USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County : together with historic notes on the Northwest, and the State of Ohio, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and all other authentic sources > Part 23
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town, corn, and everything tending to support the savage foe. It is said that on the approach of the army, men, women, and children fled to the forest, leaving everything behind them. Five towns, during this expedition, were left in ashes, and the work of destruc- tion was complete. This campaign so thoroughly crushed the Indians, that no more organized raids were made against the sur- rounding settlements, and the termination of the Revolutionary War left them to their own resources."
Numerous expeditions took place from this till the general out- break in May, 1790. The militia, under General Harmer, attack the Miami villages. Colonel Hardin is defeated October 19th, and
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again on the 22d. May 15, 1791, St. Clair organizes his army at Fort Washington, September 17th begins his march, and on Novem- ber 4th is defeated.
From 1780 to 1791, the armies of Clarke, Harmer, and St. Clair had marched through this section of the country. Here was the favorite home of the Indians; their corn-fields, their stronghold, their capital. Here were their councils held, their war dances per- formed. From here they radiated on their missions of murder and. rapine. Here was the hot-bed of Indian hostility. The triumphs over Harmer and St. Clair incited the savages to renewed barbari- ties. The frontiers were in continual apprehension of danger. They would retire at night, expecting to awake in flames, by the lurid glare of which the savages would be seen, waving the wreak- ing tomahawk, bathed in the blood of their wives and their children. General Wayne meets and conquers the Indians, after a severe battle, August 20, 1794. This decisive battle virtually ended the Indian trouble in the northwestern frontiers, and prepared the way for settlement.
Eleven years prior to this battle of General Wayne, Washington, seeing the difficulties that would necessarily grow out of individua. settlements in the Indian country, on the 7th day of September, 1783, in a letter to James Duane, a member of congress, urged the necessity of making the settlements more compact, and prohibiting individual purchase of the Indians, even punishing all such pur- chases, not made by congress or the state legislatures, as felonies. To this end, congress did, on the 18th day of April, 1783, urge the necessity of a cession of the western lands, and on the 13th day of September following, stated the terms upon which it would receive a deed from Virginia, to which she acceded, as we have seen, on ' the 20th of December of the same year; and on the 1st day of March, 1784, the deed was made, and signed by Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe, delegates in con- gress from Virginia.
It was not deemed advisable to await the settlement of all ques- tions of cession before taking steps to conciliate the Indians and extinguish their title. On the 22d of September all purchases of, or settlements upon, Indian lands were forbidden by congress, and on the 15th of October the commissioners to treat with the Indians were instructed-
" To require the delivery of all prisoners; to inform the Indians of the boundaries between the British possessions and the United
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States; and to negotiate for all the land east of the line proposed by Washington, namely : from the mouth of the Great Miami to Mad River (Dayton); thence to Fort Miami, on the Maumee; and thence down the Maumee to the lake, etc."
It is believed the first treaty with the Indians extinguishing their title to the lands comprising the present territory of our county, was held at Fort McIntosh, January 21, 1785, at which the United States were represented by George R. Clarke, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee, and the chiefs of the Wyandots, Delawares, Chippe- was, and Ottawa Indians.
The conditions of this treaty were, that three chiefs, one from the Wyandots, and two from the Delaware nations, should be de- livered to the commissioners, to be held until all prisoners then in possession of the nations represented should be given up. The boundary line between the United States and the said Indians, was to begin at the river Cuyahoga, and run up that river to the port- age between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; then down the said branch to the forks at the crossing place above Fort Lawrence ; thence westwardly to the portage of the Big Miami which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch (Laramie's Creek) the fort stood, (Fort Laramie) which was taken by the French in 1752; then along the said portage to the Great Miami or Ome (Maumee) river; and down the southeast side of the same to its mouth; thence along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, where it began.
At the treaty of Fort Harmer, January 9, 1789, between Arthur St. Clair, Governor of the Northwest Territory, and the Wyandots, Delawares, Ottawas, and others, the treaty of Fort McIntosh was confirmed; and in consideration of peace then granted, and the presents they then received, as well as a quantity of goods amount- ing to $6,000, which were delivered to them, they released and quit claimed, and ceded to the United States all the land east, south, and west of the lines above described.
