HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 75 ligious worship, although varying with place, all seem to confirm the present belief that these builders of mounds were of the same race as the Indians found here by the early explorers. They had passed on as have the peoples of Babylon, Ninevah, Troy and Tyre and as all men and nations pass in time. Age, indolence and war, grim, relentless and unfailing, remove the old, the idle and the weak and leave the field for those who can hold it. Within the confines of Franklin County there are listed one hundred thirty-two mounds, twenty-eight enclosures, six village sites, twenty burial sites and one cache, a total of one hundred eighty-seven. Twenty-five of these mounds are in Hamilton Township, twenty-one in Jackson Township and no division of the county is without its specimens of these ancient works. Several of them originally stood within the present corporate limits of the City of Columbus. When the first settlers came to Columbus they found an impressive specimen of the pre-historic mound located at the intersection of High and Mound streets, the only remnant of which is the name it gave to the latter street. From the descriptions given by pioneers it appears that this mound was at least forty feet in heighth above the level of the land to the east, probably three hundred feet in diameter at the base and one hundred feet across the top. It had the form of a truncated cone, the slope of the sides being almost uniform except to the south, where it was somewhat steeper. The eastern side of this mound was cut through in the early improvement of the Chillicothe pike, now South High street, but a portion of it was left practically intact and formed the terrace on which the old courthouse was built. The north side was cut away in the improvement of Mound street and the erection of buildings in the neighborhood, but old St. Paul's Lutheran Church stood for years on the remnant which afforded a firm foundation for the church while the church protected the vestige of the mound. Both have been swept away by the requirements of the modern speed mania to make room for a gasoline station, important no doubt in the present scheme of things, but owing its mention here solely to the site upon which it is located. On the bottom lands near the junction of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers the pioneers found several fine specimens of mounds and 76 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY another on the site of the present Penitentiary. All have been destroyed. About two and one-half miles northwest of the State Capitol, on Dublin avenue near the present waterworks pumping station there is a mound on the property of William A. Pope that for size, form and state of preservation has but one competitor in the county. It is twenty-one feet high, one hundred eleven feet in diameter at the base and approximately fifty feet across the summit. It is located about one hundred feet back from the street and formerly there was a residence in the rear, the mound occupying about the center of a large, well-kept lawn. Mr. Pope has always jealously guarded this ancient work of a bygone people from all intruders, scientific or otherwise, and plans are in the making as this is written, to have it become the property of the City of Columbus and one of the attractions of a future park or that it shall be transferred to the State Archaeological and Historical Society for safekeeping. Its accessibility, surroundings and condition impress visitors with the thought that its educational value as it now stands is greater than any probable additions it might afford to the already great collection of mound contents that have been discovered and preserved from other sources. On the west side of the Scioto River, near the Marble Cliff Quarries, but a short distance south of the Traube Pike, on the Shrum farm, is a mound described in Lee's History of Columbus as being about fifteen feet high and eighty feet in diameter at the base. In line with the policy of preserving and beautifying the surroundings of as many as possible of these prehistoric remains, early in 1929 the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society obtained an option on this mound with an acre of ground and with the aid of Mrs. Jesse Campbell Coons, the daughter of the late Governor James E. Campbell, it was purchased, the ground was cleared of a large accumulation of debris, an enclosure of well-built native stone with an artistic gateway was provided, and the park so developed was named in honor of Governor Campbell, who had been not only a distinguished citizen and Governor of Ohio but who, for many years, was the President of the Archaeological Society. The dedicatory services were held at the park on Saturday afternoon, October 5th, 1929, at which the principal address was delivered by Mr. Arthur C. Johnson, Sr., the President of the Society. He stressed the thought HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 77 that the mound was originally built to honor the memory of some distinguished chief of the remote past and that thenceforward, while it would continue to serve its first purpose, it would also help to keep bright the memory of a modern citizen of the Buckeye State, one who had served his country as a soldier and statesman and whose name stood high on the list of those who loved their fellow men. After this mound was cleared of wood, leaves and forest waste it was found to measure twenty-three feet in heighth and one hundred fifty-five feet in base diameter. Another earthwork of considerable interest is located about one mile west of Worthington on the high ground above the Olentangy River bottom. It is rectagular in form, being six hundred thirty feet long and five hundred fifty feet wide, enclosing about eight acres. The walls, accompanied by ditches, are now quite low but still distinct. In the line of the southern wall, near the southwest entrance, is a mound some twenty feet in height and about one hundred ninety feet in base diameter. A short distance from the main entrance way, to the southwest, is a circular enclosure, with an interior ditch, with a single entrance toward the main enclosure. This circle is one hundred twenty feet in diameter. Some other works of less interest remain in the immediate vicinity. The location and design of this enclosure strongly suggest a military origin. The mounds, enclosures and other prehistoric remains in Franklin County have not given up the rich treasures