150 - Pioneer Biography. corpse of Pierson Sayre was inclosed in a metallic burying case, and removed from his late residence to the Presbyterian Church in Hamilton, on Front street, where the funeral service took place. A sermon was preached by the Rev. John W. Scott, of Oxford, from the thirteenth and fourteenth verses of the fourth chapter of the first Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians : "But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." The discourse was a very able and instructing one, and was listened to by a large and attentive audience. The church was crowded to overflowing, and the street thronged with sympathizing friends. After the conclusion of the funeral service at the church, the corpse was removed to Greenwood cemetery, followed by a very large concourse of friends and citizens. Military honors were paid to the deceased by the firing of minute-guns during the day. XI. Henry Weaver. HENRY WEAVER was born in the city of New York, in April, 1761. His father, William Weaver, was respectably connected, though not in affluent circumstances. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His son, Henry, when quite a youth, not more than eighteen years of age, fired by that ardent patriotism which so distinguished the men of that day, and a love of adventure, joined a crew of privateersmen, and was among the first that ventured upon the ocean under the American flag. When cruising in the West India seas, they fell in with a British vessel, and after a desperate fight captured her. In the act of boarding the vessel, Mr. Weaver had three of the fingers of his left hand cut off by the stroke of a cutlass, aimed at his head, which he was fortunate enough to parry. After the capture of the ship, they continued cruising in the same seas for a considerable time, when they met with a British man-of-war, of a very superior force, and were themselves captured in turn. Henry Weaver, 152 - Pioneer Biography. with the survivors of the crew, were made prisoners, and carried to England, where he was confined in prison for upward of eighteen months, until the ratification of the treaty between the United States and England, by which the independence of the United States was acknowledged. The treaty of peace with England was executed at Paris on the 3oth of November, 1783, and ratified January 14, 1784. When Mr. Weaver was released from prison, he returned to his home in New York. His family hailed him as one risen from the dead, as they had long since considered him lost forever. His father died during his absence. Although Mr. Weaver was invalidated by the loss of the fingers of his hands, sustained in the American service, he always refused to make application for a pension from the government, to which he was justly entitled, and which he would no doubt have obtained on application. Some time after his return he married Miss Meeker, of New Jersey, by whom he had one child, a daughter. He afterward, for his second wife, married Susan Crane, daughter of Joseph Crane, of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and a sister of Major John Crane, of Hamilton, Ohio. The settlement of the Miami country had just commenced about this time, and Mr. Weaver, stimulated by the spirit of enterprise, and the glowing accounts received of the beauty and fertility of the Western country, determined to seek his fortune in the West. Henry Weaver - 153 Accordingly, in the year 179o, he left his home in the East, accompanied by his wife, and came to Columbia, six miles above Cincinnati, in the then Northwest Territory, where he lived until 1792. In that year Henry Tucker,* of the State of New Jersey, came to Columbia, where he was joined by Henry Weaver, and a few other enterprising spirits, who determined to push yet further into the wilderness. They established and built a station, which received the name of Tucker's station. It was situated on the then trace leading from Cincinnati to Fort Hamilton, about midway between these two places, in the valley below where Glendale now is, about half a mile north of where the noted tavern kept by Mr. Pitman was afterward established, and about the same distance east of the present Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railroad. Here Mr. Weaver located a tract of land on the west branch of Mill creek, where, with his ax and mattock, he cleared away the forest, and built him a cabin. While performing this labor, and cultivating his little patch of corn, his trusty rifle was his constant companion, and at night, or in case of alarm, he retired to the station for security. In those early times, when a settlement was intended to be made in the interior, a number of persons associated themselves together as one family, and went to the place where the settlement was to be made. Their first care * For account of Henry Tucker's family, see Appendix. 154 - Pioneer Biography. was to erect a strong block-house, near to which their cabins were put up, and the whole was inclosed with strong log pickets. This being done, they commenced clearing their land, and prepared for planting their crops. During the day, while they were at work, one person was placed as a sentinel to warn them of danger. At sunset, they retired to their cabins in the block-house, taking everything of value. In this manner, they proceeded from day to day, and week to week, until their improvements were sufficiently extensive to support their families. During this time, they depended for subsistence principally on wild game, procured from the woods at some hazard. Several other stations had been or were erected about this time. Ludlow's Station, five miles from Cincinnati, a little east of where the town of Cumminsville now is. White's Station, built by Captain Jacob White, seven miles from Cincinnati, on the south bank of Mill creek, west of where the Miami canal now crosses the creek by an aqueduct. Jacob White owned a section of land here, on which he lived for many years afterward. Dunlap's Station had been built some years previous on the Great Miami river, eight miles below Hamilton, at what has since been called Colerain. Some time afterward, a Mr. Bedell built a station a few miles west of where the town of Lebanon now is. In the year 1794, Governor Arthur St. Clair ap- Henry Weaver - 155 pointed Henry Weaver a justice of the peace, under the territorial government, for the county of Hamilton, which, at that time, embraced a large portion of the western section of what now forms the State of Ohio. Some time after General Wayne's treaty with the Indians, at Greenville, in the year 1795, and the cessation of hostilities, Mr. Weaver was among the first to leave the protection of the station, and pursue his fortune still further in the forests of the frontier, settling on a tract of land near Middletown, in what is now Butler county, where he cleared a farm. The public lands belonging to the United States, west of the Great Miami river, came into market in the year 1801. Mr. Weaver became the purchaser of a tract of land on Elk creek, in what is now Madison township. Here he commenced another farm, on which he resided until the time of his death. The State of Ohio was admitted into the Union in 1802, and Butler county established and organized in 1803, and subdivided into townships. Lemon township, as originally organized, comprehended, in addition to its present boundaries, all of what now forms the township of Madison, which was laid off and organized in the year 1810. On the organization of Lemon township, in 1803, Henry Weaver was elected one of the first justices of the peace in the township, which office he held until the year 1805, when the legislature of the State elected him an 156 - Pioneer Biography. associate judge of the court of common pleas for Butler county, in which office he served under successive re-appointments until July 20, 1829, when he resigned, having acted as judge of the court and justice of the peace more than a quarter of a century, during all which time he was esteemed an upright man and an impartial judge. Judge Weaver also filled many minor offices, and appointments of trust and responsibility, in