Subsequently, by the treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795, the boundary lines of the two former treaties were confirmed, so far as from the mouth of the Cuyahoga to the crossing place above Fort Lawrence. "Thence," says this treaty, "westwardly to a fork of that branch of the Great Miami River running into the Ohio, at or near which stood Laramie's store." (Laramie's store, or Picka- willany, was at the mouth of Laramie Creek, in Miami County, but Fort Laramie was sixteen miles up the creek, in Shelby County,
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
evidently the spot mentioned.) Instead of running up the Mau- mee, -- which was formerly called the Miami of the Lake,-and along the southern shore of Lake Erie to the place of beginning, the Greenville treaty line runs to Fort Recovery, thence south in a direct line to the Ohio, intersecting it opposite the mouth of the Kentucky river. (See preceding pages.)
By this last treaty all other treaties were confirmed and ratified ; and all the territory northwest of the river Ohio, east and south of the above boundary lines, was ceded and relinquished forever by the Indians, " And these lands, or any part of them, shall never hereafter be made a cause or pretense, on the part of the said tribes, or any of them, of war or injury to the United States, or any other people thereof.
" In consideration of the peace now established, and of the ces- sions and relinquishment of lands made in the preceding article by the said tribes of Indians, and to manifest the liberality of the United States, as the great means of rendering this peace strong and perpetual, the United States now deliver to the said Indian tribes a quantity of goods to the value of twenty thousand dollars, the receipt whereof they do hereby acknowledge; and hencefor- ward, every year, forever, the United States will deliver, at some convenient place northward of the river Ohio, like useful goods, suited to the circumstances of the Indians, of the value of nine thousand five hundred dollars; reckoning that value at the first cost of the goods in the city or place in the United States where they shall be procured. The tribes to which these goods are to be annually delivered, and the proportions in which they are to be delivered, are the following:
" To the Wyandots, the amount of one thousand dollars.
" To the Delawares, the amount of one thousand dollars.
" To the Shawanoes, the amount of one thousand dollars.
" To the Miamis, the amount of one thousand dollars.
"To the Ottawas, the amount of one thousand dollars.
"To the Chippewas, the amount of one thousand dollars.
" To the Pottawatamies, the amount of one thousand dollars.
" And to the Kickapoo, Wea, Eel River, Piankeshaw, and Kas- . kaskia tribes, the amount of five hundred dollars each.
" To prevent any misunderstanding about the Indian lands re- linquished by the United States, in the fourth article, it is now explicitly declared that the meaning of that relinquishment is this : The Indian tribes who have a right to these lands are quietly to
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enjoy them, hunting, planting and dwelling thereon, so long as they please, without any molestation from the United States. But when those tribes, or any of them, shall be disposed to sell their lands, or any part of them, they are to be sold only to the United States; and until such sale, the United States will protect all the said Indian tribes in the quiet enjoyment of their lands against all citizens of the United States; and against all other white persons who intrude upon the same. 'And the said Indians again acknowl- edge themselves to be under the protection of the United States, and no other power whatever.
" The Indians, or the United States, may remove and punish in- truders on Indian lands.
"Indians nfay hunt within ceded lands.
" Trade shall be opened in substance, as by provisions in treaty of Fort Harmer.
" All injuries shall be referred to law, not privately avenged ; and all hostile plans known to either, shall be revealed to the other party.
" All previous treaties annulled."
This great and abiding peace document was signed by the various nations named in the fourth article, and dated August 3d, 1795. It was laid before the Senate, December 9th, and ratified December 22d. So closed the old Indian wars of the West.
Thus have we endeavored to trace the history of our county, from the original grant of King James I, April 10, 1606, to Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Sommers, Richard Hackluit, and Ed- ward Maria Wingfield, " adventurers of and for our city of Lon- don," with various additions, May 23, 1609, and March, 1611, (vide sup.) to its cession to the United States by Virginia, March 1, 1784; and on till its final conveyance by the Indians, under the treaties above mentioned, which freed it from savage depredation, prepared it for individual purchase and settlement, and cleared the way for the advancing tide of immigration, which was rapidly moving along the banks of every stream emptying into that great artery of the northwest, the Ohio River, appropriately called by the French " La Belle Rivier."
