USA > Ohio > Hancock County > History of Hancock County, Ohio : containing a history of the county, its townships, towns portraits of early settlers and prominent men, biographies, history of the Northwest Territory, history of Ohio, statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc > Part 9
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The intention of the Indians was to drive the whites east of the mountains, destroying their numerous strongholds in Pennsylvania and Virginia, if they
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failed in their hope of utterly exterminating them. Pontiac had effected a consolidation of the tribes ranging from Mackinaw to North Carolina, thus being enabled to swoop down upon all the settlements simultaneously. A deadly beginning was made in the Ohio Valley, and only two or three English traders escaped out of the one hundred and twenty located in that vicinity. The forts at Presque Isle, St. Joseph and Mackinaw, were captured amid scenes of slaughter too terrible to perpetuate in description. The years 1763 and 1764 were literally drenched in human carnage and anguish. Ohio was a great field of crime, murder, pain and horror. The expeditions of Bradstreet and Bouquet crushed the war in 1764, and Pontiac with his Ottawas removed to the Maumee and settled. English settlement now progressed with great rapidity, but this was destined to be disturbed in 1774, by the action of Lord Dunmore, who led an expedition against the tribes of the Ohio country, termi- nated by his treaty on the Scioto plains. At this period, the colonists were not in strict harmony with England, and the spirit of revolution was spreading every day.
When Lord Dunmore made his treaty, the affirmation was made and gained ground that he, being a thorough loyalist, had compromised under such terms as held the Indians British allies against the settlers. Directly following this treaty, was the deliberate murder of a number of Indians, near Wheeling, including the family of the great chief, Logan-which inaugurated retaliating atrocities.
In the year 1773, July 4, the first white child was born within the present limits of Ohio, and was christened John L. Roth, son of a Mora- vian missionary. All the settlers of these Moravian towns on the Muskingum were made prisoners in September of the same year. Heckwelder was trans- ported to Detroit, but English tyranny failed to find any evidence against him or his colaborers, and they were reluctantly released, and returned to their fam- ilies in Sandusky. Poverty added to their sufferings, and in the forlorn hope of finding a remnant of their property at the old settlements, which might assist in mitigating their necessities, they wearily went thitherward. They began gathering their grain, but the Wyandots attacked them, and many lives were lost. Frontiersmen had also grown jealous of them, and a body of about ninety marched out together, for the fiendish purpose of pillaging, slaughtering and laying waste all Moravian towns and posts. With the wily insidiousness of savages, they went about their diabolical plan. The Moravians were cordial and bade this band welcome, when they reached their towns in the guise of friend- ship. Williamson, the leader, and the gleaners, were called from the fields, when, to the dismay of these trusting and frank people, they were all bound, and only fifteen out of the marauding band of ninety were in favor of even sparing the lives of these hapless men, women and children. Forty men, twenty-two women and thirty-four children were then cruelly and heartlessly murdered, their sufferings laughed to scorn, and the last sound that fell on their
Lewis Dukes . fr
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ears was exultant derision. Succeeding this tragic event was the expedition against the Indian towns upon the Sandusky. The hostile Indians had been making frequent incursions upon the settlements of Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, destroying both life and property. There seemed to be no bounds to their bloody work, and it became necessary, for the peace and safety of the settlers, to take some measures to prevent their outrages. Accordingly, in May, 1782, Gen. William Irvine, who was then commander of the Western Military Department, with headquarters at Fort Pitt, called a council of the officers of his department to meet at Fort Pitt. At this meeting it was de- cided to form and equip a body of men, and make an expedition into the Indian country. Upper Sandusky, then the rendezvous of the hostile Wyan- dots, Delawares, Shawanese and Mingoes, was to be the point of attack.
Col. William Crawford led the expedition, which counted 480 men. Warn- ing had in some manner reached the towns, and the troops found them de- serted. But the Indians were incensed, and their wrath had not driven them to hiding-places, but to a preparation to meet their foes. They fought desper- ately, and Crawford's troops were defeated and scattered, many being capt- ured, and among them Col. Crawford himself. It is hardly probable that Crawford could justly expect much mercy at the hands of his captors. Ac- counts state that Crawford implored tbe aid of Girty, and at last secured a promise to use his power to obtain the Colonel's pardon. However, this was of no avail, and it is doubtful whether Girty was disposed to intercede. The prisoners were tortured and put to death, and Crawford's agonies were pro- tracted as long as possible. Dr. Knight managed to disable the Indian who had him in charge, and made his escape to the settlements, where he related the result of the expedition and the tortures of the captured.