the neighborhood where he lived. He was a land surveyor, and executed nearly all the surveys in his neighborhood during his time. He drew deeds, contracts, and agreements for his neighbors, and settled disputes among them. He was, in fact, what may be called a useful man, and few men performed more friendly acts and kind offices than he. Mr. Weaver was much attached to agriculture and horticulture, and took great pains to introduce the choicest varieties of fruits, of which he had the best in the settlement. He was a man of unbounded hospitality. In his house, and at his table, the stranger always found a hearty welcome. The needy, poor, afflicted, and unfortunate, went not from his door empty and unpitied. He was a man whose virtues and name are worthy of respect and preservation among the pioneers and defenders of the Miami valley. He died at his residence, in Madison township, on the 17th of August, 1829, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, leaving a widow and a numerous family of children surviving him. His remains were interred in Henry Weaver - 157 the burying ground at Trenton, Butler county, adjoining the Baptist Church, of which congregation he was a member. His widow, Susan, died on the 22d of January, 1851, aged seventy-five years, and was buried beside her husband at Trenton. As before mentioned, Judge Weaver was twice married. By his first wife he had one daughter, who married Daniel Keyt, a carpenter by profession, who learned his trade in the city of New York. She died soon afterward, and Mr. Keyt came to the State of Ohio, and settled in the town of Hamilton. He was a master workman in his profession, and among several of the best houses in Hamilton, he executed the carpenter work of the first brick court house in Hamilton; and, associated with John R. Crane, a brick-layer, was contractor for the erection of the main building of the Miami University at Oxford. However, he died before the work was entirely completed. After his coming to Hamilton, he had married, for his second wife, Miss Eleanor Duffield, a young lady of Hamilton, who, after his decease, married Robert Jones, a tanner and currier, and afterward removed to the State of Indiana. Judge Weaver, by his second wife, had children: 1. Nathaniel Leonard Weaver, the oldest son, who died in the year 1824. 2. Nancy Weaver, who married Mr. Randall Clawson, lives in Winchester, Preble county, Ohio. 158 - Pioneer Biography. 3. William Weaver, who married Miss Elizabeth Clark, lives in Miltonville, Butler county, Ohio. 4. Abraham Weaver, who married Susan Embly, removed to Iowa. 5. John Weaver married Miss Lucy Bowman, of Middletown, Ohio, and was an auctioneer in the city of Cincinnati. 6. Polly Weaver married James Beard, and lives near Middletown, Ohio. 7. Samuel Weaver married Miss Ruth McNeal, and lives in Carroll county, Indiana. 8. Eliza Weaver is not married, and lives with her brother-in-law, James Beard. 9. Clark Weaver, the youngest son, married, first, Amy Law, who died, and he then married Nancy Page, and removed to the State of Iowa. Appendix—Henry Tucker - 159 APPENDIX. Henry Tucker. Henry Tucker, of the State of New Jersey, who established Tucker's station, came to the Western country in 1792. He was born June 30, 1760, and married Polly McDaniels, on the 17th of December, 1780. She was born December 3, 1760. They had children : I. Elizabeth Tucker, born September 11, 1782, who married Daniel Voorhies, Jr. He was born December 25, 1776. Elizabeth Voorhies died in June, 1849. They had twelve children. II. Sarah Tucker, born January 17, 1785, married Oliver Voorhies, a brother of Daniel. He was born October 28, 1778. They had thirteen children. III. Catherine Tucker, born December 30, 1786, married Providence White, son of Captain Jacob White, who estab- lished White's station. They had seven children. IV. Mary Tucker, born January 10, 1788, was married November, 1809, to Nathan Smith, son of John Smith, of Indiana. They had five children. V. Abigail Tucker, born May 1, 1789, married Abraham Skillman, of Springdale, near his father's farm. They had seven children. 160 - Pioneer Biography. VI. Nancy Tucker, born August 24, 1792, married Jacob Voorhies, a brother of Daniel and Oliver Voorhies. They had eleven children. VII. Henry Tucker, Jr., born March 18, 1794, died May 29, 1814, unmarried. VIII. Fanny Tucker, born March 28, 1797, married Arthur S. Sorter, son of Thomas Sorter. He was born March 3, 1793. They had five children. IX. Charlotte Tucker, born March 4, 1799, married Jacob A. Riddle, son of Colonel John Riddle, near Cincinnati. They had four children. X. Manning Randolph Tucker, born September 14, 1801, married Rebecca Perlee, on the 5th of May, 1824. She was born February 21, 1800, daughter of Peter Perlee. They had nine children, and live on his father's homestead farm of two hundred and fifty-three acres, in the valley below Glendale. XII. Jeremiah Butterfield. JEREMIAH BUTTERFIELD was born in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, on March 4th, 1776, four months before the Declaration of Independence ; hence he was often heard to say that he was a subject of George III, King of England, just four months. When he was twelve years old, his father removed to the State of New York. In 1797, young Butterfield, then twenty-one years of age, left his home to seek his fortune in the Far West. He traveled to Pittsburgh, where he embarked on a fiat-boat, and descended the Ohio river to Marietta, Here he remained during the winter in the family of Doctor Spencer. In the following spring, he started on board a flat-boat down the Ohio river to Cincinnati, which was then but an inconsiderable village, composed mostly of log-cabins with few good brick or frame buildings, containing not more than one thousand inhabitants. It contained one bakery, at which Mr. Butterfield applied for bread, to supply the boat's crew, but without success, the baker having but three loaves on hand, and these engaged by 162 - Pioneer Biography. other persons. They then proceeded on their voyage down the river to Louisville, at the falls of the Ohio, and thence to Fort Massac, on the north bank of the Ohio river, thirty-six miles above its mouth, in what is now the State of Illinois. A fort had been built at this place as early as the year 1757, and under the same name it bore at this time. However, the old fort had long since gone to decay, but the troops of the United States had lately rebuilt it. It was inclosed with a line of pickets, and was occupied by a company of soldiers under the command of a captain. Around it were a few cabins and cultivated fields. Mr. Butterfield remained at Fort Massac only a short time ; he purchased a pirogue, and in company with a Kentuckian set out for St. Louis. They descended the Ohio to its mouth, and thence paddled their way up the Mississippi to the place of their destination. From St. Louis, Mr. Butterfield went to St. Charles, a small village on the north side of the Missouri river, eighteen miles above its mouth, where he remained one year. St. Charles is now in the State of Missouri, but then Missouri formed a part of Louisiana, and was under the government of his Catholic Majesty, the King of Spain. Mr. Butterfield, not liking the manners and customs of the people, returned to St. Louis, and from thence crossed the country, which is now the State of Illinois, to Vincennes, on the Wabash river. In passing the extensive prairies, he encounterd vast herds of buffalo; Jeremiah Butterfield - 163 one of which he shot, an old bull, he thought would have weighed one thousand five hundred pounds. After making a hearty meal of a portion of it, he selected some choice parts to take along with him on his journey, but while he slept, the wolves, which were very numerous, carried off his meat, although it was laid close beside his head. From Vincennes, he went into the interior of Kentucky, where he remained three months, and then set out for the East. He went by the way of Philadelphia, and arrived at his father's house in New York, in the winter of 1799, having traveled nearly the whole of the several routes mentioned on foot, through a country