History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 5

Author: R. Sutton & Co.
Publication date: 1883
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 427

USA > Ohio > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 5

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Grants to the Shawnees. To Catewekesa or Black Hoof, Byaseka or Wolf, Pomthe or Walker, Shemenetoo or Big Snake, Othawakeseke or Yellow Feather, Chakalowah or The Tail's End, Pemthala or John Perry, Wabepee or White Color, chiefs of the Shawnee tribe residing at Wapaghkonetta, and their successors in office, chiefs of the said tribe residing there, a tract of land 10 miles square, the centre of which shall be the council house at Wapaghkonetta.

Grants to the Shawnees on Hog Creek. To Peeththa or Falling Tree, and to Onowaskemo or the Resolute Man, chiefs of the Shawnee tribes residing on Hog Creek, and their successors in office, chiefs of the said tribe residing there, a tract of land containing 25 square miles, which is to join the tract granted at Wapaughkonetta and to include the Shaw- nees settlement on Hog Creek, and to be laid off as nearly as possible in a square form.

Grant to the Shawnees and Senecas at Lewistown. To Quatawape or Captain Lewis, Shekaghkele or Turtle, Skilowa or Robin, chiefs of the Shawnee tribe residing at Lewistown, and to Mesomea or Civil John, Waukauwuxsheno or The White Man, Oquasheno or Joe, and Willa- quasheno or When-you-are-tired-sit-down, chiefs of the Seneca tribes of Indians residing at Lewistown, and to their successors in office, chiefs of the said Shawnee and Seneca tribes, a tract of land containing 48 square miles, to begin at the intersection of the line run by Charles Roberts in 1812 from the source of the Little Miami River to the source of the Scioto River, in pursuance of instructions from the Commissioners appointed on the part of the U. S. to establish the western boundary of the Va. Military Reservation with the Indian boundary line established by the Treaty of Greenville in 1795 from the crossings above Fort Law- rence to Loramie's store, and to run from said intersection northerly with the first-mentioned line, and westwardly with the 2d mentioned line so as to include the quantity as nearly in a square form as practicable after excluding the section of land hereinafter granted to Nancy Stewart.

Reservations for the Oltawas, but not granted to them. A tract of land on Blanchard's fork of the Auglaize River, to contain 5 miles square, the centre of which tract is to be where the old trace crosses the said fork ; and one other tract, to contain 3 miles square, on the Little Au- glaize River, to include Oquanoxa's village.

The chiefs and their successors had power to convey and make par- tition of the same, but it required the consent and approval of the Pre- sident of the U. S., or a person appointed by him. At the special request of the said Indians the U. S. agreed to grant by patent in fee simple to the persons hereinafter mentioned, all of whom are connected with the said Indians by blood or adoption, the tracts of lands herein described.

To Elizabeth Whitaker, who was taken prisoner by the Wyandots and has ever since lived among them, 1280 acres of land on the W. side of the Sandusky River, below Croghansville, to be laid off in a square form as nearly as the meanders of the said river will admit, and to near an equal distance above and below the house in which the said Elizabeth Whitaker now lives.

To Robert Armstrong, who was taken prisoner by the Indians and has ever since lived among them, and has married a Wyandot woman, one section, to contain 640 acres of land on the west side of the Sandusky River, to begin at the place called Camp Ball, and to run up the river, with the meanders thereof, 160 poles, and from the beginning down the river, with the meanders thereof, 160 poles, and from the extremity of these lines west for quantity.

To the Children of Wm. Mc Cullock, who was killed in August, 1812, near Maugaugon, and who are quarter-blood Wyandot Indians, 1 sect., to contain 640 acres, on the west side of Sandusky River, adjoining the lower line of Robt. Armstrong's, and extending with and from the said river.

To John Vanmeter and his Wife's Brothers. To John Vanmeter, who was taken prisoner by the Wyandots and who has ever since lived among them and has married a Seneca woman, and to his wife's 3 brothers, Senecas, who now reside on Honey Creek, 1000 A., to begin N. 45° W. 140 poles from the house in which the said Jno. Vanmeter now lives, and to run S. thence 320 poles, thence and from the beginning east for quantity.

To S. and J. Williams and R. Nugent. To Sarah Williams, Joseph Williams, and Rachel Nugent, late Rachel Williams, the said Sarah having been taken prisoner by the Indians and ever since lived among them, and being the widow, and the said Joseph and Rachel being the children of the late Isaac Williams, a half-blood Wyandot, { sect. of land to contain 160 acres on the E. side of the Sandusky River below Croghansville, and to include their improvements at a place called Negro Point.

