AUTO-SKETCH OF CHARLES WILLIAMS.
[Charles Williams was the first white
settler - so claimed - in what
is now the city of Coshocton. Mr.
Williams settled there in the spring
of 1800, the town being laid out the
next year. For a season or two
prior to his locating at Coshocton, Mr.
Williams had grown a crop of
corn on "the prairie" four
miles up the Walhonding River. Mr. Wil-
liams was a typical pioneer, and his
sketch written by himself is of special
interest because giving not only
glimpses of the early life of those days,
but of the average education of the
early settlers. This reminiscence
was written by Mr. Williams in an old
account book in the year 1831
and was copied by James R. Johnson, of
Coshocton, from the original
manuscript now in the hands of Joseph
Mizer of Bloomfield, Ohio. The
article as herewith printed gives the
spelling, punctuation, and capitaliza-
tion of the original manuscript. The
words in brackets being interpola-
tions of the- EDITOR.]
Charles Williams is 67 yars last October
16 1830. October
1779 stared from fiten [fifteen] mill [mile] Creek in Marland
Crost the monten barfooted Cam to plas Calend brush run 7
mills west of now Cald Washanten town
thar I staid under my
fathers Control in the sprink of 1781
the ingens tok a famly and
kild som about one mill off in the sam
spring my father moved
to Cox fort thar I lived hard biled
wheat and Corn in slats
homney in the fall lived very will on
Cashaws and punkens and
milk gord Cupes horn spouns or wood
ingens kilen and taken all
most evey weak som bodey I then beCam
abiel to Carey a gun
foled [followed] nothing god [good] was
not thout of hardly
In 1783 I went in the Countery with my
father on Cross
Crek 3 mills [from] the fort in a short
tim I beCam a hunter
kild bars and dayar [deer] and every
other thing all most afer
som tim I went to my self the ingens
kild one yanky in my haring
then wee rased about 20 man and foled
[followed] them and
over hold [overhauled] the ingens in
Suger Creek pans [plains]
at the moth [mouth] that I kild one I
think and wee got the
Whit mans bibel and a dead [deed] for
som land went hom saife
I think the yare 1784 Crost the river
when I under stand that
372
Auto-Sketch of Charles Williams. 373
thar was but eight man parsons in the
stat of Ohio after som tim
I engaged in the rangen bisnes
then very trublsom tims lived hard but
ease [easy] then
I [was] mared to a garl Susana Carpenter
I had to steel hur
a way and wee was pour [poor] onabel to
get lisens fer w[a]nt
of mony but all Cam right thar was a
jestes of the pes [peace]
in virginy and hee agead to mary mee for
a buck skin and we
went over the river in Ohio thar wee got
mared on a big roCk
in the woodes som barfooted went hom had
a fine dans breeCh
Clout and som barfooted then nothing but
a wyfe then wee and
my fren [friend] went to the wodes and
dug gensang and bout
[bought] som small housel [household]
funtery [furniture] and
lived hapey
Then I bored [borrowed] a old Cors
bentiCk [bedtick]
and shee fild it with Cut huskes as wee
was young you mout of
hard it som small distens
in the next winter I lost my mare by
Caring a havy lod of
meat then nothing but my gun and dang
then moved over the
river in Ohio in the yare 1787 I
think then in the rangen bisens
[business] foled [followed] the ingens
and hunted for a liven
Severl yars all hapey very trulsom tims
with the ingens I
lived at a plas Caled Carpenters Stashen
I mill of Short Creek
wee had fine tims nothing to doy but
dans and ete homney and
gard our selves then after som yars I
thout I wold quit all and
goy [go] to work and went down the river
to plas Cald man-
Chaster in this stat and thout I wold
werk fer my livn and
begun to werk to rase a Crop but not ben
thar long on till a
party of man Com thar going after som
prisners that was taken
on salt (?) river in CantuCk about
thirty wiman and Children
nothing wold doy but I must goy with
them and at last a gred
to goy with them and went and the sebent
day fell in with a
party of ingens and ataCked them and
kild purhapes three I
think I shout one and hee was a wyt man
raised with the saveges
from a child and was going to wer [war]
then to the moth of
Siothe [Scioto] to tak bots [boats] to
get propety and kill the
pepel as hay had taken many boats thar
in the abov ataCk
I lost one man kiled fell agenst mee the
name of Joseph Jones a
374
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publication.
