The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record;, Part 27

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1254

USA > Ohio > Union County > The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record; > Part 27

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).

"The chosen place of residence of the Wyandots was, at an early period, as

* Zachariah Noteman, now residing near Plain City, states positively that Alder also lived for a time in what i now Union County, and he (Noteman ) knows the exact spot where his residence stood. He lived here before going to Madison County.

259

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

it is now [1838], on the waters of the Saun-dus-tee, or Sandusky. Though greatly reduced in number, they have, perhaps, attained a higher degree of civ- ilization than any other tribe in the vicinity of the northwestern lakes. For the following specimen of the Wyandot language, and for the greater part of the statements given above, we are indebted to the Archeologia Americana :

One. .Scat.

It rains.

Ina-un-du-se.

Tiro

.Tindee.

Thunder. . Heno.

Three.

Shaight.

Lightning

Tim-men-di-quas.

Four

An-daght.

Earth

. Umaightsagh.

Five.

. Wee-ish.

Deer Ough-scan-oto.

Six.

Wau-shau.

Bear.

.Anu-e.

Seren Soo-tare.

Raccoon .

Ha-in-te-roh.

Eight Au-taria.

Fox

.The-na-in-ton-to.

Nine

Ain-tru.

Beater .Soo-taie.

T'en . Augh, sagh.

Mink.

So-hoh-main-dia.

Twenty. Ten-deit-a-waugh-sa.

Turkey.

Daigh-ton-tah.

Thirty Shaigh-ka-wangh-sa.

Squirrel

Ogh-ta-eh.

Forty. An-dangh-ka-waugh-sa.

Otter

'Ta-wen-deh.

Fifty Wee-ish-a-waugh-sa.

Sixty Wau-shau-waugh-sa.

Doy Yun-ye-noh. Com. Kin-ton-squa-ront. Horse

Ugh-shut-te. Serenity .Soo-tare-waugh-sa.

Eighty. An-tarai-waugh-sa.

Goose.

Yah-hounk. Duck

Ninety Ain-tru-waugh-sa.

One Hundred .Scute-main-gar-we.

God

Ta-main-de-zne.

Woman U'teh-ke.

Good

.Ye-waugh-ste.

Bad.

. Waugh-she.

. Ya-weet-sen-tho. Girl Boy. . Oma-int-sent-e-hah. Child .. Che-ah-hah.

Heaven . Yah-roh-nia.

Old Man. . Ha-o-tong.

Old Woman

. Ut-sin-dag-sa.

San Ya-an-des-hra.

Moon

Waugh-sunt-ya-an-des-ra.

. Tegh-shu.

Beans.

Yah-re-sah.

Potutoe Da-ween-dah. Sky . Cagh-ro-niate.

Oght-se-rahı.

Melons Oh-nngh-sa. Cloud>

Grass .. .E-ru-ta. Wind .

. Izn-qnas.

My Wife Azut-tun-oh-oh.

Corn. Nay-hah.

Stars

Deril Degh-shu-re-noh.

. Yu-in-geli. Man. Am-ga-hon.

Hell. Degh-shunt.

" The foregoing sketch of the history and language of the Wyandots, though certainly not strictly necessary. will, it is hoped, be deemed not altogether inappropriate as an introduction to the following brief narrative of the circumstances attending the death of a chief of that nation. The partic- ulars have been recently communicated by persons who were eye-witnesses of the execution, and may be relied on as perfectly accurate:

" In the evening of the 1st day of June, in the year 1810, there came six Wyandot warriors to the house of Mr. Benjamin Sells, on the Scioto River, about twelve miles above the spot where now stands the city of Columbus. They were equipped in the most warlike manner, and exhibited during their stay an unusual degree of agitation. Having ascertained that an old Wyandot chief, for whom they had been making diligent inquiry, was then encamped at a distance of about two miles farther up the west bank of the river, they ex- pressed a determination to put him to death, and immediately went off in the direction of his lodge. These facts were communicated, early in the ensuing morning, to Mr. John Sells, who now resides in the village of Dublin, on the Scioto, about two miles from the place where the doomed Wyandot met his fate. Mr. Sells immediately proceeded up the river, on horseback, in quest of the Indians. He soon arrived at the lodge, which he found situated in a grove of sugar trees, close to the bank of the river. The six warriors were seated, in consultation, at the distance of a few rods from the lodge. The old chief was with them, evidently in the character of a prisoner. His arms were confined by a small cord, but he sat with them without any manifestation of uneasiness. A few of the neighboring white men were likewise there, and a gloomy look-