then nearly destitute of roads, and inhabited principally by wild beasts and savages. Mr. Butterfield was now twenty-three years of age, old enough, as he thought, to take to himself a wife as a " helpmeet," or, at least, a sharer in his privations. He returned to the place of his nativity, in Massachusetts, and married Miss Polly Campbell, in the year 1800. Intending now to select a place as a permanent residence for life, the following winter he and his brother and a brother-in-law started on an exploring expedition into the Genesee country, in the western part of the State of New York. After exploring the country, he was not pleased with the land and situation, but told his companions that he would show them a " much superior country, a little further over the hills," meaning the Alleghany mountains; consequently 164 - Pioneer Biography. they left their sleighs and proceeded to Pittsburgh. To his companions, who were not initiated in the mode and incidents of travel, the distance appeared so great that they thought they were going " to the ends of the earth." Arrived at Pittsburgh, they embarked on board of a flat-boat and descended the Ohio river. They landed at Columbia, where they remained but a short time, and proceeded down to Cincinnati, where they secured their boat, and went out into the country to Colonel John Riddle's, two miles north of the town, on the Hamilton road, where they engaged with him in harvesting. Colonel Riddle was one of the earliest pioneers of the country. He came to Cincinnati in October, 179o. He was a blacksmith by trade, and worked at that business for several years. He became the owner of a section of land where he lived, which he purchased of Judge Symmes, for sixty-seven cents per acre, the money to pay for which he earned principally by shoeing horses for the army, while they lay at Cincinnati. One corner of his section of land is near where the Brighton House now is, and portions of the land have since been sold for more than five thousand dollars an acre. He removed and settled on his farm in 1793, where he ended his days after a long residence in one house. He died on the 17th of June, 1847, aged upward of eighty-five years. Mr. Butterfield and his companions being smart young Yankees, and highly recommended by Colonel Riddle, they found abundance of employ- Jeremiah Butterfield - 165 ment. Israel Ludlow, who lived at Ludlow's station, in the neighborhood of Colonel Riddle, was employed by government to run the boundary line between the United States and the Indian nations, as established by the treaty of Greenville, concluded on the 3d day of August, 1795, and employed young Butterfield as one of his chain carriers. They descended the Ohio river from Cincinnati to the mouth of the Kentucky river, and commenced the survey on the north bank of the Ohio, at a point opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky river. Thence, they ran a line as near as they could estimate the course of Fort Recovery. Arrived at the fort, they calculated the true course, and ran and marked a straight line back to the point opposite to the mouth of Kentucky river. The treaty line run from the fort in an easterly direction to Loramie's store, which was on Loramie's creek, where Fort Loramie was afterward built, and from thence to the Muskingum river. On this expedition they were three months without seeing a dwelling house, and, at one time, the party was near starving, being five days without any provisions whatever. Such was the situation of the Western country at that time. Early in the ensuing spring, he visited and explored the valley of the Great Miami river, the bottom lands of which pleased him better than any he had before seen in the West. He, with five others, old Esquire Shaw, Knoles Shaw and Albin Shaw his sons, Asa 166 - Pioneer Biography. Harvey, and Noah Willy, formed a company for the purpose of purchasing lands. The first sales of public lands, west of the Great Miami river, was at public vendue in the town of Cincinnati, commencing on the first Monday in April, 1801. No lands were to be sold for less than two dollars per acre, the one-twentieth part of the purchase money to be deposited at the time of sale, which should be forfeited if one-fourth part of the purchase money was not paid within forty days ; one other fourth part to be paid within two years; another fourth part within three years, and another fourth part within four years after the day of sale, with interest. At the first sales, Mr. Butterfield and his company purchased two entire sections and two large fractional sections of land, containing in the whole nearly two thousand acres, on the west bank of the Great Miami river, beginning in Butler county, a short distance below the mouth of Indian creek, and extending about three miles down the river into Hamilton county. Nearly the whole of this tract of land is perfectly level, and all very rich and mellow, capable of producing fine crops. It is situated in the vicinity of where the town of Venice has since been laid out, in Butler county, and about eighteen miles from the city, of Cincinnati. This tract of land was divided among the six proprietors, according to the amount they had respectively paid, by lines extending back from the Miami river, so that each tract had a front on the river. Jeremiah Butterfield - 167 The survey of the division of the land was made by Emanuel Vantrees. The portion which was assigned to Mr. Butterfield, and of which he became the owner, comprised about eight hundred acres, which constituted his farm. His friends, who had come on with him, returned to the State of New York, and Mr. Butterfield, having made a small improvement on his land, and got it in a condition to leave, went East for his wife and sister, and returned with them as speedily as the slow, toilsome methods of traveling at that time in vogue would permit. When returning, he brought with him the seeds of various fruit trees, which he planted on his land, and from which he raised fine orchards of apples, peaches, plums, cherries, and other fruits, as well as supplying his neighbors with trees. He was young, vigorous, temperate, healthy, and determined. He applied himself bravely to the work of subduing the dense forest, furnishing comfortable buildings, fencing and cultivating his land, and improving his stock. He prospered in all his undertakings. In the midst of a howling wilderness, he soon made a fine farm and happy home, and from that time to the day of his death, he continued a thrifty and independent farmer. The eight hundred acres of land, which he purchased of government, in the year 18o1, at two dollars and ten cents per acre, would probably now sell for more than eighty thousand dollars. It is yet in the possession of his descendants. 168 - Pioneer Biography. Opposite to the tract of land purchased by Jeremiah Butterfield and company, the Miami river makes a remarkable bend, somewhat in the form of a horse shoe, in which bend is one of those remarkable ancient works, supposed to have been constructed by a race of people long since extinct, which comprehends ninety-five acres within its embankments, a portion of which embankment, on the north side, next the river, where it has not been much reduced by cultivation, is yet ten feet high. On the river bank, on the south side of the peninsula or bend, in the spring of the year 1790, Dunlap's station was built, which became somewhat notorious, in consequence of its being besieged by the Indians in January, 1791. The station was named after John Dunlap, who was one of Judge Symmes' surveyors. The land on the Miami river, below the tract purchased by Jeremiah Butterfield and company, was purchased in 1801 by Joab Comstock, who laid out a town on a handsome situation on the west bank of the river, about two miles below the south boundary line of Butler county, to which he gave the name of Crosby. There were several cabins and houses built in it, a store, a blacksmith shop, and other mechanics' shops, and some residences were erected, which gave it somewhat the appearance of a town. But it was laid out on low ground; and in the spring of the year 1805, there was