent to the Shawanese, with headquarters at Wapatomica. There is reason to believe that the Girtys when joining Hamilton at Detroit had no idea of going upon the war path with the Indians; but Hamilton eventually required this of them, and they most ferociously performed that duty.

Simon, a poor, ignorant young man, had been persuaded to desert the American cause by McKee and Elliot, men of education and influence. That his brothers should have joined him was natural, cousidering the attachment they had formed to the Indians, and for a wild, free life, united to the influence in general of an older brother.

The statement that has gone into history, that in September, 1777, Girty led the attack on Fort Henry, on the site of Wheeling, and demanded the surrender of the fort in the name of his British Majesty, is a fiction, for the Girtys did not enter the British service until 1778. In 1782 there was a second and incon-

HENRY COUNTY.

sequential attack on Fort Henry. James Girty was present, but he had no com- mand of the savages.

The incidents of the attack on Bryan's Station, in Kentucky, in August, 1782, are given as originally published about 1835, in McClung's "Sketches of Western Adventure," but it was under the command of Captain Caldwell, not of Simon Girty, although Girty was with him. There is strong evidence adduced by Butterfield to show that there was no cessation of the attack when begun, and that the bantering scene between young Reynolds and Girty was purely fiction.

The remainder of my account of the Girtys must be correct, including the tes- timony of Col. Johnson, Oliver M. Spencer, and my interview with Daniel M Workman, and the extract from the MSS. of Jonathan Alder, which last I had in my personal possession and copied from just forty-four years ago. Butterfield states that it must have been in 1816 and not 1813 that Workman saw Simon Girty at Malden, as he was not there at that date, although there before and after. In 1784 Simon married Catherine Malott, a white girl, who had been captured on the Ohio in 1780. He eventually took up his residence just below Malden, where he died, in February, 1818, and was buried on his farm, on land given him by the British government for his loyalty. British soldiers from Malden fired a salute over his grave. Simon was about five feet nine inches in stature, eyes black and piercing, and in his prime very agile.

George Girty married a Delaware Indian woman, and in his latter days was an habitual drunkard. He died at a trading-post on the Maumec, belonging to his brother James, about two miles below Fort Wayne, just before the war of 1812. James married Betsy, an Indian woman of the Shawnces. Before the war he gave up his business and retired to his land at Gosfield, Canada. He was tall in person, temperate in his habits, and had acquired by trading considerable prop- erty, beside receiving large donations in land from the British. His general rep- utation for cruelty was on a par with that of his brothers.

DESHLER is situated at the crossing of the B. & O., D. & M. and McC. D. & T. Railroads, 37 miles south of Toledo and 18 miles southeast of Napoleon. It has 1 newspaper : Flag, neutral, W. H. Mitchell, editor and proprietor. Three churches : 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Catholic, and 1 Free Methodist. Factories and employees : A. W. Lee, heading and staves, 90; J. P. Gates, potash, 2; Ball & Smith, lumber and pickets, 16; A. A. Luber, machinery and molding, 6; Mitchell & Widner, lumber, tile and feed, 16; Heidelbach & Bros., tobacco boxes, etc., 8 .- State Report, 1888. Population in 1880, 752. School censns, 1888, 389 ; H. G. Gardner, superintendent.

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Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I, Part 145

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio Number of Pages: 1006

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 1006