260

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

ing Indian who had been the companion of the chief, but now kept entirely aloof-sitting sullenly in the camp. Mr. Sells approached the Indians, and found them earnestly engaged in debate. A charge of 'witchcraft' had been made, at a former time, against the chief, by some of his captors, whose friends had been destroyed, as they believed, by means of his evil powers. This crime, according to the immemorial usage of the tribe, involved a for- feiture of his life. The chances of a hunter's life had brought the old man to his present location, and his pursuers had sought him out, in order that they might execute upon him the sentence of their law. The council was of two or

three hours' duration. The accusing party spoke alternately, with much cere- mony, but with evident bitterness of feeling. The prisoner, in his replies, was eloquent though dispassionate. Occasionally a smile of scorn would appear, for an instant, on his countenance. At the close of the consultation, it was ascertained that they had re-affirmed the sentence of death which had been before passed upon the chief. Inquiry having been made, by some of the white men, with reference to their arrangements, the captain of the six war- riors pointed to the sun, and signified to them that the execution would take place at one o'clock in the afternoon Mr. Sells went to the captain and asked him what the chief had done. 'Very bad Indian,' he replied; 'make good Indian sick-make horse sick-make die-very bad chief.' Mr. Sells then

made an effort to persuade his white friends to rescue the victim of supersti- tion from his impending fate, but to no purpose. They were then in a frontier situation, entirely open to the incursions of the Northern tribes, and were, con- sequently, unwilling to subject themselves to the displeasure of their savage visitors by an interference with their operations. He then proposed to release the chief by purchase-offering to the captain, for that purpose, a fine horse, of the value of $300. . Let me him see.' said the Indian. The horse was accordingly brought forward, and closely examined; and so much were they staggered by this proposition, that they again repaired to their place of consul- tation, and remained in council a considerable length of time before it was finally rejected. The conference was again terminated, and five of the Indians began to amuse themselves with running, jumping and other athletic exercises. The captain took no part with them. When again inquired of as to the time of execution, he pointed to the sun, as before, and indicated the hour of four. The prisoner then walked slowly to his camp, partook of a dinner of jerked venison, washed and arrayed himself in his best apparel, and afterward painted his face. His dress was very rich, his hair gray, and his whole appearance . graceful and commanding. At his request the whole company drew around him at the lodge. He had observed the exertions made by Mr. Sells in his behalf. and now presented to him a written paper, with a request that it might be read to the company. It was a recommendation, signed by Gov. Hull, and in compliance with the request of the prisoner it was fixed and left upon the side of a large tree, at a short distance from the wigwam.

" The hour of execution being close at hand, the chief shook hands in silence with the surrounding spectators. On coming to Mr. Sells, he appeared much moved-grasped his hand warmly-spoke for a few minutes in the Wyandot language, and pointed to the heavens. Ho then turned from the wigwam, and with a voice of surpassing strength and melody commenced the chant of the death-song. He was followed closely by the Wyandot warriors, all timing, with their slow and measured march, the music of his wild and melancholy dirge. The white men were all, likewise, silent followers in that strange procession. At the distance of seventy or eighty yards from the camp, they came to a shallow grave, which, unknown to the white men, had been previously prepared by the Indians. Here the old man knelt down, and in an

261

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

elevated but solemn tone of voice addressed his prayer to the Great Spirit. As soon as he had finished, the captain of the Indians knelt beside him, and prayed in a similar manner. Their prayers, of course, were spoken in the Wyandot tongue. When they arose, the captain was again accosted by Mr. Sells, who insisted that if they were inflexible in the determination to shed blood, they should at least remove their victim beyond the limits of the white settlements. 'No!' said he, very sternly, and with evident displeasure; 'no- good Indian 'fraid-he no go with this bad man-mouth give fire in the dark night-good Indian 'fraid-he no go! My friend,' he continued, me tell you-white man bad man-white man kill him -- Indian say nothing.' Find- ing all interference futile, Mr. Sells was at length compelled, reluctantly, to abandon the old man to his fate. After a few moments' delay. he again sank down upon his knees and prayed, as he had done before. When he had ceased praying, he still continued in a kneeling position. All the rifles belonging to the party had been left at the wigwam. There was not a weapon of any kind to be seen at the place of execution, and the spectators were consequently unable to form any conjecture as to the mode of procedure which the execu- tioners had determined on for the fulfillment of their purpose. Suddenly, one of the warriors drew from beneath the skin of his capote a keen, bright toma hawk, walked rapidly up behind the chieftain, brandished the weapon on high for a single moment, and then struck with his whole strength. The blow descended directly upon the crown of the head. and the victim immediately fell prostrate. After he had laid awhile in the agonies of death, the Indian captain directed the attention of the white man to the drops of sweat which were gathering upon his neck and face, remarking, with much apparent exulta- tion, that it was conclusive proof of the sufferer's guilt. Again the executioner advanced, and with the same weapon inflicted two or three additional and heavy blows. As soon as life was entirely extinct, the body was hastily buried, with all its apparel and decorations, and the assemblage dispersed. The Wyandots returned immediately to their hunting-grounds, and the white men to their homes. The murdered chief was known among the whites by the name of Leatherlips. Around the spot where his bones repose, the towering forest has now given place to the grain field. and the soil above him has for years been furrowed and re-furrowed by the plowshare."

