THE PATHFINDERS OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
96 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
or rather to divide the honor; and
inasmuch as the Puritans have
had the ablest writers and advocates in
America to uphold their
cause as to the claim that they, and
they only, made Ohio, it is
perhaps only fair that a statement
should be made to show that
the Scotch-Irish people of virile blood,
had an influence in the
development and progress of the
commonwealth as potent as that
of the Puritan.
The Puritan and the Cavalier have been
recognized as the
only great race divisions in
calculations of race influence in the
formative period of the Republic-one
north, the other south.
The historian did not take into
consideration the fact there was
another race element, greater in numbers
than both, more con-
spicuous in forming the Republic than
either.
The Scotch-Irish of America have not
been writers;3 they
were only actors. The execution of a
great work was glory
enough; they cared not who might be
given the credit in print,
so they and their followers enjoyed the
result of the achievement.
While the Scotch-Irish have made
history, the Puritan has written
history, and the story of the making of
Ohio has been told only
from the Massachusetts-Connecticut point
of view, and the reader
of this history has been led to believe
that to the New Englander-
that is to say, the Puritan, who is, or
was, an Anglo-Saxon with-
out the strain of the Norman,*-so
impressed himself upon Ohio
and its institutions that it does not
occur to him that there were
others.
There is no study so interesting to the
historian as ethnology,
for it is well to note the origin and
development of the pathfinder
of a new country in order to determine
from whence came the
distinguishing characteristics that gave
the motive and the mo-
mentum of those who led the way. Races
love to be tried in two
ways: first, by the great men they
produce; secondly, by the
average merit of the mass of the race.4
The influence of the Scotch-Irish people
on Eastern Ohio,
which was Jefferson county, has been so
paramount,-and in
noting this declaration, the writer does
not disparage the influ-
3The Scotch-Irish have not been writers
of history because they are
lacking in imagination.-Dr. Ellis Thompson,
President Philadelphia High
School. 4Tyndall. *Col. E;. C. McDowell in
"Scotch-Irish in America."
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 97
ence of the New Englanders,-that not to
mention this race the
record would be incomplete. Blot out the
influence of this puis-
sant blood in the affairs of the state
and Ohio would not have been
the scene of deeds that make history. It
is true we would have
had the Ordinance of 1787, and that the
Puritan obtained ready-
made5 from the pen of a
Scotch-Irishman, the author of the in-
strument ceding the territory northwest
of the Ohio river to the
United States by Virginia whose valorous
Scotch-Irish sons
under Clark won it from the British; but
leave the settlement
at Marietta and all its great influence,
the achievements of the
Scotch-Irish in Ohio give to the state
its most important pages
of history.
These deeds have been recorded as
achievements of individ-
uals; but the deeds of the Puritan have
been credited to a people,
a distinct blood. There is a wide
difference between these two
peoples, and this difference is
indicated in the statement in the
above sentence. The Puritans were a
people-a community, a
compact; the Scotch-Irish acted as
individuals and held views
in contradistinction to those of the
Puritan. The Scotch-Irish
were individualists, the Puritans
socialists. This is the reason
the settlements made by the Puritans as
a rule were Federalistic
when the people of the Republic first
drew political lines; it is
the reason the settlements of the
Scotch-Irish were Democratic.
When the Puritans came to America they
were not per-
plexed by any vague philosophy of human
liberty and universal
equality.6 Their idea was not to
organize a republic in which
all men would be free and equal before
the law. Their wish was
to plant English colonies under the
protection of the English
flag, where they and those who thought
as they did might conduct
their religion and their local affairs
according to their own ideas.7
They were not advocates of a free
church. They burned the
first Presbyterian church built by the
Scotch-Irish settlers at
Worcester, Mass.8 They
believed in the state church if theirs
were the state church. They permitted no
dissent. In their
view there must be universal conformity
or else banishment, the
whipping post or the gibbet. The state was the ally of the
church,
5Senator Daniels at Marietta. 6Henry S.
Boutell. 7Henry S. Boutell.
8 Dr. Perry, Williams College, Mass.
NOTE.-A number of the defenders of
Londonderry in 1689 located in Massachusetts
and New Hampshire.
Vol. VI-7
98 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
useful to enforce its decrees and its
dogmas.9 Massachusetts did
not open her doors to all religious
sects until 1833,10 while the
Scotch-Irish everywhere were advocates
of a free church in a
free land. The persecution of the
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians in
Massachusetts was almost as intolerable
as was the persecution
of the Quakers by the same people.
Are we to believe then that Ohio is
indebted to this people
for the religious tolerance that obtains
as one of our most sacred
institutions? Are we to believe that
when a large book was writ-
ten giving the history of "Slavery
in Massachusetts," that when
as late as 1828 the abolitionist ran
greater risk of personal injury
in addressing a Massachusetts audience
than an audience in Vir-
ginia,11 we are indebted to this people
wholly for the emancipation
proclamation contained in the Ordinance
of 1787?
The Puritan idea has always been to get
the greatest aggre-
gate good in the community; the
individual and the family are
subordinate to the community. With them,
the state is the peo-
ple, and the people belong to, and are
made for, the state. With
the Scotch-Irish the people are the
state, and the state is made
by and for the people. Individualism and
family seem to be at
the foundation of the Scotch-Irish
philosophy of life.l2 They
maintain that the strength of the home
is the strength of the Re-
public; the Puritans hold that the
strength of the Republic is the
strength of the home.
But who are the Scotch-Irish, and what
elements of character
did they possess that made them
pathfinders? The prevailing
belief that this race is the result of a
cross between the Scots and
Irish is erroneous. The Scotch-Irish are
Scots who first settled
in the North of Ireland known now as the
Province of Ulster,
before the third century. In Ireland
they came under the influ-
ence of the Cross, and about the sixth
century emigrated to North
Britain, where they subjugated or
crossed with the Pictish tribes;
and then what had been Caledonia became
Scotland. While the
perfidious King James was on the throne
he fell out with certain
Irish nobles who possessed Ulster, and
confiscating their lands,
colonized them with Scots; and thus,
after a thousand years the
9Judge Temple. 10The Covenanter, Cavalier and Puritan. 11John
Rankin. 12Col. E. C.
McDowell, in "Scotch-Irish in America."
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 99
Scot who became, in Scotland, the
Irish-Scot, returned to the
home of his fathers and thereafter was
known as Scotch-Irish.
In these years infusion of new blood
went on, adding traits of
manhood lacking in the original stock,
as generations came and
passed. The cross of the intellectual
Irish who had kept the
lamp aglow when all else of western
Europe was in chaotic dark-
ness, with the physically robust Scot
made a strong race; but as
the years went by the Scot became the
audacious Norman, whose
spirit of adventure and enterprise,
toned by the conservative
Saxon strain, gave this people the
elements of character that have
revolutionized the factors of progress.
And these are the quali-
ties of blood that distinguished this
race when representatives
thereafter came to America and became
the pathfinders of Empire,
the course of whose star is ever
westward.
These people were what is known in
history as the Cove-
nanter stock and they were disciples of
John Calvin, John Knox
and Melville, and when they came to
America the principles that
were burned into their hearts came with
them: "The authority
of kings and princes," said John
Knox, "was originally derived
from the people; the former are not
superior to the latter; if the
rulers become tyrannical, or employ
their power to destroy their
subjects, they may be lawfully
controlled." With this spirit the
Scotch-Irish came to America, and
inspired by the truth of the
utterance, they were the first to
declare for American independ-
ence.
If we follow the footsteps of this
people along the pathway
that leads through the splendid
advancement of the world's civili-
zation, we follow them through every
triumph of man's prowess;
and as Hume traced the source of thought
to the law of associa-
tion, we only need mention the result of
research in any field of
endeavor and Scotch names flash to mind.
Why did these people come to America?
What made the
Scotch the most famous of explorers and
colonizers? The an-
swer is in the restlessness that comes
of ambition, the audacity
that comes of enterprise, that inspired
the spirit that directed
Livingston, Mungo Park, Richardson, Ross,
Collison, McClin-
tock, Hays, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Donaldson,
McKensie, McClure,
Clark, Lewis and Jeremiah Reynolds. But
this is not all. The
100
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Scotch had enriched the soil of the
fatherland with blood poured
out in battle for personal, civil and
religious liberty, and as very
little had been gained even after the
final stand and as the per-
secutions were no longer bearable, these
people saw beyond the
sea the hope of a home of peace,
certainly no harder to maintain
against the savage than under the
tyrant's heel. When they
came, they cut loose from the crown and
thereafter never lost
occasion to add to the uneasiness of the
head that bore it.
The first important immigration of these
people began in
1704, although there had been quite a
number to the eastern
shores of Maryland and the adjacent
counties of Virginia pre-
viously.
Francis Makemie organized the first
Presbyterian church
in America in 1683, thanks to the
tolerance of the Catholics who
had colonized Maryland, the Scotch-Irish
there being mostly
Presbyterians, who were at first denied
a church in Virginia, New
York and Massachusetts. But it was in
the early half of the
eighteenth century the great movement
began which transported
so large a portion of the Scotch-Irish
into the colonies, and which
to a great measure, shaped the destinies
of America. Of this
movement Froude says: "In the two
years which followed the
Antrim evictions, thirty thousand
Protestants left Ulster for a
land where there was no legal robbery,
and where those who
sowed the seed could reap the
harvest." The persecutions ceased
for a time and the toleration act gave
peace that checked the
tide of emigration, but only for a brief
period, for it again began
in 1729 and for twenty years twelve
thousand people annually
came from Ulster to America, landing
principally at the port of
Philadelphia, but many others came to
New England ports as
well as to southern ports, until at the
outbreak of the Revolution
they were more numerous than the
Puritans and Cavaliers, the
two other great divisions of population,
and instead of settling on
the seaboard they pushed to the interior
until they had formed a
line between civilization and the
Indians from Maine to Georgia-
the most determined, the most stubborn,
the most religious, the
most persistent men who ever colonized a
new country. And this
line continued to move westward and was
ever on the frontier.
They had been trained in war, for they
had fought for generations
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 101
battles for the triumph of principle,
which principle was their
guiding star in America.
These people, as noted, made settlements
in New England,
their most populous settlements in that
section being in New
Hampshire. It was from the New England
Scotch-Irish stock
that Mathew Thornton came, as did Horace
Creeley, Robert Ben
ner, Col. Wm. Miller, who won fame in
the war of 1812, Asa Gray,
Gen. McClelland, Hugh McCulloch. Gen.
Grant, a native of Ohio,
was descended from one of the New
England Scotch-Irish set-
tlers, although his mother's people were
of this blood but settled
in Bucks county, Pa. To the New England
Scotch-Irish stock
Ohio is indebted for Salmon P. Chase,
whose achievements are
recorded in the brightest pages of
history. Gen. Stark and the
"Green Mountain Boys" were of
this blood, as was Gen. Knox,
Washington's Secretary of War. In fact
all the members of
Washington's cabinet with one exception
were of this blood. So
were three of the five first members of
the Supreme Court ap-
pointed by Washington-Rutledge, Wilson
and Blair.
At the celebration of the Jefferson
County Centennial, Mayor
McKisson, of Cleveland, made the
statement in an address that
Joshua Reed Giddings and Benjamin Wade
were born in the
northern part of the original county;
this is an error. Giddings,
whether of Puritan or Scotch-Irish stock
the writer could not
ascertain, was born in Pennsylvania, and
was educated by a
Presbyterian minister, while Wade was a
Scotch-Irishman with
many, if not all, the distinguishing
traits of character, coming as
he did from one of the Massachusetts
settlements. According to
a late biographer Daniel Webster was
also of Scotch blood.l3
Rufus P. Ranney, one of the strong men
of whom the West-
ern Reserve is ever proud, and who has
been classed with the
Puritan stock, because from New England,
was likewise Scotch.
Early in their coming, as noted above,
the Scotch-Irish
formed a line from Maine to Georgia; in
New York the settle-
ment was principally in the Mohawk
Valley; the Cumberland
Valley in Pennsylvania, however, was the
main reservoir which
constantly overflowed west and south,
the people going up the
13Jefferson Davis was of the Simpson family from which
came Grant's
mother.
102
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Virginia Valley where they were given
peace of conscience on
condition that they would keep back the
Indians,-peace that
they did not have at the hands of their
Quaker neighbors in
Pennsylvania, for it is said that they
did not get along well with
the followers of the docile Penn, having
many bitter and un-
pleasant controversies with them.14
Many Scotch-Irish immi-
grants landed at Charleston and
Savannah, but the great bulk
came in at the port of Philadelphia;
Logan, Wm. Penn's mana-
ger, declaring that if their
"coming were not checked the turbu-
lent Irish would take the colony."
This line of sturdy pathfinders kept up
a continuous move-
ment westward, overcoming every obstacle
to advancement, until
the ensign of civilization was planted
on the Pacific coast from
the tropic sands of southern California
to the frozen mountains
of Alaska, conquering by the prowess
that comes of proper selec-
tion in race building whose foundation
was laid away back yonder
when the scholarly followers of St.
Columba crossed with the
Scot whose power was like the rugged
oak, gnarled and uncul-
tured, but became in the offspring
through infusion of gentler
blood-strains, like the polished column,
having still all the strength
of the forest monarch, but more
beautiful in the refinement of
tranquil stability. James W. Marshall,
of this race, was the first
person to discover gold in California,
and James Christie, of the
same strain, was the Klondike
pathfinder.
We often speak of Ohio as a Virginia
state. In a sense this
is largely true. But the Virginians who
came to Ohio were
mostly from the valley, very few coming
from tidewater, and the
majority of the people in the valley
first settled in Pennsylvania.
There were three lines of emigration
from Pennsylvania into
Ohio: One direct through the gateway to
the west at the meet-
ing of the rivers; one from Virginia,
and the other from North
Carolina through Tennessee and Kentucky.
Rev. Robert Finley
and his congregation which settled
Chillicothe, came by the latter
route, organizing schools and academies
all along the line of
progress. In fact there were public
schools organized and main-
tained by these people in North Carolina
before the Revolution-
ary war.15 Dr. Archibald Alexander, the
founder of Liberty
14Dr. Egle. 15North Carolina
Hand-Book.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 103
Hall, so much beloved by Washington,
that he endowed it be-
cause of the active part its people had
taken in the war against
England, was from Pennsylvania, and his
descendants were with
Lee and Jackson in the Confederate army.
Liberty Hall was the
beginning of Washington and Lee
University, the very founda-
tion of culture and power of the
Shenandoah and James, the
greatest influence in the state's
progress. The first President of
Liberty Hall, Dr. Graham, who was a
power in the Revolutionary
war, both in pulpit and field, was from
the Old Paxtang church,
near Harrisburg, Pa. Many of the
families that gave Virginia
the name of mother of statesmen,
educators and soldiers, the
McDowells, the Prestons, the Pattersons,
the McCormacks,
Ewings, Breckenridges, McCulloughs,
Simpsons, McCorcles,
Moffats, Jacksons, Irwins, Blairs,
Elders, Grahams, Campbells,
Finleys, Trimbles, Allens, Hunters,
Rankins, Junkins, Stewarts,
and hundreds of others were from the
Cumberland Valley. The
American ancestors of Gen. Jeb Stewart
lie buried in the Old
Paxtang graveyard; and it is one of the
possibilities of civil war
that many of both sides in that awful
clash of arms at Gettysburg
fell almost in sight of the graves of
their forebears. The an-
cestors of Col. Campbell, the hero of
Kings Mountain, first settled
in Pennsylvania.
The movement of these people from the
Cumberland Valley
into the Virginia Valley was constant
and communication was
kept up between the settlers, for they
were of the same congre-
gations, and it is safe to presume that
after the Hanover church
in Dauphin county, Pa., promulgated the
first declaration of in-
dependence, June 4th, 1774,-"That
in the event of Great Britain
attempting to enforce unjust laws upon
us by the strength of arms,
our cause we leave to Heaven and our
rifles", the contents of the
instrument were communicated to former
members of the con-
gregation then in North Carolina, who
inspired the Mecklenburg
declaration, which was promulgated a
year before the Jefferson
declaration was written and signed. The
Hanover Scotch-Irish
who promulgated the declaration that
inspired the Americans with
courage, at the same time organized a
Revolutionary society,
having for its object the independence
of America. They had a
banner ornamented with the portrait of a
pioneer rifleman and a
104
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
rattlesnake, with the motto, "Don't
tread on me." How like
the Scotch motto, "Injure me at
your peril!"
The following year the Scotch-Irish
Presbyterians organized
a like society at Hannastown,
Westmoreland county, Pa., and
promulgated even a stronger declaration
and adopted a banner
of significance of the Hanover badge of
liberty. The close asso-
ciation of people with the church, the
church with Presbytery and
Presbytery with Synod, soon spread the
fire generated from the
Hanover spark.
The "Liberty Clubs" organized
in New York to promulgate
ideas that would inspire the people to
fight for independence, were
called Irish Presbyterian debating clubs
by the royalists. The
first American newspaper advocating
Republican principles, and
inspired by the spirit of John Knox,
urged the colonists to take
up arms that a republic might follow,
was edited by a Scotch-
Irishman named Anderson, his paper being
The Continental
Gazette, of New York, issued before the outbreak of the Revolu-
tionary war. It is not at all surprising
that Bancroft declared
that "the first voice publicly
raised in America to dissolve all con-
nection with Great Britain came not from
the Puritans of New
England, nor the Dutch of New York, nor
from the planters of
Virginia, but from the Scotch-Irish
Presbyterians."
Rev. Sankey, of the Pennsylvania Hanover
church, became
a minister in Hanover Presbytery in
Virginia, which Presbytery
furnished ten thousand of the names on
the petition for a free
church in a free land in 1785, and which
petition was the force
back of Jefferson's bill for religious
tolerance, becoming law be-
fore the Puritan fathers found the
Ordinance of 1787. These
were the brave people who stood with
Rev. David Caldwell on
the banks of the Alamance, May 16, 1771,
and received the first
volley of shot fired at rebels against
British oppression in Amer-
ica.16 The Lewises and the
soldiers who fought at Point Pleasant,
September 11, 1774, really the
first battle of the Revolution,
were of this valorous blood. Lord
Dunmore had incited the In-
dians to this conflict against the
Americans to discourage further
agitation of the then pending demand for
fair treatment of the
American colonies by the British.
Patrick Henry was of this
16 Bancroft.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 105
people; so was George Rogers Clark and
his two hundred soldiers
who won the Northwest Territory, now the
very heart of the Great
Republic. So were the men who fought on
the patriot side in the
battle of Kings Mountain. This was
pre-eminently a Scotch-
Irish victory, one of the most important
of the war, for every
subsequent event of the Revolution which
led in logical succes-
sion to the surrender of the British at
Yorktown and the close of
the war may be traced to this memorable
battle.17 At Cowpens
and Guilford we find the same element
that did the good work at
Kings Mountain. Col. Morgan's regiment
of sharpshooters
were of this blood, although he was not,
and when Morgan was
introduced to Burgoyne, after the
surrender, he said to him that
he commanded the finest regiment in the
world.17
From this race came Jackson, Polk,
Monroe, Calhoun and
Madison, as well as Rutledge, who,
Bancroft says, was the wisest
statesman south of Virginia. Of this
people came Allen Trimble
from the valley a babe in his mother's
arm, on horseback. His
father settled on land pointed out to
him in the valley by an In-
dian whom he favored when living in
Pennsylvania. Gov. Mor-
row was from Gettysburg. Gov. Allen was
of the same noble
blood. Gov. Vance was from Washington
county, Pa., as were
also the ancestors of Gov. Shannon, who
by the way, was the
first native Governor of Ohio, and the
original Jefferson county
has the honor of being his birthplace.
Pennsylvania has given
to Ohio no less than a dozen governors,
ten of them Scotch-Irish;
eleven of the counties were named for
Pennsylvania Scotch-Irish-
men, and they are abiding monuments to
some of the bravest,
noblest and wisest men of the pioneer
days-Wayne, Ross, Har-
din, Fulton, Mercer, Darke, Crawford,
Butler, Allen, Logan and
Morrow. In 1817, a majority of the
members of the lower House
of Representatives were natives of
Pennsylvania,18 and to-day
there are more Pennsylvania natives in a
majority of the counties,
including Washington and the Reserve
counties, than natives of
any other state, with of course, Ohio
excepted; and in the coun-
ties where the natives of Virginia and
Kentucky predominate, it
is not difficult to trace their origin
to Pennsylvania. To him who
has the inclination and leisure for the
task there can be no more
17Wm. Wirt Henry. 18 Howe's Historical Notes.
106
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
interesting study than to follow the
trail of the Scotch-Irish from
Pennsylvania, through Virginia,
Tennessee and Kentucky, to
Ohio. John Rankin, the founder of the
Free Presbyterian
church, and one of the finest specimens
of physical and mental
manhood that ever blessed the earth,
came to Ohio from Penn-
sylvania by way of Virginia, North
Carolina and Kentucky. His
ancestors were early settlers of
Pennsylvania, and his father was
a soldier of the Revolution. The son
came to Ohio after the
Virginia ordinance of cession was
adopted,19 to get away from the
environment of slavery, as did also
Francis McCormack, the
founder of the first Methodist church in
the Northwest Territory.
It was from immigrants of this stock
that the abolition sentiment
got its spirit, its abiding force.
Of the five Presidents born in Ohio all
but Garfield belong to
this race.
Of this stock was Robert Fulton, who
built the first steam-
boat on the Ohio, and whose application
of this power revolu-
tionized western commerce. So was Cyrus
McCormack, the
inventor of the reaper. Of this blood
was Morse, the inventor of
the electric telegraph, Henry, of the
electric motor, Graham,
Gray, and Bell, of telephone fame,
Edison and Westinghouse.
The Puritan blood has been given credit
for the ingenuity
that made the rugged North Atlantic
coast the workshop of Amer-
ica; but it is a fact that the Puritan
ladies were taught to spin on
Boston common by Scotch immigrants from
the north of Ireland;
and the great textile industry was given
impetus by the invention
of the carding and spinning machines by
Alexander and Robert
Barr, which machines were introduced by
a Mr. Orr, and the
inventor of the mule spinning machine
was also a Scot. Gordon
McKay invented the sole-stitching
machine that revolutionized
shoe-making in New England. Elias Howe,
the inventor of the
sewing machine, was certainly of Scotch
blood. The first iron
furnace west of the Allegheny mountains,
was erected in 1794 by
a Scotchman named Grant. John Campbell
first employed the
hot-blast in making pig-iron.
John Filson, the surveyor and Indian
fighter, who made the
first map of Kentucky, and who
wrote the first history of the west,
19 This ordinance prohibited slavery
after 1800.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 107
-published in 1785, was a native of the
Cumberland Valley and
one of the settlers of Cincinnati. Col.
Patterson, who was with
Clark in his expedition, was also one of
the founders of the me-
tropolis of the state. The Symmes were
Scotchmen from New
Jersey, as were also Judge Burnett and
Judge McLean, the two
greatest lawyers of the early west.
The Scotch-Irishmen looked upon
education as the greatest
element of power in civilization and the
school-house was one of
the first buildings erected in a
settlement. Dr. John McMillen,
who established the first college in the
west, that of Washington
and Jefferson, now located in
Washington, Pa., also established
one of the first colleges in Ohio, that at
New Athens, in Harrison
county, and in the original Jefferson
county; Prof. Joseph Ray,
the author of the mathematical works
still used in the public
schools, being a pupil and a professor
thereof. This college gave
to Congress Hon. John A. Bingham and
Senator Cowan, of
Pennsylvania. Athens county, in which
the first college in the
state is located, was settled by the
Scotch-Irish, and Thomas
Ewing and John Hunter, both of this
blood, were the first gradu-
ates, being the first collegiate alumni
in the west.20 Thomas
Ewing was one of the greatest statesmen
Ohio ever had to her
credit, strong, honest, sincere,
intellectual. It was in his family
that Gen. Sherman was reared. The father
of Secretary Sher-
man's wife was John Stewart, noted in
the annals of the Cumber-
land Valley. Of the Athens University,
W. H. McGuffey, the
author of the school books, was
president for thirty-five years.
He was also a professor of the Miami
University, another Ohio
Scotch-Irish college, and of the
University of Virginia, founded
by Jefferson. He was born in
Pennsylvania in 1800. "Three
Ohio men, now deceased," says Dr.
Hinsdale, "have exercised
a far-reaching educational influence
throughout the country," in
speaking of McGuffey, Ray and Harvey,
two of them, if not all,
were of Scotch-Irish blood. Dr. Hinsdale
might have also in-
cluded Linsley Murray, who was of the
same strain. Francis
Glass, who organized a classical school
in the backwoods of Ohio
in 1817, and wrote a Life of Washington
in Latin, which was
used for years as a text-book, was of
Londonderry stock, coming
20Howe's Historical Notes.
108 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
to the wilderness from Pennsylvania. Dr.
Junkin, an early
President of Washington and Lee
University, first organized
schools in Pennsylvania, and from
Virginia followed the trail of
the fathers into Ohio, where for years
he was the President of
Miami University, that has given to the
state many of its brightest
minds. He wrote a pamphlet in defense of
slavery which John
C. Calhoun, whose father went to North
Carolina from Pennsyl-
vania, characterized as the ablest
defense of the institution he
had ever read.21 The public
school of Ohio was really founded
by Allen Trimble after the system
inaugurated in New York by
Gov. Clinton, also of Scotch-Irish
blood. While acting governor
he appointed a commission, a majority of
whose members were
of Pennsylvania stock, which formulated
the Ohio public school
system. This system was perfected by
Samuel Galloway, born
at Gettysburg, a teacher, jurist,
statesman, upon whose advice
and opinion Lincoln set high value.
The Pennsylvanian has served Ohio in
both branches of
Congress; the first Territorial Governor
was Gen. St. Clair, a
Scotchman, whose remains now lie buried
at Greensburg in a
neglected graveyard; the first
Territorial Delegate was Win. Mc-
Millen; the first State Representative
was Jeremiah Morrow and
the first judge was Francis Dunlavey.
Dunlavey was a lieuten-
ant in Col. Crawford's expedition to
Sandusky.
The most noted of the Indian fighters
were of Scotch-Irish
blood, and they came principally from
the Pennsylvania-Virginia
stock-John and Thomas McDonald, J. B.
Finley, Simon Kenton,
Col. John Johnson, James Maxwell, Joseph
Ross, McClelland,
the Zanes, McCulloughs, Col. Crawford,
Gen. Thomas Hixon,
Gen. Findley, Gen. Wm. Lytle, the
grandfather of the soldier poet,
Gen. Robert Patterson, Samuel Brady, the
Poes, Adam and An-
drew, all of whose exploits are part of
history.
The generals Ohio gave to command
Federal troops in the
late war were largely of
Pennsylvania-Virginia Scotch-Irish
stock. Grant has already been mentioned;
the McDowells, the
Gilmours, the brilliant Steedman was
born in Northumberland
county; Geo. W. Morgan, was a native of
Washington county, so
prolific of Ohio men; Gen. Gibson, Ohio's greatest orator, was
21 Dr. Alexander White.
NOTE.-Francis Dunlavey who came to Ohio
from Pennsylvania, was a profound
scholar and a man of recognized
diversity of talent. He opened a classical school at
Columbia, near Cincinnati, in 1792.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 109
a native of Jefferson county, but of Pennsylvania stock; the McCooks were of Washington county Scotch-Irish stock,-Dr. John and Maj. Daniel were the fathers of twelve commissioned officers in the Federal army, all of whom were either natives of the original Jefferson county or had lived within its territory, all men of sterling qualities, characteristic of the race from which they sprung; they have been pre-eminent as soldiers, as lawyers, as statesmen, as divines, as teachers, as orators, and one Rev. Dr. Henry C. McCook has become distinguished in scientific re- search, being an authority on entomology, and as the author of "The Latimers," the strongest historical novel of the west that has been written, and that has won him lasting fame as a writer of fiction; not only this: he has shown that there is material in the pioneer times of the Ohio-Pennsylvania-Virginia border upon which to base historical novels as strong as those founded on Scotch history by Scott. Dr. McCook is the most versatile, and withal the brainiest man ever produced by the original Jefferson county. As a divine, he is sincere, enthusiastic; as an orator he is eloquent, convincing; as a scientist, he stands at the very head of those who study along the lines of entomology; as an author of historical narrative, he has won the applause of readers; as a historian, he is painstaking, conscientious; as a scholar and teacher, profound and thorough. In no other man of our county have we the intellectual qualities so manifest as in Dr. McCook. And his work has all been for the enlightenment of his fellows, and the world about him is better and brighter because he is the center of it, giving out the fire of his great intellect and the warmth of his kind heart like a sun in a firmament, that all may be blessed. Gen. Hamer, who procured Gen. Grant's admission to West Point, was a Pennsylvanian, but descent is not known to the writer. T. Buchanan Reed, the author of "Sheridan's Ride," that stirring epic of the war period, was born in Chester county, Pa. The father of C. L. Vallandigham, whose classical school in Lis- bon, was attended by a portion of the McCook family, was from Pennsylvania, a Scotch-Irish Huguenot, a cross that adds to the sturdy Scotch strain, both in steadfastness of principle, beauty of feature and gentility of manner. James Geddes and Samuel |
110 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Forrer, the pioneer engineers, who did
much to develop Ohio,
were from Pennsylvania.
Of the four field commanders-in-chief in
the late war, Win-
field Scott, Grant and McClelland were
of this race, and Sheri-
dan's mother was Scotch.
President Harrison is of this stock, his
mother coming from
Pennsylvania; so is President McKinley.
The late Thos. A.
Hendricks, a native of Ohio, was also of
Pennsylvania Scotch-
Irish blood. William J. Bryan is of the
Virginia strain. Senator
M. A. Hanna, the greatest political
organizer of the century, is
descended from a Pennsylvania-Virginia
Scotch-Irish family.
Twelve of the Presidents of the Republic
were of Scotch and
Scotch-Irish descent. As were also the
organizers of great in-
dustrial and business
enterprises-Carnegie, Rockefeller, Pull-
man, Armour.
In journalism the Cumberland and
Virginia valleys have had
a powerful influence. William Maxwell,
the editor of the first
journal in Ohio, was of this strain, as
was also Charles Hammond,
editor of the Cincinnati Gazette, as
early as 1824, and who was con-
sidered the ablest editor ever in Ohio.
As no vehicle of power
exerts greater force than the newspaper
in the affairs of state and
church, the Pennsylvania-Virginian can
rest his laurels in Ohio
on achievement along this line of human
endeavor and be sure of
highest honor, for no other blood has
given Ohio greater editors
than Richard Smith, Murat Halsted,
Washington and John Mc-
Lean, Whitelaw Reid, than Morrow, of
Cleveland, or McClure, of
Columbus. And it should be recorded here
that the lightning
press invented by Scott, by Gordon, by
Campbell, give to this
race the acme of mechanical ingenuity;
while Gedd, a Scotchman,
invented a process of stereotyping that
made possible the employ-
ment of the lightning press in the
multiplication of the printed
page.
In most of the Ohio counties the first
church built was invar-
iably Presbyterian. This alone gives a
strong suggestion as to
the influence of the Scotch-Irish on
Ohio. Had the Puritans
been the greatest factor in the
settlement of the state the first
churches would have been of a different
communion. But the
Scotch-Irish were not all Presbyterians:
Bishops Simpson, Mc-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 111
Cabe and McKendrie, of the Methodist
Episcopal church; Bishops
McIlvaine, Thompson and Leonard, of the
Protestant Episcopal
church; Col. Johnson, one of the
founders of Kenyon college, and
one of the greatest men of Ohio;
Alexander Campbell of the
Christian church; Bishop Watterson of
the Catholic church, were
and are examples of the intellectual
prowess of the Scotch.
It has been mentioned by those who sneer
at the Scotch-
Irish strain that Simon Girty, Captains
McKee, Elliot and Cald-
well were of this race. This is true. It
is not claimed by their
advocates that all the Scotch-Irish are
more moral than men of
other races; but it is claimed that they
possess elements of char-
acter that push them to the front until
they become leaders both
in thought and action, and the career of
the Tories mentioned
in this paragraph only emphasizes the
truth of the statement.
They were leaders and were at the very
head of the British army
in the west, advising movements and
commanding in battle; and
had it not been for their skill the
English forces in the west would
have been overthrown long before the end
finally came to the
conflict that was the most cruel, as
carried on by the British, in
the history of civilized warfare.
But the two most notable events that
mark epochs in the
history of Ohio are, first, the conquest
of the Northwest by
George Rogers Clark, and secondly, the
Greenville treaty by
Wayne. The first made the lakes rather
than the Ohio river the
dividing line between the Republic and
the British possessions,
the second made possible a home of peace
within this territory.
In this introduction the writer has
tried to show that Ohio
is in a measure indebted to other blood
besides that of the Puritan
for its rise and progress. The men who
made Ohio were of
sterling qualities, whether of Puritan
or Scotch blood. They were
men of iron frame, broad minds, brave.
112 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
II.
The Indians in the Ohio River Country
- Hutchins, Gordon and
Rev. David Jones Mention Mingo Town - The First White
Person on Jefferson County Soil- The
Story of Mary Jami-
son, an Indian Captive-Early
Scotch-Irish Traders - Most
Important Epoch in American History - Boquet's Expedition
- The
Zane Settlement- Tomahawk Claim Made on the
Site of Steubenville in 1765.
The Upper Ohio Valley was occupied by
the red savages
before the conquering Anglo-Saxon races
drove out with the
long rifle the barrier to the onward
march of civilization. The
territory was one vast wilderness, says
Doddridge,22 one of whose
most prominent features was its
solitude. "Those who plunged
into the bosom of this forest,"
continues the same author who
wrote much about the Ohio country,
"left behind them, not only
the busy hum of men, but domesticated
animal life generally.
The solitude of the night was
interrupted only by the howl of the
wolf, the melancholy moan of the
ill-boding owl or the shriek of
the frightful panther. The day was, if
possible, more solitary
than the night. The noise of the wild
turkey, the croaking of
the raven, the tapping of the
woodpecker, did not much enliven
the dreary scene. The various tribes of
singing birds are not in-
habitants of the desert, they are not
carnivorous and therefore
must be fed from the labors of man. At
any rate they did not
22Joseph Doddridge, whose works have given the historians
many data,
was born in Bedford county, Pa., in
1764. In 1778 he was received as a
traveling preacher by a Methodist
Episcopal Conference in Washington
county, Pa. He continued in the
itinerancy of the Methodist communion
until 1791 when he entered the
Cannonsburg academy, afterwards becom-
ing an adherent of the Protestant
Episcopal church. He studied medicine
and located at Wellsburg, W. Va., in
1800. He devoted much of his time
to literary work and to establishing
churches in the Ohio country. In
addition to his celebrated "Notes
on Early Border Life," now out of print,
he wrote a drama entitled
"Logan," a " Treatise on the Culture of Bees,"
"The Pioneer Spy,"
"Sermons and Orations." He was one of the pioneer
doctors, for there were no doctors in
the Ohio country from the time of
Zane's settlement in 1769 to 1793.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 113
exist here."23 To enter
and conquer a wilderness filled with sav-
ages required elements of character that
the people of this day
and generation do not fully appreciate.
The pathfinders were
possessed of wonderful force of
character, perseverance, energy,
valor, fortitude, and withal with a
religious faith that knew no
fear, save that of the Creator Himself.
The Ohio Valley was occupied by the
Indians as hunting
grounds, and this fact is given as the
reason the first white ex-
plorers found no villages on the banks
of the river.
After the conquest of the Ohio country
by the Iroquois, or
Five Nations, they became demoralized
and between the years
1700 and 1750 the Ohio region became
occupied by different tribes
of savages. Before 1740, according to Hildreth, the English
knew very little about the Ohio Valley.
Up to that time the
French explorers were the only ones who
had knowledge of the
region. De Celeron was commander of the
French exploring
party that descended the river in 1749.
He speaks of finding
Indian villages along the Allegheny, but
only one on the Ohio,
that being Logstown. The Seneca Indians
dwelt at Mingo. The
Senecas were the most powerful and
warlike of the Iroquois.
They also had a capital in the
Tuscarawas Valley, and were pow-
erful in New York and Pennsylvania. It
is not definitely known
that Logan, who was a Cayuga, lived in
Mingo. In 1772 he
was located with his relatives and
others of his tribe at the mouth
of Big Beaver. Logan's presence at the
mouth of Yellow creek
in 1774 is conceded to have been only a
hunting camp. The
principal settlements of the Delawares
were on the Muskingum.
The "Moravian" Indians were of
this tribe. In 1750 they were
a powerful tribe claiming possession of
nearly half of the state.
The other tribes prominent in Ohio at
that date were the Wyan-
dots, Shawanese, Ottawas and Miamis. The
Ohio Valley was their
hunting ground and they united in bloody
warfare against white
settlers. The Wyandots, or Hurons, were
descended from the
remnant of the once powerful tribe of
that name, which half a
century before had been driven off by
the Iroquois. The Shawa-
23Other authorities say song birds were in the western
country at the
time of which Doddridge writes. Dr. H.
C. McCook made a thorough in-
vestigation and declares that Doddridge
is in error.
Vol. VI-8
114
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
nese, called Chauanons by the French,
were the most prominently
identified with this immediate region.
For forty years after 1755
the Shawanese were in perpetual war with
the Americans, either
independent or as allies of the French
or British. They were al-
lies of the French in the Seven Years'
war. What was known as
Lord Dunmore's war was with this nation.
The Shawanese took
active part with the British in the
Revolutionary war and kept up
the fight until the Wayne treaty. By the
Wayne treaty, in 1795,
the Shawanese lost most of their
territory. In the war of '12, un-
der Tecumseh, they were allies of the
British. Cornstalk was the
king of the Shawanese and Tecumseh, born
at Chillicothe and
killed at Thames, was the most noted
chief.
In 1749 Celeron, the French explorer,
sunk leaden plates
in the Ohio at the mouths of important
streams, and wrote to
Gov. Hamilton that he was surprised to
find English settlers on
French territory. Some of these plates
were found, one in 1846 at
the mouth of the Kanawha.
In "Historical Outlines,"
given as appendix to "Afloat on
the Ohio," by Reuben Gold Thwaites,
president of the Wisconsin
Historical Society, just published
(1897), it is stated that the Eng-
lish fur traders were on the Ohio in
1700. In 1725, says the
same author, "the English from
North Carolina were trading with
the Miamis under the very shadow of Fort
Ouiatanon, near La-
fayette, Ind." "About this
time," continues the same painstaking
historian, "Pennsylvania and
Virginia began to exhibit interest
in their own overlapping claims to lands
in the country north-
west of the Ohio. Christopher Gist
explored the Ohio for the
Virginia company in 1750, the King of
England having made a
grant of five hundred thousand acres to
the company, and the
Gist expedition was made for the purpose
of selecting the lands.
In speaking of this incident, the
historian quoted above says "Gist
met many Scotch-Irish fur traders who
had passed into the west
through the mountain valleys of
Pennsylvania, Virginia and the
(Carolinas." In 1766 Capt. Harry
Gordon, a Scotchman, chief
engineer of the western department of
North America, was sent
from Fort Pitt down the Ohio, and
mentions Mingo as an In-
dian village, seventy-one miles down the
Ohio from Fort Pitt.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 115
In Imlay's "Topographical
Description of the Western Ter-
ritory of North America," issued in
1766, Mingo town is de-
scribed as seventy-five miles below Fort
Pitt, containing sixty
families.
Mingo town is mentioned in the journal
of Rev. David Jones,
who on June 9, 1772, says in his
journal: "Left for Fort
Pitt in company with George Rogers
Clarke and several others,
who were disposed to make a tour of this
new world. We traveled
by water in a canoe, and as I labored
none had an opportunity of
observing the course of the river. It
would be too tedious to give
a particular account; it may suffice to
be more general and refer
the cautious reader to a map expected
soon to be published by
Messrs. Hutchins and Hooper. From Fort
Pitt the river Ohio
runs about fifteen miles near a
northwest course, thence near
north about fourteen miles, then it
makes a great bend for about
twenty miles, running a little south of
west, thence for near twenty
miles southeast to the place called
Mingo town, where some of
that nation yet reside. Some of this
town were wont to plunder
canoes, therefore we passed them as
quietly as possible, as we
were so happy as not to be discovered by
any of them."
After the defeat of Braddock, in 1754,
the Indians made in-
cursions into Pennsylvania as allies of
the French, and many
diabolical outrages were committed on
the English settlers east
of the mountains both in Pennsylvania
and Virginia. On Marsh
creek, near Philadelphia, the Jamison
family were murdered, the
Indians sparing the life of but one
member, Mary, aged thirteen
years. She was brought to Fort Duquesne
and given into the
charge of two Seneca squaws, who brought
her to their home,
Mingo village on the Ohio. The history
of Mary's life, published
in 1824, gives the first recorded
incident in Jefferson county and
is the story of the first white person
known to have set foot upon
the soil of Jefferson county.
The story of Mary Jamison, or
"Deh-he-wa-mis", the white
woman of the Genesee, as she was called
by captors, follows:
"On the way we passed a Shawnee
town, where I saw a
number of heads, arms, legs and other
fragments of the bodies
of some white people who had just been
burned. The parts
that remained were hanging on a pole,
which was supported at
116
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
each end by a crotch stuck in the
ground, and were roasted as
black as a coal. The fire was yet
burning and the whole appear-
ance afforded a spectacle so shocking
that even to this day the
blood almost curdles in my veins when I
think of it. At night
we arrived at a small Seneca Indian town
at the mouth of a
small river, which was called by the
Indians in the Seneca lan-
guage She-nan-jee, about eighty miles by
water from the fort,
where the two squaws to whom I belonged
resided; there we
landed. Having made fast to the shore
the squaws left me in
their canoe while they went to their
wigwam in the town and
returned with a suit of Indian clothing,
all new and very clean
and nice. My clothes, though whole and
good when I was
taken, were now torn in pieces so that I
was almost naked.
They first undressed me and threw my
rags into the river, then
washed me clean and dressed me in the
new suit they had just
brought, in complete Indian style, and
then led me home and
seated me in the center of their wigwam.
I had been in that
situation but a few minutes before all
the squaws in the town
came in to see me. I was soon surrounded
by them and they
immediately set up a most dismal
howling, crying bitterly and
wringing their hands in all the agonies
of grief for a deceased
relative. Their tears flowed freely and
they exhibited all the
signs of real mourning. At the
commencement of this scene
one of their number began in a voice
somewhat between speak-
ing and singing to recite some
words."
This was the ceremony of adoption, the
two squaws having
taken Mary as a sister to fill the place
of a brother killed in the
battle known as Braddock's defeat. She
spent her entire life
with the Indians, living several years
at Mingo town. She
speaks of visiting Fort Pitt, and of the
joy it gave her to see
those of her own race again.
In 1759 Forbes drove the French out of
Pennsylvania, and
the English standard was set to the
breeze on the new Fort Pitt
by Col. Armstrong, a Scotch-Irishman.
Wolfe and his High-
landers climbed the Heights of Abraham
and thus ended Latin
dominion east of the Mississippi. This
date marks the most
important epoch in the history of
America, even more important
than the Declaration of Independence,
for it was the beginning
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 117
of the revolution that brought about
American independence of
European powers. In fact, says Hinsdale,
the triumph of Wolfe,
and not that of "the embattled
farmers of Lexington, was the
first great victory of the American
Revolution." With the de-
feat of the French the hostilities of
the Indians abated for a period.
Fort Pitt, with Col. Hugh Mercer, a
Scotchman, as were also
Forbes and Wolfe's soldiers Scotchmen,
was commander of the
garrison. Then began the migration in
large numbers of the
Scotch-Irish from the Cumberland valley
into western Pennsyl-
vania, overflowing to the Panhandle of
Virginia. Comparative
peace obtained up to 1763, the date of
Pontiac's conspiracy, when
the red savage broke out in a storm of
fury that was to have
simultaneously destroyed all the English
fortifications, "then
having destroyed their garrisons, to
turn upon the defenseless
frontier, and ravage and lay waste the
settlements, until, as many
of the Indians believed, the English
would be driven into the
sea, and the country restored to its
primitive owners."24 While
many of the English forts fell into the
hands of the Indians,
Fort Pitt was not taken, but the savages
committed awful depre-
dations on the settlements newly made in
the interior, east of
Pitt. Boquet's campaign against the
Indians followed, termin-
ating at the end of that year, but being
determined to further
punish the Delawares, Shawanese and
Senecas, who were still on
the warpath in the Ohio valley, he
marched with an army of
five thousand men into the Ohio country,
his advance guard
being composed of Pennsylvania and
Virginia scouts. This ex-
pedition passed through Jefferson
county, following Yellow
creek and its branches and then through
the Muskingum valley.
The expedition was a successful one, the
Indians suing for peace
and delivering up the white prisoners
they had made captive,
consisting of two hundred and six
persons, all Pennsylvanians
and Virginians, one hundred and
twenty-five of them being wo-
men and children. The expedition
returned to Fort Pitt on the
28th of November, 1764, the route being
up the Muskingum
and Tuscarawas valleys to the provision
stockade, near the pres-
ent town of Bolivar, at which point Fort
Laurens was afterwards
24 Parkman.
118
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
erected, almost on the line of the
original Jefferson county,
thence by way of Sandy valley and Yellow
creek to the Ohio.
Col. Croghan, having been appointed by
the government,
after the treaty of peace in 1763, to
explore the Ohio country,
and to conciliate the Indian nations
that hitherto had acted with
the French, he set off from Fort Pitt on May 15, 1765,
with two bateaux, and on the 17th, at
six o'clock in the morn-
ing, he arrived at Mingo.
"Here," he says in his journal, "the
Senecas have a village on a high bank on
the north side of the
river. The chief of this village offered
Col. Croghan his ser-
vices to go with him to the Illinois,
which he did not refuse, for
fear of giving offense, although he had
a sufficient number of
deputies with him already."
The sturdy settlers of the valleys of
the Susquehanna, the
Cumberland and the Shenandoah, undaunted
by the treachery
of the savage, manifested in repeated
violation of treaties, again
turned their faces to the fertile lands
beyond the mountains.
The peace that followed the treaty of
1765 gave them hope of
possible peaceable settlements. In 1769
the Zanes [Wheeling
creek is famous in western history. The
three Zane brothers,
Ebenezer, Jonathan and Silas,-typical,
old-fashioned names
these, bespeaking the God-fearing,
Bible-loving, Scotch Presby-
terian stock from which sprang so large
a proportion of trans-
Allegheny pioneers,-explored this region
as early as 1769, built
cabins and made improvements.-Reuben
Gold Thwaites in
"Afloat on the Ohio," 1897]
penetrated to the banks of
the river, at the present site of
Wheeling, and during the fol-
lowing year actual settlements were made
in the adjacent
territory on the east side of the river,
but so far as known
no settlements were made on the west
side, it being a pro-
vision of the treaties that the country
north and west of the
Ohio was to remain in possession of the
Indians. Nevertheless
four years before the coming of the
Zanes, in 1765, Jacob
Walker, who had come from Maryland, made
a tomahawk claim
on the territory now occupied by the
city of Steubenville. After
aiding a Mr. Greathouse clear three
acres of land and plant his
corn opposite the site of Steubenville,
in Prooke county, Va.,
Walker crossed the river and deadened
three trees at a point
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 119
now known as Marsh's spring, on North
Seventh street, denot-
ing the centre of the claim. This was
the first attempt ever
made to settle the west side of the
Ohio. The appended sketch
of the life of Jacob Walker was written
by his great-grandson,
the information therein contained being
handed down from gen-
eration to generation, and its
authenticity is not questioned.
"In 1765 the site of Steubenville
was a dense forest, and
game, such as deer, turkeys, hares, and
wild hogs, was abund-
ant. Jacob also during that year bought
of Mr. Greathouse a
farm, paying sixteen cents an acre for
it, there being four hun-
dred acres, it being the farm now owned
by J. J. Walker. They
deadened three trees at the spring by
his house, which was the
transfer. On account of trouble at
Richmond, Va., he did not
get a deed until 1785. During the summer
of 1765 he built a
cabin on his farm, it being about half
way between the present
residence of J. J. Walker and his son,
W. P. Walker, and that
fall he returned to Baltimore and
married Margaret Guthrie.
In the spring of 1766 he bought a pony,
and they started back
to his farm, she riding the pony, and he
walking, bringing all
they had with them. They arrived at the
cabin in August; he
went in and tramped down the weeds and
then helped her off
the pony, took off the pack saddle and
what other few things
they had and told her this was her home.
He afterwards helped
to build Fort Decker in what is now
Mahan's orchard, below
Mingo. They lived at the fort for seven
years during the sum-
mer, and on his farm during the winter. As soon as the
leaves
came in the spring the Indians came
also, and when he went
out to plow or plant he got two soldiers
to come with him from
the fort, they hiding at each end of the
field to keep the Indians
from slipping up and shooting him. He
worked all day with-
out speaking to his team above a
whisper. During his stay at
the fort one day in the fall he came up
to his cabin, having a
little dog with him; he came to the
spring first, and the little
dog slipped up to the cabin. It came
back and by jumping in
front of him and doing everything it
could to keep him from go-
ing to the cabin, he thought of Indians
and went back to the
fort and got some of the soldiers,
returning in time to see nine
Indians slip away. Another time Captain
Buskirk sent his son
120
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
to mill on horse-back with a sack of
corn, also having a favorite
dog, which followed him. It was a two
days' trip, and on his
return the dog was not with him; his
father got very angry, and
the son went back to look for the dog,
and after he had gone
three days and no word from him, the
captain sent Jacob
Walker, Mr. Decker, and two soldiers to
see if they could find
him. They went from the fort down the
Ohio to the mouth of
Cross creek and up Cross creek,
following the trail, and when
they came to the mouth of Scioto run,
where it empties into
Cross creek, they found him; the Indians
had laid in ambush
and caught him without shooting and had
split his head with a
tomahawk; the prints of their fingers
were plain on his neck
where they had choked him to keep him
from hollowing. They
scalped him and took his horse. The
party sent out took him
and buried him up on the hill
overlooking Cross creek on land
that was or is owned by Silas McGee.
Jacob said of all the
sad sights that he ever saw, that was
the saddest. The captain
lost his son, horse and dog; the Indians
killed his wife and the
captain himself later. After Jacob had
left the fort and gone
out to his farm, during the summer
season, the Indians would
still come over the river and kill the
settlers. At such times
Jacob and his wife would take their
three children and go away
from their cabin. She would take a babe
in her arms and sit
down in the field, leaving John and Mary
at a short distance
covered with a quilt; Jacob sitting at a
short distance with his
gun. He was at the building of Fort
Steuben; he was at the
battle between Captain Buskirk and the Indians, fought on Bat-
tle run, west of Mingo, where Captain
Buskirk was killed, in
Jefferson county, Ohio. He was at a
council of war between
Logan and Buskirk. Jacob Walker was
appointed constable in
1797, at the first court held in Brooke
county. He died about
1830, aged 94 years."
The policies of the English colonists
and their general gov-
ernment were ever clashing. The latter
looked upon the Indian
trade as an entering wedge; they thought
of the West as a place
of growth. Close upon the heels of the
path-breaking trader
went the cattle raiser, and, following
him, the agricultural settler
looking for cheap, fresh, and broader
lands. No edicts of the
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 121
Board of Trade could repress these
backwoodsmen; savages
could and did beat them back for a time,
but the annals of the
border are lurid with the bloody
struggle of the borderers for a
clearing in the western forest. The
greater part of them were
Scotch-Irishmen from Pennsylvania,
Virginia, the Carolinas--a
hardy race, who knew not defeat.
Steadily they pushed back
the rampart of savagery, and won the
Ohio valley for civiliza-
tion.- Reuben Gold Thwaites,
"Historical Outline," 1897.
III.
The Ohio Country Attracts the East - George Washington and
William Crawford Take a Trip Down the
River and Stop at
Mingo Town in 1770 - Many Settlers as Early as 1774 -
First Blood of the Revolution Shed on
Jefferson County Water
Front-- Capt. Connelly, the Tory,
Incites Americans to Kill
Indians which Excites the Dunmore War
- The Killing of
Logan's People, Part of the
Conspiracy to Incite the Indians
to War to Quiet the Rumblings of
Revolution-Battle of
Point Pleasant the First of the
Revolutionary War.
The glowing accounts circulated
throughout the east as to
the Ohio country were most enticing, and
even interested no
less a person than George Washington,
who was often inspired
by the spirit of speculation, and in
1770 made a canoe trip down
the Ohio, a record of which is given in
his journal. On October
21st he parted with Col. Croghan at
Logstown, where Croghan
proposed to sell him a large body of
land which Croghan
claimed, but Washington makes this
record: "At present the
unsettled state of this country renders
any purchase dangerous."
On the 22nd he writes: "As it began
to snow about midnight,
and continued pretty steadily, it was
about half past seven before
we left the encampment (below Little
Beaver). At a distance
of about eight miles we came to the
mouth of Yellow creek, op-
posite, or rather below which, appears
to be a long bottom of
very good land, and the ascent to the
hills appears to be gradual.
