History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 16

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Ohio > Summit County > History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio > Part 16

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).

All these emigrants came down the river in the flat-boats of the day, rude affairs, sometimes called

HISTORY OF OHIO.

" Arks," and then the only safe mode of travel in the West.

Judge Symmes found he must provide for the safety of the settlers on his purchase, and, after earnestly soliciting Gen. Harmar, commander of the Western posts, succeeded in obtaining a de- tachment of forty-eight men, under Capt. Kearsey, to protect the improvements just commencing on the Miami. This detachment reached Limestone in December, 1788. Part was at once sent for- ward to guard Maj. Stites and his pioneers. Judge Symmes and his party started in January, and, about February 2, reached Columbia, where the Captain expected to find a fort erected for his use and shelter. The flood on the river, however, de- feated his purpose, and, as he was unprepared to erect another, he determined to go on down to the garrison at the falls at Louisville. Judge Symmes was strenuously opposed to his conduct, as it left the colonies unguarded, but, all to no purpose; the Captain and his command, went to Louisville early in March, and left the Judge and his settlement to protect themselves. Judge Symmes immedi- ately sent a strong letter to Maj. Willis, command- ing at the Falls, complaining of the conduct of Capt. Kearsey, representing the exposed situ- ation of the Miami settlements, stating the indi- eations of hostility manifested by the Indians, and requesting a guard to be sent to the Bend. This request was at once granted, and Ensign Luce, with seventeen or eighteen soldiers, sent. They were at the settlement but a short time, when they were attacked by Indians, and one of their number killed, and four or five wounded. They repulsed the savages and saved the set- tlers.

The site of Symmes City, for such he designed it should ultimately be called, was above the reach of water, and sufficiently level to admit of a conven- ient settlement. The city laid out by Symmes was truly magnificent on paper, and promised in the future to fulfill his most ardent hopes. The plat included the village, and extended across the peninsula between the Ohio and Miami Rivers. Each settler on this plat was promised a lot if he would improve it, and in conformity to the stipu- lation, Judge Symmes soon found a large number of persons applying for residence. As the number of these adventurers increased, in consequence of this provision and the protection of the military, the Judge was induced to lay out another village six or seven miles up the river, which he called South Bend, where he disposed of some donation

lots, but the project failing, the village site was de- serted, and converted into a farm.

During all the time these various events were transpiring, but little trouble was experienced with the Indians. They were not yet disposed to evince hostile feelings. This would have been their time, but, not realizing the true intent of the whites until it was too late to conquer them, they allowed them to become prepared to withstand a warfare, and in the end wereobliged to suffer their hunting-grounds to be taken from them, and made the homes of a race destined to entirely supersede them in the New World.

By the means sketched in the foregoing pages, were the three settlements on the Miami made. By the time those adjacent to Marietta were well estab- lished, these were firmly fixed, each one striving to become the rival city all felt sure was to arise. For a time it was a matter of doubt which of the rivals, Columbia, North Bend or Cincinnati, would event- ually become the chief seat of business.

In the beginning, Columbia, the eldest of the three, took the lead, both in number of its in- habitants and the convenience and appearance of its dwellings. For a time it was a flourishing place, and many believed it would become the great busi- ness town of the Miami country. That apparent fact, however, lasted but a short time. The garri- son was moved to Cincinnati, Fort Washington built there, and in spite of all that Maj. Stites, or Judge Symmes could do, that place became the metropolis. Fort Washington, the most extensive garrison in the West, was built by Maj. Doughty, in the summer of 1789, and from that time the growth and future greatness of Cincinnati were assured.

The first house in the city was built on Front street, east of and near Main street. It was simply a strong log cabin, and was erected of the forest trees cleared away from the ground on which it stood. The lower part of the town was covered with sycamore and maple trees, and the upper with beech and oak. Through this dense forest the streets were laid out, and their corners marked on the trees.

The settlements on the Miami had become sufficiently numerous to warrant a separate county, and, in January, 1790, Gov. St. Clair and his Secretary arrived in Cincinnati, and organized the county of Hamilton, so named in honor of the illustrious statesman by that name. It ineluded all the country north of the Ohio, between the Miamis, as far as a line running "due east from the

HISTORY OF OHIO.

