Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Part 3

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1189

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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).

Early in the spring of 1796 the first settle- ment was begun in Montgomery County. The town of Dayton was laid out in November of 1795. It was within the tract originally cov- ered by Symmes' purchase. Judge Symmes, having been unable to pay for his purchase, the land reverted to the government and the settlers found themselves without title. Con- gress, however, came to their aid, permitting them to enter their lands at the regular gov- ernment price.

It was likewise in 1796 that the first settle- ments were made in the Western Reserve. The mouth of the Cuyahoga River had always been considered an important place in the West and destined to become a great commer- cial mart. A corps of surveyors laid out the town of Cleveland in September, 1796. It was named in honor of General Moses Cleave- land, the agent of the land company which had made large purchases in the Western Reserve along the Cuyahoga River. Mahoning County was settled about the same time, as were also the counties of Ashtabula, Rose, Licking, Mad- ison, Trumbull, and Warren. In a sketch of such a limited character as this we cannot pur- sue the history of the individual settlements further. It was not long until the settlers had penetrated to every portion of the State, clear- ing the land, starting industries of various kinds, and preparing the way for the marvel- ous prosperity which has ever since character- ized the history of the Commonwealth.

INDIAN WARS.

Ohio has had its full share of conflict with the various tribes of Indians which were the original possessors of its soil. Being the first

River within whose limits settlement by the English was begun, it naturally became the scene of the early struggles through which the savage tribes were subdued and the land made possible of habitation for the white man. While we have given, in tracing the derivation of the title to the lands, the various Indian treaties which formed a link in that title, we have reserved for statement, here, a brief ac- count of the wars which led up to the making of these treaties, or their enforcement. With regard to the wars which took place prior to the organization of the government of the territory, we quote the concise account given in Howe's History :

"After Braddock's defeat in 1755 the In- dians pushed their excursions as far east as the Blue Ridge. In order to repel them, Major Lewis, in January, 1756, was sent with a party of troops on an expedition against the Indian towns on the Ohio. The point apparently aimed at was the upper Shawanese town, situ- ated on the Ohio, three miles above the mouth of the great Kanawha. The attempt proved a failure, in consequence, it is said, of the swol- len state of the streams and the treachery of the guides. In 1764, General Bradstreet, hav- ing dispersed the Indian forces besieging De- troit, passed into the Wyandot country by way of Sandusky Bay. He ascended the bay and river as far as it was navigable for boats, and there made a camp. A treaty of peace was signed by the chiefs and head men. The Shaw- nees of the Scioto River and the Delawares of the Muskingum, however, still continued hos- tile. Colonel Bouquet, in 1764, with a body of troops, marched from Fort Pitt into the heart of the Ohio country on the Muskingum River. This expedition was conducted with

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GEN. GEORGE ROGERS CLARK

GEN. ANTHONY WAYNE

GEN. WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON

GEN. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR

GEN. JOSIAH HARMAR

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

great prudence and skill and with scarcely any loss of life. A treaty of peace was effected with the Indians, who restored the prisoners they had captured from the white settlements. The next war with the Indians was in 1774, generally known as Lord Dunmore's. In the summer of that year an expedition under Col- onel McDonald was assembled at Wheeling, marched into the Muskingum country, and de- stroyed the Indian town of Wapatomica, a few miles above the site of Zanesville. In the fall the Indians were defeated after a hard-fought battle at Point Pleasant, on the Virginia side of the Ohio. Shortly after this event Lord Dunmore made peace with the Indians at Camp Charlotte, in what is now Pickaway County.

"During the Revolutionary War most of the western Indians were more or less united against the Americans. In the fall of 1778 an expedition against Detroit was projected. As a preliminary step it was resolved that the forces in the West, under General McIntosh, should move up and attack the Sandusky In- dians. Preliminary to this, Fort Laurens, so called in honor of the President of Congress, was built upon the Tuscarawas, a short dis- tance below the site of Bolivar, Tuscarawas County. The expedition to Detroit was aban- doned, and the garrison of Fort Laurens, after suffering much from the Indians and from famine, was recalled in August, 1779. A month or two previous to the evacuation of this fort Colonel Bowman headed an expedi- tion against the Shawnees. Their village, Chil- licothe, three miles north of the site of Xenia, on the Little Miami, was burned. The war- riors showed an undaunted front and the whites were forced to retreat. In the summer of 1780 an expedition directed against the In- dian towns in the forks of the Muskingum,