On October 27, 1784, a treaty was concluded at Fort Stanwix, with the sachems and warriors of the Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas, Onei- das and Tuscaroras, and the Six Nations then ceded to the Colonial Govern- ment all claims to the country west of a line defined by the western boundary to the Ohio-thus rendering the Indian claim to a large portion of Ohio lands practically extinct.
Although the French and Indian war was a series of heart-rending events, it was a serious and remarkable school of discipline for the untrained troops which soon engaged in the Revolutionary struggle. On the fields of Ohio, many valuable officers, who earned distinction in the war of independence, learned their first lessons in intrepid valor.
During the Revolution, the colonial troops were engaged east of the mount- ains, and western settlements and frontier people were left alone to defend themselves and their property against encroachments and attacks.
The Indian tribes again became belligerent, and united with the English against the " Americans." The latter held a line of posts along the Upper Ohio, while the British were stationed in the old French strongholds on the lakes and the Mississippi. The unscrupulous whites and Indians ranged at ran- dom between this boundary and the Cuyahoga, thence southerly to the Ohio,
5
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thus including the Scioto and Miami Valleys. Southeastern Ohio constituted " the neutral ground."
Gen. Clarke's expedition, although chiefly confined to Indiana and Illinois. greatly influenced the settlement of Ohio. His exploits and the resolution of his troops were chiefly instrumental in holding the country west of the Alle- ghanies, and insuring its possession by the United States during the Revolution. The British had been emphatic, in the Paris treaty, at the time of the settlement of the French and English difficulties, in demanding the Ohio River as the northern boundary of the United States. The American Commissioners relied upon Gen. Clarke's valor and energy in holding the country west of the Alle- ghanies, which he had conquered, and the British Commissioners were compelled to give their consent, under civil and military measures. In 1783, by the treaty of Paris, at the close of the Revolutionary war, the English relinquished all rights to the fertile territory between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi, and the United States held undisputed possession.
January 10, 1786, Gens. Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper circulated a pamphlet, proposing the formation of a company for the purpose of settling the Ohio lands, and soliciting the attention and consideration of all those desiring a future home and prosperity. A meeting was also called, to assemble during the following February, and select delegates to represent each county in Massachu- setts. These dignitaries should convene during the month of March, at the " Bunch of Grapes " tavern, in Boston, for the purpose of definitely forming the association, and adopting such measures as would benefit all directly interested. The meeting and " convention " followed, and the subscription books were opened. One million dollars, chiefly represented by Continental certificates, was the price of the land. The shares were valued at $1,000 each, and there was a division of a thousand shares. The first payment was to be $10 per share, this money to be set aside for such expenses as might accrue. A year's interest was to be devoted to the establishment of the settlement, and those families who were unable to incur the expense of moving were to be assisted. Those who purchased shares to the number of twenty were entitled to a representation by an agent, who was permitted to vote for Directors. This plan matured and was acted upon during the following year. It may be that the action of Connecti- cut, in ceding her territorial claims to the General Government, with few excep- tions, greatly encouraged this new undertaking. That tract was, until recently, designated the " Western Reserve "-an extent 170 miles from the western boundary of Pennsylvania, and parallel thereto, being reserved.
On October 27, 1787, a contract was made between the Board of the Treas- ury, for the United States, and Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent, agents for the Directors of the New England Ohio Company, for the purchase of a tract of land, bounded by the Ohio, and from the mouth of the Scioto to the inter- section of the western boundary of the seventh townships, then surveying ; thence by said boundary to the northern boundary of the tenth township from
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the Ohio ; thence, by a due west line, to the Scioto; thence, by the Scioto, to the beginning.
However fertile and attractive Ohio was known to have been, settlement did not gain rapidly after the close of the war with England, although the United States has gained her freedom. It was more than six years after Cornwallis laid down his sword, before a white settlement was formed on the Ohio side of the river. The French and Indian war had incited the English to be jealous of her colonial conquests, and mistrusting their loyalty, they had, so soon as the French claims were annulled, taken measures to crush all colonial claims also, and a royal proclamation rescinded all colonial land grants and charters, holding all the country west of the sources of the Atlantic rivers under the protection and sovereignty of the king of Great Britain, for the use of the Indians. All white persons were forbidden to remain or settle within the prescribed limits. Parlia- ment then attached this tract to Quebec, and the English Government felt assured that the thirteen colonies were restricted and held secure east of the Alleghanies.
The result of the war between the colonies and England did not constitute an Indian treaty. Although England signed over her title and right, the sava- ges held the land and ignored all white agreements, one way or the other. Whenever an attempt at settlement was undertaken, Indian depredations proved disastrous. The tribes were encouraged by the English fur traders, and the English commandant at Detroit incited them to destroy all Americans who attempted to usurp the rights of red men.
