USA > Ohio > The Ohio Valley in colonial days > Part 14
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Again : it is an usual way to compute distances in the Woods of America by Dayes Journeys and those that are used to it come pretty nigh the truth by allowing 25 or 30 Miles a day according to the Road; which makes about 10 Miles a Day in a strait course. Now these People travelled 15 Daies, and by this rule must have travelled 150 Miles on a strait Road and accordingly we find it just 160 Miles from the falls of Appomatox River in Virginia, where they set out to Wood River upon the . Road as it is laid down in our Map of North America in which the longitude or Western distances are laid down from the late Surveys of those parts.
From these several considerations compared to- gether, it plainly appears, that the great River as they call it which these People discovered on the West side of the Mountains of Virginia. was this branch of the River Ohio that is well known by the name of Wood River :* which is the chief and prin- cipal branch of the Ohio, that rises in the Mountains of South Carolina and Virginia, falls into the Ohio about midway between Fort du Quesne and the Mis- sisipi and the place they discovered it at seems to be about the middle of that River, which has always re- tained the name of Wood River, from this Major General Wood, or Col. Wood as he is called in Vir- ginia who we see by the Journal was the Author of this Discovery.
This Journal then is a plain Narration of well
* Also called New River in Colonial times and now Great Kanahwa.
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known matters of Fact relating to the discoveries of those Western Parts of Virginia and that many years before any others even pretend to have made any Discoveries in those or any other of the Western Parts of North America beyond the Appalachean Mountains. It contains likewise plain proofs of the other Discoveries that were made here and here abouts some time before, which were made by one Needham, by order of Col. Wood of Virginia : and the inverted letters M. A, N. E. found on the Trees by our Travellers, seem to have been the Names of these two Persons, cut on the Trees as a memorial of their Discoveries as is usually done by Travellers in the Woods, and as we see was done by ours at this time. The many letters they found on the Trees on Wood River are likewise plain proofs of others having been there before them. This is a plain con- firmation of what is related by M' Coxe's Hist. of Carolina in a memorial presented by him to King William in 1699, and by several others, that all those Western Parts of Virginia were discovered by Col. Wood in several Journies from the Years 1654 to 1664.
These Discoveries are the more interesting at this time, as those parts are now claimed by the French merely and solely upon a frivolous pretext of a prior discovery by M' La Salle in 1680 :* who built the Fort Crevecoeur on or below the Lake Pimiteone in that year, which seems to be the Lake Petite alluded
* The discovery by La Salle in 1669 was apparently either forgotten or willfully ignored.
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to in the extract of M' Claytons letter, from a very imperfect knowledge of it, which Lake upon the River Illinois is not less perhaps than a thousand Miles beyond or to the Westward of Fort du Quesne and the other places that the French now claim on the River Ohio in consequence of that discovery as they call it.
Besides M' La Salle had even that discovery of his, that has been so much extolled and magnified, from the English, who by being so well settled in so many parts of this Continent, might surely very nat- urally conclude and easily know from many accounts of the Natives, that there was a very extensive con- tinent to the Westward of them which these discov- eries in Virginia as well as the Travels of Ferdinando Soto through Florida and over the Rio Grande as he calls it or the Missisipi in 1541, that had been pub- lished to the World, might give them some more particular account of and excite their curiosity to make farther Discoveries in it .* accordingly in the year 1678 a Party of People from New England dis- covered all these Western Parts of America to the Northward of Virginia as far as the Missisipi, and a great way beyond it which discovery of the English gave occasion to the discovery of the same parts two years afterwards by Mr La Salle, for the Indians who were with the English and served them as Guides in this Discovery went to Canada upon their return and
* No authentic account of this expedition of a party of New England people has ever been discovered. (Note by Mr. Sparks.)
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gave an account of these discoveries, of the English to the French. who thereupon set out to make the same Discovery. by Virtue of which they now pre- tend to claim nine tenths at least of all the known parts of the Continent of North America, and all the rest that is not known which may be as much more by all accounts.
