The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 27

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

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When the boys grew to manhood, married and had families, they emigrated to the land of their previous captivity, and located in Miami Connty, and to them

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

Washington and Spring Creek Townships owe some of their most enterprising and influential citizens.

George Moffitt, who was called by the Indians Kiterhoo, with his brothers John and Alexander, and brother-in-law Hugh Scott, came to Piqua as early as 1808. George purchased land at the south end of Piqua, known in after years as the Fry farm, and it is now covered by habitations and intersected by streets. He soon sold the first farm, and purchased two miles northwest of Piqua, on which he resided until his death in 1831. John located west of Piqua, where he remained until his death, some years later than his brother George. Of the descendants of these early pioneers of Miami, only two great-grandchildren of George are now living in the county. Numerous posterity are, however, scattered throughout the Western States. Mr. George Moffitt was a kind and obliging neighbor, but, pioneer-like, he cared but little for the luxuries of life, its necessities satisfying him. He enjoyed hunting and trapping much more than the ax of civilized life. Fifty years ago his farm was surrounded by heavy forests, which afforded abundance of game, upon which he could practice the arts of trapping and hunting. He once came to the house of old Mr. Purdy, father of James Purdy, of Covington, saying he had killed a fine buck not far off, and it was too heavy for him to carry. Mr. Purdy hitched up his sled, and hanled it home, where Moffitt hung it up, skinned and dressed it, tied up the skin, cut off a saddle, gave the remainder to P., shouldered his venison, and rifle, and, bidding him good morning, started home. George used to tell how he once killed an Indian while a captive. Before the Indian hair had grown on his bare head, he and an Indian boy older than himself were playing along the banks of the Miami, at the north end of where Main street, Piqua, now terminates; and while so engaged, the young red-skin persisted in pecking him on his bare skull with pebbles until it became quite sore. Moffitt grew very angry, but, knowing he was a captive, and, what was a more powerful sedative, the young savage was much larger and stronger than he. Smothering his anger, and watching his oppor- tunity, he waited till the Indian was stooping down near the water's edge for more instruments of torment, when he threw a large stone with all his might, hitting him fair, and sending him sprawling into the deep water fifteen feet below, never to rise again. No one saw the transaction, and George was silent on the subject. The body was found, and his death was supposed to have been the result of accident, and, fortunately, George was never questioned concerning it. George Moffitt and his wife reared two sons and seven daughters to the age of maturity, who, with one exception, are all dead, and resting in four different States. While we pay a tribute to the memory of these pioneer fathers, we think equal praise and honor is due to the noble women, who shared all the privations of pioneer life as wife and mother. We cannot, in justice, close this sketch without a brief notice, however imperfect, of a woman possessing, in an eminent degree, those innate qualities that, under all circumstances, marks the true lady, noble woman and devoted wife. Though her life was passed in the rude log-cabin of the pioneer, that humble abode, in its sur- roundings and adornments, evidenced the neat mistress that made its rude walls radiant with cheer, and the seven fair daughters, modest, intelligent and industrious, blessed the pure mother whose second self they were.

During the year 1808, Thomas Coppock with his family came from the sunny fields of South Carolina, and cleared out a forest home in the woods of Newton Township. About this time two more families strengthened the feeble colony, whose names were Nathan and John Hill, also from Carolina, settling near the present site of Pleasant Hill. Joseph Culbertson located in Troy in 1808. Receiv- ing a present of a lot in the woods from Mr. Gahagan, he cut logs, Peter well hauled them to his lot, and, with the assistance of his neighbors, soon er. ted a cabin, in which he made hats for the settlers ; also paying for his house in this commodity. Silk superseding coon and rabbit-skins, he lost his trade, and wound up business. About this time Mr. Overfield came to Troy and started a tavern. His biographer says of him, that he was an excellent hotel keeper ; he had none of that hauteur that would repel a rustic traveler ; no pomposity or ostentation.

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

When he was addressed, either by a near neighbor or Gen. Harrison, with " How do you do, Mr. O ? " his answer invariably was, "O do' n'ow-jest midlin'-how is't yourself ?" Like Andy Johnson, he rose from humble life to an honorable position.