During the consummation of these various treaties, ranging from the year 1785 to 1795, a portion of the country began to be sur- veyed, (vide ante pages,) which was followed by purchase and actual occupation. A company, composed of officers and soldiers of the Revolution, was formed in Boston, March, 1786, with Gen.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
Rufus Putnam as agent, who, in the spring of 1788, with forty- seven others from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, erected a stockade, and formed a permanent settlement known as Marietta. In the winter of 1786, a Mr. Stites, of Redstone, visited congress, then at New York, with a view to settling a tract of coun- try between the two Miamis. John Cleves Symmes, then a mem- ber from New Jersey, becoming interested in the scheme, and with an eye to speculation, determined to make a personal investigation ; the result of which was the purchase of one million acres between the Miamis, in his name. Soon after, he sold to Mathias Denman, and others, that portion which now forms the site of Cincinnati, and in the fall of 1789 several families from New York, New Jer- sey, and Redstone, descended the Ohio River in flat-boats, as far as the mouth of the Little Miami. As the Indians manifested hostile intentions, forty soldiers, under Lieutenant Kersey, joined them as an escort and guard. They erected at first a single block house; soon adding to it, however, three others. Subsequently a stockade fort was built on a spot now included within the town of Columbia. In June, 1789, Major Doughty, with one hundred and forty regu- lars, put up four block houses opposite the mouth of the Licking, on the purchase by Denham of Symmes, and about the same time built Fort Washington. Soon after, General Harmer arrived with three hundred more troops, and occupied the fort. Assured now of protection, Israel Ludlow, Denham, and Patterson, began the erection of cabins along the river, and within range of the fort. During the following winter Ludlow surveyed and laid out the town of Losantiville: (A quadroon production of the Latin os, Greek anti, and French ville, and L unknown.) When General St. Clair came there to reside as Governor of the Northwest Territory, he changed the name to Cincinnati.
In 1787 the reserved lands of Virginia were examined, and en- tries made. In the following year congress protested the validity of these claims, which, however, was withdrawn in 1790. In this year Nathanial Massie entered into an agreement with certain per- sons to survey these lands, and lay them open for individual pur- chase; establishing a town above Maysville, called Manchester, from which they made surveying expeditions during the years from 1791 to 1796.
Symmes having originally contracted for two million acres of land, and under this contract having disposed of portions of it to settlers along the Little Miami, and vicinity of the present site of
1.7
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.
Dayton, his failure to pay for but two hundred and forty-eight thousand five hundred and forty acres threw these purchasers to the mercy of the federal rulers, until preemption rights were secured to them by the act of 1799.
A few days after Wayne's treaty, St. Clair, Wilkinson, Jonathan Dayton, and Israel Ludlow, purchased the seventh and eighth ranges of Symmes, between Mad River and the Little Miami. On the 21st of September, 1795, Daniel C. Cooper undertook to mark out and survey a road on these lands, which was completed by John Dunlap, October 4th, the same year. November 4th, Israel Ludlow laid off Dayton, and the lots were disposed of by raffle.
As the Indians receded, the bold and adventurous pioneers fol- lowed closely in their wake. Radiating from their stronghold, they assembled in groups, and put out their little patches of corn ; and shooting out in different directions, the little settlements spread toward all points of the compass, until in passing through the dense forest, the lonely cabin was frequently to be met with, and the smoke might be seen curling up through the closely intertwin- ing branches of the patriarchal oaks.
ORGANIZATION AND BOUNDARY.
Thoroughly to comprehend the institution and boundary of Fay- ette, it will be necessary to trace the territory from which it was taken.
July 27, 1788, Washington County was formed under the terri- torial government, and included all that part of Ohio east of a line . drawn from Cleveland, up the Cuyahoga, down the Tuscarawas; thence west to the road from the Shawanoes town on the Scioto to Sandusky; thence south to and down the Scioto to its mouth.
January 2, 1790, Hamilton was organized, embracing the terri- tory between the two Miamis, as far north from the Ohio as the "standing stone forks" of the Big Miami. June 22, 1798, it was changed so as to include all that part of Indiana lying between the Greenville treaty line, and the western line of Ohio, and all that part of Ohio west of the Little Miami, to the lower Shawanoes towns on the Scioto, and extending north to the southern line of Wayne.
