History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 20

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728

USA > Ohio > Jefferson County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 20
USA > Ohio > Belmont County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 20

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 (link on the Part 1 page).

October 5th, 1770. Began a journey to the Ohio, in company with Dr. Craik, his servant and two of mine, with a led horse and baggage. Dined at Towlston's and lodged in Leesburg, dis- tance from Mount Vernon about forty-five miles. Here my portmanteau horse failed.

6th. Fed our horses on the top of the ridge, and arrived at my brother Samuel's on Worthington's Marsh, a little after they had dined, the distance being about thirty miles ; from hence I dispatched a messenger to Colonel Stephens, apprising him of my arrival and intended journey.

7th. My portmanteau horse being unable to proceed, I left him at my brother's, and got one of his, and proceeded to Sam- uel Pritchard's in Cacapehon. Pritchard's is a pretty good house, there being fine pasturage, good fences, and beds tolera- bly clean.

8th. My servant being unable to travel, I left him at Pritchard's with Dr. Craik, and proceeded myself with Valen- tine Crawford to Colonel Cresap's, in order to learn from him, being just arrived from England, the partieulars of the grant said to be lately sold to Walpole and others, for a certain tract of country on the Ohio. The distance from Pritchard's to Cresap's, according to computation, is twenty-six miles.

9th. Went up to Romney in order to buy work horses, and with Dr. Craik and my baggage, arrived there about twelve o'clock.

10th. Having purchased two horses, and recovered another which had been gone from me near three years, I dispatched my boy Silas with my two riding horses home, I proceeded on my journey, arriving at one Wise's (Mr. Turner's) mill, about twenty-two miles ; it being reckoned seven to the place where Cox's fort formerly stood, ten to one Parker's, and five after- wards.

11th. The morning being wet and heavy we did not set off till eleven o'clock, and arrived that night at one Killman's, on a branch of George's creek, distance ten and a half measured miles from the branch of the Potomac, where we crossed at the lower end of my deceased brother Augustine's land, known by the name of Pendergrass'. This crossing is two miles from the aforesaid mill and the road bad, as it likewise is at Kill- man's, the country being very hilly and stony. From Kill- man's to Fort Cumberland is the same distance that it is to the crossing above mentioned, and the road from thence to Joliff's by the Old Town, much better.

12th. We left Killman's early in the morning, breakfasted at the Little Meadow ten miles off, and lodged at the Great Crossing twenty miles further, which we found a tolerable good day's work. The country we traveled over to-day was very mountainous and stony, with but very little good land, and that lying in spots.

13th. Set out about sunrise, breakfasted at the Great Meadows, thirteen miles, and reached Captain Crawford's about five o'clock. The land from Gist's to Crawford's is very broken, though not mountainous, in spots exeeedingly rich, and in general free from stone ; Crawford's is very fine land, lying on the Youghiogheny, at a place commonly called Stewart's Crossing.

14th. At Captain Crawford's all day. Went to see a coal mine not far from his house on the banks of the river. The coal seemed of the very best kind, burning freely and abund- ance of it.

15th. Went to view some land which Captain Crawford had taken up for me near the Youghiogheny, distance about twelve miles. This tract which contains about one thousand six hun- dred acres, ineludes some as fine land as ever I saw, and a great deal of rich meadow ; it is well watered, and has a valuable mill-seat, except that the stream is rather too slight, and, it is said, not constant more than seven or eight months in the year ; but on account of the fall and other conveniences, no place can exceed it. In going to this land, I passed through two other tracts which Captain Crawford had taken up for my brothers Samuel and John. I intended to have visited the land which Crawford had purchased for Lund Washington this day also, but time falling short, I was obliged to postpone it. Night came on before I got back to Crawford's, where I found Colonel Stephens. The lands which I passed over to-day, were gen- erally hilly, and the growth chiefly white oak, but very good notwithstanding; and what is extraordinary and contrary to

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES, OHIO.

the property of all other lands I ever saw before, the hills are the richest land ; the soil upon the sides and summits of them being as black as coal, and the growth walnut and cherry. The flats are not so rich, and a good deal more mixed with stone.