found in Ross County nor do they present any such striking appearances as are to be found in Licking, Adams and other counties, but they have been considerable in number and indicative of the presence of an ancient population probably larger than at any other time until the advent of the white pioneer. THE INDIANS The American Indians were neither the chivalrous knight errants of the shadowy forest land, as described by James Fennimore Cooper nor the "cruel monsters and good-for-nothings" as maligned by Theodore Roosevelt. They were average human beings of the evolutionary stage to which they belonged. Having wandered from their cradle-land during what might be termed the "bone age," they found an elysium of comparative freedom, the means of supporting life on 78 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY every hand readily to be taken with the tools and arms they already knew, completely isolated from contact with all other mankind and driven by neither necessity nor competition to further growth, they moved neither forward nor backward, but wandered in the wilderness even as God's Chosen People did for a season with a hundredfold more incentive to advance. Given the art of writing, tallow candles, firearms and rum, the American Indians would have compared favorably with their white brothers in all of the desirable virtues and would have set a high standard for emulation in honesty, loyalty and honor. At the time of the establishment of the first English colonies there were fewer than a million Indians in all of the vast territory now the continental United States of America. Indeed, careful estimators place the number as low as five hundred thousand. Probably the truth is somewhere between the figures quoted. At the present writing there are about 350,000 Indians living within the same boundaries. Although their numbers have been greatly reduced by wars, many of their own making, the decrease is due in a larger measure to the Red Man's inability to adapt himself to changed manners of living even in a favorable climate. The wild creatures of the woods and the plains seldom thrive in captivity and where they do, it is at a cost. too great to pay for gains of doubtful value. It is a time honored principle of both ethics and economics that a man really possesses only that which he can use. The Indians were attempting to hold lands capable of supporting more than one hundred times the population they furnished. Even now the remaining Indians have allotted to them some 52,000,000 acres of land—more than one hundred forty acres for each man, woman and child. In other words, the Indians were doing nothing for themselves but living and doing nothing at all for mankind at large—a part of their domain was needed for the expansion and development of the human race—and the white man came and took it. As for the manner of the taking, now and then a conscientious historian offers an apology without indemnity, but as for the result, even the surviving Indian views it with wonder and admiration. The Indian population of Ohio, within the knowledge of white explorers and settlers, was never great, probably not exceeding 20,000 and certainly not at any time succeeding the expulsion of the Eries HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 79 (1655) by the Iroquois. A few years before (1649) the powerful Iroquois, whose headquarters were in the lake region of central New York, armed with guns furnished by the Dutch colonists of Manhattan and probably stimulated by supplies of Dutch liquid courage, made war upon the Hurons of the Canadian peninsula between lakes Ontario and Huron. It was a war of ancient enmity with a new weapon signalizing the Indian's adoption of the civilization that had been thrust upon him, and in ferocity and fatality it compared favorably with modern examples of armed conflict. The Hurons were not only defeated but almost destroyed. The remnants of the conquered nation were pushed far to the northwest where, after the lapse of years, they recuperated to some extent and, after the Iroquois power in Ohio had ceased to influence the occupation of territory except in the extreme northeast, the Wendats, or Wyandots, who perhaps had suffered least from the Iroquois avalanche, drifted southward into Ohio, establishing headquarters near Sandusky and extending their occupancy south along the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers as far as the Shawnee villages in the Pickaway plains. The Delawares, occupying the entire southeastern part of the state, were also comparatively recent arrivals, having been practically expelled from their former residences in the south by the pressure of white colonists and the consequent shifting of Indian ranges. The Shawnees of the immediate west were also newcomers with a similar history of vicissitude, and even the Miamis of the farther west were not of sufficiently ancient residence to be considered as real pioneers. A few Mingoes, formerly part of a larger tribe located in the neighborhood of Steubenville, boasting small, if any, pride of ancestry, completed the roster of natives occupying our stage of action and its vicinity at the time the white pioneer appeared upon the scene. It is not strange that these people had little to tell of the past of the Ohio country, its ancient denizens or the rise and fall of the savage nations preceding them. Beyond a few incidents to be set down later, the Indian history of Franklin County is necessarily short and devoid of especial interest. The native population did not exceed two or three hundred and, although the resident Wyandots were a part of an important nation and no doubt participated in their tribal activities, the theatre of action was elsewhere. 