Standing Stone forks" of Big Miami to its inter- section with the Little Miami. The erection of the new county, and the appointment of Cincin- nati to be the seat of justice, gave the town a fresh impulse, and aided greatly in its growth.

Through the summer, but little interruption in the growth of the settlements occurred. The Indians had permitted the erection of defensive works in their midst, and could not now destroy them. They were also engaged in traffic with the whites, and, though they evinced signs of diseon- tent at their settlement and occupation of the country, yet did not openly attack them. The truth was, they saw plainly the whites were always prepared, and no opportunity was given them to plunder and destroy. The Indian would not attack unless success was almost sure. An oppor- tunity, unfortunately, came, and with it the hor- rors of an Indian war.

In the autumn of 1790, a company of thirty- six men went from Marietta to a place on the Muskingum known as the Big Bottom. Here they built a block-house, on the east bank of the river, four miles above the mouth of Meigs Creek. They were chiefly young, single men, but little acquainted with Indian warfare or military rules. The savages had given signs that an attack on the settlement was meditated, and several of the know- ing ones at the strongholds strenuously opposed any new settlements that fall, advising their post- ponement until the next spring, when the question of peace or war would probably be settled. Even Gen. Putnam and the Directors of the Ohio Com- pany advised the postponement of the settlement until the next spring.

The young men were impatient and restless, and declared themselves able to protect their fort against any number of assailants. They might have easily done so, had they taken the necessary precautions ; but, after they had erected a rude block-house of unchinked logs, they began to pass the time in various pursuits; setting no guard, and taking no precautionary measures, they left them- selves an easy prey to any hostile savages that might choose to come and attack them.

About twenty rods from the block-house, and a little back from the bank of the river, two men, Francis and Isaae Choate, members of the com- pany, had erected a eabin, and commenced clearing lots. Thomas Shaw, a hired laborer, and James Patten, another of the associates, lived with them. About the same distance below the block-house was an old "Tomahawk Improvement" and a

small cabin, which two men, Asa and Eleazur Bullard, had fitted up and occupied. The Indian war-path, from Sandusky to the mouth of the Muskingum, passed along the opposite shore of the river.

" The Indians, who, during the summer," says Dr. Hildreth, " had been hunting and loitering about the Wolf Creek and Plainfield settlements, holding frequent and friendly intercourse with the settlers, selling them venison and bear's meat in ex- change for green corn and vegetables, had with- drawn and gone up the river, early in the au- tumn, to their towns, preparatory to going into winter quarters. They very seldom entered on any warlike expeditions during the cold weather. But they had watched the gradual encroach- ment of the whites and planned an expedition against them. They saw them in fancied security in their cabins, and thought their capture an easy task. It is said they were not aware of the Big Bottom settlement until they came in sight of it, on the opposite shore of the river, in the afternoon. From a high hill opposite the garrison, they had a view of all that part of the bottom, and could see how the men were occupied and what was doing about the block-house. It was not protected with palisades or pickets, and none of the men were aware or prepared for an attack. Having laid their plans, about twilight they crossed the river above the garrison, on the ice, and divided their men into two parties-the larger one to attack the block-house, the smaller one to capture the cabins. As the Indians cautiously approached the cabin they found the inmates at supper. Part entered. addressed the whites in a friendly manner, but soon manifesting their designs, made them all pris- oners, tieing them with leather thongs they found in the cabin."

At the block-house the attack was far different. A stout Mohawk suddenly burst open the door, the first intimation the inmates had of the pres- enee of the foe, and while he held it open his comrades shot down those that were within. Rush- ing in, the deadly tomahawk completed the on- slaught. In the assault, one of the savages was struck by the wife of Isaac Woods, with an ax, but only slightly injured. The heroic woman was immediately slain. All the men but two were slain before they had time to secure their arms, thereby paying for their failure to properly secure themselves, with their lives. The two excepted were John Stacy and his brother Philip, a lad six- teen years of age. John escaped to the roof,

HISTORY OF OHIO.