When Staunton was in her glory, he held an honorable position among the yeomanry. A man of leisure, though not inactive, he spent his nights in a bark canoe, hunting deer in the Miami. Placing a bright light in the bow of the canoe, and secreting himself behind a screen, when he would see a deer in the water, he would noiselessly approach, and the deer, totally absorbed in looking at the light, would remain motionless until shot by the unerring rifle of the hunter. This afforded but a meager support for his wife and two children, John and Suze. When Troy became the county seat, embryo politicians sprang up like mushrooms, and citizens increased rapidly. Mr. Overfield caught the fever, and resolved to improve it by his hotel. He bought a lot of Loury & Westfall, for $95, and gave a mort- gage on the premises, fifteen bushels of corn, one barrel of whisky, one mare and colt, one cow and calf, one yearling bull, seventy-eight hogs, three beds and bed- clothes, four bedsteads, two tables, one chest, one spinning-wheel, one corner cup- board, ten splint bottom chairs, three kettles, two Dutch ovens, one tea kettle, one pot, one frying-pan, and all the queensware and glassware, and, not "coming to time" on the payment, his mortgage was renewed, and a few more articles added, which he finally redeemed.

Mr. Overfield was a political economist, and, learning that tea was coming up, he came over to the store one day, and stepping up to the proprietor said, " Have you any good tea ?" Being answered in the affirmative, and asked how much he wanted, he replied, "O do' n'oow, it's no use to be comen every day for a quarter, gimme three pounds," received his tea, and as he left remarked to a friend, "he don't know tea's gone up."

From 1808 till 1811, the immigration was so rapid, and improvements so many and the changes so various, that we are compelled to leave the field of specific minutiæ and ascend to broad generalities. We shall therefore, to a great extent, leave henceforth the individual settlements to be discussed under the Township History, and deal with subjects of general application. Rumors of Indian troubles came trembling through the distant settlements during the year 1809 and succeed- ing years, and, as they increased, the pioneers began to take precautionary meas- ures for the protection of their families and themselves. By this time towns had sprung up all over the county. Piqua, laid out June 29, 1807, was rapidly advancing in population and wealth. In September, 1807, the Commissioners appointed to select a spot for the location of the

COUNTY SEAT

fixed upon a part of Section 21, and northeast quarter of Section 28, Township 5, Range 6, east of a meridian line drawn from the mouth of the Great Miami. The report, dated June 25, 1807, was signed by Jesse Newport, Daniel Wilson and Joseph Lamb,. as Commissioners. The site contained about 120 acres, which was purchased of Aaron Tullis, William Barbee and Alexander Mccullough. The former deeding 40 acres to C. Westfall, Town Director, July 31, 1813, for which he received $120.30 ; the eastern portion was deeded by Barbee and McCul- lough, same date, for $421.50.

The Seat of Justice was located at Troy, June 25, 1807, and from that until the present, there has been a good deal of rivalry between the cities of Piqua and Troy, but not quite equal to the Greek Trojan war, of which old Homer sang. Staunton, the oldest town in the county, was laid out early in the nineteenth century, and first known as the Dutch Station, and, in 1807, became the first Seat of Justice. The town of Milton, on Stillwater, was laid out May 6, 1807, by Joseph Evans.

In every direction the tide of immigration was creeping along, up the rivers and shooting out along their tributaries, vet checked to some extent by the increas-

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

ing apprehension of trouble from the Indians. under the fiery eloquence of Tecum- seh, and the coming of the Prophet, who were traveling night and day, sowing the seeds of dissension, war and bloodshed among their red brethren; the effects of which were soon to burst upon the unprotected frontiers, first, in the shape of Indian murders, scalping and burning, followed by military complications with Great Britain.

MIAMI IN THE WAR OF 1812.

TECUMSEH.

General Harrison, in a letter to the War Department, speaks thus of Tecum- seh, the instigator of the Indians during the war: If it were not for the vicinity of the United States, he would perhaps be the founder of an empire that would rival in glory either Mexico or Peru. No difficulties deter him. For four years he has been in constant motion. You see him to-day on the Wabash, and in a short time hear of him on the shores of Lake Erie, or Michigan, or on the banks of the Mississippi, and wherever he goes he makes an impression favorable to his purpose. He is now upon the last round, to put a finishing stroke to his work. I hope, however, before his return, that that part of the work which he considered complete will be demolished, and even its foundation rooted up. Tecumseh, in every sense of the word, was a remarkable man.