There is another pretty large bottom of
very good land two or
three miles above this. About eleven or
twelve miles from this,
and just above what is called the Long
Island (Brown's Island),
122
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
which, though so distinguished, is not
very remarkable for
length, breadth, or goodness, there
comes in on the east side
of the river a small creek, (King's) the
name of which I could
not learn; and a mile or two below the
island, on the west side,
comes in Big Stony creek, (Wills) not
larger in appearance than
the other, on neither side of which does
there seem to be any
large bottoms or bodies of land. About
seven miles from the
last mentioned creek, and about
seventy-five from Pittsburg, we
came to the Mingo town, situated on the
west side of the river,
a little above Cross creek. This place
contains about twenty
cabins, and seventy inhabitants of the
Six Nations." Washing-
ton speaks of the abundance of game, his
party having killed
five turkeys the day of arrival at
Mingo, mentioning also that
the river abounded in wild geese and
several kinds of ducks.
According to this journal, Washington
found sixty warriors at
Mingo on their way to the Cherokee
country to war with the
Catabas.
Washington was accompanied on the trip
by Col. Crawford,
his friend and companion, in whose
integrity he had fullest con-
fidence, and upon whose ability as a
surveyor, and judgment
as a prospector he relied; Dr. Craik,
Joseph Nicholson, Robert
Bell, William Harrison, Charles Morgan,
and David Redden,
Col. Crawford's servant. On their return
Washington and
Crawford remained in Mingo three days.
The peace of the country was not
generally disturbed after
the treaties of 1765 up to the Dunmore
war, and that portion of
Virginia opposite Jefferson county was
quite rapidly settled.
Wheeling soon became of as much
importance as a place of
rendezvous as had Redstone Fort. which
had been the meeting
place of immigrants from Virginia and
Pennsylvania on their
way to Kentucky, and was the only
station between Fort Pitt
and the "dark and bloody
ground." Capt. Michael Cresap,
of Maryland, was among the earliest to
invade the Ohio country
and take up lands with a view of holding
for a price when they
should come into the market.25 With
his name is associated
one of the saddest tragedies of the
pioneer days, the murder
of Logan's relatives at the mouth of
Yellow creek. His
25 Caldwell's History of Belmont and
Jefferson counties.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 123
coming to the Ohio country, says Jacobs
in the Life of Cresap,
he having become financially involved,
was urged by necessity as
well as laudable ambition to profit by
the possession of the rich
bottom lands, in order that he might in
time gain a competency
for his growing family by their sale,
and to this end early in
the year 1774, he employed a lot of
young men and repairing to
the wilderness of the Ohio, commenced
the work of clearing
the lands and building houses, and being
among the first ad-
venturers into this exposed and
dangerous region, was enabled
to select some of the best and richest
Ohio levels. It was while
he was engaged in this enterprise that
Cresap received word
from Capt. Connelly, commandant of the
West Augusta, Va.,
troops, and stationed at Fort Pitt,
apprising him that a war with
the Indians was inevitable, evidence
having been gathered by
scouts that the savages were preparing
to attack the settlers,
this being precursory to what is known
in history as Dunmore's
war, but really the beginning of the
Revolutionary struggle, for
the people of New England, in the
Mohawk, the Cumberland,
the Virginia valleys and on the Holston,
the Alamance and the
Watauga were protesting against British
tyranny, secession and
independence having been largely
discussed in the Presbyterian
presbyteries, and the English government
knew of the storm
that was coming. There was comparative
peace with the In-
dians and the settlers had time to think
of their other troubles
and to discuss them at the fireside and
in meeting. The savages
were evidently incited by the British
emissaries to hostilities to
give the settlers matters to consider of
more immediate serious
import than the discussion of state
affairs. Thus in 1774 began
the Revolutionary war, which did not end
in the Ohio country
until the complete victory over the
Indians and British by the
matchless Wayne and his Scotch-Irish
soldiers at Fallen Tim-
bers, twenty years after.
As has been stated, there were many
settlers along the east
side of the river at this time. George
Rogers Clark was with a
party of pioneers at the mouth of the
little Kanawha. A portion
of the party had gone up the river, and
while they were on the
expedition, those remaining were fired
upon by Indians. There
was cause for apprehension, for rumors
of war filled the very
124 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
air with their awful forebodings of
savage atrocities. The settlers
began to gather at Wheeling, the rush
being from all points, none
of them agreeing to accept the
protection offered by scouting
parties sent out from Fort Pitt, and
return to their plantations.
Cresap was elected as leader, and on
April 21, received a
letter from Fort Pitt confirming the
rumors of impending war.
A counsel was held and Cresap's men at
once declared war against
the Indians.
"About this time," says
Doddridge, "it being reported that a
canoe containing two Indians and some
traders was coming down
the river, and then not far from the
place, Captain Cresap proposed
to take a party up the river and kill
the Indians. The proposition
was opposed by Col. Zane, the proprietor
of Wheeling. He stated
that the killing of those Indians would
inevitably bring on a war
in which much innocent blood would be
shed, and that the act
itself would be an atrocious murder and
a disgrace to his name
for ever. His good counsel was lost. The
party went up the
river. On being asked on their return
what had become of the
Indians, they coolly answered, 'they had
fallen into the river.'
Their canoe, on being examined, was
found bloody and pierced
with bullets." The idea has been
advanced, and it is possible, if
it be true that the British incited the
Dunmore war for a far-
reaching purpose, it is evident that
Cresap was in the conspiracy,*
for conspiracy it evidently was, and in
killing these Indians on
the water front of Jefferson county made
this the scene of the
first blood of the Revolution.
According to the printed accounts, on
the same day, or the
day after, various canoes of Indians
were discovered on the river
by Capt. Cresap and his men, who drove
them down the river
to Pipe creek, where the Indians landed
and a battle ensued, in
which three of the savages were killed
and scalped and their stores
taken. This was the second bloodshed,
"and a war inaugurated,"
says Caldwell, "which brought forth
fearful vengeance." The
same night, according to the account of
Col. Clarke, who was
with the party, a resolution was formed
by Cresap's men to attack
Logan's camp at the mouth of Yellow
creek. "We actually
marched five miles and halted to take
some refreshments. Here
*As an unconscious tool of Connelly.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 125
the impropriety of the proposed
enterprise was argued, the con-
versation was brought forward by Cresap
himself. It was gen-
erally agreed that those Indians had no
hostile intentions, as it
was a hunting camp, composed of men,
women and children, with
all their stuff with them. This we knew,
as I, myself, and others
then present, had been in their camp
about four weeks before
that time, on our way down from
Pittsburg. In short, every
person present, particularly Cresap
(upon reflection) was opposed
to the projected measure. We turned, and
on the same evening
decamped and took the road for Redstone.
It was two days after
this that Logan's family was killed, and
from the manner in which
it was done, it was viewed as a horrible
murder by the whole
country."
Logan's camp, at the mouth of Yellow
creek, was about
fifteen miles above the site of
Steubenville. The account of the
atrocious massacre of Logan's people, as
given in Caldwell's
History of Belmont and Jefferson
counties, is as follows: "Di-
rectly opposite Logan's camp was the
cabin of Joshua Baker,
who sold rum to the Indians, and who
consequently had frequent
visits from them. Although this
encampment had existed here
for a considerable time, the neighboring
whites did not seem to
apprehend any danger from their close
proximity. On the con-
trary, they were known to have their
squaws and families with
them, and to be simply a hunting camp.
The report of Cresap's
attack on the two parties of Indians in
the neighborhood of Wheel-
ing, having reached Baker's may have
induced the belief, as was
subsequently claimed, that the Indians
at Yellow creek would
immediately begin hostilities in
reprisal. Under this pretext,
Daniel Greathouse and his brothers
gathered a party of about
twenty men to attack the Indian
encampment and capture the
plunder. Unwilling to take the risk of
an open attack upon them,
he determined to accomplish by stratagem
what might otherwise
prove a disastrous enterprise.
Accordingly, the evening before
the meditated attack, he visited their
camp in the guise of friend-
ship, and while ascertaining their
numbers and defences, invited
them with apparent hospitality to visit
him at Baker's, across the
river. On his return he reported the
camp as too strong for
126
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
an open attack, and directed Baker, when
the Indians whom he
had decoyed should come over, to supply
them with all the rum
they wanted, and get as many of them
drunk as he could. Early
in the morning of April 30, a canoe
loaded with Indians, consist-
ing of eight persons, came over-three
squaws, a child, and four
unarmed men, one of whom was a brother
of Logan, the Mingo
chief. Going into Baker's cabin, he
offered them rum, which they
drank, and became excessively
drunk-except two men, one of
whom was Logan's brother, and one woman,
his sister. These
refused taking liquor. No whites, except
Baker and two com-
panions, remained in the cabin. During
the visit, it is said by
John Sappington, Logan's brother took
down a hat and coat
belonging to Baker's brother-in-law, put
them on, and strutted
about, using offensive language to the
white man-Sappington.
Whereupon, becoming irritated, he seized
his gun and shot the
Indian as he went out the door. The
balance of the men, who
up to this time remained hidden, now
sallied forth, and poured
in a destructive fire, slaughtering most
of the party of drunken
and unresisting savages. According to
the statement of Judge
Jolly, the woman attempted to escape by
flight, but was also shot
down; she lived long enough, however, to
beg mercy for her
babe, telling them it was akin to
themselves. Immediately on
the firing, two canoes of Indians
hurried across the river. They
were received by the infuriated whites,
who were arranged along
the river bank, and concealed by the
undergrowth, with a deadly
fire, which killed two Indians in the
first canoe. The other canoe
turned and fled. After this two other
canoes, containing eighteen
warriors, armed for the conflict, came
over to avenge their fellows.
Cautiously approaching the shore they
attempted to land below
Baker's cabin. The movements of the
rangers, however, were
too quick for them and they were driven
off with the loss of one
man. They returned the fire of the
whites but without effect.
The Indian loss was ten killed and
scalped, including the mother,
sister and brother of Logan."
In commenting on this horrible and
bloody massacre, Cald-
well says it cast a stain of infamy upon
the name of every person
in any way connected with it.
Contemporary letters and chron-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 127
ides of this event speak of it as a
shameless and atrocious murder,
and as the inciting cause of the
terrible war which followed, ac-
companied with all those cruelties which
savage ferocity could
invent.
The party guilty of the crime left
immediately, taking the
babe whose life had been spared with
them, arriving, according to
Judge Jolly, at Catfish camp, now
Washington, Pa., the evening
of the next day. "I very well
remember," says Judge Jolly, "of
seeing my mother feeding and dressing
the babe. However they
took it away and talked of sending it to
its supposed father, Col.
George Gibson, of Carlisle, Pa., who was
then and had been for
many years, a trader among the
Indians." The child was deliv-
ered to Gen. Gibson and was educated by
him.
John Sappington declared in an affidavit
that he did not be-
lieve any of Logan's family were killed
aside from his brother.
Neither of the squaws was his wife; two
of them were old women
and the other the mother of the child.
It has been related that
Sappington admitted that he shot Logan's
brother.
After writing an account of the massacre
of Logan's family,
Col. William Crawford, to whom
Washington had entrusted the
sale of his western lands, and who
subsequently met with horrible
death by burning by the Indians near
Sandusky, says, "Our in-
habitants are much alarmed, many
hundreds have gone over the
mountains, and the whole country
evacuated as far as the Monon-
gahela. In short, a war is every moment
expected. We have
a council now with the Indians. What
will be the event I do
not know. I am now setting out for Fort
Pitt at the head of one
hundred men. Many others are to meet me
there and at Wheel-
ing, where we shall wait the motions of
the Indians and shall act
accordingly."
About this time many other like outrages
were committed on
the Indians by the whites, including the
massacre of Captina.
They seemed to be simultaneous, giving
evidence of a conspiracy
to incite the savages to war with the
whites. It is also evident that
Capt. or Dr. Connelly, the English
commandant at Fort Pitt,
was wholly responsible for the outrages
on the Ohio and on its
headwaters. Connelly's letter to Cresap,
which occasioned his
128
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
sudden removal from the seat of his
enterprises, directed the mur-
der of Indians and authorized the bloody
work. All this in con-
nection with the action of Dunmore,
makes very strong circum-
stantial evidence against the English,
who saw the storm cloud
of the American Revolution forming in
the great valley that ex-
tends from New York to the Carolinas.
There has been much written about the
murder of Logan's
people, the massacre being one of the
blackest pages in the his-
tory of the Ohio country. The historian
has enlarged on it and the
poet has taken it as a theme. Cresap and
Greathouse have been
villified and a stain put upon their
memory, while those really to
blame remained at the head of a
Christian nation. At the hour
Connelly directed Cresap to kill Indians
there was every indica-
tion that the savages were friendly;
there was nothing whatever
to indicate a possible uprising.
Resolutions passed at an indig-
nation meeting, held at Pittsburg,
blamed Connelly, the members
of the assembly declaring that every
part of Connelly's conduct
toward the friendly Indians convinced
them that he meant to force
them to war, as he both refused to
protect, and endeavored to mur-
der those Indians who, at the risk of
their lives, came with the
traders to protect them.
Col. Crawford and Maj. Angus McDonald,
early in July,
arrived at Wheeling with soldiers from
the Virginia valley and the
settlements along the Ohio river, about twelve
hundred men,
most of them inured to Indian warfare.
Here they erected Fort
Fincastle, and Maj. McDonald organized
an expedition to make
incursions into the Indian country,
leaving on the 25th of July
with about four hundred men, going to
the mouth of Captina
in boats and canoes. The Indians were
overawed and sued for
peace. McDonald having run out of
provisions retraced his
steps to Wheeling, his soldiers having
to subsist largely on weeds.
As soon as the soldiers were withdrawn
the savages invaded and
attacked the settlements, spreading
terror in all directions. The
settlers fled to the forts and
block-houses, but many of them were
murdered.
It was while at Wheeling that Lord
Dunmore received ad-
vices from the British government that
led to the treachery that
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 129
forced the Lewises to fight the battle
of Point Pleasant without
the aid of promised reinforcements, and
which was no less than
part of the conspiracy to show the
settlers that they had enough
trouble at hand without entering upon an
enterprise that might
result in the separation of the American
colonies from Great
Britain.
Successive events that led up to the
murder of Indians on
the water front of Jefferson county
demonstrated conclusively that
the British had crushed the influence of
Christian civilization in
their hearts in order to fill its place
with a wicked spirit to coerce
the colonists to continue to bear the
galling yoke of tyranny.
Patrick Henry had delivered the speech
that was heard over the
mighty ocean. The Boston massacre had
filled the country with
horror. The tea had been thrown
overboard in Boston harbor.
Americans had been shot down on the
banks of the Alamance by
cruel soldiers of the crown. A congress
of the colonists had
been called. The Virginia House of
Burgesses had passed a
resolution to the effect that it would
oppose, by all proper and
just means, every injury to American
rights, and the House had
been dissolved by Dunmore. Hanover
Presbytery, in Pennsyl-
vania, had passed a declaration that had
an omnious sound. Rev-
olution was rife. An Indian war would
unite the settlers on an-
other matter of seemingly greater
import. Capt. Connelly, com-
mandant of Fort Pitt, by authority of
Lord Dunmore, was in
close communication with his lordship.
He at once refused to
protect friendly Indians when requested.
All testimony goes to
show that the Indians were never so
tranquil as at the time Con-
nelly sent the letter to Cresap, who was
under his command, but
between the two there was enmity;
Cresap, being a Whig and
Connelly of course a Tory. Connelly knew
Cresap as a desperate
man, who would take pleasure in killing
Indians. The letter
told him that war with the Indians was
inevitable, and urged him
to begin the bloody work at once.
Connelly, knowing that the
murder of a few Indians would at once
raise the alarm for re-
venge throughout the Indian country, and
put the savages upon
the war path against the settlers, had
two ideas in view: one to
incite the Indians to war, the other to
place the blame upon Cresap.
Vol. VI-9
130 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
The settlers were to be left to fight as
best they could, as Lewis
was left at Point Pleasant.
History does not record a more terrible
battle than that fought
at Point Pleasant by Gen. Andrew Lewis
[When Washington was
appointed to command the Patriot army he
insisted that Lewis
should have been selected because of his
superior skill] and his
Scotch-Irish soldiers from the Virginia
valley. Gen. Lewis was a
leading actor in all the events in which
he took part, yet "fame,"
says Caldwell, "has trumpeted to
the world his exploits with feebler
tone than the deeds of others of far
lesser importance." Had the
battle of Point Pleasant been fought on
New England soil, the
pages of history would have been filled
with the name of Andrew
Lewis. In order to show that the men who
fought the battle of
Point Pleasant were Scotch-Irish it is
only necessary to append the
names of the captains under the command
of Gen. Lewis-George
Matthews, Alexander McClanaghan, John
Dickson, John Lewis,
Benj. Harrison, Win. Naul, John Haynes,
Samuel Wilson,
Matthew Arbuckle, John Murray, Robert
McClanaghan, James
Ward, and John Stewart.
The incidents occurring immediately over
the river were so
associated with the history of Jefferson
county, that it seems
necessary to note them in order to give
a comprehensive view
of this part of Ohio-it is at least
necessary to show the strong
character of the first settlers, those
of Virginia and Pennsyl-
vania being of the same blood as those
of Jefferson county.
IV.
The Revolution Comes - The Ohio Country in Arms - Diabolical
Outrages Committed by the Indians
Incited by the British on
Settlers as Described by Hildreth - Siege of Fort Fincastle
which is Re-christened Fort Henry.
The Revolution came. Virginia, absolved
from all alle-
giance to the crown, on June 29, 1776,
adopted a con-
stitution. Patrick Henry at the same
time was elected gover-
nor. Ohio county was formed, which
included the territory op-
posite the river front of Jefferson
county. Fort Fincastle was
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 131
rechristened Fort Henry, in honor of the
noble Scotch-Irish Vir-
ginian, whose voice was ever for
liberty, and preparations were
made to defend the state against the
savage allies of the English.
Ohio county, says McKiernan, was to all
intents and purposes
a military colony. Every man able to
bear arms was enrolled.
The Indians, as mercenaries of the
British, committed many
diabolical outrages, and American
soldiers that might have given
more aid in the east, were compelled to
fight the savage in the
west, and thus prolonged the war.
However Fort Henry was
not garrisoned, as were the other forts
on the Ohio, but by the
settlers who sought its walls for
protection. On the last day
of August, 1777, began the terrible
siege of this fort - one of
the most stubborn and most successful
defenses on record.
There were nearly four hundred Indian
warriors of the most
blood-thirsty breeds, led by the cunning
and skillful Girty, while
in the fort there were only thirty
defenders, according to Hil-
dreth, and according to McKiernan only
twelve men and boys,
aside from the women, but brave women
they were. The In-
dians were under the British flag and
offered terms of surrender
from Gov. Hamilton at Detroit, who gave
the brave garrison
fifteen minutes to surrender under his
conditions. Col. Zane,
who was in command of the small
garrison, replied that the
time was sufficient for them to
deliberate which of the two to
choose, slavery or death. They had
consulted their wives and
children and were resolved to perish,
rather than place them-
selves under the protection of a savage
army, or to abjure the
cause of liberty and of the colonies.
For twenty-three hours
all was life, and energy, and activity
within the walls of the
fort.
Every individual had duties to perform, says Caldwell,
and promptly and faithfully were they
discharged. The more
expert of the women took stations by the
side of the men, and
handling their guns with soldier-like
readiness, aided in the
repulse, with fearless intrepidity. Some
were engaged in mak-
ing bullets; others in loading and
supplying the men with guns
already charged; while the less robust
were employed in cook-
ing. It seemed indeed as if each
individual were sensible that
the safety of all depended on his lone
exertions, and that the
slightest relaxation of these would
involve them all in common
132 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
ruin. Word had gone out that Fort Henry
was invested by
the Indians, and every effort was made
to reenforce the garri-
son. It was on one of these attempts
that Major Samuel Mc-
Cullough was cut off from his men just
as they were entering
the gate of the stockade. The Indians
wanted to capture hint
alive for torture, or else they could
have shot him on several
occasions. They made almost superhuman
efforts to acquire
possession of his person, and when he
appeared among them
they were greatly elated in their savage
way. The fleetness of
McCullough's horse was scracely greater
than that of his ene-
mies, who fairly flew in pursuit of the
man who had evaded them
just at the point of capture. When the
Major reached the top
of Wheeling hill, he was met by another
band. He wheeled his
horse and rode back over his own tracks,
only to encounter those
who were pursuing him. He was now
surrounded on all sides,
the fourth being a precipitous precipice
of one hundred and fifty
feet, with Wheeling creek at its base.
According to the pub-
lished accounts,26 he
supported his rifle in his left hand and care-
fully adjusting the reins with the
other, he urged his horse to
the brink of the bluff and then made the
leap which decided his
fate, one of the most daring acts of
American history. He was
soon beyond the reach of the Indians,
safe and sound. The
Indians, finding that they could make no
impression on the fort,
and fearing the coming of
reinforcements, abandoned the siege,
but not until they had burned everything
in reach, including
the houses within the stockade. Capt.
Mason and a party who
had gone out of the fort to investigate
the forces of the enemy,
were met by the savages and most
inhumanly murdered with
the tomahawk and the scalping knife.
Upwards of three hun-
dred head of cattle and hogs had been
wantonly killed by the
Indians.
Fort Henry was again besieged September 11,
1782, by a
large force of Indians. The fort was
still under command of
Col. Zane and garrisoned by the
settlers. This siege continued
until the 13th, and was a most
desperately fought battle. It
was on the occasion of this siege that
Elizabeth Zane, one of
the most heroic women developed by the
awful times of the
26 Caldwell.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 133
Revolution, when only the fittest
survived the hardships if they
escaped the bullet, the tomahawk or
scalping knife of the British
army of savages, ran out of the fort to
the house of Col. Zane,
and returned with a keg of powder in her
apron and saved the
fort. The Indians were so overwhelmed by
her audacity that
they watched her with amazement and
permitted her to make
the most hazardous and most successful
expedition of that war.
The achievement of the pioneer settlers
of this region in main-
taining the two sieges of Fort Henry is
worthy more space in
histories than it has been given. Both
were battles of the Revo-
lution, and as such deserve to rank in
history with the other
patriotic defences of the land. Not only
was the garrison sum-
moned to submit to the British
authorities by a British official,
but the northwest Indians, who assaulted
the fortification, were
as much the mercenary soldiers of Great
Britain as were the
Hessians and Waldecks who fought at
Saratoga, Trenton and
Princeton. If the price received by the
Indians for the scalps
of the Americans did not always amount
to as much as the daily
pay of the European minions of England,
it was, nevertheless,
sufficient to prove that the American
savages and the German
hirelings were precisely on the same
footing as part and parcel
of the British army.27
What is known as "the Squaw
Campaign" of 1778, was in
the bounds of the original Jefferson
county. In February of
that year General Hand, who desired to
capture provisions and
clothing sent to the Cuyahogas, left
Fort Pitt with considerable
force. Not succeeding in the designs of
the expedition, he re-
turned to Salt Lick, in the territory
now Mahoning county,
where he killed and captured a few
squaws.
A strong effort was made by the
commander at Detroit to
entice the patriots from the cause of
American freedom. He
promised that if the settlers would
return to the allegiance of the
crown and trust themselves to the care
of the Indian allies, they
would be conducted to a place of
security. It is a fact that only
six could be found in this region who
expressed desire to comply
with the conditions offered by the
British, their names being,
George Baker, of near Logstown; James
Butterworth, from the
27 Caldwell.
134
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Big Kanawha; Thomas Shoers, Harrodsburg,
Ky.; Jacob Pugh,
six miles below the fort at Wheeling;
Jonathan Muchmore, from
Fort Pitt; James Witaker, and John
Bridges, Fish Creek. The
Tories were not numerous in the west.
The settlers were not of
the breed out of which Tories were
recruited. The Tories were
mostly on the seaboard.
The expeditions of Indians concerted by
the British at De-
troit to lay waste the settlements, to
outrage and kill the settlers,
passed through Jefferson county. One
expedition was in two
divisions, one to cross the river below
Wheeling, and the other
sixty miles above, at Raccoon creek. In
his account Withers
says: "The division crossing below
Wheeling was soon dis-
covered by scouts who gave the alarm,
causing most of the in-
habitants to fly immediately to that
place, supposing an attack
was to be made upon it. The Indians,
however, proceeded on
their way to Washington, then Catfish
camp, making prisoners
of many, who, although apprised that the
Indians were in the
country, yet feeling secure in their
distance from what they sup-
posed would be the theatre of
operations, neglected to use the
precaution necessary to guard them
against becoming captives
to the savages. From all the prisoners
they learned the same
thing - that the inhabitants had gone to
Fort Henry with a
view of concentrating there to effect
their repulsion. The in-
telligence alarmed the Indians. The
chiefs held a council in
which it was determined instead of
proceeding to Washington,
to retrace their steps across the Ohio,
lest their retreat, if de-
layed, should be entirely cut off.
Infuriated at the blasting of
their hopes for blood and spoil, they
resolved to murder all their
male prisoners. Preparations to carry
this resolution into effect
were immediately begun to be made. The
unfortunate victims to
their savage wrath were led forth from
among their friends and
their families, their hands were
pinioned behind them-a rope was
fastened around the neck of each, and
that bound around a tree,
so as to prevent any motion of the head.
The tomahawk and
scalping knife were next drawn from
their belts, and the horrid
purpose of these preparations fully
consummated. Imagina-
tion's utmost stretch can hardly fancy a
more heart-rending
scene than was there exhibited. Parents,
in the bloom of life
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 135
and glow of health, mercilessly mangled
to death in the presence
of their children, whose sobbing cries
served but to heighten the
torments of the dying; husbands cruelly
lacerated, and by piece-
meal deprived of life in view of the
tender partners of their
bosoms, whose agonizing shrieks,
increasing the anguish of tor-
ture, sharpened the sting of death. It
is indeed
'A fearful thing
To see the human soul take wing,
In any shape, in any mood;'
but that wives and children should be
forced to behold the last
ebb of life, and to witness the struggle
of the departing spirit
of husbands and fathers, under such
horrible circumstances, is
shocking to humanity, appalling, even in
contemplation.28
This is but one of the hundreds of
incidents of horrible cru-
elty inflicted by those who fought under
the British flag upon
the American patriots of the west. Yet
there are New England
historians who would have us believe
that the Revolutionary
war was fought within ten miles of
Boston!
V.
Broadhead Notes Considerable
Settlements in the Ohio Country
as Early as 1779-Settlers Dispossessed by the Government
and Their Cabins Destroyed- Some of
Them Return to again
be Turned Out - Large Settlement at Martins Ferry with
a Town Government Previous to 1785- Settlers Threaten
to Make a Stand Against the
Troops-Names of the Squat-
ters, Among Them that of John
McDonald's Father --James
Ross Settles at Mingo - The First White Child Born in
Jefferson County His Son-Early
Settlement at Tiltonville.
In a letter to General Washington, dated
October 26, 1779,
Gen. Broadhead notes the fact that there
were considerable set-
tlements all along the Ohio, and as far
as thirty miles up the
tributaries, between the Muskingum and
Fort McIntosh. These
settlers were of course called
trespassers on the Indian land, as
the Ohio side of the river was then
known. These settlers were
28 Hildreth.
136 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
dispossessed, but returned, as noted
below by Ensign Armstrong.
After Congress issued orders for the
settlers who had squatted
on the west bank of the Ohio to remove
until titles could be
had from the Indians and then disposed
of to settlers in a proper
way, Col. Harmar sent a detachment of
troops down the river
from Fort McIntosh29 to
dislodge all who refused to obey the
order. This detachment was under command
of Ensign Arm-
strong who made report April 12, 1785.
He crossed the Little
Beaver on April 1, and dispossessed a
family. Four miles be-
low he found families living in sheds,
but they having no raft
on which to transport their goods, he
gave them until the 31st,
in which to leave. At the mouth of
Yellow creek he dispossessed
two families and destroyed their cabins
with fire. We should
think by this time the men who had
fought the battles in the
west and believed they won enough ground
upon which to build
a cabin and raise a little corn, had
concluded that the govern-
ment was more dangerous to life and
property than the savage.
On the 3rd he dispossessed eight
families. On the 4th he ar-
rived at Mingo, where he read his
instructions to Joseph Ross,
who would not believe the instructions
came from Congress;
neither did he care from whom they came,
he was determined
to hold possession; if his house were
destroyed he would build
another, or six more, for that matter,
within a week. "He also,"
says the report of Armstrong, "cast
many reflections on the hon-
orable, the Congress and the
commissioners and the command-
ing officer." Armstrong said he
considered him a dangerous
man, took him prisoner and sent him to
Wheeling under guard.
The other settlers, who seemed to be
tenants under Ross, were
given a few days' time, at the end of
which they promised to
vamose. On the evening of the 4th
Charles Norris, with a
party of armed men, arrived at the
ensign's quarters and de-
manded his instructions; but they were
soon convinced and
lodged their arms with the officer.
Armstrong learned from
Norris that a large body of armed
settlers had assembled eleven
miles below, ready to resist his orders.
On the 5th Armstrong
arrived at the Norris settlement. He
informed Norris that if
the order were resisted he would fire on
the settlers, and he or-
29 Mouth of the Beaver.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 137
dered his own men to load. However, the
settlers finally laid
down their arms and agreed to remove to
the east side of the
river on the 19th. At Mercer town, now
Martin's Ferry, he
found quite a large settlement, John
Carpenter and Charles Nor-
ris having been elected justices of the
peace, and here was an
organized government in Ohio before the
settlement at Marietta.
These people also agreed to obey the
order and promised to re-
move by the 19th. Although the squatters
along the west bank
of the Ohio had banded together to
resist the United States
troops, and were actually organized and
equipped with guns,
they were finally induced to yield; but
a compromise was ef-
fected, whereby they were given time to
prepare temporary
habitations on the east side of the
river. The descendants of
many of them now people this county. The
names of the first
settlers whose cabins were scattered
throughout this region were
as follows, many of them being familiar
to those now living in
this immediate vicinity:30 Thomas Tilton,
John Nixon, Henry
Cassill, John Nowles, John Tilton, John
Fitzpatrick, Daniel
Menser, Zephenia Dunn, John McDonald,31
Henry Froggs, Wi-
land Hoagland, Michael Rawlings, Thomas
Dawson, Thomas
McDonald,32 William Shiff, Solomon Delong, Charles Ward,
Frederick Lamb, John Rigdon, George
Weleams, Jessie Edger-
ten, Nathaniel Parremore, Jesse
Parremore, Jacob Clark, James
Clark, Adam Hause, Thomas Johnson, Hanament
Davis, Wil-
liam
Wallace, Joseph Redburn, Jonathan Mapins, William
Mann, Daniel Kerr, William Kerr, Joseph
Ross, James Watson,
Abertious Bailey, Charles Chambers,
Robert Hill, James Paul,
William McNees, Archibald Harben,
William Bailey, Jones Am-
spoker, Nicholas Decker, John Platt,
Benjamin Reed, Joseph
Goddard, Henry Conrod, William Carpenter, John Goddard,
George Reno, John Buchanan, Daniel
Mathews.
In the fall of the same year (1785) they
returned, and had re-
built the cabins destroyed by order of
the government, and were
found in possession by Gen. Butler, who,
accompanied by James
Monroe, afterward President, was sent
out to again warn them
off. It was this sort of tenacity of
purpose in the character of the
30 All but two or three Scotch-Irish. 31
The father of Col. John McDon-
ald. 32Uncle of Col. John McDonald.
138
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
pioneers that gave them the force to
succeed in their efforts to
make homes in the wilderness.
Joseph Ross, who has already been
mentioned in these
sketches, was taken prisoner by
Armstrong and conveyed to Fort
Henry under guard. According to
Caldwell, Ross was the father
oF the first white child born in
Jefferson county. As early as 1784
Ross with wife and one son, Jacob,
settled on Mingo bottom.
Ross was a man of resolute will and
considerable force. He and
his family made their abode in the
hollow stump of a sycamore
tree, located on the old Jump place. As
late as 1814, says Cald-
well, there were people living here who
had seen the stump from
which a limb projected which had been
hollowed and used for a
smoke pipe. It was during the temporary
abode in this stump
that the first white child born in
Jefferson county saw the light of
day. At the time of this interesting
event Ross was engaged in
building a cabin. The child born in the
tree stump was named
Absalom, and at the time of his father's
death had grown to be
a fine young man. He stood six feet
three inches, and weighed
250 pounds. He would walk two and three
miles to and from
his work among the farmers and split an
hundred rails per day.
The brother was with Van Buskirk in his
fight with the Indians,
in which battle Jacob shot an Indian in
the back and pursued him
to get his scalp, but as the Indian
dived beneath some drift wood
and the roots of a large tree, the body
was not recovered. Absa-
lom married Annie Edsell, whose father
lived on an elevated point
near Cross creek, on which is now the P.
W. and Kentucky rail-
road, and died in 1867.
In Butler's report, dated October 1,
1785, it is noted that he
found a number of settlers at Mingo
town, among them one Ross,
who seemed to be the principal man of
the settlement. "I con-
versed with him and the others and
warned them away. He said
he and his neighbors had been
misrepresented to Congress; that
he was going to Congress to inform them
that himself and neigh-
bors were determined to be obedient to
their ordinances, and we
made an effort to assure them that the
land would be surveyed
and sold to poor and rich, and there
would or could be no more
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 139
of preference given to one than another,
which seemed to give
satisfaction."
As early as 1776 Joseph Tilton came to
the Ohio country
from Pennsylvania, and settled on land
near the site of Tiltonville,
where he lived with his family during
the following, the eventful
years of the Revolutionary war. He
became an expert scout
and was at two of the sieges of Fort
Henry. After the survey
he bought the land, on which he
continued to live up to the time
of his death, when it was divided among
his children. An old
gentleman who was acquainted with his
son, Caleb Tilton, in his
boyhood, informs the compiler that Caleb
at that time was looked
upon as the first white child born in
Jefferson county, the date
of birth being previous to 1784, at
which time Absalom Ross was
born, as noted above. The farm on which
Tilton settled is now
owned by William Medill. On it is a
large mound from which
W. L. Medill, Esq., has taken stone and
copper instruments, in-
cluding a copper needle and a large
piece of mica. Adjoining
the mound are the evident remains of an
ancient fort, whose out-
lines are very distinct.
Others followed Tilton and settled at
Warrenton and Tilton-
ville, and in the year 1785 there were
large settlements at these
points, and to-day many of their
descendants are living on the
lands then taken by their ancestors-the
Maxwells, McClearys,
Tiltons, and McCormacks.
The father of Ephraim Cable settled at
the mouth of Island
creek in 1785, where Ephraim was born
the same year, and until
recently was noted as the first white
child born in the county.
The father built a block-house, where he
lived and reared the elder
children of a family of twelve. Ephraim
Cable served honorably
in the war of 1812. Descendants still
live in the county and his
name has been also perpetuated by a bend
in the Ohio river and
by an eddy.
The date of the Cable settlement is
questioned, local his-
torians making it 1795, but there could
have been no occasion
for a blockhouse in 1795. The date 1785
has been given the
compiler by a descendant.
NOTE.-Jesse Delong was born on Short
creek about 1776, and died at the age of 106.
-Rev. R. M. Coulter in Cadiz
Republican, Oct. 31, 1895. He was possibly son of Solomen
Delong mentioned on p. 137.
140 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
VI.
The Lochry Expedition--Those Taking
Part are Inveigled to
Shore by Indians and British and all
but Two Killed out
of 106-Capt. Thomas Stokely, Father
of Gen. Samuel
Stokely, Escapes--He was to have been
Burned at the Stake,
but is saved by Giving the Masonic
Sign of Distress-The
Massacre of Lochry's Men an Exciting
Cause of the Mas-
sacre of the Moravian Indians by the
Friends of Lochry
from
Western Pennsylvania-The Gnadenhutten
Expedi-
tion of Col. Williamson-The Life of a
Moravian Indian
Maiden Saved by a Jefferson County
Settler who Makes Her
His Wife-A Respectable Family of the
County a Result
of the Union - Story of Sweet Corn-A Defense of William-
son and His Men--The Last Victim of
Indian Revenge a
Resident of Jefferson County.
What is known as the Lochry expedition,
organized in West-
moreland county, Pa., in the spring of
1781, by Col. Archibald
Lochry, the county lieutenant, under
direction of Col. Crawford,
has a very close association with the
history of Jefferson county.
Information of this expedition has been
difficult to obtain. In
searching the Archives of Pennsylvania,
the compiler of these
sketches, although aided by Dr. Egle,
the painstaking historian
and librarian of the state of
Pennsylvania, has been able to gather
only fragments which, put together, make
one of the strongest
indictments against the humanity of the
British. It was one of
the most disastrous expeditionsof the
Revolutionaryperiod in the
west, nearly all of the one hundred and
six men in it having been
massacred in the most cruel way by the
Indians under the British
flag and having in their possession
British cannon, and, it is sup-
posed, were commanded by a white man. As
has been stated,
the expedition was organized in 1781,
the object being to accom-
pany George Rogers Clark on an
expedition to Detroit, where
all the Indian enterprises to destroy
the settlers were concocted
by Gov. Hamilton. Under Col. Lochry was
Capt. Thomas
Stokely, the progenitor of the noted
Stokely family of Steuben-
ville, the father of Gen. Samuel
Stokely; Capt. Boyd and Capt.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 141
Orr. The ensign of Capt. Orr's company
was Cyrus Hunter,
the great-grandfather of the compiler.
One account says that
Lochry was to have met Clark at Fort
Henry, and failing to
arrive on time, was left word to follow
down the river. Another
account says that the mouth of the Big
Miami was fixed as the
place of rendezvous, but was
subsequently changed to the Falls
of the Ohio. On July 25 Col. Lochry and
his command set out
for Fort Henry, where they embarked in
boats for their destina-
tion, the place of rendezvous. They
passed down the Ohio to a
point a few miles below the Big Miami,
now Aurora, Ind., where
they were inveigled to shore by the
supposed friendly statement
that Clark had camped there. "They
were suddenly and unex-
pectedly assailed by a volley of rifle
balls from an overhanging
bluff, covered with large trees, on
which the Indians had taken
possession in great force." Col.
Lochry and forty-one of his
command were killed or wounded by the
volley and the remainder
were captured, most of whom were killed
and scalped while pris-
oners. The supposition is that only two
escaped, for Capt.
Stokely and Capt. Boyd were the only two
who turned up in
Philadelphia, where they applied for
clothing and means by which
they could return to Westmoreland
county. Col. Lochry was
afterwards killed by a tomahawk while
sitting on a fallen tree
by an Indian, he having been wounded by
the volley. Capt.
Stokely gave an account of the
expedition to his son Samuel,
who afterward became Gen. Stokely, one
of the noblemen of the
Scotch-Irish race, and an early settler
of Steubenville, a man of
fine presence, gentle manners and of
wide influence. As he was
a man of literary attainments it was
thought that he wrote the
narrative as related by his father, but
if he did do this service for
posterity, the document cannot be found.
But he in turn handed
down the story through his son, M. S.
Stokely, of Duluth, from
whose lips the compiler received it.
Capt. Stokely was wounded
by the volley fired by the savages just
after the boat landed, but
fearing he would be killed if he showed
evidences of disability,
he assumed to be sound and was permitted
to accompany the
Indians on their march to Detroit. On
the way, however, they
camped and made preparations to burn him
at the stake, under
142
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
protection of the British flag, under
whose standard they com-
mitted the cruelties that to this day
fill the world with horror.
Stokely was tied to the stake and the
fire lighted, when he made
the Masonic sign of distress. He was
immediately taken from
the stake and permitted to accompany the
Indians. However,
with Capt. Boyd he succeeded in making
his escape, and a year
after appeared before the council of war
in Philadelphia, and it
is recorded in the Archives of
Pennsylvania that the two men
"appeared before the council and,
stating that they were refugees,
were given provisions and clothing to
aid them on their way to
Westmoreland county." The Masonic
sign as a means of relief
from Indian torture is questioned by
historians. Dr. Egle says
he never heard of but one authentic case
of an Indian recognizing
the Masonic sign; this was a Canadian
Indian. The grandson of
Capt. Stokely says that he had always
understood from his father's
narrative of the story that the Indian
chief with the party that
massacred Col. Lochry and his soldiers
was a Canadian Indian,
and if the Canadian Indians were Masons,
the story has founda-
tion. Besides it is known that the
Indians that inveigled Lochry
and his brave men to disembark at the
mouth of the Miami, were
commanded by a white man, perhaps he was
a British officer sent
out by the brutal Hamilton from Detroit,
for the officers at De-
troit kept in touch with all the patriot
expeditions by means of
Indian spies.
Since the above was prepared for the
press, the compiler
has received further information about
the Lochry expedition
from Hon. C. A. Hanna, Treasurer of the
Chicago Postoffice,
who has in course of preparation an
elaborate record of the
pioneer families of Pennsylvania. Ensign
Hunter must have
returned as he left a manuscript account
of the expedition.
There were from 104 to 110 men in the
Lochry command, of
whom thirty-six privates and five
officers were killed. The
most of the remainder returned. James R.
Albach's Annals of
the West, Pittsburg, 1857, states that
"More than half the
number who left Pennsylvania under Col.
Lochry returned."
"This statement is derived from a
manuscript of Gen. Orr of
Kittanning, written from the recollection
of his father, Captain
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 143
Orr, who was in the party, and is
corroborated by a manuscript
of Ensign Hunter, who was also a sharer
in it." (See note p. 148.)
This massacre had much to do with
bringing about the
massacre of the Christian Indians at
Gnadenhutten on March 7,
1782, for which the British were wholly
responsible. In fact it
was planned by the British at Detroit.
The hostile Indians, who
were the allies of the British, had
captured the missionaries having
the Moravian Indians in charge, and,
with the Christian Indians,
had taken them to Sandusky on a
trumped-up charge. The win-
ter following was a very severe one and
provisions ran short.
About one hundred of the Christian
Indians were permitted to
return to the Tuscarawas valley to
gather corn left growing when
they were taken away. At the same time
warriors were sent out
to murder the whites in the valley to
incense the Americans against
the Indians, knowing that they would
organize and make cause
against the Christian Indians in the
Tuscarawas valley. These
red warriors crossed the river at
Steubenville and committed all
sorts of awful depredations against the
settlers, among them the
murder of Mrs. Wallace and her babe. The
plan laid by the
British at Detroit was carried out.
Other depredations were committed in
western Virginia and
Pennsylvania. Prisoners were taken by
Indians claiming to be
Moravians. The government also suspected
the Moravians with
being very intimate with the British and
furnishing information.
Col. Williamson hastily organized an
expedition against the
Indians who had committed the
depredations, no doubt having
also in mind the massacre of Lochry and
his command. There
were ninety men in the command when they
organized at Mingo,
on March 2, 1782. The result of this
expedition fills a black
page in history. The British no doubt
thought the massacre of
the Christian Indians a most diabolical
deed. Col. Williamson
with his men marched to the Tuscarawas,
and finding the Indians
there and in possession of Mrs.
Wallace's bloody garments natur-
ally supposed that the Christian Indians
had murdered her, just
as the British at Detroit had planned
they would. There has
been much written against Col.
Williamson and the "murder" of
the Christian Indians; but those who
reproach his memory do
144 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
not appreciate the conditions then
existing. The pioneer to
whom we owe everything is entitled to
every doubt. He knew
the treacherous nature of the Indian as
well as of the British, and
it was natural and especially during the
border warfare of the
Revolution, to suspect every Indian and
trust none of them, Chris-
tian or otherwise; the British were
Christians, and they were not
trusted, and why should a savage under
the flag of Britain be
trusted simply because he professed
Christianity? The pioneer
who made this valley a home of peace for
those who came after
him, is worthy an enduring monument on
every hill and in every
valley, instead of clouding his memory
with the charge of mur-
der. When we celebrate the wonderful
achievements of the pio-
neer fathers we should rejoice in their
bravery, in their fortitude,
in their endurance and steadfastness of
purpose. They were won-
derful men, the like of whom this
country will never see more.
The sentimentality that has been wasted
on the Moravian Indians
and the reproach cast upon Col.
Williamson and his pioneer sol-
diers, as brave men as ever aimed the
long rifle at the savage and
made that aim count in one less British
ally, has its parallel in the
pioneer struggles in Pennsylvania, where
the Indians would com-
mit depredations on the hardy settlers,
and then seek safety among
the Quakers, who seemed to think it all
right for the Indians to
kill and destroy, but when the Paxtang
boys, as they were known,
undertook to retaliate, they were
charged with murder, and to
this day the Quaker writers have cast a
cloud over the memory
of these brave men, that it seems
impossible to efface.
It is a fact that a family named
Haverstock residing in that
part of Jefferson county now Belmont
county, is descended in
direct succession from the Indians of
the Moravian settlement at
Gnadenhutten. The grandmother of the
present Haverstocks
was an Indian maiden named "Sweet
Corn," and was in the field
gathering corn with the other
unfortunate members of her tribe,
on the morning preceding the ill-fated
day. As has been stated,
the Moravians had been carried to
"Captive's Town" in Wyandot
county, the preceding fall, by order of
the British authorities at
Detroit, on suspicion of undue
friendship for the American settlers.
They passed a winter of great privation
and suffering. They had
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 145
but hastily and ill-constructed huts to
shelter them from the winter
of unusual severity, were possessed of
but the scantiest means of
provision and clothing and in the early
spring the impoverished
Moravians were in a state of entire
destitution. It was thereupon
determined to send a portion of the
tribe-the younger and
stronger-back to their grain fields on
the Tuscarawas, where corn
of the previous year's husbandry still
hung unplucked, to there
gather and return with the sustenance
for the aged, the sick, and
the enfeebled. As soon as the subsiding
snows permitted, a Mo-
ravian relief band started for their old
settlement, arriving there
early in March, and at once began the
work of collecting the corn.
"Sweet Corn," a lovely Indian,
and one of the Moravian converts,
was with the expedition and was in the
fields husking the grain
when Col. Williamson's command
approached. Joining Col.
Williamson's forces at Mingo was a young
hunter named John
Haverstock, one of the most intrepid of
the frontiersmen. He
was noted among the pioneers for his
great strength, agility and
daring, and as one of the most skillful
hunters, his boyish life
having been spent in trapping and
shooting in the unbroken for-
ests then lying west of the Ohio, and
now composing the coun--
ties of Jefferson and Belmont. Losing
his parents in childhood,
he had practically made his home in the
woods with no compan-
ion but his gun, sustaining himself on
game and amusing himself
with daring adventure. On the evening of
the 7th the American
forces were nearing the quiet and
unsuspecting Indian village,
John Haverstock scouting somewhat in
advance of the command,
and penetrating to the edge of the heavy
forest which skirted the
Tuscarawas bottoms, his gaze was
suddenly rivited by the be-
witching loveliness of the maiden as she
industriously husked her
grain for those who hungrily waited on
the Sandusky plains.
Col. Williamson's men were kindly
received at the village and
hospitably entertained. Upon their
advent Haverstock laid im-
mediate siege to the heart of gentle
"Sweet Corn." The maid was
not averse to the noble presence of the
young white hunter and
her troth was plighted to the American.
To his dying day John
Haverstock maintained that no evil
design was originally medi-
tated against the Moravian settlement,
although some of the men
Vol. VI-10
146
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
attached to the command of Col.
Williamson insisted that the
Moravians were giving aid and comfort to
the hostile savages
of the northwest. But a bloodstained
dress was found in one of
the cabins and suddenly produced among
Williamson's men, which
it was insisted had been on the person
of Mrs. Wallace at the
time of her capture by the Indians a
short time before. The
minds of the patriots became greatly
embittered by the recent
enormity of the Wallace murder and other
diabolical outrages.
This discovery developed into an
immediate demand for revenge.
The determination was that of wholesale
slaughter. The work
of butchery progressed until the charnal
house was made com-
plete. Amid this carnage nothing but the
known heroic daring
and prowess of Haverstock saved the
weeping "Sweet Corn"
from the fate of her tribe. As the work
of blood ran riot the
colossal form of John Haverstock towered
before the wigwam of
the terrified Indian girl like an
impenetrable wall of steel between
her and the danger without. Rifle and
tomahawk clutched in
hand, he warned the maddened Americans
that he would visit
death on any who would attempt to
approach her place of refuge.
On the return march he carried the
maiden to the American settle-
ment at Mercertown, where she became the
bride of her protec-
tor, and became the mother of a
respected line of descendants,
from one of whom, the late W. T.
Campbell, Esq., these details
were gathered. Haverstock at one time
had an encounter with
Simon Girty on Mingo bottom.
It has never been charged that the
Christian Indians mur-
dered Mrs. Wallace and her babe, but it
is evident that the pio-
neers believed that they were guilty of
the crime. The Indians
who killed Mrs. Wallace sold the dress
to the unsuspecting Mo-
ravians, having in view the result. They
had hidden in the neigh-
borhood of Gnadenhutten until after the
massacre, and then made
a swift run to claim premiums for scalps
offered by the British
at Detroit. The news of the massacre was
soon in possession of
the warriors on the Sandusky, Miami,
Scioto and the Wabash.
Revenge most terrible was demanded of
the warriors by the chiefs
"in corresponding magnitude to the
murders committed on their
kin." Simon Girty, one of the most
skilled of the English officers,
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 147
for such he was, first incited the
Indians to commit crimes to
arouse the whites to murder the Indians,
and then called upon
the Indians to avenge the destruction of
their people. It hardly
seems reasonable that the English would
employ a man of Girty's
diabolical spirit, but the evidence is
undisputed. He took the
oath under Connelly, and was received
with open arms by Ham-
ilton. At all the British camps it was
"determined to take two-
fold vengeance on the Americans. A vow
was made that no white
man should ever have the Tuscarawas
valley for a home, but that
it should remain uncontaminated by his
presence, and that the
boundary line of all future treaties
should be the Ohio river, for
ever and ever."33 Each
prisoner was to be taken to the scene of
the massacre and there dispatched by the
tomahawk and fire-
brand until the two-fold vengence had
been consummated. And
how many pioneers felt the scalping
knife and the tomahawk as
the result of this resolution!
According to Caldwell, in the year 1785,
an escaped prisoner
crossed the river at the scene of the
massacre and reported at
the Wheeling fort that he saw no human
in the valley. "The
bones of the Christian Indians were
scattered about over the
ground, and the fruit trees planted by
the Moravians were in
bloom, but the limbs had been broken by
the bears, and the place
had become the abode of only
rattlesnakes and wild beasts."
There is now a Moravian church on the
site of the Moravian
Indian missions, this church having been
organized a hundred
years ago (1798). It is now under the
charge of Bishop Henry
Van Vleck, who has in his possession
many relics of the massa-
cred Indians, including an iron hand
corn-mill, brought out to
the unbroken west by Heckewelder and his
fellow missionaries.
He also has in his museum pieces of
charred remains of the cabins,
together with a portion of the historic
tree that was blown down
a few years ago. Bishop Van Vleck is a
most conscientious his-
torian, and is incensed over the fact
that modern graves and
monuments have been permitted to
desecrate the ground in which
the Moravian Indians are buried and
await the resurrection morn.
The first actor in the awful tragedy and
the last victim of
the Indian vengeance was a Jefferson
county settler, Chas. Bilder-
33 Caldwell.
148 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
back, one of Williamson's men. He was a
Virginian who had
settled on Short creek, and was one of
the bravest of the pioneers
who won the west with the long rifle. He
was with Crawford,
but escaping returned to his cabin at
the mouth of the creek.
Seven years after the massacre, when he
had concluded that he
was to escape the vengeance of the
Indians, both he and his wife
were captured by the savages near their
cabin. They first cap-
tured Bilderback and his brother, Mrs.
Bilderback having hid
in the bushes; but they were determined
to have her also, and told
Bilderback to call his wife or they
would scalp him alive. He
called her, telling her of the fate if
she did not come. She then
responded and the three were taken to
the Tuscarawas. Mrs.
Bilderback and her brother-in-law were
taken to the site of Uh-
richsville, while Bilderback was
conveyed to Gnadenhutten. In
a few hours the Indians that had
Bilderback in charge came to
the camp and threw into Mrs.
Bilderback's lap the scalp of her
husband. She was overcome and fainted,
but was taken to the
Miami valley, where she remained a
captive for nine months, when
she was ransomed. In 1791 she married
John Green and moved
to Fairfield county, and it is said gave
birth to the first white child
born in that county. Bilderback killed
the first Moravian re-
moved on that ill-fated day, the name of
his victim being Shabosh.
He was the last white man known to have
been in the massacre
who paid the forfeit of his life for
connection therewith.
The centennial of this massacre was
celebrated at Gnaden-
hutten by the erection of a monument to
the memory of the Chris-
tian Indians who were the victims of
Col. Williamson's men. The
addresses delivered reflected on the
brave pioneers who were
severely censured, when the crime should
have been charged not
to the brave hearts who made this state
a part of the Republic
and a home of peace, but to the
Christian nation over the sea
that waged warfare with the tomahawk,
the scalping knife and
the firebrand.
NOTED.-Since the above was put in type, a letter to the
compiler from Hon. C. W.