where he was shot by the Indians, while begging for his life. The firing at the block-house alarmed the Bullards in their cabin, and hastily barring the door, and securing their arms and ammunition, they fled to the woods, and escaped. After the slaughter was over, the Indians began to collect the plunder, and in doing so discovered the lad Philip Stacy. They were about to dispatch him, but his entrea- ties softened the heart of one of the chiefs, who took him as a captive with the intention of adopt- ing him into his family. The savages then piled the dead bodies on the floor, covered them with other portions of it not needed for that purpose, and set fire to the whole. The building, being made of green logs, did not burn, the flames con -. suming only the floors and roof, leaving the walls standing.

There were twelve persons killed in this attack, all of whom were in the prime of life, and valuable aid to the settlements. They were well provided with arms, and had they taken the necessary pre- cautions, always pressed upon them when visited by the older ones from Marietta, they need not have suffered so terrible a fate.

The Indians, exultant over their horrible victory, went on to Wolf's mills, but here they found the people prepared, and, after reconnoitering the place, made their retreat, at carly dawn, to the great re- lief of the inhabitants. Their number was never definitely known.

The news reached Marietta and its adjacent settlements soon after the massacre occurred, and struck terror and dismay into the hearts of all. Many had brothers and sons in the ill-fated party, and mourned their loss. Neither did they know what place would fall next. The Indian hostilities had begun, and they could only hope for peace when the savages were effectually conquered.

The next day, Capt. Rogers led a party of men over to the Big Bottom. It was, indeed, a melan- choly sight to the poor borderers, as they knew not now how soon the same fate might befall them- selves. The fire had so disfigured their comrades that but two, Ezra Putnam and William Jones, were recognized. As the ground was frozen out- side, a hole was dug in the carth underneath the block-house floor, and the bodies consigned to one grave. No further attempt was made to settle here till after the peace of 1795.

The outbreak of Indian hostilities put a check on further settlements. Those that were estab- lished were put in a more active state of defense, and every preparation made that could be made

for the impending crisis all felt sure must come. Either the Indians must go, or the whites must retreat. A few hardy and adventurous persons ventured out into the woods and made settle- ments, but even these were at the imminent risk of their lives, many of them perishing in the attempt.

The Indian war that followed is given fully in preceding pages. It may be briefly sketched by stating that the first campaign, under Gen IIar- mar, ended in the defeat of his army at the Indian villages on the Miami of the lake, and the rapid retreat to Fort Washington. St. Clair was next commissioned to lead an army of nearly three thou- sand men, but these were furiously attacked at break of day, on the morning of November 4, 1791, and utterly defeated. Indian outrages sprung out anew after each defeat, and the borders were in a continual state of alarm. The most ter- rible sufferings were endured by prisoners in the hands of the savage foe, who thought to annihilate the whites.

The army was at once re-organized, Gen. An- thony Wayne put in command by Washington, and a vigorous campaign inaugurated. Though the savages had been given great aid by the Brit- ish, in direct violation of the treaty of 1783, Gen. Wayne pursued them so vigorously that they could not withstand his army, and, the 20th of August, 1794, defeated them, and utterly annihilated their forces, breaking up their camps, and laying waste their country, in some places under the guns of the British forts. The victory showed them the hopelessness of contending against the whites, and led their chiefs to sue for peace. The British, as at former times, deserted them, and they were again alone, contending against an invincible foe. A grand council was held at Greenville the 3d day of August, 1795, where eleven of the most power- ful chiefs made peace with Gen. Wayne on terms of his own dictation. The boundary established by the old treaty of Fort McIntosh was confirmed, and extended westward from Loramie's to Fort Recovery, and thence southwest to the mouth of the Kentucky River. He also purchased all the territory not before ceded, within certain limits, comprehending, in all, about four-fifths of the State of Ohio. The line was long known as "The Green- ville Treaty line." Upon these, and a few other minor conditions, the United States received the Indians under their protection, gave them a large number of presents, and practically closed the war with the savages.

HISTORY OF OHIO.