an extraordinary flood in the Miami river, which overflowed the site of the town and the buildings to a Jeremiah Butterfield - 169 considerable depth, which discouraged the settlers. Improvements declined, until, finally, the town was abandoned. Not a house remains to point out the place where it was. The land at this time belongs to the heirs of Judah Willy. The township in Hamilton county, which includes this place, is named Crosby township. About the year 1805 or 1806, the neighborhood where Mr. Butterfield resided became infested with a band of outlaws, marauders, and horse-thieves, by whose depredations Mr. Butterfield suffered as well as his neighbors. There was then no law that could easily reach them but lynch law. Mr. Butterfield associated himself with several others, and formed a company for the purpose of putting that law in force, and after considerable exertions succeeded in exterminating them, or driving them from the country. Several of them were shot In the winter of the year 1819, Mr. Butterfield drove a large number of hogs through the woods from the neighborhood where he resided to Detroit, a distance of two hundred and eighty miles. For most of the distance on the route which he chose, there were no inhabitants, no roads, not even a path to direct their course. And what rendered the expedition more difficult, a severe snow-storm set in. His men became disheartened, and some of them turned back and left him ; but he pushed boldly forward, breaking a path in 170 - Pioneer Biography. the snow with his horse for the hogs to follow; so that, after many days of toil and hardship, he arrived safely at Detroit, sold out to advantage, and returned home with his saddle-bags full of money. Three times he shipped live hogs from his own door, on board of fiat-boats, down the Miami, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers, to New Orleans, and from thence shipped them to the island of Cuba. He always went with them himself. In the year 1828, he was shipwrecked on the coast of Cuba. When the vessel neared the shore, she struck on a rock, and the captain and crew took to the long-boat; but Mr. Butterfield would not leave until he had cut open the pens containing the hogs, which were on deck, and let them into the sea. They nearly all swam to the shore, so that he lost but few. He sold his hogs at twelve dollars per cwt., weighing them alive, so that, notwithstanding he was shipwrecked, and had to pay three dollars and a half duty on each hog, he made a profitable voyage. Such is a brief outline of the history and character of this early settler of the Miami country. He was every way fitted for pioneer life and the toil and hardships which he had to encounter. His forefathers had endured, similar hardships in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Mr. Butterfield was bold, ambitious, and determined in all his undertakings; he never quailed at danger, nor became disheartened, nor gave up the pursuit of his object, until he had accomplished his Jeremiah Butterfield - 171 purpose. To trace his way for hundreds of miles through the wilderness, over hills, along rivers, and through swamps where there were no roads, nor even the track of a human foot, was no uncommon thing for him to accomplish. When he came to the Western country, it was everywhere inhabited by Indians, but these were always his friends. What would have been the situation of our country had it not been for such men as Mr. Butterfield, who prepared it for the rising generation, who are now in possession of it as an invaluable heritage, abounding with flourishing cities, fine turnpike roads and railroads in almost every direction ; with all the luxuries of elegant hotels, and steamboats of the most superb construction ; with a country more prosperous and happy than any other the sun shines upon ; and all this acquired by the toil and sweat, the anxiety and hardships, the privations and dangers which our fathers endured to secure these invaluable blessings. " They sowed in tears, we reap in joy." How seldom do we reflect on these things as we ought ! God forbid that the names of those men who laid the foundation of our prosperity should be forgotten. Jeremiah Butterfield died at his residence near Venice, on the 27th day of June, 1853, aged seventy-seven years. He raised a family of eight children, who all arrived at maturity ; and all of them but one, who was previously deeased, were present at the funeral of 172 - Pioneer Biography. their father. A large circle of neighbors and friends were also in attendance, to testify by their presence their respect for the aged man. He was buried on his own land, on the left hand side of the road leading from Venice to Lawrenceburgh, about half a mile below Venice, where a plain, upright marble slab marks the place where rest the remains of the aged pioneer. All of his children but one are yet living. Sherebiah, the oldest son, lives on part of the land purchased by his father in Crosby township, Hamilton county, where he has a fine farm well improved. He has served nine years as a justice of the peace in Hamilton county. John, the second son, and Jeremiah, the third son, both live in the same neighborhood, in Hamilton county, on good farms, part of the patrimonial estate, and are in comfortable circumstances. Nathaniel, the fourth son, arrived at years of maturity, acquired a family, but died several years ago. Elijah Butterfield, another son, lives in Butler county, has been for several years past, and is now, a justice of the peace in Ross township. Mary, a daughter, married James Radcliffe, and lives near Baltimore, Maryland. Elizabeth, another daughter, married Mr. Maynard, and lives near the Venice bridge. They are all in comfortable circumstances, and are much respected in the neighborhood where they live. XIII. John Wingate. BRIGADIER-GENERAL JOHN WINGATE died at the residence of John Burke, Jr., near Symmes' Corners, Butler county, Ohio, on the morning of the 14th of April, 1851, at the advanced age of about seventy-seven years. The deceased was one of that intrepid band of pioneers who first penetrated the wilds of the Northwestern Territory when it was, as yet, an entire wilderness, uninhabited except by the wild beasts of the forest and the savages. He was a native of the State of New York, and in his youth learned the trade of a stonemason. Soon after the disastrous defeat of General St. Clair, which took place on the 4th day of November, 1791, when the frontier settlers were in the most imminent peril, Mr. Wingate came to the Western country with the army commanded by General Wayne. He was a sergeant in Captain Van Rensselaer's troop of cavalry, and was in the ever-memorable battle of the Fallen Timbers, on the Maumee river, fought with the Indians on the loth day of August, 1794, in which our troops gained a complete victory over the savages, and 174 - Pioneer Biography. terminated the Indian war which had been carried on for a number of years. His deeds of bravery on that trying occasion were favorably spoken of, and were often afterward the theme of his associates in arms. He had also a brother who was in the same engagement, and was at the time orderly-sergeant in the same company to which John Wingate belonged. His brother was slain by his side in that action. In the year 1795, the treaty of Greenville was held with the Indians, which secured the blessings of peace, and brought joy and gladness to the stricken hearts of those who had made their homes in the wild wilderness of the West. Shortly after the treaty, General Wayne's army was disbanded. Mr. Wingate returned to Fort Hamilton where he settled. The town had then been but recently laid out. He married Miss Mary Dillon, who was a daughter of one of the early settlers of the place. She died in a few years, leaving him with two children. On the 24th day of May, 1 809, John Wingate married Mrs. Emma Torrence, widow of John Torrence, then lately deceased—a lady of great worth, and highly esteemed for her many amiable and excellent traits of character. She was a daughter of Captain Robert Benham, the distinguished pioneer, some of whose daring deeds, sufferings, and