16th. At Capt. Crawford's till evening, when I went to Mr. John Stephenson's, on my way to Pittsburgh, and lodged. This day I was visited by one Mr. Ennis, who had traveled down the Little Kanawha, almost from the head to the mouth, on which he says the lands are broken, the bottoms neither very wide nor rich, but covered with beech. At the mouth the lands are good, and continue so up the river. About Wheeling and Fish- er's creek, there is according to his account, a body of fine land. I also saw a son of Capt. John Harden's, who said he had been from the mouth of Little Kanawha to the Big; but his descrip- tion of the land seemed to be so vague and indeterminate, that it was much doubted whether he ever was there or not.

17th. Dr. Craik and myself, with Capt. Crawford and others arrived at Fort Pitt, distance from the crossing, forty-three and a half measured miles. In riding this distance we passed over a great deal of exceedingly fine land, chiefly white oak, es- pecially from Sewickly creek to Turtle creek, but the whole bro- ken; resembling, as I think all the lands in this country do, the Lowdon lands. We lodged in what is called the town, dis- tant about three hundred yards from the fort, at one Semplic's, who keeps a very good house of public entertainment.

The houses, which are built of logs, and ranged in streets, are on the Monongahela, and I suppose may be about twenty in number, and inhabited by Indian traders. The fort is built on the point near the rivers Allegheny and Monongahela, but not so near the pitch of it as Fort Duquesne stood. It is five sided and regular, two of which near the land are of brick, the other stockade. A moat encompasses it. The garrison consists of two companies of Royal Irish, commanded by Captain Edmondson.

18th. Dined in the fort with Colonel Croghan, and the offi- cers of the garrison; supped there also, meeting with great civility from the gentlemen, and engaged to dine next day with Col. Croghan, at his seat, about four miles up the Allegheny.

19th. Received a message from Col. Croghan that the White Mingo and other chiefs of the Six Nations had something to say to me, and desiring that I would be at his house at about eleven, where they were to meet. I went up and received a speech, with a string of wampum, from the White Mingo, to the following effect :

"That as I was a person whom some of them remembered to have seen, when I was sent on an embassy to the French, and most of them had heard of, they were come to bid me welcome to this country, and to desire that the people of Virginia would consider them as friends and brothers, linked together in one chain; and that I would inform the governor that it was their wish to live in peace and harmony with the white people, and that though there had been some unhappy differences between them and the people upon our frontiers, they were all made up, and, they hoped forgotten; and concluded with saying that their brothers of Virginia did not come among them and trade, as the inhabitants of the other provinces did, from whence they werc afraid that we did not look upon them with as friendly an eye as they could wish."

To this I answered, after thanking them for their friendly welcome, "that all the injuries and affronts that had passed on either side were now totally forgotten, and that I was sure nothing was more wished and desired by the people of Virginia than to live in the strictest friendship with them; that the Virginians were a people not so much engaged in trade as the Pennsylvanians, which was the reason of their not being so frequently among them; but that it was possible they might for the time to come have stricter connections with them, and that I would acquaint the government with their desires."

After dining at Col. Croghan's we returned to Pittsburgh, Col. Croghan with us, who intended to accompany us part of the way down the river, having engaged an Indian called Pheasant and one Joseph Nicholson, an interpreter, to attend us the whole voyage; also a young Indian warrior.

20th. We embarked in a large canoe, with sufficient store of provisions and necessaries, and the following persons, besides Dr. Craik and myself, to wit: Capt. Crawford, Joseph Nichol- son, Robert Bell, William Harrison, Charles Morgan and Daniel Rendon, a boy of Capt. Crawford's, and the Indians, who were in a canoe by themselves. From Fort Pitt we sent our horses and boys back to Capt. Crawford's, with orders to meet ns there again on the 14th day of November.

Col. Croghan, Lient. Hamilton and Mr. Magee set out with us. At two o'clock we dined at Mr. Magee's, and encamped

ten miles below, and four above Logstown. We passed several large islands, which appeared to be very good, as the bottoms also did on each side of the river alternately; the hills on one side being opposite the bottoms on the other, which seem gen- erally to be about three or four hundred yards wide, and vice versa.