The only settlement of any consequence made dur- ing the Indian war, was that on the platof Hamilton, laid out by Israel Ludlow in December, 1794. Soon after, Darius C. Orcutt, John Green, William Mc- Clennan, John Sutherland, John Torrence, Benjamin F. Randolph, Benjamin Davis, Isaac Wiles, Andrew Christy and William Hubert, located here. The town was laid out under the name of Fairfield, but was known only a short time by that name. Until 1801, all the lands on the west side of the Great Miami were owned by the General Government; hence, until after that date, no improvements were made there. A single log cabin stood there until the sale of lands in April, 1801, when a company purchased the site of Rossville, and, in March, 1804, laid out that town, and, before a year had passed, the town and country about it was well settled.

The close of the war, in 1795, insured peace, and, from that date, Hamilton and that part of the Miami Valley grew remarkably fast. In 1803, Butler County was formed, and Hamilton made the county seat.

On the site of Hamilton, St. Clair built Fort Hamilton in 1791. For some time it was under the command of Maj. Rudolph, a cruel, arbitrary man, who was displaced by Gen. Wayne, and who, it is said, perished ignobly on the high seas, at the hands of some Algerine pirates, a fitting end to a inan who caused, more than once, the death of men under his control for minor offenses.

On the return of peace, no part of Ohio grew more rapidly than the Miami Valley, especially that part comprised in Butler County.

While the war with the Indians continued, but little extension of settlements was made in the State. It was too perilous, and the settlers pre- ferred the security of the block-house or to engage with the army. Still, however, a few bold spirits ventured away from the settled parts of the Terri- tory, and began life in the wilderness. In tracing the histories of these settlements, attention will be paid to the order in which they were made. They will be given somewhat in detail until the war of 1812, after which time they become too numerous to follow.

The settlements made in Washington-Marietta and adjacent colonies-and Hamilton Counties have already been given. The settlement at Gal- lia is also noted, hence, the narration can be re- sumed where it ends prior to the Indian war of 1795. Before this war occurred, there were three small settlements made, however, in addition to

those in Washington and Hamilton Counties. They were in what are now Adams, Belmont and Morgan Counties. They were block-house settle- ments, and were in a continual state of defense. The first of these, Adams, was settled in the winter of 1790-91 by Gen. Nathaniel Massie, near where Manchester now is. Gen. Massie determined to settle here in the Virginia Military Tract-in the winter of 1790, and sent notice throughout Ken- tucky and other Western settlements that he would give to each of the first twenty-five families who would settle in the town he proposed laying out, one in-lot, one out-lot and one hundred acres of land. Such liberal terms were soon accepted, and in a short time thirty families were ready to go with him. After various consultations with his friends, the bottom on the Ohio River, opposite the lower of the Three Islands, was selected as the most eligible spot. Here Massie fixed his sta- tion, and laid off into lots a town, now called Manchester. The little confederacy, with Massie at the helm, went to work with spirit. Cabins were raised, and by the middle of March, 1791, the whole town was inclosed with strong pickets, with block-houses at each angle for de- fense.

This was the first settlement in the bounds of the Virginia District, and the fourth one in the State. Although in the midst of a savage foe, now inflamed with war, and in the midst of a cruel conflict, the settlement at Manchester suf- fered less than any of its cotemporaries. This was, no doubt, due to the watchful care of its in habitants, who were inured to the rigors of a front- ier life, and who well knew the danger about them. " These were the Beasleys, Stouts, Washburns, Ledoms, Edgingtons, Denings, Ellisons, Utts, Mckenzies, Wades, and others, who were fully equal to the Indians in all the savage arts and stratagems of border war."

As soon as they had completed preparations for defense, the whole population went to work and cleared the lowest of the Three Islands, and planted it in corn. The soil of the island was very rich, and produced abundantly. The woods supplied an abundance of game, while the river furnished a variety of excellent fish. The inhabitants thus found their simple wants fully supplied. Their nearest neighbors in the new Territory were at Columbia, and at the French settlement at Gallip- olis; but with these, owing to the state of the country and the Indian war, they could hold little, if any, intercourse.

HISTORY OF OHIO.