hazardous adventures are recorded in the histories of the frontier settlements ; but many of the most interesting of which, no doubt, like many of the good acts and meritorious services performed by John Wingate - 175 numerous others of the early pioneers, are now forgotten, or are only evidenced by the fading recollections of the remaining few that knew them, and who must, in the common course of nature, soon "pass to that bourne from whence no traveler returns." She was also the sister of Joseph S. Benham, Esq., now deceased, who practiced law in Hamilton for several years, and is remembered as one of the most able lawyers and eloquent orators of his day. John Wingate was one of the early merchants of Hamilton. He kept a store on Front street, in a log building, situated on the lot now occupied in part by the Irish Roman Catholic Church. In this building, Hough & Blair afterward kept a store, and, still later, it was occupied by Kelsey & Smith for the same purpose. The building was still standing there in 1851, a relic of former times. It was afterward weather-boarded, and other improvements of modern times have entirely changed its appearance as a frontier trading-house. (The building has lately been pulled down and entirely removed, and the ground on which it stood is occupied by the church.) In 1806, Mr. Wingate abandoned his mercantile business; and in October, 1807, he was elected sheriff of the county of Butler, in which office he served for the term of two years. He was subsequently elected a brigadier-general of the Ohio militia; and in the year 1813, he again marched to the tented field, and served 176 - Pioneer Biography. a tour of duty of six months, in the capacity of brigadier-general, in the second war with Great Britain. After Mr. Wingate's marriage with the widow Torrence, in 1809, he kept a tavern for several years in the house on the corner of Dayton and Water streets, in Hamilton—the same stand that had previously been occupied as a tavern by John Torrence, deceased. The house is yet standing, and is now owned and occupied by Henry S. Earhart as a residence. In 1816, Mr. Wingate removed from Hamilton to Cincinnati, where for some years he kept the old Cincinnati Hotel, situated on Front street, between Sycamore and Broadway. It stood a little west of where the Spencer House now is. After some time Mr. Wingate removed to the Big Bone Lick, Kentucky, where he kept a house of entertainment for several years, and finally removed further West. After an absence of more than thirty years from the scenes of his early adventures, General Wingate returned to Hamilton, a few weeks previous to his death, an old man, enfeebled by age and the various vicissitudes and misfortunes of the eventful life through which he had passed. It would seem as though he had been guided by the hand of that God, who rules the destinies of man, to return to the place where he had commenced his career in early life, to lie down and die, and leave his bones in the very spot which he had loved so well in early life. A few days previous to his death, he spoke of the John Wingate - 177 vast changes which had been produced in the country since the time when he first saw it. Situated as he had been, no one could fail to be deeply impressed with the progress of improvement, which had been made in this fertile valley under the benign influence of those institutions secured to us by the wisdom of our fathers, since he had arrived at manhood. Where, in 1793, he beheld the giant oak which had withstood the storms of centuries, he now looks upon the church whose lofty spire points to heaven. Upon the very spot, which, in those days, the wily savage was wont to lie in ambush with tomahawk and scalping-knife, watching for a favorable opportunity to murder the defenseless women and children by their firesides, massive factories are now reared, which send forth the hum of busy industry; and instead of the war whoop of the savage Indian, once a familiar sound, the ear is greeted with the shrill whistle of the locomotive. The writer of this sketch does not propose to dwell upon the details of General Wingate's military services. Although he was not one of those who are by law classed as soldiers of the Revolution, yet still, perhaps, with propriety, in point of fact, he was as much a soldier of the Revolution as he who fought at Yorktown or Saratoga. General Wayne's men, it may be said, fought in the last closing battle of the Revolutionary struggle ; for England never abandoned her determination to reconquer America until General Wayne and his brave 178 - Pioneer Biography. men subdued the Indians in the Northwest. The impartial, unerring pen of history will accord the men of Wayne's army the honor of having closed the struggle of the Revolution for independence. Although General Wingate had no relatives residing in the county, nor in the State of Ohio, so far as known, he did not die without friends. Though most of his old comrades had been gathered to their fathers, their children knew him, appreciated his worth, and did all that true friendship could dictate. During his illness, he was well attended and cared for in the family of Mr. John Burke, near Symmes' Corners, whose father, when an unprotected boy, found a friend and benefactor in John Wingate. On Tuesday, the 15th day of April, the remains of the deceased were brought from the residence of Mr. Burke to Hamilton, and at three o'clock P. M., a funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Arthur W. Elliott, at the Methodist Episcopal Church, to a large concourse of people. The sermon was instructive and appropriate for the occasion. The reverend gentleman, being himself a pioneer and long acquainted with the deceased, was the better able to do justice to the case, and depict the hardships and sufferings of the early settlers of the country, and to exhibit the results of their labors. For more than forty years Mr. Elliott had devoted his efforts, in the valley of the Miami, in aid of the cause of the John Wingate - 179 Christian religion, and pointing out the way to that heaven appointed for the just and the righteous. His sermon was characterized by much feeling and eloquence —dwelling, as he did, upon the virtues of the deceased, and of the pioneer men and women who first settled this fertile land, and had "made the wilderness to bloom and blossom as the rose." The deceased having no relatives residing in the vicinity, the Rev. Mr. Elliott desired that his remains might be permitted to rest upon the lot of ground he had selected for his own family burying-ground, in Greenwood cemetery. And a combination of circumstances made this an appropriate spot. The arrangement was accordingly made by the committee, who had been appointed, at a meeting of the citizens of Hamilton and Rossville, to superintend the funeral. After the service at the church was closed, a funeral procession was formed, under the direction of the Hon. Lewis D. Campbell. The funeral car was preceded by martial music ; a company of artillery with a brass fieldpiece under the command of Captain Nathaniel Reeder; Major William P. Young, bearing the national flag appropriately trimmed ; the mayors of Hamilton and Rossville; the clergy and pall-bearers. The corpse was followed by the friends of the deceased, the soldiers, and a large train of citizens. In good order, the procession marched to Greenwood cemetery. As the hearse entered the cemetery grounds, the artil- 180 - Pioneer Biography. lery commenced firing minute guns, which, with the tolling of the bells in town, continued until the service at the grave was concluded. The whole formed a combination at once solemn and impressive. These were the final honors conferred on an old soldier and a good man. As we pass his grave, may we not all forget for a moment our busy pursuits in this world, and shed a tear to the memory of one of those who aided to secure the blessings we now enjoy, and helped to sow the seed which has yielded us so bountiful a harvest. And let us meditate upon the solemn truth, that though now young or in the prime of life, we shall ere long be summoned to answer, with him, at the bar of God. XIV. Daniel Doty. DANIEL DOTY was born in Essex county, New Jersey, on the 23d of March, in the year 1765. His parents were respectable, honest people, who gave their children such an education as could be acquired at the common country schools of that day. They taught them their duty to their Creator and to their fellow-beings, and brought them up in the habits of honest industry, on which, with their own exertions, they had to depend to make their way through life. When Daniel Doty had arrived at manhood, the fame of the fertility and beauty of the fine country, then opening in the Far West, attracted him, and he formed the resolution of exploring the country and judging for himself. Accordingly, on the loth of September, 179o, he left his home and proceeded to Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh), whence he descended the Ohio river in a fiat-boat to the then infant settlement of Columbia, at the mouth of the Little Miami, where he arrived on the 23d of October. Here he concluded to remain. 