It is true our People have not wrote as many His- tories of their Discoveries as the French have nor even published those that have been wrote we see any more than the Spaniards but then we have made many such discoveries, appear best from the Settle- ments that we have made which compared with those of the French are about twenty to one. (In the year 1714, immediately after the Treaty of Utrecht, Col. Spottiswood Governor of Virginia went over the Apalactean Mountains himself in Person in company with several Gentlemen of the Countrey that are and have been well known to me who had a good Road cleared over them and many settlements were made beyond those Mountains soon afterwards, both in the Northern and Southern parts of Virginia, but chiefly in the Northern Parts leading towards the Ohio, which Settlements extended to Logs Town on the River Ohio long before the late encroachments and usurpation of the French there. The English first settled on the Ohio from Pensalvania in the year 1725, as appears from their treaty with the Indians at Albany in 1754 and many other accounts. In 1736 those Parts were duly Surveyed and laid off by a com-
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pany of Surveyors as far as the Head Springs of the River Potowmack and in 1739 or 1740, a party of People were sent out by the Government of Virginia and traversed the whole Countrey, down Wood River- and the River Ohio to the Missisipi and down that River to New Orleans, whose Journals I have seen and perused and have made a draught of the Coun- trey from them and find them agree with other and later accounts. About that time a number of People petitioned the Government of Virginia to grant them a Settlement upon the River Missisipi itself about the mouth of the River Ohio which they offered to maintain and defend as well as to settle at their own charge, so well were all those Western Parts of Vir- ginia then known and frequented by our People : But they were refused this request by our Govern- ment itself, who have always prudently thought it more expedient to continue their Settlements con- tiguous to one another than to suffer them to be straggling up and down in remote and uncultivated Desarts, as we see the French have done in order thereby to seem to occupy a greater Extent of Ter- ritory, while in effect they hardly occupy any at all. Yet we are not without many of those Settlements among the Indians likewise and that in a Country which we have purchased from them three several times. In the year 1749 our People made a settle- ment among the Twightwee Indians at Pickawillany, which is reckoned by our Traders 500 Miles beyond Fort du Quesne, to which they were invited by the
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Natives themselves, who came down to Lancaster in Pensylvania for that purpose and made a treaty to that effect with our People there Jul. 22ª 1749. By this means we made several Settlements all along the River Ohio and all over the Countrey between that River and Lake Erie and that long before the French ever set a foot upon it, or knew anything about it, but by hearsay. And on the south side of the Ohio, we are not only well settled on Wood River, that is described in this Journal but likewise on Holston River that lies upwards of 150 Miles to the Westward of the Place that these Peopled Dis- covered on Wood River in 1671 and again on Cum- berland River that lies as much farther to the West- ward of that : all which places and Settlements you will see marked in our map abovementioned."-
APPENDIX D.
PAPERS RELATING TO THE OHIO COMPANY (FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE BOARD OF TRADE AND PLANTA- TIONS IN LONDON.)*
I. Sir Wm Gooch, Governor of Virginia to the Lords of Trade, Novbr 6, 1747, B. T. Vª vol 19
Having been lately much sollicited by several Per- sons in Partnership for Grants for Lands lying on
* I am indebted to Mr. Robert Clarke, of Cincinnati, Ohio, for copies of these documents.
1
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the Western side of the Great Mountains, where we have already two Counties well peopled, very near, if not upon the Borders of some of the Branches of Mississippi, extending to the Lake Erie (which would cut off the communication the French have from that Place to Canada), in order, as it is the Center of all His Majesty's Provinces, to the carrying on a more extensive Skin Trade with several Nations of Indians, who are willing to enter into Commerce with us : tho' I am persuaded that the granting such Peti- tions would in the course of a few years be productive of many national advantages, as well as a great In- crease of his Majesty's Quit rents, yet I thought and the Council concurred with me in opinion, that we ought not to comply therewith, till His Majesty's Permission was first obtained.
4. Order of the committee of Council for Planta- tions on the preceding letter. Febr 23, 1747-8 B. T. Vª Vol 20
His Majesty having been pleased by His Order in Council of the roth of this instant to referr unto this Committee a representation from the Lords Commis- sioners for Trade and Plantations together with an Extract of a letter they had lately received from Sr William Gooch Bart., Lieutenant Governor of His Majesty's Colony of Virginia dated the 6th of No- vember 1747, wherein he acquainted the said Lords Commissioners, that application had been made to him by persons in Partnership for Grants of lands, lying on the western side of the great Mountains
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but that he did not think proper to comply therewith, until he had received His Majesty's directions therein, The Lords of the Committee this day took the same into their consideration and are hereby pleased to order that the said Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations do consider, whether it may be for His Majesty's Service, and the advantage of the said Colony to empower the said Lieut-Governor to make grants of lands to Persons in Partnership on the western side of the great Mountains as desired and that they do make Report thereof to this Committee.