His biographer says of him, that he was nearly six feet in stature, with a compact muscular frame, of more than usual stoutness ; possessing all the agility and perseverance of Indian character; capable of great physical endurance. His head was of moderate size, with a forehead full and high, his nose slightly aquiline, teeth large and regular, eyes black, penetrating and overhung with heavy, arched brows, which increased the uniformly grave and severe expression of his countenance. He is represented by those who knew him to have been a remark- ably fine-looking man, always plain, but neat in his dress, and of a commanding personal presence. The Indians, in general, are very fond of gaudy and high- colored decorations of their persons, but Tecumseh was an exception. Although the spoils of war were often his, he always wore a deerskin coat and pantaloons. He even gave away the military sash tied around his person by Gen. Brock. His great aim was neither wealth nor vain show, but glory. He was married at 28, to a woman named Manate, older than himself, who, it appears, was, both physically and mentally greatly his inferior. His only child, a son, was named Pugeshashenwa -" A panther-seizing-its-prey."

One of his own nation says of him: He was kind and attentive to the aged and infirm, looking personally to their comfort, repairing their frail wigwams when winter approached, giving them skins for moccasins and clothing, and shar- ing with them the choicest game which the woods and the seasons afforded. Nor were these acts of kindness bestowed exclusively on those of rank or reputation, but, on the contrary, he made it his business to search out the humblest objects of charity, and, in a quiet, unostentatious manner, relieve their wants. Tecumseh never used intoxicating liquor, and was opposed to the torture of prisoners, as was his illustrious predecessor, Blackhoof.

Tecumseh was certainly one of nature's noble men, whether seated at the table of Generals and English officers of the highest rank, or around his own camp-fire, his manner always indicated true dignity, ease and grace, devoid of coarseness and vulgarity.

As illustrative of his humanity and dignity, we beg leave to subjoin an inci- dent of the siege of Fort Meigs. It is invested with double interest also, as there is a strong probability that it was participated in by some of the Miami County volunteers.

Soon after active operations began around the Fort, Gen. Harrison received word that Gen. Green Clay was near at hand with a re-enforcement of 1,200 men.

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

The plan was for Clay to descend the river in flats; Clay was to detach 800 men, who should be landed on the left bank of the river, where they were to attack the English batteries, spike the cannons and destroy the carriages, then retreat to the fort, while the remainder of the troops were to land on the side next to the fort and cut their way to it through the Indians. When Clay approached the fort. he detached Col. Dudley to attack the batteries. To divert the attention of the English and Indians, Gen. Harrison ordered Col. Miller, with his famous Four Regulars, to make a sortie on the side of the river on which the fort stood. He attacked the batteries, spiked the cannon, and, though the English outnumbered him, he took about forty prisoners and completely routed them. Col. Dudley raised the Indian yell, and captured the batteries on the opposite side of the river, but, neglecting to spike the cannon, and lingering on the spot, his scouts were fired upon by Indians in ambush. Indians began to swarm around him; Tecum- seh swam the river and rushed with his savage hordes upon his rear; Col. Dudley fell by the tomahawk, and scarcely 200 out of the 800 men reached the fort. The American prisoners were taken to the old Fort Miami, in which they were con- fined. Here the infamous Proctor allowed the Indians to butcher the Americans with the tomahawk and scalping-knife, and torture them as their fancy suggested ; he is said to have witnessed the massacre of over twenty prisoners in this place. Tecumseh now made his appearance, ignorant of what was going on inside of the fort. A British officer described his conduct, on this occasion, to an American. He said that suddenly a thundering voice was heard, speaking in the Indian tongue ; he looked around and saw Tecumseh, riding as fast as his horse could carry him, to a spot where two Indians had an American killing him; Tecumseh sprang from his horse, and, catching one Indian by the throat and the other by the breast, threw them to the ground. The Chief then drew his tomahawk and scalping-knife, and, running between the prisoners and the Indians, brandished the weapons madly and dared any of the hundreds of Indians around him to touch another prisoner. His people seemed much confounded. Tecumseh ex- claimed, passionately, " Oh, what will become of my Indians !"

He then inquired where Gen. Proctor was, when, suddenly seeing him at & short distance, he demanded of the commander why he had allowed this massacre. "Sir," said Proctor, "your Indians cannot be commanded." "Begone!" Answered the Chief, sneeringly : " You are unfit to command ; go and put on pet- ticoats."