To Catharine and J. R. Walker. A Wyandot woman and John R. Walker her son, who was wounded in the service of the U. S. at the battle of Maugaugon in 1812, a section of 640 acres each, to begin at the N. W. cor. of the tract hereby granted to John Vanmeter and his wife's brothers, and to run with the line thereof S. 320 poles thence, and from the beginning west for quantity.

To William Spicer, who was taken prisoner by the Indians and has ever since lived among them, and has married a Seneca woman, a section of land to contain 640 acres, beginning on the east bank of the Sandusky River 40 poles below the lower corner of said Spicer's cornfield, thence up the river on the E. side with the meanders thereof, 1 mile thence, and from the beginning east for quantity.

To Nancy Stewart, daughter of the late Shawnee chief Blue Jacket, 1 sect. of land to contain 640 acres, on the Great Miami River below Lewistown, to include her present improvements ; ¿ of the said section to be on the S. E. side of the river and one quarter on the N. W. side thereof.

The Children of Capt. Logan. To the children of the late Shawnee chief Capt. Logan or Spamagelabe, who fell in the service of the U. S. during the late war, 1 sect. of land to contain 640 acres, on the E. side of the Great Auglaize River adjoining the lower line of the grant of 10 miles at Wapaghkonetta and the said river.

September 17, 1818, a supplementary treaty was entered into at St. Marys, Ohio, with the Wyandots, Senecas, and Shawnees, and an annu- ity of five hundred dollars was given to the Wyandots, one thousand dollars to the Shawnees, to the Senecas five hundred dollars, and to the Ottawas fifteen hundred dollars.

Sept. 24, 1819, Gen. Lewis Cass concluded at Saginaw a treaty by which a large part of Michigan was ceded to the United States.

Sept. 1832, the Indian treaties were closed, which relinquished thirty millions of acres of land constituting the eastern portion of the' State of Iowa.

An act of May 26, 1824, by Congress, reserving to the Wyandot tribe a certain tract of land, in lieu of a reservation, made to them by treaty. That there be and hereby is reserved for the use of the chiefs and tribe of Wyandot Indians, subject to the conditions and limitations of the former reservation, the northeast quarter of Sec. 2 in Tp. 2, and range

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

17 south of the base line of land in Delaware Land District in the State of Ohio, in lieu of one hundred and sixty acres of land on the west side of and adjoining the Sandusky River, and which was reserved by the supplementary treaty between the United States and certain tribes of Indians held at St. Marys, in Ohio, Sept. 17, 1818, on condition that the chiefs of the said Wyandot tribe first relinquish to the United States all the right, title, and claim of said tribe to the one hundred and sixty acres of reservation by said supplementary treaty.

Anthony Shane. To Anthony Shane, a half-blood Ottawa Indian, one section of land to contain 640 acres, on the east side of the river St. Marys, and to begin opposite the house in which Shane now lives; thence up the river, with the meanders thereof, 160 poles, and from the beginning down the river, with the meanders thereof, 160 poles, and from the extremity of the said lines east for quantity.

J. Mc Pherson. To James McPherson, who was taken prisoner by the Indians and has ever since lived among them, one section of land, to contain 640 acres, in a square form, adjoining the northern or western line of the grant of 48 miles at Lewistown, at such place as he may think proper to locate the same.

The Cherokee Boy. To Horonu the Cherokee Boy, a Wyandot chief, a section of land, to contain 640 acres, on the Sandusky River, to be laid off in a square form and to include his improvements.

A. D. and R. Godfrey. To Alex. D. Godfrey and Richard Godfrey, adopted children of the Pottawatomie tribe, and at their special request, one section of land, to contain 640 acres, in the tract of country herein ceded to the United States by the Pottawatomie, Ottawa, and Chippewa tribes, to be located by them, the said Alex. and Richard, after the said tract shall have been surveyed.

Yellow Hair. To Sawendebans, or the Yellow Hair, or Peter Minor, an adopted son of Tondaganie or the Dog, and at the special request of the Ottawas, out of the tract reserved by the treaty of Detroit in 1807, above Roche de Boeuf, in the village of the said Dog, a section of land, to contain 640 acres, to be located, in a square form, on the north side of the Miami at the Wolf Rapid.