The station being established, Massie continued to make locations and surveys. Great precautions were necessary to avoid the Indians, and even the closest vigilance did not always avail, as the ever- watchful foe was always ready to spring upon the settlement, could an unguarded moment be ob- served. During one of the spring months, Gen. Massie, Israel Donalson, William Lytle and James Little, while out on a survey, were surprised, and Mr. Donalson captured, the others escaping at great peril. Mr. Donalson escaped during the march to the Indian town, and made his way to the town of Cincinnati, after suffering great hard- ships, and almost perishing from hunger. In the spring of 1793, the settlers at Manchester com- menced clearing the out-lots of the town. While doing so, an incident occurred, which shows the danger to which they were daily exposed. It is thus related in Howe's Collections :

" Mr. Andrew Ellison, one of the settlers, cleared an out-lot immediately adjoining the fort. He had completed the cutting of the timber, rolled the logs together, and set them on fire. The next morning, before daybreak, Mr. Ellison opened one of the gates of the fort, and went out to throw his logs together. By the time he had finished the job, a number of the heaps blazed up brightly, and, as he was passing from one to the other, he ob- served, by the light of the fires, three men walking briskly toward him. This did not alarm him in the least, although, he said, they were dark-skinned fellows; yet he concluded they were the Wades, whose complexions were very dark, going early to hunt. He continued to right his log-heaps, until one of the fellows seized him by the arms, calling out, in broken English, ' How do ? how do ?' He instantly looked in their faces, and, to his surprise and horror, found himself in the clutches of three Indians. To resist was useless.

" The Indians quickly moved off with him in the direction of Paint Creek. When breakfast was ready, Mrs. Ellison sent one of her children to ask its father home; but he could not be found at the log-heaps. His absence created no immedi- ate alarm, as it was thought he might have started to hunt, after completing his work. Dinner-time arrived, and, Ellison not returning, the family became uneasy, and began to suspect some acci- dent had happened to him. His gun-rack was examined, and there hung his rifles and his pouch. Gen. Massie raised a party, made a circuit around the place, finding, after some search, the trails of four men, one of whom had on shoes; and the

fact that Mr. Ellison was a prisoner now became apparent. As it was almost night at the time the trail was discovered, the party returned to the station. Early the next morning, preparations were made by Gen. Massie and his friends to con- tinne the search. In doing this, they found great difficulty, as it was so early in the spring that the vegetation was not grown sufficiently to show plainly the trail made by the savages, who took the precaution to keep on high and dry ground, where their feet would make little or no impres- sion. The party were, however, as unerring as a pack of hounds, and followed the trail to Paint Creek, when they found the Indians gained so fast on them that pursuit was useless.

"The Indians took their prisoner to Upper Sandusky, where he was compelled to run the gantlet. As he was a large, and not very active, man, he received a severe flogging. He was then taken to Lower Sandusky, and again compelled to run the gantlet. He was then taken to Detroit, where he was ransomed by a British officer for $100. The officer proved a good friend to him. He sent him to Montreal, whence he returned home before the close of the summer, much to the joy of his family and friends, whose feelings can only be imagined."

" Another incident occurred about this time," says the same volume, "which so aptly illustrates the danger of frontier life, that it well deserves a place in the history of the settlements in Ohio. John and Asahel Edgington, with a comrade, started out on a hunting expedition toward Brush Creek. They camped out six miles in a northeast direction from where West Union now stands, and near the site of Treber's tavern, on the road from Chillicothe to Maysville. They had good success in hunting, killing a number of deer and bears. Of the deer killed, they saved the skins and hams alone. They fleeced the bears; that is, they cut off all the meat which adhered to the hide, with- ont skinning, and left the bones as a skeleton. They hung up the proceeds of their hunt, on a scaf- fold out of the reach of wolves and other wild ani- mals, and returned to Manchester for pack-horses. No one returned to the camp with the Edgingtons. As it was late in December, few apprehended dan- ger, as the winter season was usually a time of re- pose from Indian incursions. When the Edgingtons arrived at their camp, they alighted from their horses and were preparing to start a fire, when a platoon of Indians fired upon them at a distance of not more than twenty paces. They had

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 Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 16

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104