Butterfield, author of "
Washington-Irvine Correspondence," "Crawford's Sandusky
Expedition," " Biographies of
the Girty's," and certainly the most thorough of writers
of pioneer history, questions the
masonic story. Girty was with the Indians, there
being 600. McKee was in the party, his
name being signed to a report of the victory
over the Americans sent to Detroit.
Capt. Stokely commanded a company of state
troops. The British thought they had
captured Col. Clarke, whom they had hoped to
burn at the stake.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 149
VII.
Crawford's Disastrous
Expedition-Rendezvous at Mingo-
Jefferson County Men Participating in
the Battle and Re-
treat-The British Responsible for the
Cruel Death of Col.
Crawford, the Most Horrible in
Civilized Warfare-The
British Considered the Results of the
Battle a Great Victory
-The Great Age Attained by Indian Scouts who Escaped
Death at the Hands of the English
Savage Allies-Escape
of John Sherrard, Michael Myers and
Others.
There has not been written a chapter of
history more thril-
ling, and record has not been made of a
more horrible fate of a
military leader than that of Crawford's
defeat, and his death by
fire, June 11, 1782, at the hands of the
savage minions of the
English. After the massacre at
Gnadenhutten, Simon Girty had
inspired the Indians with such awful
spirit of revenge that no
pioneer's life was safe. The red savages
were making their
way through the settlements, plundering
and burning in every
direction, and the whites captured were
treated without mercy,
Doddridge tells us that the people were
forced into the forts
which dotted the country in every
direction. "These forts were
cabins, blockhouses and stockades. In
some places where the
exposure was not great, a single
blockhouse, with a cabin out-
side, constituted the whole fort. A
space around the fort was
usually cleared away, so that an enemy
could neither find a lurk-
ing place nor conceal his approach. Near
these forts the bor-
derers worked their fields in parties,
guarded by sentinels. Their
necessary labors were performed with
every danger and diffi-
culty imaginable. Their work had to be
carried on with their
arms and all things belonging to their
war dress deposited in
some central place in the field.
Sentinels were stationed on the
outside of the fence, so that on the
least alarm the whole com-
pany repaired to their arms and were
ready for the combat in a
moment." It is not at all
surprising that there was such wide-
spread feeling of revenge against the
hostile Indians, especially
so when it was known they were paid to
burn cabins and mur-
der women and children. The horrid
scenes of slaughter which
150 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
frequently met the view were well
calculated to arouse the spirit
of the pioneer American who really had
the brunt of the Revo-
lutionary war to shoulder.
"Helpless infancy, virgin beauty,
and hoary age, dishonored
by the ghastly wounds of the tomahawk
and scalping knife, were
common sights. When the slain were the
relatives of the be-
holder - wife, sister, child, father,
mother, brother - it is not
at all a wonder that pale and quivering
lips should mutter re-
venge. It should seem," continues
Doddridge, "that the long
continuance of the Indian war had
debased a considerable por-
tion of our population to the savage
state of our nature. Having
lost so many of their relatives by the
Indians, and witnessed
their horrid murders and other
depredations upon so extensive
a scale, they became subjects of that
indiscriminating thirst for
revenge which is such a prominent
feature in the character in
the savage." Mr. Doddridge may call
the incentive to remove
the savage what he please, but there is
no civilized people living
even in this advanced age that would not
follow the footsteps
of the pioneer fathers under like
conditions. It was these depre-
dations that gave spirit to the fatal
Crawford expedition and
defeat; it was these depredations that
gave the pioneer the spirit
to fight the Indian until he was
exterminated, for the whites
and the reds could not live in peace in
the same country, and the
white man had come to open the great
empire west of the three
rivers and whose gateway was Fort Pitt.
The Revolutionary war was now almost at
an end in the
east, for Cornwallis had met his fate at
Yorktown, but in the
west it was continued with savage vigor.
On May 20, the west-
ern troops began to rendezvous on Mingo
Bottom. On the 21st
Gen. Irvine, who had command of the
western department,
wrote to Gen. Washington: "The
volunteers are assembled this
day at Mingo Bottom, all on horseback,
with thirty days' pro-
visions." It was to have been a
secret expedition with the ex-
pectation of surprising the Indians at
Sandusky. According to
Irvine's instructions, they were to
"destroy with fire and sword
(if practicable), then you will
doubtless perform such other ser-
vices in your power as will, in their
consequences, have a ten-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 151
dency to answer this great end." On
May 24, all the men were
at the place of meeting. John Rose, an
aide-de-camp of Gen.
Irvine, wrote the general: "Our
number is actually four hun-
dred and eighty men." After a
lively contest Col. Crawford was
elected to command, he receiving two
hundred and thirty-five
and Williamson two hundred and thirty
votes. "On the morn-
ing of Saturday, May 25," says
Butterfield in his work on the
Crawford expedition to Sandusky,
"the army under Crawford, in
four columns, began its march from Mingo
Bottom, in the
straightest direction, through the
woods, for Sandusky, distant
one hundred and fifty miles. The route
lay through what is
now the counties of Jefferson, Harrison,
Tuscarawas, Holmes,
Ashland, Richland and Crawford. The
whole distance, except
about thirty miles, was through an
unbroken forest. The only
indication of civilization - and that a
very sad one - in all the
region to be traversed, was the wasted
missionary establishments
in the valley of the Muskingum. As the
cavalcade moved up
over the bluff, an almost due course
west was taken, striking at
once into the wilderness, now deepening
and darkening around
it. The army progressed rapidly at
first, moving along the north
side of Cross creek, which had already
received its name. After
leaving what is now Steubenville
township, it passed through
the present townships of Cross Creek and
Wayne, Jefferson
county, and German township, Harrison
county, to the summit
where the town of Jefferson now
stands." The Panhandle rail-
road follows this trail for a hundred
miles. Although every pre-
caution had been taken to make the
expedition a surprise, the
British Indians who had spies out, knew
of the rendezvous and
the objective point of the expedition.
It is said that Indians
were on the hill back of Mingo, watching
every movement made
by the small patriot army; they knew the
plans of the com-
mander as they were talked over in the
councils of war, and
therefore the Indian forces at Sandusky
were prepared for the
onslaught. The Indians, Girty was also
with them, and British
were commanded by Capt. William
Caldwell, chief in command;
Capt. Elliott, Capt. McKee, Capt. Grant,
Lieut. Turney, Lieut.
Clinch, and Simon Girty.
152 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
The result of the battle is known to
every school boy, for
it has been printed in all the histories
of the west.34 The battle
was considered of great importance by
the British, and reports
of it are on file in the British War
Office. Capt. Caldwell in a
report to Maj. De Peyster, dated
"Lower Sandusky, June 13,
1782," says: "Simon Girty
arrived last night from the Upper
Village (Half King's town). He informed
me that the Dela-
wares had burned Col. Crawford and two
captains at Pipe's town,
after torturing them a long time.
Crawford died like a hero;
never changed his countenance tho' they
scalped him alive, and
then laid hot ashes upon his head; after
which they roasted him
by a slow fire."
Col. Crawford was one of the great men
of the Revolution-
ary period. He was Washington's equal,
if not superior, in the
profession of arms; he was beloved by
Washington, for he was
his friend and companion, and like
Washington he was trusted
in the fullest measure by those whose
hearts were in the patriot
cause. Col. Crawford's awful death at
the stake was the most
tragic event of the conflict carried on
in the Ohio country against
the heroic patriots by a civilized
nation by means of all the dia-
bolical devices that the savage mind
could conceive, and all
these atrocious modes of torturing men
were employed to make
a very hell of the last hours of the
life of one of the noblest men
America ever produced. Burning him at
the stake was not
enough to satiate the satanic desires
that made devils of human
kind; they shot his flesh full of powder
from head to foot; they
cut off his ears and thrust burning
sticks into his blackened
body. It was not enough to cloy the
diabolical yearnings in the
savage breast to pull the flesh from the
body of their victim as
he walked through the burning coals; it
was not enough to
satisfy the eyes of those in whose
hearts all human feeling had
been stifled, to fill these wounds with
red-hot ashes - they must
have torture more cruel to complete the
savage saturnalia, and
they tore the scalp from his head and
filled the opening with
coals! And a Christian nation engaged in
civilized warfare, in-
34 See the very graphic account of the
life of Col. Wm. Crawford written
by Judge James H. Anderson, a most
painstaking historian, just published
(1897) by the Ohio Historical Society.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 153
cited the savages and urged them on to
deeds so appalling, so
awful, so cruel, that history does not
record a parallel! But,
Col. Crawford died like the martyr to a
grand cause that he was,
- with a smile on his lips he turned his
eyes to heaven, as his
spirit took its flight.
Of those taking a prominent part in the
Crawford Expe-
dition, Michael Myers, John Sherrard and
Martin Swickard
afterwards settled in Jefferson county,
all having respected de-
scendants who to-day hold prominent
positions in social and
business affairs. Swickard and Myers
were together for a time
during the retreat and the hardships
suffered by them, if re-
corded, would make a very entertaining
volume. At the loan
exhibition, connected with the
centennial celebration, J. A.
Swickard, a grandson of Martin, had on
view the powderhorn
carried by his grandfather. The horn was
etched with a crude
representation of the British arms and
must have been taken
from an Indian. John Sherrard was the
grandfather of the late
Hon. R. Sherrard, and great-grandfather
of Col. H. C. Sher-
rard, of Gov. Foraker's staff, as well
as that of Gov. McKinley.
Sherrard kept a diary of the expedition
which has been employed
to correct misstatements that have crept
into history. During
the battle on Sandusky Plains the air
was very hot, and the sol-
diers suffered much from thirst.
Sherrard, whose gun had be-
come disabled, undertook to find water
for the troops, and find-
ing a pool of stagnant water about the
stump of a fallen tree
he slaked his own thirst and, filling
his canteen and his hat, car-
ried the stagnant water to the soldiers,
who drank it with much
satisfaction. He continued to fill the
canteens from this pool
and carried them to the soldiers while
the bullets flew thick
about him. In the retreat, according to
Butterfield's account,
"Sherrard overtook the main body of
the army just before the
latter left the woodland again to thread
its way in the open
country, in what is now Crawford county.
His story is a mel-
ancholy one. In company with Daniel
Harbaugh, after having
become separated from the division to
which he belonged, just
as the retreat commenced the evening
before, he had followed
as best he could the main body of the
troops, making, however,
very slow progress, owing to the
darkness, which rendered it
NOTE.--Philip Smith, who was with the
Crawford Expedition, settled near Steuben-
ville in 1799, where he lived until
1812, then removing to Wayne county.
154
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
exceedingly difficult to keep the trail
of the retreating forces.
It was a fortunate circumstance that the
two followed in the
rear of the division moving to the
southwest from the field of
battle, for had they taken the track of
McClelland's party which
led between the camps of the Delawares
and Shawanese, both
doubtless would have been killed or
captured. Not long after
sunrise the next morning they gained the
woods, and moving
along the trace on the east side of the
Sandusky, some distance
south of where the old town formerly
stood, Sherrard, who was
riding in advance of his companion, saw
an Indian a short dis-
tance away on his left. He immediately
dismounted and got
behind a tree, calling at the same time
to his companion to place
himself in like posture of defense.
Harbaugh had not been
quick enough to discover the Indians,
for in getting upon the
exposed side of the tree, he was
immediately shot by the savage,
exclaiming as he gradually sunk down in
a sitting posture,
'Lord, have mercy upon me, I am a dead
man!' and immedi-
ately expired. As soon as the smoke of
the Indian's gun had
cleared away, the savage was discovered
by Sherrard, running
as if for life, doubtless expecting a
shot from the latter; but he
had already escaped from the reach of a
bullet. At the sight
of Harbaugh's pale face his friend was
greatly moved; more un-
manned than at any of the scenes
witnessed during the battle.
After a moment to collect his thoughts,
Sherrard stripped the
saddle from his dead companion's horse
and turned the animal
loose. He then relieved his own horse
from a very uncomfort-
able packsaddle and put in its place the
saddle of Harbaugh.
Mounting and taking a parting glance at
the prostrate form of
his companion, still in a sitting
posture, he rode sadly onward.
Sherrard had proceeded on the trail not
a very great distance
when he made the discovery that in the
excitement of the mo-
ment he had neglected to disengage from
the packsaddle a
supply of provisions which were rolled
up in a blanket. He
resolved to retrace his steps and secure
the provisions. Upon
returning to the place where Harbaugh was shot, a shocking
spectacle was presented to his view. The
Indian had returned
and had scalped the lifeless soldier and
then made off with his
horse, gun and bridle. Sherrard's
packsaddle and blanket had
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 155
not, however, been discovered by the
savage. Sherrard having
secured his provisions again resumed his
journey, overtaking
the retreating army without again
encountering an enemy, and
was cordially greeted by his companions
in arms."
Wm. Myers, the grandson of Michael
Myers, is still living
in Jefferson county, his home being in
the town of Toronto, the
site of which was included in the land
given his father for ser-
vices during the Revolutionary war. The
son is now, (January,
1898) eighty years of age and still
possesses the "long rifle"
with which his father did wonderful
execution in the days when
every pioneer was a soldier. This rifle
was also among the
relics of the loan exhibition. Michael
Myers died, it is said,
at the age of one hundred and seven
years, but this is not posi-
tively known, for the family records
were lost in the great flood
in the Ohio river in 1832. Some years
ago the son gave an
account of his father's life to a
historical writer of The Steuben-
ville Gazette, a synopsis of which is
not without interest at this
time. He was born at Winchester, Va., in
1745, and in 1771
settled on Pigeon creek, in western
Pennsylvania, and was a
prominent actor in all the Indian
warfare of his time, his knowl-
edge of the woods and of the Indian
character qualifying him
for the hazardous tasks undertaken by
him and his fellow-scouts.
He was a physical giant and possessed a
well-balanced mind;
was one of the fleetest of the scouts,
while his aim was ever true.
After the Gnadenhutten massacre the
exposed condition of the
frontier made it necessary for a patrol
of the Ohio, and Myers
was one of the scouts selected for this
work. He usually dressed
in Indian fashion and had the faculty of
imitating the savages
in many ways. A part of his duty
consisted in patrolling from
Mingo Bottom up the west bank of the
Ohio to the mouth of
Yellow creek, where he would remain over
night, cross the river
and return by the Virginia shore next
day. While thus em-
ployed he frequently stopped to drink at
Poplar spring, about
a mile below Toronto, and on one
occasion when approaching
the spring, he found it in possession of
the Indians. He raised
his rifle, fired, and the largest of the
savages fell into the spring.
Myers retreated with other savages in
hot pursuit, but he had
faith in his legs, and by the time he
reached the island he was
156
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
far in advance of the Indians, and Capt.
Brady35 who was wait-
ing for him, had time to convey him
across the river before the
Indians reached that point. When they
had secured their canoe
on the other side, according to Myers'
testimony, Brady declared
that he could hit one of the Indians on
the opposite shore.
Myers expressed doubt, and Brady took
aim, fired, and the In-
dian fell, pierced by a bullet.
Myers was a captain of scouts in the Crawford
Expedition,
and was one of the men who, like Col.
Crawford, became sepa-
rated from the army, and immediately
found himself surrounded
by a horde of yelling savages. Such was
his immense strength
and fleetness that he succeeded in
escaping from his foes, rifle
in hand, only to be met by another band,
in fighting which he
was wounded in his leg by an arrow.
Pulling this out, he has-
tened onward, only to be again
surrounded by a still larger party
of Indians, and here he had to fight.
Clubbing with his rifle he
managed to keep them at a distance, but
was finally struck by
a tomahawk on the neck and again on the
elbow, which forced
him down upon his hands and knees. He
was almost in the
grasp of the Indians, when by a
superhuman effort he raised
himself and dashed through the ranks of
the savages at full
speed. In endeavoring to find the army
he came across a com-
panion scout who was wounded in the hip,
and who was fearful
of being left to die alone. Myers tried
to assist him, and finally
got him into a swamp, and then, hearing
Indians approaching,
was obliged to leave him to his fate.
While in the swamp Myers
got his rifle and ammunition so wet they
were worthless, and he
threw them away. He arrived at Fort
Henry without further
adventure. After Crawford's retreat the
garrison at the fort
was advised of the Indian council at
Chillicothe, and that it
had been determined to attack Fort
Henry. Myers was one of
the scouts who informed the garrison of
the approach of the
savages and British. There was no time
for preparation, but
the pioneers were enabled to hold out
against the siege of the
united forces of the Indians and
British, who finally retreated
over the Ohio. After this time it does
not appear that Myers
was engaged in any other general
conflict with the Indians, but
35The noted Indian scout.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 157
after peace had been restored he could
hardly restrain himself
from killing any Indian that came upon
his path. Even in his
old age he refused to attend an
"Indian show" on exhibition in
his town, saying that he was not too
good to put a hole through
one of the savages, should he see them
in the ring.
Before the days of steamboating Myers
followed flatboating.
The settlers on the Upper Ohio raised
wheat, which they turned
into flour, and rye, which they turned
into whiskey, and these
commodities were shipped to New Orleans
and intermediate
points, this business being the
principal source from which the
settlers derived their incomes. Myers
made eleven trips to New
Orleans on flatboats and returned
overland through an almost
unbroken wilderness. He made his last
trip near the close of
the last century. He and his brother
were stricken with the
yellow fever at New Orleans. The brother
died and Michael
was robbed of $1600. After this he did
not visit New Orleans,
but confined his trips to Louisville and
other points. About
1795 he located on land purchased by him
on Croxton's run,
and in 1799 built a log cabin on the
bank of the Ohio near the
mouth of the run. In 1800 he brought his
family in a flatboat
from what is now Monongahela City and
became one of the
first settlers. This boat served many
years as a ferry boat. In
1808 he built a grist mill on Croxton's
run, which, by being kept
in repair, ran until 1861. At about the
same time he built a
stone house, the first of the kind in
this part of Ohio, thirty by
forty feet, which was kept as a hotel
for forty years.
As stated, Myers was about one hundred
and seven years
of age at his death. This is indicated
on his tomb in Sugar
Grove graveyard. But all the old hunters
lived to a wonderful
age, notwithstanding the terrible
privation and exposure they
underwent, and the numerous wounds they
received at the hands
of the Indians. Andrew Poe was
ninety-six, Adam Poe eighty-
nine, and Lewis Wetzel eighty-seven. It
was well that the
pioneer fathers were of stern
stuff. Myers retained his
faculties to the last, and at the age of
one hundred and five years
was more vigorous than most men are at
eighty. His immense
and powerful frame was scarcely any
shrunken at the time of
his death, and above all, his wonderful
fund of Indian stories
158 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
made him an object of awe among all his
neighbors. There
were giants in those days.
During his lifetime Myers frequently
told his neighbors that
Crawford was apprehensive of his fate
when he found the Indian
village deserted, fearing an ambush, and
counseled retreat, but
was urged on to his horrible fate by
Col. Williamson and other
officers in whom Col. Crawford and his
men had the fullest
confidence.
Myers was with Cresap when the two
Indians were killed
in the canoe, the first killed as the
result of the advice or rather
order of Capt. Connelly, under
instructions of Dunmore.
The homeward march of the retreating
army under Wil-
liamson was along the trail of the army
when outward bound to
the Muskingum. The stream was crossed on
the 10th, between
the two upper Moravian towns. From this
point to the Ohio
"Williamson's trail" was
followed, the troops reaching Mingo
Bottom on the 13th, when to their great
joy they found that
several of the missing had arrived
before them, some two days
previous. Opposite Mingo Bottom, on the
13th, the troops
went into camp for the last time. On the
14th they were dis-
charged, and the awful campaign of
twenty days' duration was
ended.
VIII.
Some of the Jefferson County
Frontiersmen -Romantic Story of
James Maxwell-His Cabin on Rush Run
Burned by the
Indians-He Kills Many Indians, but
After the Wayne
Victory Discovers that His Babe had
been Stolen and She
is Returned to Him -A Note of
Wetzel's Camp at Mingo-
John McDonald an Early Resident at
Mingo -An Account
of His Deeds by His Friend, Dr.
Morgan--Sketches Pre-
pared by Him Lost by Henry Howe
-Other Indian Fighters
whose Achievements were in Jefferson
County -The Poes-
The Brave Johnson Boys.
Among the first to brave the danger of
pioneer life was
James Maxwell,36 who was obliged to
leave his home in Virginia
36This story is confirmed by grandsons
of the early settlers near Rush
run.
The Pathfinders of
Jefferson County. 159
to avoid prosecution for a murder of
which he was subsequently
proven innocent. He was a cousin of Col.
Zane, and it was the
Zane settlement he attempted to reach to
find security; but such
was not the case, as Zane ordered him to
leave at once or he
himself would convey him to Berkeley
county, Virginia, where
the crime was said to have been
committed. Maxwell left and
came up the river, building his cabin
near the mouth of Rush
run. Here he lived solitary for about
two years, when Cresap's
massacre aroused the Indians to terrible
vengeance, and obliged
him to leave his cabin and hermit life
and take refuge in Fort
Fincastle, afterwards Fort Henry. Here
he learned that his
innocence of the crime charged against
him had been proved,
and he immediately set out on foot for
his old home in Virginia,
where he remained until 1780, when he
again returned to Rush
run, bringing with him his young bride,
who had chosen the
toils and privations of pioneer life to
be with the man she loved.
Another cabin was erected, commanding a
fine prospect of the
river, and gradually a small patch was
cleared for corn. Still
Maxwell and his wife were obliged to
live almost as primitively
as the Indians around them. They were
far from even the out-
skirts of civilization. The Indians soon
came to know Max-
well's cabin and the kindness of
"Wild Rose," as they called his
wife. Both treated all the red men who
came to their cabin,
friendly, and the Indians, while
stealing from every other white
settler in the valley, never molested
Maxwell's property. But
the temporary peace which had been
prevailing was soon to be
broken. So daring and gross were the
outrages of the Indians
becoming that many of Maxwell's
neighbors erected block-
houses, to which they might retreat in
case of attack, and stored
them with arms and provisions; but his
confidence in his ex-
emption from any attack was too great to
allow him to appear
suspicious of those who came backward
and forward to his
dwelling in so much apparent friendship.
In the meantime a
daughter had been born to them, whom
they called Sally. When
the daughter was about three years old
she was left in charge
of a young man visiting them, while the
parents went to Fort
Henry. They had intended staying there
two days, but what
they learned of the uprising of the
Indians alarmed them, and
160
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
urged by members of the Wheeling
settlement, they immedi-
ately started for home to bring their
daughter and visitor back
to the fort to remain until the
agitation subsided. As they drew
near their cabin the air became thick
with smoke, and when
they entered the cleared ground, and
looked for their home, no
home was there. Instead burning logs and
smoking ruins;
around the ground was trodden with many
feet of moccasined
men. A tomahawk smeared with fresh blood
lay among the
embers, and near by lay the charred
remains of their late visitor,
but not a trace could they discover of
their daughter. Sally was
certainly dead; the fresh blood only
proved that too clearly, and
her body had been consumed by the
flames! The mother was
crazed by the terrible calamity, and
snatching the hunting knife
from her husband's belt, almost severed
her head from the body.
Broken-hearted by his double affliction,
Maxwell felt that he
could not hold his hands in despair. All
the settlers had as-
sembled at Fort Henry; they were soon
notified by the infuri-
ated husband, and all decided to follow
the trail of the savages
through the woods, but during the first
night heavy rains fell,
causing all traces of the trail to
disappear and the baffled party
were reluctantly obliged to return in
order to defend their own
homes and families from a similar fate.
Then it was that Max-
well swore to be avenged for the
destruction of his home and
the death of his child, and
single-handed for months he shad-
owed the red murderers through the dim
forest until his grudge
had been glutted a hundredfold, and his
name inspired as much
terror among the Indians as that of
Simon Kenton or Lewis
Wetzel. Maxwell did not appear again in
this vicinity until
about the time Fort Steuben was
completed by Capt. Ham-
tramck, in February, 1787. Col. Zane
recommended him to the
captain as a scout for the new fort.
Zane said his eye was
keener and his tread lighter than those
of the most wily savage.
He rivaled even that subtlest of Indian
hunters, Lewis Wetzel.
It was on a scouting expedition from
this fort that he met the
party of Indians who had fired upon old
John Wetzel and a
companion, who were going down the river
in a canoe, and not
obeying the command of the Indians to
stop, Wetzel was shot
through the body. He saved his friend,
who was mortally
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 161
wounded, from further outrage by
directing him to lie in the
bottom of the canoe, while he paddled
beyond the reach of the
savages. He died upon reaching the
shore, and his death was
terribly avenged by his son. Maxwell,
who had acquired the
habit of loading his gun while at a full
run, was chased by this
same party from tree to tree, until he
had killed three of the six,
and the others thinking him always
loaded, left him. Maxwell
returned to the fort that night with
three scalps. He became
the very embodiment of daredevilism and
had so many hair-
breadth escapes from his inveterate
foes, that some parts of his
career that have come down through
tradition ar certainly much
exaggerated. He is said to have been
surprised and captured
by a party of Indians who had closely
watched his movements.
To have shot or tomahawked him would not
have been gratifica-
tion equal to that of satiating their
revenge by burning him at
a slow fire in the presence of all the
Indians in the village. He
was therefore taken alive to their
encampment, and after the
usual rejoicing over the capture of a
noted enemy he was made
to run the gauntlet, after which he was
blackened and tied to a
stake while the fires were kindled. Just
as the savages were
about to begin the torture, a heavy rain
put out the fire. The
storm ceasing, the Indians concluded not
to finish the torture
that day, and so postponed it. During
the night the Indians
taunted the "soft stepper", as
he was called by them, who was
bound to a log by a buffalo thong around
his neck, and his
hands were bound to his back with cords.
At last those watch-
ing him fell asleep, and Maxwell began
trying to loose the
cords, and soon extricated one of his
arms. It was but the
work of a few minutes for him to pull
the strap binding him to
the log over his head, and quietly
getting a pair of moccasins
and a jacket from one of his watchers,
he sneaked away to where
the horses were corralled, selecting the
first horse he came
across, he was soon far away from his
captors. He arrived in
Wheeling safely, and it was not long
until he was again on the
trail of another band of Indians led by
Simon Girty. He aban-
doned the pursuit, however, and was not
again actively engaged
in Indian warfare until the campaign of
1790, when he acted as
a scout for Gen. Harmar. After St.
Clair's defeat the next year,
Vol. VI-11
162
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
he returned home and fished along the
banks of the Ohio until
he joined Wayne, and was a scout in the
battle of Fallen Tim-
bers. It was during Wayne's campaign
that he discovered that
his daughter had not been burned in his
cabin twelve years be-
fore, but had been taken by a chief and
by him sold to wandering
Hurons, who had been expelled by their
foes, the Iroquois, to
the territory at about the headwaters of
the Mississippi. He
also learned that she, whose supposed
cruel death he had been
avenging, was still living among the
Hurons. No sooner did
he hear this from an Indian of the Huron
tribe than he set out
for their land. He had no doubts, no
fears, that she was not
his daughter. How he identified her is
not known, but in the
course of a year after his departure he
returned, bringing with
him a beautiful and well-proportioned
girl of about sixteen years
of age. She could speak no word of
English and had no recol-
lection of her former home. After she
had become reconciled
to her father and was able to speak his
language, she told how
her life had been spent among the
Hurons, where her beauty
and white skin had made her almost a
goddess. She had always
thought herself a daughter of the chief
and had often wished
that she could darken her skin and hair
so she could more re-
semble the other maidens of the tribe.
Although knowing noth-
ing of the ways of civilized society,
Sally was not by any means
totally unaccomplished. Her adopted
father had taught her to
fear the great spirit, speak the truth
and to bear pain without
a murmur. She learned that the important
part of the Indian
woman's duty was to raise the vegetables
needed for food, to
prepare savory dishes of venison and
other game, to make their
garments, ornamenting them with uncommon
skill and taste,
and to manufacture baskets. She knew all
the herbs, roots and
barks that observation and tradition had
taught the Indian to
employ in the cure of diseases; all the
trees and shrubs were
known to her by the Indian name, and she
was skilled in do-
mestic surgery. For a long time she
pined for the freedom of
her Indian home, but the kindness and
patience of the matrons
living near Fort Henry, finally weaned
her away from all in-
clination to return. Her father, now
that his daughter was
found and peace restored between him and
the red man, his
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 163
occupation was gone. He hunted and
fished, but finally drifted
into the bad habit of intoxication. One
day his body was found
by hunters, floating in the river near
his old cabin, at the mouth
of Rush run. No marks of violence were
on it and it was gen-
erally believed that he had committed
suicide during the re-
morseful period following a drunken
spree. Sally, on account
of her great beauty and romantic career,
was the belle of the
region about her home. Two of her many
admirers became so
jealous that they fought a duel at the
mouth of Short creek, and
as a result one was killed and the other
lost an arm. She
finally married an Indian trader from
Detroit.
Jacob Holmes,37 an Indian
spy, was very early in this county,
but until the past summer (1897), very
little was known of him.
However, in August of this year, E. G.
McFeeley, an old resi-
dent of Steubenville, while looking
through the papers of an
uncle, E. H. McFeeley, whose pen kept
alive much of the history
of Steubenville, found a sheet of
foolscap paper filled out with
the following:
"At this distant period, when
Indian traditions are listened
to with the interest that we lend to the
events of a dark age, it is
not easy to convey a very vivid image of
the dangers and priva-
tions that our ancestors encountered in
preparing the land we
enjoy, for its present state of security
and abundance. Notwith-
standing there are so many striking and
deeply interesting events
in the early history of this state,
permit me to draw your attention
for a moment to an adventure which
happened with me in the
summer of 1838:
"It was about the middle of July, a
calm and somewhat sultry
day; I clambered up the sinuous path to
the summit of 'Mc-
Dowell hill' and seated my wearied frame
under the spreading
shade of a sugar maple. While reclining
in a listless attitude I
was aroused by the quick report of a
rifle, and a slight chuckling
laugh; on looking up I recognized my old
friend S B. -- ap-
proach and pick up a sparrow-hawk which
had fallen headless
at my feet. Holding the bird by its
talons he exclaimed: 'As
well aimed, Hawkeye, as when you fought
them 'tarnal Indians,
37 See
account of first Methodist church building in Ohio on page 256.
164
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
on yonder hill!' Immediately an aged but
erect man advanced
to the foot of the tree, leaning his gun
against its trunk and wiping
the perspiration from his weather beaten
brow, he advanced a
pace and was introduced to me as Jacob
Holmes, the Indian spy.
Having heard some of the incidents of
the pioneers of the country,
I expressed a desire to become
acquainted with the events of his
early life. Mr. Holmes informed me that
our mutual friend, Mr.
B., had made him acquainted with my wish
and he had prepared
himself to gratify it. Seating ourselves
on the green sward he
commenced by saying:
"'I was born in 1768 in Berkeley
county, Virginia. In 1775
my father moved over the mountains.and
took up his abode in
the wilderness, one mile from where the
town of Washington,
Pa., now stands. The year 1776 emanated
one of the greatest
state papers ever produced by civilized
men, and remains as the
great American Text-Book. The result of
that declaration mo-
mentarily suspended the border warfare,
but in the short space of
two years, the Indians again commenced
their depredations;
urged on by British Canadian influence,
the warfare bore the im-
press of extermination. We built forts
and block-houses for the
refuge and protection of our families.
For seven long years we
kept up the defensive warfare; during
this time were the simulta-
neous attacks on Fort Wheeling by three
hundred Indians, and
on Fort Rice, by two hundred. There were
but two men, too,
in the block-house at that time, to
fight the Indians and defend
the women and children. For two days and
nights the assault
was continued with savage perseverance
without success: our
men, like the Spartans at Thermopylae,
stood firm as Trajan's pil-
lar and saved their wives and children.
" 'In the year 1784 my father moved
on the frontier of Vir-
ginia, on the Ohio, on Buffalo creek.
This year we had no dis-
turbance from the Indians, but the
following year, in June, the
smothered volcano again broke forth on a
settlement about twelve
miles of Buffalo. I was then in my
seventeenth year and for the
first time shouldered my rifle in
defense of our helpless families.
What few could hastily be collected
repaired to the settlement.
This was the first scene of Indian
cruelty my eyes ever beheld.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 165
The names of those murdered were George
McCoy and wife,
David Pursley, John Tetton and a boy
taken prisoner.
"'In the year 1786 six of our
neighbors went out to dig gin-
seng, for the support of their families.
The 'look-out' of the
Indians marked their unguarded situation
and took their meas-
ures accordingly. The whites lulled in
security, quietly searched
for the nutritious herb on a rich plat
of rolling ground. The plant
was found in abundance. While all were
eager to secure the
spoil, the bullets from a platoon of
Indians killed four on the spot.
The names of those found at that time
were John Huff, David
Cox and Dan. Mclntire. The other, Thos.
Swearengen, was
not found, that is his bones, for some
years after. The three
found were buried in one pit grave. I
assisted to dig the pit with
handspikes, covered them with their
blankets and left them to
moulder in the wilderness.
"'In the year 1788 I enlisted for
an eight months' tour;
crossed the Ohio river; built
block-houses in the wilderness. One
of them Mingo Station. In the vicinity
of this station we en-
countered many hardships. In 1789 I
again enlisted for eight
months. As Ohio Rangers we served our
country faithfully until
some time in July we were discharged,
cut out of our wages, lost
our summer's work and got home on
Saturday. Sunday morn-
ing Capt. Chas. Bilderback and wife,
rode out of Mingo Station.
west of the Ohio. On rising the curtain
of Mingo hill a band of
fierce barbarians rushed from their
concealment, seized the
bridles of their horses. The horse of
Bilderback was turned
short off to the left over a precipitous
ground.' "
[Here the manuscript ends, and as the
page is not filled out,
it was perhaps never finished.]38
Lewis Wetzel, one of the most noted of
the Indian scouts,
a German, as early as 1783-6 lived at
Mingo, his hunting expedi-
tions often starting from this point. In
fact so many of the most
thrilling incidents in his remarkable
career were so closely asso-
ciated with Jefferson county, that if it
were not for the fact that
the stories have so often been told, it
would be proper to devote
a chapter of these sketches to his
achievements as a hunter and
38 The fate of Bilderback is noted on
page 148.
166
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
scout, but his biography has been so
thoroughly preserved in
abiding print that it is deemed
unnecessary to repeat the story of
his prowess.
After Harmar erected a fort at the mouth
of the Muskingum,
Wetzel was employed as a scout. It was
while thus engaged this
brave frontiersman met with trouble that
changed the current of
his career. Among the Indians who
visited Gen. Harmar at the
fort was one called George Washington.
He was a celebrated
savage and possessed much influence with
his tribe. While on
one of his scouting expeditions Wetzel
met and killed this Indian.
This was after Gen. Harmar had issued his
proclamation to the
effect that a cessation of arms had been
agreed to by the Indians
and whites until arrangements could be
made for a treaty of peace.
Wetzel, like all the frontiersmen, had
not the least confidence in
an Indian, and of course sneered at the
proposed treaty of peace
as only another to be broken as soon as
the savages were given
opportunity to go upon the war path well
manned and equipped.
The frontiersmen also probably knew that
the Indians were still
being directed by the British at
Detroit, and that it was only a
question of time when they would break
out again in all their ter-
rible fury, to kill and burn-to make
impossible peaceful settle-
ments west of the Ohio, the idea of the
British being to prevent
settlements in the Ohio country, thus
causing it to be so unde-
sirable that the United States
Government would finally make
the treaty line the Ohio river; and that
there was much basis for
this belief developed in a very short
time. Nevertheless Wetzel
was arrested by Gen. Harmar, charged
with murder. Wetzel's
cunning escape and final return to Mingo
bottom is one of the
most interesting chapters in frontier
sketches. Exasperated at
Wetzel's escape, Gen. Harmar offered a
large reward for his cap-
ture. He also sent a file of men under
command of Capt. Kings-
bury to apprehend the outlaw, as he
called the brave scout whose
daring and skill, and the daring and
skill of those like him, made
possible the settlement of the whites in
Ohio. The soldiers
marched to Mingo, where a shooting match
was in progress.
An eye witness thus narrates this
incident: "A company of men
could as easily have drawn Beelzebub out
of the bottomless pit,
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 167
as to take Lewis Wetzel, by force, from
the Mingo bottom settle-
ment. As soon as the object of Capt.
Kingsbury's visit was known
it was determined to ambush the
captain's barge, and kill him and
his company. Happily Major McMahan was
present to prevent
this catastrophe, who prevailed on
Wetzel and his friends to sus-
pend attack until he should pay Capt.
Kingsbury a visit; perhaps
he could induce him to return without
making the proposed arrest.
With reluctance they agreed to suspend
the attack until McMahan
should return. The resentment of Wetzel
and his friends was
burning with fury. 'A pretty affair,
this,' said they, 'to hang a
man for killing an Indian when the
Indians are killing our peo-
ple every day.' Major McMahan informed
Kingsbury of the dis-
position of the people in the Mingo
settlement, and assured him
that if he persisted in the attempt to
seize Wetzel, he would have all
the settlers in the country upon him;
that nothing could save him
and his command from massacre but a
speedy return. The cap-
tain took the advice, and Wetzel now
considered the affair ad-
justed." Again Gen. Harmar issued a
proclamation from Fort
Washington, offering a reward for the
delivery of Wetzel to the
fort, dead or alive. Wetzel was finally
retaken near the Falls of
Ohio by Lieutenant Lawler and delivered
to Gen. Harmar at Fort
Washington, but the protests of the
people all along the river from
Mingo to the falls were so strong and
persistent that the general
was compelled, although reluctantly, to
release him. Wetzel
afterwards went to New Orleans, where he
was arrested and im-
prisoned for passing a counterfeit bill,
palmed off on him by a
trader who had bought his pelts. He lay
in prison for a long time,
or until released by the intercession of
friends in the neighbor-
hood of the Mingo bottom settlement. The
late David McIntyre,
of Belmont county, met him at Natchez in
April, 1808. He died
in Texas and was buried near Austin.
John Wetzel's career was also associated
with Jefferson
county, and it was the depredations
committed by the Indians
near where Steubenville now stands,
after their victory over St.
Clair, that occasioned the John Wetzel
expedition against the
Indians in the spring of 1792. The
Indians had made many raids
on the border settlers along the Ohio,
especially between the site
168
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
of Steubenville and Wheeling, sometimes
killing or capturing
whole families, at other times stealing
horses and whatever else
they could carry away. After one of
these forays the settlers
determined to follow the savages. The
party organized, with
Wetzel as captain. The company consisted
of William McCul-
lough, John Hough, Joseph Hedges, Thomas
Biggs, Kinsie Dick-
erson and Wm. Linn, all being
experienced scouts. From the
site of Steubenville they marched up the
river to Yellow creek and
then followed the old trail from Fort
McIntosh (Beaver) to Fort
Laurens, in the Tuscarawas valley. At
the first Indian town,
which was on Mohican creek, they found
their horses. For bet-
ter safety they concluded to return by a
different route, which
brought them to a point on Wills creek,
near the site of Cam-
bridge. Here they camped for a night,
and while all were asleep
excepting a guard, the party was
attacked by the Indians. A
party of savages bounded into the camp,
yelling and brandishing
their tomahawks like the demons they
were. The scouts fled
instantly, leaving all their equipments
in the camp. In the fight
that ensued Biggs, Hedges and Linn were
killed, but Wetzel
and the others escaped to Wheeling. The
Indians making the
attack were some of the old Moravian
converts who had reverted
to heathenism, and who were on the
warpath to revenge the massa-
cre at Gnadenhutten ten years before.
John McDonald, too, was among the settlers
of Mingo bot-
tom, before the territory northwest of
the Ohio was ready for a
home of peace, or rather it should be
said that his father, John
McDonald, was; and his uncle Thomas
McDonald, after whom
Thomas, Jr., was named, also settled at
Mingo. Just pre-
vious to 1780 the McDonalds moved
from Northumberland
county, Pa., crossing the mountains and
settled on the Mingo
bottoms. John was about five years of
age, and in the midst of
danger and privation, he began the
education that fitted him for
the responsibilities that he so nobly
bore in future years.
The frequent incursions of the savages
upon the homes of the
whites taught the youth to court danger.
The necessities of the
table developed a skill with the rifle
that was only equalled by the
savage dweller in the wilderness. The
labor required to hew out
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 169
homes in the heavy forests, developed
the muscles of the boy into
their greatest strength in manhood. By
dint of industry and
never failing perseverance, John
McDonald added to his qualifi-
cations the rudiments of an English
education. "Thus," says his
biographer and friend, J. B. F. Morgan,
of Ross county, "the boy,
who was destined to become an expert
backwoodsman, a success-
ful hunter, a brave Indian fighter, a
surveyor, a distinguished sol-
dier, an honored legislator and an
author of great worth, was
reared." The McDonalds were among
those who were dispos-
sessed of the land upon which they had
settled on the west bank of
the Ohio, and who were living there in
1785, by order of the Gov-
ernment. Some returned and reconstructed
their cabins, only
to see them again burned the next year
by order of the Government
in whose defense they had fought, and
thought at least they were
entitled to as much ground as would make
a corn patch. There
is no record to show whether the
McDonalds returned; but Mr.
Morgan says John removed to Kentucky
about the year 1790,
and was ever after a prominent figure in
the affairs of the west:
39Simon Kenton, the celebrated
frontiersman, was a resident of
the community in which the McDonalds
located. Though twenty
years older than McDonald, a strong
attachment was soon de-
veloped between the two. It was with the
daring Kenton that
McDonald made his first excursion in
quest of Indian blood. A
party of hunters went out on the waters
of Bracken in search of
game, where they were attacked by a body
of savages. Two of
the hunters were killed. Word of the
depredations reached
Washington, Ky., about midnight and
Kenton began at once to
make preparations to avenge the death of
the hunters. Young
McDonald was solicited to join the
company, but his father for-
bade him joining the excursion. His
eagerness for the fray was
so intense that he disregarded his
father's will and secretly took
a rifle from the cabin and joined in the
chase. The trail of the
savages was soon found and a rapid march
made in the direction of
the Ohio river, over which they had made
a safe retreat. It is
said that when the mutilated bodies of
the hunters were found by
the company, the ardor of the youthful
warrior was somewhat
39 Sketch by Dr. Morgan read before the
Ross County Historical Society.
170
Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
cooled, but not daunted. After this,
McDonald was constantly
employed in hunting, scouting and
surveying. The latter occu-
pation was the most dangerous calling in
which frontiersmen were
engaged.
McDonald accompanied many surveying
parties, and in his
Sketches is given an account of the
composition of a surveying
party, from which an extract is of
interest: "The surveyor-in-
chief, usually employed three assistant
surveyors. To each sur-
veyor were attached six men, which made
a mess of seven. Every
man had his prescribed duties to
perform. Their operations were
conducted as follows: In front went the
hunter, who kept in
advance of the surveyor two or three
hundred yards, looking for
game, and prepared to give notice should
any danger from Indians
threaten them. Then followed, after the
surveyor, the two chain-
men, marker and pack-horse-men with the
baggage, who always
kept near each other to be prepared for
defense in case of an
attack. Lastly, two or three hundred
yards in the rear, came a
man called the spy, whose duty it was to
keep on the back trail
and look out, lest the party in advance
might be pursued and
attacked by surprise. Each man, the
surveyor not excepted, car-
ried his rifle, his blanket and other
articles that he might stand in
need of. On the pack-horse was carried
the cooking utensils and
such provisions as could be conveniently
taken. Nothing like
bread was thought of. Some salt was
taken to be used sparingly.
For subsistence they depended alone on
the game which the woods
afforded, procured by their unerring
rifles."
The law regulated the surveyor's fees.
He was paid three
shillings (about 75c.) per thousand
acres; and each assistant se-
cured three shillings a day. Just think
of it. Men not only plac-
ing their lives in peril every day that
they were in the country of
the savages, but every hour; yes, every
moment had to be guarded
with the strictest precision; their food
consisting alone of what
the forests afforded. No tent to shelter
them from the pelting of
the rains or protect them from the
blasts of the merciless winds;
no ambulance to carry the wounded; no
hospital to receive the
sick, no surgeon to stop the ebbing
tide. All this done for the
paltry sum of seventy-five cents a day!
But the adventure, the
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 171
daring, the captivity, the dying at the
stake of noble men, seemed
to be necessary for the development of
the wilderness, with its
savage wigwams, into a settlement
covered with beautiful homes
occupied by the most intelligent people
the world has ever known.
The following story of one of his narrow
escapes was narrated
to Dr. Morgan by McDonald years after
the event. It is also
related by Dr. J. B. Finley40 in
his autobiography: Early in
November, in the year 1794, Lucas
Sullivant, a land speculator
and surveyor from Virginia, collected a
company of twenty-one
men to go on a surveying tour in the
Scioto country; notwith-
standing the Indians had been severely
beaten by Gen. Wayne
a few months previously, yet the country
was far from being
in a state of peace. Attached to this
company were three sur-
veyors-John and Nathan Beasley and
Sullivant, who was the
chief. Col. McDonald was connected with
this company. Every
man carried his own baggage and arms,
which consisted of a
rifle, tomahawk and scalping knife.
Having taken Todd's trace,
they pursued their journey until they
came to Paint Creek at
the old crossing; from thence they
proceeded to old Chillicothe
(now Frankfort), and thence on to Deer
Creek where they
camped at the mouth of Hay Run. This is
a point about two
miles southeast of Clarksburg, and about
six hundred yards
north of Brown's Chapel, in Deerfield
township. In the morning
Sullivant, McDonald, Calvin and Murray
were selected as hunters
for the day. They started down toward
the mouth of the creek,
intending to take its meanderings back
to camp. They had not
proceeded more than a hundred rods, when
a flock of turkeys
came flying toward them and lighted on
the trees about them.
McDonald and Murray were on the bank of
the creek by a pile
of drift wood. Murray, having no thought
that the turkeys might
have been frightened by Indians, slipped
up to a tree and shot
a turkey. He then stepped back under
cover from the turkeys
and McDonald took the position left by
his companion. He
was taking aim, when the sharp crack of
a rifle greeted his ear.
He whirled on his heel in time to see
his companion fall to rise
40 McDonald was as modest as brave and
did not refer to his achieve-
ments in his Sketches.
172
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
no more. Looking in the direction from
which the messenger
of death came, he saw several Indians
with their rifles leveled at
him. As quick as thought he sprang into
the creek, when they
fired but missed. The Indians now
resolved to take him pris-
oner. The entire company made pursuit.
For the distance of a
hundred yards or so, the land was open
and gave the Indians
a fair chance to measure speed with the
young athlete. McDonald
succeeded in reaching a thicket of
undergrowth which gave him
protection long enough to allow him to
gather his wind. The
thicket was too small to allow him to
make his escape unob-
served. He was driven from his hiding
place into the open timber
and he was compelled again to call his
brave legs into action.
Now was a race for life. The Indians
were close upon him with
a young athlete in the lead, the entire
company yelling like demons
incarnate. For some moments, McDonald
imagined he could
feel the Indian's hands grabbing at his
collar. Finally, he cast his
eyes about him and found that his
pursuers were trying a flank
movement on him, and also learned that
he had gained several
rods upon them. The object of his
pursuers was to chase him
into a fallen tree-top and there make
safe their captive. They
succeeded in driving him to the
tree-top, but no doubt they were
greatly chagrined to see him make a
single bound and clear
every limb of the fallen tree, lighting
safely upon the other side.
This so astonished the Indians that they
stood for a moment in
amazement. This short halt put McDonald
safely in the lead
in the chase, but he was not yet out of
the reach of the rifles.
The Indians again took up the pursuit,
firing as they ran. Sev-
eral balls whizzed close by, but failed
to disable the desired
captive. At this juncture, he met
Sullivant and three others of
the company. Sullivant instantly threw
away his compass, but
clung to his rifle. Their only safety
was in rapid flight, as the
Indians were too numerous to encounter.
As they ran, the In-
dians fired upon them, one of the balls
striking Calvin's cue, at
the tie, which shocked him so much that
he thought himself mor-
tally wounded; but he succeeded in
making his escape, and ran
up the creek and gave the alarm at the
camp, stating that he
believed all were killed but himself.
Those at camp, of course,
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 173
fled as soon as possible. McDonald and
his party ran across
the highland, and after running three
miles, struck a prairie.
Casting their eyes over it they saw four
Indians along the trace.
They thought of running around the
prairie and heading them
off; but not knowing how soon those in
pursuit would be upon
them and perchance they would be between
two fires, adopted the
better part of valor and hid themselves
in the grass until the
Indians were out of sight. After
remaining there some time
they went to the camp and found it
deserted. Just as they were
about to leave the camp, they espied a
note in a split stick, say-
ing, "If you come, follow the
trail." It was then sun down and
they knew they would not be able to
follow the trail after dark.
When night came on they steered their
course by star light.
They had traveled the distance of 8 or 9
miles. * * * It
was a cold dreary night and the leaves
being frozen, the sound
of their footsteps could be heard some
distance. All at once
they heard something break and run as if
it was a lot of buffaloes.
At this, they halted and remained silent
for some time. After
a while they returned cautiously to
their fires, supposing it might
be their companions, McDonald and
McCormick concluded they
would creep up slowly and see. They
advanced until they could
hear them cracking hazel nuts with their
teeth. They also heard
them whisper to one another, but could
not tell whether they
were Indians or white men. They
cautiously returned to Sul-
livant, and after consultation concluded
to call, which they did,
and found to their joy, that it was
their friends and companions
who had fled from them. They had mutual
rejoicings, but poor
Murray was left a prey to the Indians
and wolves. They now
commenced their journey homeward and
after three days' travel
reached Manchester.
This is but one incident in the life of
McDonald. He was
with Duncan McArthur with the Massie
surveyors, in March,
1795, when three feet of snow fell, upon
which rain fell and
freezing formed a crust which would not
bear the weight of
a man. The party had no provisions and
game could not be
procured.
174 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
In 1794 McDonald and his brother Thomas
joined Gen.
Wayne's army, as rangers or spies. The
company of rangers
consisted of seventy-two men, who were
under the command
of Capt. Ephraim Kibby. It was the duty
of this company
to traverse the Indian country in every
direction in advance of
the main army. The most daring and
intrepid men were selected
for this company. Upon their bravery and
skill as Indian war-
riors depended the success of Gen.
Wayne's army. Col. McDon-
ald proved to be a man of unquestionable
bravery and skill, and
had a combination of qualities that made
him a valuable mem-
ber of Gen. Wayne's advance guard.
He served in the War of 1812 as
Quartermaster; in 1813
he was made a Captain in the regular
army; in 1814 he com-
manded a regiment at Detroit, and in
1817 he was elected to
the State Senate. In 1834, when he was
near 60 years of age,
he began writing reminiscences of the
first settlements along
the Ohio and its tributaries; also the
book he called McDonald's
Sketches. This book consisted of
biographical sketches of Gen.
Duncan McArthur, Gen. Nathaniel Massie,
Captain William
Wells and Gen. Simon Kenton. To this
work he devoted much
time. As he was not an educated man this
labor was great. No
task of this kind had ever been
undertaken by any frontiersman.
He was the only pioneer of the Virginia
Military District who
attempted to record, in historical form,
the deeds of his com-
rades on the frontier. In giving a
history of the four individuals
above mentioned he painted a magnificent pen
picture of the
settlements of the western wilderness.
41 When
Henry Howe wrote the history of Ohio he borrowed
the bulk of McDonald's manuscript, with
the privilege of select-
ing such as might be of value to him,
with the promise that all
should be returned. Instead of returning
it, as he promised, all
was lost. In this manuscript was lost
much valuable history that
to-day would have been greatly
appreciated by the present gen-
eration. His writings have been sought
by many historians. If
it had not been for the writings of Col.
McDonald the names of
such men as Gen. Nathaniel Massie and
others would have been
41 Dr. Morgan.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 175
consigned to oblivion. Much of his
writings has been appro-
priated by the page (by would-be
authors) without a quotation
mark.
It has been said by critics that
McDonald's Sketches were
lacking in literary style. With the
basis he had for the stories
he narrated there was no need for the
manifestation of imagina-
tion; there was no call for literary
culture. He told his story
in a plain, straightforward way so that
he that runneth may
read and understand. The compiler has
before him a copy of
McDonald's Sketches, and he would place
it among the classics
and the name of John McDonald in the
pantheon where forever
abides the record of achievements of the
brave.
Joseph Ross was another noted Indian
scout of Jefferson
county during the border warfare, of
whose early settlement at
Mingo mention is made elsewhere, he
being the father of the
first white child born in Jefferson
county. Ross was a Scotch-
Irishman, born in New York state about
the year 1730, and
the greater part of his life was spent
on the frontier. Like most
of the Indian scouts he was a man of
powerful frame, being
almost six and a half feet in height and
weighing three hundred
pounds. In youth he was captured by the
Indians and brought
to one of their towns in the Ohio
country. He was well treated
by the savages, who made him a chief on
account of his gigantic
size. Under the pretext of desiring to
join the French at Fort
Du Quesne, he left the Indians and
returned to his home in
New York, where he joined the troops
setting out against Fort
Edward. He was captured in the attack on
the fort and the
Indians heaped many cruelties upon him,
and they finally deter-
mined to burn him at the stake. However,
he escaped, according
to the early accounts of his life, by
the assistance of a French
officer. He now became an Indian hunter
of the type of Max-
well, the Wetzels, Myers, et al.