moved from Wheeling under General Broad- head. This expedition, known as the 'Coshoch- ton campaign,' was unimportant in its re- sults. In the same summer General Clark led a body of Kentuckians against the Shawnees. Chillicothe, on the Little Miami, was burnt on their approach, but at Piqua, their town on the Mad River, six miles below the site of Springfield, they gave battle to the whites and were defeated. In September, 1782, this offi- cer led a second expedition against the Shaw- nees. Their towns, Upper and Lower Piqua, on the Miami, within what is now Miami County, were destroyed, together with the store of a trader.

"There were other expeditions into the In- dian country, which although of a later date, we mention in this connection. In 1786 Col- onel Logan conducted a successful expedition against the Mackachack towns, on the head waters of Mad River, in what is now Logan County. Edwards, in 1787, led an expedition to the head waters of the Big Miami, and, in 1788, Todd led one into the Scioto Valley. There were also minor expeditions at various times into the present limits of Ohio.

"The Moravian missionaries, prior to the war of the Revolution, had a number of mis- sionary stations within the limits of Ohio. The missionaries, Heckewelder and Post, were on the Muskingum as early as 1762. In March, 1782, a party of Americans, under Colonel Williamson, murdered, in cold blood, ninety- four of the defenceless Moravian Indians, within the present limits of Tuscarawas County. In the June following, Colonel Craw- ford, at the head of about 500 men, was de- feated by the Indians three miles north of the site of Upper Sandusky, in Wyandot County.

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

He was taken prisoner and burnt at the stake with horrible tortures."

Although by the various treaties which we have heretofore mentioned, the English had secured title to the lands northwest of the Ohio, the Indians did not take kindly to the coming of the white settlers, and it was not long after their arrival that they began to show themselves hostile. That they were instigated, in some measure, by the British, cannot be doubted. Much could be traced to the mali- cious influence of the British superintendent of Indian affairs, Colonel McKee, his assistant, Captain Elliott, and the notorious white rene- gade, Simon Girty. A treaty confirming the former one made at Fort McIntosh, was made with the Indians at Fort Harmar in the year 1789. It had little effect, however, in staying Indian hostilities. In 1790 a company of 36 men went from Marietta to a place on the Muskingum known as Big Bottom. In view of the apparent unfriendliness of the Indians, the postponement of the settlement was ad- vised by General Putnam and others. More- over proper precautions were not taken against possible attacks. In an unguarded moment these settlers were set upon by the Indians and twelve of them killed. The settlers through- out the new territory immediately became alarmed and block-houses were erected for their protection. In 1789 Fort Washington was built within the present limits of Cincin- nati, and a few months later General Harmar arrived with 300 men and assumed command. It was determined by Governor St. Clair and General Harmar to send an expedition against the Maumee towns and secure that part of the country. While St. Clair was forming his army and arranging for this campaign three expeditions were sent out against the Miami

towns. One against the Miami villages, not far from Wabash, was led by General Harmar. With about fourteen hundred men, of whom less than one-fourth were regulars, he marched from Cincinnati in September, 1790. When near the Indian villages an advanced detach- ment fell into ambush and was defeated with severe loss. General Harmar, however, suc- ceeded in burning the Indian villages and de- stroying their standing corn, after which he commenced the return to Cincinnati. Having received intelligence, however, that the Indians were returning to their ruined towns, he de- tached about a third of his remaining force, with orders to bring the Indians to an engage- ment. In the engagement which followed, more than one hundred of the militia were killed and all but nine of the regulars, the re- mainder being driven back to the main force. The expedition served little purpose other than to make the Indians, if anything, bolder than before. An army under Charles Scott was sent against the Wabash Indians. Nothing was accomplished save the destruction of towns and standing corn. In July another army under Colonel Wilkinson, was sent against the Eel River Indians. It became en- tangled in extensive morasses on the river and accomplished no more than the other expedi- tions which had preceded it.

ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT.