a fine solger 4 of our party thout w[e]
wold run in the Camp
with our horsus and tomhCks [tomahawks]
and did so and lost
Jones it was in the night Jon[e]s was
not yit out of breth when
I left him but wee had to run fer our
one [own] safty as wee
thout thar was som more ingens near by
sur a nuff it was so
and returnd hom thout still to qu[i]t
but in short tim the engens
tuCk three horses from me then my
ambashen was raised aganst
them and started with the survars
[surveyors] that was going
to survay the vurgina millary land be
end siothe [Scioto] and
laid out with ot fiar [fire] I think
sixty oud nites with one
blanket the grater part of the tim snow
Cook Cuper [supper]
night gether brush keep a way the snow
and lay my brush or
bark as it wase open my b[l]anket and
put on dry sokes and
moCksens thar sleep very will about half
sound expeten what
mit fall on us that night
Afer being out fer som tim we met a
ingen in the wodes
as the survar was runen a line and the
ingen run of and wee
getherd to gether all our fors wiCh was
I think 21 most part
young lades puhapes ten or a II with
guns in the morning after
breCkfest wee started with intant to
serch the Camp but mist
it a litel but fall on thar trail found
it to meny for us our
Compnay very mush a larmed on the Count
of the young lades
thenel Masay [Nathaniel Masey] was with
us he Wod not
agree to lut us ataCk them then still I
was put before went about
tow mills thar wee found a trayl of
about 8 ingens I told Masey
that wee wold folow them as thay went
our Cours then he tuCk
the care [ ?] to push up fer fair of
what was bee hind at soun
down wee Cam whar the ingens was
Ca[m]ped fer the night
we soon got ther horses CeChed up and
wated on till dark then
mee and 4 more was to atak the Camp
Creted [crept] up within few feet and
fiard on them kiled
two the rest run of all but naChed wee
went fast fer horn fer fare
of what wee had past that day wee went
about 4 mills thar had
[staved] all nit and Cooked and eat then
fer horn kild two
baflows got horn next day All saif lived
with out bread then I
thout I wold goy with Antny Wayen
[Anthony Wayne] and
started got with him at Sansnata
[Cincinnati] ther I was giv 2
Auto-Sketch of Charles Williams. 375
dollars a day fer to goy about 12 mill ot [out] to
tak Car of Catel
fer the yeus of the army very dangers fe
far of the ingens as
thay was plenty waChen the army after
som tim I got werd from
hom that my wyfe was very seCk and went
horn then I was
ofered one hundred and fifty dollars to
tak a man by the nam
of William MCdanel [McDaniel] left his
bad in Washanten
County range narly three hundred mills
up the river in the ded
of winter river high got him thar saif
dangers tims eat posems
and rakoons meat after som tim returnd
horn found my wyfe
very low in the spring moved to peas of
land whiCh I had
bout on brush Creek with a famly with
mee by the name hogland
and he did [died] a short tim after then
I moved baCk in the
statshen when wee was at the land it was
very dangers [danger-
ous]
After som tim I moved up the river whar
I Cam from Car-
pnters Stashon Short Creek then had
money 2 horses then fees
with the ingens I thout I wold pay them
up fer what dameg thay
had dun to mee steling horses and foling
[ following] thee menmy
mills went out to New Cumars town thar I
and 3 more parsons
fell in with 30 or 40 ingens giv them a
small Cagg of whiskey
and keep one to trad on thay got putery
[pretty] high soon and
Cam to tak my bread and got hold of the
bagg and run but I
soon over hald him and tuck it way from
him soon after they
Com to get more whisky and I sold them
for one dollar a quart
I third water
Then I was paying them up in 2 or 3 day
I got dun traden
and went hom in fin hart thinken what I
wold doy next trip
soon started out with severl horses
loded with artlehles fer trad
one horse lode with whiskey as it wold
make nearly 2 hors lodes
Com to the Camp plenty of ingens thar
hungery fer trad I
mad a good trad fer my self thar I found
a man one named
robart higguns and the inguns and mee
got a old woman willian
to marey him then the buckes foot [bucks
foot] and corn was
handed about and the mareg was over wee
put them to bed on a
bar skin then I started home mad a good
trad tuck som ingens
with mee Cam hom my father and law had
been taken.prisner
and wonded [wounded] very angry at them
hard work to save
them but did it sold of my trad very well
and lived high plad
376 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Cardes pines and run horses spent it as
fast as I mad it but tuCk
good Car of my famley som tims I layd
sporting with in six mills
all weak spend all spent a gan in the
spring I tuCk my brouthern
law with mee tuCk plenty of trad seshily
[especially] whiskey