The county of Wayne originally began at the Cuyahoga, ran up that river and down the Tuscarawas to the portage above Ft. Law- rence; thence west to the east line of Hamilton; thence west, northerly, to the portage of the Miami and St. Marys; thence west, northerly, to the portage of the Wabash and Maumee, where Ft. Wayne now is, extending to the southern point of Lake Michi- gan ; thence along its western shore to the northwest part; thence north to the territorial boundary in Lake Superior, and with the said boundary through lakes Huron, Sinclair, and Erie, to the place of beginning.
Ross County was established August 20, 1792. " Beginning at the forty-second mile tree, on the line of the original grant of land by the United States to the Ohio Company, which line was run by Israel Ludlow." This " forty-second mile tree" was forty miles almost due north from Pomeroy, on the Ohio River, and a little distance southwest from Athens, in Athens County. From this
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ORGANIZATION AND BOUNDARY.
point it extended west into the western part of what is now High- land County, about ten miles southwest from Hillsboro; thence r,orth to the southern boundary line of Wayne County, described above; thence east on said line, to a point on the present south- erne boundary line of Wayne County, almost due south from Wooster, and a very little east of the eighty-second meridian west longitude; thence south to the place of beginning. The eighty-second meridian west from Greenwich is perhaps not more than a mile west of the original eastern line of Ross County.
It will be observed that the original east line of Hamilton was the Little Miami. Yet in the description of Wayne we find the words : "thence by a west line to the eastern boundary of Hamil- ton " (" which is a due north line from the lower Shawanoes towns on the Scioto"). Also, that a portion of Hamilton, beginning at the mouth of Eagle Creek, was attached to Adams.
Highland County originally began at the twenty mile tree, due north from the mouth of Elk Creek, on the Ohio; ran east twelve miles; then northeastwardly to the eighteen mile tree from the Scioto, at the intersection of Ross, Clermont, and Adams lines ; "thence to the mouth of the rocky fork of Paint Creek; thence up main Paint to the south line of Franklin County (now Picka- way); thence with said line west to the east line of Greene County; thence with said line south to the southeast corner of the same; thence with the south line west, to the northeast corner of Cler- mont (certainly Warren) ; and from the beginning west to the north fork of White Oak Creek; thence north to the line of Warren County ; thence with said line east to corner of Clermont and War- ren." (This description is vague.)
Fayette was formed January 19, 1810,-took effect March 1st,- from Ross and Highland. Beginning at the southwest corner of Pickaway, running north "with the line of said county to the corner of Madison ; thence west with said line to the line of Greene County ; thence south with Greene County to the southeast corner thereof; thence east five miles; thence south to the line of High- land County ; thence east with said line to Paint Creek; thence in a straight line to place of beginning." All the lower portion was taken from Highland, and the upper from Ross.
THE PIONEER.
The pioneers were limited in learning, but instructed in their experiences, stern in their virtues, sturdy in their independence, marked in their individuality, frank in their intercourse, hospitable in their homes, fearless in danger.
Hospitality was a leading feature of the pioneer. The sick and needy were as well cared for as they have been since. Faith, Hope and Charity were organized. Indeed, these Christian graces did exist at that early day, and were made manifest in the good deeds of the people towards one another, but the process of com- bination came at a later period. There was a community of social feeling, and nothing like aristocracy or assumed superiority on ac- count of the possession of a few more acres or higher birth show- ed itself. Nothing of caste to mar the free intercourse of all on the common platform of equality. It can not be disguised, however, that there were persons who gained precedence on account of su- perior intelligence, and who were looked upon as a kind of oracle in the management of the social, moral and financial affairs of the community in which they resided.
The social intercourse among the young people was of the most pleasing nature. Though they met "on the level and parted on the square," there were some of the young men more than others cavaliers, and some of the ladies aspired to reign as belles of so- ciety, yet there was no feeling of envy or jealousy ever engendered. Modern balls and parties had not been introduced : indeed the time was all too nearly occupied, both in the field and in the house, to indulge in amusements.
There was meeting on Sunday, and the young people would al- ways attend, either walking or going on horseback. The young man would take his sweetheart up behind him on his horse, and all parties would enjoy this mode of travel exceedingly. Young gentlemen were then called boys, and the young ladies were called girls.
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THE PIONEER.