Grants free from Taxes. The tracts herein granted to the chiefs for the use of the Wyandot, Shawnese, Seneca, and Delaware Indians and the reserve for the Orlanz Indians shall not be liable to taxes of any kind, so long as such land continues the property of the said Indians.

The Delawares. The Delaware tribe, in consideration of the stipula- tions herein made on the part of the United States, do hereby forever cede to the United States all the claim which they have to the thirteen sections of lands, reserved for the use of certain persons of their tribe, by the 2d section of the Act of Congress, passed March 3, 1807, provid- ing for the disposal of the land of the United States between the United States military tract and the Connecticut Reserve and the lands of the United States between the Cincinnati and Vincennes districts.

To J. and S. Armstrong. The United States agree to grant by patent in fee simple to Zeeshawan or James Armstrong and Sanondoyouray- guaw or Silas Armstrong, chiefs of the Delaware Indians, living on the Sandusky waters, and their successors in office, chiefs of the said tribe, for the use of the persons mentioned in the annexed schedule, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions, provisions, and limi- tations as is hereinbefore provided for the lands granted to the Wyan- dot, Seneca, and Shawnee Indians, a tract of land to contain nine square miles, to join the tract granted to the Wyandots, of twelve miles square, to be laid off as nearly in a square form as practicable, and to include Capt. Pipe's village.

Grants to Oltawas. The United States also agree to grant by patent to the chiefs of the Ottawa tribe of Indians, for the use of the said tribe, a tract of land, to contain thirty-four square miles, to be laid out as nearly a square form as practicable, not interfering with the lines of tracts reserved by the treaty of Granville on the south side of the Miami River of Lake Erie, and to include Tushquegan or McCarty's village, which tracts, thus granted, shall be held by the said tribe upon the usual con- ditions of Indian reservations as though no patent were issued.

Supplementary Treaty to the Treaty of the Foot of the Miami of the Lake. Sept. 17, 1818, between Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, commissioners, at St. Marys, with full power and authority to hold con- ferences, and conclude and sign a treaty or treaties, with all or any of

the tribes or nations of Indians within the boundaries of the State of Ohio of and concerning all matters interesting to the United States and the said nations of Indians, and the sachems, chiefs, and women of the Wyandot, Lene, Shawnee, and other tribes of Indians, being supplement- ary to the treaty made and concluded with the said tribes and the Dela- wares, Pottawatomie, and Delaware tribes of Indians at the foot of the Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie, Sept. 29, 1817.

Grants in original treaty to be considered reservations. It is agreed between the United States and the parties hereto, that the several tracts of land, described in the treaty to which this is supplementary, and agreed thereby to be granted by the United States to the chiefs of the respective tribes named therein, for the use of the individuals of the said tribes, and also the tract described in the 20th article of the said treaty shall not be thus granted, but shall be excepted from the cession made by the said tribes to the United States, reserved for the use of the said Indians, and held by them in the same manner as Indian reser- vations have been heretofore held. But it is further agreed that the tracts thus reserved shall be reserved for the use of the Indians named in the schedule to the said treaty, and held by them and their heirs for- ever, unless ceded to the United States.

Additional reservations to Wyandots. It is also agreed that there shall be reserved for the use of the Wyandots, in addition to the reservation before made, 55,680 acres of land, to be laid off in two tracts-the first to adjoin the south line of the section of 640 acres of land heretcfore reserved for the Wyandot chief, the Cherokee Boy, and to extend south to the north line of the reserve of twelve miles square at Upper San- dusky; and the other to join the east line of the reserve of twelve miles square at Upper Sandusky, and to extend east for quantity.

Reservation at Solomon's Town. There shall also be reserved for the use of the Wyandots residing at Solomon's Town and on Blanchard's Fork, in addition to the reservation before made, 16,000 acres of land to be laid off in a square form, on the head of Blanchard's Fork, the centre of which shall be at the Big Spring, on the tract leading from Upper Sandusky to Fort Findlay, and 160 acres of land for the use of the Wyandots on the west side of the Sandusky River, adjoining the said river, and the lower line of two sections of land agreed by the treaty to which this is supplementary to be granted to Elizabeth Whitaker.