Encouraged by the meager success of the whites in these expeditions, the chiefs of the Miamis, Shawnees and the Delawares now be- gan the formation of a confederacy among all the tribes of the northwest territory, which, they conceived, would be strong enough to expel the whites beyond the Ohio. While they were making ready, however, Governor

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

St. Clair was engaged in the organization of a insubordination before mentioned and the lack new army. He gathered together a force con- of sufficient drill were now made manifest. The army was thrown into hopeless confusion. It is probable that the whole disposable force of the tribes in the Northwest participated in the attack on St. Clair's army at this time. After losing about 800 men it began its retreat, which was a disgraceful, precipitate flight. After reaching Fort Jefferson it proceeded, by way of Fort Hamilton, back to Fort Washing- ton. sisting of 2,300 regulars and 600 militia. It was his purpose to establish a chain of forts from the Ohio, by way of the Miami and Mau- mee Valleys, to the lakes. The plan was fa- vored by Washington and General Knox, then secretary of war. It was said that a spirit of idleness, drunkenness and insubordination characterized the army at this time and had much to do with the defeat which followed later. On September 17, the army began its This defeat was one of the worst ever suf- fered by an American army at the hands of the savage tribes, outrivaling even Braddock's de- feat in this regard. It left the entire frontier exposed to the onslaughts of the savages, who were determined now, more than ever before, to exterminate the whites entirely. Execra- tions were heaped upon St. Clair who led the army to its terrible defeat. Under a more forceful commander, perhaps the result might have been different, yet the defeat was due, not alone to the inefficiency of St. Clair, but to the general demoralization of the soldiers whose insubordination we have before mentioned. march and moved to a point on the Great Mi- ami, where Fort Hamilton was established, the first in the chain mentioned above. The army then proceeded forty-four miles further on and erected Fort Jefferson, about six miles south of the present town of Greenville, in Darke County. On the 24th of October it again began its march through the wilderness, marshy and boggy and infested with savage foes. By the 3rd of November a stream was reached which St. Clair supposed to be a branch of the St. Mary of the Maumee, but which in reality was a tributary of the Wabash. The point was on what is now the line between Plans were immediately formed for another campaign against the Indians. General Wayne, whose bravery and ability, as well as his expe- rience during the Revolution, rendered him pe- culiarly well fitted for the task, was called to take command of the army which was raised. He immediately began the work of drill and organization. Darke and Mercer Counties. The army had been so far depleted by desertion at this time that only about 1,400 men were left. St. Clair sent the first regiment, under Major Hamtramck, to pursue the deserters and secure the advancing convoys of provisions which it was feared the deserters intended to plun- der. When they halted on the banks of the stream before mentioned, it encamped in two lines and threw up some slight fortifications against the Indians who were known to be in the neighborhood. On the next morning, about half an hour before sunrise, it was attacked furiously by the Indians. The evil effects of the

Meanwhile efforts were being made by the United States to conciliate the Indians and avoid the necessity of warfare. The Iroquois were induced to visit Philadelphia, and were partially secured from the confederacy which we have before mentioned. Five independent embassies were sent among the western tribes

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

in an effort to win them over and prevent war. site of the fort. On the 26th of July, 1794, All the embassadors were slain, however, ex- cept Putnam, who succeeded in reaching the Wabash Indians and effecting a treaty which was later rejected by Congress on account of its terms. A great council of the Indians, in which were represented all the tribes of the Northwest, and many others, assembled at Auglaize during the autumn of 1792, and pre- pared an address to the President wherein they agreed to abstain from hostilities until they could meet with the whites at the rapids of the Maumee in the following spring for a con- ference. The President appointed commis- sioners who, in accordance with the arrange- ment, met the representatives of the tribes at the appointed place. The Indians, however, would consent to nothing save the Ohio River as the boundary of their lands. This being out of the question for the whites, the negotia- tions came to an end.

WAYNE'S CAMPAIGN AND BATTLE OF FALLEN TIMBER.