In " Thatcher's Indian Biography." as stated by Mr. Curry, the Indian name of the old chief is given as Shatevaronrah, and Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet (Elskwatawa) were his accusers. By the same authority, it appears that the famous chief Tarhe, or the Crane, was the leader of the band of Wyandots who executed the unfortunate chieftain. This would hardly seem probable from most evidence, and in Drake's Life of Tecumseh it is stated, in connection with this incident. that " the six Wyandots who put him to death were headed, it is supposed, by the chief, Roundhead."

THE LAST INDIANS SEEN IN JEROME TOWNSHIP.

Col. W. L. Curry furnishes the following account of the last Indians seen in the township of Jerome:

"Sugar Run Falls, on the lands of Col. James Curry, was, in the early days, a beautiful and attractive place. The stream wound its way through a little valley, shaded by burr oaks and black walnut timber, and, surrounded as it was by good hunting and fishing grounds, it was a favorite place for the Indians in the early years of the present century. The old Indian trace, lead- ing from the Wyandot nation south, ran past the Falls, and the Indians con- tinued to travel this route after there was quite a settlement along Sugar Run.

262

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

" The last Indians who visited this vicinity came about the year 1816-17. In the early spring, four Indians came from the north, and encamped at the Falls for a few days. They visited Col. Curry's house, and, as usual, were supplied from his table, as he was well known to all the Indians passing along this route, and he was one in whom they had great confidence. When they left the Falls they separated, two following the old trail and two traveling in a southwesterly direction. In a few weeks, two of them again reached the Falls, and had with them an Indian pony. They remained a day or two, and their two companions not arriving (it is supposed this was to be their place of meeting), they then stripped the bark from a burr oak tree, and, taking yellow keel, which was in great abundance along the stream, traced on the trunk of the tree in rude characters, an Indian leading a pony, while another Indian was in the rear with a gun on his shoulder and the ramrod in his hand, as if in the act of driving the pony, traveling northward. This done, they covered their camp fire and took the old Indian trail north. A few evenings after their departure, their two comrades arrived from the south, and, learning by the drawings on the tree that their companions had preceded them, they remained over night and the next morning took the trace and moved rapidly north. And thus the last Indians ever seen on the southern border of Union County took their departure from their once happy hunting grounds."

CHAPTER III.

THE VIRGINIA MILITARY DISTRICT.

ORIGIN OF TITLE-EXPLORATIONS AND SURVEYS-PROMINENT SURVEYORS-FIRST SETTLEMENTS IN THE DISTRICT.

SEPTEMBER 13, 1783. Congress stated the terms on which a cession of the land belonging to Virginia, for the benefit of the General Government, would be accepted. The Virginiaus acceded to the terms, and on the 20th of December authorized their delegates to make a deed to the United States of all their right in the territory northwest of the River Ohio-"Upon condition that the territory so ceded shall be laid out and formed into States, containing a suitable extent of territory, not less than one hundred nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circumstances will admit; and that the States so formed shall be distinct republican States, and ad- mitted members of the Federal Union. having the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and independence as the other States.