21st. Left our encampment about six o'clock, and breakfast- ed at Logstown, where we parted with Colonel Croghan and com- pany about nine o'clock. At eleven we came to the mouth of the Big Beaver creek, opposite to which is a good situation for a house, and above it, on the same side, that is the west, there appears to be a fine body of land. About five miles lower down, on the east side, comes in Raccoon creek, at the mouth of which, and up it, appears to be a body of good land also. All the land between this creek and the Monongahela, and for fifteen miles back, is claimed by Colonel Croghan, under a purchase from the Indians, which sale he says is confirmed by his Majesty. On this creek, where the branches thereof interlock with the waters of Shurtee's creek, there is according to Colonel Croghan's account, a body of fine, rich, level land. This tract he wants to sell, and offers it at five pounds sterling per hundred acres, with an exemption of quit-rents for twenty years; after which, to be subject to the payment of four shillings and two-pence sterling per hundred acres ; provided he can sell it in ten thou- sand acre lots. At present, the unsettled state of this country renders any purchase dangerous. From Raccoon creek to Little Beaver creek, appears to me to be little short of ten miles, and about three miles below this, we encamped; after hiding a bar- rel of biscuit on an island, to lighten our canoe.

22d. As it began to snow about midnight, and continued pretty steadily, it was about half-past seven before we left the encampment. At the distance of about eight miles, we came to the mouth of Yellow creek, opposite, or rather below which, appears to be a long bottom of very good land, and the ascent to the hills apparently gradual. There is another pretty large bottom of very good land about two or three miles above this. About eleven or twelve miles from this, and just above what is called the Long Island, which, though so distinguished, is not very remarkable for length, breadth, or goodness, comes in on the east side of the river, a small creek, or run, the name of which I could not learn; and a mile or two below the island, on the west side, comes in Big Stony ercek, not larger in appear- ance than the other, on neither of which does there seem to be any large bottoms or bodies of good land. About seven miles from the last mentioned creek, twenty-eight from our last en- campment, and about seventy-five from Pittsburgh, we came to the Mingo Town, situated on the west side of the river, a little above Cross creek. This place contains about twenty cabins, and seventy inhabitants of the Six Nations.

Had we set off early, and kept constantly at it, we might have reached lower than this place to-day; as the water in many places ran very swift, in general more so than yesterday. The river from Fort Pitt to Logstown, has some ugly rifts and shoals, which we found somewhat difficult to pass, whether from our inexperience of the channel, or not, I cannot under- take to say. From Logstown to the mouth of Little Beaver creek, is much the same kind of water; that is, rapid in some places, gliding gently along in others, and quite still in many. The water from Little Beaver creek to Mingo Town, in general, is swifter than we found it the preceding day, and without any shallows; there being some one part or another always deep, which is a natural consequence, as the river in all the distance from Fort Pitt to this town, has not widened at all, nor do the bottoms appear to be any larger. The hills which come close to the river opposite to each bottom are steep; and on the side in view, in many places, rocky and cragged; but said to abound in good land on the tops. These are not a range of hills, but broken and cut in two, as if there were frequent water courses running through, which, however, we did not perceive to be the case. The river abounds in wild geese, and several kinds of ducks, but in no great quantity. We killed five wild tur- keys to-day. Upon our arrival at the Mingo Town, we received the very disagreeable news of two traders being killed at a town called the Grape-Vine Town, thirty-eight miles below this; which caused us to hesitate whether we should proceed, or wait for further intelligence.

23rd. Several imperfeet accounts coming in, agreeing that only one person was killed, and the Indians not supposing it to be done by their people, we resolved to pursue our passage, till we could get a more distinet account of this transaction. Ac- cordingly, about two o'clock we set out with the two Indians, who were to accompany ns in our canoe, and after about four miles came to the mouth of a ereck on the east side. The

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES, OHIO.

Cross creeks, as they are called, are not large; that on the east side is the biggest. At the Mingo Town we found and left more than sixty warriors, of the Six Nations, going to the Cherokee country, to proceed to war against the Catabas.

About ten miles below the town, we came to two other cross creeks; that on the west is the larger, and called by Nichol- son* French creek. About three miles, or a little more, below this, at the lower point of some islands, which stand contiguous to caeh other, we were told by the Indians, that three men from Virginia had marked the land from hence all the way to Red Stone; that there was a body of exceedingly fine land lying about this place, and up opposite to the Mingo Town, as also down to the mouth of Fishing creek. At this place we en- camped.