Through the eloquence, energy and skill of this wonderful Indian, combined with the efforts of his crafty brother, the Prophet, the most of the tribes were induced to join the English against the Americans in the war of 1812. The Miamis, and part of the Shawanoes, remained friendly to the Americans through the influence of Little Turtle and Black Hoof, but, on the death of the former, the Miamis yielded to the fiery eloquence of Tecumseh and joined his band, and thus the frontiers were again plunged in an Indian war. In October, 1811, Gen. Harrison led his army, consisting of the Fourth United States Infantry, under Col. Miller, and three or four mounted regiments of Kentucky Volunteers, through Troy, to meet the com- bined armies of the Indians under Tecumseh and the Prophet, at Tippecanoe. On the 17th of November following, the decisive battle of Tippecanoe was fought, which resulted in the defeat of the Indians and the loss of the Prophet's control over the superstitious minds of his red brethren, he having, previous to the battle, solemnly assured them that the Great Spirit had promised them certain victory. The Prophet's town was destroyed, and several forts were built for the protection of the frontier, which quieted the Indians for a time; but, in the meantime, our complications with Great Britain were assuming alarming shape, and war was inevitable. She had fired on our vessels, impressed our seamen, and treated us insolently in every manner, until a spirit of military retaliation took possession of our people. An act declaring war against Great Britain was passed by Congress and approved by the President on the 18th of June, 1812; on the 19th, war was formally declared, and the President was authorized to raise a force of 25,000

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HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY.

regulars, 50,000 volunteers, and to call out 100,000 militia for garrison duty. The Indians joined the British standard, and the frontier was exposed again to the merciless scalping-knife, sanctioned and supported by Great Britain.

The infamous conduct of Proctor in permitting the butchery of Gen. Win- chester's command, and a repetition of the same at Fort Meigs, and his severe rebuke by Tecumseh, who was more humane than he, are too well known to all Americans, and served to excite in the breasts of our forefathers a bitter spirit of revenge, which was manifested on several subsequent occasions.

Having cursorily set out the causes of the Indian and British war, we shall enter into that part which more nearly concerns Miami County. In order to a better understanding, having thought it best to premise somewhat, we shall insert an article from Dr. Coleman, Sr., who, we have reason to believe, is good author- ity. He says : "Rumors were in circulation of combinations among the various tribes of the Northwest and South, under the leadership of Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, backed up by British influence. Our Government wanted more of their lands, but they refused to treat or sell. With a view to bring them to terms, an expedition was fitted out in the fall of 1811. It was organized at the Falls of the Ohio, and consisted of the Fourth United States infantry and some two or three regiments of mounted Kentucky volunteers, all under the command of Gov. Harrison, of Indiana Territory. They proceeded into the Indian country in a northwesterly direction, striking the Wabash River near the present site of La Fayette, the Indians falling back and accumulating their forces, and still declining to treat.

" While in camp six miles north of La Fayette, the Indians made a night attack, attempting to storm the camp, but were finally repulsed, after a most desperate hand-to-hand fight with tomahawk and bayonet. This was late in the fall, and it was deemed expedient to withdraw the expedition without any further demonstra- tions against the Indians."

This will show the condition of our relations with the Indians at the com- mencement of the war with the British the following summer, with whom they were generally allied, corresponding and receiving supplies of arms and ammuni- tion through Canada. These circumstances were calculated to keep frontier settlers in a somewhat uneasy condition. They, however, felt assured of safety, as the Government had, in the spring before the declaration of war, on June 15, 1812, organized a military force at Dayton, consisting of three regiments of infantry, under Cols. Finley, McArthur and Cass, in addition to the Fourth Regiment of Regulars, under Col. Miller. These troops were under the command of Brigadier General Hull, then Governor of Michigan Territory. They left Dayton and pro- ceeded north as far as the vicinity of Troy, with a view of taking the route north by St. Mary's and Defiance. After two or three days' consultation, they turned east to Urbana, and took the Black Swamp route to the Maumee. It was the intention of the Government to have this force at Detroit at the time of the declaration of war, but from the dilatory movements and difficulties encountered, they did not arrive as expected. The consequence was, the British and Indians became informed of the expedition and prepared to meet it. The British, having command of the lake, captured a large portion of the army supplies, which had been sent by water from the Maumee, and assembled a considerable force of British and Indians, to resist any attack upon this quarter from Canada, as intended. It is not my intention to write the events of this campaign, further than to state that it proved most disastrous. The whole force was surrendered to the British in August following ; and with it the whole of Michigan Territory, and Northwestern Ohio, as far east as the Reserve, fell into the hands of the British and their Indian allies. The British were not inactive after this success, but took immediate pos- session of all the settlements, from Detroit to the Maumee Rapids, where they for- tified on the site of the old British fort. The news of Gen. Hull's disaster produced great gloom and excitement in the Miami Valley. Fort Wayne was the only mili- tary fort north of Miami County, and there was but one company of Regulars