Possessed of intimate knowledge
of the Indians and their mode of
warfare, he was of great aid
to the frontiersmen. His nature could
not brook restraint or
control, and he was continually at
variance with the commanders
of posts along the frontier. While on a
trip to Kentucky, where
he hunted with Daniel Boone and Simon
Kenton, he married
176 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
his third white wife. Returning to Fort
Henry, he took a brave
and active part in the defense in
September of 1782. As soon
as the Indians abandoned the siege Ross
and Lewis Wetzel
started on their trail intent on killing
stragglers. It is related that
the two became separated and Ross seeing
four Indians starting
to swim across the river, killed two of
them with his rifle before
they could return to shore, and grappled
with, and killed the
other two who got to shore, after a
terrible struggle, without
weapons aside from his hands. He settled
on what is known
as the Wells farm on Mingo bottom. (See
Early Settlers and
Their Ejectment by the Government.) Just
before Ross left to
join Gen. St. Clair's command in 1791,
he had a personal encounter
with Major Hamtramck, commandant at Fort
Steuben, and gave
the Major a terrible beating. It would
have fared badly with him
had he not immediately left to war with
his old enemies. He
was also a captain of scouts in Wayne's
victorious army; return-
ing to Mingo he acquiesced in the
demands of the government
and purchased the land on which he had
previously squatted.
He became a warm friend of Bezaleel
Wells and James Ross
the founders of Steubenville. He met his
death by a falling tree
during a storm in 1806, while returning
home from a visit to
Mr. Wells, who then lived in his mansion
on the river front.42
A few years ago the late Capt. W. M.
Farrar, an active mem-
ber of the Ohio Historical and
Archaeological Society, and Dr.
A. M. Reid, the latter of Steubenville,
marked the point on the
Ohio river at which occurred the fight
between Adam Poe and
the big Indian. The place designated by
their mark is at the
mouth of Tomlinson's run, which empties
into the Ohio from
the Virginia side about three miles
above the head of Brown's
island. A short distance from the shore
is a small island, and
it was between the island and the shore
the fight took place. The
land at this point is owned by Rev. Mr.
Cowl, of the Methodist
Protestant church. Most of the published
accounts of this justly
celebrated fight are incorrect, and J.
A. Caldwell, while gather-
ing data for his history of Belmont and
Jefferson counties, de-
voted much effort to obtain a true
account, which he obtained
42 History Upper Ohio Valley.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 177
from old residents then living in the
neighborhood, and even
from the descendants of the Poes, who
had heard the story from
the lips of the actors themselves. A
grandson of Adam Poe is
now (January, 1898) in Ravenna, and has
in his possession a
tomahawk used in the border warfare by
his illustrious ancestor.
The Poes were Scotch-Irish and were born
in Maryland, com-
ing to the northwestern part of Virginia
bordering on the Ohio
before the Zanes settled at the mouth of
Wheeling creek. The
Poe settlement soon increased to twelve
families. Adam was
married in 1778, and Andrew two years
afterwards. Both men
were trained frontiersmen and were
engaged in most of the ex-
peditions that required spirit a daring
and fortitude to bear the
perils of the woods. In every sense,
says Caldwell, they were
shrewd, active and courageous, and
having fixed their abode on
the frontier of civilization, determined
to contest inch by inch
with the savage their right to the soil
and privilege to live. In
appearance they were tall, muscular and
erect, with features de-
noting great force of character. The
date of the conflict which
made famous these two brave men is 1781.
In the fall of that
year, following the massacre of the
Lochry expedition at the
mouth of the Big Miami, the settlements
in this region were
frequently disturbed by incursions of
the Indians. In August
the Wyandots, Delawares, Shawanese, with
over three hundred
warriors assembled at the Moravian town,
the object being to
take the missionaries and their converts
to Detroit to try them
for spies. After remaining at
Gnadenhutten for a month the
head of the warriors, Half-King, sent
out a party of six Wyan-
dots to attack the white settlers on the
Ohio, among the six be-
ing three sons of the Half-King. They
broke into the cabin of
William Jackson, an old man, in the Poe
settlement, and he
being alone, they took him prisoner.
Jackson's son, who was
about seventeen years of age, on
returning to the cabin, saw the
Indians with his father, in the yard,
and he fled to Harman's
fort. The Indians attempted several
other houses and the alarm
became general. Preparations were made
to follow the Indians
with a view of rescuing Jackson, and at
the first dawn of day,
says Caldwell, in his account, twelve of
the settlers, mounted on
horseback, were in pursuit. They
followed the trail at the
Vol. VI-12
178
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
greatest possible speed until they
reached the top of the river
hill, a distance of about twelve miles.
Here they left their horses
and traveled on foot, the hill being
very precipitous. When
they reached the bottom of the hill the
trail turned down the
river, and in crossing the little
stream, Tomlinson's run, An-
drew observed that where the Indians had
stepped into the
water it was still riley, and cautioned
the men to keep quiet;
that the Indians were very near and
would hear them and kill
the prisoner, Jackson. After fruitless
efforts to quiet the men
he left the company, turning off square
to the right, went to the
bank of the river, and looking down he
saw, about twelve feet
below him, two Indians stooping with
their guns in their hands,
looking down the river in the direction
of the noise. He ob-
served that one of the Indians was a
very large man. It oc-
curred to him that he would shoot the
larger and take the other
a prisoner. He squatted in the weeds,
and crept up to the
brow of the bank, put his gun through
the weeds and took aim,
but his gun missed fire. When the gun
snapped both Indians
yelled, "Woh! woh!" Poe immediately drew his head back
and the Indians did not see him. By this
time the other settlers
had overtaken the other five Indians
with Jackson, who were
about one hundred yards down the river,
and had begun to
fire, which drew the attention of the
two under the eye of An-
drew, who again drew aim, his gun
missing fire the second
time. He then dropped the rifle and
sprang instantly upon
them. On springing about at the snap of
the gun, the two
Indians were brought side by side, but
did not have time to fire
-at Poe before he was upon them. He
threw his weight upon
the big Indian, catching each of them
about the neck, and threw
them both. The big Indian fell on his
back, Andrew following
with his left arm around his neck. The
little Indian fell be-
hind Andrew, whose right arm was around
the Indian's neck.
Their guns both fell. One of them lay
within reach of An-
(drew, who observed that it was cocked.
The Indians had a raft
fastened to the shore close by where
they were standing, the
river being very high. The tomahawk and
bullet pouch were
on the raft. Andrew's knife was in the
scabbard attached to his
shot pouch, which was pressed between
them. He got a slight
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 179
hold of the handle and was trying to
draw it to dispatch the big
Indian who, observing it, caught his
hand, and spoke in his own
tongue very vehemently to the other who
was struggling very
hard to get loose. Andrew made several
efforts to get his
knife, but in vain. At last he jerked
with all his might. The
big Indian instantly let go and Andrew,
not having a good hold
of the handle, and the knife coming out
unexpectedly easy in
consequence of the big Indian loosing
his grasp, it flew out of
Andrew's hand and the little Indian drew
his head from under
his arm, his grasp being slackened in
the act of drawing his
knife. The big Indian instantly threw
his long arm around An-
drew's body and hugged him like a bear,
while the little Indian
sprang to the raft, which was about six
feet off, and brought a
tomahawk with which he struck at
Andrew's head, who was still
lying on his side on the big Indian, he
holding him fast. An-
drew threw up his foot as the stroke
came and hit the Indian on
the wrist with the toe of his shoe and
the tomahawk flew into
the river. The big Indian yelled at the
little Indian furiously,
who sprang to the raft and got the other
tomahawk, and after
making several motions struck at
Andrew's head, who threw up
his right arm and received the blow on
his wrist, which broke
one bone of his wrist and the chords of
three of his fingers.
Andrew immediately threw his hand over
his head when he was
struck, and the tomahawk catching in the
sinews of his arm,
drew it out of the Indian's hand and it
flew over his head. After
the stroke was given the big Indian let
go his hold and Andrew
got upon his feet. As he rose he seized
the gun which lay by
his head, with his left hand, and it
being already cocked, he shot
the smaller Indian through the body; but
scarcely had he done
so when the big Indian arose and placing
one hand on his
collar and the other on his hip, threw
Andrew into the river.
Andrew threw his hand back and caught
the Indian by his buck-
skin breech clout and carried him into
the river also. The
water being deep they both went under.
Then a desperate
effort was made by each to drown the
other; sometimes one
was under the water, sometimes the other
and sometimes both.
In the struggle they were carried about
thirty yards out into the
river. Poe at length seized the tuft of
hair on the scalp of the
180
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Indian by which he held his head under
water until he thought
him drowned. But he himself was sinking;
not being able to
do much with his disabled right hand, he
threw it on the back
of the Indian's neck, who was under
water, and swam with his
left arm to recruit himself a little.
The Indian was not dead as
supposed and got from under Andrew's arm
and swam to shore
with all his speed, Poe following him as
fast as he could, but
he could not catch him. As soon as the
Indian got out of the
water he picked up a gun, and in his
effort to cock it, disabled
the lock. He then threw it down and
picked up the empty gun,
with which Andrew had shot the other
Indian and went to the raft
for the shot pouch and powder horn and
commenced loading. In
the meantime, as soon as the Indian
reached the spot where
both guns and tomahawk lay, Andrew swam
back into the river
and called for his brother, Adam, who
was with the other party.
Adam came running on the bank where
Andrew had jumped
off, and began to load his gun. Andrew
continued swimming
away from them with nothing but his face
out of the water, still
calling for Adam to load quickly. The
race between the two
in loading was about equal, but the
Indian drew his ramrod
too hastily and it slipped out of his
hands and fell a little dis-
tance from him. He caught it up and
rammed down his bullet.
The little delay gave Poe the advantage,
so that just as the In-
dian raised his gun to shoot Andrew,
Adam's ball entered the
breast of the savage and he fell forward
on his face upon the
very margin of the river. Adam, now
alarmed for his brother,
who was scarcely able to swim, jumped
into the river to assist
him to shore, but Andrew, thinking more
of the honor of secur-
ing the big Indian's scalp as a trophy
than his own safety, called
upon Adam to leave him alone and scalp
the big Indian. In
the meantime the savage had succeeded in
reaching the deep
water before he expired and his body was
borne off by the
waves without being stripped of its
scalp. An unfortunate oc-
currence took place during this
conflict. Just as Adam arrived
at the top of the bank for the relief of
his brother, the others of
his party, hearing the hallooing of
Andrew, came running up
the bank and seeing him in the river
mistook him for a wounded
Indian, and three of them fired at him,
one of them wounding
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 181
him dangerously. The ball entered his
right shoulder at the
juncture with his neck, passing through
his body, coming out at
his left side. During the contest
between Andrew Poe and the
two Indians the rest of the party
followed the Indian trail to the
river, where the other Indians were with
the prisoner, Jackson.
They had a large raft and were preparing
to cross the river.
Jackson seeing the men coming as soon as
the Indians did, ran
to them. One of the Indians struck him
on the back with a
tomahawk, making a slight wound. None of
the Indians were
captured, but being badly wounded only
one of them got across
the river and he was shot through the
hand. One of the set-
tlers named Cherry, was shot through the
lungs and died in
about an hour. Andrew Poe was straight
and tall, being six feet
two inches in height, with large bones
covered with well-devel-
oped sinews and muscles and weighed over
two hundred pounds.
He had broad shoulders, slightly
rounded, and a deep, full chest,
surmounted by a large and well-balanced
head, the physique
indicating great strength and
extraordinary power of endurance.
In 1795 he built a large two story hewn
log house near Hooks-
town, Pennsylvania. The upper story was
left without windows
and was meant for a fort in case of an
attack by the Indians.
Andrew Poe was a member of the
Presbyterian church at Mill-
creek, Beaver county, Pennsylvania,
during all, or the most part
of the pastorate of Rev. George Scott, which
extended over
forty years.
The scene of the encounter of the two
Johnson boys, so
familiar to the readers of frontier
history, is near the town of
Warrenton, at the mouth of Short creek,
and near the site of
Carpenter's fort, being on section 9,
Wells township. There
have been many accounts written of this
event in the history
of Jefferson county, in which there
seems to be very little dif-
ference except as to the language
employed in the description.
While Withers gives the date as 1793 and
Doddridge the same,
Henry Johnson, one of the actors, in
after years gave the date
as October, 1788. The names of the boys
were John and Henry,
the latter being eleven years of age at
the time. They had been
in the forest cracking nuts when
captured by two Indians, and
after a circuitous route the Indians
halted for the night. The
182
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
elder, in order to keep the Indians from
killing them, pretended
that they were pleased to be taken, as
they had been treated
illy at home and desired to get away
from their people. During
the evening and before they lay down to
sleep, John guardedly
informed his brother of a plan he had
arranged in his mind for
escape. After the Indians had tied the
boys and had gone to
sleep, John loosened his hands and
having also released his
brother, they resolved to kill their
captors. John took a position
with a gun one of the Indians had by his
side, and Henry was
given a tomahawk. At a given signal, one
discharged the rifle
and the other almost severed the head of
the other Indian with
the tomahawk. The one struck with the
tomahawk attempted
to rise but was immediately dispatched
by the brave boy. Com-
ing near Fort Carpenter early in the
morning, they found the
settlers preparing to go on an
expedition of rescue. The story
that they had killed the two Indians,
one of whom was a chief,
was not believed by the settlers about
the fort, but to convince
them John accompanied the men to the
scene of the encounter,
where they found the body of the Indian
killed by John with
the tomahawk, but the other had been
only wounded and had
crawled away. His body was found
afterwards. Doddridge says
that after the Wayne victory, a friend
of the Indians killed by
the Johnson boys, asked what had become
of the boys. When
told that they still lived with their
parents on Short creek, the
Indian replied, "You have not done
right; you should have
made kings of those boys." The land
on which the two Indians
were killed was donated to the Johnson
boys by the Govern-
ment for this service. This land was
purchased from the John-
son boys by Capt. Kirkwood, and has been
since in the pos-
session of the Howard, Medill and Kirk
families.
The story of the capture of the
Castleman girls by the Indians
from a point near the site of Toronto,
in 1791, is familiar to all
readers. The two girls, Mary and
Margaret, came from the
Virginia side of the river where their
father had settled, to a
sugar camp at the mouth of Croxton's
run, accompanied by their
uncle, a Mr. Martin. While engaged in
boiling sap, they were
surprised by Indians who shot Martin,
and capturing Mary ran
in a western direction. Margaret had
hidden in a hollow syca-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 183
more tree, but when she saw that her
sister was being carried
away, started to follow. A young Indian
ran back, picked her
up and claimed her as his own. The girls
were taken to San-
dusky, where they were kept as
prisoners. Margaret was sold
to a French trader and Mary married a
half-breed Indian, who
treated her with savage cruelty. On one
occasion, when he
threw his knife at her with murderous
intent, she ran off, return-
ing to her friends on the Ohio. She
afterwards married a Wells.
Wells dying, she made her home with
James Roach at Lima-
ville. The father of the girls, after
the Wayne treaty, found
Margaret at Detroit and induced her to
return to the Ohio valley,
where she married Jacob Wright, who
settled in the northern
part of the county. Mary was one hundred
and three years of
age at her death. A grand-niece, Mrs.
Devore, is now living
at Mingo.
On a farm near Brilliant are the graves
of a pioneer named
Riley and his two sons and a daughter,
murdered by the Indians
in 1784. Mr. Riley had located on land
west of Mingo, where
he built a cabin and was cultivating the
ground. One day, while
Riley and his two sons were at work in a
cornfield, the Indians
surprised and killed the father and one
son, the other having
escaped. At the cabin they found the
mother and two daughters.
Mrs. Riley was tied to a grape vine and
the two girls captured,
one of whom was tomahawked and the other
carried to Detroit,
where she was sold to a French trader.
The remains of the
three murdered were found by the other
settlers and were buried
at the scene of the death of the father.
The graves have been
preserved by the estate of the late
Smiley Johnson, which owns
the land, as Mr. Johnson kept them green
for more than half
a century, at the beginning of which
time he bought the farm.
He always said this little act was
conducive to a spirit of patriot-
ism, for it kept in memory the awful
sacrifices made by the
pioneers who made the pathway for
civilization and marked it
with noble blood.
The last formidable encounter with the
Indians in Jefferson
county has been known in history as
Buskirk's Famous Fight
in August, 1793. Depredations by the
Indians had so increased
that the settlers resolved to make
decisive defense. The year
184
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
previous the wife of Capt. Lawson
Buskirk had been most bru-
tally murdered by Indians who had
captured her while she was
on her way to Washington county, Pa., to
have weaving done.
They had crossed the river from the site
of Steubenville and
proceeded on their marauding expedition
toward the site of
Wellsburg. They met Mrs. Buskirk, who
was riding horseback.
As she turned her horse with the purpose
of galloping back to
the settlement, the animal stumbled and
threw her, spraining
an ankle so severely that she
surrendered. The Indians returned
with her to a point opposite the site of
Steubenville. Three
men from the settlement, seeing Mrs.
Buskirk's situation, followed
the Indians, and then silently reached
the point of crossing the
river for the purpose of ambushing and
awaiting the arrival of
the Indians, but when they came there
were so many of the
savages that the settlers saw at once
that they could avail nothing
with their small force. They watched the
Indians get their canoes
ready for recrossing the river, and as
the Indians were about to
cross the river another party of scouts
came up. The Indians
retreated to the hill, and throwing Mrs.
Buskirk upon what is
now known as "Town Rock,"
killed her with a tomahawk. It
was this murder that Buskirk wanted to
revenge when in August
of the following year, as the savages
were becoming numerous
in the vicinity of the Ohio river
settlements, he organized a party
of scouts, including David Cox, Jacob
Ross, two Cuppy boys,
one Abraham who was afterwards killed by
an Indian near Mt.
Pleasant, John Aidy, John Parker and
John Carpenter. The
Indians were discovered about a mile
west of Mingo; they were
not surprised, but immediately fired
upon the party with such
execution that Buskirk was killed and
three of his men were
wounded. The battle was hotly contested
but resulted in the
rout of the Indians. It was on this
occasion that Jacob Ross
shot and wounded an Indian and drove him
into the river, men-
tion of which is made in an account of
his life. The battle was
fought on a branch of Cross creek, which
ever since has been
called Battle run, which empties into
Cross creek at the falls
not far from the scene of several
disastrous accidents on the
Panhandle railroad..
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 185
IX.
The Pioneer Blockhouses- Many of them in Jefferson County-
Fort Laurens on the Line of the
Original County -
Built as
a Defense during the Revolutionary
War--It is Besieged
by the Indians and afterwards
Abandoned-Hildreth's Ac-
count Quoted-Fort Steuben Built to Protect the Surveyors
of the First Seven Ranges-It was
Garrisoned by Major
Hamstramck who Won Laurels in the
Battle of Fallen
Timbers.
The advance guard of the mighty army of
civilization was
so harassed by the savage occupants of
the land that forts or
blockhouses were absolutely necessary to
protect the settler from
the incursions of the Indians. There
were many of these along
the river front of Jefferson county,
while Fort Laurens was on
the western line of the original county,
being located at what
is now known as Bolivar in Tuscarawas
county. Mr. D. W.
Matlack, who made the map of the
original lines of Jefferson
county, which was used on the stationery
of the Centennial com-
mittees, expresses the view that Fort
Laurens undoubtedly was
a factor in determining the west line of
the county.
The blockhouses were square, heavy,
double-storied build-
ings, with the upper story extending
over the lower about two
feet all round. They also projected
slightly over the stockade,
commanding all the approaches thereto,
so that no lodgment
could be made against the pickets of
which the stockade was built,
to set them on fire, or to scale them.
They were also pierced with
loop-holes for musketry. The roof sloped
equally from each side
upward, and was surmounted at the centre
by a quadrangular
structure called the sentry box. This
box was the post of obser-
vation, affording, from its elevated
position, an extensive view
on all sides. It was usually occupied in
times of siege or appre-
hended attack, by three of the best
riflemen, who were also well
skilled in the tactics of Indian
warfare.43 This is a description
of a majority of the forts built by the
pioneers who blazed the
forest for the coming empire. In times
of hostilities the whole
43 Caldwell.
186 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
settlement would seek safety in the
blockhouse, and many were
the awful tragedies witnessed by the
defenders, whose sublime
courage and devotion should ever be in
memory.
Fort Laurens was the first fort erected
in Ohio, and was
named for the President of the
Revolutionary Congress. This
fort was the scene of much distress
during the Revolutionary
war. The site of the fortification or
blockhouse was near Bolivar,
and the canal passes through its earthen
walls which enclosed
about an acre of land and stood on the
west bank of the Tusca-
rawas river. According to Hildreth Fort
Laurens was erected
in the Fall of 1778 by a detachment of
one thousand men from
Fort Pitt under command of Gen.
Macintosh.44 After its com-
pletion a garrison of one hundred and
fifty men was placed in
charge of Col. John Gibson, while the
others of the men who
built it returned to Fort Pitt.
Fort Laurens was established, says
Hildreth, at this early
day in the Indian country, seventy miles
west of Fort MacIntosh,
with the expectation that it would have
a salutary check on the
incursions of the hostile savages, the
allies of the British, into
the white settlements south of the Ohio
river. The usual approach
to Fort Macintosh, the nearest military
station, was from the
mouth of Yellow creek, and down the big
Sandy, which latter
stream heads with the former, and puts
off into the Tuscarawas
just above the fort. So unexpected and
rapid were the move-
ments of Gen. MacIntosh that the Indians
were not aware of
his presence in their country until the
fort was completed. Early
in January, 1779, the Indians mustered
their warriors with such
secrecy that the fort was invested
before the garrison had notice
of their approach. Hildreth quotes from
Henry Jolly, who was
an actor in this scene as well as many
other frontier tragedies:
"When the main army left the fort
to return to Fort Pitt Capt.
Clark remained behind with a small
detachment of United States
troops for the purpose of marching in
the invalids and artificers
who had tarried to finish the fort, or
were too ill to march with
the main body. He endeavored to take
advantage of very cold
44Col. Crawford was at the erection of Fort Laurens as
well as at the
erection of Fort Macintosh at the mouth
of the Beaver river.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 187
weather, and had marched three or four
miles when he was fired
upon by a small party of Indians very
close at hand. The dis-
charge wounded two of his men slightly.
Knowing as he did
that his men were unfit to fight the
Indians in their own fashion
he ordered them to reserve their fire
and to charge bayonet,
which, being promptly executed, put the
Indians to flight, and
after pursuing a short distance, he
called off his men and retreated
to the fort, bringing in the
wounded." In other accounts he
had read of this affair, says Hildreth,
ten of Capt. Clark's men
were mentioned as killed. During the
cold weather, while the
Indians were lying about the fort,
although none had been seen
for a few days, a party of seventeen men
went out for the purpose
of carrying in firewood, which had been
cut before the main army
moved and had been left about forty rods
from the fort. Near
the bank of the river was an ancient
mound, behind which lay a
quantity of wood. A party had been sent
out for several pre-
ceding mornings and brought in wood,
supposing the Indians
would not be watching the fort in such
very cold weather. But
on that fatal morning the Indians had
concealed themselves behind
the mound, and as the soldiers came
round on the other side,
enclosed the wood party so that not one
escaped. Jolly says he
was personally acquainted with every one
of the men killed. An-
other account says that the Indians
enticed the men out in search
of horses, by taking off the bells and
tinkling them; but as it
is quite certain that there had been no
horses left at the fort, it
is more likely that Mr. Jolly's story is
the correct one. A siege,
which continued until the last of
February, left the garrison very
short of provisions. The Indians
suspected this to be the case
and were almost in a starving condition
themselves. In this
predicament they proposed to the
garrison that if they would
give them a barrel of flour and some
meat they would raise the
siege, concluding that if the garrison
did not have this quantity
they must soon surrender at discretion,
and if they had, they
would not part with it. The brave Col.
Gibson turned out
the flour and meat promptly, and told
the Indians that they could
spare it very well as he had plenty
more. The Indians soon after
raised the siege. A runner was sent to
Fort MacIntosh with a
188
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
statement of their distress, and
requesting reinforcements and
provisions immediately. The inhabitants
south of the Ohio vol-
unteered their aid, and Gen. Macintosh
headed the escort of
the provisions, which reached the fort
in safety, but was near being
lost from the dispersion of the pack
horses in the woods near
the fort, from fright occasioned by a
salute of joy fired by the
garrison over arrival of relief. The
fort was finally evacuated
in August, 1779, it being found
untenable at such a distance
from the frontier. Jolly, who tells this
story, was the last man
to leave the fort. He held at that time,
in the continental ser-
vice, the commission of ensign.
There were at least three blockhouses in
Warren township,
the most important of which was known as
Carpenter's Fort,
erected near the mouth of Short creek,
in the summer of 1781,
by John Carpenter, who lived on the east
side of the river, near
the mouth of Buffalo creek. Carpenter
was one of Washing-
ton's servants in 1753, when he made his
trip of remonstrance
to the French forts. He was a Virginia
rifleman and was a
captain in command of a garrison on the
Virginia border. While
on an expedition against the Indians,
with his men, he came
upon a burning building which the
Indians were just leaving.
Rushing upon the Indians, his men, after
a severe conflict, over-
came and killed most of them. Carpenter
rushed into the burn-
ing house, and found a young woman lying
on a bed, with her
face covered with blood from a tomahawk
wound. The young
woman, whose husband had been killed,
recovered, and became
the wife of her deliverer. They became
traders on the Ohio
and settled first on Jacob's creek.
He frequently crossed to the west side
of the river and in
his hunting expeditions followed the
Short creek valley, and
being pleased with the lands, determined
to be the first to settle,
feeling certain that the United States
would come into their
possession when the war ended. He at
first built a cabin and
had a clearing ready for corn planting
the next season. This
cabin was the beginning of the fort
which afterwards furnished
protection to many of the settlers, and
it was from this fort that
the Johnson boys went out to gather nuts
when captured by the
Indians. After the cabin was completed,
and before moving his
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 189
family from Buffalo creek, Carpenter started with two horses for Fort Pitt, for the purpose of obtaining salt. While on the way he was captured by a band of Wyandot Indians and taken to the Moravian town, where he was compelled to give up his clothing in trade for an Indian costume. He was then taken to Sandusky, where he was held a prisoner until the following spring, when he escaped and made his way to Fort Pitt. He returned to his family and immediately removed to his cabin at the mouth of Short creek. One day while at work in his corn patch, says the account published by Caldwell, he was fired on by an Indian from the adjoining woods, and severely wounded. The Indian attempted to scalp him, but was driven off by Carpenter's wife, a stout, resolute woman, who went to his assistance, and made such vigorous resistance that her hus- band escaped into their cabin, when the Indian fled. After Col. Williamson's expedition to the Moravian village, says the same account quoted above, John Carpenter was summoned to Fort Pitt as a witness in the investigation, and as he identified his clothing found in the possession of the Moravians, he proved a valuable witness for Williamson. Other families followed Car- penter across the river and the cabin was strengthened to the dignity of a fort. George Carpenter, a noted Indian spy, established a fort below the mouth of Rush run in 1785.45 Fort Steuben was erected by the government at the time of the survey of the first seven ranges, the Indians in this region being very hostile, to protect the surveyors. This was in 1786. The fort was constructed by Capt. Hamtramck and was com- pleted in 1787. It stood on the second river bank, what is now known as High street, the south line running to the north line of the old Miller residence on the corner of High and Adams streets, the place now being marked by a flag staff put up on the occasion of the centennial of its erection, celebrated by the German societies of the city in honor of Baron Steuben. The four corners have also been marked by iron markers by the Centennial committee. The fort was in the form of a square with blockhouses twenty-eight feet square set diagonally on 45J. C. McCleary. |
190 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
the corners. The angles of the blockhouses were con-
nected with lines of pickets one hundred
and fifty feet in
length, forming the sides of the fort.
Each blockhouse con-
sisted of two rooms sufficient for
fourteen men. It also con-
tained a commissary store, barracks,
quartermaster's store,
magazine, artificer's shop, guard house,
built on two piers with
a piazza looking inward, and a sally
post built between the piers.46
A flag pole was also provided from which
floated the American
colors. There was also a black hole for
confining the unruly.
The main gate faced the river, and the
width of the block-
houses diagonally was a little over
thirty-nine feet - the dis-
tance between the points being one
hundred and fifty feet. The
fort was considered exceptionally
substantial in those days and
was built with considerable amount of
skill.
Dr. A. M. Reid, an eminent authority on
local history, in
a paper read before the Wells Historical
Society, of Steubenville,
stated that outside of Maj. Beatty's
diary there are no authentic
records of Fort Steuben. In his efforts
to gain information he
looked through the files of The
Pittsburg Gazette of 1786, '87,
'88, etc. Here he found much of
interest, giving a vivid picture
of those stirring times. Large parties
were starting from Fort
Pitt to float down to settle Kentucky.
Other parties were start-
ing for Marietta. Some parties were
decoyed to the shore and
tomahawked by the Indians. Runaway
slaves were advertised.
Pittsburg had a few paltry log houses.
"There are in the town
four attorneys, two doctors and not a
priest of any persuasion,
nor church, nor chapel, so they are
likely to be damned without
benefit of clergy." So Arthur Lee
writes about this time.
The thirteen states were in a ferment
trying to form and
adopt a constitution. The people were
saddled with an awful
war debt from the Revolution - the
Massachusetts people ow-
ing two hundred dollars apiece.
"One thing that kept them from
separating into several
small republics was the hope that this
Northwestern Territory,
of which Ohio forms a part, would be
sold to settlers by the gov-
ernment and the money used to help them
pay their debts. Of
46 This description is from a drawing made by Major
Erkuries Beatty,
now in possession of the Commissioners
of Jefferson county.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 191
192
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
take the position that the Ohio river
must be 'the boundary line,
beyond which no white man would be
allowed to plant corn.'
Hence the need of protection for the
surveyors. About this time
a large delegation of Indians went to
Fort Pitt to protest against
their lands being surveyed for the
whites.
"The following year, 1787, Maj.
Beatty made another trip
down the Ohio to pay the troops. He
writes, 'Arrived at Pitts-
burg on the evening of February 6, 1787,
where I remained
about a week waiting for an opportunity
to go to Fort Harmer
[at Marietta] and carry a quantity of
clothing with me. Set off
in a contractor's boat in company with
Capt. Hart. Was obliged
to remain one day at Fort McIntosh, [i.
e. Beaver,] on account
of high wind ahead. . .
"'Arrived at Fort Steuben in one
day. This is a fort built
since I was on the river, by Capt.
Hamtramck, at Mingo Bot-
tom on the Indian shore about
forty-seven miles below McIn-
tosh and twenty-three above Wheelin.'
The Major writes the
word Wheeling without the g, and though
he describes the fort
as at Mingo Bottom, we see by the
distance given that it means
the present site of Steubenville. He
proceeds to describe the
fort. 'It is about one hundred and
twenty yards from the river
on a very excellent high bank of
commanding ground. A
square with a large blockhouse on each
corner and picquets be-
tween each blockhouse form the fort. . .
. The big gate front-
ing the main on the west, and the sally
port the river, with the
guard house over the latter. The
blockhouse serves for all the
men and the officers' houses are each
side of the big gate, the
back part of them serving as a row of
pickets. It is garrisoned
by Capt. Hamtramck's and Mercer's
companies, the former
commanding.' There were probably one
hundred and fifty or
two hundred soldiers.
"Howe in his Historical Collections
says, 'it was dismantled
at the time of Wayne's victory.' That
would be in 1794, giving
the fort a life of seven years. Mr.
Doyle of our society, in a
sketch of Steubenville in 1879 says it
was abandoned about 1790
and destroyed by fire. Mr. Doyle also
states that the block-
houses were twenty-eight feet square,
and the length of the
picket line between each blockhouse was
one hundred and fifty
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 193
feet. This would make the fort a square
of two hundred and
thirty-eight feet. Gen. A. G. McCook,
who recently examined
the outline, was surprised at the great
size of the fort. I imagine
the soldiers built it themselves without
expense to the govern-
ment.
"Some of Maj. Beatty's records are
somewhat remarkable.
Going to Fort Pitt with Maj. Hamtramck
and Gen. Harmer
in Gen. Harmer's splendid barge
fifty-two feet long, rowed by
twelve men in white uniforms and white
caps, he says: 'Arrived
safe at Pittsburg, had an elegant dance
and kicked up a dust as
usual.'
"Maj. Hamtramck, the commander of
our fort was not a
favorite with Washington. In a letter to
Knox, Secretary of
War, dated Mount Vernon, August 13,
1792, Washington says:
'No measures should be left unassayed to
treat with the Wabash
Indians, nor can the goods be better
applied than in effectuating
this desirable purpose; but I think a
person of more dignified
character that Maj. Hamtramck should be
employed in the ne-
gotiation.' A writer in The Michigan Pioneer collections,
speaks of 'the Frog on Horseback', as
Hamtramck was called
from his small size and singular
appearance when riding. His
small and ungainly person may have been
the cause that Gen.
Washington did not think him a fit
person to negotiate with
Indians. He may have thought that a fine
personal presence
and a manly, dignified bearing like his
own would be more likely
to impress the Indians. However that may
be, Mad Anthony
Wayne, in reporting the great battle of
1794 in which he crushed
the Indians and gave us peace to this
day, speaks of Ham-
stramck's bravery with no stinted
praise."
All government records concerning Fort
Steuben were de-
stroyed by fire, and aside from the
journal of Maj. Beatty there
are no original data. However, it is
mentioned by the journal
of John Mathews, one of the surveyors of
the seven ranges, of
which an account is given in these
sketches.
The Capt. Kirkwood mentioned as the
purchaser of the farm
given the brave Johnson boys, erected a
fort or blockhouse on the
site of Kirkwood, now in Belmont county.
Capt. Kirkwood be-
came famous not only for brave service
in the Revolutionary war,
Vol. VI-13
194
Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
but further from the fact that he had
been a captain in the only
regiment furnished the patriot forces by
Delaware. His regi-
ment was reduced to one company in the
battle of Camden, and
on account of the small force raised by
his state, in accordance
with a rule, he could not be promoted,
although his gallant ser-
vices warranted advancement. In 1789
Capt. Kirkwood came to
the Ohio country, settling in Peace
township in what is now Bel-
mont county, where he erected a cabin.
Three years later he
began the erection of a blockhouse which
was not finished in the
spring of 1791, and during the night he
was attacked in his cabin
by a force of Indians. Fortunately a
party of soldiers from Fort
Henry, a mile above Kirkwood and on the
opposite side of the
river, were in the cabin at the time.
The Indians began the at-
tack by setting fire to the roof, which
was ablaze when discovered
by the occupants of the cabin, who began
tearing off the roof.
The Indians kept up a fire at the men at
work on the roof from
under cover of the unfinished
blockhouse. Capt. Biggs, on the
first alarm ran down the ladder to get
his rifle, when a bullet en-
tered a window and wounded him in one of
his wrists. The In-
dians surrounded the cabin and attempted
to chop down the door
with their tomahawks, but the whites
braced it with the puncheons
taken from the floor. In the panic,
several of the men in the
cabin expressed their intention of
attempting to escape, but Capt.
Kirkwood declaring that he would take
the life of the first man
who attempted to leave the cabin, the
threats were silenced. The
Indians brought brush and piling it
about the cabin, set fire to
it, but those within smothered the
flames first with water and milk
and then with damp earth. The fight was
kept up for two hours,
and daylight appearing the Indians
retreated. Seven of the de-
fenders of the cabin were wounded, one,
a Mr. Walker, mortally.
After this affair Capt. Kirkwood removed
to Delaware. On his
route, he met with a party of St.
Clair's troops, then on their way
to Cincinnati. Exasperated by the Indian
attack on his cabin
he accepted command of a company of
Delaware troops and was
killed in St. Clair's Defeat, in a brave
attempt to repel the In-
dians with his bayonet.47
47 Caldwell.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 195
According to a statement made by Gen.
Weir, of Belmont
county, who informed the author of the
History of Belmont and
Jefferson counties, that the story was
first related to him by
McArthur himself, Lieut. Duncan
McArthur, afterward gover-
nor, with a dozen other scouts occupied
the Kirkwood block-
house just before Wayne's treaty. One
morning they noticed
an Indian dodging along behind the trees
and not far from the
fort. He had been sent out by a body of
Indians who had am-
bushed about three miles below on the
Ohio river bank, to
decoy the soldiers from the blockhouse.
As soon as discovered
McArthur and his men started out to
capture the Indian. They
followed him, and as they neared the
place of ambush, the sav-
ages fired, killing six of the whites
instantly. So unexpected
was the attack that the remaining six
were completely bewil-
dered, but they turned and retreated,
McArthur behind. As he
turned his head to take in the
situation, his foot caught a grape-
vine and he fell on his face. As he fell
the Indians discharged
their rifles at him, but none of the
bullets touched him. He
regained his feet immediately and with
the swiftness for which
he was noted, he soon distanced the
Indians who pursued him.
The party regained the fort and in the
afternoon returned to the
scene of the ambush and buried their
fallen companions. Mc-
Arthur said in after years that it was
that grapevine that made
him governor of Ohio.
There were also several blockhouses
north of the site of
Steubenville, between Wills creek and
Yellow creek. On a farm
of G. DeSellem near Port Homer are the
remains of ancient
mounds and fortifications, and judging
from the stone implements
found in this vicinity there must have
been a settlement of mound
builders there years ago.
196 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
X.
Survey of the First Seven Ranges - The System Adopted by the
United States the Plan of Hutchins-
Township One of Range
One in Jefferson County - Difficulties of Making the Survey
-Indians Disturb the Progress of the
Work - Extracts
from the Journal of Surveyor Mathews -A Pioneer Corn
Husking.
The first public survey of the lands
northwest of the Ohio
river was the seven ranges of Congress
lands made by authority
of Congress in pursuance of an act
passed May 20, 1785. Thos.
Hutchins, who had been the military
engineer under Col. Boquet,
and was geographer of the United States,
had charge of the
surveys, and it was his system then
adopted that is still in force.
On May 27, 1785, Congress elected a
surveyor from each state,
and in July of the next year, the
surveyors under direction of
Hutchins, assembled at Fort Pitt, and
soon were at work on one
of the most important enterprises ever
projected by the govern-
ment. The first line ran westward from
the intersection of the
Ohio river and the western boundary of
Pennsylvania, forty-
two miles. On the south side of the
line, being the geo-
grapher's line, the seven ranges of
townships six miles square,
were laid out. These adjoin Pennsylvania
and extend to the
Ohio river. The present counties of
Jefferson, Columbiana,
Carroll, Tuscarawas, Harrison, Guernsey,
Belmont, Noble, Mon-
roe and Washington, are, in whole or in
part, within the ter-
ritory of the first seven ranges. The
ranges were numbered
from one to seven from the Pennsylvania
line westward, and
the townships one, two, three, etc.,
from the river northward.
These townships were sub-divided into
sections one mile square.
The numbering of the ranges and
townships started in Jefferson
county, township one of range one taking
in the northwest cor-
ner of Wells township, including
sections twenty-nine, thirty,
thirty-four, thirty-five and thirty-six.
Section one, which is cut
off by the river, would be located a
mile above Warrenton.
As would naturally be conjectured, the
surveyors encoun-
tered many difficulties in the
performance of their tremendous
task, and not the least of these was the
risk of life at the hands
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 197
of the savages, who had been taught by
the defeated British to
keep up the cry that "No white man
should plant corn west of
the Ohio." In his journal, July 21,
1786, Maj. Beatty48 wrote:
"River rose nine or ten foot last
night, water strong; was
obliged to tow our boat up one or two
ripples. Stopped oppo-
site the mouth of Little Beaver to see
Capt. Hutchins and the
surveyor who is here encamped, intending
soon to cross the
river and begin the survey of the
Continental Land; six or
seven miles below McIntosh met two
boats48 with the baggage
of three companies that left McIntosh
this morning for to camp
at Mingo Bottom. Arrived at McIntosh
five o'clock, where was
only Capt. Ferguson's company. There is
three islands be-
tween Big and Little Beaver and several
more between that and
Yellow creek and below the latter."
On August 3 Maj. Beatty wrote that he
was waiting on
Maj. North, who was to accompany him to
the Muskingum. In
this entry he speaks of two detachments
from Capt. Mercer's
company who had gone up Short creek to
destroy some improve-
ments and dispossess the occupants of
the lands. This was the
Carpenter settlement, made by people
from Jacob's creek on the
other side of the river. Maj. Beatty
continued down as far as
Kentucky, and returning in September,
says he arrived at the
Muskingum on the 11th, where his party
found everybody glad
to see them. He found that Col. Harmar
had detached Capt.
Hart's company to join Maj. Hamtramck,
who was with the sur-
veyors, who had been very much surprised
at information re-
ceived from an Indian to the effect that
the Indians were gath-
ering in the Shawanese towns and
contemplated an attack on
Fort Harmar. He reached Wheeling on the
21st, where he found
the people from below all assembled,
having been surprised by
the appearance of Indians in the
neighborhood. There were
rumors afloat that a large body of
Indians was preparing to attack
the settlement. Other notes from Maj.
Beatty's journal are given
with the account of Fort Steuben.
The journal of John Mathews, a nephew of
Gen. Putnam,
who was an assistant in the survey of
the first seven ranges,
48Major Beatty was Paymaster of the
Army. 49The boats loaded with
provisions were going to the men engaged
in building Fort Steuben.
198 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
furnishes much of interest about the
difficulties encountered in
the work. On Saturday, July 29, 1786,
the party arrived at Pitts-
burg, where it was found that the
surveyors had gone down the
Ohio to Little Beaver, and he followed
under direction of Gen.
Tupper. On the Monday following he
arrived at the surveyor's
camp, where he found the surveyors
waiting for troops from
Mingo Bottom, which troops were to
protect the surveyors. On
August 5 the troops arrived and encamped
on the east side of
the river. On August 16, under the
superintendence of Capt.
Adam Hoops, Mathews began the survey of
the second range
of townships. On the night of the 16th
he camped five miles
from the river, on the east and west
line. On the 6th of Sep-
tember he went out with Gen. Tupper to
survey the seventh
range of townships, the party consisting
of fifty men, thirty-six
of them being soldiers. On the 18th,
they were at Nine Shilling
creek, in what is now Tuscarawas county,
where an express rider
from Beaver informed them that the
Shawanese were on the war
path, and were making all preparations
to move on the surveyors
with the purpose of scalping not only
the surveyors but likewise
all the whites found in the Ohio
country. This so alarmed the
surveyors that they abandoned the work
and retreated to Fort
McIntosh. However, in a short time the
work was resumed,
the surveyors descending the river to
Mingo Bottom, Mathews
stopping with William Greathouse
opposite Mingo. He visited
Esquire McMahan, six miles below the
cabin of Greathouse,
where he found the surveyors collected,
determined to continue
part of the ranges, under escort of Maj.
Hamtramck's detach-
ment of troops, they being located at
Fort Steuben, which had
just been built. On Wednesday, the 11th,
they crossed the river
to a point one mile below Mingo, and
taking the route of Craw-
ford's trail encamped at night about two
miles from the Mingo
town. The party consisted of the
surveyor, his assistant and
twenty-five soldiers. The following
morning the party contin-
ued on Crawford's trail in nearly a
northwest direction, making
about six miles by five o'clock in the
evening. On the 13th
the party left the Crawford trail, it
tending too much to the south-
west, and steered to the northwest and
came to the boundary
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 199
of the third range. The surveyors
continued their work without
incident until the 30th, when the horses
were lost, having been
stolen by a party of Indians, who had
been in ambush the greater
part of the night, giving the surveyors
further evidence that
the Shawanese were on the war path to
prevent the survey. The
next day the soldiers built a
blockhouse. From the 1st to the
7th of November the party were on the
boundary of seventh
township of third range, in the United
States Military district,
striking what was then known as Indian
Wheeling creek, so
called because it was on the Ohio
(Indian) side of the river; fol-
lowing this stream to the river, they
crossed and took dinner
at Col. Zane's house at Wheeling. They
remained in the neigh-
borhood of Wheeling, stopping with
McMahon and Greathouse.
On the 10th they remained at the
Greathouse cabin to hear a
sermon preached by a Methodist minister,
located in that early
day on the east side of the river. On
the 11th Mathews attended
a corn husking on the plantation of
Harman Greathouse, which
is described in the journal. A large
party of settlers had gath-
ered, the husking bee being the notable
social function of the
pathfinders, and they made the most of
the occasion, for they
had little else to take the mind from
the dangers of frontier life.
They had plenty of rye whiskey, which
added to the hilarity of
the participants, who danced, sang,
related stories of adventure,
quarreled, and all who could walk left
for their homes at ten
o'clock. Those too drunk to walk home
remained at the cabin
over night, "hugging the whiskey
bottle and arguing religion."
The next day, which was Sunday, others
called at the Greathouse
cabin and assisted in drinking the
whiskey left over from the
frolic of the previous night. On the
22nd and 23rd Gen. Tupper
and Col. Sprout left for the East and
the surveying party dis-
banded for the winter, the snow then
being two and one-half feet
deep. Mathews remained at the Greathouse
cabin with Capt.
Hutchins, who left for the East on
January 27, 1787. On Feb-
ruary 3, Mathews received a letter from
Capt. Hamtramck
requesting him to take charge of the
commissary department of
Fort Steuben, which office he accepted,
going to the fort in com-
pany with a Mr. Ludlow, on Sunday, the
4th. He took charge
200 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
on the 8th, the stores having been
delivered over to his care
by Mr. Peters, but he was impressed with
the belief that this
sort of work would be difficult to
perform by one not acquainted
with it, declaring that he had never had
the least experience in
a commissary department. He notes that
he had to issue pro-
visions to about one hundred men,
including soldiers and the
surveying party.
The survey was recommenced in April, and
in notes dated
on April 17 and May 8, he mentions the
fact that the sur-
veyors had gone into the woods to
continue the survey of the
ranges, and expresses apprehension for
their safety, but on the
10th the party returned to the fort all
well. On the 12th infor-
mation had been received at Fort Steuben
that the Indians had
murdered a family on the night of the
11th, about fifteen miles
below the fort. Mathews here notes that
on his way to Mahan's
he met people from Wheeling who informed
him that one man
and two children had been killed, two
children taken prisoner
and one woman seriously wounded. On the
23rd Mathews was
ordered to gather in a lot of packhorses
on which to carry pro-
visions for the surveyors, but returned
to the fort on the 25th,
not having had very good success, but he
expressed the belief
that the prospect of procuring the
horses was fairly good. During
his absence, a portion of the troops had
been sent to the Mus-
kingum, the remainder to follow, but
their further destination
was unknown. He was informed by Maj.
Hamstramck that the
stores in his charge would be removed to
Wheeling, and that
Fort Steuben would be the rendezvous of
surveyors and their
escorts during the summer. On the
morning of the 31st he left
for Wheeling with the provisions in a
canoe, stopping over night
at the mouth of Short creek, where he
found Mr. McFarlane
and Mr. Wheatland. He landed the
provisions at Wheeling on
June 1, and proposed erecting his tent
near the store of Esquire
Zane. On the 2nd the surveyors had
arrived on the west side
of the river and were camped near the
mouth of Indian Wheeling
creek, waiting for escorts from Fort
Harmar. Mathews again
went after horses, procuring all that
were needed, and the troops
having arrived from Fort Harmar, on the
12th the surveying party
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 201
was ready to march for their respective
ranges. On the 23rd
he notes that troops from Fort McIntosh
had passed down the
river, and that the Indians had lately
done mischief about ten
miles above Wheeling; many had been seen
about Wheeling
and he was apprehensive from many
circumstances that the sum-
mer would be a troublesome one. On the
30th of July he writes
that "Indians have been seen in
this quarter lately and have stolen
several horses. About ten days past, the
signs of a party were
discovered near Short creek, and were
followed by a party of
our people, who came up with them about
four miles below
Wheeling- killed and wounded two more of
the Indians, who
were eleven in number. Our party
consisted of only eleven men.
The Indians were attacked unexpectedly
in their camp, and fled
with precipitation, leaving their
blankets and moccasins behind
them. It is supposed they were
Chippewas." On the afternoon
of August 4, the people along the river
bank were alarmed by
the screaming of a person begging for
life and the report of two
guns. A party of armed men immediately
crossed the river and
found on the lower end of Mingo Bottom
the body of a man who
had been scalped. The Indians were
pursued but not overtaken.
On August 5 Mr. Mathews writes that Mr.
McMahan
with twenty volunteers crossed the river
expecting to capture
the Indians who had killed the man on
Mingo Bottom. At least
they were determined to range the
Muskingum country where
they hoped to fall in with Indians or
come upon their trail and
follow them to their settlements. On the 6th Mr. Mathews
embarked with Capt. Mills, Lieut. Spear
and Dr. Scott for Fort
Harmar, stopping at noon at a settlement
on Short creek, on
the northwest side of the river, where
twelve families were settled,
and who were determined to hold
possession against all oppo-
sition, either from the Indians or the
troops. These settlers had
been ordered to remove both by Ensign
Armstrong and by Gen.
Butler; their improvements had been
destroyed, only to be re-
erected after the troops had left, so
determined were they to hold
the land upon which they had settled and
on which they were
making effort to build homes and
maintain them. "After a drink
of good punch," writes Mathews,
"we proceeded on our way,
202
Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
arriving at Wheeling at 6 o'clock, and
tarried all night. Here
we were informed that five Indians were
seen last evening between
this place and Ohio Court House."
He speaks of going out to
Cross creek to dig ginseng, following
Williamson's trail, reach-
ing the ridge dividing Short creek from
the Tuscarawas, where
they found the root in great abundance.
"Men accustomed to
the work could dig sixty pounds a
day." "We were much sur-
prised," he writes on September 29,
"to hear that three
men had been killed by the Indians and
one taken prisoner, about
ten miles up Cross creek, who were out
digging ginseng on
Sunday last. I have reached my old
quarters, and will give them
liberty to take my scalp if they catch
me out after ginseng again."
On October 12 he writes: "This
evening Esquire McMahan re-
turned from over the river, where he had
been with a party of
men in pursuit of Indians, who yesterday
morning had killed
an old man near Fort Steuben. He did not
discover them, but
by the signs thought them to be seven or
eight in number."
During November Mr. Mathews assisted in
the survey of
lands on the west side of the river
bought at the sales in New York
by Col. Martin and Mr. Simpson. While on
this work he met
Col. Meigs of the Ohio company and was
informed that he had
been appointed as one of the surveyors
of the company's lands
on the Muskingum, and that the work
would be done that winter.
The public lands embraced in the first
seven ranges were
offered for sale by the government in
New York in 1787, and
the sales were afterwards continued in
Philadelphia, Pittsburg
and Steubenville.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 203
XI.
The Indian Warfare Continues in the
Ohio Country - The Revo-
lutionary War does not Close until
after the Wayne Victory
at Fallen Timbers- The East Favored Making the Line
the River Rather than the Lake - The Wayne Victory
brings Peace-- The Western Whiskey Insurrection a Scotch-
Irish Rebellion--Why they Protested
Against the Excise
Tax- Why Hamilton Persecuted the
Western Settlers.
The first lands sold by Congress were to
the Ohio company
organized in Boston. By the terms of
this purchase the first
legal settlement was made in Ohio at
Marietta in 1788, by eight
families, but the best blood of New
England coursed their veins-
they were soldiers of the Revolution,
men and women of tremen-
dous energy, possessing such force of
character that much was ex-
pected of them and much was given by
them. It was two years
later before legal settlements were made
in Jefferson county, al-
though as has been shown there were
considerable settlements
all along the river as early as 1780-85.
The Boston company was
met with apparent cordiality by the
Indians, but the Americans
did not have confidence in the expressed
friendship of the Wyan-
dots and the Delawares whose chief was
Captain Pipe. His
duplicity was well known to them, for he
had opposed the mis-
sionaries on the Tuscarawas and had
urged the warriors during
the Revolution to drive the whites over
the Ohio. The settlers
from New England, while they shook hands
with the Indians,
mistrusted them, and as soon as Pipe
departed the pioneers began
building fortifications.
In the northwest Brant had organized in
1786 the tribes into
a western confederation. Aided by the
British, it was his inten-
tion to make matters so uncomfortable for
the pioneers that
settlements would be abondoned, and it
was the hope of the British
by this means to regain the territory.
"And, right here," says
Caldwell, "had not the settlement
at Marietta been made just
when it was and in the manner it was,
the British plan of hem-
ming in the Americans east of the Ohio
river would undoubtedly
204 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
have succeeded, and thus postponed for a
generation, at least, the
creation of the new states of the
west."
Pipe and his warriors who had
reconnoitred at the mouth
of the Muskingum in 1788, retired to
plan and foment raids upon
the settlers. Under pretense of
negotiating a treaty of peace,
they assembled at Duncan's falls. Here
they met Governor St.