2. Lords of Trade to the Duke of New Castle, one of the Principal Secretaries of State, January 19, 1747-8 Lib. 38, p. 410.
Having lately received a letter from Sir William Gooch, Bart, Lieut-Governor of His Majestys Col- ony of Virginia, dated the 6th of November 1747, wherein he acquaints Us that application had been made to him for Grants of Lands lying on the Western side of the Great Mountains, but that he did not think proper to comply therewith, until he received his Majesty's directions therein, We take leave to inclose to your Grace an Extract of so much of the said Letter as relates thereto and desire your Grace will please to lay the same before his Majesty for his Majestys Directions. . . .
3. Same to Sir Wm Gooch, January 19, 1747-8 B. T. Vª. No. 38 p. 408-9.
(Your letter) of the 3ª (sic) November last relating to Applications that have been made to you
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for Grants of Land lying on the Western side of the Great Mountains .... We have read. ... and trans- mitted a Copy thereof to the Duke of New Castle, in order to be laid before His Majesty. In the mean- - time as His Majesty's Governor of Virginia is em- powered by a Clause in his Commission to make Grants of Land to any Person or Persons provided that he take Care of the Reservation of the Quit Rents and for settling & cultivating the land agree- able to the several laws relating thereto, We desire you will acquaint us, as soon as possible, what Diffi- culties you are under with Respect to making such Grants as you mention, or what further Power may be necessary for that Purpose together with an account on what Termes the Grants are desired and of the Nature & Situation of the Lands. . . .
5. Sir Wm Gooch, Governor of Virginia, to the Lords of Trade, June 16, 1748 B T. Va, Vol. 20
Your Lordships desire to know, what diffi- culties I was under about granting lands beyond the great Mountains. As these lands lye upon some of the chief Branches of the River Mississippi, I was apprehensive such Grants might possibly give some Umbrage to the French, especially when we were in hopes of entering into a Treaty for establishing a general Peace. This, my Lords, was the only objec- tion I had and which made the Council and me think it advisable to wait for his Majesty's Pleasure and directions
In respect to the terms, upon which the Grants are
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desired, the Petitioners pray that four years time may be allow'd them to survey and pay rights for the lands upon return of the plans to the Secretary's office, which is an indulgence that has been often given to the Grantees of lands lying in very remote parts of the Government, when the Grant is for a large number of acres, as this is, no less than Two hundred thousand acres being petition'd for, for it will require a considerable time to seat it, which they expect to do with Strangers and to build a Fort, without which or some such work for their defence, it would be dangerous for them to venture out so. far. . . .
6. Report of the Lords of Trade to the Privy Council, Septbr 2, 1748, B T. Vª 38 p. 41I
Pursuant to your Lordships Order of the 23ª of February 1747, referring to us an extract of a letter from Sir William Gooch, Bart, Lieutenant Governor of His Majesty's Colony of Virginia, dated the 6th of November 1747, "setting forth, that an application " had been made to him by persons in Partnership " for Grants of lands lying on the Western side of " the Great Mountains, but that he did not think " proper to comply therewith, until he had received " His Majesty's orders thereupon " & directing us to consider, whether it may be for his Majesty's service and the advantage of the said Colony to impower the said Lieut. Governor to make Grants of Lands to Persons in Partnership on the Western side of the Great Mountains as desired, We take leave to
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report to your Lordships, that since our former rep- resentation in our Letter to his Grace the Duke of New Castle, dated the 19th of January 1747, We have received a letter from Sir William Gooch, His Maj- esty's said Lieutenant Governor, dated the 16th of June last in Answer to Our Letter to him mentioned in the said Representation wherein he acquaints us " That with respect to the Difficulties he was under "about granting lands beyond the Great Mountains, " as these Lands lye upon some of the chief Branches " of the Mississippi, he was apprehensive such Grants " might possibly give some umbrage to the French, " especially when we were in hopes of entering into " a Treaty for establishing a general Peace, which " was the only objection he had and made him and " the Council think it advisable to wait for his Maj- " esty's Pleasure and Directions, That in respect to " the Terms etc," Whereupon We further take leave to represent to your Lordships
That the settlement of the Country lying to the Westward of the Great Mountains is the Colony of Virginia, which is the Center of all His Majesty's Provinces, will be for His Majesty's interest and ad- vantage, and security of that and the Neighbouring Provinces, in as much as His Majesty's subjects will be thereby enabled to Cultivate a friendship and carry on a more extensive Commerce with the Nations of Indians inhabiting those parts and such settlement may likewise be a proper step towards disappointing
* Verbatim repeated from the previous letter.