Added to this serious difficulty was the unsettled debate regarding State claims, which rendered a title precarious. A treaty, signed at Fort McIntosh, previous to the war, and authenticated, shows that during the conflict the Dela- wares and Wyandots occupied the Indian and British frontier, on the southern shore of Lake Erie, from the Cuyahoga to the Maumee, and from the lake to the sources of its tributaries. Later, these two tribes ceded to the United States "the neutral ground," by warranty deed, and by quit-claim, the terri- tory south and west of the described tract, set apart for their use.
By special measures, the grant of Congress in the matter of the Ohio Com- pany extended to nearly 5,000,000 acres, valued at $3,500,000. The original Ohio Company obtained 1,500,000 acres, the remaining being reserved by indi- viduals, for private speculation.
The same year, Congress appointed Arthur St. Clair, Governor, and Win- throp Sargent, Secretary, of the Territory.
Fort Harmar had previously been built, at the mouth of the Muskingum, and in 1788, a New England colony attempted the " Muskingum settlement," on the opposite side, which was afterward named Marietta. In July, 1788, the Territorial officers were received in this village, and there established the first form of civil government, as set forth in the Ordinance of 1787. Three United States Judges were appointed, and Courts of Common Pleas, Probate and Justice were established.
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If the stormy times were supposed to be of the past, that composure was rudely broken by the utter disregard of the Shawnee and other Indian tribes, who soon induced the Delawares and Wyandots to repudiate their consent in the matter of settlement. The miseries of frontier horrors were repeated. The British commandant at Detroit instigated many of these hostilities, yet the American Government took honorable action in assuring the English represent- ative that American military preparations in the West was not an expedition against Detroit, or other British possessions, although the possession of Detroit by that nation was in direct opposition to the treaty of 1783. Gov. St. Clair, to avert the direful consequences of a border war, dispatched a Frenchman, Gameline, to the principal Indian towns of the Wabash and Maumee countries, to request them to meet the United States agents, and make a compromise for the benefit of both parties, at the same time reiterating the desire of the General Government to adhere to the Fort Harmar treaty. The Miamis, Shawnees, Ottawas, Kickapoos and Delawares received this representative kindly, but declined the wampum sent by the Governor, and deferred giving an answer until they had considered the subject with the " father at Detroit."
Blue Jacket, chief of the Shawnees, informed the Frenchman that the Indi- ans doubted the sincerity of the Americans. The new settlement on the Ohio was a proof that the whites intended to crowd further and further, until the Indians were again and again robbed of their just right. He then emphatically asserted that unless the north side of the river was kept free from these inroads there could be no terms of peace with the Shawnees, and many other tribes.
Blue Jacket was unusually intelligent and sagacious, and expressed himself eloquently. He was persistent in his determination to engage in the war of extermination, should the white settlements continue north of the Ohio.
These overtures were continued, but they failed in producing any arrange- ment that permitted the whites to locate north of the Ohio.
Congress called upon Kentucky and Pennsylvania to lend the aid of their militia. Gen. Harmar was instructed to destroy the Miami villages at the head of the Maumee. Late in the fall of 1790, he executed this order.
The Indians had stored a large quantity of provisions, in expectation of a campaign, and this dependence was devastated. Without authority, and with undue carelessness, he divided his army and attempted to achieve other victo- ries. He more than lost what he had gained. Two raids upon the Wabash In- dians, thereafter, proved successful, but the campaign under Gov. St. Clair was not calculated to establish peace or obtain power, and was deemed but little less than a failure.
The year 1792 was a series of skirmishes, so far as a settlement was con- cerned, but 1793 succeeded well enough to convene a meeting of United States Commissioners and representatives of the hostile tribes, at the rapids of the Maumee. It is highly probable that a satisfactory treaty might have been arranged, had it not been for the intervention and malicious influence of the
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British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Col. McKee, his assistant Capt. Elliott, and the notorious Capt. Simon Girty, who instigated the savages to deeds more horrible than their own barbarisms.
It was evident that a severe struggle must ensue, and Capt. Wayne, in 1792, appointed to the command of the Western army, was called upon to con- duct the campaign. He exhibited his wisdom in the beginning, by preparing his men in military discipline and fully equipping them before marching to meet a savage foe in a wilderness. Various causes detained the army, and it was not until the fall of 1793, that the force marched from Fort Washington (Cincin- nati) to begin the battle.
It was already late in the season, and, before any progress had been made, the army went into winter quarters at Greenville, on a branch of the Big Miami.