80 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY The most important relationship of this territory to historic Indian activities lay in the fact that the Scioto River, south from Columbus to its confluence with the Ohio, and the Olentangy north were portions of the north and south trail over which there was almost constant and, for the times, extensive travel to and from the vast stretches beyond Detroit across the Ohio River into Kentucky and the south. There was but a short portage from the navigable headwaters of the Olentangy River to the Sandusky River. Thence the course lay down the Sandusky to Lake Erie, one route crossing the lake by way of the islands and the other skirting the south and west shores to Detroit, over which war parties, hunters and traders were passing constantly in canoes during favorable seasons of the year ; and this route was paralleled by a land trail but slightly second in importance. The state highway from Columbus south to Portsmouth retains the name of the "Scioto Trail." The Franklin County Indians, therefore, were located on a great highway enabling them to keep in touch with the doings of their own world and no doubt to profit to some extent socially and materially by their contact with travelers. While Franklin County was considered to be Wyandot territory, there were three Mingo villages within the boundaries of the present City of Columbus: one on the banks of the Scioto River just south of the present Penitentiary site, a second on the west side of the river where the Workhouse is located and a third near the east end of the Green Lawn Avenue bridge. These Mingo villages afforded the site and were the victims of the only battle ever fought in this county, an incident of Dunmore's War. The contact of the Virginians with the Ohio Indians, for many years, had not been satisfactory to either. Roving bands of savages made raids east of the Ohio River and even across the mountains on missions of murder, arson and pillage, while sporadic reprisals were executed by the whites with scarcely less vigor. In July, 1774, Governor Dunmore had sent Major Angus McDonald, with 400 men, against the Shawnee towns on the southern Scioto and, while McDonald made a strong impression, destroying the Indian settlements on the Muskingum, he was short of provisions and was obliged to return to Wheeling. Dunmore then proceeded to raise and equip an army of some 2,500 men, volunteers who knew Indian fighting, with HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 81 sufficient equipment for a real campaign and in two divisions proceeded westward. Dunmore commanded the first division in person and General Andrew Lewis the second division. Lewis was instructed to proceed with his army, largely made up of sharp-shooting frontiersmen from Augusta and neighboring counties, by the southern route to the mouth of the Great Kanawha, where Point Pleasant is now located and where Dunmore proposed to join him. But, without indicating his change of plans to Lewis, the Governor assembled his division at Cumberland on the Potomac and proceeded across country until he struck the Monongehela, thence down that stream to the Ohio River and down the Ohio to the mouth of the Hocking, and thence north to the Pickaway plains. When General Lewis arrived at the mouth of the Great Kanawha on the 9th of October, 1774, he was met by messengers who informed him of the change of plans and delivered the Governor's orders to join the latter at the point of his objective. Lewis was preparing to obey orders on the following day when, early in the morning, he was suddenly attacked by an army of Indians, practically equal in size to his own, under command of the Shawnee chief Cornstalk, and, what is described as the most desperate conflict ever fought between the colonists and the Indians, ensued. Cornstalk had kept himself thoroughly informed of all of the movements of the Virginians and had planned a piece of Napoleonic strategy in attacking the enemy in detail, hoping to defeat one division by a surprise attack and destroy the second at his leisure. The battle lasted all day, but the frontier whites had superior arms and knew how to use them to the best advantage and Lewis added a touch of real military tactics by turning the Indian flank and precipitating an unexpected charge on Cornstalk's rear. The Indians, thinking that reinforcements had arrived and having already suffered heavy losses, hastily withdrew and during the night crossing the Ohio River, hurried north to intercept Dunmore and sue for peace. At the Governor's headquarters on Scippo Creek, a few miles south of Circleville, beginning on the 19th of October, the peace conference was begun, finally resulting in an agreement that the Indians were to refrain from all incursions into that part of Virginia lying east and south of the Ohio River, they giving hostages as guarantee of the faithful performance of their compact. For the purposes of 82 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY the conference Dunmore had required responsible representation from all of the Indian tribes involved. Logan, probably the most influential chief of the Mingoes, although within a few miles of the Virginian camp, refused to attend, sending instead a message which, as translated by John Gibson, has become an American classic. Dunmore was not satisfied with generalities and despatched Col. William Crawford, with 240 men, on an expedition with instructions to overtake and capture or subdue such of the Mingoes as were supposed to be stealing away to avoid participation in the treaty of peace. Crawford proceeded along the Scioto trail until he arrived at the Mingo villages in Columbus. His attack on two of the villages was made at daybreak and Col. Crawford himself admits that most of the warriors had already escaped. However, the villages were thoroughly "shot up," probably more enthusiastically than was necessary, this being the only engagement any part of Dunmore's division had participated in. Six Indians were killed, fourteen were taken prisoners, some white prisoners held by the Indians were released, and ten guns, several horses alleged to have been stolen, and a quantity of plunder, afterward sold for four hundred pounds, were taken as the spoils of victory. Colonel Crawford, in his official report, states that he destroyed two villages. What happened to the third village, probably the one on the west side of the river, is not of record, but this "Battle of Columbus" dispersed the Mingoes in this locality and nothing further is heard of them. The Wyandots maintained a village of considerable importance on the east bank of the Scioto in the neighborhood of Livingston avenue. This village was in existence after the first white settlers came and their relations with the Indians seem to have been peaceable and even pleasant. These were the Indians who cultivated the rich soil of the lowlands west of the river. Other villages of smaller importance were located within the county. On the grounds of the Wyandot Club, near the storage dam, the original owner was able to point out the site of a cabin frequently used by the great Chief Tarhe (the Crane) on his visit to members of the nation in this section. Tarhe was a sort of over-lord of all the Wyandots in Ohio and, in many respects, the