24th. We left our eneampment before sunrise, and about six miles below it, we came to the mouth of a small creek, coming in from the castward, called by the Indians Split-Island creek, from its running in against an island. On this creek there is the appearance of good land. Six miles below this again, we came to another crcek on the west side, called by Nicholson, Wheeling ; and about a mile lower down appears to be another small water coming in on the east side, which I remark, be- cause of the scarcity of them, and to show how badly furnished this country is with mill-seats. Two or three miles below this is another run on the west side, up which is a near way by land to Mingo Town; and about four miles lower, comes in another on the east, at which place is a path leading to the settlement at Redstone. About a mile and a half below this comes in Pipe creek, so called by the Indians from a stone which is found here, out of which they make pipes. Opposite to this, that is, on the east side, is a bottom of exceedingly rich land ; but as it seems to be low, I am apprehensive that it is subject to be over- flowed. This bottom ends where the effects of a hurricane ap- pear, by the destruction and havoc among the trees. Two or three miles below the Pipe creek, is a pretty large creek on the west side, called by Nicholson, Fox-Grape-Vine, by others Captina creek, on which, eight miles up, is the town called Grape-Vine town ; and at the mouth of it is the place where it was said the trader was killed. To this place we came about three o'clock in the afternoon, and finding no body there, we agreed to encamp, that Nicholson and one of the Indians might go up to town, and inquire into the truth of the report concern- ing the murder.

25th. About seven o'clock, Nicholson and the Indian re- turned; they found no body at the town but two old women, the men being hunting; from these they learned that the trader was not murdered, but drowned in attempting to cross the Ohio ; and that only one boy, belonging to the traders, was in these parts; the trader, his father, being gone for horses to take home their skins. About half an hour after seven, we set out from our encampment, around which, and up the creek is a body of fine land.

In our passage down to this place, we saw innumerable quan- tities of turkeys, and many deer watering and browsing on the shore side, some of which we killed. Neither yesterday nor the day before did we pass any rifts, or very rapid water, the river gliding gently along ; nor did we perceive any alteration in the general face of the country, except that the bottoms seemed to be getting a little longer and wider, as the bends of the river grew larger.

About five miles from the Vine creek, comes in a very large creek to the eastward, called by the Indians, Cut creek, from a town or tribe of Indians, which they say was cut off entirely in a very bloody battle between them and the Six Nations. This creek empties just at the lower end of an island, and is seventy or eighty vards wide; and I faney it is the creek commonly called Wheeling, by the people of Redstone. It extends, accord- ing to the Indians account, a great way, and interlocks with the branches of Split-Island creek, abounding in very fine bot- toms, and exceeding good land. Just below this, on the west side, comes in a small run; and about five miles below it, on the west side also, another creek empties, called by the Indians, Broken-Timber creek; so named from the timber that is de- stroyed on it by a hurricane ; on the head of this, was a town of the Delawares, which is now deserted. Two miles lower down, on the same side, is another creek, smaller than the last, and bearing, according to the Indians, the same name. Oppo- site to these two creeks, on the east side, appears to be a large bottom of good land. About two miles below the last mention- ed creek, on the east side, at the end of the bottom before men- tioned, comes in a small creek. Seven miles from this is Mud-

dy creek, on the cast side of the river, a pretty large ereek, which heads with some of the waters of the Monongahela, ac- cording to the Indian's aceount, and is bordered by bottoms of very good land; but in general, the hills are steep, and the country broken. At the mouth of this creek, is the largest flat I have seen upon the river; the bottom extending two or three miles up the river above it, and a mile below ; though it does not seem to be of the richest kind. About half way in the Long Reach we encamped, opposite to the beginning of a large bottom, on the east side of the river. At this place we threw out some lines, and found a catfish of the size of our largest river catfish, hooked to one of them in the morning, though it was of the smallest kind here. We found no rifts in this day's passage, but pretty swift water in some places, and still in others. We found the bottoms increased in size, both as to length and breadth, and the river more choked up with fallen trecs and the bottom of the river next to the shores, rather more muddy, but in general stony, as it has been all the way down.