Clair; but instead of making the
proposed treaty, their "bad In-
dians", purposely brought along,
fell upon the white sentries,
killing two and wounding others. This
put an end to the treaty,
as was intended, for several months, and
in the meantime the
Indians prowled around Marietta and up
the west side of the
Ohio river, frequently killing the
whites and driving out those
attempting to settle; many of the
settlers along the Jefferson
county river front being harassed so
constantly that hardly an
hour of peace could be said to have been
their lot. Between the
Indians and the troops they were so
menaced that it is one of the
wonders how they maintained the
fortitude that characterized
them through it all.
In January, 1789, another attempt was
made to quiet the
savages by treaty. This treaty was made
at Fort Harmar, be-
tween the settlers and the Wyandots,
Delawares, Chippewas, Ot-
tawas, Miamis, Pottowatamies, Senecas,
but like all the others by
reason of the British desire to prevent
settlements in the Ohio
country, it too proved futile, and in
the following summer John
Mathews,50 who had been one
of the surveyors of the first seven
ranges in which Jefferson county is
located, and his party were
attacked on the Virginia side of the
river, and seven of his men
shot and scalped. During the same summer
twenty men were
shot and scalped on both sides of the
river, some of the depreda-
tions being within the bounds of
Jefferson county. In 1790, the
Indians attacked a number of boats on
the river, the boats being
owned by emigrants, and killed or
carried off those on board.
The raiding parties always had a white
man as a decoy who
hailed the boats in a friendly manner as
they descended the river,
just as the fated Lochry expedition was
lured to the shore in 1781
by the British and Indians at the mouth
of the Great Miami.
50 From whose journal quotations have
been made.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 205
These decoys were renegades like Simon
Girty, McKee and El-
liot. "Gov. St. Clair and Gen.
Harmar," says Caldwell, "had
adopted the most pacific policy to
conciliate the Indians and gain
their friendship, but to no
purpose." It having become evident
that more severe measures must be
employed Gov. St. Clair con-
cluded to give the Indians a severe
chastisement and settle the
matter once and for all. Gov. St. Clair
evidently not believing
that the British were at the head of the
whole wicked business,
sent a letter to Gov. Hamilton of the
British fort at Detroit, who
showed the letter to the Indian chiefs,
who received from him
powder, ball and arms as well as whisky,
with which to carry on
their murders on the Ohio and the
Muskingum. Harmar
marched an army of one thousand men into
the Indian country
of the northwest, the savages retiring
before him. After destroy-
ing some of the Indians' towns, he was
intercepted by the en-
raged Indians, driven back and utterly
routed. There was but
little left of his army when he got back
to the Ohio. Harmar
was disgraced, hundreds of good men
destroyed and the border
laid more open than ever to Indian
depredations. This was fol-
lowed in 1791 by St. Clair's disastrous
defeat. The general had
four horses shot from under him and
received several bullet holes
in his clothing. The battle lasted three
hours and thirteen hun-
dred men were killed and wounded. Gen.
St. Clair was removed
as general and retired in disgrace to
Ligonier, Pa., although the
defeat was not his fault but rather of
the War Department. His
remains are buried at Greensburg, Pa.,
and over the grave is a
small monument erected by the Masonic
fraternity.51 St. Clair
was a gentleman of the most sensitive
feeling, and his removal
from his command by Gen. Wilkinson broke
his heart. St. Clair
was not well treated and his last days
call to mind that Republics
are ungrateful. When George Rogers Clark
was physically
broken by unparalleled efforts for his
country, his achievement
being greater than that of any other man
of his day and genera-
tion, he was in actual want. With the
injustice heaped upon
him his spirits fell and he became
intemperate and paralyzed.
51The Greensburg Chapter of the
Daughters of the Revolution have
(1898) inaugurated efforts that will
result in a suitable monument to mark
the grave of Gov. St. Clair.
206 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
But just before his death Virginia had
the fact of her injustice
called to mind by a very spirited
observation made by the old
man to a delegation sent to present him
with a jeweled sword.
The sword was given with much ceremony,
he listening to the
speeches in silence; rejecting the
proffered weapon, he responded:
"Go tell Virginia that when she
needed a sword, I found one;
now I need bread." Just before he
died the state voted him $400
a year.52 But no granite
shaft marks his grave. After the de-
feat of St. Clair the Delawares,
Shawanese and other warriors
came out of the "black forest"
of the northwest, yelling the war-
whoop along the Mohican, over to, and
past the Moravian ruins
of Tuscarawas, down the Muskingum,
Scioto and Miami, and
into Kentucky and Virginia. They wore
buffalo horns fastened
on their heads, and were costumed in
bearskins and breech-
clouts, while scalps of St. Clair's
soldiers dangled from their belts,
and as they rushed along re-echoed the
old war cry, "No white
man shall plant corn in Ohio."
In the spring and summer of 1792,
efforts were made by the
Government to unite the hostile Indian
tribes in a treaty of peace.
At the instigation of British emissaries
they refused to meet
unless assured in advance that the Ohio
should be the boundary
in future treaties. This would have made
the river the boundary
instead of the lake. "Yet strange
as it may seem," says Cald-
well, "there were distinguished men
in the east who were
willing that the Ohio should be the
boundary." The eastern
statesmen and diplomats, including Benjamin Franklin, who
could see a white settler scalped with
composure, but wept at the
death of an Indian,53 were
fearful that if new states were made
in the west the new settlements would
depopulate the east and
reduce the political power of the east.
They were also impressed
with the belief that obtains to this
day, that the western settlers
were a lawless rabble who did nothing
but violate treaties and kill
Indians. In September, 1792, Gen. Putman
and Heckewelder met
several of the Indian tribes on the
Wabash and concluded a treaty.
That winter other tribes agreed to hold
a council on the Maumee,
which took place the next summer. The
Indian council finding
52Smith. 53Dr. W. H. Egle.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 207
that it could not make the Ohio the
boundary refused to treat.
They continued to cry, "No white
man shall ever plant corn in
Ohio." After this the east
concluded that the pioneers ought
to have relief, but not until the brave
women of the west sent in
a petition steeped in blood; and Anthony
Wayne was sent, and
"He came crushing through the
forests like a behemoth." The
narrative goes on: "He left Fort
Washington-now Cincinnati
-with his legions in October, 1793, and
went northwest to Har-
mar's and St. Clair's trail, building
defenses as he moved on. At
Greenville he wintered and drilled his
men. In June, 1794, he
camped on St. Clair's battlefield and
buried the bones of six hun-
dred soldiers, bleaching there since
1791. Here the confederated
tribes disputed Wayne's further
progress. Being reinforced by
eleven hundred Kentuckians, his force
aggregated about three
thousand men; he soon routed the savages
and pushed on to the
headquarters of the tribes at the
junction of the Auglaize and
Maumee rivers. They retreated along the
Maumee forty miles
to the rapids where there was a British
fort. Here they prepared
for battle. Wayne offered peace without
a fight in case they gave
up the Ohio river as a boundary. A
portion of the chiefs desired
to do so, but the remainder under
British influence, refused. On
August 20 he moved on the enemy, who
again retreated a short
distance and fought him. His whole force
being brought into
action, soon routed them in every
direction, leaving the battle
ground strewn with dead Indians and
British soldiers in disguise.
Gen. Wayne's loss was thirty-three
killed and one hundred
wounded. The Indians in the battle
numbered one thousand
four hundred, while the main body was
not in action, being some
two miles off; but hearing of the defeat
they all scattered to their
homes, and Wayne laid waste their towns
and corn fields for fifty
miles, thus ending the war-the war of
the Revolution, with the
battle of Fallen Timbers. The treaty of
Versailles had been made
thirteen years before, but England had
not been subdued. She
had possession of the posts in the
northwest-at Detroit, Macki-
naw and Green Bay, at which the Indian
allies were incited. The
British had a fort below Maumee City. It
was the evident inten-
208
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
tion of the English to prevent the
settlement of the northwest and
force the boundary at the Ohio river
instead of the lakes.
The Revolutionary war was not, as many
historians would
have us believe, fought within a radius
of twenty-five miles of
Boston.
After the Wayne treaty at Greenville, in
1795, the pioneer
took heart, and then began the
enterprises that have made Ohio
one of the greatest in the sisterhood of
states.
Wayne had recruited much of his army in
western Pennsyl-
vania, the Virginia Panhandle and the
Ohio country, and it was
largely composed of Scotch-Irish, of
which blood he himself was
a scion. Those from Kentucky who joined
him at Cincinnati
were also of this race, for many of them
had left western Pennsyl-
vania to avoid prosecution and
persecution for refusing to pay the
excise, the Government having sent an
army over the mountains
to harass the settlers. Many of Wayne's
smartest scouts at
Fallen Timbers were of these people. The
persecution of those
engaged in the Whisky Insurrection had
much to do with the
settlement of eastern Ohio, and to-day
hundreds of descendants
of those engaged in that rebellion
against the Federal Govern-
ment are living within the borders of
Jefferson county. They
were men trained in war for generations
in battles fought for civil
and religious liberty in the old
country; men who fought in the
French and English war and in the
American Revolution against
English tyranny. After all their
fighting for liberty, and just at
the hour they were preparing to enjoy
the fruits of the victory,
they were naturally incensed when the
Federal Government sent
an armed force to take out of their
pockets the money received
for distilled spirits they manufactured
from the corn produced on
their own land; they were angry, for it
was from this form of
product that they received the only cash
with which to buy the
few necessaries that could not be
obtained by barter, and it is
not surprising that they declared that
the battle for liberty must
be refought before liberty was really
and truly theirs. The west-
ern Pennsylvania men were in all the
western expeditions -- they
were with Clarke, with Crawford in his
campaigns, with Lochry
in his disastrous expedition to the
mouth of the Miami, with Wil-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 209
liamson at Gnadenhutten-they were ever
ready to bear the brunt
of battle for liberty, and had it not
been for these intrepid Indian
fighters the settlement of the Ohio
country would have been de-
layed years. These were the men who have
been denounced by
historical writers as traitors and
nullifiers, because they refused
at first to see either liberty or
justice in the demands of the Fed-
eral exciseman that they divide what
little cash they had received
for the sale of the only product for
which cash could be obtained,
for they believed that they had the
right to do as they pleased with
their own corn and barley, without
interference of government-
a principle handed down all the line
since John Knox denounced
tyranny of government; and when their
corn and barley was
turned into liquor they could not see
that the Government had
any more right to tax it than it had a
right to tax the raw material
out of which it was made or the finished
product of corn in the
shape of bacon and flour. These men had
fought for the triumph
of a principle, and that principle was
liberty. If taxing their
money product was manifestation of
liberty they could not realize
it, so they objected and put their
objection into force. However,
they soon saw the necessity of
maintaining the Federal Govern-
ment with funds raised through internal
revenue and gave up
the objection, paying the tax as
cheerfully as other taxes were
paid.
Hamilton's real motive for persecuting these people
was to give a manifestation of the power
of the Federal Govern-
ment. The insurrection was in the year
Wayne won his victory,
and the two were notable factors in the
settlement of Ohio by
Scotch-Irish Presbyterians.
XII.
The Treaty at Greenville Gives
Impetus to Immigration-Jef-
ferson County Proclaimed by Gov. St.
Clair-Its Bounda-
ries - Steubenville Laid Out - The
Founders - Steubenville
Land Office--The Very First
Settlers--The First Vote and
the First Officials - Growth of the
County and Town.
Wayne's treaty with the Indians at
Greenville gave the
settlers hope and courage, and
stimulated as well the immigra-
tion of settlers from the east to the
Ohio country. The rush to
Vol. VI-14
210 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Ohio was marvellous. Many of Wayne's soldiers took up land in the territory and became citizens of the country they had wrested from the savage. Eastern Ohio was settled principally by people from western Pennsylvania and Virginia. Jefferson county was erected by proclamation of Governor St. Clair, July 29, 1797, the boundaries embracing all of Ohio from Lake Erie on the north to the southern line of Belmont county on the south, and from the Ohio river and Pennsylvania line on the east to the Cuyahoga and Muskingum rivers on the west. Steubenville, the county seat, was laid out the same year, and the first sale of lots was on August 25. The founders of the city were Bezaleel Wells and James Ross. Wells, of Eng- lish descent, was born in Baltimore, in 1772, was a graduate of William and Mary college and, being a government surveyor, was given one thousand one hundred acres of land on the west side of the Ohio river, the north boundary of the tract being North street. Ross, who was a prominent lawyer in Pitssburg, owned the land north of the Wells tract, and they jointly laid out the town of Steubenville, naming it in honor of Fort Steuben, which had been called for Baron Frederick William Augustus Steuben, the Prussian officer who came to the aid of the patriot cause and by his wonderful military genius brought a victorious army out of chaos. The town as then laid out comprised the territory now within the lines of the river bank, alley C on the west, North street on the north and South street on the south. The ground was divided into two hundred and thirty-six inlots sixty by one hundred and eighty feet, with twenty outlets of five acres each. Wells was noble in his bearing, and his energy and enter- prise were unbounded, and his efforts along industrial lines gave Steubenville at once a prominent place on the frontier. He was associated with all the early manufacturing enterprises, but finally overreached himself, and, sad as it may seem, he, the most prominent, the most enterprising and the wealthiest man in all this region, was in after years imprisoned for debts his large property holdings could not liquidate. He died in 1846, but two granddaughters are still living in Steubenville. James Ross was born at York, Pa., in 1762, was one of the first two senators |
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 211
from Pennsylvania, and in 1799 and in
1805 was candidate for governor. He had taken up large tracts
of land in Ohio, a portion of which was in Steubenville.
Ross county was named for him as were streets in Steubenville
named in honor of both Ross and Wells. Wells laid out Canton
and a town in Wayne county, which he abandoned as an
enterprise, another town hav- ing been chosen as the county seat. The new town made as rapid progress as
was possible with the facilities at command on the
frontier at that time. There were no graded roads and the only means
of reaching the town were by river and over Indian trails
through an almost unbroken forest. Of course the first houses were
log cabins, but it is recorded that a brick chimney was built
by John Ward in 1798, and in the same year Wells began the
erection of a manor house in a grove on the river front, the land
being bounded by Third and South streets. The mansion was
finished and occupied in 1800, in which for years the owner
entertained in royal style, his hospitality being most lavish. The place
was called "The Grove", and by that name it is
still known, and is to-day one of the finest specimens of colonial
architecture in this part of the state. The town was incorporated
February 14, 1805. The establishment of the Steubenville
Land District for registration and sale of government land
by act of Congress May 10, 1800, and the location of the Land Office in Steubenville, gave the town great prominence and the
settlement impetus that was wonderful for the time. David Hoge,
of Pennsylvania, was the first Registrar, holding the office
for forty years. Zaccheus Biggs was the first Receiver of the Land
Office, he having been appointed July 1, 1800, and the second
Obadiah Jennings, who was a politician and lawyer, but
afterwards became a noted Pres- byterian minister. He was succeeded by
Peter Wilson, who was appointed in 1808, serving thirteen
years, and was suc- ceeded by Gen. Samuel Stokely, son of
Capt. Thomas Stokely, who made a miraculous escape from the
Indians who captured the Lochry expedition at the mouth of
the Big Miami in 1781. Gen. Stokely served twelve years and was
succeeded by John Viers, who served until 1840, when the
office was discontinued |
212 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
and the unsold lands in the district
were placed in the Chilli-
cothe district.
Aside from the settlements on the river
frontage the county
did not grow rapidly in population.
There were settlements on
Island creek and Cross creek as early as
1797, and at about the
same time there were larger settlements
in Mount Pleasant town-
ship, mostly made up of Scotch-Irish and
Quakers, the latter
from North Carolina and the former from
Virginia and Pennsyl-
vania. They were as delighted with the
Short creek valley as
was John Carpenter before them, and they
followed the stream
to its headwaters. As has been stated
there were many settlers
in this valley previous to the survey,
all of whom were dispos-
sessed, but returned and finally held
title by purchase. Warren,
which is in this valley, was the first
township organized, the
names of the other original townships
being Short Creek, Archer,
Steubenville, and Knox. Benjamin Shane
was undoubtedly the
first settler on Island creek back of
the river, locating as early
as 1797.
The ancestor of the McClellan family,
Robert McClellan, a
cousin of Robert, the noted scout who
was with Wayne, was
among the first settlers of Knox
township, coming from West-
moreland county, Pa., in 1808.
Descendants still occupy the
land then purchased.
Ephraim Cooper and William Campbell
built the first cabin
on the line now the state road between
Wills creek and Yellow
creek, in 1795.
James Dunlevy, a Scotch-Irish
Episcopalian, came to Jeffer-
son county from what is now Fayette
county, Pa., and settled in
Cross Creek township in 1796, and was
perhaps the first settler,
as the records show that William
Whitcraft, George Mahan, and
William McElroy, supposed to be the
first, settled in the spring
of 1797. Dunlevy owned a farm about
three miles west of Steu-
benville and was the sheriff of the
county at his death in 1806.
A daughter was born in January, 1805,
Nancy Dunlevy, who was
the mother of Judge James H. Anderson,
of Columbus, the author
of "The Life of Col. William
Crawford," published by the Ohio
Historical Society, a conscientious as
well as able tribute to the
worthy deeds of one of the noblest of
the Revolutionary soldiers.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 213
The first settlers of Ross township
located from 1798 to 1805,
notably Thomas George, Henry Crabs,
Isaac Shane and Mordecai
Moore, although there were others,
called squatters, previous to
the purchase of the lands by these men,
among the squatters
being Thomas Bay, who was with
Williamson in his Gnaden-
hutten expedition. Moore was one of the
early salt boilers and
a person of very strong force of
character, his descendants, of like
elements of strength, still living in
the township; in fact descend-
ants of most of the early settlers still
live in the county, and their
prominence in affairs gives evidence of
the probity of the sires.
Moore was stolen by slave-drivers on a
street in London when
a small boy and brought to Philadelphia,
where he was sold to a
Quaker, who held him in bondage until he
reached his majority,
when he was given his freedom, together
with a mattock and
shovel, and no doubt, a blessing, as
recompense for the long and
faithful service to the benevolent
Friend. Soon after his location
on Yellow creek Mr. Moore engaged in
salt boiling and obtained,
as late as 1815, ten dollars per barrel
for salt, which article of
necessity and commerce was much higher
in price before the pro-
cess of evaporating the mineral was
introduced in the west. From
near Moore's salt works, and shortly
after locating, perhaps in
1799, Thomas George went with two pack
horses to Baltimore
and returned with salt, which was then
worth eight dollars a
bushel. Henry Crabs located in 1798, the
year after Steubenville
was laid out. He was accompanied by his
wife, the two having
all they possessed tied in a quilt. They
crossed the river to the
site of Steubenville in a skiff. The
settlement was very spare,
he in his lifetime mentioning "Hans
Wilson, Esq., Cable and
Black Harry as among the few
inhabitants." Crabs erected a
blacksmith shop one mile east of the
John Kilgore farm, near
Richmond, where he did work for the
settlers, there being quite a
number of families in that vicinity. He
made plow points, axes
and trace chains, all the raw material
having to be packed across
the mountains. Considering the
difficulties encountered, the
wildness of the country and the
facilities as to labor and tools,
the progress made by the pioneers should
cause the present gen-
eration to stand in amazement at the
marvelous achievement.
214 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
Andrew Ault, whose father had been
captain of an
American privateer during the
Revolutionary war, and who
had built and operated the first
flaxseed oil mill west of the
mountains, near Redstone (Brownsville)
Pa., settled on the ridge
between Island creek and Wills creek, in
July, 1797. They were
rapidly followed by others, for in 1800
a Presbyterian church was
organized in this neighborhood, while
another church of the
same denomination was organized on the
ridge between what
is now Wintersville and Richmond, the
same year, showing that
the population in that immediate
neighborhood was growing.
A Presbyterian church had also been
organized on Short creek
near the site of Mount Pleasant, in 1798
and in 1800 a church
of the same denomination had been
organized on Short creek
near Unionvale, the church still being
known as Beech
Springs. The first white child born in
the limits of Wayne
township was John Mansfield, who was
born on Section ten in
December, 1797, and Joseph Copeland was
the second, in 1800.
Joseph Copeland died two years ago.
Rob't Carothers and Jesse
Thomas, of Pennsylvania, settled on the
site of Mount Pleasant
in 1796, followed soon by Adam Dunlap,
Col. McCune, John
Taggart, Col. Joseph McKee, William
Finney, David Robinson,
John Pollock, William Chambers, Benjamin
Scott and others,
mostly Scotch-Irish people from
Pennsylvania, all settling previ-
ous to 1800. The Updegraff and Stanton
families, who became
prominent in the Quaker church and the
affairs of state, came
in the latter year. There was a
considerable settlement on the
site of Mount Pleasant before
Steubenville was settled, for it is
a fact that the site of Steubenville was
in timber when Ross and
Wells first possessed the land.
The Quakers or Friends who were among
the first settlers
of Mt. Pleasant, Smithfield, Colerain,
and Short Creek township,
were a colony from North Carolina. They
were slave holders
themselves, but being struck with the
conviction of the wickedness
of owning chattels in man, they
manumitted the slaves within the
jurisdiction of their meeting in North
Carolina, but after this they
could not remain in a region where men
were held in bondage,
and the adoption of the Ordinance of
1787 in the Northwest
directed their eyes and steps toward the
star of empire. The pro-
NOTE.-Dr. John Rea, grandfather
of Mrs. Alfred Day of Steubenville, was pastor
of the Beech Springs and Crabapple
churches, the pioneer churches of that portion of
the original county now Harrison county, in
1804 and for many years thereafter. He
was born in Tully, Ireland, in
1772, the son of Joseph and Isabella Rea, coming to
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 215
gress made by these people in four or
five years in redeeming the
land from the wilderness was truly
marvelous, but as has been
said, others had been in the same field
before them. But the
panic that caused such financial
disaster in 1819 was most dis-
couraging to the settlers, for some of
them were in the town-
booming business, having laid out Mt.
Pleasant in two parts,
hoping to bring the two together as one
town and join with Tren-
ton a short distance away, but to-day
they still remain in three
parts. In writing of this panic S. S.
Tomlinson, an aged resident
of Mt. Pleasant, who kindly contributed
to the centennial history,
says: "For the better part of two
years little relief was realized
from the great calamity that fastened
itself upon every individual
and every branch of business. A majority
of the banks of the
state were overthrown, but some
maintained their ground, among
them the Mt. Pleasant bank. Very few
products of the soil would
command money, even at the lowest price.
Although distilleries
were abundant corn commanded only ten
cents a bushel, while
wheat and oats were only articles of
barter. Although taxes
were very low it was with the greatest
difficulty that money could
be obtained with which to pay. My father
was a mechanic, his
principal business being the manufacture
of chairs, and during
the time of this financial distress,
Samuel Irons, the owner of
one of the most desirable farms in Mt.
Pleasant township, called
at the shop, proposing to exchange beef
for chairs, stating that
he was under the necessity of killing a
beef so he could sell the
hide for money with which to pay his
taxes. Between 1820 and
1830, a family named Bartoe living in
Harrison county, having
stored their wheat for several years,
discovered that the weevil
was working on it and seemed likely to
destroy it. They there-
fore had it ground into flour, selling
one hundred barrels to John
Bayne at the mouth of Short creek for
one hundred dollars.
These two circumstances are sufficient
to illustrate the great
difficulties the people had to contend
with during the early history
of the county. And the lessons inspired
by their trials and vicissi-
tudes have certainly been very salutary
in their character-teach-
ing as they did lessons of economy and
carefulness, and that con-
tinued prosperity was never gifted with
ability to achieve."
America
in 1790. No one exerted a greater
influence along religious lines among the
Pathfinders of Jefferson county than Dr.
Rea. The Cadiz Republican of May 12
and 26,
1898, contains two portraits of Dr. Rea
and a history of the two churches by Hon. C. A.
Hanna, author of "Scotch-Irish
Families in America."
216
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
The first return of taxable property in
Jefferson county was
made in 1799, the townships being St.
Clair, Knox, Wayne, War-
ren, Kirkwood and York. There were nine
hundred and twenty-
five heads of families reported and one
hundred and eighty-one
single persons. There was returned for
taxation forty-eight
thousand seven hundred and nine acres of
woodland and five
thousand five hundred and ninety-eight
acres cleared land.
There were one thousand one hundred and
fifty-nine head of
horses and two thousand and eighty-six
cattle: two grist mills,
four saw mills, eighteen houses and
twelve ferries.
The voting population of the county in
1806, the first vote
of which there is record, was eight hundred
and twenty-two, all
of which were cast for Edward Tiffin,
but this was after Belmont,
Trumbull and Columbiana counties had
been organized. This
year The Steubenville Herald was
established.
In 1807 the vote was divided between
Meigs and Massie,
the first receiving four hundred and
fifty-seven and the latter
four hundred and thirty, the county
having grown very little,
if any, during that year. In 1808 Samuel
Huntington received
two hundred and forty-two and Thomas
Worthington nine hun-
dred and thirty-one votes. In 1812 the
vote had increased to
one thousand four hundred and sixty-one,
a gain of nearly five
hundred over the previous year.
According to a sketch of Steubenville,
published in the
Navigator, printed in Pitssburg, in
1818, "The town having had
a favorable beginning with several
favorable circumstances com-
bined, it progressed rapidly, and in
1805 was incorporated; and
is governed by a president, recorder and
seven trustees. The
town contained in 1810 but eight hundred
inhabitants and on
February 1, 1817, according to the
census taken under the direc-
tion of the town council, two thousand
and thirty-two inhabit-
ants, at which time there were four
hundred and fifty-three
houses, three churches, a court house,
and a market and town
house. Its rapid growth is to be
attributed, principally to the
manufactories established within it. The
population, generally,
is orderly, industrious and sober."
The first General Assembly of the state
convened on March
3, 1803, Jefferson county being
represented in the House by
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 217
Rudolph Bear, Z. A. Beatty, Thomas Elliott, Isaac Meeks, Rich- ard Beeson, Samuel Dunlap, Joseph McKee, and John Sloan, and in the Senate by Zenas Kimberly and Bezaleel Wells. The first sheriff was Francis Douglass, appointed in 1797, while John McKnight was the first elected, in 1804. John Moody was ap- pointed treasurer in 1797, and Samuel Hunter, the father of James Hunter, the first white child born in Steubenville, the date of birth being September, 1798, was elected treasurer in 1802. Bezaleel Wells was appointed clerk of the court in 1797, and John Ward, the father of the second white child born in Steubenville, John Ward, in October of 1798, was elected clerk in 1800. Simon Sibley was elected prosecuting attorney in 1797, Zenas Kimberly, recorder, and John McKnight, coroner. The first surveyor was Isaac Jenkins, appointed in 1803. The first election for county commissioners was held April 2, 1804, and Zaccheus Biggs, Benjamin Hough and Andrew Anderson were chosen. The first town officers were, D. Hull, president; John Ward, recorder; David Hoge, Zaccheus A. Beatty, Benjamin Hough, Thomas Vincent, John England, Martin Andrews, and Abra- ham Cozier, trustees, and Anthony Beck, town marshall.
XIII. The Counties Formed Out of the Original County of Jefferson- When Erected- The Blood of the Settlers- Stanton Lack- ing the Qualities that Characterize the Docile Quaker-A Democrat when all Quakers were Whigs -The Thrift of the Quaker - He Grows Rich while others in the Settlement Fall Short in the Race for Wealth -Account of an Encounter Between Stanton and a Fellow Lawyer. From the territory of the original Jefferson county Trumbull county was erected in 1799, Belmont in 1801, Geauga in 1805, Portage in 1807, Cuyahoga in 1807, Ashtabula in 1807, Tuscara- was in 1808, Stark in 1808, Harrison in 1814, Carroll in 1832, Summit in 1840, Lake in 1840, and Mahoning in 1846. The northern part of the original Jefferson county, now in- cluded in the territory comprising Ashtabula, Trumbull, Geauga, |
218 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Lake, Summit, Portage, and a part of
Cuyahoga, was first settled
by immigrants from Connecticut, mostly
soldiers of the Revolu-
tionary war, who, having been trained to
hardships that beset
the patriot armies, dared breast the
wilderness and battle with
savage foes to establish for themselves
homes in the new country.
Cleveland was settled about a year
previous to the date of the
first sale of lots in Steubenville, but
there were settlements in
the latter place before this date.
The people who first settled the Western
Reserve were not
Puritans; in fact, they were not moved
by religious impulse
of any kind, for Cleveland had been
settled thirty-three years
before a church of any kind was erected.54
The Puritan came
afterwards, or at least there came
settlers from New England to
the Western Reserve who had well
grounded religious views
which they manifested in church worship.
That portion of the original county out
of which Stark and
a portion of Tuscarawas was erected was
settled mainly by Ger-
mans, a very thrifty blood from
Pennsylvania. In after years
the so-called Swiss-Germans immigrated
to Tuscarawas. Ma-
honing county was settled by
Pennsylvanians, a large number of
Welsh coming in after the country had
been developed. That
portion of the county now included in
Columbiana, Jefferson,
Harrison, Belmont and Carroll, was
settled mainly by Scotch-
Irish from Virginia and Pennsylvania. A
small portion of Ger-
man township, Harrison county, and Salem
township, Jefferson
county, was settled by Germans, whose
descendants still occupy
the land of the fathers. Many Germans
have since settled in
Steubenville and Cross Creek townships,
Jefferson county, buy-
ing lands cleared and improved by the
Scotch-Irish, who moved
west, for the sons of the pioneer
fathers also became pathfinders.
The large body of Quakers who occupied
at an early date the
townships of Mt. Pleasant and Smithfield
and the adjoining town-
ships of Colerain, in Belmont and Short
Creek, in Harrison, were
not the original settlers, they coming
from North Carolina after
the land was partly broken. They had
come to Ohio to get away
from what they considered the degrading
influence of negro
54 Diary
of Rev. Thomas Robbins.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 219
slavery - they came through the
wilderness that beset their way,
rejoicing that Ohio was to be a free
state. This people were,
perhaps, the most thrifty of the
settlers, the majority of them
gathering much store, distancing their
neighbors of other blood
and other religious tenets in the race
whose goal is the accumu-
lation of wealth. The Quakers have
always possessed the philos-
opher's stone, which turned all its
possessor touched into gold.
While their neighbors continued poor,
the Quakers grew in
wealth, and thus in their quiet,
unostentatious way exerted a
potent influence in the development of
the county.
From this blood came Stanton, the most
noted native of the
county. Stanton's ancestors emigrated
from Rhode Island to
North Carolina, and after the death of
his grandfather, Benjamin
Stanton, his grandmother, Abigail
(Macey) Stanton, came to Ohio
and took up land in Mt. Pleasant
township, where she reared
her children, giving them such
advantages of education as ob-
tained in the new country, her eldest
son, David, becoming a
physician. David married Lucy Norman, a
native of Culpepper
county, Va., and these were the parents
of the great war secre-
tary. Edwin M. Stanton was not
distinguished by the traits char-
acteristic of the Quaker blood. He was
never thrifty; he was
more pugnacious than is usual in one
from the docile race from
which he sprung. The sweet, gentle
spirit that possessed the
heart of the peaceful Quaker was not
incarnate in the great war
secretary. His whole career seemed to be
inconsistent with the
teachings of his father's philosophy of
life. A Quaker Democrat
is a rare personage, but Stanton was one
of the staunchest adher-
ents to the principles of this party
before the war in the whole
state, his voice ever ready to advocate
its principles.
Stanton was very imperious and
overbearing in the court
room. He was very much of a bully and
was not liked by the
opposing counsel. He put witnesses
through fearful ordeals, and
to sit under his examination without
manifesting anger on the
part of the witness was a difficult
matter and displayed a rarity
of patience only possessed by angels. It
was Stanton's abuse of
a witness that caused Roderick S. Moody
to assault him in 1853.
It was during the August term and
occurred in the old court
220
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
house yard. Stanton and Moody were then
in their prime of
manhood--Stanton about forty years of
age and Moody four
years his junior. Both were natives of
Steubenville, both occu-
pied the highest rank of the legal
profession. A jury case of
some importance was being tried in which
they were opposing
counsel. Stanton was examining a witness
in his usual aggressive
and abusive manner: Moody, who sat
immediately in front of
Stanton, had appealed to him a number of
times in behalf of
the witness, to desist in his
overbearing, torturing manner. Stan-
ton finally getting through with the
witness, with an air of im-
perious triumph as a squelcher, with a
deep guttural tone, said:
"Moody, you always whine when I
cross examine your witnesses."
Moody, who was the very opposite of
Stanton - slender,
fine-cut features, a marked blonde, and
almost white, sensitive,
with a voice musical as the harp,
quickly turning upon Stanton,
replied in a tone mocking Stanton:
"I don't know that a whine is worse
than a bark," giving
the peculiar bull-dog chop to the word
bark.
Stanton, quick with his rejoinder,
hissed through his teeth,
with a sardonic grin:
"Puppies whine."
Moody said no more; the sparkle of his
eyes and the swell-
ing veins of his temples indicated a
rising volcano, hot and fur-
ious. Court immediately adjourned for
dinner and everybody
in attendance hurried away. Moody was
among the first to re-
turn, and he paced the court room like a
caged panther, speaking
to no one, but kept close watch through
an open window looking
toward Stanton & McCook's office, up
Third street. Stanton and
Col. Geo. W. McCook were partners. Soon
Stanton, with his
big cane in one hand, he being lame in
one of his knees from
an accident, a bundle of papers in the
other hand, and spectacles
on his eyes, he being nearsighted, in
company with Col. McCook,
came in view.
As soon as they struck the path crossing
the east court house
yard, as quick as thought Moody flung
off his coat and rushed
out of the building at the top of his
speed. He sprung upon Stan-
ton before either Stanton or McCook
observed his presence;
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 221
down went Stanton, his cane, spectacles,
and papers flying in all
directions. The stalwart McCook snatched
Moody away. Stan-
ton scrambled to his feet, and grasping
his cane, demanded of
the bystanders who had come upon the
scene to prevent further
strife to let him alone, saying:
"Damn him; I will punish him for
this assault."
McCook took Moody into the court room
and the others
Stanton. McCook kept up chiding Moody
for attacking a lame
man, and excitedly denounced the act as
cowardly and mean.
Moody as yet had said nothing, but this
was more than he could
bear from McCook, noble and generous
always, and he pitched
into McCook with the fury of a tiger,
but the colonel easily threw
him off, saying, "Damn your
impudence. Would you dare fight
me?" All was soon quieted. Court
went on as if nothing had hap-
pened. All three, Stanton, McCook and
Moody, became warmer
friends than ever before, and so
remained until they were parted
by death. They have all passed off the
stage, each having played
as a star in the Drama of Life.55
XIV.
The First Courts and Mention of the
Early Cases Tried- The
First Murder Case that of William
Carpenter who Killed
Capt. White-Eyes - Copy of the Curious Indictment - White-
Eyes not an Indian Chief, but the Son
of Chief White-Eyes
who Aided the American Cause and was
a Colonel on the
Staff of Gen. McIntosh-He is Killed
by an American
Soldier at Fort Laurens-- The Victim of Carpenter a Stu-
dent of Princeton College - Some of the Early Judges - W.
W. Armstrong's Account of Judge Tappan - Curious Mar-
riage Ceremony.
The ground on which the first court
house was built, which
included the site of the present
building, was donated to Jefferson
count by Bezaleel Wells, who also
donated the land to the city
upon which now stands the city building.
55 This incident was related to the
compiler by J. M. Rickey, Esq., who
was Deputy Clerk and a witness of the
scene. The story has been other-
wise verified.
222
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
The first court held in the county of
Jefferson in the territory
northwest of the Ohio river, was held in
Steubenville, in pursuance
of proclamation of Winthrop Sargent,
acting governor of the
territory, and met in November of 1797.
The judges on the
bench were Philip Cable, John Moody and
George Humphries.
On the first day of the term John Rolf,
James Wallace, and Sol-
omon Sibley were admitted to the bar
that in after years became
the arena of the most noted lawyers and
most prominent men
in the affairs of the country - Benjamin
Tappan, John C. Wright,
John M. Goodenow, James and Daniel
Collier, Gen. Samuel
Stokely, Roswell Marsh, Ephraim Root,
David Reddick, Na-
thaniel Dike, Jeremiah P. Fogg, J. H.
Hallock, Humphrey H.
Leavitt, Edwin M. Stanton, George W.
McCook, Roderick S.
Moody, Robert L. and Daniel McCook, T.
L. Jewett, George
P. Webster, Joseph and Thomas Means, all
men of note during
their lifetime and all making records
that have kept their mem-
ories green.
This was the business of the first day,
the court adjourning
until the next day, Wednesday, at 8
o'clock, at which time the
court again adjourned until 3 P. M.,
"to sit again in the house
of Jacob Repsher." At this place it
was "ordered that it be
made a rule of the court that a private
seal of the Prothonotary
be recognized as the seal of the court
until a public seal can be
procured. It was also ordered on motion
of Solomon Sibley,
Esq., that the attorneys marked on
writs, in behalf of the plain-
tiffs, returnable to this term, shall be
answerable for the costs of
suit." On Thursday the court made
the following disposition
of its first outside business, the
records all being in the Jefferson
county court house in Steubenville, the
documents being inter-
esting relics of the territorial period:
"Ordered by the court that
Absalom
Martin, George Humphrey, Esquires, and Dunham
Martin, be appointed as commissioners to
make partition of a
tract of land held in co-parcenary by
Zenas Kimberly, Lucy Ful-
ton and Phebe Maria Kimberly, at the
mouth of Short creek,
the affidavit required by law being
first made by said Zenas
Kimberly, in open court." The only
other suit before the term
was one of trespass brought against
Benjamin Pegg and Arthur
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 223
Parker by Benjamin Robins. In the
February term, 1798, the
first jury empaneled in Jefferson county
rendered a verdict against
Parker and Pegg for twenty dollars.
Another case was tried
the same day in which the jury returned
a verdict of fourteen dol-
lars and six cents damages. It was
ordered by the court, "on
motion of Solomon Sibley, Esquire, that
on every motion made
in court which shall not be ruled by the
court in favor of the
motion, the attorney or person who made
the motion shall pay
to the court twenty-five cents."
At the August term, 1798, on Thursday,
the 16th, appears
the following court entry: Bezaleel
Wells having offered to the
court for their acceptance the lot or
parcel of ground on which
the court house is erected, lying at the
northwest corner of Market
and Third streets in Steubenville,
ordered by the court that the
said lot be accepted by the court for
the use of Jefferson county
to erect thereon a court house, gaol,
pillory and all necessary
buildings for the use of the county.
"It was also ordered that
John Ward and John Moody, Esquires, act
as commissioners
to contract for and superintend the
repairing of the court house
and gaol and making the same fit for
public use." To this
end the sum of forty dollars was
appropriated by the court.
In 1798 David Vance appeared on the
bench as associate
justice and Thomas Fawcett at the August
term in 1799, Wm.
Wells in 1800, Jacob Martin and John
Milligan in 1801, and
this was the form of court until Ohio
was admitted to the union
as a state.56 The
first prosecuting attorney under the constitution
of 1802 was Silas Paul, who appeared
with staff in hand and his
hair dressed in a cue. He lived on Willis creek just north of the
town, and had been admitted to the bar
in 1800. The salary
was fixed at eighty dollars per year,
with the stipulation that it
be paid quarterly. He practiced for many
years and died in 1857,
many of his descendants still residing
in the county.
Judge Pease, of Trumbull county, was the
presiding judge
in the Third District, of which
Jefferson was a part, and Philip
Cable and Jacob Martin were associate
justices. Judge Pease
56 Rudolph Bair, George Humphrey,
John Milligan, Nathan Upde-
graff and Bezaleel Wells represented
Jefferson county in the first consti-
tutional convention.
224 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
was but twenty-seven years of age and
even more youthful in
appearance. While on the bench Judge
Pease decided that the
statute giving justices of the peace
jurisdiction in cases where
more than twenty dollars were claimed
was unconstitutional and
therefore null and void. There was
immediate demand for his
impeachment, and he was cited to appear
before the State Senate
as a court of impeachment, but the trial
resulted in his acquittal.
He continued in his office until the
close of the December term
of 1809, and was succeeded by Benjamin
Ruggles, who first pre-
sided in 1810. Ruggles was succeeded by
Judge Tappan in 1816.
In a paper on Senator Tappan Hon. W. W.
Armstrong,
who knew him well, speaks of him in the
highest terms. From
this paper a few extracts will be of
interest.
In April, 1796, Tappan went into the law
office of Gideon
Granger, a distinguished lawyer of
Sheffield, Ct., and remained
a laborious student for three years.
Tappan, like Granger, was
a Democrat. Then the Federalists wore
the badge of the Black
Cockade and they were the gentry, the
"better class." They
used to insult personally those who
would not wear their emblem,
particularly the young men. To resent
this Tappan, and Mr.
Granger's students, and other young
Democrats carried hickory
walking sticks, and "hickory
canes" became the badge of the
Democracy. Mr. Tappan being an
aggressive young man, the
Federal lawyers attempted to prevent his
admission to the bar.
They dared not attack his integrity or
private character, and
they were fearful of encountering
popular odium by securing
his rejection upon political grounds
solely, so they concluded
to charge him with sedition and
blasphemy. To support their
charge, the proof they offered was a
sarcastic piece of poetry
that Tappan wrote on the occasion of the
proclamation of John
Adams, dated May 23, 1798, which was
considered by the Dem-
ocrats as designed to excite a war
between our country and
France. The sixth verse of this poetry
was as follows:
" Ye clergy, on this day
On politics discourse,
And when ye rise to pray
Both France and Frenchmen curse.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 225
For you've a right
To pray and preach,
Exhort and teach
Mankind to fight."
The men who were friendly to the alien
and sedition law
of that day thought to ridicule the
clergy was blasphemy. In
the early struggles of the Democracy to
resist Federal consoli-
dation they had to encounter the
opposition of the clergy, who
thought it was necessary to overthrow
the views and principles
advocated by Thomas Jefferson, whom they
denounced as an
infidel and mocker of the religion of
Jesus of Nazareth. Mr.
Tappan had as a friend Mr. Brace, one of
the reputable lawyers
of Hartford, Ct., and despite the effort
of Theodore Dwight,
afterwards secretary of the Hartford
Convention, now infamous
in American history, secured his
admission to the bar. Tappan's-
victory was a great one for the
Democracy, for it stripped the
cloak of piety from the sanctimonious
hypocrites who were mix-
ing politics with religion.
In 1800 several townships in Portage county
were settled.
That year two Indians and a child were
shot by a couple of white
men. To prevent the Indians from
revenging this act the white
men were arrested and tried for murder
before a court held at
Youngstown. The governor attended and
sat with the judges.
during the trial. An Indian chief was
also seated with the judges.
It was the first jury trial in northern
Ohio and Tappan was the
attorney for the defendants. It was his
first case and his first
speech. An old contributor to
"Political Portraits" says when
Tappan arose to speak he was so much
embarrassed that he was
hardly able to speak. As he proceeded,
however, he gained con-
fidence, and made a very able defense,
and succeeded in acquit-
ting his client. The effort and the
verdict gave him a great repu-
tation with the bar, the court and the
people.
When on the bench Judge Tappan always
denied the consti-
tutionality of the law creating the Bank
of the United States and
denounced President Madison for having
approved the act of
incorporation. The immense quantity of
bills issued between
1816 and 1819 being thrown out at
convenient points, irregularly,
gave a new and wild impulse to traders
and local banks. When
Vol. VI-15
226
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
pay day came the bills of the local
banks which had accumulated
at the branch bank in receipts "to
the special credit of the United
States" were returned in large
quantities and specie demanded
to meet the wants of the mother bank,
but only three of the local
bankers were able to endure the
unnatural ordeal. Then came
general bankruptcy. Industry was robbed
of its hard earnings.
The local bank paper depreciated into
utter worthlessness. Gen-
eral ruin followed the suspension and
breaking of the banks. At
a Democratic state convention a
resolution framed by Judge Tap-
pan declaring the Bank of the United
States was "inexpedient
and unconstitutional and that the best
interests of our common
country required that it not be
rechartered" was passed by accla-
mation and became a polar star of that
subsequent contest in
which the Democratic party rallied to
the rescue under the "most
remarkable man of the age," Andrew
Jackson.
In 1833 Gen. Jackson appointed Mr.
Tappan United States
Judge for the district of Ohio. The
duties of this position he ably
filled, and so popular was he that the
Democracy in 1839 elected
him to the United States Senate and he
served in that body until
1845, taking a conspicuous position in
all its proceedings. He
was a colleague of William Allen in that
body. Tappan was wag-
gish occasionally. Allen was noted for
his great lung capacity
and loud voice. One day a friend of his
came into the Senate and
asked if Judge Means of Ohio was still
in the city. "No," said
Tappan, "he left yesterday and is
probably by this time in Cum-
berland, Md., but if you will go to Bill
Allen and tell him to raise
that window and call him he will come
back."
Upon one occasion while Tappan was
serving as President
Judge, holding court in a dining room of
a tavern, the proceed-
ings of the court were interrupted by
the boisterousness of one
man. The judge asked who was making such
a noise. A frontier
man with a pair of old corduroy trousers
and a red wammus on
said: "It is the old hoss."
Judge Tappan quietly remarked to
the sheriff, "Take that old hoss
and put him in the stable and keep
him there on bread and water for three
days," and the sheriff landed
the brawler in the jail, which was a
stable, and kept him there for
seventy-two hours.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 227
Senator Tappan, after retiring from the
Senate, again re-
turned to his profession, the law, and
lived in Steubenville until
his death, which occurred in 1857 in the
eighty-fourth year of his
age. His career as a pioneer, as a
lawyer, as a judge and states-
man, made his name a household word
throughout the west.
As has been mentioned, many of the
distillers who refused to
"enter" their stills for the
excise tax, came into Jefferson county,
and one of these, John Kelly, appeared
before the court on Feb-
ruary 16, 1798, with a petition, praying
the court to "examine
testimony and make a statement of facts
to the Secretary of the
Treasury, concerning a forfeiture
incurred by the said Kelly,
under the excise statute."
Whereupon, in the presence of Zenas
Kimberly, collector of revenue, appeared
the said Kelly, to ex-
amine into the facts on which the prayer
of the petition was
founded. It turned out that Kelly had
removed two distilleries
from Virginia to Jefferson county, in
September, 1795, and in
December one of them was used to distil
eleven bushels of rye.
The stills had not been duly entered,
Kelly claiming that as he
was an ignorant man, not able to read
writing, he did not know
with whom to make the entries. August
31, 1797, Collector Kim-
berly seized the distilleries in the
woods where they had been hid-
den. The records do not state the report
given the Secretary of
the Treasury.
The first murder case before the court
was that against Wil-
liam Carpenter, Jr., and William
Carpenter, Sr., son and father,
the two having been indicted on August
14, 1798, for killing an
Indian in time of peace, the name of the
victim being known as
Captain White-Eyes. The Indian was shot
by Carpenter, Jr.,
who was but seventeen years of age, near
his home at West Point,
now in Columbiana county. White-Eyes was
intoxicated and ran
at the boy with an uplifted tomahawk,
giving the boy the im-
pression that he was going to assault
him. The boy ran, but
the Indian pursued him, and gaining upon
him so rapidly that
young Carpenter felt that he was in real
danger, turned and shot
him. The boy was arrested, as was also
his father, the latter be-
ing charged with aiding and abetting in
the murder. The state-
ment has frequently been published that
the indictment was re-
228
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
turned at a court of Quarter Sessions
held at Steubenville, but
there is no record of the case in
Jefferson county, although there
is no question as to the indictment. It
is the belief that the case
never came to trial, but was nollied.
However, there is a tradi-
tion that the case was tried and that he
was acquitted and that the
affair created much apprehension, the
settlers fearing the death of
White-Eyes would give the Indians cause
for war. Exertions
were at once put into effect to
reconcile the Indians in the neigh-
borhood and many presents were given the
friends of the de-
ceased, his wife receiving three hundred
dollars, one of the do-
nors being Bazaleel Wells. The original
draft of the indictment
is in possession of the estate of Capt.
W. A. Walden, late of Frank-
lin county, a copy of which is appended
as a historical relic:
INDICTMENT OF THE CARPENTERS FOR THE
MURDER OF
WHITE-EYES.
"JEFFERSON COUNTY, TO-WIT:"
"Territory of the United States,
Northwest of the River Ohio.
"At a Court of General Quarter
Sessions of the peace, at
Steubenville in the said county of
Jefferson on Tuesday the four-
teenth day of August in the year of our
Lord one thousand
seven hundred and ninety-eight. Before
the Honorable David
Vance, Esquire, and his associate
justices of the peace in and
for Jefferson county aforesaid.
"The Jurors for the Body of the
Said County upon their
oath present that Willian Carpenter,
Junior, late of said County,
Labourer, and Willian Carpenter, senior,
late of said County,
Labourer, not having the fear of God
before their Eyes but be-
ing moved and Seduced by the instigation
of the Devil on the
twenty-seventh day of May - in the year of our Lord one
thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight
with force and arms
at the Township of - , in the County aforesaid, feloniously,
willfully, and of their malice,
aforethought did make an assault
upon one George White-Eyes, an Indian,
Commonly known by
the Name of Captain White-Eyes, in the
peace of God and the
United States aforesaid, then and there
being and that the same
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 229
William Carpenter, Junior, a Certain
Gun, of the Value of one
Dollar then and there Charged and Loaded
with Gun powder
and Divers Leaden Shot or Bullets, which
Gun the Said Wil-
liam Carpenter, Junior, in both his
hands then and there had and
held to, against and upon the said
George White-Eyes, then
and there feloniously, willfully and of
his malice aforethought
did Shoot and Discharge, and that the
said, William Carpenter,
Junior, with the Leaden Shot or Bullets
aforesaid out of the
Gun aforesaid then and there by force of
the Gun powder, Shot,
Discharged and Sent forth as aforesaid,
the aforesaid William
Carpenter, Junior, in and upon the Chin
and under Jaw of him
the said George White-Eyes, then and
there with the Leaden
Shot or Bullets aforesaid, out of the
Gun aforesaid, by the Said
William Carpenter, Junior, so as
aforesaid shot, Discharged and
Sent forth feloniously, willfully, and
of his malice aforethought
did Strike, penetrate and Wound, Going
to the said George
White-Eyes with the Leaden Shot or
Bullets aforesaid so as
aforesaid shot, Discharged and sent
forth out of the Gun afore-
said by the said William Carpenter,
Junior, in and upon the
Chin and under Jaw of him the said
George White-Eyes one
Mortal wound of the depth of Eight
Inches and of the Breadth
of one Inch of Which said mortal wound
the said George White-
Eyes then and there instantly died. And
that the said William
Carpenter, senior, then and there
feloniously, Willfully and of
his malice aforethought was present
aiding, helping, abetting,
Comforting, assisting and maintaining
the said William Car-
penter, Junior, the felony and murder
aforesaid in manner and
form aforesaid to do and Commit: and so
the Jurors upon
their oath aforesaid do Say, that the
said William Carpenter,
Junior, feloniously, Willfully and of
his malice aforethought and
the said William Carpenter, senior,
feloniously, willfully, and
of his malice aforethought him the said
George White-Eyes
then and there in manner and form
aforesaid did Kill and mur-
der, against the peace and Dignity of
the United States &c."
"(Signed) --
"JAMES WALLACE,
"Att'y for the United States in
Jefferson County."
230
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Capt. White-Eyes was not a chief as has
been the belief,
but the dissipated son of a chief, his
father being White-Eyes,
a chief in the nation of Delaware
Indians. He was one of the
few Indians who refused to join the
British in the Revolutionary
war, remaining steadfast with the
patriots and their cause, which
position was largely due to the efforts
of Rev. David Jones, who
had considerable influence with the
Indians. But it is said that
White-Eyes was almost caught in Capt.
Connelly's net after the
Dunmore treachery. Connelly had offered
him many induce-
ments to engage his people in an assault
upon the frontier set-
tlers, but he refused absolutely, for
his sympathies were with
the Americans. During 1776 he made a
visit to Philadelphia
and was presented to the Continental
Congress with much cere-
mony, his reception being most cordial.
At times it was very
difficult for him to hold his tribe, for
Simon Girty did all he
could to inflame them at their villages
on the Muskingum, tell-
ing them that the Americans were
preparing to burn their wig-
wams and murder their women and
children. Many of the
Young Delawares caught the war spirit as
they listened to the
horrible stories against the Americans
as told by Capt. Pipe
and Capt. Girty. At a council held at
Coshocton, the Dela-
wares had about concluded to go to war,
but at the urgent re-
quest of White-Eyes, a delay was agreed
upon in order to give
time to ascertain whether the renegades
had told the truth as
to American intentions. A messenger
dispatched to Fort Pitt
soon returned with denial of the
reports. But the young men
of the tribe could not long be
controlled and joined Girty's
British command. White-Eyes himself remained
true to the
American cause, even going so far as to
leave his own people to
join the American army, which he did
with a few warriors who
were attached to him. He was made a
colonel on the staff of
Gen. McIntosh, and was with the forces
when Fort McIntosh
and Fort Laurens were built. While at
Fort Laurens, on No-
vember 10, 1778, he was treacherously
killed by an American
soldier, which fact was concealed from
his relatives, it being
announced that he had died of smallpox.