Nothing was now left save war. Gen- eral Wayne, on being informed of the termination of the efforts at securing a treaty, immediately began active prepara- tions for a campaign against the Indians. Pending the negotiations with the Indians he had been sending out scouts and spies on errands of discovery and he had his plans by this time practically matured. All his information showed plainly that the Indians were receiving constant aid and encouragement from the British. He had spent the winter of 1793-94 at a fort which he had built on a tributary of the Great Miami, and which he called Greenville. The present town of Greenville is near the

General Scott, with 1,600 mounted men from Kentucky, joined General Wayne at Greenville, and two days later the entire army moved forward, reaching the junc- tion of the Auglaize and Maumee on the 8th of August, where they erected Fort Defi- ance. As Wayne's army moved northward the Indians abandoned their towns and col- lected their entire force, amounting to about two thousand men, near a British fort, erected in violation of the treaty of 1783, at the rapids of the Maumee. Before attacking the Indians, however, Wayne made still another attempt to conciliate them. He sent Christopher Miller, who had been nat- uralized among the Shawnees, and taken prisoner by Wayne's spies, as a messenger of peace. Miller returned with the mes- sage that if the Americans would delay for ten days the Indians would, within that time, decide the question of war or peace. Knowing the Indian character, however, Wayne determined to move forward. On the 18th of August, having marched forty- one miles from Auglaize, and being now near to the enemy, a fortification was erected which they called Fort Deposit. They re- mained here until the 20th, when they again took up their march. After having proceeded about five miles the foe was en- countered. In striking contrast with the condition of St. Clair's army at the time it had suffered its crushing defeat, the army was now well disciplined and fully able to cope with the enemy. The conflict which ensued was one of the fiercest in the his- tory of Indian warfare. The Indians were completely routed and many of them were slain, while the American loss was com-

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

.. While the Indians were not immediately subdued by the crushing defeat received from Wayne, yet it went a long way to- wards breaking the strength of their hos- tility. Recognizing, at length, that oppo- sition to the encroachments of the whites was useless, and that their ultimate subju- gation was only a matter of time, they were willing to sue for peace. They ar- ranged to meet General Wayne in June, 1795, at Greenville and form a treaty. This plan was carried out and the Greenville treaty, which marked the close of the In- dian wars in the West, was the result.

paratively slight .; This celebrated engage- tory. It was likewise proposed to divide ment is what is familiarly known as the the territory into ten states to be known battle of Fallen Timber. It was fought al- most under the walls of the British fort. When the commander of that fort de- manded an explanation of Wayne. as to why he had fought so near and in evident hostility to the British, Wayne replied, not only by telling him he had no rights in the country, but by also marching for- ward and devastating the Indian country. as Sylvania, Michigania, Cheresonisius, Assenispia, Metropotamia, Illinoia, Sara- toga, Washington, Polypotamia and Peli- sipia, the ultimate arrangement being, however, that there should be no less than three nor more than five states. The in- strument which was finally adopted for the government of the Northwest Territory, and ever since popularly known as the "Ordinance of 1787," was, in large meas- ure, the result of the efforts of Rev. Manassah Cutler, before mentioned as be- ing instrumental in securing the grant of lands to the Ohio Company. It was passed on the 13th of July, 1787. Its cardinal principles were: Ist .- The exclusion of slavery from the territory forever; 2nd .- Provision for public schools, giving one township for a seminary and every six- teenth section (this gave one thirty-sixth of all the land for public education) ; 3rd. -Freedom in religious worship and opin- ion; 4th .- The equal distribution of es- ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. tates; and 5th .- Protection in civil liberty. It also provided for the appointment of a After the title to the lands northwest of the Ohio had become vested in the United States, and active preparations for their settlement began to be made, it became necessary for Congress to provide some form of government for the territory. The matter was one calling for the exercise of the highest statesmanship, and various plans were under discussion before a final settlement was reached. At one time Con- gress, under the influence of the Southern States, voted down Jefferson's proposition excluding slavery forever from the terri- governor who should likewise be com- mander of the militia, a secretary, and for three judges. The governor and the judges were to have the power to adopt and publish such of the laws of other states as should be suitable to their circum- stances. Whenever there should be 5,000 free male inhabitants, of full age, in the district. they were to have authority to elect representatives to a General Assem- bly. which was to consist of the Governor. a Legislative Council and a House of Rep- resentatives. There was the further pro-

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

vision that not less than three nor more were also appointed justices. Return Jonathan Meigs was appointed clerk of this Court of Quarter Sessions. Ebenezer Sprout was appointed sheriff of Washing- ton County and also colonel of the militia; William Callis, clerk of the Supreme Court; Rufus Putnam, judge of the Pro- bate Court, and Return J. Meigs, Jr., clerk.

than five states were to be formed out of the territory, the states to be admitted to equal standing with the original states of the Union whenever they had a population of 60,000, or sooner if consistent with the general interest. The principles embodied in the ordinance were in the form of a com- pact irrevocable save by consent of both Congress and the states that should be formed out of the territory. It was by reason of this fact that the South was af- terwards powerless when they endeavored to have the territory opened to the admis- sion of slavery.