Additional reservation for the Shawnees and Senecas. There shall also be reserved for the use of the Shawnees, in addition to the reserva- tion before made, 12,800 acres of land to be laid off adjoining the east line of their reserve of ten miles square at Wapaughkoneta, and for the use of the Shawnees and Senecas 8960 acres of land, to be laid off adjoin- ing the west line of the reserve of 48 square miles and Lewistown. And the last reserve hereby made and the former reserve at the same place shall be equally divided by an east and west line to be drawn through the same. And the north half of the said tract shall be reserved for the use of the Senecas who reside there, and the south half for the use of the Shawnees who reside there.

Reservation for the Senecas. There shall also be reserved for the use of the Senecas, in addition to the reservation before made, 10,000 acres of land to be laid off on the east side of the Sandusky River, adjoining the south line of their reservation of 30,000 acres of land, which begins on the Sandusky River, at the lower corner of Mr. Spice's section, and excluding therefrom the said Mr. Spice's section.

Land granted not to be conveyed without permission. It is hereby agreed that the tracts of land which by the eighth article of the treaty to which this is supplementary are to be granted by the United States to the persons therein mentioned, shall never be conveyed by them or their heirs without the permission of the President of the United States.

By this treaty of Sept. 17, 1818, an additional amount is given to the Wyandots of $500 forever, to the Shawnees $1000, to the Senecas $500, and to the Ottawas $1500.

THE INDIAN TRIBES OF THE UPPER OHIO.

Nothing reliable or authentic is known of the various Indian tribes that occupied the territory that now constitutes the State of Ohio, from the time of the departure or disappearance of the Mound-Builders until the closing years of the first half of the eighteenth century. Their his-

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

tory, therefore, anterior to the year 1750, is meagre indeed. They had no annalist-no historian-and perhaps had made but little history worthy of record during many recurring generations, centuries, and ages. It is true that we have traditions running back to the year 1656, relating to the destruction by the Iroquois of the once powerful Eries, who inhab- ited the southern shores of Lake Erie, except a small remnant which ultimately intermingled with the Senecas ; but we look upon them simply as unverified traditions, and nothing more. And equally unreliable and unauthenticated are many of the other numerous traditions of the Indian tribes which bear date before the middle of the last century.

About the year A. D. 1750, or a little earlier, some accurate knowledge of the Ohio Indians began to be acquired through the Indian traders operating among them, and from explorers; but little, comparatively, however, was known of them with the certainty of authentic history until after Colonel Bouquet's expedition to their towns on the Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers, in 1764. The intermediate period between those dates may therefore be regarded as the time of the inauguration of the historic epoch of the Ohio Indians, the principal tribes being the Wyandots (called Hurons by the French), the Delawares and the Shaw- anese (both of the Algonquin group), the Miamis (also called Twigtwees), the Mingos (an offshoot from the Iroquois or a fragment of the Six Na- tions), and the Ottawas and Chippewas.

The Wyandots occupied the valleys and plains bordering on the San- dusky River, and some other points ; the Delawares occupied the valleys of the Tuscarawas and Muskingum rivers, and a few other places be. tween the Ohio River and Lake Erie; the Shawnees were found chiefly in the valleys of the Scioto and Mad rivers, and at a few points on the Ohio River and elsewhere in small numbers; the Miamis were the chief occupants of the valleys of the Little and Great Miami rivers; the Min- gos were in greatest force on the Ohio River about Mingo Bottom, below Steubenville, and at other points on said river-also on the Scioto River, and at a few places between the Ohio River and Lake Erie; the Ottawas occupied the valleys of the Maumee and Sandusky rivers ; and the Chip- pewas, small in numbers, were chiefly confined to the southern shores of Lake Erie. By the treaty of Fort McIntosh, formed in 1785, the Ottawas with the Wyandots and Delawares, were assigned to the northern section of what is now the State of Ohio, and west of the Cuyahoga River, hav- ing relinquished by the terms of said treaty, whatever of claims they had to other portions of the territory that now constitutes our State.

TITLES TO OHIO-BY WHOM HELD-WHEN AND HOW ACQUIRED AND RELINQUISHED.

The territory that now constitutes Ohio was first of all, so far as we can judge, in the full possession of the race of Mound-Builders; afterwards (but still in prehistoric times), its sole occupants and owners for some centuries were unquestionably those Indian tribes or nations already named, and probably the Eries and others that had been subjected to expulsion or extermination. They, as well as the Mound-Builders, held titles acquired probably by priority of discovery, by conquest, by occu- pancy, or possession. Possessory titles they might be appropriately styled.