Col. George Morgan,
Indian agent at Pittsburg, educated the
son at Princeton. The
young man came into considerable
property as the legatee of
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 231
his father's estate, but he was a
degenerate and soon squandered
his means in debauchery, meeting his
death in the county where-
in his father was killed, as noted in
this chapter. White-Eyes'
was the last Indian blood shed in
eastern Ohio. There is a
tradition that he knew of a lead mine,
near West Point, in
Madison township, Columbiana county, and
that the location
was lost in his death, but many attempts
have since been made
to find it.
On August 8, 1803, the court granted
tavern licences to
various persons in Steubenville and the
several townships, the
former license being ten dollars and the
latter six dollars. On
the same day Rev. James Snodgrass, a
Presbyterian minister,
who had charge of the Steubenville and
Island creek churches,
was granted license to solemnize
marriages. The next year
Rev. Enoch Martin, of the Baptist
church, Rev. Lyman Potter,
of the Presbyterian, Rev. Jacob Colbart,
of the Methodist, and
Rev. Alexander Colderhead, of the
Associate Reformed church,
were licensed to solemnize marriages.
On April 2, 1805, Timothy Hart, who had
been in jail on
the charge of insolvency, appeared
before the court and com-
plained that he did not have means with
which to support him-
self in jail, and was allowed to take
advantage of "an act pro-
viding for the relief of indigent
persons imprisoned for debt"
and taking the oath thereon he was
discharged from further
confinement.57
Philip Cable who was a judge of the
Territorial Court, and
afterwards a justice of the peace, was
somewhat eccentric, but
nevertheless a very popular man, so
popular in fact that he of-
ficiated at most of the marriages. He
had such an extensive
practice along this line of his
profession, that he adopted a short
service so that waiting couples would
not be delayed by much
ceremony. The service usually ended with
the words: "Give
57Judge William Johnson, late of Cincinnati, but then of
Jefferson
county, and a member of the bar, in
later years having occasion to admin-
ister the same oath to Bezaleel Wells
under the old insolvent act and who
was in prison for debt, became so
incensed thereby that he determined to
go to the Legislature and secure its repeal.
This he afterwards accomp-
lished.-0. M. Sanford.
232 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
me a dollar, kiss your bride, and go
about your business."
Having no one present on one occasion he
called in his wife and
colored servant, saying, "In the
presence of my wife, Dolly, and
Black Harry, I pronounce you man and
wife - give me my
dollar."
XV.
Early Manufacturing - Salt Boiling the First Industry, Dis-
tilling Whisky the Second- The First
Broadcloth Made in
the United States Manufactured in
Steubenville - The First
Figured Silk and the First Silk
Velvet Manufactured at Mt.
Pleasant--The War of 1812 Gives Impetus to Manufactur-
ing- The Beginning of the Woolen and Wool Industry-
The Wells-Dickenson Sheep.
Hotels and business houses were built
immediately after
the town was laid out, a portion of the
old United States hotel
now in existence having been erected by
John Ward, who held
various county and town offices, as well
as dispensed entertain-
ment for man and beast, in 1800. The
first merchant was Hans
Wilson, the second Samuel Hunter. As
soon as the farmers
had produced a crop of corn or rye,
which was previous to the
founding of Steubenville, distilleries
became numerous and were
located in all the settlements, for it
was by this means that the
grain was reduced to its smallest bulk,
and the product could
be disposed of for cash, in fact being
the main cash factor in
the primitive stage of the West. For
this reason the people
of the West objected to paying the
excise tax, for by this means
taxation for the support of the Federal
Government was un-
equally borne.
The first distillery established in
Steubenville was by P.
Snyder, from Uniontown, Pa., in 1798. He
was soon followed
by many others, but to-day there is not
a distillery within the
county, although before the war between
the states distilleries
were very numerous. Malt liquors were
manufactured at a very
early period in Mount Pleasant township.
This was probably
before the Quakers became the
controlling moral factor of popu-
lation. The manufacture of nails by hand
was carried on in
Steubenville by Andrew and Robert
Thompson from 1803 to
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County.
233
1811, William Kilgore and Hugh Sterling
being employes, all
prominent citizens in after years. From
the court records of the
August term of common pleas of 1808, it
appears that machines
were in existence for cutting nails, at
this time a case being on
trial in which Joshua Kelly, who had
been committed by Justice
Robert McCleary, of Warren township, was
charged with steal-
ing a "part of a machine for
cutting nails." However he was
discharged, the commitment being
adjudged "illegal and highly
improper." William Kilgore
afterwards built what is now the
Jefferson iron works, which before the
introduction of the wire
nail, was one of the largest industries
in the Ohio valley.
It is safe to presume that the first
industrial enterprise in
Jefferson county was salt boiling, salt
springs having been discov-
ered on Yellow creek near the site of
Irondale by Joshua Down-
ard and John Hutton before the beginning
of the present century.
This led to the erection of crude
furnaces for the production of
perhaps the most important article and
yet the most difficult to
procure, necessary to the wants of the
pioneer. As early as 1802
Henry Daniels had a small furnace
erected for boiling salt in Ross
township. He sunk a hollow sycamore log
in an upright position
at the spring and from this reservoir
the salt water was dipped into
the kettles and boiled, producing about
three bushels of salt a day.
So great was the demand that Isaac
Shane, who went there for
salt in 1803, found the place thronged
with customers and he was
obliged to return without his portion.
William Maple came to Ohio on June 15,
1797, landing on
the Ohio shore at a point between
Elliotsville and Empire. He
emigrated from Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, where he resided
only a short time, coming there from
Trenton, New Jersey, where
he lived at the time of the Revolution
and at which place he en-
listed in the American army. After
coming to Ohio he settled on
the hill above Port Homer. Benjamin
Maple, son of William.
bored one of the first salt wells in the
northern part of the county,
on Hollow Rock run, the boring being
done by spring pole, after
which he started to build a mill, but
sold it unfinished and then
bought produce which he took down the
river on a keel boat and
traded for furs, which were brought back
on mules and trans-
234 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
ported over the mountains in the same
way, salt being packed
on the return trip.
The first grist and saw mill was erected
within the city limits
by Bezaleel Wells, but shortly after a
grist mill was built on Cross
creek, known by the early settlers as
Indian Cross creek, but called
by the Indians "Mingominnie."
The name Cross creek, it is said
was given the stream by settlers because
they thought the creek
crossed the river and ran out through a
creek on the other side,
but really it should not be thought that
the fathers were quite so
ignorant as this charge would declare
them. This mill did a
profitable business as early as 1808,
the product being shipped by
keel-boat to New Orleans. The mill was
purchased by George
Marshall, a millwright from Ireland, who
about 1818 dismantled
the flour mill and put in machinery of
his own manufacture and
produced a superior article of woolen
goods. There were six or
more grist mills on Short creek as early
as 1805. The first bank
was established in Steubenville in 1809,
Bezaleel Wells and W. R.
Dickenson being the proprietors and
Alexander McDowell the
cashier. In his journal of date
September, 1814, J. B. Finley, the
pioneer Methodist minister, makes this
note: "During this year
a money mania like an epidemic, seized
the people. There were
seven banking establishments in
Jefferson county, one of them
said to have been kept in a ladies'
chest. All these were engaged
in issuing paper money. But it did not
stop here-merchants,
tavern keepers, butchers and bakers
became bankers. This
mania was followed by the mania for new
towns, which were laid
out at almost every cross-roads. The
imaginary riches of the
speculators soon fled, business was
paralyzed and discontent
prevailed everywhere."
While there were efforts made to give
the city impetus by
manufacturing, little progress was made
before the war of 1812,
but after hostilities had closed the
employment given labor by the
introduction of woolen factories soon
filled the town with indus-
trious, thrifty people.
June 18, 1812, the United States
declared war against Eng-
land. England and all the other European
powers were at that
time at war with each other; war vessels
were on ocean and sea
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 235
picking up merchant vessels and
confiscating their cargoes. Im-
portation to the United States was
limited; our country became
in great need of manufactured articles,
especially woolen and cot-
ton goods; the people west of the
mountains being almost desti-
tute. Four patriotic men, Bezaleel Wells
and Samuel Patterson,
of Steubenville, and James Ross and
Henry Baldwin, of Pittsburg,
formed a partnership for manufacturing
woolen goods. They
selected the southwest quarter of outlot
No. 15 on West Market
street in the city of Steubenville,
whereon to erect buildings to
carry out their enterprise. John Hart
built the basement story,
Harrington and Warfield the brick work,
and Nicholas Murray,
who erected the second court house and
other buildings in the
town, including the Steubenville Gazette
building, the first three-
story house in Steubenville, and who
also raised a company of
which he was captain for the war of
1812, the carpentry. When
completed the main building was one
hundred and ten feet long,
twenty-eight feet wide and three stories
high, with high roof bel-
fry cupola, with spire surmounted with
ball and golden sheep.
The building was completed in the fall
of 1814. Early in the
spring of 1815 the steam engine was
brought from Pittsburg under
the supervision of Mr. Latrobe and
placed in position. The
boiler was tea kettle shape and stood on
end; the bottom was con-
caved for fire-bed; the cylinders,two in
number,stood on end with
shackle bars, walking beams and rotary
valve. April 10, 1815,
the machinery was started. The same day
Samuel Patterson, one
of the owners, died. Christopher H. Orth
was employed as man-
ager with a stipulated salary and
one-fifth of the profits, under
the firm name of C. H.Orth & Co.
Stibbin Johnson and Adam
Wise, two skilled mechanics in iron and
wood, built the machi-
nery. The carding machine was
twenty-four-inch cylinder for
making rolls and forty-inch spindle for
drawing the rolls into
slubbing for the spinners. The spinning
machines, called jennies,
were three in number, one of forty
spindles and two of sixty spin-
dles. Wm. Fisher and Alfred Cooper ran
the billy and Enos
Lucas, George and Peter Dohrman learned
to spin, first, by draw-
ing one thread at a time, so that in a
short time they were able to
fill all the spindles. By this time two
broadcloth looms were built.
236 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
John Arthurs and Robert Semple, hand
loom weavers, took
charge of the looms and were the first
men to weave broadcloth
in this country. It was amusing to see a
common laborer learn-
ing to weave. To time his feet with his
hands he had two big
treadles marked hayfoot and strawfoot.
To raise the shade for
the shuttle to pass. through, he would
say up comes sugar down
goes gad.58
At one time there were as many as twelve
woolen and cotton
mills in Steubenville, and the city
became famous for the manu-
facture of textile fabrics, but since
1877 not a yard of cloth of any
kind has been made in the city. The
woolen industry of Jefferson
county, for all the factories were not
located within the bounds
of the city, was the beginning of the
establishment of the great
wool-growing industry of Ohio, Western
Pennsylvania and West
Virginia, the finest wool in the world
being produced within a
radius of forty miles of the scene of
the greatest activity in the
manufacture of woolen goods in the state
or in the west. From a
history of the wool-growing industry
written by John J. Ickis for
The Steubenville Gazette, it is learned
that the first sheep in the
state came from Connecticut, New Jersey
and Virginia. Like
their owners they were a rugged lot,
capable of enduring the pri-
vations of frontier life. When the
settler had cleared away the
virgin forest, they gave their
assistance in keeping in check the
new forest with which nature would
gladly have covered the
ground. The wool of these sheep was
woven in the homes into
durable goods that would be passed over
by the farmer to-day
for something that was half shoddy.59
William R. Dickenson seems to have been
the first to bring
the improved breeds of sheep to
Jefferson county. He was born
in Virginia in 1779 and came to
Steubenville in 1807. About
1812 he laid the foundation of a flock
of pure Merino sheep by
purchases from the flock of James
Caldwell of New Jersey. Spain
had jealously guarded its Merino flocks
for centuries and would
allow no exports to be made. When
Napoleon's armies came
58 These data are from a paper read by
E. G. McFeeley before the Wells
Historical Society. 59The
first shoddy goods in America were made in
Steubenville, the machinery having been
brought from England.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 237
down to meet those of Wellington, her
precious cabanas were
destroyed forever. Thousands of the best
sheep of Spain were
killed to feed the soldiery. There are
no sadder pages in the in-
dustrial history of any country than
those that chronicle this
wanton destruction of the flocks of
Spain. Yet good was to come
of this to our own country, for many of
their best sheep were
secured by Jarvis and other Americans
and brought over by the
ship load; one hundred and sixty-eight
vessels landed seventeen
thousand six hundred and ninety-three
sheep from Spain between
September 1, 1810, and August 30, 1811.
The sheep bought by
Mr. Dickenson and brought to
Steubenville were from the best of
these importations. By 1825 his flock
numbered two thousand
five hundred, and they were the equal of
any sheep in the United
States. Ten of his rams shorn in June,
1825, produced seventy-
five pounds of wool which sold for
eighty cents a pound, or six
dollars a head.
The products of the Wells-Dickenson
woolen factory became
so famous in the eastern markets, that
wools were brought from
over the mountains to be manufactured
into broadcloth that was
thought to be equal to any that could be
imported. To furnish
a partial supply of wool for this
factory, in 1815 Mr. Wells laid the
foundation of a flock of Merinos by
purchase from Col. Jarvis,
the greatest importer of his time. By
1824 his flock had in-
creased to three thousand five hundred
sheep. To keep up some-
thing of the migratory habits of their
ancestors, a large tract of
land was purchased between where Canton
and Massillon now
stand, and the flock driven to those
pastures and back each year.
Thus it was that Jefferson county, in
the early part of the century,
contained two of the most noted flocks
of pure Spanish Merinos
in America. Those who saw them say they
made a beautiful
appearance, with their even fleeces and
dense, dark tops. They
shore an average of five pounds of
washed wool, with an even-
ness of fibre that is found only on the
pure Merino. It is doubted
if any other county in America could
ever boast of two flocks
of five thousand five hundred sheep of
this royal blood. By in-
terchanging the rams, these flocks soon
became almost identical,
238
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
and were the original Wells and
Dickenson sheep,-a name that
is known by sheepmen the world around.
To prove the excellence of these flocks
it is only necessary to
recall the victory gained by Mr.
Dickenson's ram Boliver. The
Brazilian minister to this country
offered as a prize a silver cup
for the ram that would shear the
greatest weight of picklock wool.
Believing that his sheep were as good as
any in the country, Mr.
Dickenson selected his ram Boliver and
took him to Baltimore.
The contest took place in that city on
June 1, 1826, and was won
by Boliver, although he had to compete
with the best sheep of the
Atlantic states, both native and
imported. This sheep was
brought back over the mountains in a
wagon and was one of the
principal attractions, as we may well
believe, in the parade of the
following Fourth of July. Owing to
financial difficulties with the
government, these flocks were sold at
public auction in Steuben-
ville in 1830. One thousand two hundred
ewes and wethers of
the first and second quality brought
$3.16 per head; five ewes and
five rams of the top of the flock
brought an average of $22.50 per
head. Buyers attended the sale from all
parts of Ohio, Pennsyl-
vania and western Virginia, and in this
way the Wells and Dick-
enson sheep were scattered to improve
Ohio wool; for Ohio wool
is grown on the hillsides of
Pennsylvania and West Virginia as
well as on our own pastures. Specimens
of this wool, known as
the Crosskey "clips", have
taken medals at several world exposi-
tions.
While Steubenville is distinguished as
the first place in the
United States where broadcloth was made,
Mount Pleasant
has the distinction of being the first
producer of silk velvet and
figured silk, a silk factory having been
erected in that village
by John W. Gill and Thomas White, in
1841. At that time the
silk-worm craze was abroad in the land
and much vacant space
was planted with mulberry trees, William
Watkins, the builder
of the McCook mansion in Steubenville,
having come to Jeffer-
son county for the purpose of engaging
in the culture of the
morus multicaulis, this product being
used in the Gill factory.
Messrs. Gill and White' planted
twenty-five acres in mulberry
trees and as soon as the trees had
attained a year's growth they
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 239
began the cultivation of the silk worm,
followed by the manu-
facture of beautiful fabrics, specimens
of which are now in ex-
istence and were on exhibition in the
Log Cabin Loan during
the celebration of the centennial of
Jefferson county. The
products of the factory were silk
velvet, hat plush, dress silks
of the most beautiful colors and
designs, ribbons, figured silks,
etc. The loom used was known as the
"draw-boy loom" and
was three yards long and one yard wide,
there being in the
factory separate looms for ribbons, hat
plush and velvet. The
first pattern woven was known as the
Buckeye burr, the color
being a light buff. From this piece of
silk a vest pattern was
presented to Henry Clay, who also wore a
suit of broadcloth
made in one of the Steubenville
factories. The Whig presiden-
tial ticket, voted in Mount Pleasant in
1844, was printed on silk,
made for the purpose in the Gill
factory. The first American
flag ever in China was also made at this
factory and carried to
the Orient by Caleb Cushing.
The Navigator, published in Pittsburg in
1818, gives the
industries in Steubenville in 1817 as
follows: "One woolen fac-
tory, worked by steam power, in which
are manufactured on an
extensive scale cloths of the finest
texture and of the most bril-
liant and lasting colors; one iron
foundry, in which casting of all
kinds is performed; one paper mill, of
three vats, in which steam
power is used; one brewery, in which is
manufactured beer, ale,
and porter of the first quality; one
steam flour mill, which is
kept in continued and profitable
operation; one steam cotton
factory, in which cloths of an excellent
quality are made; one
nail manufactory; two earthenware
factories; one tobacco and
cigar factory; one wool carding machine;
four preachers; six
lawyers; five physicians; twenty-seven
stores; sixteen taverns;
two banks; one printing office; one book
bindery; two gun-
smiths; one coppersmith; two tinner's
shops; thirty-two car-
penters; six bricklayers; five masons;
five plasterers; four
cabinet makers; six blacksmiths; five
tailors; four saddlers;
three bakers; eight shoe and bootmakers;
three wheelwrights;
four chair makers; three hatters; three
clock and watchmakers;
one silversmith; three tanneries; seven
schools, three of which
are for young ladies; one reed maker;
three wagon makers;
240 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
four coopers, and six butchers. Many
other professions are fol-
lowed which are too tedious to mention.
Public Offices. -
Register U. S. Land Office. Receiver U.
S. Land Office. Col-
lector U. S. Revenue. Collector of
non-resident tax for the fifth
district. Clerk's Office Supreme Court
and Court of Common
Pleas. County Commissioners' Office, and
Office of Recorder
of Deeds.
"There are several valuable grist
mills near Steubenville
which send a great deal of four to New
Orleans. The town has
a post-office receiving and discharging
the public mail weekly.
The fuel used is mineral coal and
wood."
"The Western Pilot, etc.," by
Samuel Cummings, published
in Cincinnati, in 1836, article,
Steubenville, mentions, * * *
"There are in the town and
neighborhood, three merchant flour
mills; a very large and justly
celebrated woolen factory at which
sixty thousand pounds of wool are
annually manufactured into
cloth. Large flocks of sheep, of the
Merino breed, are owned
by the neighboring farmers and by the
proprietors of the estab-
lishment, which has several times
obtained the premium for the
best specimens of cloth manufactured in
the United States. There
are besides two cotton factories of
three thousand spindles; a
large paper mill, belonging to Mr.
Holdship, of Pittsburg, which
manufactures the finest and best paper
made in the western
country; three air foundries; a steam
paper mill, besides a flour-
ing mill and cotton factory likewise
driven by steam power.
Here is also a printing office, from
which is published a weekly
newspaper; an academy; two banks;
twenty-seven mercantile
stores; sixteen public inns; an air
foundry; beside a great num-
ber and variety of the most useful
mechanics."
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 241
XVI.
Pioneer Means of Transportation- The Old Keel-boat- The
First Line of Keel-boats Between
Cincinnati and Pittsburg
--The Boats Carried Arms and
Passengers were Protected
by Walls for Defense--The First
Steamboats-- A Line of
Sailing Vessels Built for the West
India Trade and Sail
Down the Ohio- The First Stage Coaches--Beginning of
the Panhandle Railroad.
The difficulties of transportation
prevented rapid advance-
ment of pioneer settlements, but the
large river frontage of
Jefferson county gave the pathfinders
much better facilities for
transit than that enjoyed by settlers in
the interior. The river
was much to the early merchant and
manufacturer. Still with
this great waterway and the aptitude for
boating possessed by
most of the pioneers, progress along
industrial lines was very
slow. Such machinery, crude as it was in
the early days of the
West, had to be hauled from the East at
an expense so great
that one is startled at the figures when
mentioned in the present
days of rapid transit. The cost of
carriage on a bill of goods
was often greater than the cost of the
goods; and this fact, too,
had much to do with inspiring the
fathers with the spirit of en-
terprise that in the first and second
decades of the century gave
Steubenville a high place as a
manufacturing town.
The keel-boats or barges were roughly
constructed and
varied from seventy-five to one hundred
feet in length, with
breadth of beam of from fifteen to
twenty feet. They would
carry from sixty to one hundred tons
weight, the receptacle for
freight occupying the greater portion of
the craft, although on
one end a sort of a cabin was
constructed for female passengers.
The boat usually carried a sail, but
when the wind was lacking
in power the craft was propelled by
means of a pole, and at
times the boat would be towed by the
boatmen who would walk
along the shore and haul the vessel with
a rope.
The first regular packet line between
Pittsburg and Cin-
cinnati was established in 1794. The
Sentinel of the North-
west, the first paper published in the
territory, William Maxwell
being the editor, contained the
time-card of the line. "Two
Vol. VI-16
242 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
boats for the present," the
announcement says, "will start from
Cincinnati to Pittsburg and return to
Cincinnati in the follow-
ing manner: The first boat will leave
Cincinnati this morning
at eight o'clock and return to
Cincinnati to be ready to sail again
in four weeks from this date. The second
boat will leave Cin-
cinnati on Saturday, the 30th inst., and
return as above." The
announcement further stated "that
being influenced by a love
of philanthropy, and a desire of being
serviceable to the public,
the proprietors have taken great pains
to render the accomoda-
tions on board as agreeable and
convenient as they could pos-
sibly be made." Further on the
advertisement states that "no
danger need be apprehended from the
enemy, and every person
on board will be under cover made proof
to rifle ball, and con-
venient portholes for firing out. Each
boat is armed with six
pieces carrying a pound ball, also a
good number of muskets."
A separate cabin from that designed for
the men was partitioned
off for the ladies. Passengers were
supplied with provisions
and liquors of all kinds at the most
reasonable rates. It was
stated that an insurance office had been
established at Cincinnati,
Limestone and Pittsburg, where persons
desiring to insure their
property while en route could apply.
In 1794, a Frenchman, named Louis
Anastasius Tarascon,
who had previously sent an engineer down
the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi to New Orleans to ascertain if
the project be feasible,
built at Pittsburg in 1801, a schooner
called "Amity", of one
hundred and twenty tons, a full-fledged,
sea-worthy vessel, fol-
lowed by other schooners and brigs of
much greater tonnage,
and opened trade with the West Indies,
shipping flour and other
provisions. One of the boats, or ships,
the "Western Trader",
had capacity for four hundred tons.
The first steamboat which descended the
Ohio river was
the New Orleans, a vessel of four hundred
tons, built at Pitts-
burg, under direction of Robert Fulton,
in 1811, the cost ex-
ceeding fifty thousand dollars. In
October of that year this
boat started on its way to New Orleans.
As might be con-
jectured it did a profitable business,
but it was destroyed by run-
ning against a snag in 1814, at Baton
Rouge. Other boats were
built, and in 1814, the Enterprise was
built at Redstone, now
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 243
Brownsville, Pa., and chartered by the
government to carry
military stores to New Orleans, arriving
there in time to take
part in the battle, January 8th, the
next year. The "Enterprise"
was a small stern wheel boat and was
commanded by Capt.
Shrieve. Up to this time no steamboat
had attempted to run
up the Ohio, but during the month of
June, 1815, the Enter-
prise arrived at Steubenville, and the
whole population was
astounded, and could hardly believe that
a steamboat had come
up stream all the way from New Orleans.
The first boat built
in Steubenville was the "Bezaleel
Wells", which was made in
1820; Arthur M. Phillips, who was the
first machinist west of
the Ohio, built the boilers. President
McKinley's father at one
time was employed in the Phillips
foundry, which is one of the
very few industries of pioneer times
still in operation in Steu-
benville, the plant being a part of that
of James Means & Co.
Steubenville has gone through all the
vicissitudes of industry;
while at one time the manufacture of
woolen fabrics filled the
region with the hum and whir of the
spindle and the loom, there
is not now a yard of textile fabric of
any kind made within the
county; the iron industry, too, was for
years the great factor
of industrial progress; followed by the
manufacture of clay
products, which to-day gives employment
to more people than
does the manufacture of iron and glass.
However there has
latterly been a revival of iron and
steel, and Mingo Bottom, for
years the rendezvous of the American
soldier as well as of the
savage warrior, is partly covered with
steel industries. Twenty
years ago coal mining and coke making
was one of the largest
industries in Steubenville; to-day very
little coal is mined and
no coke is made. However, large mines
have been opened on
Short creek and much coal is produced.
Many of the pioneer
industries went down never more to rise.
They came upon
the stage to act their part in the drama
of Progress; this done
they passed off and the curtain was
drawn only to rise again on
another scene of industry, which, too,
was changed, but this is
the history of other communities. All
have their industrial
mutations.
Roads were opened previous to 1816, and
during 1818 Mat-
thew Roberts carried the first mail to
Pittsburg on horseback,
244
Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
the previous mails all being conveyed by
boat. In 1820 John
McMillen established the first stage
line between the two towns.
This was soon followed by stage lines in
all directions and com-
panies were organized for making plank
roads, many of which
were partly constructed throughout
Eastern Ohio, some being
graded, while others were partly laid
with planks. In 1848 the
Steubenville and Indiana Railroad
Company was incorporated,
the incorporators being James Wilson,
James Means, Nathaniel
Dike, William McDonald, Daniel Collier,
John Orr, John An-
drews, David McGowan, James Gallagher,
James Turnbull, James
McKinney, Rosswell P. Marsh and
Alexander Doyle. James
Parks, A. L. Frazier and others at once
took an active part in
the project and Daniel Kilgore of Cadiz
was elected the first
president. All but three of these men
were of Scotch-Irish blood;
Dike, Marsh and Collier were from New
England and were prob-
ably of English descent, but not of
Puritan blood. Col. Geo. W.
McCook, soldier, lawyer, politician, and
withal a gentleman, was
a powerful factor in the construction of
this railroad, he having
negotiated the sale of bonds in Europe.
It is a fact that the whole
Pennsylvania system of railroads is an
achievement of Scotch-
Irish enterprise and genius. This, the
most powerful railroad
corporation in the world, was brought
from its inception through
its course to its present magnificent
development by the skilled
efforts of Col. Thomas A. Scott, William
Thaw, James McCrea,
Robert Pitcairn, the late President
Roberts and J. N. McCullough,
the latter coming from a strong and
early Scotch settlement on
Yellow creek, which settlement has sent
out into the field of
letters, the arena of politics and into
the industrial world some
of the brightest men who have become
prominent in many lines
demanding strong elements of character.
The first sod turned in the construction
of the railroad, which
was the beginning of the great
Panhandle, was by Rosswell P.
Marsh, a lawyer who came to Steubenville
from Vermont. The
people along the proposed lines were so
ignorant of the char-
acter of railroads that it is said that
James Parks secured the
right of way by meeting the objections
of landowners with the
statement, that as the line would be
built in the air, there could
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 245
be no reason why the land could not be
utilized for farming
just as well as without the railroad
track. The first engines
used as the motive power on this line
were named "Bezaleel
Wells," "James Ross," and
"Steubenville," and were run into
Steubenville October 8, 1853, drawing
two cars. The river divis-
ion of the Cleveland and Pittsburg
railroad was built the year
following, becoming a portion of the Ft.
Wayne division, that
was brought to a perfect stage by the
master mind of McCullough.
XVII.
Early Educational Facilities -The Schoolhouse Soon Followed
the Church-The Old Log College Sent
out Teachers as
well as Ministers -- The Irish
Schoolmaster Early Abroad in
the Land-The Old Log Schoolhouse Made
Famous by Dr.
Alexander Clark -The First Female Seminary West of the
Mountains Established in
Steubenville-- The Part Jefferson
County Took in Formulating the Public
School System-
Noted Teachers from Jefferson County.
The pioneer fathers who settled the
upper Ohio valley appre-
ciated facility for education. From
their point of view education
was no less a spiritual element in
character-building than religion.
It was as essential to the enjoyment of
life as were the means
of grace, and the schoolhouse was
invariably under way before
the church was roofed.
From the Old Log College of the Tennants
sturdy young
men went forth south and west carrying
with them the fountain
of learning, that others might drink of
knowledge. These young
men were classical scholars, filled with
the zeal they had caught
from the inspiring presence of the
sainted master at whose feet
they sat to receive instruction given
with that love of the cause
that comes of unselfish enthusiasm.
There were giants in those
days - mental giants, too, and the
Tennants were of them. Wher-
ever Tennant's pupils, or rather
scholars, located, there, too, was
located an academy - another log college
- wherein were taught
other young men, who were not only
fitted for the ministry, but
for any of the learned professions.
246 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
The Cumberland and Virginia valleys were
well filled with
schools before the fathers moved over
the mountains and into
the wilderness. Did these people have to
await the coming of
the New England schoolmaster? Their own
schoolmaster was
invariably with them, for the minister
came with the flock, and
as in the case of Dr. John McMillen, of
the Cannonsburg college,
the minister taught as well as preached,
and fitted his successor
when he should die; for in those days
the minister staid with
his people until death dissolved the
relation. Coming, as they
did, from such an environment, it is
unnecessary to note that they
were not depending on the Yankee
schoolmaster, as is the wide-
spread belief in New England even to
this day.
The "Irish schoolmaster" was
abroad in the land, too, and
the annals of Ohio are filled with
incidents of this worthy man of
letters, who had a standing in the
community next to that of the
minister himself, who was always held in
the highest reverence,
not only because he was the spiritual
adviser, but as well because
of his great learning. The father of Dr.
Jeffers, of the Western
Theological Seminary, was one of the
early itinerant school
teachers in Eastern Ohio, and how often
was he worn out by
what he called the perverseness of his
pupils when it was really
his own pertinacity that was in the way
of mutual understanding.
His eccentricity of pronunciation
invariably stumped the pupil,
for he would not know whether the word
given out to be spelled
was "beet" or
"bait," whether "floor" or "fleur," but Jeffers
would explain that "bait" was
a "red root," and "fleur" was
a "boord" to walk on; and
through the influence of the good
man's erudition and hickory gad, the
sons and daughters of the
settlers waxed strong in knowledge.
Two years after Jefferson county was
organized a log school-
house was built on what is now section
twenty, Colerain town-
ship, Belmont county, near Mt. Pleasant,
and as the settlement
was very spare, the pupils had long
distances to go before reach-
ing this, the first institution of
learning erected within the bounds
of the original Jefferson county. The
pupils, too, were in con-
stant danger of their lives, there being
Indians as well as wild
beasts in the wilderness where it was
located. It was near the
The Pathfinders
of Jefferson County. 247
site of this schoolhouse that Captain
Williams, one of the brave
defenders of Fort Henry during the siege
of 1777, was killed
by the Delaware Indians in 1780.
The next school house of which there is
record was built in
1802 near St. Clairsville. Of course, it
was constructed of logs,
with a solitary greased paper window,
with seats of trees split
in two placed on pegs with the flat side
up, and such a distance
from the floor, says the record from
which this information is
obtained, that the teacher was never
annoyed by shuffling of
feet. School was taught in this rude
structure for three years,
when the town and country pupils divided
into two factions,
the country pupils accusing the master
with being partial in his
favors, and during the night season the
building was demolished
by a mob. Another building of a better
style of architecture
was erected in 1803, but on another
site.
There is a tradition that a schoolhouse
was erected in Cross
Creek township previous to 1800, there
having been a number
of families in the township as early as
1797, but the records show
that a schoolhouse had been erected and
school was held in it
in 1804 by an Irish schoolmaster named
Green. In 1809 a sub-
scription school was taught in that part
of the township known
as the Long settlement, a Mr. Morrow, a
Scotchman, being the
first teacher. In 1805 Richard
McCullough also taught school
in this township.
There was also a schoolhouse at a very
early date on Battle
run in Steubenville township, near the
scene of the Buskirk
battle, and which is not far from the
Cross creek falls, within
a hundred yards of which have happened
several of the most
disastrous accidents on the Panhandle
railroad.
In 1814 Samuel Clark, the father of the
late Rev. Dr. Alex-
ander Clark, of blessed memory, taught a
school in Brush Creek
township. In 1830, in the same township,
was built "The Old
Log Schoolhouse," immortalized by
Dr. Clark, the divine, poet
and prose author, whose works are part
of the country's best
literature. Here he was educated and
reared amidst the scenes
of rugged nature from which he took his
themes, and the world
of readers rejoiced that such a sweet-souled
man lived to tell
248 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
them of the beauty he saw in nature. Dr.
Clark was an educator
of wonderful force and his goodness of
heart and sweetness of
temper gave him an influence over the
pupil that was truly an
inspiration, and to be even in his
presence and hear him speak
was like a benediction. And he was an
"Irish schoolmaster."
Dr. Clark was the founder of the
"School-day Visitor," the first
distinctive child's paper published in
the United States, and it
afterwards became The St. Nicholas
Magazine. He was a prom-
inent minister of the Protestant
Methodist Church and at the
time of his death was the editor of the
organ of that church pub-
lished in Pittsburg. The old log
schoolhouse upon which he
founded his story of this name was
taught for years by his father,
who was succeeded by the son. The
building was used for school
purposes for almost half a century. It
was erected in a day and
cost but thirty-two dollars.
Undoubtedly there were educational
facilities in the village
of Steubenville previous to 1805, but
the records show that a
school was taught in 1806 by a Mr.
Black, another Irish school-
master. In 1807 Bezaleel Wells erected a
building (frame) near
the site of the Steubenville seminary,
and painting it red, it was
ever after known as the Little Red
Schoolhouse. The first teacher
was James Thompson, who was succeeded by
Thomas Fulton,
and Fulton by Jacob Hull. The two latter
were eccentric, viewed
from the standpoint that one now looks
upon a tutor who is
supposed to be a moral example to his
pupils. Both Fulton and
Hull had a fondness for intoxicants that
to-day could not be
reconciled with the high positions held
bythem. Their indulgence
frequently led to napping, when they
would awaken to find their
slippers removed, or hats decorated with
quill-pen feathers thrust
through the bands. It is handed down
that on occasions they
would go to sleep with their heads
resting on the desk, and on
awakening find a pile of books covering
the seat of learning, but
for the moment befuddled with liquor.
The books used prior
to 1812 were, as a rule, such as the
schoolmaster could furnish
himself, but after this period, the
Second War for Independence
having caused an awakening in the west,
the English Reader,
the United States Speller, and the
Introduction were introduced,
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 249
and other schools followed the Little
Red Schoolhouse. Miss
Sheldon opened a school on High street,
the Misses Graham and
Burgess on Fourth street, and as early
as 1816 an Irish school-
master named Baker opened a school at
the head of Washington
street, which was well patronized, but
the historian says his em-
ployment of the hickory gad as a factor
of education was so far
beyond reason that he was frequently a
subject for discipline
himself. He continued to teach for ten
years, when his spirit
took its flight and the body was
followed to the tomb by a large
concourse of people. In 1818 Bezaleel
Wells was the main sub-
scriber to a fund for the erection of an
academy on High street,
which school was well patronized. Prof.
J. P. Miller, a Seceder
minister, had charge. The academy was
conducted for many
years and for a while was used by the
Episcopalians as a church.
Rev. Dr. George Buchanan, a native of
the Cumberland valley,
and a pupil of the eminent educator, Dr.
Alexander Dobbins,
whose pupils became noted as teachers,
established the first clas-
sical school in the west on Market
street in Steubenville in 1814.
Here all the higher branches were taught
for many years and
the pupils became eminent in many of the
states, giving testi-
mony of the high character of the
school, among the pupils being
Edwin M. Stanton. Samuel Ackerly
conducted a private school
not far from the Buchanan academy in
1820, and afterward Dr.
John Scott erected an academy on North Seventh street
and for
years conducted a successful school up
to the fifties, the building
afterward becoming a part of the public
school system of the city.
The first distinctive female seminary
west of the mountains
was established in Steubenville by Rev.
Dr. C. C. Beatty, a
pupil of the Old Log College, of which
mention has been made,
in 1829, and which was most successfully
conducted by him for
more than half a century, followed by
Rev. Dr. A. M. Reid, who
had charge until a few years ago. This
seminary was an ex-
cellent school and pupils came from far
and near to sit at the
feet of Mrs. Beatty, who was loved as a
mother by her pupils,
and after she was gone to her reward,
Mrs. Reid filled her place,
and the sweetest memories of women who
are everywhere, even
beyond the confines of civilization,
(for many of the pupils be-
250 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
came missionaries) are of Mrs. Reid,
whose nobility of char-
acter and gentleness of disposition
endeared her to all. The
vicissitudes of a city are beyond
comprehension: Steubenville,
once the seat of one of the greatest
female colleges in the land,
the first in the west, is to-day without
even an academy. Dr.
Beatty made possible the union of
Washington and Jefferson
colleges by a munificent gift of money.
He also endowed the
Western Theological seminary; and thus
the money accumu-
lated in the education of women was
devoted to the education
of men.
Jefferson county has been impressed
indelibly on the com-
mon school system, which is the
brightest star in the state's dia-
dem. While Acting Governor, in 1822,
Allen Trimble, who was
a Virginian whose ancestors first
settled in Pennsylvania, ap-
pointed a committee of the Legislature
to formulate a public
school system. The belief that obtains
that the Puritans who
settled Marietta were the fathers of the
school system, is based
on error. They had a school system, but
it was on the parochial60
plan and was associated with the
Congregational church, which
was really a state church. The most
influential member of the
committee appointed by Governor Trimble
was Judge William
Johnson, late of Cincinnati, a native of
the Scotch settlement on
Yellow creek, and a man of wonderful
force of character and in-
fluence. The committee formulated the
plan which was the
basis for the system now obtaining, but
afterwards was perfected
by Samuel Galloway, who also came from
the Cumberland val-
ley. Judge Johnson put his whole soul
into the work and it
was by the influence of his able
arguments before the Legislature
that the plan was adopted. In his
address he called attention to
the possibility of the youth of the
state who did not have means
to pay for tuition, growing up
"boobies", and ever after up to
his death Judge Johnson was called
"Boobie Johnson." The
part Jefferson county took in promoting
the public school sys-
tem, alone gives her basis for pride.
She might rest her honors
with the achievement of Judge William
Johnson, and be sure
of a laurel wreath, but this is not all.
Mordecai Bartley, the thir-
60 Knight.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 251
teenth governor of the state, although
born in Pennsylvania,
lived in Jefferson county, having
settled near the mouth of Cross
creek, while a member of Congress was
the first to propose the
conversion of the land grants of Ohio,
known as Section sixteen,
into a permanent fund for support of the
common schools.
The public school system was first
adopted in Steubenville
in 1838, and the first board of
education was composed of Dr.
Beatty, Dr. John Andrews and James
Means. The first two
buildings were erected on North and
South Fourth streets at a
cost of four thousand dollars. The first
high school was added
to the system in 1855, and the first
pupil graduated in 1860.
She was Miss Oella Patterson, who became
a very prominent
educator, holding, up to her death, a
high position in an eastern
college.
Dr. Henry C. McCook, the noted
Philadelphia divine and
scientist, was at one time a teacher in
the Steubenville schools,
and his brothers, Rev. Dr. John McCook,
professor of lan-
guages in Trinity College, and whose
books on Sociology are
standard works, and Gen. Anson G.
McCook, late secretary of
the United States Senate, were pupils in
the Steubenville schools.
Prof. Sloane, of Columbia College,
author of the best Life
of Napoleon ever written, is a son of J.
R. W. Sloane, presi-
dent of Richmond College in 1848, and
to-day the only col-
lege within the bounds of the county.
Prof. Woodroe Wil-
son, of Princeton, and the author of a
Life of Washington,
is the grandson of James Wilson, the
editor of The Setubenville
Herald for many years after 1815. Dr.
Eli Tappan, who is
reckoned by Dr. Hinsdale as one of the
most thorough teachers
in the country, a profound scholar, with
the facility of imparting
his knowledge to others, was a native of
Steubenville, the son
of Senator Tappan, whose grandchildren
now teach in the Steu-
benville schools, while one is a
professor in an eastern college.
Rev. Mr. Huston, a Presbyterian minister
of Jefferson county,
is a grandson of Senator Tappan, and he
also has Stanton blood
in his veins, being a grandson of
Stanton's sister.
In 1837 the Friends erected a boarding
school at Mount
Pleasant, expending for grounds and
building almost twenty-
two thousand dollars, the buildings
being commodious, but very
252 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
plain. The school was opened with Daniel
Williams as superin-
tendent, and his wife as matron. The
teachers in the male de-
partment were Robert S. Holloway and
George K. Jenkins;
female department, Abby Holloway and
Abigail Flanner. The
average attendance of pupils was
sixty-nine, but for several
years the expenses exceeded the income,
which by good man-
agement was reversed and the income was
large enough to
make handsome dividends. In the
factional fight that divided
the Friends into Gurneyites and
Wilburites in 1854, the Wilbur-
ites retained control of the boarding
school, which they held
until dispossessed by the Supreme Court
in 1874, which placed
the title in the name of the Gurney
division. The Gurneyites
expended a large sum of money for
repairs and were prepared
to reopen the school, but on the night
of January 7, 1875, the
entire building was consumed by fire.
Mary Edmondson, the mother of Anna
Dickinson, taught
school in the Short Creek meeting house
in 1826.
XVIII.
The First Friends' Meeting and the
Third Presbyterian Church
in the State Established in Jefferson
County-The First
Methodist Church Erected in the
Northwest Territory-
Religion the Strongest Conviction of
the Pioneer Fathers
-The Hicksite Division in the Friends' Meeting Inaugu-
rated in Jefferson County-The Hicksites Capture a Meet-
ing House by Force--It is Called a
Riot by Thos. Shillitoe
who Kept a Journal-The Clerk's Desk
Broken by the Mob
and the Clerk so Seriously Injured
that He Died from the
Effects- Other Divisions - Christian
Scientists and Faith
Curists.
Religion was the most abiding conviction
of the sturdy
people who settled in that part of
Jefferson county south of the
Western Reserve line. They had a faith
in God that was truly
sublime. This faith inspired them to
deeds of valor, for they
felt that they were following along at
the hand of God the path-
way leading to destiny; that everything
that happened was in
the course of God's will, and that good
would follow in the
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 253
natural course of events, directed from
on high. At the very
earliest period, as has been shown,
these people saw the divine
hand shaping affairs for the coming of
the great republic, and
they felt that they were instruments
selected to bring about the
results that came of their endeavors.
They were the very first to
declare their intention to end the
tyrant's rule by cutting loose
from the government of Great Britain.61
When they entered the
wilderness with the intention of
building a home, the Bible and
the Psalm book were brought, even if
there were not a bed.
An element of power that characterized
these people was the
mental strength that came of ingrained
Calvinism, for Calvinism
was drawn with the mother's milk, that
was largely the basis for
their individualism, self-reliance; and
where the source of this
trait is understood there is no surprise
at the magnitude of their
achievements. It was the courage that
comes of strong faith
that gave the man Witherspoon, of this
blood, the nerve to defy
the tyrant as if the spirit of John
Knox, who feared not the face
of man, hovered about Independence Hall.
It was his Calvin-
istic stubbornness that gave him the
influence that procured sig-
natures to the immortal declaration that
would not have been
signed had it not been for his native
force and tenacity of pur-
pose. Of this strain were the pioneers.
Religious, persistent,
stubborn. It is not strange, therefore,
that the church was con-
temporary with the settlements. These
people were of the same
blood, of the same names, as those who
built the first churches
in the Cumberland and Virginia valleys,
the first west of the
Alleghenies. They were descendants, some
of them, of those
who founded Hanover. Donegal, Derry,
Unity and Redstone, for
we find members of these churches with
Lochry, with William-
son, with Crawford and with Wayne. The
first Presbyterian
church in the territory was that
established in Cincinnati in
1793, and which was projected by
soldiers in Wayne's army, for
on the subscription list were the names
of many of these brave
men, who saw in the removal of the
savage the consummation of
destiny, and yet one writer is quoted by
Butterfield in his biog-
raphy of Simon Girty that he instructed
the Indians not to dis-
turb the "Scotch-Irish settlements
of Virginia [Panhandle], be-
61 Bancroft.
254 Ohio Arch. and His.
Society Publications.
cause they, being Presbyterians, never
took part in any of the
wars against the Indians." Robert
Finley and his congregation,
on the advice of Massie, settled at
Chillicothe and established
there the second Presbyterian church in
the territory. The
third and fourth churches of this
denomination were established
in Jefferson county, and by 1804 there
was a Presbyterian church
in every settlement of a dozen families
in the territory now
within the lines of the county. Finley's
son, Rev. J. B. Finley,
the surveyor, Indian scout and divine,
was one of the earliest
Methodist evangelists in the territory,
having preached through-
out the Ohio country while it was still
a wilderness. J. B. Fin-
ley was an educated man, having been a
student in his father's
classical schools in North Carolina and
Tennessee. The belief
that has been handed down that the early
Methodist evangelists
were ignorant men is a falsehood whose
ramifications have not
been proscribed by time. The statement
that the pioneers were
ignorant and were incapable of
understanding an educated min-
istry is the twin of this falsehood.
Rev. David Jones from Freehold, New
Jersey, was prob-
ably the first minister of the gospel in
the Ohio river country,
having made a preaching tour among the
Indians and the few
settlers in 1772. He speaks of Mingotown
in his journal, of
which fact mention is made in these
sketches, but he does
not state that he preached in the
county. He was with George
Rogers Clarke opposite the mouth of
Captina creek the same
year, and notes in his journal that
"he instructed what Indians
came over." He was informed here
that the chief of the tribe
located at the mouth of Captina, was a
professor of Christianity,
and was struck by the impression his
prayer made on the Indians
who heard him. It was at this place that
in the spring of 1780
several families descending the river to
Kentucky, were attacked
by the Indians and murdered or carried
into captivity, one of
the latter, Catherine Malott, afterwards
becoming the wife of
Simon Girty. Rev David Jones was a Welsh
Baptist, and dur-
ing the Revolutionary war was known as
the "Fighting Chap-
lain", and he stood beside Anthony
Wayne as his chaplain for
the Pennsylvania line. His eloquence was
a wonderful power
at Valley Forge in cheering the
disheartened soldiers. It is said
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 255
of him that he told his men "that a
shad would as soon be seen
barking up a tree as a Revolutionary
soldier turning his back
on the enemy or going to hell."
In his journal, dated Cross creek
(Mingo), Sunday, October
2, 1785, Gen. Butler, who was on an
expedition having for its
purpose the removal of squatters from
the Indian country, says:
"The people of this country appear
to be much imposed upon
by a sect called Methodist, and are
become great fanatics." He
did not state in what way the fanaticism
was manifested, unless
it be what he says in the following
sentence-"They say they
have paid taxes which are too
heavy," was in his his mind a
fanatical complaint.
In a history of the Methodist church of
Steubenville, writ-
ten by Rev. Dr. D. C. Osborne, it is
stated that "as early as the
summer of 1794, Samuel Hitt and John
Reynolds, of that de-
nomination, preached a few sermons here
amidst much oppo-
sition." It is also mentioned that
in 1795-6, Charles Connaway,
presiding elder, Samuel Hitt and Thomas
Haywood, also came
upon the site of Steubenville -
"the latter being poor, received
twenty-four pounds in Pennsylvania
currency per annum for his
services." Doddridge says in his
Notes that the "Rev. Dr.
Doddridge was the first Christian
minister who preached in our
little village." This was in 1796.
An error is made by either
one of the historians, or else,
Doddridge, being an Episcopalian,
did not recognize the Methodist
preachers as Christian minis-
ters. The circuit embraced in the
itinerancy of Hitt and Rey-
nolds included Ohio county, Virginia,
Washington County, Pa.,
and the settlements on both sides of the
Ohio from the mouth
of the Muskingum to near Pittsburg. A society was soon
formed in Steubenville and the
congregation was kept supplied.
Bishop Asbury visited Steubenville in
1803, and made this entry
in his diary: "The court house
could not contain all the peo-
ple; we went to the Presbyterian tent,
and as the Jews and
Samaritans have no dealings, I must
tender my thanks. I found
a delightful home with the family of
Bezaleel Wells, who is
friendly to our church."
In 1815, when the first conference was
held in Steubenville,
Bezaleel Wells, the foremost man in the
community, was asked
256
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
to entertain one of the representative
men of the conference.
Following the request a minister from
the Northwest, dressed in
homespun, spattered with mud, alighted
from his horse at the
mansion of Mr. Wells. His appearance was
anything but pre-
possessing, and Wells was
chagrined, for he expected to enter-
tain a representative minister. He
called on the local minister
and took him to task for his neglect to
follow out the request.
The local minister told Mr. Wells to
wait until he heard his
young guest preach the following Sunday,
which he did, and
was so impressed with his great
intellect and magnificent ora-
torical powers that he expressed wonder
that such a man should
be buried in the pioneer work in the
Northwest. The next day
Mr. Wells took the young minister to a
tailor and had him make
for him the finest suit of clothing he
could produce. This young
minister was Rev. Bigelow, noted in the
annals of Methodism as
one of the most powerful of the heroic
pioneer itinerants.
It is not certain where the first
Methodist Episcopal church
was built in the Northwest Territory,
but it is the accepted belief
that it was Holmes church, now on the
Smithfield circuit in Jef-
ferson county. This church was built on
the banks of Short creek
in 1803, on ground donated by Jacob
Holmes, who was given a
farm by the government for services as a
scout. It was of
hewn logs and had a chimney in one side,
the fire-place being
seven feet in the clear. The floor was
of puncheons and the
seats were made of trees split in two
and set on pegs. The
society was organized sometime
previously and there was preach-
ing at Jacob Holmes' house, the
Holmeses, Moores and Meeks
being members of the first society.
Three of Isaac Meek's sons
became preachers, and in this building
Jacob Holmes and John
Meek were licensed to preach. Bishop
Asbury, J. B. Finley, J.
R. Brochunier, and other distinguished
divines preached in the
old church. The old building was
abandoned in 1810 and the
creek now runs over the place where the
graveyard was, and it
is said that bodies were washed out by
the current and carried
away. Two churches have since been
erected and the congre-
gation is to-day in a flourishing state.
Eighteen hundred and eleven was the year
of revivals in
the Steubenville Methodist church, the
congregation increasing
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 257
to such numbers and power that a church
building was erected
on a lot donated by Bezaleel Wells, the
house being thirty-five by
fifty feet, it being much larger than
the room over the court
house erected in 1798, and reserved for
the religious services of
all denominations. The next year
conference was in session in
Steubenville, Bishops Asbury and
McKendree being present.
During this revival meetings were held
in Bezaleel Wells' sugar
orchard, at which "there was great
outpouring of the 'Spirit.'"
In 1814 J. B. Finley was on the circuit
embracing Steubenville,
which then included all of the present
territory of Jefferson, and
parts of Harrison and Belmont counties.
Finley, in September
of that year, wrote: "This is a
four weeks' circuit, with an ap-
pointment for each week day and two for
each Sabbath, making
thirty-two appointments, with fifty
classes to meet each round."
It was well that there were giants in
those days. He continues:
"This year the church in
Steubenville was completed and dedi-
cated. At the time of the dedication a
Bible was presented by
twelve gentlemen of the town, with the
request that a sermon
be preached from Rev. xxii, 1, which was
complied with, and it
pleased God to pour out His Spirit in a
wonderful manner.
Eleven of the twelve were
converted." This was the beginning
of the First Methodist church of which
Edwin M. Stanton was
at one time a member, afterwards
attending the Methodist
Protestant church of Steubenville.
Matthew Simpson, the ablest prelate of
the Methodist Epis-
copal church in America, was born within
the lines of the orig-
inal Jefferson county, his birth-place
being Cadiz. His parents
were Scotch-Irish and were among the
early settlers, his mother
having been reared on the headwaters of
Short creek. He was
characterized by many of the
distinguishing traits of the blood
of which he was one of the most striking
examples. But as a
boy he was uncouth, awkward, bashful and
gave very little
evidence of his preeminence in manhood.
He went about bare-
footed, without coat and his suspenders
fastened with nails run
through his waistband. He received the
fire of religious en-
thusiasm early in his career, but
attended college with the in-
tention of becoming a physician, having
changed from this pro-
ject to the ministry by the influence of
Miss Letitia McFadden,
Vol. VI-17
258
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
afterwards Mrs. Joseph R. Hunter. This
sainted woman had
come from Philadelphia and had
established the first Presby-
terian Sunday-school in the village.