In the mean time, the Ohio Company had not matured its practical " settle- ment plan," although a generous grant had been obtained. In 1792, they received a clear title to 750,000 acres of land, for which the full price had pre- viously been paid, in Continental currency. Congress set aside 214,285 acres as army bounties, and 100,000 acres to actual settlers. The two latter appro- priations joined that of the Ohio Company.
There had been numerous conventions, discussions and other fruitless attempts to somehow form a plan for the government of the Northwest Terri- tory, but it was not until July 13, 1787, that an ordinance was passed, and that was the result of Dr. Cutler's efforts. Every State sustained its measures.
This ordinance was the foundation of the constitution of the future State of Ohio, and indeed, permeates the entire Northwestern creed.
ORDINANCE OF 1787 .- No. 32. .
AN, ORDINANCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES, NORTHWEST OF THE OHIO RIVER.
Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, That the said Territory, for the pur- pose of government, be one district; subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future cir- cumstances may, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the estates of both resident and non-resident proprietors in the said Territory, dying intestate, shall descend to and be distributed among their children and the descendants of a deceased child, in equal parts; the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild to take the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among them. And when there shall be no children or descendants, then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal degree ; and among collaterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall have, in equal parts among them, their deceased parent's share; and there shall in no case be a distribution between kindred of the whole and half blood, saving in all cases to the widow of intestate, her third part of the real estate, for life, and one-third part of the personal estate; and this law relative to descents and dower, shall remain in full force until altered by the Legis- lature of the district. And until the Governor and Judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter mentioned, estates in said Territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed and sealed by him or her in whom the estate may be (being of full age), and attested by three witnesses; and real estate may be conveyed by lease and release, or bargain and sale, signed and sealed, and delivered by the person (being in full age) in whom the estate may be, and attested
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by two witnesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution thereof duly proved and be recorded within one year after proper magistrates, courts and registers shall be appointed for that purpose. And personal property may be trans- ferred by delivery, saving, however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants and other settlers of the Kaskaskias, St. Vincent's and the neighboring villages, who have heretofore professed them- selves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force among them, relative to the descent and conveyance of property.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be appointed from time to time, by Congress, a Governor whose commission shall continue in force for a term of three years, unless sooner revoked by Congress. He shall reside in the district and have a freehold estate therein, of a thousand acres of land while in the exercise of his office.
There shall be appointed from time to time by Congress, a Secretary whose commission shall continue in force for two years, unless sooner revoked. He shall reside in the district, and shall have a freehold estate therein in 500 acres of land, while in the exercise of his office. It shall be his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the Legislature, and the public records of the district, and the proceedings of the Governor in his executive department, and transmit authentic copies of such acts and proceedings every six months, to the Secretary of Congress. There shall also be appointed a court to consist of three Judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall have a common law jurisdiction and shall reside in the district and have each therein a freehold estate in 500 acres of land, while in the exercise of their office, and their commissions shall continue in force during good behavior.
The Governor and Judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original States, criminal and civil, as may be necessary and best suited to the circumstances of the district, and report them to Congress from time to time, which laws shall be in force in the district until the organization of the General Assembly therein, unless disapproved by Congress. But afterward, the Legislature shall have authority to alter them, as they shall think fit.
The Governor, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same, below the rank of general officers. All general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Congress.
Previous to the organization of the General Assembly, the Governor shall appoint such mag- istrates and other civil officers in each county or township, as he shall find necessary for the preservation of the peace and good order in the same. After the General Assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and defined by the said Assembly, but all magistrates and other civil officers not herein otherwise directed, shall, during the continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the Governor.
For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the district, and for the execution of process, criminal or civil, the Governor shall make proper divisions thereof, and he shall proceed from time to time as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district in which the Indian titles shall have been extin- guished, into counties and townships, subject, however, to such alterations as may thereafter be made by the Legislature. So soon as there shall be 5,000 free male inhabitants of full age in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the Governor, they shall receive authority with time and place, to elect representatives from their counties or townships, to represent them in the General Assembly. Provided, That for every 500 free male inhabitants, there shall be one representative, and so on progressively with the number of free male inhabitants, shall the right of representa- tion increase, until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five. After which, the number shall be regulated by the Legislature. Provided, That no person be eligible or qualified to act as a representative unless he shall have been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the district three years, and in either case, shall likewise hold in his own right in fee simple 200 acres of land within the same.
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Provided, Also, that a freehold in 50 acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the States, and being a resident in the district, or the like freehold and two years' resi- dence in the district, shall be necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a representative.
The representatives thus elected, shall serve for the term of two years. And in case of the death of a representative or removal from office, the Governor shall issue a writ to the county or township for which he was a member, to elect another in his stead, to serve for the residue of the tcrm.
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