most powerful and influential Indian with whom the early settlers came in contact either in war or peace. He was born at Detroit in 1742 and early moved into Ohio with his own HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 83 tribe, the Porcupines. He participated in every important encounter between the whites and the Indians from 1760 until the Wayne treaty at Greenville in August, 1795. He was a strong and consistent opponent to every encroachment on what he considered native rights, but after leading the list of signers to Wayne's treaty, he was just as earnest in carrying out its provisions to the time of his death in 1818. When Tarhe was a young chief he had married a French wife, daughter of Chevalier La Durante, who had been taken captive by the Wyandots. It is related that she declined an opportunity to return to her own home, preferring to remain with her captors and become the bride of her savage suitor. No doubt much of Tarhe's wisdom and success in dealing with white men was due to the knowledge and influence of his white wife. They had but one child, a daughter Myeerah, to whom we shall have occasion to refer later. While Tarhe is deserving of mention in any history of Franklin County because of his many visits to this territory and his connection with affairs that influenced the welfare of its pioneers, he is entitled to further consideration from the fact that he was actually a resident of the county as established in 1803, his home being then at Cranestown in Wyandot County, then included in Franklin and so continued until it was attached to Delaware County in 1809. Tarhe is believed to be the only Indian ever residing in Franklin County having descendants now living within its present boundaries. No reference to the Indian history of our county is complete without mention of the tragic fate of the Wyandot Chief Leatherlips. He was a friend of Tarhe and holding the same views as to treaty obligations, he became an obstacle to the wild plans of Tecumseh and his brother in the turbulent times preceding the War of 1812. Leatherlips, although an old man well past his fighting days, wielded a considerable influence and it seemed necessary to the conspirators to get him out of the way. The method chosen was judicial assassination. He was charged with witchcraft, tried and convicted without being present at his own trial and a party of six executioners, captained by a petty scoundrel named Roundhead, despatched to carry out the sentence. Leatherlips was found in camp, with a single companion, on the east bank of the Scioto River, north of Dublin near the Delaware County line, on the 1st of June, 1810. The affair 84 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY seems to have been carried out with more formality and decorum than usually attend the assassinations of civilization but the result was just as fatal. The old man was murdered and his body buried in a shallow grave prepared beforehand. The memory of his kindly life and his friendship for the early settlers is kept alive by an appropriate monument erected over his grave by the Wyandot Club of Columbus in 1888. It was Indians like Tarhe and Leatherlips who justified such allusions as "Noble Red Man," and "Paladins of the Forest." CHAPTER III FIRST WHITE MEN AND EARLY SETTLERS. CHRISTOPHER GIST—ISAAC ZANE—JONATHAN ALDER—JOHN BRICKELLTHE ARMSTRONGS—OFFICIAL LIST OF PIONEERS—CONCERNING KEZIAH HAMLIN—THE McGOWAN FEUD—REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIERS BURIED IN FRANKLIN COUNTY. We have duly noted the expedition of Colonel Crawford, with his detachment of Dunmore's army, into this county in 1774. This was the first white incursion in force and the largest for many years, but they were not the first of our race to visit this territory. It has been the fashion to refer to Christopher Gist as the first white man to set foot on Franklin County soil during the course of his tour of exploration and investigation in this section for the Ohio Company of Virginia in 1750. The entire expedition, findings and report of Gist are of great importance and consuming interest to the student of Ohio history, but unfortunately he did not visit Franklin County as now existing and probably did not touch even the southern portion as created (now a part of Pickaway County) in his journey. He reached the Great Swamp in Licking County (now Buckeye Lake) from the east, proceeded south to the location of Lancaster and then southwest to the Shawnee villages on the Scioto. In the course of his journey he found white people, both permanent and temporary residents, captives of the Indians who had been adopted by the natives, as well as adventurers and traders, so that, no doubt Franklin County had been visited by both classes of white people before Gist's time. However, the first white person known to have visited this territory prior to 1774 was Isaac Zane. He was a great-grandson of Robert Zane, who came to Philadelphia in 1682 with William Penn and became a prominent member of the Quaker colony. Robert's - 85 - 86 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY son, Nathaniel, removed to Virginia, settled in the Shenandoah valley near Winchester, where some of his descendants are now living. Nathaniel's son, William, moved further west, settling in the valley of the South Branch of the Potomac, now in the state of West Virginia. Here he was living in 1762 with his wife, and his five sons, Ebenezer, Silas, Andrew, Jonathan and Isaac and daughter, Elizabeth, afterward the heroine of Fort Henry. During this year (1762) Isaac aged eleven and Jonathan, aged thirteen, were captured by a band of Wyandots when returning from School near Moorefield, Virginia, and were carried across the mountains and over the Great Trail to the headquarters of the Indian tribe then near Sandusky. It is said that afterward Jonathan was ransomed, but the traits of character exhibited during his eventful life make it seem more probable that he left without permission or waiting for ransom at the first opportunity and that Isaac did not go with him because of real affection for Tarhe, who had made the boy a member of his household and was treating him as a son, and because both Jonathan and Isaac no doubt felt that the latter could leave also any time he wished. The whole family were frontiersmen able to match the Indians themselves in everything pertaining to forest life and, as Jonathan often said in after years, the boys regarded the whole affair as a good deal of a joke on their captors. But