as it was good trad that wold sell when
Cash and all skins was
gon fer the leest of Clothen full of
lyse wash them up seel them
agan to them that had skins then the
ingens got very troublsom
wanted to tak my whisky and I fout fer
it and Carpnter left
mee a lone hard tims but savd my propety
had none taken but
hard work to save it
in a few days sold all out get sobert
and I pint fer hom
about fiften or twenty went horn with
mee then I begun to un-
derstand them a litel mad trad esery fer
mee I traded eight yars
with them and my wyfe under stout them
before I was dun trad-
ing
Then after som tim in next fall I thout to move to the mus-
kingum salt spring whar Chandlers mad
salt then started over
the Ohio to the Moth of Muskingum then
up to the salt werks
on the way got the oage [ague] had it 2
month or thar abouts
landed at dunkens falls thar was about
thirty or more ingens
waten fer mee I had a barel of whiskey
fer them soon thay got
drunk thar I was now parson but my wyfe
and 3 children My
hands was gon up to the salt werks in
the night wee had to
mov our bad and barel of whiskey seven
tims that night to keep
from being robed [robbed] as thay
outways found us day lit
Com at last I had hard werk to save all
but did so aftur som tim
in the day my hans Com fer mee stol
[stole] of the barel of
whiskey started it left it out in the
wodes Cam baCk fer the
famly started in bout 2 mills I tuCk
siCk and left mee under a
tree thout a blanket over mee up Corn a
very hard rain on mee
not abel to get up in the even the Com
fer mee with a horse went
about 4 mills thar Corn to my wyfe and
children now shalter
exept a small ten hard tims no parsen to
werk I siCk laid so fer
about 2 month with out bread or
eny thing but meet very hard
winter after som tim I got abel to go
after som purvishen peChed
[purchased] severl hors lods and lod of
bouns had to paCk it
about 80 mills deep snow no road got
horn grat joy bouns and
bread thar was som yong man that had ben
traden with the
ingens thay Cam to see us and ingens all
very dry sought to hav
Auto-Sketch of Charles Williams. 377
a froliCk and had one I had to keep very study all got putery
high salman MCloCh [Solomon McCullough]
and William Mor-
sen [Morrison] Cut a hole in the is
[ice] or it was Cut poked
one ingen in it I run and tuCk him out
but that tim thay had
striped one more all but one legen and
breeCh Clout he brok
and run to the wodes stayd all night
deep snow very Cold mee
and my wyfe foling [following] him but
Cold not over tak him
in the morning hee Cam baCk not frose
laid under a bank whar
was a spring saved his lif at the next
night the yankes plaid a
triCk on one of our band this sam two
san man got hold of one
of ther man got a rop round his neCk
swere that they wod draw
him up the Chimney I abaid haird them
spok to them and leet
him go in a few days bound [bands] all
gon all quait my nabers
ingens but in short tim I had 2 nabers
whit parsens William
MCleCh [McCulloch] and hanery Crookie
thin I mad money
makin salt and keepen purvishen fer
traverles spent it all by
Coutin [cutting] road to keep the road
by my house spent all
then sold out and moved to Whitwoman
thar the ingens Cam
robed [robbed] mee all outher [other]
bast [best] Clous from
under my head thay stole my hors and severl
more I went with
the oners [owners] of the horses and got
2 baCk
[back] agan
then thay stole more hor[s]es I felt
very willing to foling [fol-
lowing] them tuCk 2 ingens with mee and
started over hald one
that stol my Clous and hee had plad
[played] all away at
MoCksen [a game] the chief told mee to
tak him bit I thout
it best to leve him thay ingens had sent
baCk the hors that hee
had stolen to whar I lived then next
morning started Cam to
plas Caled hilltoun a small ingen toun
thar treted very well no
newes of stoling propety next moring
cent on to low sanduskey
thar I found them very mush alamed on
the Count [account] of
two ingens that had stolen 2 horses and
three man had fold
[followed] them and kild them both the
mans nam was eles
houges [Elias Hughes] John rattep John
blan [Bland] at san-
duskey the ingens had a feest about thre
hundred was thar I mad
I thout my Chans bad but luCk or nothing
I bolted up in the
Midle cf them tole the chief what was my
arent that was to
return the horses and quit steling them
that wold not bee no
more kild then He agread to giv all the
horses up and I got
378 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
eight or nine hom and the oners got them
that put a stop to
horstiling with the ingens to this day
1831. Then I had the age
[ague] for nine month all most every
day. Then I moved to
CoshoCkton hair I lave 32 yars. Then I
thout I wold try to
mak sonthing to live on in my old days.