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the views and checking the Encroachments of the French by interrupting part of the Communication from their Lodgements upon the great Lakes to the River Mississippi, by means of which Communica- tion His Majesty's Plantations there are exposed to their Incursions and those of the Indian Nations in their interest. We cannot therefore but be of Opinion that all due Encouragement ought to be given to the extending the British settlements beyond the great Mountains and submit to your Lordships, whether it may not be adviseable to impower the said Lieut. Governor to make grants of Lands there to persons in Partnership as desired.
As the Persons applying for the said Lands pro- pose to settle the same with strangers and to build a Fort at their own expense, that is a further reason with us to think they may deserve his Majesty's Countenance & Encouragement, and the rather be- cause their example may induce the neighbouring Colonies likewise to turn their thoughts towards de- signs of the same nature.
We are further of Opinion, that it may be for His Majesty's Service, that four years be allowed them to survey & Pay rights for the Lands upon return of the Plans to the Secretary's office, which indulgence has been given even for a longer term to Grantees of Lands lying in remote parts of the same Govern- ment, when the Grant has been for a large Number of Acres, as this is, especially as there is just ground to expect that His Majesty's revenue will, at the expi-
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ration of the Term proposed be considerably increased and a Barrier formed to that and the neighbouring plantations by means of such settlement, which can- not be supported without some advantages at the first establishing of it, but lest such or any other ad- vantage, which may be thought Proper to be given as an encouragement to this undertaking should tempt Persons already settled in other Parts of the Colony upon Lands, for which the usual Quit rent is paid, to desert their former settlements and seat themselves upon these lands, we would further sub- mit to your Lordships, whether it may not be advise- able, that it should be a condition of the Grants to be made by the said Lieutenant Governor, that no person already possess'd of Lands in any other part of Virginia held by Quitrent from the Crown be admitted to take up or settle upon any of the Lands to be granted to the said Petitioners without giving security for continuing the Payment of the Quit rents for the Lands by him already possess'd notwith- standing his removal.
And as it is not likely that any number of inhab- itants will be induced to settle beyond these Moun- tains, unless they are sure of protection there We would further submit to your Lordships, whether the Building a Fort and placing a sufficient Garrison therein at the expense of the Grantees, should not be another condition of the said Grants.
These Regulations if they meet with the Appro- bation of your Lordships, together with any others,
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which shall be thought proper to be inserted in the Grants of the Lands petitioned for, may be made by Instructions to the said Lieut. Governor of Virginia. 7. Order of the Committee of Council on the pre- ceding Report, Novbr 24, 1748, B. T. Vª. Vol 20
The Lords of the Committee this day took into their consideration a Report of the Lords Commis- sioners for Trade and Plantations, dated the 2ª of September last relating to the making Grants of Lands on the western side of the great Mountains in Virginia, to persons in Partnership, And do agree in opinion with the said Lords Commissioners, that the settlement of the aforementioned part of Vir- ginia will be for His Majesty's interest and the ad- vantage and security of that and the neighbouring Provinces, and that therefore it may be advisable for His Majesty to impower the Governor or Lieuten- ant Governor of that Province to make the Grants desired, under the Conditions and regulations pro- posed in the Report of the said Lords Commissioners and to that end,
It is hereby ordered, that the said Lords Commis- sioners do prepare a Draught of Instructions for the Gov' or Lieutenant Governor of the said Colony of Virginia accordingly and that in case any thing fur- ther shall occur to them as proper and necessary to be inserted therein, that they do add the same to the said Draught of Instructions and lay the same before this Committee for their consideration.