In October, 1787, Congress appointed Gen. Arthur St. Clair, who had been an officer in the Revolution, governor of the new territory, Winthrop Sargeant, secre- tary, and Samuel H. Parsons, John Arm- strong, and James M. Varnum, judges. Subsequently Armstrong declined the ap- pointment and John Cleves Symmes was given his place. Governor St. Clair arrived at the Marietta settlement on July 9, 1788. and immediately began his duties. On the 25th, the first law, relating to the militia, was published, and the next day the gov- ernor issued a proclamation creating all the country that had been ceded by the In- dians, east of the Scioto River, into the county of Washington. After organizing the militia he next erected the Courts of Probate and Quarter Sessions, and pro- ceeded to appoint civil officers. Rufus Put- nam, Benjamin Tupper and Winthrop Sar- geant, were made justices of the peace. The 30th day of August, the day the Court of Quarter Sessions was appointed, Archi- bald Cary, Isaac Pierce and Thomas Lord

On September 2nd, the first court was held. It is thus described by the American Pioneer: "The procession was formed at the Point (where most of the settlers re- sided), in the following order: The high sheriff, with his drawn sword; the citizens; the officers of the garrison at Fort Har- mar; the members of the bar; the supreme judges; the governor and clergymen; the newly appointed judges of the Court of Common Pleas, Generals Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper.

"They marched up the path that had been cleared through the forest to Campus Martius Hall (stockade), where the whole counter-marched, and the judges, Putnam and Tupper, took their seats. The clergy- man, Rev. Dr. Cutler, then invoked the divine blessing. The sheriff, Ebenezer Sproat, proclaimed with his solemn 'Oh yes' that a court is open for the adminis- tration of even-handed justice to the poor and to the rich, to the guilty and to the innocent, without respect of persons; none to be punished without a trial of their peers, and then in pursuance of the laws and the evidence in the case.

"Although the scene was exhibited thus early in the settlement of the West, few ever equaled it in the dignity and exalted character of its prim participators. Many of them belo' history of

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HISTORY OF HANCOCK COUNTY

our country in the darkest as well as the most splendid period of the Revolutionary war."

About the Ist of January, 1790, Governor St. Clair, with his officers, went to Fort Wash- ington, on the present site of Cincinnati, and established the county of Hamilton, in which was comprised all the country contiguous to the Ohio, from the Hocking River to the Great Miami. He also appointed a corps of civil and military officers and erected a Court of Quarter Sessions. A short time later he likewise or- ganized the county of St. Clair, whose limits, however, were comprised within the present State of Indiana, and Illinois, including the country from the Wabash to the Mississippi. Before the close of 1795 the governor and the judges published sixty-four statutes. Among other things they provided that the common law of England, and all its statutes made pre- vious to the fourth year of James I., should be of full force in the territory. Wayne County was organized in 1796, Jefferson and Adams in 1797, and Ross in 1798.

Wayne County, established by proclamation August 13, 1796, embraced a large extent of territory. It began at the mouth of the Cuya- hoga River, and extended south along the western border of Washington County to Fort Lawrence; thence west to the eastern border of Hamilton County; thence north-north-west to the site of Fort Wayne; then west north to the southern shore of Lake Michigan; then along the shore to the north part thereof, including the lands along the streams falling into the lake; then north to the territorial boundary of Lake Superior, and with said boundary through Lakes Huron, St. Clair and Erie to the place of beginning. This vast region, then known as Wayne County, included most of the

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Twentieth Century History of Findlay and Hancock County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, Part 3

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell Publication date: 1910 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1189

Author: Jacob Anthony Kimmell
Publication date: 1910
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1189