" That the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by this State in subduing any British posts, or in maintaining forts and garrisons within, and for the defense, or in acquiring any part of the territory so ceded or relin- quished, shall be fully reimbursed by the United States; and that one Com- missioner shall be appointed by Congress, one by this Commonwealth and an- other by those two Commissioners, who, or a majority of them, shall be author- ized and empowered to adjust and liquidate the account of the necessary and reasonable expenses incurred by this State, which they shall judge to be com- prised within the intent and meaning of the act of Congress of the tenth of October, one thousand seven hundred and eighty, respecting such expenses. That the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskas

263

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

kies, St. Vincents and the neighboring villages, who have professed themselves citizens of Virginia, shall have their possessions and titles confirmed to them, and be protected in the enjoyment of their rights and liberties. That a quantity not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, promised by this State, shall be allowed and granted to the then Colonel, now General George Rogers Clark, and to the officers and soldiers of his regiment, who marched with him when the posts of Kaskaskies and St. Vin- cents were reduced, and to the officers and soldiers that have since been incor- porated into the said regiment, to be laid off in one tract, the length of which not to exceed double the breadth, in such place, on the northwest side of the Ohio, as a majority of the officers shall choose, and to be afterward divided among the said officers and soldiers in due proportion, according to the laws of Virginia. That in case the quantity of good land on the southeast side of the Ohio, upon the waters of the Cumberland River, and between the Green River and Tennessee River, which has been reserved by law for the Virginia troops upon continental establishment, should, from the North Carolina line, bearing in further upon the Cumberland lands than was expected, prove in- sufficient for their legal bounties, the deficiency should be made up to the said troops, in good lands, to be laid off between the Rivers Scioto and Little Miami, on the northwest side of the River Ohio, in such proportions as have been engaged to them by the laws of Virginia. That all the lands within the territory so ceded to the United States, and not reserved for or appropriated to any of the before-mentioned purposes, or disposed of in bounties to the officers and soldiers of the American Army, shall be considered a common fund for the use and benefit of such of the United States as have become, or shall become, members of the confederation or federal alliance of the said States, Virginia inclusive, according to their usual respective proportions in the gen- eral charge and expenditure, and shall be faithfully and bona fide disposed of for that purpose, and for no other use or purpose whatsoever."*

In agreement with these conditions, a deed was made March 1, 1784, and accepted by Congress.

April 26, 1852, Hon. Benjamin Stanton, of Ohio, then in Congress from the district which included Union County, delivered a speech in opposition to the passage of " A bill to further extend the time for locating military war- rants and returning surveys thereon to the General Land Office," in which he included the following facts:

During the Revolution, Virginia raised sixteen regiments which she fur- nished to the continental army, and which were called the " Virginia line on continental establishment;" also, three regiments for the more immediate de- fense of the State, which were under control of the State authorities and were called the "State line;" also twenty or twenty-five small vessels of war, called the "State navy," equal to one regiment of land forces; also several "partisan corps," such as troops of cavalry, battalions and legions of infantry, and artil- lery companies. equal in the aggregate to two regiments, making twenty-two regiments in all. At the earnest solicitation of the Continental Congress and Gen. Washington, she held out the strongest inducements to her people to enter the service, by offering large bounties in land to such as would enlist and serve for three years or during the war. The State Legislature, from 1778 to 1784, passed various laws providing as bounties for her officers who had enlisted, or should enlist, for three years or during the war, the following amounts of land:

For a Major General. 15,000 acres. For a Brigadier General.

10,000 acres.

* Annals of the West, from Land Laws, p. 98.

264

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

For a Colonel 5,000 acres.

For a Lieutenant Colonel. 4,500 acres.

For a Major. 4,000 acres.

For a Captain 3,000 acres.

For a Subaltern. 2,000 acres. 400 acres.

For a Non-commissioned officer.

For a soldier or sailor. 200 acres.