Isaac never left his Wyandots. He grew to young manhood with them, married Tarhe's daughter, Myeerah and, until his death in 1816, was prominent in all the activities of his adopted people, being considered as one of their Chiefs, and generally known as "The White Eagle of the Wyandots." From his boyhood he traveled with Tarhe on all of his important expeditions up and down the Scioto river. In 1786 he procured a large tract of land in the valley of the Mad River in Logan County, founded the town afterward known as Zanesfield, and, for a number of years, while Tarhe was living at Cranestown, now Lancaster, they visited back and forth always crossing Franklin County in their journeys. Zane was present at the treaty of Greenville as an interpreter and his signature appears on that document ; he also participated in the conference with General Harrison in Franklinton. He is generally given credit for wise counsel and influence with the Indians during all of the early dealings of the pioneers with them in this part of Ohio. He had HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 87 a family of three sons and four daughters and their descendants are now found in many states of the Union. The late General Robert P. Kennedy, of Bellefontaine, lawyer, historian and Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, was a grandson and two of his sons, with their families, are now living in the city of Columbus. The next early white visitor of record was Jonathan Alder. Born near Philadelphia in 1773, he moved to Wythe County, Virginia, with his parents in 1780. A year afterward he and his brother were captured by a marauding party of Mingoes, his brother killed and scalped in his presence, and Jonathan taken to an Indian village in what is now Logan County. Here he was made over into an Indian and remanded with and as one of them until 1795. Later he was living on the banks of the Big Darby where he met Lucas Sullivant and became acquainted with members of his family with whom he kept in communication for many years. Alder's account of the "Battle of Columbus," as given to Joseph Sullivant, was obtained from the "older Indians," as he said, and is hardly to be considered as evidence sufficiently strong to contradict the official report of Colonel Crawford concerning that incident. In the war of 1812 Alder raised a company, of which he was elected Captain, and rendered valuable service in that struggle. After the coming of the white settlers in this vicinity, Alder made a journey back to Wythe County, Virginia, and visited his mother and other members of his family, but returned to this section where he spent the remainder of his life. He was generally regarded as a man of importance and lived to a good old age. He was certainly a traveler and hunter in this county as early as 1790. Another Indian captive who became an early settler was John Brickell. He was born near Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1781 but, on account of the death of his father, went to live with an older brother near the site of Pittsburgh when he was a mere lad. Here, in 1791, he was captured by a large party of Indians who were making a raid on the white settlements along the Allegheny River. Young Brickell was taken across the state, meeting with a variety of adventures on the way, and finally delivered to an Indian chief known as Big Cat, of the Delawares, then living on the Auglaize River, he was duly adopted by the Big Chief and lived with him as one of his family for four years until after the battle of Fallen Timbers and Wayne's 88 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY treaty. With other surrendered prisoners he was taken by Wayne's army as far south as Kentucky where he found relatives, later returning to his old home on the Allegheny. In 1797 John Brickell came to Franklinton and joined the new settlement, but soon decided upon another location on the higher ground on the east side of the river. He erected his first cabin at the foot of Long street on the river bank and acquired considerable property along the river, on Spruce street, in Clinton township and a home site just south of the present Penitentiary, where he built two successive cabins and where he lived until his death in 1844. He lived the life of an active pioneer, took a prominent place in the affairs of the early settlers and left a record of sterling worth. As this is written the necessary preliminary steps are being taken to erect a memorial in his honor on the site of his first place of residence. Jeremiah Armstrong was another early resident who had been an Indian captive. His story was written by himself and published in full in Martin's History of Franklin County in 1858. From it we learn that Jeremiah was born in Washington County, Maryland, in 1785. The family, consisting of the father, mother, a sister and three brothers, William, Robert and John, older than Jeremiah, and two or three younger children, moved across the mountains and settled on the Virginia side of the Ohio river opposite Blennerhasset Island. In April, 1794, the house was attacked by some twenty Indians. William and Robert were absent at the time and the father, after exhausting his means of defense, escaped through the roof and went after them for help. Before he could return, the Indians broke into the house, killed the mother and younger children, and made off with Jeremiah, John and their sister. The three were taken to Lancaster where the party separated, the sister being taken to Maumee and afterward to Detroit, where she remained and subsequently married. The boys were taken to the Indian capital near Sandusky where they were adopted into different tribes and, for a time, enjoyed all the delights of perfect freedom. Their wild life was comparatively short, however. Wayne's victory came the following year and the treaty provided for the release of all prisoners. William Armstrong, the lads' brother, located the boys and, after some trouble in overcoming their objections to a return to civilization and the Indian's reluctance HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 89 to part with them, took them to Chillicothe where they lived for some two years. In 1797 Jeremiah, with his older brother Robert, settled in Franklinton. There he remained until 1813 when, realizing the possibilities of the new town across the river, he bought a lot on High Street, put up a building and opened the Red Lion Tavern, a center of social life, providing entertainment for man and beast. Robert Armstrong became a prominent figure in the life of the settlement. The official list of first settlers of Franklin County has been sanctioned by the Franklin County Pioneers' Association and permanently recorded in the form of a marble tablet placed in the Memorial Hall. It is as follows: FIRST PIONEER SETTLERS OF FRANKLIN COUNTY BY TOWNSHIPS. The Advance Guard of Civilization ; When and Where They Located. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. Lucas Sullivant 1797 Robert Armstrong 1797 Samuel McElvain 1798 Joseph Foos 1798 James Scott 1799 Joseph Vance 1800 John Huffman 1801 Rev. James Hoge 1803 Abraham Deardurff 1798 Adam Hosack 1801 CLINTON TOWNSHIP. John Lisle 1800 Balser Hess 1800 David Beers 1802 John Wilson 1804 Dehman Coe 1804 Joseph Shrum 1806 Amaziah Stanley 1814 William Neil 1816 MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP. Frederick Agler 1799 William Read 1799 George Baughman 1805 Judge Ebenezer Butler 1808 John Turney 1808 Lebbeus E. Dean 1810 Stephen Price 1810 SHARON TOWNSHIP. James Kilbourne 1802 David Bristol 1803 Israel Case 1803 Ezra Griswold 1803 Capt. Abner Pinney 1803 Samuel Beach 1803 William Thompson 1803 Levi Buttles 1803 Moses Maynard 1804 Samuel Wilson 1804 90 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP. Jeremiah Armstrong 1797 John Brickell 1797 David Nelson 1798 Nathaniel Hamlin 1799 John White 1800 William Hamilton 1801 Edward C. Livingston 1804 Lincoln Goodale 1805 Lyne Starling 1805 William Merion 1808 PLEASANT TOWNSHIP. Elijah Chenoweth 1799 John Dyer 1799 John Biggert 1799 Thomas Roberts 1800 James Gardner 1802 HAMILTON TOWNSHIP. John Dill 1800 Arthur O'Harra, Sr. 1800 Michael Fisher 1798 Thomas Morris 1802 George W. Williams 1804 John Stambaugh 1804 Samuel Breckenridge 1800 WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. Ludwig Sells 1800 Benjamin Sells 1800 Augustus Miller 1804 George Ebey 1805 Jacob King 1808 Charles Mitchell 1815 JACKSON TOWNSHIP. Hugh Grant 1803 Woollery Conrad 1804 Nicholas Haughn 1804 William C. Duff 1806 Henry Huffman 1807 John Hoover 1807 William Brown 1807 BLENDON TOWNSHP. Edward Phelps, Sr. 1805 Isaac Griswold 1805 Ethan Palmer 1806 Simeon Moore 1807 Riley Meacham 1807 Timothy Lee 1807 Oliver Clark 1807 Francis Olmstead 1808 George Osborn 1808 John Mattoon 1808 JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP. Matthias Dague 1802 Jachanias Rose 1803 Moses Ogden 1806 John Edgar 1806 William Armstrong 1812 William Headley 1812 MADISON TOWNSHIP. John Stevenson 1799 John Kalb 1800 John Blair, Sr. 1800 John McGuffey 1803 Charles Rarey, Sr. 1806 Philip Pontius, Sr. 1806 TRURO TOWNSHIP. Robert Taylor 1806 Abiatha Taylor 1806 HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 91 David Taylor 1806 Capt. John W. Hanson 1806 John Long 1807 Thomas Palmer 1805 PRAIRIE TOWNSHP. Shadrack Postle 1805 James O'Harra 1802 John Davis 1804 Joseph Hickman 1806 Henry Clover 1812 Francis A. McCormick 1812 PLAIN TOWNSHIP. Joseph Scott 1802 _____ Morrison 1801 Adam Baughman 1803 Thomas B. Patterson 1805 Gilbert Watters 1806 George Campbell 1808 John Smith 1813 Anthony Wayne Taylor 1818 PERRY TOWNSHIP. Morris Brown 1803 Isaac Case 1803 Bela M. Tuller 1805 Peter Millington 1804 Capt. Daniel Mickey 1804 NORWICH TOWNSHIP. Daniel Brunk 1807 Rev. Benjamin Britton 1807 Rev. Isaac Grace 1808 Capt. Samuel Davis 1812 William M. Armistead 1808 BROWN TOWNSHIP. Adam Blount 1810 David Brooks located in Columbus, 1812. The first child born in what is now Columbus, east of river, Keziah Hamlin, October 16, 1804. Married David Brooks. Of Keziah Hamlin a pleasing story is related. The Hamlin cabin was located on the site afterward occupied by the Hoster Brewery and in the neighborhood of the Wyandot village. The Indians were frequent callers on Mrs. Hamlin, having developed a fine sense of appreciation for her fresh bread. Evidently the Hamlins did not attempt to discourage them and they became so familiar that they often helped themselves without question, always leaving full value of the bread taken, in the form of choice cuts of venison and other game. One day when Keziah, but a babe, was sleeping in her wooden trough cradle and no one about but her mother, several of the Indians came in company and without "by your leave" or other formality, took the baby and departed. Resistance on the part of Mrs. Hamlin was worse than useless and she spent several unpleasant hours between fears for the worst and attempts at resignation in the belief 92 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY that the Indians were friendly. Late in the afternoon, but before any rescue party could be organized, the Indians returned with the child unharmd and in gleeful humor, kicking her tiny feet to show off a pair of beautiful beaded moccasins and displaying her new feathers in a manner usually expected only in more mature femininity. The Indians wanted the moccasins to fit and took no chance on guesswork but borrowed the baby and adjusted the footgear to the intended Wearer. The beaded moccasins remained a family treasure and were used to prove that there were good Indians even if they were somewhat original in their manner of proving it. As to the number of the early settlers listed above further and more extended notice will be given, notably Lucas Sullivant, Lyne Starling, Lincoln Goodale and the Rev. James Hoge. As to others a passing comment is appropriate here: Ludwig Sells, and his sons, John, Benjamin and Peter, settled near Dublin. Benjamin was an early county commissioner. John Huffman was born in Maryland, later living in Washington County, Pennsylvania. He was a captain in Dunmore's army. In 1804 he located on a tract of 380 acres of land on the Scioto south of Columbus and ran a distillery. David Beers settled in the forest just north of the Ohio State University. His home had been in Maryland, where he had been captured by the Indians in his boyhood. He died in 1858 at the age of 104. Balser Hess settled on the west side of the Olentangy River four miles north of Franklinton. He was an early tanner and supplied the pioneers with boots until the time of his death in 1806. Joseph Foos was the proprietor of the first hotel in Franklinton and joint owner of the first ferry. He was a senator or representative in the state legislature during twenty-five sessions, including the period covered by the War of 1812. During this war he rose from captain to the grade of brigadier general and from 1825 until the time of his death he held a commission as major general in the state