Simpson, desiring to es-
tablish such a school in the Methodist
church, asked permission
of the trustees, who refused to permit
him to use the church, on
the ground that a Sunday-school would
bring children into the
church, and children would bring in
litter. The matter was fin-
ally compromised by Simpson agreeing to
sweep the church each
Monday morning, and thus he established
his Sunday-school.
This was the beginning of the career of
the Bishop whose great
mind conceived and whose master genius
carried out, the great
enterprises of one of the most
magnificent religious organiza-
tions in the world, and whose oratorical
triumphs are a part of
the Republic's history. He was sought
for advice by President
Lincoln during the trials that almost
overwhelmed him during
the darkest days of the War Between the
States, and he was the
close friend of Gen. Grant; a man of God
was he, powerful in
church and state.
Bishop Stephen Mason Merrill was born in
Mount Pleasant,
September 16, 1825, and became a
traveling preacher in the M.
E. church in 1864 and Bishop in 1872.
Bishop Merrill is prob-
ably known in a larger circle of
Methodists than any other
bishop. His work has been all in the
church and none of it in
the educational line of the church. His
earliest recollections
are of his days as a barefooted
youngster, hunting squirrels over
the hills about Mount Pleasant. He could
run faster than any
boy he knew and could jump higher than
any one in the whole
country. There was very little money in
the family purse and
it was necessary for him early in his
teens to turn in and add
his small earnings to those of the other
members of the family.
He had learned the trade of a shoemaker
and worked on the
bench with his book propped in front of
him in a homemade
rack, combining business with education
and struggling to earn
enough in spare moments to pay his way
through school.
Bishop Merrill is the lawyer and
parliamentarian of the episco-
pacy, and his book on ecclesiastical law
is the code in the Metho-
dist church.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 259
Rev. Bascum, who was one of the most
eloquent ministers
of America, was one of the pioneer
Steubenville preachers, who
went from Steubenville to Pittsburg,
from there to the eastern
cities, and when the church divided into
Northern and Southern
factions, he joined the Southern body
and became its greatest
bishop.
But the honor of erecting the first
house of worship in Jef-
ferson county belongs to the
Presbyterians. In 1798 the settle-
ment on the site of St. Clairsville
organized a church, of which
William McWilliams, David McWilliams and
James McConnell
were chosen ruling elders. At the same
time a Presbyterian
church was organized on Short creek (Mt.
Pleasant). Dr. John
McMillen, the founder of Washington and
Jefferson college, and
a pioneer minister in Western
Pennsylvania, being a graduate
of the Old Log College of the Tennants,
assisted at the organi-
zation of the two churches. In the same
year a log church was
erected at St. Clairsville as well as
one at Mount Pleasant. In
the following year a call was made out
for Rev. Joseph Ander-
son, who had been supplying the two
churches. The joint call
was placed before the Presbytery of Ohio
on April 15, 1800, and
he was installed on August 20th, the
same year. His ordination
took place under a large tree on the
farm of the late Clark
Mitchell, near Mount Pleasant, and the
honor was his of being
the first Presbyterian minister ordained
west of the Ohio river.62
It is said of Rev. Anderson by his
biographer that "he was a
man of zeal and true piety, sound in the
faith and abundant in
labors, of good presence and address,
but of moderate abilities."
After serving both churches for many
years, he devoted his
whole time to St. Clairsville.
The place where the first services were
held by the Short
creek Presbyterians was the site of
Beech Spring school house,
near Short creek. The people stood under
the spreading
branches of the primitive forest while
the minister and the pre-
centor were under an awning. The first
elders were Richard
McKibbon, Thomas McCune, James Clark and
James Eagleson.
The first building was about one and
one-fourth miles southeast
62 Rev. Dr. Milligan.
NOTE.--Ohio Presbytery was formed out of Redstone Presbytery
in 1793, and ex-
tended to the Scioto.
260
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
of the place where the organization was
effected. The building
of course was a very crude structure and
was without fire or fire-
place, as was the custom in the pioneer
days, fire being consid-
ered sacrilegious in a church, although
delicate women were per-
mitted to bring heated stones to keep
their feet warm during the
winter months. In this log house the
Presbyterians of the Short
creek church worshiped for twenty years.
A cemetery contain-
ing a hundred graves was also there, but
time has destroyed
almost all signs of it, there being but
one or two stones left to
mark the graves of the fathers who have
gone before. The old
log church has been succeeded by two
brick edifices, the new
buildings being in Mount Pleasant. The
congregation was
served by two ministers for eighty
years, Rev. Benjamin Mit-
chell, who followed Rev. Anderson,
having preached to this
flock for fifty years.
Early in 1798 Rev. Smiley Hughes
preached to the settlers
in Steubenville by appointment of the
Presbytery of Ohio and
by similar appointment Rev. James
Snodgrass preached in the
town and neighborhood in June, 1799, but
the church was not
permanently formed until this time, when
a tent was erected in
which services were held by ministers by
appointment of the
Presbytery. At about this time the
Island creek Presbyterian
church was organized and a joint call
was made for Mr. Snod-
grass, which joint pastorate he filled
until 1816, when the pas-
torate of the Steubenville church was
dissolved, and Rev. Wm.
McMillen, who had taken charge of an
academy built previous
to 1811, and who had filled the pulpit
the days Mr. Snodgrass
was at his other charge, was elected
pastor. The first church
built was in 1803, which was a brick
structure. The first ruling
elders were Thomas Vincent, John
Milligan, Samuel Hunter,
John Rickey and Samuel Meek. The other
old Presbyterian
churches in the county are, Two Ridges,
organized by Rev.
Snodgrass in 1804; Bacon Ridge in 1804;
Cross creek, by Oba-
diah Jennings, who had been receiver of
the Land Office, in
1816. The Piney Fork United Presbyterian
church was organ-
ized in 1800, the pastor being Rev.
Alexander Calderhead, a
Scotch minister of the Associate
Reformed church. He was the
pastor of the church until the relation
was dissolved by his death
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 261
in 1812. The United Presbyterian church
of Steubenville was
organized in 1810, Rev. George Buchanan
being the first pastor,
which relation he held until his death,
in 1855. He was a zealous
and faithful minister, and for nearly
thirty years supplied the
pulpits of the churches on Yellow creek,
and on Harmon's creek,
the latter being at Paris, Pa.
In 1786 the Associate Reformed Synod of
Pennsylvania
having decided that "a religious
test was not essential to the
being of a magistrate," there were
many dissenters, among them
George Buchanan, Alexander McCoy and
Robert Warwick, who
settled in the southern part of
Jefferson county, now Kirkwood
township, Belmont county. The new
religious formula created
a schism "which widened and grew
stronger until on January 27,
1801, a Presbytery was organized at
Washington, Pa., the name
adopted being 'The Reformed Dissenting
Presbytery.'" Mc-
Coy became a minister of this
denomination, and a church for
the accomodation of a growing
congregation was built in 1812.
The first minister to preach in the log
church was Rev. John
Patterson, of Pennsylvania, who filled
the pulpit once a month.
He was succeeded by Rev. John Anderson,
under whose pas-
torate a stone church was built to
accomodate the continued
growth of the congregation. Sermons two
and three hours long
were preached both morning and afternoon
by Mr. Anderson.
He was a man of great ability, but large
as the congregation
was, the building holding five hundred
people, he received only
thirty dollars per year. At the death of
Mr. Anderson Rev.
Hugh Forsythe, who defeated Henry Clay
for the presidency by
announcing to the country that he had
been on an Ohio river
steamboat with the famous statesman and
had seen him gamb-
ling with his own eyes and had heard him
take the name of God
in vain with his own ears, was called to
the charge. Rev. Goudy
was the minister when the secession took
place and broke up the
congregation, which then attended the
United Presbyterian
church.
The first Protestant Episcopal church
was organized in
December, 1800, Dr. Doddridge entering
into an agreement with
a number of persons living west of the
Ohio river, to perform the
duties of a clergyman every third
Saturday at the house of "the
262 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
widow McGuire," in what is now
Cross Creek township, near Fern-
wood station, on the Panhandle railroad,
the name of the church
then organized being St. James. The
subscription paper, which
is dated December 1, 1800, contains the
following names:
George Mahan, William Whitecraft, Eli
Kelly, George Haili-
well, William McConnell, John McConnell,
George Richey, Ben-
jamin Doyle, Joseph Williams, John Long,
Mary McGuire, John
McKnight, Frederick Allbright, John
Scott, Moses Hanlon. It
was this parish that first petitioned
the General Convention in
1806 asking leave to form a diocese in
the western country. Those
signing this petition were, William
McConnell, Robert Maxwell,
John Cunningham, George Mahan, Andrew
Elliott, James Cun-
ningham, Samuel Tipton, Alexander
Cunningham, Widow Ma-
han, Gabriel Armstrong, John McCullough,
James Foster, Ben-
jamin Doyle, William White, Thomas
White, James Strong,
John McConnell, Hugh Taggart, Richard
White, John Foster,
James Dunlevy, William Graham, and
Daniel Dunlevy, the latter
an uncle of Judge James H. Anderson, of
Columbus. All Scotch-
Irish. A church was built which was
consecrated by Bishop
Chase in 1825. Dr. Doddridge was the
rector of the parish until
1823. St. James was the second
Protestant Episcopal church or-
ganized in the Northwest Territory, the
first being at Marietta.
Long's M. E. church was organized in
1803 and is an offshoot of
the St. James Episcopal church. Rev. J.
B. Finley preached in
this church in 1813.
St. Paul's Episcopal church was
organized in Steubenville
in 1819, by Bishop Philander Chase, at
the residence of William
Dickenson, who, being engaged in
building up other parishes
in the neighborhood, gave but half of
his time to St. Paul's, but
while he was absent services were held
by Edward Wood. The
congregation worshiped sometimes in a
room over the market
house and sometimes in the building
erected by the First M. E.
church, but in 1822 the congregation
occupied an old academy
on High street until the completion of
their new building, which
was consecrated by Bishop Mcllvain,
September 13, 1833.
The first Friends' meeting west of the
Ohio river was held
in the autumn of 1800, near the tent of
Jonathan Taylor, on the
site of what is now known as Concord, in
Belmont county, five
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County.
263
miles from Mt. Pleasant. The same year
the Friends erected a
log meeting house, the first church of
this denomination in the
west, but it was not, as has been stated
by historians, the first
church of any denomination erected in
what is now Belmont
county, for as early as 1798 the
Baptists had a log church near
the site of St. Clairsville, and at
about the same time and near
the same place the Seceders or Unionists
built a log church.
The same denomination erected a church
not far from the Con-
cord meeting house in 1801.
However it is a fact that the first
Friends' meeting held by authority in
Ohio was at Concord,
which was so called by suggestion of
Hannah Trimble, a travel-
ing minister, on a visit to this
meeting. According to memo-
randa kept by Joseph Garretson, who
settled at Concord in 1801,
there had been only a few Friends in
that neighborhood up to
that time, the names of those settling
being Joseph Dew, Benja-
min and Borden Stanton, Horton Howard,
Jonathan Taylor and
others. Hannah Trimble and Hannah
Kimberly were the first
Friends in the ministry who traveled in
Ohio. As evidence of
the increase of the Friends' population
it is only necessary to
note that in 1807, a quarterly meeting
was opened and held at
Short creek, (Mt. Pleasant) being
composed of Concord, Short
creek, Plymouth, Plainfield, and
Stillwater monthly meetings.
The first meeting held in the Taylor
tent was attended only by
Taylor, wife, children, and a few
others. Meetings were regu-
larly held for worship and meetings for
the transaction of busi-
ness were established in l802
under authority of the Yearly
meeting held in the east. In 1804,
Jonathan Taylor removed
from Concord to a point nearer the site
of Mount Pleasant,
wherein was erected a meeting house, the
Stantons, Lipseys,
and other Friends having moved to the
locality from North
Carolina. The records of a monthly
meeting called Short creek,
held March 5, 1804, contain this note -
"At this first meeting
the subject of the pious and guarded
education of the youth and
the state of the schools was weightily
considered, and a committee
appointed to give the subject further
solid consideration." Na-
than Updegraff was appointed clerk,
Jesse Hall and Henry Lewis
from Short creek Preparatory meeting, to
serve as overseers. The
meeting built a house in 1806, the
structure being forty-five by
264
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
seventy feet, at that time the largest
church building in the state.
Ohio Yearly meeting was set off from the
Baltimore Yearly
meeting in 1812, previously the meetings
west of the Alle-
ghenies being under control of
Baltimore, and the first Ohio
Yearly meeting was held at Short creek
in 1813. Marriages in
accordance with the established usage of
the Friends' meeting
were frequent. On December 20, 1814, was
recorded the bans
of Benjamin Lundy, the first American
Abolitionist, and Esther
Lewis. In 1816 a brick meeting house sixty-two by ninety,
showing the rapid increase of the
Friends, was built in Mount
Pleasant, there now being two meeting
houses in the immediate
neighborhood, one at Short creek and the
other at Mount Pleas-
ant.
It was at the Yearly meeting held at
Mount Pleasant, in
1828, that the Friends of America
divided into two factions, one
the followers of Elias Hicks, adopting
the name of Friends, and
the other Orthodox Friends. The meeting
at which the sepa-
ration occurred, according to the
account written by Thomas
Shillitoe, who was present, was broken
up in a riot. The meet-
ing was held on September 6, which was
Sunday, but those who
had gathered in the meeting house,
knowing that Hicks and
those with him, had come prepared to
make trouble, refused
them admittance to the house, whereupon
Hicks and his fact
tion held a meeting in the open air. The
next day Hicks and
his friends were in the house early and
as soon as the meeting
had fully gathered, says Shillitoe,
"Elias Hicks stood up and
occupied much time in setting forth his
'doctrines.' On their be-
ing requested again and again to sit
down, the Hicksite party
shouted from various parts of the
meeting, manifesting such
violence of temper that it appeared
safest to suffer them to go
on." The next day, September 8, the
opposition to the Hicks-
ites organized door-keepers for the
purpose of preventing the
admission of the
"Separatists", who became so violent that it
was considered the better part of peace
to admit the disturbing
element. The door-keepers being removed
from service, "the
mob, headed by two Hicksite preachers,
rushed into the house
like a torrent, accompanied by some of
the rabble of the town."
The Hicksite party prevented the clerk,
Jonathan Taylor, from
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 265
opening the meeting, and even forced him
from the table, which
was broken, and Taylor injured, from
which injury he never
recovered, it being the cause of his
death. "My seat," writes
Shillitoe, "being next to the
clerk, a man63 of large stature and
bulk came over the gallery rail almost
upon me, followed by two
young men. I was on the point to leave
the house, but before
I was on my feet one of the Separatists
near me, looking up,
exclaimed that the gallery over our
heads was falling. A great
crash at this moment was heard over our
heads, which it was
afterwards proved had been produced by
one of the Separatists
breaking a piece of wood. Immediately an
alarm being given,
'the gallery is falling!' from the other
side of the house, there was
an outcry, 'The house is falling!' A
sudden rush in every direc-
tion produced a sound like thunder, and
brought down a
small piece of plaster, which raised
considerable dust and had
the appearance of the walls giving
way." Further confusion was
caused by the Friends calling out that
the alarm was false, and
mixed with their voices were the voices
of the Hickites declar-
ing that the building was falling,
although it was observed that
while the Hicksites were urging the
others to leave they made
no effort to get away from the danger
themselves. "I had no
difficulty," says Shillitoe,
"until I reached the door, where the
crowd was very great. Some were thrown
down and were in dan-
ger of being trampled to death."
"The Separatists having now
obtained possession of the house, voices
were heard above the
general uproar, 'Now is the time, rush
on!' When the tumult
and uproar had somewhat subsided, it was
proposed that we
should leave this scene of riot; which,
being united with Friends,
adjourned." The Hicksites retained
possession of the house
and the other Friends met in the open
air, adjourning afterwards
to the Short creek meeting house. The
next year the Hicks-
ites built a meeting house, but
continued to have the use of
the other two houses. The Hicksites
continue to hold meeting
in the house erected by them in the
primitive style of the
Friends.
According to Shillitoe, the turbulance
occasioned by the
63 David Burson.
266
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
attempts of the Hicksites to control the
Stillwater meeting, was
even greater than that at Mt. Pleasant.
He says: "The meet-
ing was informed before it was fully
gathered, that some per-
sons were on their way who had been
members of this select
meeting, but who had been disowned in
consequence of uniting
themselves with the Separatists
(Hicksites). On their making
the attempt to enter the house, and the
door-keeper preventing
them, they assembled on the meeting
house lot, where they held
their meeting, praying and preaching, so
much to the annoyance
of Friends that they were obliged to
close the windows of the
meeting house." The next day while
proceeding towards the
meeting house Shillitoe observed a vast
crowd of people assem-
bled; the nearer he approached the more
awful the commotion
appeared; "the countenances and
actions of many manifested
a determination to make their way into
the house by resorting to
violent means, if no other way would
effect their designs. By
pressing through the crowd we gained
admittance. The tumult
increased to an alarming degree; the
consequences of keeping
the doors fastened any longer were to be
dreaded, as the mob
were beginning to break the windows to
obtain an entrance,
and to inflict blows on some of the
door-keepers. It was there-
fore concluded to open the doors. The
door of the men's room
being opened, - to attempt to describe
the scene to the full
would be in vain. The feelings awakened
in my mind were
such as to almost overpower my
confidence in the superintend-
ing care of a Divine Protector. The
countenances of many as
they entered the house seemed to
indicate that they were ready
to fall upon the little handful of us in
the minister's gallery,
there being few others in the house.
Some of their party forced
open the shutters as if they would have
brought the whole of
them to the ground; others ran to the
doors, which had been
made secure, seizing them, tore them
open and some off the
hinges. The cracking and hammering this
occasioned for the
short time it lasted, was awful to me,
not knowing where or in
what
this scene of riot and wickedness of temper would end.
The house was very soon crowded to an
extreme, the Separatists
taking possession of one end of the
men's room and Friends
the other." The business of the two
Quarterly meetings was
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 267
then conducted as if nothing had
happened to disturb the tran-
quil mind of these peaceable people.
The cause of the division in the
Friends' meeting with the
resulting factions of Hicksites and
Orthodox Friends, was a
statement made the year before the
division, by Elias Hicks,
who was a very prominent man of
Philadelphia as well as a
Friend of wide reputation. During the
Yearly meeting at Mt.
Pleasant a heated discussion took place
in which Hicks made
the declaration that there "was no
more efficacy in the blood
of Christ than in the blood of
goats." Members of the meeting
dissented with much vigor of expression,
but he being a person
of strong force and wide influence, he
had many adherents. It
is said, however, that had he been moved
at the time to make
the explanation of his statement that
was afterwards made, the
division that resulted in much
bitterness of feeling would not
have been.
The Orthodox (opposition to the
Hicksites) divided in 1854
into what is known as the Gurneyites and
the Wilburites, the
Gurney faction taking the Short creek
house and the other fac-
tion the Mt. Pleasant meeting house. The
Wilburites held the
boarding school property built in 1836
up to 1874, when the
Supreme Court by decision settled the
title in favor of the Gur-
neyites.
After these great divisions others
followed. Abby Kelly,
a disciple of the Graham system of diet
and a spiritualist, lectured
in Mt. Pleasant in 1840 and gained many
converts in the society
of Friends to her theories. John O.
Wattles, the noted vegetarian,
also won many converts among the
Friends. He was likewise
a spiritualist and would not move a
finger without direction by
a spirit. Some of his Mt. Pleasant
converts dying, it was said
they starved to death as the result of
the restricted diet advo-
cated by him, he holding the theory that
eating the flesh of
animals was a violation of the laws of
God. His wife is now
living at Oberlin at the age of eighty,
her daughters, who were
educated in Paris, teaching music in the
conservatory. Mrs.
Wattles has not eaten meat for fifty
years and her daughters
never tasted flesh, holding as they do,
strictly to the schism
taught as a religion by their father.
268 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Another division was made by Elisha
Bates. The followers
of Fox did not believe in baptism by
water, but of the Holy
Ghost. Bates, while on a visit to the
Holy Land, submitted to
baptism in the River Jordan, and was
taken to task for this
lapse from the doctrine as promulgated
by the father of the
meeting; but he held to the ordinance of
baptism as a saving
means, on which subject he wrote a book.
This he afterwards
renounced and the copies of the book in
the hands of the Mt.
Pleasant Friends were burned with
ceremony; but he again re-
canted and in 1844 left the Friends to
become a Methodist
Episcopal minister, readopting the
tenets he had set forth in
the book, the copies of which had been
burned at his request.
He had followers in each of the several
movements, and of
course took with him into the Methodist
communion a number
of Friends. While addressing a large
camp meeting near Mt.
Pleasant in 1844, Bates was interrupted
by persons he had of-
fended by his various changes; boys even
pelting him with
buckeyes. He grew angry and declared
that he had left the
most tranquil church in the land and now
found himself in the
noisiest, extremes that he could not
reconcile. He then left the
Methodist church.
The Gurneyites are the followers of
Joseph John Gurney,
who favored evangelism; the Wilburites
are the followers of
John Wilbur, who dissented. All the
factional differences divided
families as well as the meeting.
The Friends to-day are divided into many
schisms, there
being at Mt. Pleasant, once the
stronghold of Quakers, Spirit-
ualists, Christian Scientists, Divine
Healers, and several other
schisms of like character.
The first Regular Baptist church in
Jefferson county was
established in Steubenville May 17,
1812, but two years later
the church was removed to where
Unionport now is and was
called Mount Moriah.
Although there were Catholic families in
Steubenville as
early as 1792, a church was not built
until 1832, when the foun-
dation of St. Pius church, now St.
Peters, was laid by Rev. Father
Grady, but during the interval
missionary priests from Pittsburg
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 269
made stated visits, the first of these
being Rev. Father O'Brien,
of blessed memory.
Rev. Thomas and Rev. Alexander Campbell,
father and son,
the founders of the Disciples church,
were early in Jefferson
county. In The Western Herald and
Steubenville Gazette of
September 13, 1828, is the following
notice:-"The citizens of
Steubenville are respectfully informed
that Messrs. Thomas and
A. Campbell will wait upon them in the
court house, on Sunday,
the 14th, at 11 o'clock, for the purpose
of preaching the ancient
Gospel." While the Campbells
frequently preached in Jefferson
county the records do not show that a
church society was or-
ganized before 1844. Alexander
Campbell's influence in the
Ohio river country is already a part of
history, his college at
Bethany, near the
Ohio-Pennsylvania-Virginia lines being at one
time one of the most influential
institutions of learning in the west.
The religious interests of Ross township
were early sustained
by the first settlers, among them men of
strong convictions, such
as Judge Thomas George, Henry Crabs and
Isaac Shane. Early
in the century the Old Brick church was
erected on Bacon Ridge
under the influence of the Shane
families, these families to-day
being the moving spirit in this
venerable Presbyterian organiza-
tion.
The first preaching on Yellow creek, one
of the most noted
streams in the annals of Ohio, was from
a tent erected on its
banks in Ross township. Here the Gospel
was liberated from
rising to setting of the sun, and so
stentorian was the preacher that
the Word could be heard throughout the
dale and over the hills.
Upon communion occasions, when the
service would be long and
the people had come from great distances
to partake of the holy
sacrament, a candle would be lighted
that the end of the service
might be the same evening. Ross township
now contains a
church for each six square miles, which
is to say, six churches are
within its territory.
270 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
XIX.
A Newspaper in Steubenville in 1806--The First Editor Col.
Miller of Fort Meigs Fame -All the Early Editors Promi-
nent Men -James Wilson a Pupil of
Duane of the Philadel-
phia Aurora-He Changes the Steubenville Herald to a
Whig Organ and the Democrats Start
Another Paper -Two
Steubenville Editors Start the First
Daily Paper in Pitts-
burg - Some of the Early Editors Elected to Congress.
The site of Turner Hall on North Third
street is the site
of one of the first buildings erected in
Steubenville. The old
building was erected by the father of
Col. John Miller, one of
the founders of the Herald, previous to
1800. The property was
inherited by Col. Miller, who, with
William Lowry, established
The Herald in it in 1806. This lot was
inherited by the late James
Parks, who was Miller's nephew, and sold
by him to the Turner
society. When The Herald was established
it was a Democratic
paper and the only journal in
Steubenville, afterwards becoming
a Whig paper and subsequently
Republican.
Both Lowry and Miller came to
Steubenville from Berkeley
county, Va., and both became
distinguished men. Miller volun-
teered in the War of Twelve, but afterwards
joined the Regulars.
He distinguished himself at the battle
of Fort Meigs, and was
promoted to a colonelcy in the regular
army. After the war, when
the Missouri lands were opened, he was
made land register of
that territory.
Lowry died in Steubenville in 1843. He
was a member of
the State Legislature in 1823-24 and of
the Senate in 1825-6. It
was during his last year as Senator that
Henry Clay was invited to
speak in Steubenville on what was then
known as the American
system (the protective tariff). A big
public dinner was given,
and speeches were made by Clay, James
Ross, Senator from
Pennsylvania, and one of the founders of
Steubenville, and by
John C. Wright, member of Congress from
the district. Clay's
toast was - "Jefferson County: Its
Green Hills, its Flocks and
its Fleeces." The woolen mills were
in full blast then, with market
for their product throughout the
country. Wm. Lowry was a
man of considerable ability and
influence. Besides representing
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 271
the county in the Legislature he held other important offices. He was a civil engineer, and surveyed and built the old gravel road leading from Steubenville to Alikanna. Alikanna was then known as Speakersburg, having been laid out as a town during the "boom" period of 1814. Wm. Lowry occupied the building in which The Herald was established as his office as the public surveyor and lived in the adjoining brick. James Wilson was brought here from Philadelphia by Judge Wright to edit The Herald in 1815. Wilson was a pupil of Duane of The Philadelphia Aurora, then perhaps the most prom- inent Democratic paper in the country. It was under Wilson's administration that The Herald was made a Whig organ, the name then being The Western Herald and Steubenville Gazette. A copy of the paper of date September 11, 1819, at hand, gives not the least evidence that it had an editor, let alone such a dis- tinguished man as Judge Wilson at its head. Like most papers of the early days, it was filled with foreign news many days old, patent medicine advertisements, and announcements of the local merchants, which were more numerous than now. Wilson died in a house on North Fourth street, of cholera, in 1852. Mrs. Wilson, who went to New Lisbon after her husband's death, died there shortly after the late war, and her remains lie in the Steubenville cemetery. They had seven children, two of the sons, Henry and Edward, and a daughter, Margaret, being triplets. The names of the other children were Joseph, the father of Prof. Wood- row Wilson of Princeton college, Elizabeth, James and Robert. Robert succeeded his father as editor of The Herald, but afterwards went to New Lisbon, where he died. James, while in Steubenville, joined the Fifth street M. P. church and became a preacher. He was smart and eloquent, but did not care what he said when not in the pulpit. On one occasion he had been riding horseback, and the animal getting his foot fastened in the stirrup, the Rev. James remarked to the unfortunate horse, "Damn you; if you are going to get on, I'll get off." He went from Steubenville to Cincinnati, where he became a Methodist Episcopal minister, and from Cincinnati to New York, where he died. His parents were Presbyterians, and almost disowned him for joining the |
272 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Methodist church. Joseph became a
Presbyterian minister and
moved to South Carolina. At the outbreak
of the war he was
a strong secessionist, but when things
began to get warm, he
changed his mind and made a speech
against rebellion in Charles-
ton, for which indiscretion he was
arrested by the Confederate
authorities and imprisoned.
Henry went to Columbus, where he married
a daughter of
Gen. Medary, and Edward, who was a
militia general, went to
New York.
In 1816, the year after Wilson came to
Steubenville, he
was elected to the State Legislature.
After Wilson joined the
Whig party with his paper, Frew &
Laird established, in a build-
ing opposite The Herald office, The
Ledger as a Jackson paper
on September 20, 1826. Rev. J. P.
Miller, a Seceder minister
and a Democrat, was an editorial
contributor of The Ledger,
writing a vast amount of matter for its
columns. He was a man
of great intellect and displayed much
ability as a political writer.
Samuel Frew died at Elizabeth on the
Monongahela river in
1859. Mr. Laird, his partner, went to
Greensburg, Pa., where
for many years he edited The Argus,
dying only a few years
ago at the ripe age of 90.
Apropos of Wilson's editorship of The
Herald and the chang-
ing of the paper from a Democratic organ
to a Whig organ,
a correspondent of the Pittsburg Post
gives the following incident
of the campaign of 1844:
"Jimmy" Polk of Tennessee was
the Democratic candidate,
and that great idol of the Whigs, Henry
Clay, was the Whig
candidate. It was a long and lively
campaign, big meetings being
held all over the country, and your city
took an unusually lively
interest in it, as there was a governor
to be elected in Pennsyl-
vania that year. Shunk was the
Democratic candidate, and was
one of the speakers at a big meeting
held at the foot of Seminary
hill. Dr. John McCook of Steubenville
was another of the
speakers. There were a number of stands
erected for the speakers,
and the one the doctor spoke from was
packed with his political
friends, as he no doubt believed, but
there was one exception.
On the stand was a young man, who,
unnoticed, managed to get
close to the doctor while he was
speaking. In the course of his
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 273
speech Dr. McCook charged a Mr. Wilson,
of Steubenville, editor
of a Whig paper, with having published
untruthful charges against
the Democrats, knowing at the same time
that they were lies;
and just then this young man struck him
and jumped off the
stand, and had not a horseman pushed his
way through the crowd
and got him on his horse, I believe he
would have been killed.
He was a son of Wilson. The doctor was
very little hurt, and
went on with his speech."
The Republican Ledger was purchased in
1830 from Mr.
Laird, who was then sole owner, by a Mr.
Rippey and Joseph
Cable. Cable was born in Island Creek
township in 1800 and
was of French Huguenot stock. They
changed the name to
The Jeffersonian Democrat and Farmers'
and Mechanics' Advo-
cate. Hon. L. Harper, late of The Mt.
Vernon Banner, learned
the printer's trade in this office, and
in 1832 went to Pittsburg with
James Wilson, then the publisher of The
Herald, and established
the first daily published in that city.
It was a Whig paper and
was named The Pennsylvania Advocate. The
Advocate was in
opposition to The Gazette, which was an
Anti-Masonic organ.
Mr. Cable sold The Jeffersonian Democrat
to Messrs. John S.
Patterson and James Scott, who changed
the name to The Amer-
ican Union. Mr. Cable went to New
Lisbon, where he published
The Patriot for some years, going from
there to Carrollton,
where he published a Democratic paper,
and in 1848 was elected
to Congress, serving two terms, and was
distinguished for efforts
that secured the passage of the
Homestead act, in this work
dividing honors with Salmon P. Chase,
who was in the Senate.
He afterwards went to Paulding, where he
continued his news-
paper work almost up to the time of his
death, which occurred
May 10, 1880. Although an old man, he
took a very active part
in the campaign of 1873, when William
Allen was elected Gov-
ernor by the Democrats. He was noted for
a long time as an
infidel, but he was converted in the
Methodist church and died
an ardent Christian. Patterson and Scott
continued the publica-
tion of The Union. Scott was killed
while on a pleasure excursion
to Wellsburg with a party of young folks
from Steubenville. The
publication of the paper was continued
alone by Mr. Patterson
up to 1837, when it was purchased by
Col. W. C. McCauslen and
Vol. VI-18
274 Ohio Arch. and His. Society
Publications.
Leckey Harper, who were succeeded by
Justin G. Morris. Col.
McCauslen went to Congress, as did also
his successor, Andrew
Stuart. Stuart was succeeded by Mr.
Sheridan, who, during the
war left the Democratic ranks and made a
Union party organ
of the paper, and the enterprise failed.
In 1863 the Democrats
established The Courier, which was
edited by Mr. Logan, but
it had a short life, the Democrats who
furnished the money for
the enterprise lost all they invested in
the paper. On September 1,
1865, C. N. Allen, of Cadiz, established
The Gazette, which he
continued to issue up to February, 1875,
when the office was
purchased by the present proprietors,
McFadden & Hunter.
The Herald was made a daily paper by W.
R. Allison in
1847, just after the first telegraph
line was built to Steubenville,
and continued its publication up to
1873, when P. B. Conn became
its owner, with Joseph B. Doyle as
manager. In 1897 the plant
was purchased by a company of which Hon.
J. J. Gill is the head,
with Mr. Doyle as editor and manager,
the paper being one of
the most prominent Republican organs in
Ohio, whose influence
in party affairs is recognized by the
leaders.
XX.
A Manumitted Slave Colony Founded by
Nathaniel Benford of
Virginia on McIntyre Creek-Although
Well Equipped in
Every Possible Material Manner, and
in a Quaker Neigh-
borhood with all the Aid these
Friends of the Negro Slave
Could Give, the Colony Proves a
Failure-- The Negroes De-
generate and Almost Relapse into
Barbarism -Their Weird
Superstitions, their Religious and
Political Fervor-Their
Religious and Political
Meetings-Benjamin Lundy Starts
the First Abolition Paper in Mt.
Pleasant, where the First
Abolition Convention is Held.
For many years previous to the rebellion
there were few
northern counties known so well to the
slave of the South as
Jefferson county, Ohio. He was
constantly hearing stories of
his brothers who had escaped and were enjoying freedom
through the instrumentality of the
people of this county. As
early as 1816 what was
subsequently known as the "Under-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 275
ground Railway," was organized by
people of Smithfield and
Mt. Pleasant townships, and slaves
escaping from bondage
would cross the Ohio and hasten to Mt.
Pleasant, confident that
they would receive shelter and
protection and a help on the way
to Canada. It was in 1837 that the first
Abolition meeting in
Ohio convened in Mt. Pleasant forming
the most notable and
important gathering, up to that time,
assembled to protest
against the institution of slavery.
There was also established in
Mt. Pleasant a free-labor store in which
nothing made by slave
labor, either in raw material or the
finished article, would be
sold, but it flourished only ten years.
Taking into consideration
all these other efforts to free the
enslaved negro it is not strange
that this county should contain a colony
so unique in its orig-
inal settlement and so fraught with
lessons in its subsequent de-
velopment, that it has scarcely an equal
in the United States.
A manumitted slave colony was
established on McIntyre creek
and the place called Hayti in 1829.
In 1825 Nathaniel Benford, of Charles
City county, Vir-
ginia, liberated seven of his slaves and
sent them to Benjamin
Ladd, who had come from the same county
to Smithfield in
1814. These seven slaves were placed on
a farm on Stillwater
creek, Harrison county, but soon drifted
apart, being employed
by the neighboring farmers. Mr. Benford
was a Quaker and a
man of ability. It was said he was led
to this first liberation by
the example of David Minge, who resided
near him. At the
early age of twenty-five Mr. Minge freed
eighty-seven of his
slaves and sent them to Cuba. One of the
stories which the old
women of Hayti were always telling was
about Mr. Minge dis-
tributing a peck of silver dollars to
the people on the day the
ship sailed for Cuba.
Mr. Benford could not at first make up
his mind whether
the condition of the slave would be
bettered if manumitted. But
in 1829 he gave his manumission papers
to nine families of
slaves on his plantation and provided
means of transportation
to Smithfield. He had instructed Mr.
Ladd as to their disposal
and had furnished him the means to carry
out instructions. Mr.
Ladd purchased for the emancipated
slaves from Thomas Mans-
field two hundred and sixty acres in
Wayne township, about two
276 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
miles from Smithfield. Mr. Benford had
supplied means to put
up cabins for the families and to buy
farming implements. All
this was done by Mr. Ladd in accordance
with Benford's wishes.
The heads of the original families were:
Nathaniel Ben-
ford, who took the name of his master;
Ben Messenburg, Col-
lier Christian, Lee Carter, Paige
Benford, David Cooper, Wil-
liam Toney, Fielding
Christian and Fitzhugh Washington. Na-
thaniel was sort of a chief in the
colony on account of the confi-
dence reposed in him by his master in
Virginia. By reason of
his large family he received more
property, all of which property
was divided into parcels of from three
to fifteen acres and dis-
tributed according to number of children
in each family.
The longevity of all the original
settlers has been something
remarkable. William Toney died at the
age of a hundred a few
years ago, and even when far advanced in
years was a man of
imposing stature - well-knit muscles,
capable of almost any
physical exertion. Fielding Christian
was called "Old Field-
ing," for fifty years, and at his
death, fifteen years ago, (1883)
the surviving members of the settlement
claimed that he was
over one hundred and ten. Others died at
advanced ages and in
so far as known none of the original
colonists are now living.
All of the original colonists were known
for miles around.
Many were gardners who received their
instructions from old
Benny Messenburg, who displayed
remarkable taste in laying
out flower plats and had great success
in raising vegetables. He
had a time for everything and the moon
had to be just so, to-
gether with certain other favorable
circumstances before the
ground could be broken or the seed
planted. Collier Christian
had more than a local reputation as a
cook. His face would
shine and glisten like a reflector when
he saw any one eat
heartily and heard him praise his
culinary art. Lee Carter was
a porter for a long time at the
"Old Black Bear" in Steubenville,
and told marvelous stories of the people
he had met and the
consideration paid him. Evens Benford
was a huckster. The
others were farmers, raising on their
own ground what was
necessary for their comfort and hiring
out to the neighboring
farmers for wages to clothe their
families. "Old Fielding" was
always in demand at every butchering,
many people believing
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 277
that if he did not bleed the pigs the
ham or sausage would not
brown properly when cooked. The wives of
the men were often
employed by their neighbors and often
their services were in-
valuable, owing to their faithfulness.
Upon the land given them they attempted
at first to raise
the crops of Virginia, including
tobacco, flax and hemp, but
these soon wore out the soil, and
afterwards the usual crop con-
sisted of a small patch of corn, oats or
rye to be used principally
as food for their animals, while the
rest of the land, if cultivated
at all, was worked by the women, who put
in the garden truck.
The land was of course originally
woodland to a great extent,
and had to be cleared. When this was
done their knowledge
of agriculture was so meagre and their
natural indolence so
great that much of it soon became grown
over with red brush
and rank weeds until it became again
utterly worthless for their
purposes. The negroes were satisfied as
long as they could
fill their stomachs, and the traits of
thrift and energy and faculty
for the accumulation of property for a
rainy day were so little
developed that in the course of time the
property became as
valueless as when first purchased. With
regard to the land it-
self, originally it was as fertile and
as capable of prolific crops
as any in Jefferson county. The
surrounding farms fully attest
this fact. The land had another
advantage of being hillside
land, all facing east, and taking
everything into consideration a
better location for their material
progress and future success and
attaining competency could hardly have
been chosen. Accus-
tomed as they were, to the cultivation
of the richest land in the
valley of the James river, they were
especially ignorant of any
means of fertilization and of preventing
the wear of the virgin
soil. Were the property of any value now
it would probably
be the subject of more complex
litigation than the property of
the Economite society of western
Pennsylvania. It would be
the natural result of the uncertainty of
title, the marriages and
inter-marriages of the original settlers
and the complicated trans-
fers which have already taken place.
Among the strange and curious characteristics
of the pecu-
liar colony at Hayti, the religious
fervor during "bush" meetings
and revivals certainly predominated.
Although many of the
278 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
original settlers had very little
knowledge of the Bible, what they
did know was to them during these
meetings, "like honey and
the honey-comb." The historical
personages being real men and
the entire conduct of the ancient Jews
worthy of imitation in
every respect, their faith in all
matters spiritual being unlimited,
their preaching and exhortations on some
disputed points of
modern theology were certainly unique,
if not decidedly amusing.
Their experience of struggling with the
Spirit - how they
forsook the evil of their ways and
abandoned their course of
wickedness, their warnings to the sinful
that they must crucify
the man of sin or else forever forego
the hope of salvation, were
often weird pictures of word painting.
They believed in the lit-
eral hell of fire and brimstone,
locating it often in the centre of
the earth, where all who did not reach
the city of Refuge through
a firm belief in everything their
strange and fervid imaginations
pictured, would be damned to eternal
torture and torment. The
music of the singing at the
"bush" meetings was nothing like the
brilliant noise of the present day,
irritating rather than soothing
to the nerves, but was truly an adequate
expression of their
deep and intense feeling.
Those who have never heard the weird and
plaintive singing
of a large body of negroes in the open
air can form little con-
ception of its strange beauty or
scarcely comprehend the manner
in which they throw themselves into it,
body and soul. The
hymns were those in the Methodist
hymnal, which were lined off
in the old fashioned way by the preacher
reading two lines and
the congregation singing them. But to
these hymns they added
an ad libitum chorus, each one supplying
what to him seemed
appropriate to the occasion and the
simple meter. Some of
these additions might have seemed
somewhat irreverent to the
refined, and they certainly were so
peculiar that they could never
have been suggested by any other
imagination than that pos-
sessed by the negro.
When the grove which adjoins the church
was lighted up
with torches and fires, the flickering
light cast upon the sable
and shining countenances, making them
look like beings of
another world; the pathetic sound of the
preacher's voice and
the appearance of his body swaying to
and fro in unison with
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 279
the singing words; the loud and fervent
ejaculations of the
elders; their weird music, sounding
doubly strange and
plaintive by reason of the surroundings,
all formed a picture
in the mind that cannot be eradicated.
There have been in-
stances during these meeting of members
passing into such a
state of ecstatic bliss that they fell
into a trance, remaining in
that condition for hours. So excited did
they become at times
that their emotions found vent in
dancing, and the loud cries of
the repentant for help in their conflict
and wrestling with the
flesh and the devil turned the church
into religious pande-
monium.
During the revivals in the winter season
many have been
the jokes played on the congregation.
Usually for a week after
the meeting all white people were kept
out of the church and
the doors and windows barred against
them. To get even for
this some of the young white men of the
neighborhood climbed
to the roof and stopped the chimneys,
literally smoking out the
congregation. Every man, woman and child
believed the smoke
to be a contrivance of the devil who was
after some one of them,
each thinking he was the fuel designed
for the brimstone. On
another occasion several of the white
boys stole a goose and
carrying it to the top of the church
waited for the religious fer-
vor to reach its height. An old woman of
the congregation
began praying in front of the old
wood-fire place, calling for
"de Spirit ob de Lawd to 'cend
right now." Down came the
goose and out of the church went the
congregation through the
door, windows and every other opening
they could find, confi-
dent that they had been witnesses to a
manifestation of the Spirit
descending like a dove. This would have
been considered a
miracle, attracting the devout and
believing of the colored race
to-day, had not a neighbor in passing
the church the next morn-
ing seen the windows open and the goose
quietly waddling
about under the benches, and the
illusion under which the poor
people were struggling was dispelled.
Several of the eminent colored preachers
were born there,
among them Rev. John Smith and Wilson
Toney, both eloquent
men and zealous workers in the Master's
vineyard. Those who
came from Virginia were mostly
Methodists, although the Bap-
280 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
tists were a good minority. McIntyre
creek has often been the
scene of dippings at which many
ludicrous incidents have oc-
curred. It may seem strange that none of
these negroes were
Friends, considering the benefits they
received from this relig-
icus body, but the quiet, passive way of
their worship had no
attractions for the boisterous
disposition of the negro. There
was one, however, Lucy Cardwell, who in
practice and in prin-
ciple was a Quaker, and whose piety and
patience under long
suffering were made the subject of a
long Abolition tract written
by Elizabeth Ladd.
Closely allied to the strong religious
fervor of their natures
was their superstition, a trait which
they brought from Virginia,
and which was enhanced by the belief in
necromancy and a
species of voodooism prevalent at
McIntyre long before their
arrival. Probably there never existed
people who had so strong
a belief in supernatural powers
controlling ghosts and omens as
the African race. This may in part be
explained from the fact
that like all primitive people their
imaginations were easily im-
pressed with any story having for a
foundation anything won-
derful or mysterious, and their poetic
faculty of exaggeration
would make each repetition something
still more wonderful until
finally it would be told in whispering
tones and with frightened
looks as an act of his satanic majesty.
Before the Hayti colonists had left
Virginia there were few
families for miles around McIntyre who
had not their peculiar
signs, omens and disasters to be avoided
by certain incantations
and the intervention of a witch doctor.
If they believed that
a neighbor had too much knowledge of the
black art and was
using it to the detriment of others, one
favorite way of thwarting
his designs was to draw his profile on
his barn door and shoot
a silver bullet through it. Instances of
this witchcraft would
fill a longer volume than the history of
that at Salem.
Many who laugh at the simple-minded
negro in the Hayti
settlement on McIntyre creek, would be
surprised did they know
that their ancestors frequently called
to their aid the voodoo
doctors to make their cows give milk,
fatten their pigs, or drive
away the gapes from chickens; and it is
even said that there are
now living in the county descendants of
witch doctors who prac-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 281
ticed in the long ago. Without
Christie's book64 it is impossible
to separate what was on McIntyre before
the negro colonists
came and what they brought with them,
but it did not take the
negroes long to fasten on to every
ghostly story and every
charm against impending evil and make it
peculiarly their own.
It is a fact that witchcraft was
believed in by the early settlers
of this county, but that was a long time
ago; and yet as late
as 1830 the question of witchcraft was
discussed by many of the
best people in the county. The negro was
not only more ready
to believe in the supernatural than the
pioneers, but was more
loth to give up this belief when it once
took hold, no matter
how absurd it became to the whites after
investigation proved it
false. Thus the whites would ridicule
notions that they them-
selves once entertained with much zeal,
while the negro would
cling to them until they became a part
of him. It is this char-
acteristic that makes the negro
superstitious, and he is blamed
for holding beliefs for which the whites
are alone responsible.
For a long time no wealth could hire a
McIntyre negro to
pass Oak Grove school house after night
fall, and he approached
it in day time with fear and trembling.
They claimed that un-
earthly lights were often seen flitting
about the windows, carried
by grinning skeletons and headless
figures clothed in white who
had nightly orgies, where during the day
children went to school.
They had a mortal terror of caves and
old coal banks, thinking
them the abodes of evil spirits. They
had a curious superstition
connected with abandoned coal banks.
They claimed that if a
man brought his Bible to the front of
the coal mine, built a fire
and burned it, at the same time adjuring
God, performing a cer-
tain walk, and repeating aloud a certain
sepulchural incantation,
old Nick would come out of the bank with
horns, forked-tail and
breathing sulphurous flames from out his
nostrils, and grant any
wish-with the simple provision that the
mortal soul would be
the property of hell when dissolution
came.
The negroes would under no circumstances
go out of a differ-
ent door of a house than by that which
they entered, saying it
64 A book said to have been written
about 1830 by a Dr. Christie, a copy
of which the compiler has made fruitless
efforts to obtain, giving account
of witchcraft on Cross creek. Doddridge devotes a chapter to witchcraft.
282
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
would bring bad luck. They would make
soft soap and prepare
articles of food only when the moon was
in a certain phase, plant
turnips only on July 25 and cucumbers
before daylight with no
clothing on other than a shirt, and then
walking backward into
the house. In churning, if butter did
not come as soon as it
should, a vexation known to all farmer's
wives, they would bind
the outside of the churn with a rope of
green grass or drop a
heated horse shoe into the sour cream.
If the butter did not ap-
pear after this they were not perplexed
by any means, but would
find some fault in the manner in which
the churn was bound or
in the manner by which the horse shoe
was heated.
The aged professed to be able to cure
any disease to which
flesh is heir by means of incantations
and by the judicious use
of certain herbs, the medical properties
of which they alone knew
how to extract and apply. Every autumn
they would have the
roofs of their cabins filled with
bunches of herbs and roots which
they had the fullest confidence would
work wonderful cures. One
of their teas had for its chief
component part material found about
sheep barns, and one of the most
efficacious plasters was formed
in a large measure of what they put upon
cucumber vines to drive
away bugs and worms. They had
fertilizers for the growth of all
vegetables, all of them homely and
senseless, and they were con-
stantly assuring their neighbors that
they would have no luck if
they did not use them.
Their claims of relationship to each
other is a peculiar feature,
as they recognize the ties of kinship as
far away as the forty-sixth
cousin. That they are all related some
way is probably a fact, as
they have been very exclusive in their
alliances with families of
color outside the settlement. Some of
the older members who
were rather light in color took great
pride in secretly conveying
the claim that they traced their
paternity to some of the first fami-
lies in Virginia.
Politically, every man in the settlement
votes the Republican
ticket, although surrounded by and
employed by the strongest
Democrats in the county. Next to their
religious meeting noth-
ing is of greater interest or of greater
importance to them than
political meetings. An hour before the
time for which the meet-
ing is announced the school house bell
rings and all the men,
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 283
women and children of the settlement,
together with their white
neighbors, flock to the school house.
The speaker arriving, one
of their number is chosen chairman, and
the fun begins. A
speaker not accustomed to them is
completely broken up by their
peculiar ejaculations of approval or
dissent. About sixteen years
ago two Republicans went out from
Steubenville to address the
colony on the issues. The first speaker
was John M. Cook, who
was not familiar with their
peculiarities, was dressed in a tight-
fitting suit of blue, and appearing even
smaller than he is in
stature. Hardly had he begun when he was
so badly startled
that he almost forgot his speech, by an
old darkey opening his
mouth like an alligator's and shouting,
"God bress de little lamb!"
Finishing shortly to make way for the
next speaker, the late T. B.
Coulter, who bore his three hundred
pounds very gracefully, he
was still worse put out by the
alligator's mouth again opening
and exclaiming, "God bress de lion
of the tribe of Judee."
The cabins occupied by the colony are
to-day in a miserable
condition. The land once so fertile and
admirably situated for
abundant crops is now for the most part
stony and sterile. Scarcely
any care has been taken to improve it
and almost every portion
is so overgrown with brush and weeds
that it would now be im-
possible to improve it. The descendants
of the original settlers
manage to eke out an existence upon it
and that is all.
By studying this colony one may perhaps
begin to compre-
hend the great social question that is
perplexing the whole South
-what is to be done with the African? No
better opportunity
could have been given Mr. Benford to
carry out his original de-
sign than was afforded on McIntyre.
Taken from a locality where
he was a chattel, bought and sold in the
market and worth so
much, and placed where he could acquire
property, develop the
powers of his mind, and improve his
moral condition, the course
of the manumitted slave shows no
improvement, rather a dete-
rioration.
No colony could have been better
situated, surrounded as it
was by people to whom the subject of the
amelioration of his con-
dition was almost a mania. Near the
colony Benjamin Lundy,
the pioneer Abolitionist, began his
labors. Born in New Jersey,
Lundy at an early age came to Wheeling,
where he learned the
284 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
saddlery trade. About 1821 he
established at Mt. Pleasant the
first Abolition paper ever published in
the United States. It
was called the Genius of Universal
Emancipation and was printed
on the James Wilson press in
Steubenville. He would prepare
his copy and bring it to Steubenville,
working at his trade while
the paper was being printed, then taking
the package either on
his horse or on his back, he would
return to Mt. Pleasant, where
he would distribute the papers. He also
organized the first anti-
slavery society at St. Clairsville, in
1815. He has the credit of
enlisting so able a worker in the cause
as Wm. Lloyd Garrison,
whom he met in a cheap boarding house in
Boston. Unedu-
cated and of only medium ability, yet
such was the force of his
character, that his arguments carried
conviction on every side.
Horace Greely said of him in a
biographical sketch that his was
one of the most heroic, devoted,
unselfish, courageous lives that
had ever existed on this continent. The
teachings of Lundy, the
moral influence of the Friends and the
pure democratic spirit of
the whites had paved the way for the
future success of the settle-
ment, but the members could not
appreciate all that had been done
for them, nor were they able to take
hold of their advantages.
On every side they had examples for
better efforts and they found
among all the whites hands willing to
aid them. The future of
the McIntyre colony will be no brighter
than its past.
Benjamin Ladd's association with Benford
in the colony of
manumitted slaves on McIntyre was very
close, for he was near
the ground and gave the colony much
personal attention. It was
not his fault, and it was not the fault
of Mr. Benford that the
negroes deteriorated after being freed
and given opportunity to
labor for themselves. They were given
every possible chance-
there was nothing wanting outside
individual energy and faculty
to make successful this philanthropic
endeavor.
Mr. Ladd moved to Jefferson county, from
Virginia in 1814,
and purchased from his father-in-law the
farm known as the
"Prospect Hill," adjoining
Smithfield. In 1817 he erected a build-
ing for the purpose, and commenced to
pack pork and cure bacon.
So far as is known, this was the first
enterprise of this kind west
of the Allegheny mountains. This
business proved successful
and was extended from time to time until
he had erected four
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 285
houses on the farm and one at Martin's
Ferry. He was not only
enterprising, but equally disposed to
help others. He was the
especial friend of the colored race,
assisting many in the flight
from slavery. He was a prominent member
of the Orthodox So-
ciety of Friends and faithfully served
the church as an elder, and
as clerk of the Ohio Yearly meeting.
XXI.
Some of the Hard-headed Pathfinders Believed in Witchcraft-
Witchcraft on Cross Creek and
McIntyre- Witch Doctors-
A Witch Shot with a Silver Bullet - Witchcraft Mentioned
by Doddridge.