Keep a large stoCk
somtims th[r]ee hundred, somtims lees
[less] and tarven fer
about 28 yars Mad money on all sides
very pushen drove hogges
and Cattel fer severel yars
before I left the salt werkes the in-
gens roobd my wyfe of one Cagg of
Whiskey stole 2 horses
when I was a way from horn Corn hom and
foled them with 2
more man with me over hald them on
Whitman [Whitewoman]
river that I mad all right with them
this was in pees time I
think I was gon five days Now I goy on
as I rember wee was
the hapest pepel in the world when
ontill our Countery was
fild with ireash and yankes other
spaklen [speeking] davels thay
got between the pepel then it was a grat
thout to get very
[every] man what hee CoCld [could] opene
[oppose] one an-
other geten worse tha plarsh [ ?]
Thar fais with religen now makes them
wers about fiften
yers I was about 21 yers I think I
had my hous burnt and 2
children one of my one [own] one of my
brouther [brother]
Sams and lost every thing but a meat
trifel left naChed in about
one month I was doing bisnes as good as
ever keepen tarven
and drawing after a tim the last war Com
on I [t]hout I must
see what was g[o]ing on at huls [Hulls]
serander I was orderd
out with one hundred man or thar abouts
went on to Mansfield
beefore I got thar I had som trubel with
the ingens to tell What
thay wold doy [do] go to the briCh
[British] or goy to over
arme and My man kild one then thay Com
to us after a day
or two stooped at Mansfield in few day
the ingens Com with in
few mills and kild 2 old parsons man and
wyfe I [t]hink thay
was 70 or upwards and there dauter and
one mor man I and
for or five more went whar thay was kild
found them all kild
and sColpt in the Corse of the day thay
was bared [buried] no
cofens [coffins] in few days Com about
15 or 20 ingens Whar
thar was a famle and som miltare man
about one mill of Whar
thay kild the outhers and kild I think 4
parsons I siCk at this
tim sent 20 man after them
but could not overhall them after
Auto-Sketch of Charles Williams. 379
a month I was orderd horn with my man
and still thout I must
see more of the war I started out in the
winter to see harson
[Harrison] I keep about the arme with
Generel harsen went a
Cross the lake to malden then I was put
before with a boat and
a few man with mee to roay [row] a
Cronas [across] after
two days wee landed then I went frunt of
the armey to detroit
thar was a grat runing of what ingens
that was thar to the
woodes after som tim I Com horn and in
the yare 1814 I was
eleCted to lagater and my elexon was
Contested and sent horn
Com horn and WOS sent baCk I then under
tuCk keepin store
with a Jonsten [Adam Johnston his
son-in-law].
Thar lost a grat deel hee was two hard
fer mee as I plast
all my Confendes in him hee used mee up
purty hard after som
tim I qu[i]t keepin store keept tarven
and farmed rased Cattel
and hoges mad money but had had luCk in
hoges at one time
eight hundred at one other tim near two
thousent and so on
ontill I ogt [got] behind so that I have
had hard werk to this
day August 25, 1831 I was ataCked by
every stinkin up start
that cold Com to ur Counterey I ben a
man of strong mind but
no larnen fough[t] it to the last som of
them the durtest squrn-
dens [scoundrels] in the world