militia. The official list does not pretend to be all-inclusive. Other early settlers were: HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 93 John McGowan, who acquired a tract of about 350 acres of land as early as 1802, a part of which was later platted as South Columbus. For a generation or two there was a friendly feud between the descendants of David Brooks and John McGowan as to whether the first cabin on the east bank of the Scioto was built by Nathaniel Hamlin or John McGowan. The controversy has never been settled. The McGowan cabin stood on the site now occupied by the Bliss Hotel, 610 South High Street. John K. Delashmut came to Franklinton from Maryland in 1802; married Sarah Worthington, of Hamilton Township ; the first manufacturer of hats. James O'Harra came to America from Ireland in 1780. He came to Franklinton with his wife and three sons, James, Arthur and Thomas in 1802. Isaac and Jeremiah Miner came from New York, the former in 1806, the latter in 1808. They owned the farm from which Green Lawn Cemetery was taken. Ralph Osborne, of Waterbury, Connecticut, came to Franklinton in 1806. He was for five terms clerk of the House of Representatives ; for eighteen years auditor of state and twice a member of the Ohio Senate. He died in Columbus December 30, 1835. Dr. Samuel Parsons, a native of Reading, Connecticut, came to Franklinton in 1811, where he practiced medicine until 1816. He then moved across the river to Columbus where he continued in his profession. He was the father of George M. Parsons, who was one of the leading citizens of the succeeding generation. In 1843 Dr. Parsons was elected to the Ohio General Assembly and for a time served as president of the Franklin branch of the State Bank of Ohio. Orris Parrish came from New York and opened a law office. In 1816 he was elected presiding judge of the Common Pleas Court of this district. He represented Franklin County in the General Assembly after his retirement from the bench. He died in 1837. Jeremiah McLene was one of the three commissioners who located the county seat at Franklinton, coming to this state from Tennessee. He was county surveyor, later secretary of state, a member of Congress for two terms, and died in Washington in 1837. 94 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Gustavus Swan was born in Sharon, New Hampshire, and established a law office in Franklinton during its first decade, moving to Columbus in 1814. Other of the earliest settlers were : Joseph Dixon and wife, who built the first cabin in Franklinton ; George and John Skidmore, Robert Balentine, Jacob Grubb, Jacob Overdier, William Domigan, James Marshall, Adam Hosack, William Fleming and John Lisle. During the period between 1805 and 1809, and entitled to honor as pioneers, were Samuel White and sons, the Stewarts, Johnstons, Weatheringtons, Shannons, Ramseys, Mooberrys, Deckers, Kiles, Jacob Gander, Percival Adams, John Swisher, George W. Williams ; and between 1805 and 1812 there came R. W. McCoy, Francis Stewart, John Kerr and Alexander McLaughlin, all entitled to honorable mention. As Franklin County was not formed until 1803, it had no part in the war for independence. Among the early settlers, however, were more than two score of men who had served in that great conflict and afterward came here to make their homes. The Daughters of the American Revolution have preserved the names of many of these early patriots, inscribing them on a suitable tablet now gracing the lobby of the Memorial Hall. It bears the simple title : "Revolutionary Soldiers Buried in Franklin County," and was placed in 1912 during the regency of Mrs. Lewis C. Laylin. More recently a fuller list, covering the entire state, has been prepared by the same organization and published by the state of Ohio. From this later list the names of Samuel McElvain and Elephas Wright are omitted, and there are a number of additions. Because they came early and helped in the upbuilding of the country they had fought to make free they are here given a place. BAUGHMAN, GEORGE—Served in the Pennsylvania state troops and was pensioned from Franklin County. Born Washington County, Pennsylvania. Came to Ohio in 1807 and located on Big Lick. In 1812 moved to Mifflin Township and settled on Big Walnut. Raised the first barn in the township. Buried at Riverside Cemetery. BECKETT, HUMPHREY—Born April 19, 1758, Frederick County, Virginia. Married Susannah Blann Battot August 29, 1778. Chil- HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 95 dren : Richard M., Nelson W., James, Patsy, Ansel, Blan, Willey H., Jemima, William and Winson. Died September, 1839, near Dublin. Buried old cemetery adjoining Dublin. Enlisted January, 1777, pensioned July 6, 1818. Private under Captain Charles Porterfield and Colonel Morgan, state of Virginia. Three years service. In battles of Somerset C. H., Amboy and Monmouth. BULL, THOMAS, JR.—Private in Captain Silas Goodrich's company of militia, Colonel Allin's regiment. Born November 17, 1762, Manchester, Vermont. Died October 16, 1823, Clintonville. Buried Union Cemetery. Moved from Manchester, Vermont, to Franklin County, 1814. CLOUSE, JOHN—Served from Pennsylvania. Born in Germany in 1758 ; died in 1822 in Plain Township, buried in Smith Cemetery near New Albany. When a boy ran away from home and stole passage on a ship to America where he was sold for his passage. When the Revolution began he was offered his freedom if he would serve in the American army and accepted. CRAWFORD, JAMES—Enlisted Amherst, Nova Scotia, November 6, 1776, and while in command of a whale boat was captured by the British August, 1777, and carried to Halifax ; kept nine months when he escaped and returned to Boston. Born in Ireland April 10, 1757 ; married Martha Dickey July 4, 1776 ; died June 14, 1838 at Reynoldsburg. Emigrated to Nova Scotia in 1763 ; moved to Ohio 1802 and settled in Reynoldsburg. CULBERTSON, ROBERT—Lieutenant colonel First Battalion Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Associates. Born 1738 ; died 1820, Franklinton. DAGUE, MATHIAS—Private in Pennsylvania militia. Pensioned October 12, 1833. Born 1761 in Pennsylvania. Died February 16, 1847 in Plain Township. Buried two miles from New Albany. Moved to Plain Township in 1810. DAVIS, ANN—Was a messenger and carried orders from General Washington to the other commanders in 1779 and 1780. Born 1763 Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Married John Davis. Died June 6, 1851, Perry Township. Buried Old Davis Cemetery one mile below Dublin, east side of Scioto River. Her maiden name was Ann Simpson and she was a cousin of the mother of General U. S. Grant. 