8 Order of the Committee of Council, referring
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to the Lords of Trade the petition of John Hanbury et. al., incorporators of the Ohio Company, Febr 9, 1748-9 B, T. Vª. Vol. 20
Whereas His Majesty was pleased by His Order. in Council of the IIth of last month to referr unto this Committee the humble Petition of John Hanbury of London Merchant in behalf of himself and of Thomas Lee Esq. a Member of His Majesty's Council and one of the Judges of the Supreme Court of Judicature in His Majesty's Colony of Virginia, Thomas Nelson, Esqre, also a Member of His Majesty's Council in Vir- ginia, Colonel Cressup, Colonel William Thornton, William Nimmo, Daniel Cressup, John Carlisle, Law- rence Washington, Augustus Washington, George Fairfax, Jacob Gyles, Nathaniel Chapman and James Woodrop Esqres, all of His Majesty's Colony of Vir- ginia and others their Associates for settling the Coun- trys upon the Ohio and extending the British Trade be- yond the Mountains on the Western confines of Virginia humbly praying (for the reasons therein con- tained), that His Majesty will be graciously pleased to encourage their undertaking by giving instructions to the Governor of Virginia to grant to them and such others as they shall admit as their Associates a Tract of 500,000 acres of land betwixt Romanettos and Bufallo's Creek on the south side of the River Aligane otherwise the Ohio and betwixt the two Creeks and the Yellow Creek on the north side of the River or in such other parts of the West of the said Mountains as shall be adjudged most proper by
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the Petitioners for that purpose and that 200,000 acres, part of the said 500,000 acres, may be granted immediately without rights on condition of the Peti- tioners Seating at their proper expense a hundred Familys upon the lands in seven years, the lands to be granted free of Quit rents for ten years on condi- tion of their erecting a Fort and maintaining a Gar- rison for protection of the settlement for that time the Petitioners paying the usual quitrent at the expi- ration of the said ten years from the date of their Patent And further praying that the said Governor. may be further instructed, that as soon as these 200,000 acres are settled and the Fort erected 300,000 acres more residue of the said 500000 acres of land may be granted to the Petitioners adjoining to the said 200000 acres of land so first granted with the like exemptions and under the same covenants and to give all such further and other encouragements to the Petitioners in their so useful and publick an un- dertaking as to His Majesty in His great Wisdom shall seem meet .- The Lords of the Committee this day took the said Petition into their consideration and are hereby pleased to referr the same (a Copy whereof is hereunto annexed) to the Lords Commis- sioners for Trade and Plantations to consider thereof and Report their Opinion thereupon to this Commit- tee of Mississipi and those of Potomac are only separated by one small Ridge of Mountains, easily passable by Land Carriage, So that by the Con- venience of the Navigation of the Potomac and a
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short land carriage from thence to the West of the Mountains and to the Branch of the Ohio and the Lake Erie British Goods may be carried at little expense and afforded reasonably to the Indians in those parts. In case the lands to the west of the said Mountains were settled and a Fort erected in some proper place there for the protection and encourage- ment of your Petitioners and others your Majesty's subjects in adventuring their persons and fortunes in this Undertaking In which if your Petitioners meet with that success they have the greatest reason to expect It will not only be made the best and strong- est frontier in America, but will be the means of gaining a vast addition and increase to your Majesty's Subjects of that rich Branch of the Peltry and Furr which your Petitioners propose by means of Settle- ment hereinafter mentioned to carry on with the Indians to the westward of the said Mountains and on the said Lake and Rivers and will at the same time greatly promote the Consumption of our own British Manufactures, enlarge our Commerce, in- crease our Shipping and Navigation and extend your Majestys Empire in America and in a short space of time very considerably increase your Majesty's Reve- nue of Quit rents as there is little room to doubt, but that when this (who claim all the lands west of Virginia and also to and on the Waters of the Mis- sisippi and the Lake by right of Conquest from several Nations of Indians, who formerly inhabited that Country and have been extirpated by the said
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