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stationed there. under Capt. Ray, an old, worn-out Revolutionary officer, with little energy, and with difficulty restrained from surrendering. There was at this time a regularly organized regiment of militia, with two small independent companies of riflemen, in Miami County. The whole country north and west of the present limits of Miami County was open to every depredation the Indians might attempt. Immediately preparations for the defense of the frontier were made. The two companies of riflemen of Miami were stationed at Greenville to form a military fort. Soon word came that the British and Indians, under Tecumseh, were pene- trating the country by the Maumee River, and next that Fort Wayne was besieged by the allies. This increased and extended the excitement, and several regiments of militia from counties below were assembled at Piqua, Gen. Meigs and other principal State officers being present. After a day's consultation, a regiment of 700 or 800 volunteers from the various regiments was organized, equipped and started for the relief of Fort Wayne, military stations being established at Lorai- mie, old Fort St. Mary's and Shanesville. A slight correspondence was maintained by an adventurer running the blockade. Stephen Johnston, brother of Col. Johnston, father of Maj. Stephen Johnston, of Piqua, who had been acting as sub- agent at Fort Wayne, was killed by the Indians in attempting to run this blockade.

A line of military posts was established along the frontier, consisting of block- houses and stockade inclosures. The principal of these stations were : Greenville, one at the mouth of Greenville Creek (now Covington), one at Piqua, one at the mouth of Turtle Creek, and one on the Miami River. The two companies of rifle- men of the Miami regiment were stationed at Greenville, under the command of Major Charles Wolverton, Greenville being considered an important fort at this time, though there were but a few families within what are the present limits of Darke County. Upon the approach of the forces sent to the relief of Fort Wayne, the British and Indians retired from the siege of the fort down the Maumee River. It is not my intention to make further allusions to the war operations in the north which followed the disaster of Hull's surrender, of the large force sent north, nor of the alternate victories and defeats for the next two years, and which only ended with Commodore Perry's victory on Lake Erie on September 10, 1814, and soon after the re-capture of Detroit, and the defeat of the British and Indians at the River Thames. I will merely state some matters of interest relating to Miami County during the war. Much credit is due to Col. John Johnston, Indian Agent, for his influence with a portion of the tribes of his agency. By direction of the Government, as many of the tribes or parts of tribes as could be induced to main- tain peaceable relations were, in the spring of 1813, called in and assembled near the agency, at Upper Piqua, to the number of some five or six thousand men, women and children, and fed by the Government, with a view, in part, to their protection, and to keep them from the influence of the more hostile tribes. Dur- ing the first year of the war many councils were held with such Indian chiefs as could be induced to come into the agency, in order to secure friendly relations with as many of the tribes as could be induced to remain at peace ; but, notwith- standing the influence brought to bear upon the Indian tribes of the Northwest, the greater part of them remained hostile during the war. These councils were of exciting interest at the time. Gov. Meigs, and United States Senator Jere- miah Morrow, and Thomas Worthington, were present at some of them, in the autumn of 1812. These councils were generally held at the village of Washington, now Piqua. The writer was present at some of them, and also several times visited the Indian encampment referred to. There was usually some amusement going on of an afternoon, such as wrestling, foot-races, etc., between the red-skins and white boys. The Indians were generally the fleetest on foot, but in wrestling the pale-face was oftenest uppermost. There were frequently Indian dances in the afternoon ; a few plugs of tobacco would procure an interesting entertainment in this line. Some fifteen or twenty Indians, in a half-nude state, would assemble in a circle on the dance ground, made smooth for the purpose, and perform a dance of an hour or so, under the direction of a master of ceremonies, as dances are

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 27

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051