The means of transportation within the reach of the pioneer were most simple and laborious. The ox-wagon, or possibly four horses, when able to have them, conveyed the effects, while the long journey from Virginia, Pennsylvania, or Kentucky, was per- formed on foot; sleeping by the camp-fire or the wagon at night; depending on the rifle oftimes for food; burying themselves in a dense forest; cleaving by slow and laborious degrees a little spot for a rude log cabin; surrounded by wild beasts and still wilder Indians. Emerging from his cabin with his ax on his shoulder, the sturdy woodsman might be seen. With keen eye he surveys the forest round about in search of lurking danger, then-
" Loud sounds the ax, redoubling strokes on strokes ; On all sides round the forest hurls her oaks ; Headlong, deep-echoing groan the thickets brown, Then rustling, crackling, crashing thunder down."
The trunks were trimmed, the brush piled, and with the help of neighbors the log-rolling took place ; and night was turned into day when the surrounding forests were lit up by the leaping blaze of the huge brush heap and the piles of logs.
16
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS,
JOHN POPEJOY
Was one of the first residents of Washington; came in 1811, pur- chased a lot and erected a log cabin thereon. Shortly after his ar- rival he was elected justice of the peace. He was considered rather eccentric ; made his legal decisions in accordance with his own ideas of justice, regardless of the laws or testimony bearing on the case. He kept no docket, but made a memorandum of all legal transac- tions on a piece of paper which was placed in a crevice in his cabin. He was a native of Virginia, and died in 1816 or 1817. He had two sons, John and Edward. Both were extensive dealers in stock. Edward subsequently removed to the far west; John died in this county.
JACOB JAMISON
Came to this county several years before its organization. Several years after his arrival he purchased land situated about two miles southwest of the village of Washington, at which place he resided until his death. He was a good citizen, a kind neighbor, but un- fortunately had an ungovernable temper. Shortly after locating in the county, while living in its northeastern part, he got into a serious difficulty with a neighbor, and was thrice stabbed in the breast with a dirk in the hands of his antagonist. The wound inflicted was a severe one and it was at first supposed that it was mortal, but after being confined to his couch two months he recovered. He was elected successively to the offices of justice of the peace, collector, commissioner and associate judge, serving faithfully and satisfac- torily.
SAMUEL WADDLE,
Judge Daniel McLean's step-father, was a Kentuckian by birth ; re- moving to Ross County, Ohio, from whence he came to Fayette, in
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SKETCHES OF EARLY SETTLERS.
March, 1810, locating on a piece of ground four or five miles south of Washington. . During the Indian troubles of 1812, he engaged in the defense of his country, being chosen major. In 1814 he re- moved to Washington and two years later engaged in the mercan- tile business, continuing in the same till his death, which occurred in 1828. In 1814 he purchased seven lots in the town of Washing- ton, for which he paid in cash $10,000. After his death the prop- erty did not realize $1,000 outside of the dower set aside for his widow. This instance is cited to illustrate the terrible depreciation of property during that period.
JOHN DEWITT,
Who was one of the first settlers, was born in Clark County, Ken- tucky. Accompanied by his uncle, Fredrick Bray, and his broth- ers, Henry and Gabriel, he left his native soil and came to this state, settling in Ross County ; this was in the year 1806. The party traveled the entire distance on foot ; all Kentuckians were great hunters and therefore good travelers. It is said that Henry Dewitt frequently walked seventy-five miles in a single day. Dewitt remained in Ross County two years and while there entered into the bonds of matrimony with Miss Polly Barker. Soon after the mar- riage the young couple removed to Fayette County, settling on land located four miles southeast of Washington. Jesse, the youngest son, is at present living on the original homestead. He purchased a small farm at first but added to the same and finally owned sev- eral thousand acres. This land was originally owned by Baron Steuben, Mckay, Duncan McArthur and others, and is situated in Wayne Township. In 1812 Mr. Dewitt volunteered to assist in de- fending the Americans against the British and their allies, the In- dians, and was stationed at Upper Sandusky, where he remained un- til peace was declared. He was one of the first constables, was then elected justice of the peace and held the position for many years. He was considered one of the best hunters, hunting being a favorite pastime with him. When the first court was established in this county, the legal talent of Chillicothe were in the habit of leaving their homes on the day preceding the opening of court, travel to the house of Dewitt and remain over night; there they were always accorded a warm reception. Governors McArthur, Allen and Thurman, were frequent guests at his house, Ministers
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