182 - Pioneer Biography. There were then two hewed log-houses standing near the bank of the river, where Mr. Doty landed. One of them was occupied by Major Benjamin Stites, and the other by John S. Gano. Almost his first experience was his enlistment as a member of the militia company of the place, of which Gano was captain, and Ephraim Kirby was lieutenant. Every able-bodied man in the settlement had to be enrolled. The company consisted of about seventy good and true-hearted men, who were ready at all times to obey the call to arms in defense of the settlement. At that time General Harmar was commander of the military forces of the country, and John Cleves Symmes, the proprietor of the Miami country, was the chief magistrate, and at the head of the civil department. General Harmar was then out on his expedition against the Indians. He returned to Fort Washington about ten days after Mr. Doty landed at Columbia. A number of his men were wounded, among whom were George Adams and Thomas Bailey. It was said that Adams had killed five Indians while out on the expedition, and had himself received four ball wounds. One ball entered his thigh; one broke his arm; another passed under his arm, grazed his body, and lodged under his other arm; and the fourth went through part of his breast, and lodged under his shoulder-blade. But he lived through all, and soon recovered. He Daniel Doty - 183 was in St. Clair's defeat, and lived many years afterward.* During the years 1791-92, the country was almost continually in a state of alarm, on account of the depredations committed by the Indians. Three men were killed and scalped by them near Covalt's station, on the Little Miami river, about ten miles from Columbia. Their names were Covalt, Hinkle, and Abel Cook. So soon as the news reached Columbia, a party, of which Daniel Doty was one, went to the relief of the station and to bury the murdered men. This was his first sight of a scalped corpse. He said that " when a person is killed and scalped by the Indians, the eyebrows fall down over the eyeballs, and gives them a fearful look." Mr. Doty turned out with the company which went to the relief of Dunlap's station, in January, 1791, accounts of which are given in Vol. I. In the spring of 1791, the drooping spirits of the settlers were greatly revived by the intelligence that General St. Clair was coming to the West, with an army of 1,400 men, which, it was fondly anticipated, would at once put an end to the Indian war. General St. Clair and his army arrived at Fort Washington, encamped on Mill creek, then moved and built Fort Hamilton; proceeded further out, and built * For notices of Adams, see Vol. 1, pp. 139, 173. 184 - Pioneer Biography. Fort Jefferson, from whence they marched to where Fort Recovery was afterward built. And there, on a wintry morning of the 4th of November, 1791, were defeated by the Indians, with a loss of half the army. Thus ended the hopes which the settlers had formed of the expedition. The news of St. Clair's defeat struck a deep panic into the minds of the settlers. Some of them left the settlement and fled to Kentucky ; but most of them remained, stood their ground, determined that if the Indians did come upon them, to sell their lives as dearly as they could. The inhabitants, by mutual consent, were all under military laws, according to the regulations which they had adopted for their defense and safety. Every man had to furnish himself with a good gun, one pound of powder, sixty bullets or one pound of lead, and six flints. They were required to keep their arms and equipments in good order, and to meet on parade twice every week to drill and go through the manual exercise. To hear a gun fired after sundown was a regular alarm, on the occurrence of which every man was required instantly to repair to the place of rendezvous. The first Presbyterian preacher who came and settled in the Miami country, was the Rev. James Kemper. He had lived near Danville, in the State of Kentucky. When he was called to the settlement, Daniel Daniel Doty - 185 Doty and a man by the name of French were chosen by the people to go and bring him and his family. His family consisted of himself; his wife, and eight or nine children. In June, 1791, Daniel Doty and his companion set out on this mission. They crossed the Ohio at Fort Washington, and proceeded on their way with their rifles primed, ready for whatever might betide them. Their road was only a trace, a bridle-path, for sixty miles or more, along the Dry ridge. There had been two men killed on this trace the week previous. They encamped in the woods the first night. The next night they reached Georgetown, where, Mr. Doty said, the people were fiddling and dancing in almost every cabin, and acting as though they neither feared God nor regarded Indians. The next day they went on to Lexington, where they procured horses from the contractor for the army, at that place, to remove Mr. Kemper and his family to the Miami country. They then went to the residence of Mr. Kemper, and, having arranged matters for their journey, set out on their return. They took the route to Limestone (now Maysville), on the Ohio river, where they procured a flat-boat, and getting all the family and horses on board, they descended the river to Fort Washington, where they delivered over the horses to the contractor at that place, and returned to Columbia. 186 - Pioneer Biography. During all this time, for several years, the Indians were very troublesome, causing frequent alarms. Every man capable of bearing arms was obliged when he attended church, to go armed and equipped, ready at a moment's warning to repel an attack of the savages, who were constantly prowling about, watching an opportunity to destroy the infant settlement. The order then was for every man to meet on parade, on Sunday morning, armed and equipped, and, after going through the manual exercise, march to the place of worship, stack their guns in one corner of the cabin until divine service was concluded, and then take them and return to their homes. There was a law of the Territory, then in force, which required every man when he went to church, to carry his gun and ammunition with him, to protect himself and family from an attack of the ruthless savages. On one occasion, when the congregation had assembled for worship, information arrived that Indians were in the neighborhood, and that one of them had been killed, whose bloody scalp was exhibited to the congregation. Colonel Spencer, who commanded the militia, advised that the congregation disperse, which they accordingly did, and the people returned to their homes to prepare for defense. On the 24th day of April, in the year 1792, Mr. Doty left Columbia in a flat-boat, and descended the Daniel Doty - 187 Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, from whence he went by sea to New York, and returned to his native home in New Jersey. He remained there until the fall of the year 1795, when he returned to the Miami country. Wayne's treaty with the Indians had previously been concluded at Greenville, and peace restored to the country. In the spring of the year 1796, Mr. Doty, with