It is stated by Parkman, and probably by other accredited historians, that the adventurous La Salle in 1670, accompanied by a few heroic fol- lowers, passed from Lake Erie south, over the portage into the Allegheny River, perhaps by way of one of its numerous tributaries, and from thence down into the Ohio, which they descended as far as the " Falls" of said river (at Louisville); and that they were therefore the first white men-the first of European birth-to enter upon the soil of Ohio; the first civilized men to discover and explore the territory that constitutes our now populous State. It must be admitted that some shades of doubt rest upon the foregoing problematical expedition of the distin- guished Frenchman (Robert Cavalier La Salle), but whether he voyaged down the Ohio or not at the time named, his name must ever be identi- fied with our State as one of its earliest explorers, if not its discoverer, so far as the white race is concerned, as will be made apparent in the following paragraphs. In 1679, the intrepid explorer, La Salle, accom- panied by thirty-four Frenchmen, sailed along the entire length of the southern shore of Lake Erie in the "Griffin," a vessel of about sixty

tons burden, which he had built in the Niagara River above the "Falls," and which was the first vessel that ever unfurled a sail on said lake, or upon any waters within the present limits of Ohio.

Again, in 1662, La Salle descended the Illinois and Mississippi rivers to the mouth of the latter; and in 1684 he sailed past the mouth of the Mississippi (which he intended to enter, but failed), and along the Gulf of Mexico to some point on the coast of Texas, and landing there, became its discoverer. And it is upon these three last-named voyages, and upon the provision of some European treaties, more than upon the somewhat doubtful and uncertain voyage of discovery by La Salle down the Ohio River to the " Falls" in 1670, that France rested her title, claiming that the Upper Valley of the Ohio (at least the portion northwest of the Ohio River), was a part of Louisiana, thus acquired by La Salle for France, and held by said power by right of discovery and possession. There was, of course, little controversy between Great Britain and France as to title northwest of the Ohio River, before the formation of the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, when and by which certain matters in dispute between those governments were adjusted. And France not only asserted owner- ship and held possession of the territory that now constitutes Ohio, from the time of the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, until the Treaty of Paris in 1763, by which peace was established between France and England, but also exercised authority therein and maintained control over it by mili- tary force. And this, too, in defiance of titles set up by Great Britain, one of which was based upon treaties with the Iroquois or Six Nations of Indians, who claimed to have conquered the whole country from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, and from the lakes to Carolina, and hence were its owners and authorized to dispose of it.

By conquest and treaty stipulations, Great Britain came into posses- sion in 1763, and substantially retained it until the close of our Revolu- tionary war, when, by the Treaty of Peace concluded at Paris in 1783, and ratified by the American Congress in January, 1784, ownership was vested in the government of the United States, which, in October, 1784, by the terms of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, extinguished the title of the Six Nations to the Ohio Valley, and which, from time to time, by treaties concluded at various times and places, extinguished all other Indian titles, and thus acquired full right to the soil, and complete and undis- puted territorial jurisdiction. By the treaties of Forts McIntosh and Finney alone, held respectively in January, 1785 and 1786, all Indian titles to Ohio territory were extinguished, except that portion situated chiefly between the Cuyahoga and Maumee rivers.

New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, after the ratification of the Treaty of Peace, in 1784, between Great Britain and the United States, and for some time before, had asserted claims to portions of the territory now composing the State of Ohio, and Virginia claimed title to the whole of it and much more, even to the entire extent of the "territory north- west of the river Ohio," organized four years thereafter. Virginia had asserted ownership, and exercised a nominal jurisdiction over the terri- tory of our State, by establishing the county of Botetourt, in 1769, whose western boundary was the Mississippi River. That State's claim was founded, as heretofore stated, upon certain charters granted to the Col- ony of Virginia by James the First, bearing dates respectively, April 10, 1606, May 23, 1609, and March 12, 1611 ; also, upon the conquest of the country, between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and the northern lakes, by General George Rogers Clark, in 1778-79. But whatever the claim was founded upon, the State Legislature waived all title and own- ership to it (except to the Virginia Military District), and all authority over it, by directing the Representatives of said State (Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, Arthur Lee, and James Monroe), to cede to the United States all right, title, and claim, as well of soil as of jurisdiction, with the exception named, " to the territory of said State lying and being to the northwest of the river Ohio:" which was accordingly done, March 1, 1784.

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History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 5

Author: R. Sutton & Co. Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Number of Pages: 427

Author: R. Sutton & Co.
Publication date: 1883
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 427