Those who have studied ethnology with
the western pioneer
as a basis, generally arrived at the
conclusion that he was a hard-
headed, hard-fisted man, never perplexed
by superstition to the
degree of recognizing superhuman power
in his worldly fellows,
and yet there were those who believed in
witchcraft in Jefferson
county nearly a hundred years ago. This
is hard to realize, the
location being so far removed from
Salem, and especially so when
we know of the sturdy manhood and
steadfast religious spirit of
the pioneer fathers of the west. They
were men and women of
steady habits, of iron frame, with
resolution that never winced
at danger. As a rule they were adherents
of the church, and the
advanced stage of religion then
obtaining of itself would dispute
the truth of the statement that there
were believers in witchcraft in
Jefferson county, if the fact that they
did exist were not verified.
But whatever the weaknesses of the
pioneer father, we owe him
a debt that cannot be paid; he was the
beginning of the great
western empire that we have from him as
a heritage. We owe
to his memory the enduring monument that
is erected in the
minds of the sons on the occasions we
take opportunity to study
the character of the men who blazed the
forest and risked their
lives for posterity-that their children
might enjoy the fruits of
their trials and tribulations--homes of
peace and plenty. The
man who does not appreciate the sterling
qualities of the sturdy
manhood and unrelenting purpose of the
fathers does not de-
286 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
serve recognition of a worthy progeny.65
The pathway made by
the pioneer settlers was a trail of
blood, and the very fact that they
made settlements at all is evidence
enough of the wonderful force
of character with which they were
endowed; and to say now that
they were weak because there were some
who believed in witch-
craft is to deny them the very factor of
the prowess that made
achievement possible.
Rev. Joseph Doddridge devotes a chapter
of his "Notes" to
witchcraft. To the witch was ascribed
the tremendous power of
inflicting strange and incurable
diseases, of destroying cattle by
shooting them with hair balls, of
inflicting spells and curses on
guns and other things, and of changing
men into horses, and after
bridling and saddling them, riding them
at full speed over hill
and dale. Of the wizard who was also
abroad in this land in the
pioneer days, Doddridge says, they were
men supposed to possess
the same mischievous powers as the
witches; but these powers
were exercised exclusively to counteract
the malevolent influ-
ences of the witches of the other sex.
The wizard was known
as a witch-master who made public
confessions of curing the dis-
eases inflicted by the influence of
witches. Doddridge says re-
spectable physicians had no greater
portion of business in the line
of their profession than had many of the
wizards in theirs. He
says the first German glass blowers in
this country drove the
witches out of their furnaces by
throwing living puppies into
them.
In March, 1883, J. M. Rickey, of Cleveland, related to the
compiler several cases of witchcraft in
Jefferson county, the exact
location being on Dry Fork, near where
Cross Creek Presbyte-
rian church now stands, and the time
about 1800. Mr. Rickey's
father settled there before the timber
was cut, when the stock
ran out, having a very large grazing
range. Mr. Rickey said
that when a boy he heard his father and
the neighbors talk of
witches and ghosts. Even after he had
become a large boy there
were believers in witchcraft in the
neighborhood where he resided,
and that was about seventy years ago.
The two witches to which
Mr. Rickey referred were characteristic
and up to the Salem stand-
65 Macauley.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 287
ard. They were both old women-sharp
featured, skinny old
dames, who lived in seclusion, and
perhaps being in their dotage,
gave rise to the belief in the untutored
minds among the pioneers
that they were witches. The name of one
was Mrs. Daugherty
and the other Mrs. Armstrong, whose
descendants probably yet
live in the county. Of course they were
not witches, but yet as
much so as were the witches who suffered
torture in enlightened
Salem. It was the same thing in effect,
for the people believed
them capable of witchcraft.
When any one in the neighborhood became
ill, it was declared
that the sickness was occasioned by a
spell put upon him in some
uncanny way by one of the witches. The
people on Cross creek
and also in other parts of the county
were serious and sincere
in their belief in the supernatural
power derived from the devil
by old women of the neighborhood. When
it was announced
that some one was ill through the
influence of a witch, the whole
community accepted it as truth as pure
and unadulterated as
the Gospel. No amount of reasoning could
dispel the superstition.
The only way to cure the disease
inflicted by a witch, according
to the prevalent belief, was to send for
the witch doctor, Wm.
Johnson, who was supposed to possess
power to remove the spell,
whether the sick be human or brute.
Squire Day, a man who
stood high in the estimation of the
people, as one of good char-
acter and intelligence, was a believer
in witchcraft.
"I recollect hearing my father, who
claimed to be free from
the taint of superstition, and who
hooted at the very mention
of witches," said Mr. Rickey,
"tell of a case of alleged witchcraft
practiced on him. He had a very valuable
cow which took sick,
and getting down, could not rise. All
the domestic remedies were
without effect, and Squire Day and other
neighbors announced
that the animal was bewitched, and
insisted on sending for John-
son to remove the spell. Finally, to
satisfy them, and for the fun
he might get out of the incident, he
agreed to send for Johnson.
The witch doctor arrived in course of
time and agreed with Squire
Day that the cow was under a witch's
spell, and immediately began
operations to remove it. He gathered a
handful of straw, twisted
it into a tight bunch, and after putting
salt on it, set fire to it,
and after powwowing over the sick
animal, said, 'I know the
288 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
witch and can produce her on the spot.'
No one seemed to desire
the witch produced and Johnson did not
bring her to the sick-bed
of the cow; but the cow immediately got
up and began eating
the straw, which of course was
convincing evidence that she had
been bewitched and that Johnson was a
witch doctor."
Johnson did an extensive business
dispelling bewitched stock
and his presence was frequently in
demand in many parts of the
county. He was a smart Irishman and no
doubt earned a good
living at his profession.
Mrs. Daugherty was killed with a silver
bullet. It was the
accepted belief that the only way to get
rid of witches without
contact was to shoot them with silver
bullets. Hiram Haynes's
family lived in Cross Creek township on
a farm adjoining the
Rickey place, and several members of his
family taking ill, of
course it was claimed that they were
bewitched. It was then pro-
posed that the witch be destroyed.
Johnson having announced
Mrs. Daugherty as the one who had put on
the spell, one of the
Haynes boys cut a silver button off of
his grandfather's military
coat and made a bullet of it. He drew a
picture of Mrs. Daugh-
erty, and, placing it in proper range
for a target, got further ready
to slay the witch. Others went to the
cabin where Mrs. Daugh-
erty resided, for the purpose of
watching the result. The belief was
that when a picture of a witch should be
penetrated by a silver
bullet, the original would fall and
either die on the spot or be so
crippled that her powers would be gone.
Haynes discharged his
gun, and being near the cabin the aged
woman heard the report,
and, according to the watchers, fell, as
if dead, upon the floor
of the cabin. After uttering frightful
groans, she was revived
to consciousness, but not to power. She
was placed upon her
bed and died in a few days. And the good
but deluded pioneers
felt that in her death a spirit of great
evil had been removed from
their midst never more to trouble and
vex mankind. The Haynes
children recovered, and of course it was
thought as the result
of the destruction of the life of Mrs.
Daugherty.
"Billy" McConnell was a noted
character in the regions about
McIntyre creek in the early days and was
recognized as having
power to break the "spell," as
the influence of the witch was called.
When the butter would not gather in the
churn, he was called
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 289
in to break the spell, and there are
traditions that he always suc-
ceeded. When a cow would get down with
hollow horn or other
disease peculiar to cows, McConnell
would be given a chance
to bring his wonderful skill to bear.
XXII.
The First Fruit Orchards and
Nurseries - Celebrated Apples
Originated in the Upper Ohio Valley-Johnny Appleseed
Plants His First Nursery in Jefferson
County -A Late and
Correct Life of the Simple-minded
Philanthropist.
Fruit growing in Jefferson county is
contemporary with
its settlement, for as soon as a
clearing was made apple trees
were planted, thus making demand for
nurseries, which sprung
up throughout the Ohio country, the
first being planted by Eben-
ezer Zane on Wheeling Island in 1790,
and during the same year
Jacob Nessley established one opposite
the mouth of Yellow
creek, Nessley being the first person in
the west to cultivate grafted
fruit trees for sale, and on his farm
the justly celebrated Gate
apple originated. In 1814 Samuel Wood
established a nursery
in Smithfield township for the
production of improved apple trees,
while others were established in Belmont
county. From these
various nurseries were introduced such
celebrated apples as
"Zane's greening,"
"Western Spy," originating on the farm of
John Mansfield in Wayne township,
"Ohio redstreak," from the
same farm, "Bently sweet" was
first grown in Belmont county,
and the "Culp" was originated
near Richmond, Jefferson county.
The Wells apple was originated by Jabez
Smith, grandfather
of Enoch McFeely, who planted the tree
on South Third street,
Steubenville, just below Slack, about
1817. He was working
for Bezaleel Wells at the time and
planted the apple for him.
The Golden pippin was originated by
Samuel Wood, of
Smithfield, who was one of the founders
of the Ohio Horticultural
Society.
Jacob Nessley, mentioned above as the
first person to pro-
pagate new varieties of apples in the
west, settled in Virginia oppo-
site Yellow creek, in 1785, and during
his lifetime cultivated 1,800
acres, half of the land being in
orchard. There was no possible
Vol. VI-19
290 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
market for the fruit and it had to be
reduced to liquid form and
shipped to New Orleans by boat, and
consequently brandy dis-
tilleries were ever busy during the
season, and this traffic was
continued up to at least 1830, perhaps
1840. The Nessley
orchards, celebrated to this day, were
principally in apples, pears
and peaches, Mr. Nessley producing many
new varieties of all
three. His descendants are numerous,
many of them still en-
gaged in horticulture, their orchards
being on either side of the
river, the most prominent being the
Mahons, who are as justly
noted for the production of fine fruits
as was their ancestor, who
brought to bear upon his calling an
active brain and enthusiastic
interest. The late J. N. McCullough, for
years one of the most
prominent officials of the Pennsylvania
railroad system, was a
grandson. Jacob Nessley was a person of
vast and varied knowl-
edge along the line of horticulture and
was a forceful agent in
the devlopment of this science, for
science it is, and the memory
of no other pathfinder is kept green by
more abiding monument
than is that of Jacob Nessley, for if to
produce two blades of grass
where before one grew constitutes a
philanthropist, he too was
a humanitarian, for he filled the west
with fruit trees that stand
to-day as monuments ever calling to mind
the fact that he was a
philanthropist of great degree.
Johnny Appleseed planted his first
nursery on George's run
in Jefferson county, and his history
belongs to Jefferson county.
Previous to the celebration of the centennial of
Jefferson county,
Mr. A. J. Baughman, of Mansfield, Ohio,
wrote for The Steuben-
ville Gazette a correct account of John
Chapman (not Jonathan),
from which an extract is not without
interest in these sketches,
as his first halt was in Jefferson
county.
Chapman was born at Springfield, Mass.,
in 1775. Of his
early life but little is known, as he
was reticent about himself,
but his half-sister, who came west at a
later period, stated that
Johnny had, when a boy, shown a fondness
for natural scenery
and often wandered from home in quest of
plants and flowers,
and that he liked to listen to the birds
singing and to gaze at
the stars. Chapman's penchant for
planting apple seeds and cul-
tivating nurseries caused him to be
called "Appleseed John,"
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 291
which was finally changed to
"Johnny Appleseed," and by that
name he was called and known everywhere.
The year Chapman came to Ohio has been
variously stated,
but to say that it was one hundred years
ago would not be far
from the mark. An uncle of the late
Rosella Rice lived in Jef-
ferson county when Chapman made his
first advent into Ohio.
He saw a queer-looking craft coming down
the Ohio river one
day. It consisted of two canoes lashed
together, and its crew
was one man--an angular oddly dressed
person--and when
he landed he said his name was Chapman,
and that his cargo
consisted of sacks of apple seeds and
that he intended to plant
nurseries. After planting a number of
nurseries along the river
front he extended his work into the
interior of the state, through
Tuscarawas county into Richland, where
he made his home for
many years.
Chapman was enterprising in his way and
planted nurseries
in a number of counties, which required
him to travel hundreds
of miles to visit and prune them yearly,
as was his custom. His
usual price for a tree was "a
fip-penny-bit," but if the settler hadn't
money, Johnny would either give him
credit or take old clothes
for pay. He generally located his
nurseries along streams, planted
his seeds, surrounded the patch with a
brush fence, and when the
pioneers came, Johnny had young fruit
trees ready for them.
He extended his operations to the Maumee
country and finally
into Indiana, where the last years of
his life were spent. He
revisited Richland county the last time
in 1843, and called at
Mr. Baughman's father's, but as Mr.
Baughman was only five
years old at the time, he does not
remember him. Mr. Baugh-
man's parents (in about 1830-35) planted
two orchards with trees
they bought of Johnny, and he often
called at their house, as he
was a frequent caller at the homes of
the settlers. The writer's
grandfather, Capt. James Cunningham,
settled in Richland county
in 1808, and was acquainted with Johnny
for many years, and he
often heard him tell, in his Irish-witty
way, many amusing anec-
dotes and incidents of Johnny's life and
of his peculiar and
eccentric ways.
Johnny was fairly well educated; was
polite and attentive
in manner and was chaste in
conversation. His face was pleasant
292
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
in expression, and he was kind and
generous in disposition. His
nature was a deeply religious one, and
his life was blameless among
his fellow men. He regarded comfort more
than style and thought
it wrong to spend money for clothing to
make a fine appearance.
He usually wore a broad-brimmed hat. He
went barefooted not
only in the summer, but often in cold
weather, and a coffee sack,
with neck and armholes cut in it, was
worn as a coat. He was
about 5 feet, 9 inches in height, rather
spare in build, but large
boned and sinewy. His eyes were gray,
but darkened with ani-
mation.
When in Richland county, Johnny lived
alone in a little rude
cabin. When upon his journeys, he
usually camped out. He
never killed anything, not even for the
purpose of obtaining food.
He carried a kit of cooking utensils
with him, among which was
a mushpan, which he sometimes wore as a
hat. When he called
at a house, his custom was to lie upon
the floor with his kit for
a pillow, and after conversing with the
family for a short time,
would then read from a Swendenborgian
book or tract, and pro-
ceed to explain and extol the religious
views which he so zeal-
ously believed, and whose teachings he
so faithfully carried out
in his every day life and conversation.
His mission was one of
peace and good will, and he never
carried a weapon, not even
for self-defense. The Indians regarded
him as a great "Medicine
Man," and his life seemed to be a
charmed one, as neither savage
men nor wild beasts would harm him.
Chapman never married, and rumor said
that a love affair
in the old Bay State was the cause of
his living the life of a celibate
and recluse, but as such stories are
told about every bachelor,
they are generally too common and silly
to be repeated. Johnny
himself never explained why he led such
a singular life except
to remark that he had a mission -which
was understood to be
to plant nurseries and to make converts
to the doctrines taught
by Emanuel Swedenborg. He died at the
home of William Worth
in St. Joseph township, Allen county,
Ind., March 11, 1845, and
was buried in David Archer's graveyard,
two and a half miles
north of Fort Wayne, near the foot of a
natural mound, and a
stone was set up to mark his grave. His
name is engraved on
a cenotaph, or one of the monuments
erected in Mifflin township,
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 293
Ashland county, this state, to the
memory of the pioneers. These
monuments were unveiled with imposing
ceremony in the pres-
ence of over 6,000 people September 15,
1882, the seventieth
anniversary of the Copus-Zimmers-Ruffner
massacre.
About a week before Chapman's death,
while at Fort Wayne,
he heard that cattle had broken into his
nursery in St. Joseph
township and were destroying his trees,
and he started on foot
to look after his property. The distance
was about twenty miles,
and the fatigue and exposure of the
journey was too much for
Johnny's physical condition, then
enfeebled by age; and at the
even-tide he applied at the home of Mr.
Worth for lodging for
the night. Mr. Worth was a native
Buckeye and had lived in
Richland county when a boy, and when he
learned that his oddly
dressed caller was Johnny Appleseed,
gave him a cordial welcome.
Johnny declined going to the supper
table, but partook of a bowl
of bread and milk.
The day had been cold and raw, with
occasional flurries of
snow, but in the evening the clouds
cleared away and the sun
shone warm and bright as it sank in the
western sky. Johnny
noticed this beautiful sun-set, an
augury of the springtime and
flowers so soon to come, and sat on the
doorstep and gazed with
wistful eyes toward the west. Perhaps
this herald of the spring-
time, the season in which nature is
resurrected from the death
of winter, caused him to look with
prophetic eyes to the future
and contemplate that glorious event of
which Christ is the resur-
rection and the life. Upon re-entering
the house, Johnny declined
the bed offered him for the night,
preferring a quilt and pillow
on the floor, but asked permission to
hold family worship, and
read, "Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom
of Heaven," "Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they shall see
God," etc.
After he had finished reading the
lesson, he said prayers-
prayers long remembered by that family.
He prayed for all sorts
and conditions of men; that the way of
righteousness might be
made clear unto them, and that saving
grace might be freely
given to all nations. He asked that the
Holy Spirit might guide
and govern all who profess and call
themselves Christians and
that all those who were afflicted in
mind, body and estate, might
294 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
be comforted and relieved, and that all
might at last come to
the knowledge of the truth and in the
world to come have hap-
piness and everlasting life. Not only
the words of the prayer, but
the pathos of his voice made a deep
impression upon those present.
In the morning Johnny was found in a
high state of fever,
pneumonia having developed during the
night, and the physician
called said he was beyond medical aid,
but inquired particularly
about his religion, and remarked that he
had never seen a dying
man so perfectly calm, for upon his wan
face there was an expres-
sion of happiness, and upon his pale
lips there was a smile of
joy, as though he was communing with
loved ones who had come
to meet him and to soothe his weary
spirit in his dying moments.
And as his eyes shone with the beautiful
light supernal God
touched him with His finger and beckoned
him home.
Thus ended the life of the man who was
not only a hero,
but a benefactor as well; and his spirit
is now, we doubt not,
at rest in the Paradise of the redeemed,
and in the fullness of
time, clothed again in the old body made
anew, will enter into
the Father's house in which there are
many mansions. In the
words of his own faith, his bruised feet
will be healed, and he
shall walk on the gold-paved streets of
the New Jerusalem, of
which he so eloquently preached. It has
been very appropriately
said, that although years have come and
gone since his death,
the memory of his good deeds lives anew
every springtime in
the fragrance of the blossoms of the
apple trees he loved so well.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 295
XXIII.
Thomas Cole the First American
Landscape Artist Reared in
Steubenville where his Father
Operated a Wall Paper Fac-
tory --He gets his Inspiration from
the Grand Scenery of
the Ohio- He Becomes one of the Most Noted of American
Artists-A Steubenville Artist Makes Discoveries that In-
augurated Photography -Incidents in the Early Life of
Famous Artists who Lived in
Steubenville-Wm. Watkins
Related to the Howells - The First Bicycle - Famous
Jeffer-
son County Artists now Living.
Jefferson county is the birthplace of
Genius. She has given
to America some of its most
distinguished artists, as well as states-
men and soldiers, scholars and divines.
Thomas Cole, the originator of a
distinctive American school
of landscape painting, although not born
in Jefferson county, re-
ceived his first impressions and
likewise his early inspiration in
Steubenville. Contemporary with him,
William Watkins, whose
artistic genius gave him world-wide
fame, lived in Steubenville,
and the eye of his time gazed upon
remarkable sketches drawn
upon board fences and stable doors in
the village named for the
distinguished Revolutionary officer.
Cole's spark of genius manifested in
love of color, was fanned
into flame while he lived amidst the
grand scenery of the Ohio
valley and which has no equal for beauty
in the world. The
Watkinses, Coles, Ackerleys and Lewises
moved to Steubenville
about 1819. Their coming did much to
elevate the tastes of the
pioneer who had no time for cultivating
the finer elements of his
nature.
Thomas Cole's father lived with his
family in the building
now occupied by George Floto's
confection store on Fourth street.
The Beatty mansion wherein the late
Alexander and Joseph Beatty
were born, adjoined the Cole house, on
the corner where now
stands the Commercial National banking
house. The Coles were
a very cultured family, and their
influence on the tastes of the
people was very marked, and the good
impression made by them
was lasting.
296 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
They had a piano, the only one in all
the region. The daugh-
ters, Annie and Sarah, who taught a
school in Steubenville, would
play on the instrument evenings, and it
was such a wonderful
thing to hear a piano that each evening
the listening crowd out-
side would fill the street from curb to
curb and as far up and down
the street as the sweet strains could be
heard.
Thomas Cole's father was a wall-paper
maker, having followed
this business in England. On the site of
the great Hartje paper
mill stood the Cole wall-paper factory,
wherein the elder Cole
displayed wonderful genius in the
manufacture of beautiful wall
hangings. He designed the blocks from
which the paper was
printed, and it was from him that his
son inherited his genius.
Thomas, who was about nineteen years of
age at that time, was
a valuable assistant to his father, for
even then he was a colorist
as well as a fine draughtsman. His first
work was on the old
fashioned but beautiful decorated window
shades, the painting
being on specially prepared muslin. He
made many sketches of
the scenery of this region, and it is
said that portions of the land-
scape of his "Voyage of Life"
were taken from sketches made by
him on the Ohio river, the scenery being
that from Brown's Island
to Mingo.
Cole was a sedate young man, caring
nothing for the sports
of his day, and was never known to be in
any of the "scrapes"
laid to the door of his contemporaries.
He was a member of the
Thespian society which gave dramatic
entertainments in Bige-
low's brick stable at the rear of the
present site of the United States
hotel. Connected with this stable was
Samuel Tarr's pottery.
Capt. Devinny was associated with the
society as a supernumerary.
The last members of this society living
were Eli G. McFeely and
J. D. Slack. Cole painted the scenery
for the stage and became
an adept at this art.
While in Steubenville Cole created quite
a sensation by ap-
pearing on the street on a velocipede-an
old fashioned bicycle-
propelled by the feet striking the
ground. Whenever he rode on
this vehicle he would have a large troop
of boys at his heels. When
he moved away he presented his wheel to
Joseph Beatty. It was
the first thing of the kind ever seen in
Steubenville, and it is no
wonder it created a sensation, and no
one is surprised to be in-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 297
formed that the small boy ran after it
as he would after the gilded
show wagon.
Mr. Cole left Steubenville when about
twenty-five years of
age, going to Zanesville. From there he
went to Philadelphia,
where through his theater scenery he
became recognized as an
artist of more than ordinary ability.
His means were very limited
and some of his patrons sent him to
Italy where he had the ad-
vantage of a master. Returning to New
York he became famous
as a landscape painter. He was the
original American landscape
artist, his school being distinctively
American. Most of his pic-
tures were allegorical in which the
landscape was prominent as
accessory. A copy of his "Voyage of
Life" is now in Steuben-
ville, the property of the estate of the
late Alexander Beatty, who
was a warm friend and admirer of Cole.
Thos. Cole was born at Bolton-le-Moor,
Lancashire, Eng-
land, February 1, 1801, and died at
Catskill, N. Y., February
11, 1848. William Cullen Bryant wrote a
biographical sketch of
Cole and delivered his funeral oration.
Bryant says that Cole's
father was a woolen manufacturer, who in
1819 established him-
self in Steubenville, and that the boy
was employed as his father's
assistant in designing fabrics in a
print factory and in making the
blocks for the printers. This statement
is evidently incorrect,
for no printing was done in the woolen
factories. "A fine organ-
ization and great fondness for poetry
and scenery were his chief
characteristics," says Bryant.
"A portrait painter coming along
named Stien fascinated Cole, and he at
once with such rude
colors as he could command began to
paint and was soon able to
establish himself as a portrait
painter," the only thing lacking be-
ing patrons and for them he started on a
tramp. It was for this
reason, we take it from Bryant's sketch,
that he went to Zanesville.
He painted landscape sketches about
Pittsburg and established
himself in Philadelphia as a landscape
artist. He was often in
financial distress, and was ever willing
to do any sort of painting
and even ornamented furniture and
japanned ware. However,
his powers were developing and in the
work of those days can be
seen "the germ of that rich and
harmonious style for which he was
afterwards noted." In 1825 he removed to New York. The
scenery of the Hudson, says Bryant,
called out all his artistic enthu-
298 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
siasm. The pictures he painted there
attracted the attention and
praise of Durand, Dunlap and Trumbull
and from that time, says
Bryant in his funeral oration, "he
had a fixed reputation, and was
numbered among the men of whom our
country has reason to be
proud." He went to Europe in 1831,
where his success was not
marked, and on his return to America his
friends said of him that
he had lost his American spirit which
gave his pictures their char-
acter before leaving for Italy; but he
soon recovered his old-time
enthusiasm and regained the good opinion
of the critics. His
greatest picture was the one, or rather
the series of five pictures
painted for Luman Reed of New York,
called the "Course of
Empire," in which are presented, to
use Cole's own words, "an
illustration of the history of the human
race, as well as the epitome
of man, showing the natural changes of
landscape and those
caused by man in his progress from
barbarism to civilization, to
luxury, to the vicious state, or the
state of destruction, and to the
state of ruin or desolation." Many
of his works were of this char-
acter, and included "The
Departure" and "The Return," "The
Dream of Arcadia," "The Voyage
of Life," "The Cross in the
Wilderness;" other works are
"Home in the Woods," "The Hun-
ter's Return," "The Mountain
Ford," and "The Cross and the
World."
His biographer says of him: "In all
his relations of life
his amiability and generosity were
engagingly displayed, and to
those who could sympathize with his
enthusiastic and impressive
nature, he especially endeared himself.
His life was one of
singular purity, and in the latter part
of it he manifested a sincere
and unostentatious piety." Cole was
also a poet and in his
papers were found many beautiful
descriptions of his paintings
in verse of considerable merit, but none
of his literary work was
ever published. He left a son, Thomas
Cole, an Episcopal
clergyman, who was living at Saugerties,
N. Y., in 1883.
At the time the Coles moved to
Steubenville, William Wat-
kins came with his family from either
England or Wales. He
was employed as a sorter in Wells &
Dickenson's woolen factory.
One of his sons, Joseph, moved to
Coshocton, where he died;
another son removed to the wilds of
Illinois, where he married
an Indian squaw. He returned to
Steubenville in after years,
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 299
bringing with him an Indian boy who
attended school in Steu-
benville. Another son, William, became
famous as an artist.
Mr. Watkins, the father, built the house
recently occupied by
the family of Samuel Wilson on Fourth
street, and afterwards
built the house now owned and occupied
by George W. McCook.
This last undertaking embarrassed him
and he lived in the house
without finishing it. He sold it to
James Teaff from whom Col.
McCook purchased it. He removed to
Coshocton, where his
son resided, and died there. Young
William Watkins, or "Billy"
Watkins as he was called, showed
remarkable skill in sketching
while yet a boy, no doubt getting
inspiration from Thomas Cole,
of whom he was a pupil. He left
Steubenville while still young
and located in New York. Before he left
he painted a portrait
of Ambrose Shaw, brother of the late
Mrs. James Gallagher,
when he was about four years of age.
This portrait is now in
the house of Henry K. List in Wheeling.
It is a full-length
portrait and its excellence gave promise
of the artist's great
future. While in Steubenville Watkins
was employed as a fur-
niture decorator.
In New York Mr. Watkins became noted for
miniature
portraits on ivory. He went to Europe
and there studied under
one of the noted masters. In England he
became distinguished,
his ability being recognized at once,
and praise of the critics
was lavishly bestowed. Queen Victoria sat to him for a min-
iature portrait, which of itself would
give him fame.
The Howells family came to Steubenville
at the time the
Watkinses came. Joseph Howells, the
father of Wm. C. How-
ells, was a brother-in-law of William
Watkins, Sr., and conse-
quently an uncle of the artist. This
also makes the artist and
Wm. C. Howells, the editor of The
Ashtabula County Repub-
lican, cousins. The latter is the father
of W. D. Howells, the
author.
Alfred Newson, another of Steubenville's
early-day artists,
was born in the city, but spent the
greater part of his life in
Philadelphia. Of his parents nothing is
known, except that his
mother was unmarried. He was a deaf
mute. He left Steu-
benville at the time Cole and Watkins
came. In his early days
he made many interesting sketches on the
board fences which
300
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
showed the possibilities in the boy that
were afterwards devel-
oped. His faculties of observation were
very keen, and he
would see the minutest detail of an
object, retaining the im-
pression in his remarkable memory.
At Philadelphia he entered a large book
publishing house
where he devoted his talents to
illustrating as well as making the
engravings. He was known as one of the
finest engravers in
the country, and many of the books of his
day gave evidence of
his skill.
Mr. Dickenson of the woolen factory,
went to Philadelphia
some years after Newson had located
there, and calling on the
young man, had a long conversation with
him in writing. Mr.
Dickenson expressed a doubt as to whether
Newson knew him,
whereupon Newson drew a picture of
Steubenville, a perfect plat
of the ground as well as of the
improvements, not forgetting to
draw the defects in the buildings. The
drawing was so well
done and the proportions of the houses
so nearly perfect they
seemed to have been made to scale.
Another gentleman from
Steubenville called to see Newson in
Philadelphia years after.
During the conversation Newson drew a
picture of the gentle-
man's house so perfectly that is was
immediately recognized.
Ezekiel C. Hawkins was the pioneer
photographer of the
west, or rather the person whose genius
and persistent experi-
ments made the present photograph
possible, he being the first
man in the United States, and maybe the
first in the world, to use
collodion in the preparation of the
glass on which negatives are
taken.
Mr. Hawkins was the son of Rev.
Archibald Hawkins, one
of the pioneer settlers of Steubenville,
coming from Baltimore
about 1811, when Ezekiel was three years
of age. The father built
the house on South Third street, now
occupied by his grandson,
Robert C. Hawkins. The old gentleman was
a lay Methodist
minister who, during his life here, was
very intimate with Rev.
Father Morse of the Protestant Episcopal
communion.
Ezekiel Hawkins lived in Steubenville
until 1829, when he
removed to Wheeling. He was contemporary
with Thomas Cole
and "Billy" Watkins, as Mr.
Hawkins called the great artist. He
was a house and sign painter by trade,
but gave much time to
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 301
landscape painting and also did some portraiture. His land- scape work was very fine and many of the beautiful scenes about Steubenville were put on canvas by him. At the same time he gave his talents to decorating illuminated window shades, an art also followed by Cole. After he removed to Wheeling he gave most of his time to portraiture, having a camera which would throw upon the canvas a likeness of the "sitter," which the artist could make permanent with his pencil. Here he became acquainted with an artist named Lamden, from whom he received valuable instructions. Shortly after, about 1840, by correspondence with Prof. Morse, the artist-electrician, and inventor of the electric telegraph, with whom he was intimately acquainted, he learned of the famous Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerre process of picture making. Mr. Hawkins became deeply interested in the new process, and either procured a camera from Mr. Morse or made a daguerreo- type camera of the one he already possessed. He was the first person to take these pictures west of the Allegheny mountains. They were taken in the open air, the "subject" sitting for fifteen minutes with his face to the sun, and of course with his eyes closed. Although the pictures were taken under such disagreeable con- ditions they were considered wonderful by the pioneers. Shortly after Mr. Hawkins engaged in daguerreotyping he procured from France an improved camera with which he could take pictures indoors which would also represent the open eyes of the subject. To have a likeness taken indoors impressed the people with the wonderful invention more deeply than did the crude process when it was introduced. The pictures were looked upon as the greatest achievement of human genius, and it was thought that the acme of man's inventive powers had been at- tained. In 1843 Mr. Hawkins removed to Cincinnati, where with improved apparatus he continued to take daguerreotypes, and made a great deal of money, but like all men of genius he did not save his means, using them to improve his facilities and to satisfy his ambition along the line of work he had taken up as his avoca- tion as well as vocation. His gallery was the resort of all the prominent artists of Cincinnati, which city had a large share, many of whom became prominent in their chosen field. He took |
302
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
pictures of Henry Clay, whose star was
then in the galaxy of
greatness, and of other prominent men of
the south and west. He
was the first person to make
daguerreotypes in the Queen City
and of course was a prominent figure in
Cincinnati at that time.
In 1847 he made the picture of Henry
Clay which aided Hart to
model his famous statue of the father of
the tariff system known
as "protection." Clay's
likeness was taken in four different posi-
tions, the pictures being the largest
size that then could be made-
eight and one-half inches in length. The
Clay statue was made
for the ladies of Virginia who presented
it to the city of Richmond.
Mr. Clay traveled about so constantly
that without the pictures
taken of him by Mr. Hawkins it would
have been almost impossi-
ble for the artist to have made the
model.
During this time Mr. Hawkins with others
experimented with
photography, he being the first to make
pictures of this character
in the west. The first negatives were
paper, but proved very un-
successful, it being impossible to get
the proper impression on
them. The subject was required to sit
two or three minutes, and
photographs of children could not be
taken at all. Experiments
resulted in producing glass negatives,
but the albumen used was
too slow and lacking in density, and it
was impossible to procure
good prints even after a negative was
made. While others had
abandoned experiments along this line,
Mr. Hawkins, with Mr.
Whipple, of Boston, and Mr. Cowden, of
Wheeling, continued
to work at the problem, feeling that
time would solve it. Mr.
Hawkins corresponded with these
gentlemen, and the three gave
to each other the points gained as the
experiments progressed.
Mr. Hawkins was determined to invent or
discover some sub-
stance of sufficient density to make
good photographs. He knew
that such an end was possible and he
spent all the money made
out of daguerreotyping in experiments
made to perfect the pho-
tographic process.
Previous to 1847 he and Mr. Whipple
simultaneously dis-
covered that collodion was the chemical
to use. In experiment-
ing with collodion on the glass plates
they discovered that by
placing the negative against a dark
surface it made a good pic-
ture. This was the discovery of the
ambrotype, which picture was
considered by many as the very acme of
camera-portraits, and it
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 303
soon displaced the daguerreotype. Mr.
Cowden, who visited Haw-
kins at Cincinnati and corresponded with
him, being deeply in-
terested in the experiments, now dropped
his part and devoted
his energies to making ambrotypes, and
although not the dis-
coverer, was the first to put these
pictures on the market.
Mr. Hawkins, however, was not satisfied
with the ambro-
type. He wanted photographs and
continued his experiments
with the collodion until he finally
produced good negatives. The
credit for the discovery of collodion in
photography has been
given to Archer of England, who is said
to have used it in 1847,
but Mr. Hawkins employed it previous to
that year and to him
should be given the credit. The use of
this chemical, or rather
Mr. Hawkins's experiments with it, made
the present photograph
possible. There is no question that Mr.
Hawkins made the best
photographs of his time.
The first "dip bath" ever used
was blown in Beatty's old
glass works in Steubenville and was the
invention of Mr. R. C.
Hawkins, nephew of E. C. Hawkins, at
which time he was em-
ployed in his uncle's gallery in
Cincinnati. Previous to this time
what is known as the silver bath into
which negatives were dipped,
was poured into a dish, in which the
negatives were placed with
the fingers. This was a very crude
process, many negatives being
ruined by lines across them if the whole
plate did not come in con-
tact with the silver instantaneously.
Mr. Hawkins's dip bath was
the forerunner of the present porcelain
bath.
E. C. Hawkins and Billy Watkins were
warm friends, and
when Watkins returned from Europe in
1852 he located in Cin-
cinnati, selecting a studio adjoining
Mr. Hawkins's gallery. He
continued to paint miniatures, and
colored photographs for his
friend as well, making wonderful success
in his art. He never
permitted any one to look at his
paintings from points selected
by the spectator himself. He always
fixed with his eyes the point
from which his work was to be inspected,
never taking into con-
sideration the fact that some eyes could
see objects at a greater
distance than others. He would request
his visitor to turn his
back to the picture. He would fix
himself at such distance and
in such position as to get the proper
effect to be impressed by
his work, then he would have the
spectator back up to this point,
304 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
place him in his own position, and give
command for him to
turn around. Mr. Watkins died in
Cincinnati.
Ezekiel Hawkins died in 1862 after he
had gotten himself in
position to reap the material benefits
of the experiments which
had cost him several fortunes. Although
crippled by rheumatism
and suffering intense pain, his
fortitude bore him up, and he
worked with that enthusiasm which is
born of genius to reach the
point he had started out to attain.
Ezekiel's brother, William Hawkins,
father of R. C. Haw-
kins, was also an artist of great
ability, his work being along the
line of portraiture rather than
landscape. Mrs. E. C. Dohrman
has in her possession a photograph from
a portrait of Mrs. D. L.
Collier painted by him in 1835, and he
painted a portrait of Mrs.
Thos. Hoge, nee Spencer, an aunt of T.
P. Spencer, and of E.
Slack. This portrait is now in
possession of eastern relatives.
Mr. Hawkins, Sr., was a decorative
artist, his talent being in de-
mand by the manufacturers of fine stage
coaches and carriages,
all the panels of the bodies being
beautifully decorated by means
of the brush in his skilled hands. R. C.
Hawkins still has in his
residence two pipe organs built by his
father before he had ever
seen an instrument of this nature;
making everything in the in-
struments with his own hands. The tone
was all that could have
been desired and withal the instruments
were almost perfect. All
his work manifested wonderful genius and
it is said of him that
he could produce almost anything that
could be produced by
hand.
Alexander Doyle, the noted sculptor,
whose work adorns
many American parks as well as the
statue gallery in the United
States capital, is a native of
Steubenville, as is also James Wilson
McDonald, whose works of art are well
known. So is E. F. An-
drews, who has painted the best
portraits of Jefferson, Martha
Washington, Dolly Madison and Robert E.
Lee, but all these
are modern and these sketches are only
of the achievements of
the pathfinders.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 305
XXIV. Military Record- Sortie at Fort Meigs -Judge Tappan Equips Jefferson County Soldiers for the Second War for Independ- ence-Mexican War-The War Between the States-The McCooks. The gallant service performed by Jefferson county men in the War Between the States is a proud record in the county's history. They saw hard service in every battle from Bull Run to Appomattox. Jefferson county gave to the country the great War Minister, whose name is burned into the memory of all Americans. Jefferson county could rest her honor on the ser- vice of this one man and be sure of an exalted place in the pantheon where heroes live forever. But Stanton is not all. Jefferson county gave the noble Webster, the heroic Shane, and the brave McCooks, father and three sons with hundreds of other heroes as blood sacrifice to a cause which her people be- lieved to be right. Not in the history of any other war is recorded that two brothers gave to service of a cause the soldiers given to the Federal armies by Major Daniel and Dr. John McCook, both of Pennsylvania Scotch-Irish stock, both men of noble bearing and patriotic spirit. Of the major's family there were in ser- vice the father, Maj. Daniel, Surgeon Latimer A. McCook, Maj. Gen. Robert L. McCook, Maj. Gen. A. McD. McCook, Gen. Daniel McCook, Jr., Maj. Gen Edwin Stanton McCook, Private Charles Morris McCook, Col John J. McCook, Col. Geo. W. McCook. Of this family Midshipman J. James McCook, died in the naval service before the rebellion, ten in all. The father, Charles, Daniel, and Robert were killed. Of the Doctor's family there were in the service Maj. Gen. Edward M. McCook, Gen. Anson G. McCook, Chaplain Henry C. McCook, Commander Roderick McCook, U. S. N., and Lieut. John J. McCook, five in all, and none killed in the service. Gen. John Sanford Mason, who died November 29, 1897, in Washington, D. C., was born in Steubenville, August, 1824. He was educated at Kenyon college and at West Point where he Vol. VI-20 |
306
Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
graduated in 1847, and was assigned to
the Third Artillery.
Gen. Mason served in the Mexican War and
through the Civil
War and was retired August 21, 1888, at
which time he was
colonel of the Ninth Infantry, U. S. A.
He received successive
promotions during the War for the Union
for gallant and mer-
itorious services at the battles of
Antietam and Fredericksburg
and in the field generally, and at the
close of the war was bre-
vetted brigadier general in the regular
army, advancing from
the rank of first lieutenant, which he
held in the spring of 1861.
Jefferson county having been settled
largely by soldiers of
the Revolutionary war and their
descendants, it was natural that
it should furnish a large quota of
soldiers for the Second War
for Independence, in which war several
of the most important
battles were fought on Ohio soil. A
regiment composed of
fourteen companies was organized and in
the front, the number
of men being one thousand and
sixty-five.
The cannon balls used in the Battle of
Lake Erie, won by
Oliver Perry, who was a Scotch-Irishman
of New England stock,
his mother being an Alexander, whose
great force of character
was recognized at the time in the fact
that the victory of her
son was called Mrs. Perry's victory,
were made in a crude fur-
nace by a Scotchman named Grant, near
Steubenville, but on
the east side of the river, and were
conveyed to the lake on
pack-mules.
Col. Miller, who was then editor of the
Steubenville Herald,
commanded the sortie that rushed out of
Fort Meigs and won
one of the greatest victories of the war
by picking off the British
gunners and driving files into the
touchholes of the British can-
non, the most daring achievement of the
war, unless we admit
the brave and gallant defense of Fort
Stephenson by Col.
Croghan manifested more valor.
Senator Tappan took a very active part
in this war, which is
related by Col. W. W. Armstrong in his
sketch of this noble
citizen of Jefferson county. Tappan was
an aid to Gen. Wads-
worth, and in 1812 received an order by
express on August 2,
giving an account of Hull's surrender at
Detroit, with the intel-
ligence that the British and Indians
were advancing in force
down the lake, committing great
depredations and directing him
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 307
to muster the men composing the brigade
in Jefferson and Har-
rison counties and march with all
possible dispatch to Cleveland.
The order was received on a Sunday
morning and notice was
given to the soldiers to rendezvous at
once at Steubenville,
armed and equipped for service. The men
came, but many with-
out arms, accouterments or camp
equipage. Tappan went to
work to provide for them by collecting
arms and employing gun-
smiths in repairing them, purchasing
sheet iron and setting tin-
ners at work to make camp kettles and
collected ammunition
and provisions for a forty days'
service. On Friday after receiv-
ing the order he marched out of
Steubenville with his men and at
Canton he met the militia under Gen.
Beall and immediately
pushed on to Cleveland, leaving the
troops under Col. Andrews
to move on to Mansfield and from there
to Sandusky. Tappan,
in the capacity of aide-de-camp to Gen.
Wadsworth, drew up all
the dispatches and supervised all the
contracts for subsistence.
He acted as judge advocate in the case
of Gen. Beall, tried for
disobedience of orders, but Beall was
acquitted. Gen. Wads-
worth resigned his command and Mr.
Tappan returned home
with him.
Steubenville furnished a company, with
Geo. W. McCook
as captain, for the Third regiment, in
the War with Mexico, in
which service Capt. McCook was promoted
to lieutenant colonel
of the regiment.
XXV.
The Fitz Green Halleck-Abbie Flanner
Flirtation-Albi Cottage
in Mt. Pleasant-The Poem-Letters
Written by the Two
Gifted Lovers - But they Never Met.
Perhaps the most interesting love
episode in the annals of
Jefferson county, was the leap-year
flirtation of Abbie Flanner,
a teacher in Friends seminary at Mt.
Pleasant, and Fitz Green
Halleck, the poet. The beginning was as
if directed by Divine
inspiration, the ending so full of
pathos that the most austere of
the staid Quakers of the village must
have been moved to tears by
the manifestation of fortitude by this
woman of genius, whose
sense of honor was so strong, that
although she loved him, it
would not permit her to entertain the
advances of one of America's
308 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
greatest poets because she herself, in a
jest, had opened the way
for a proposal. The story was first
given to the world by James
Grant Wilson, the Scotch-American
author, in his Life of Fitz
Green Halleck.
Miss Flanner was the daughter of a
Quaker preacher who
was of the colony from North Carolina.
The cottage in which
they lived was christened "Albi
Cottage" by Miss Flanner, and
still stands near the Friends' meeting
house, but it is not now, as
when she lived, embowered in vines and
flowers-when she set
the heart of the bachelor poet aglow
with the warmth of love by
the fire of her genius. She was not a
beautiful woman; those
who knew her say she was very homely,
but was possessed of a
superior mind and her intellectual
qualities, her brilliancy, her
marvelous conversational powers, made
her the very queen of
the circle in which she moved. The
beginning of the story that
had such a pathetic ending, was a
challenge at a leap-year party
held in the village as the year 1835
passed into the nevermore.
During the merrymaking it was suggested
that the ladies present
avail themselves of the leap-year
privilege and open correspond-
ence with men noted in literature, among
the named being Fitz
Green Halleck. As if moved by supernatural influence, Miss
Flanner left the party and ran rapidly
over the snow that glis-
tened in the moonlight, to Albi Cottage,
where without a mo-
ment's hesitation she wrote the
proposed letter in rhyme, and
sent it by post to Halleck:
NEW YEARS NIGHT.
THE MERRY MOCK-BIRD'S SONG.
O'er fields of snow the moonlight falls,
And softly on the snow-white walls
Of Albi Cottage shines;
And there beneath the breath of June
The honeysuckles gay festoon
And multiflora twines,
And forms a sweet embowering shade,
Pride of the humble cottage maid,
Who now transformed and bold,
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 309
Beneath the magic of a name,
Those equal rights presumes to claim,
Rights urged by young and old.
And who is she, to fame unknown,
Who dares her challenge thus throw down
Low at the feet of one
Who holds a proud, conspicuous stand
Among the magnates of the land,
The Muse's favorite son?
As when she roamed, a careless child,
To pluck the forest blossoms wild,
Oft climbed some pendant brow
Or rock or cliff, to gather there
Some tempting flower that looked more
fair
Than all that bloomed below.
So now, like Eve in paradise,
Though numerous offerings round her rise
Of love and friendship bland,
With many a sober blessing fraught;
Would give them all for one kind
thought,
One line from Halleck's hand.
Like that fair plant of India's fields
That most when bruised yields
Its fragrance on the air,
Such is the heart I offer thee,
Pride of my country's minstrelsy!
Oh, is it worth thy care?
She signed this Ellen A. F. Campbell,
including her own
initials in the name of Scott's Lady of
the Lake. With what rest-
less anxiety she awaited the slow mail
none but a woman's heart
can know. But at last the hoped-for
packet came, inclosing the
following poem:
TO ELLEN.
THE MOCKING BIRD.
The Scottish border minstrel's lay,
Entranced me oft in boyhood's day:
His forests, glens, and streams,
Mountains and heather blooming fair;
A Highland lake and lady were
The playmates of my dreams.
310 Ohio
Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Years passed away, my dreams were gone;
My pilgrim footsteps pressed alone
Loch Katrine's storied shores;
And winds that winged me o'er the lake
Breathed low, as if they feared to break
The music of my oars.
No tramp of warrior men was heard;
For welcome song or challenge-word
I listened but in vain:
And moored beneath his favorite tree,
As vainly woo'd the minstrelsy
Of gray haired "Allen Bane."
I saw the Highland heath-flower smile
In beauty upon Ellen's isle;
And couched in Ellen's bower.
I watched beneath the lattice leaves,
Her coming, through a summer eve's
Youngest and loveliest hour.
She came not: lonely was her home;
Herself of airy shapes that come,
Like shadows to depart,
Are there two Ellens of the mind?
Or have I lived at last to find
An Ellen of the heart?
For music like the borderer's now
Rings round me, and again I bow
Before the shrine of song,
Devoutly as I bowed in youth;
For hearts that worship there in truth
And joy are ever young.
And well my harp responds to-day,
And willingly its chords obey
The minstrel love's command;
A minstrel maid whose infant eyes
Looked on Ohio's wood and skies,
My school book's sunset land.
And beautiful the wreath she twines
Around "Albi Cottage," bowered
in vines,
Or blessed in sleigh-bell mirth;
And lovelier still her smile that seems
Bid me welcome in my dreams
Beside its peaceful hearth.
The Pathfinders of Jefferson County. 311
Long shall I deem that winning smile
A mere mockery, to beguile
Some lonely hour of care;
And will this Ellen prove to be,
But like her namesake o'er the sea,
A being of the air?
Or shall I take the morning's wing,
Armed with a parson and a ring,
Speed hill and vale along;
And at her cottage hearth, ere night,
Change into flutterings of delight.
Or (what's more likely) of affright,
The merry mock-bird's song?
With this poem was the following letter:
NEW YORK, February 29, 1836.
Dear Miss Campbell:-Were it not that the delightfully flat-
tering lines with which you have favored
me date "Bissextile,"
I should have taken post-horses for Albi
Cottage immediately
on receiving them. As it is, I thank you
from my heart for your
merry mocking bird song. Though they did
not seriously in-
tend to make me a happy man, they
certainly have made me a
very proud one. I have attempted some
verses in the style of
your own beautiful lines, and hope you
will laugh gently at their
imperfections, for they are the first,
with a trifling exception, that
I have written for years. Would they
were better worthy of their
subject! A new edition of the humble
writings which have been
so fortunate to meet with your
approbation has recently been
published here. It is, to use the
printer's phrase, "prettily gotten
up." Will you pardon the liberty I
take in asking you to accept
a copy from me, in consideration of the
beauty of the type and
the vastness of its margins, and may I
hope for a return to this
letter, informing me by what conveyance
I can have the honor
of forwarding it to you?
I am, dear Miss Campbell, very
gratefully, or if you are in
good earnest, as I very much fear you
are not, I am, dearest Ellen,
Very affectionately yours,
FITZ GREEN HALLECK.
Miss Flanner replied to this letter at
great length, in which
she kindly thanked him for the tender of
his book, saying that
"eager expectation stands tiptoe on
misty heights of the blue
312 Ohio Arch. and His. Society Publications.
Ohio, to hail its approach." In
closing the letter she said that
when he is in "fashion's crowded
hall," or listening to the "tramp
of deathless fame," she would claim
one thought.
"But when the busy crowd is gone,
And bright on the western sky
The changeful sunset hues are thrown-
Oh! wilt thou thither turn thy eye
And send one gentle thought to her
Whose spirit ever turns to thine,
Like Persia's idol worshipper,
Or moslem to his prophet's shrine?"
"The correspondence continued
throughout the year," it is
learned from Wilson's account of the
flirtation, "growing more
and more interesting. The gay badinage
ceased, and was suc-
ceeded by earnestness on both sides.
Though still preserving
her incognita, and shielded by her
assumed name, we find the
lady growing timid as the poet grows
ardent in his protestations
of admiration and esteem. At one time
she says, 'Every step I
have made in your acquaintance has
increased my timidity. With
a reckless laugh I flung my first
offering on the current of acci-
dent, little thinking it would bring me
back tears and smiles,
anxious thoughts and fevered dreams.'
Toward the end of the
year she intimates that the terms of her
privilege will soon expire
and that the correspondence must close.
The poet replies, urg-
ing its continuation, and speaks of the
happiness it has afforded
him, and the desire to know her
personally. To this she replies:
'I certainly did suppose I had written
to Mr. Halleck for the last
time; but you know before I confess that
I am too happy to be
convinced by your profound logic, that
it is not only my privilege
but my duty to respond. Your witty
assumption of your exten-
sion of privilege has delivered my
woman's pride from the bastile
of a word, for whose adamantine bars,
perhaps, I have not shown
a proper respect.'
"After the interchange of a few
more letters the poet an-
nounces his intention of seeking the
home of his fair correspond-
ent, and meeting face to face the lady
whom, as 'Ellen Campbell,'
he had learned so highly to esteem. This
proposal filled Miss
Flanner with dismay. Remembering she had
commenced the ac-
The Pathfinders of Jefferson
County. 313
quaintance, she reflected that a tacit
agreement to the poet's wish
would place her in the character of a
wooer. An ardent admirer of
Halleck's poems, nothing could have
afforded her more pleasure
than to have met him, but under the
circumstances she felt that
she must not encourage his coming. Her
reply was posted at
Washington, whither she had sent it in
care of a relative and to
that address the poet's subsequent
letters were sent.
"She absolutely refused him a
personal interview, and suc-
ceeded in eluding his attempts to find
her. She felt that with
an interview all the illusion would
vanish; that he, who had been
accustomed to the flatteries and
attentions of the high-born and
high-bred and jeweled daughters of
fashion, in their gorgeous
robes and magnificent palaces, could not
tolerate her plain Quaker
simplicity and lowly surroundings, and
she-all unwisely-pre-
ferred that he should be her idol at a
distance, that she loved to
worship, and she to him an 'Ellen of the
mind'-'A being of the
air.' They never met."
Miss Flanner afterwards married a Mr.
Talbot and resided
in Mt. Pleasant for years, but at her
death, September 9, 1852,
she lived in Parkersburg, W. Va., but
her remains lie buried in
Short Creek meeting house graveyard. No
stone marks her last
resting place.
Miss Flanner's brother, Dr. Thomas
Flanner, during the
prevalence of cholera in 1832, was
practicing medicine in Barnes-
ville, and being near the scene of the
ravages of the disease, was
sent by the state to Wheeling to
investigate with the view of dis-
covering its cause. He fell a victim,
and his remains were in-
terred in the old Quaker graveyard in
Mt. Pleasant. His
brother William, also a physician,
erected a marble monument
eight feet in height over the grave, but
the committee having the
graveyard in charge tore it down in the
night season by force,
it being a rule that no monument should
be erected higher than
eighteen inches, and of no more costly
material than sandstone.
The doctor replaced the monument, and it
was again thrown
down by force. He erected it the third
time and placed armed
watchmen in the graveyard, and the
monument stands to this
day.
THE PATHFINDERS OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.