his wife, Betsy, and their children, removed to near where Middletown now is, where he commenced an improvement on a tract of land which he had previously purchased. Here he spent the remaining portion of his life, and died near where he had built his first log-cabin. Mr. Doty commenced his improvement in the dense forest. He built his first cabin on the bank of the Great Miami river, about one mile below where the town of Middletown is now situated. No track of a wagon had then marked the ground to that place. When his cabin was raised and inclosed, he had no table, no chair, or bedstead, or cradle; nor any boards to make them of. But as abundance of timber was convenient, he cut down a large tree, out of which he split puncheons and clapboards. With the puncheons he laid the floor of his cabin, and the door was made of the clapboards, fastened with wooden pins, and hung on wooden hinges, having a wooden latch 188 - Pioneer Biography. with a leather string hanging through. A table was made of a slab split from the tree, which was supported by four round legs, made from hickory saplings with the bark on, set in auger holes in the slab. Several three-legged stools were made in the same manner as a substitute for chairs. And for a bedstead; this was made by procuring a sapling with a fork or limb at a proper hight for the bottom of the bed, the lower end of which was placed in a hole in the puncheon floor, and the upper end fastened to a joist above. In the fork or limb was placed a round pole with the bark on, the other end passing through a crack between two logs of the wall. This front pole was crossed by a shorter one also laid within the fork, with its other end passing through a crack in the other wall. From the front pole were laid stiff clapboards, projecting through an opening between two logs of the wall, which supported one end of the clapboard, the pole supported the other end. This formed the bottom of the bed, on which a bearskin and blanket were laid for repose. And Mr. Doty, intending to have things as comfortable as circumstances would admit, had other poles pinned to the upright one, a few inches above the others. These answered the purpose of supporting the front and foot of the bed, while the walls were the supports of the head and back. A few wooden pins, stuck in the logs of the cabin on Daniel Doty - 189 one side of the fire-place, supported some clapboards, which served as shelves for the table furniture, which consisted of a few pewter dishes and spoons, wooden bowls, trenchers, and noggins. These latter were small vessels shaped like a pail, made from wooden staves, secured with wooden hoops, and held about a quart. When these were scarce, gourds and hard-shelled squashes made up the deficiency. A few wooden pegs around other parts of the wall, on which to hang the petticoats of the mistress and children, and the hunting shirts of the master of the mansion, and two buck horns fastened to a joist for the rifle, completed the carpenter work of the building. And for the accommodation of the babies, Mr. Doty cut down a hollow sycamore tree, out of which he constructed a cradle in which to rock them to sleep. There were but very few settlers in the neighborhood at the time when Mr. Doty commenced his improvement. There was a block-house inclosed by pickets, and a few cabins on the south side of the prairie, near Dick's creek, a little west of where the cross-roads now are. His neighbors were Mr. Brady, Mr. Carson, John Reed, and Joseph Henry. No crops had been raised to supply those coming to the country, consequently Mr. Doty had to go to Cincinnati for a portion of the provisions to support his family for the first year. He had there to pay one dollar per bushel for corn meal, 190 - Pioneer Biography. and then pack it home on horseback, where it was baked into johnny cakes on a clapboard before the fire. This was their only bread. As for meat, wild game was plenty, and Mr. Doty took great delight in hunting. He killed a great number of deer, wild turkeys, wild cats, raccoons, and several bears. The good staid people of Middletown would, perhaps, now feel somewhat surprised to be told of the rencounters which Mr. Doty has had, in his time, with bears and wild cats in the vicinity of their now populous and thriving town. A few of them we will call to their recollection, as they were related by Mr. Doty himself. In the latter part of the summer of the year 1796, some time after Mr. Doty had settled upon his land below Middletown, one Sunday morning he started to go to meeting, not then having his gun with him. When he had gone a short distance he heard his dog barking across a cornfield. He knew the dog's bark. (It was a little dog that had come from the Indians, and was an excellent dog for raccoons.) Mr. Doty crossed the field and found that the dog was barking at a wild cat, which was standing upon the fence, looking down at it. On Doty speaking to encourage the dog, the wild cat looked round and jumped off the fence toward him, and, on his advancing toward the cat, it ran off followed by the dog. The corn being thick and high, he lost sight of both of them, but soon saw the wild cat Daniel Doty - 191 coming toward him closely followed by the dog. When the cat turned round to seize the dog, Mr. Doty kicked the cat over, and caught it by the hind legs (having no weapons with him) ; he placed his left foot upon its breast, and pressed it with all his might upon the ground until it was dead. Mr. Doty said he had killed a number of wild cats, but thinks this one was one-third larger than any he had ever seen. Mr. Doty had also a large dog that was very good for raccoons, wild cats, and bears. One Monday morning, an hour or two before daylight, he took his gun and started out with his dogs to hunt. He went through the woods in an easterly direction, south of where the town of Middletown now is. When he had gone about a mile, he heard his dogs bark, and, on coming up with them, found they had treed a bear. The bear was clinging to the body of the tree at no great distance from the ground. On Mr. Doty speaking with an encouraging voice to the dog, he sprung up the tree toward the bear, on which the bear snapped his teeth and ascended higher up the tree. Mr. Doty, whose rifle was loaded, took aim by moonlight, and fired at him. The bear blew out his breath, and commenced coming down the tree. By this time Mr. Doty had the assistance of a young neighbor, who came to him with an ax and another dog. As soon as the bear reached the ground, the dogs seized him. The bear must 192 - Pioneer Biography. have been stunned by the shot, or, as Mr. Doty expressed it, " the bear fainted," and lay still as if he were dead. Mr. Doty concluded that he would stick him, and forcing his way through the spice brush, got on the bear, and was feeling where to put the knife, when suddenly the bear revived, sprung up, threw Mr. Doty from him, and knocked the dogs over with his paws. The young man who had just come to the scene of action, attempting to retreat, fell down in the brush. The bear then wheeled around, sprung at Doty, and caught hold of each of his shoulders with the claws of his forefeet, and was drawing Doty toward him, his mouth wide open. Doty said that he saw his white teeth by the moonlight, which was shining brightly, but could not say that he was in the least terrified: "I thought that if it was a man, I could knock him down; I gave him a blow in the throat with all my strength, which prostrated him flat on his back; his claws tore my old coat when I knocked him over." By this time the dogs had recovered themselves, and seized the bear, which made off. Doty caught up the ax and followed, through the brush and over logs, striking at the bear with the ax as an opportunity presented. In this manner he soon cut off one of the bear's hind legs, and then the other one. At last he got a stroke at the bear's back and killed him. When the bear was dead and the excitement over, says Doty: " I felt myself as weak as a feeble woman ; I went and got my cart and Daniel Doty - 193 oxen, and hauled the bear home. He was as good meat as I ever did eat. By this time I had