This was for soldiers who served during the war. For three years' service, each non-commissioned officer received 200 acres, and each soldier or sailor 100 acres. The heirs of any officer or soldier who died in the service were entitled to the same as their relatives would have been had they served through the war. Warrants were to be issued by the Governor upon proof of service. In May, 1779, a tract bounded by Green River, the Cumberland Mountains, the Carolina (now Tennessee) line, the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, was set apart by the Virginia Legislature to satisfy these warrants. In November, 1781, a further tract of land, included within the Mississippi, Ohio and Ten- nessee Rivers and the Carolina line, was granted for the same purpose and said to be in lieu of a part of the former tract which had fallen to Carolina in the extension of the Carolina line westward. In 1784, Virginia ceded to the United States all the land claimed by her, exclusive of the tract north of the Ohio River, between the Scioto and Little Miami Rivers, reserved to satisfy any unsatisfied balance of land that might be due to soldiers of the Virginia line on Continental establishment, after exhausting the Kentucky reservation. In July, 1788, Congress, being satisfied that the Kentucky lands were sufficient for the purpose, passed a joint resolution declaring all locations between the Little Miami and Scioto Rivers, in Ohio, void until the deficiency in the Ken- tucky reservation was ascertained and established, locations having been begun in the Ohio reservation in August, 1787 .* Soon after this, the Super- intendent of the surveys reported to the Executive of the State of Virginia that the deficiency of good lands on the southeast side of the Ohio, contemplated by the deed of cession, had been ascertained, and Congress passed an act August 10, 1790, legalizing the locations that had been made, and prescribing the mode of perfecting the title. This act required the Secretary of War to furnish the Governor of Vir- ginia with a list containing the names of the officers and the privates of the Virginia troops and the aggregate number of acres to which they were entitled. which was done. In 1804, Congress passed an act requiring all lands within this district to be located within three years, prohibiting further locations after that time. The limit was extended from time to time there- after. In the portion of the military lands lying north of the Greenville treaty line, the lands, with others, were ceded to the United States by the treaty of Ft. Meigs, September 29, 1817, and they became subject to entry July 4, 1819, and the military lands north of said line were nearly all located and surveyed in the next five years. The total number of men in the Virginia continental line was as follows:

Major Generals, only one of whom received bounty. 2

Brigadier Generals.

Colonels. .

Lieutenant Colonels.

Majors.

Captains.

372

Lieutenants (or Subalterns)

440

Non-commissioned officers

258

Soldiers

8,459

Total. 9,677

* The military claimants of land, under the laws of Virginia, began their locations in 1784. The continental line chose Col. Richard C. Anderson principal surveyor on their behalf in 1783, and on the 17th of December, in that year, concluded with him a contract under which he opened an office near Louisville, Ky., July 20, 1784, and entries at once began. The first entry north of the Ohio, however, was not made until August 1, 1757.

Andrew MC Neil

267

HISTORY OF UNION COUNTY.

If each one had received the lands due according to the above numbers, 4,722, 730 acres would have been sufficient to satisfy all claims: but by the year 1852, there had been located in Kentucky and Ohio, on land warrants and scrip issued by Congress at various times, 4,944, 118 acres, or more than 200,000 acres too much-and still there was a demand for extension of time on warrants, which was created entirely by sharp lawyers and speculators, who saw a way of making large amounts of money out of the scheme. Very much litigation was indulged in for many years, and the later owners of the lands found they had paid dearly for them.

In perfecting a title, the practice was, after first obtaining a warrant, to locate the land by entering a general description thereof upon the books of the principal surveyor. The land was afterward surveyed by the surveyor or his deputy. The survey, with the warrant-or certified copy-were then for- warded to the general land office at Washington, and from thence a patent issued. The last act limiting the time for a return of surveys was passed on the 3d of March, 1855. It gave the further time of two years to those holding lands by entries made prior to January 1, 1852, to have the same surveyed and patented. After the expiration of these two years tbe unappropriated lands became the property of the United States. February 18, 1871, that portion of these lands remaining unsurveyed and unsold was ceded by the United States to the State of Ohio; and in March, 1872, the Legislature gave them to the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. An article in the Marys- ville Tribune of October 4, 1SS2, taken from the Kenton Republican, upon " Quiet Titles." contains the following language:

"It was clearly the intention of Congress to convey to the State of Ohio only such lands as were unappropriated. But in addition to unappropriated lands, which were comparatively small in amount, there were and are in the Virginia Military District not less than 130,000 acres of land which have never been patented; 30,000 acres of it rest in entries and surveys alone; 100,000 acres of it rest in entries and surveys made prior to March 3, 1857. Besides, through the frauds of those locating and surveying lands, the amounts actually surveyed exceeded by from 50 to 500 per cent the amounts authorized by the warrants Notwithstanding the evident intention of Congress, it soon became apparent that it was the design of the Trustees of the college to claim under their grant not only the unappropriated lands, but the unpatented and fraudulent excess lands as well. A contract was made by them with an agent who agreed to hunt out these lands and dispossess the present occupants for 33} per cent of the proceeds. Some of these lands had been occupied from ten to eighty years. They had been sold and resold again and again. They con- stituted some of the richest farming lands of the State. They were divided among hundreds of small owners. Valuable improvements had been made thereon, and to many they represented a lifetime's hard labor."

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The History of Union County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, towns military record;, Part 27

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1254

Author: Durant, Pliny A. [from old catalog]; Beers, W. H., & co., Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1254