26th. Left our encampment at half an hour after six o'clock, and passed a small run on the west side, about four miles lower. At the lower end of Long Reach, and for some distance up it on the East side, is a large bottom, but low and covered with beech near the river shore, which is no indication of good land. The Long Reach is a straight course of the river for about eighteen or twenty miles, which appears the more extraordinary, as the Ohio in general is remarkably crooked. There are several islands in this Reach, some containing one hundred or more acres of land; but all I apprehend liable to be overflowed.

At the end of this reach we found Martin and Lindsay, two traders, and from them we learned that the person drowned was one Phillips, attempting, in company with Rogers, another Indian trader, to swim the river with their horses at an im- proper place, Rogers himself narrowly escaping. Five miles lower down comes in a large creek from the East, right against an island of good land, at least a mile or two in length. At the North of this creek, the name of which I could not learn, ex- cept that it was called by some Ball's creek, from one Ball that hunts on it, is a bottom of good land, though rather too much mixed with beech.

Opposite to this island the Indians showed us a buffalo path, the tracks of which we saw. Five or six miles below the last mentioned creek we came to the Three Islands. Below these islands is a large body of flat land, with a water course running through it on the East side, and the hills back neither so high nor steep in appearance as they are up the river. On the other hand, the bottoms do not appear rich, though much lower and wider. The bottom last mentioned is upon a straight reach of the river, I suppose six or eight miles in length. About twelve miles below the Three Islands we encamped, just above the mouth of the creek, which appears pretty large at the mouth and just above an island. All the lands from a little below the creek which I have distinguished by the name of Ball's creek, appear to be level, with some hillocks intermixed, as far as we could see into the country. We met with no rifts to-day, but some pretty strong water; upon the whole tolerably gentle. The sides of the river were a good deal incommoded with old trees, which impeded our passage a little. This day proved clear and pleasant, the only day sinee the 18th that it has not rained or snowed, or threatened the one or the other.

27th. Left our encampment a quarter before seven, and after passing the creek near which we lay, and another of much the same size, and on the same side; also an island about two miles in length, but not wide, we came to the mouth of the Mus- kingum, distant from our encampment about four miles. This river is about one hundred and fifty yards wide at the mouth; it runs out in a gentle current and clear stream, and is navigable a great way into the country for canoes. From the Muskingum to the Little Kanawha is about thirteen miles. This about as wide at the mouth as the Muskingum, but the water is much deeper. It runs up towards the inhabitants of Monongahela, and according to the Indians account, forks about forty or fifty miles from the mouth, and the ridge between the two prongs leads directly to the settlement. To this fork and above, the water is navigable for eanoes. On the upper side of this river there appears to be a bottom of exceedingly rich land, and the country from hence quite up to the Three Islands level and in appearance fine. The Ohio running around it in the form of a horse shoe, forms a neck of flat land, which added to that run- ning up the second Long Reach aforementioned, cannot contain less than fifty thousand acres in view.

About six or seven miles below the mouth of the Little Kana- wha, we came to a small creek on the west side, which the

#Joseph Nicholson, the Interpreter, who accompanied Washington.

PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING, BARNESVILLE, OHIO.

DR. C. W. CLANCY.

+ 43

FRUIT MOUNTAIN FARM, ON THE NATIONAL ROAD, 6 MILES W. FROM WHEELING (FARM OF 320 ACRES.) THE RESIDENCE OF CHARLES H. ARRICK, RICHLAND TWP. BELMONT CO OHIO.

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES, OHIO.

Indians ealled Little Hockhoeking; but before we did this, we passed another small creek on the same side near the mouth of that river, and a cluster of islands afterwards. The lands for two or three miles below the mouth of the Little Kanawha, on both sides of the Ohio, appear broken and indifferent ; but op- posite to the Little Hockhocking there is a bottom of good land, through which there runs a small water course. I suppose there may be, of this bottom and flat land together, two or three thousand aeres. The lower end of this bottom is oppo- site to a small island, of which I dare say, little is to be seen when the river is high. About eight miles below Little Hoek- hocking we eneamped, opposite the mouth of Great Hockhoek- ing, which, though so called, is not a large water ; though the Indians say canoes go up it for forty or fifty miles. Since we left the Little Kanawha the lands appear neither so level nor so good. The bends of the river and bottoms are longer, but not so rich as on the upper part of the river.

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.

History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 20

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 728

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728