raised a crop of corn, and had got a hand mill to grind it in, and we fared sumptuously every day while the bear meat lasted." There was an old she-bear in the neighborhood, which committed great ravages among the hogs. One day she caught one of the neighbor's hogs, which squealed so loud that the owner heard it and ran to the place, when the bear dropped her prey and made off. The old man stayed by the hog and sent his son for Mr. Doty, who started immediately with his dog and gun. When they got to where the bear had crossed the road, the dog took the track and followed it up until they came to where the old man and hog were. Doty spoke and told the dog to "catch him." He started right off, and in two minutes had the bear treed. The boy took the gun and shot, but only wounded the bear. She came down the tree. While Doty was loading the gun, the bear and dogs were fighting through the brush. When Mr. Doty had finished loading, he ventured so close to the bear that when the gun was discharged, the powder blew aside the hair where the ball entered. Notwithstanding which, the bear made an attempt to escape. But the dogs hung to her until Doty took an ax and split her head open, which terminated the contest. I will relate one more bear story, and we will have 194 - Pioneer Biography. done with the subject. It was in the year 1800 that Mr. Doty and a man by the name of John Dean set out on a journey to the State of New Jersey. A great portion of the way was at that time a wilderness—their only road a trace or bridle path. When traveling along the trace, between the Scioto and Muskingum rivers, they discovered a bear in the path before them, going in the same direction. Mr. Doty observed to his companion: "I want to kill that bear." They had no weapons with them, except a large pocket knife. Doty alighted, gave his horse to his companion, and cutting a large club, about six feet long, pursued the bear along the path. The bear soon turned out of the path near a large log. Doty jumped upon the log and ran along it until he got even with the bear. When the bear raised his head to see what was coming, Doty met it with the butt end of his club, which brought the bear to his knees, and when he recovered and again raised his head, Doty met him with another stroke of his club, which brought him to the ground. Doty then jumped off the log, and repeated his blows until the bear was dead. When the bear found he was overpowered, he snapped his teeth together with a noise that could have been heard at least one hundred yards. This took place more than twenty miles from any house. He was a large, old he-bear. They left him lying beside the log where he fell, and proceeded on their journey. Mr. Doty was the first collector of taxes in the part Daniel Doty - 195 of the country where he settled. His district was twelve miles wide, from north to south, comprising two ranges of townships, extending from the Great Miami to the Little Miami rivers, comprehending the sites where the towns of Franklin and Waynesville have been laid out, and the intermediate country and settlements. The whole amount of the duplicate committed to him for collection was two hundred and forty-four dollars, of which he collected every dollar, and paid it over to Jacob Burnet at Cincinnati, who was then treasurer for the county of Hamilton. Mr. Doty's own tax, for some years previous to his death, was upward of one hundred and thirty-four dollars—more than half the amount which he then collected from the whole district of which he had been collector. In the discharge of the duties of his office as collector, he must have ridden more than one thousand miles. For these services, including his time and expenses, he received one per cent. on the amount of the duplicate—two dollars forty-four cents, and no more. This appears to have satisfied Mr. Doty with public office, as he never afterward, during his whole life, was a candidate for any office. Mr. Doty lived to witness the Miami country rise from a wilderness covered with dense forests, inhabited by wild beasts of prey, and Indians still more wild and savage than the beasts, to its present high state of cultivation and improvement. In the place of the Indian trail and bridle-path, blazed through the woods, 196 - Pioneer Biography. he lived to see the country improved by turnpike roads, canals, and railroads ; and the Indian wigwam and rude cabin give place to elegant brick buildings and comfortable farm-houses. From a poor adventurer in a strange land, he became a man of wealth and influence in society. On the 2d day of May, 1848, he was attacked with a bilious congestive fever, which, increasing in volence, baffled all medical skill. And on Monday, the 8th, he breathed his last, at the age of eighty-three years. On the following Tuesday, his remains were interred in the burying ground, east of Middletown, followed to the grave by a large number of relatives and friends, and a vast concourse of citizens. Daniel Doty and his wife, Betsy, lived together on their farm, near Middletown, more than fifty-two years. At the time of his death, she was seventy-seven years of age. She is still living. They raised a family of ten children, brought up in the habits of industry, who all grew up to maturity, married, and lived respectably in the world. Daniel Doty was the third son of John Doty, who was a son of Joseph Doty,* and married, first, Elizabeth Potter, eldest child of Amos Potter, son of Daniel * For genealogy of the Doty family, see Littell's Family Records, or Genealogies of the first settlers of Passaic Valley, pp. 138-143. Daniel Doty - 197 Potter. She died, leaving no living children. Daniel Doty then married, for his second wife, Elizabeth Crane, daughter of Joseph Crane, and had children: I. Joel, born in New Jersey, February 9, 1795, drowned in the Great Miami river, when eleven years old. II. Noah, born May 6, 1796, in Ohio, and died in his seventh year. III. John, born December 15, 1797, and married Peggy Jewell, daughter of John Jewell, near Middletown. IV. Daniel C., born August 9, 1799, married, first, Mary Burdge, daughter of Anthony Burdge, and had children. She died, and he married, for his second wife, Catherine Crane, daughter of Joseph Crane. V. Elizabeth, born January 16, 1801, married Ambrose Doty, son of George Doty, and had children. VI. Huldah, born January 8, 1803, married John Williamson, and had children. VII. Orpha, born June 8, 1804, married Thomas Van Tuyle, and had children. VIII. Serepta, born February 16, 1806, married, first, James Jewell, brother of John Doty's wife. He died, and she married Aretus Crane, son of Joseph Crane, and had children. IX. Joseph, born January 7, 1808, married Mary Vail, daughter of Samuel Vail, brother of Stephen 198 - Pioneer Biography. Vail, the first proprietor of Middletown, and had children. X. James Mier, born October 8, 1809, married Susan Anderson, and had children. XI. Jerusha, born January 9, 1814, married Simeon Taylor, and had one son, named George. XII. Elias, born June 23, 1815, married Pamelia Bogart, and had one son, named Noah. He went to Iowa, and died at about twenty-two years of age. XV. Matthew Hueston. COLONEL MATTHEW HUESTON was born of respectable parents, in moderate circumstances, on the 1st of May, 1771, in what is now Franklin county, Pennsylvania (then forming a part of Cumberland county), at a place near the base of the North or Cove mountains, called the "Corner," within a few miles of the town of Mercersburgh, which was then an important point of trade with the Indian traders and settlers west of the Alleghany mountains. It was at that period no uncommon event to see fifty or one hundred horses, with pack-saddles, in a row, at Mercersburgh, taking on their loads of salt, iron, and other commodities for the Monongahela country. About three miles in a northwest direction from Mercersburgh, there is a wild, romantic gorge in the Cove mountain. Within this gorge, the old road leads up through a narrow, secluded cove or glen, encircled on every side by high and rugged mountains. Here, at the foot of a toilsome ascent in the road, which the old traders called " The Stony Battery," some sixty