96 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY Columbus "Ann Simpson Davis" Chapter D. A. R. named in her honor. DAVIS, JOHN—Enlisted in Henry Darrah's Company, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 1778. Captain in Pennsylvania regiment. Served from 1777 to 1781. Born Montgomery County, Maryland, 1761; died 1832, Perry Township. He came to Ohio in 1816 and settled in Delaware County ; removed to Perry Township 1818. DAVIS, SAMUEL--Enlisted July, 1776, six months, in 1777 for one month; 1778 six months ; 1779 for four months ; 1781 for six months. Born Litchfield, Connecticut, January 15, 1762 ; died May 31, 1849, in Norwich Township ; buried Dublin Cemetery. Emigrated to Kentucky at the age of nineteen years ; employed as a spy to guard the settlement; captured by the Indians. Served in the War of 1812 as a captain ; served in two expeditions in the Northwest. First settled in Ohio near Chillicothe, moved to Norwich Township, 1814. DEARDORF (DIERDORF) ABRAHAM—Eighth Company, Third Battalion of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1780, under Captain Smuller. Born in Germany. Parents: Abraham and Catherine. Children : Davis, Daniel, Joseph, Samuel, Elizabeth, Paulina, Catherine. Died 1805, being killed on the border line between Ohio and Pennsylvania while carrying mail. Came to Franklinton in 1798. DENMORE, JOHN—Drummer boy. Enlisted March 1, 1780, in Sixth Maryland Regiment, in command of Major Landsell, Prince George County. Was in battle of Guilford Court House, Camden, Eutaw Springs and was wounded in the hand. Born 1751; died November 28, 1838, Mifflin Township. Buried Old Cemetery, Mifflin Township. DUNUNE, JOHN—Drummer boy and soldier. Enlisted in 1780 in Sixth Maryland. Battles of Guilford Court House, Camden, Eutaw Springs and Siege of Ninety Six. Wounded in service. Served until June, 1783. Born 1761, France. Married Sarah Burrell ; one child, Alexander Burrell Denune ; died November 28, 1838; buried Riverside Cemetery, Mifflin Township, near Linden Heights. FOOS, JOHN—Served in Captain Eyre's company, Eighth Company Pikeland Infantry, Chester County Militia, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Ball. Born Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1767. Died Franklinton, 1803. Buried Old Franklinton Cemetery. HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 97 HESS, BALSER—Served seven years in Revolutionary army from New York and Pennsylvania. Born Bedford County, Pennsylvania, 1741; died December 27, 1806. Came to Ohio 1796 and settled in Ross County, where he lived four years ; settled in Clinton Township, 1800. HICKMAN, JOSEPH—Served through Revolutionary War. Born in Virginia about 1740; died 1821, buried near Galloway ; came to Franklin County, 1806. HOOVER, JOHN—Served in Pennsylvania Militia; pensioned April 5, 1833. Born about 1742 in Pennsylvania ; died Grove City, 1840. Came to Franklin County, 1807. HUFF, JOHN—Served in Revolutionary War. Born about 1750; came to Ohio, 1807; Buried in Hamilton Township. INGALLS, JOSEPH—Served in the Sixth Regiment, New York Infantry. Pensioned March 15, 1834. Born Duchess County, New York, 1752 ; died August 13, 1834, Blendon Township. Came to Ohio, 1818. LEGG, ELIJAH—Served in militia from Prince William County, Virginia. Born same county, 1865 ; died September 24, 1852, in Perry Township ; buried on old Walcutt farm; came to Ohio, 1815. MCCOMB, WILLIAM—Enlisted Captain James McConnell's Company, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. July 20, 1776, at Fort Washington siege. Served as volunteer with Colonel Crawford on his expedition to Sandusky in 1782 ; on pension rolls of 1819. Taken prisoner November 16, 1776 ; confined on prison ship Jersey ; paroled ; re-enlisted 1787. Born Washington County, Pennsylvania, 1757 ; died February 10, 1835, Truro Township. Buried cemetery near Winchester Pike. Located in Franklin County, 1820. MICKEY, DANIEL,  Ensign in Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment Commissioned August 9, 1776. Promoted to lieutenant of Captain Cornahous’ Company, Colonel Daniel Broadhead's Regiment, October 14, 1777 ; died 1807 near Dublin. Buried Old Cemetery Scioto River Road. Came to Franklin County from Kentucky, 1804, and settled one-half mile below Dublin Bridge. MOORE BENJAMIN—Served in First Regiment, Connecticut Infantry. Born Windsor, Connecticut, March 1, 1756; died 1825. Buried Jamison Cemetery, Blendon Township. Came to Blendon Township in 1807. 98 - HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY MOORE, SIMEON—Served in Fourth Regiment Connecticut Infantry and fought in the battle of Bunker Hill. Pensioned July 23, 1819. Born Windsor, Connecticut, March 20, 1760 ; died June 26, 1825 ; buried West Pioneer Cemetery, Blendon Township. Came to Blendon Township, 1807. MURPHY, WILLIAM—Private Gloucester County, New Jersey, Militia. Born 1742, Gloucester County, New Jersey ; died 1830, Franklin County, Ohio. NELSON, DAVID—First Lieutenant Eighth Company, Fourth Battalion, Pennsylvania Militia. Born November 30, 1752, Mifflintown, Pennsylvania ; died October 29 in Columbus ; buried in Greenlawn ; located in Marion Township near Alum Creek in 1799. NOBLE, SETH, REV.—Private in Captain Dyer's Company and Captain West's Company, Massachusetts Militia. Born 1743 in Massachusetts ; died 1807 at Franklinton ; buried Old Franklinton Cemetery. OLMSTEAD, FRANCIS—Served in Colonel Webb's Regiment, Continental Line as ensign from 1778 to 1781. Born Simsburg, Connecticut, 1760 ; died 1828, Blendon Township. Buried in Central Cemetery two miles south of Central College. Emigrated to Ohio with his family of sons and settled in Blendon Township, 1810. ORTON, LEMUEL, JR.—Served five years as private Second Regiment Continental Light Dragoons, Connecticut. Participated in battles of Brandywine, Monmouth, Frog's Neck and Youngs at Tarrytown. Wounded but not entirely disabled. Born March 5, 1761, Litchfield, Connecticut ; married Sibley Peck in 1785 ; pensioned September 21, 1818 ; died September 29, 1831; settled on a farm north of Worthington. PHELPS, EDWARD—Served in Eighth Company, First Regiment, Connecticut Infantry. Born August 27, 1759, Windsor, Connecticut ; died August 10, 1840, Blendon Township. Buried Central Cemetery. Emigrated to Ohio in 1800. PINNEY, ABNER—Served as drummer in Captain Roberts' Company, Eighteenth Regiment, Connecticut. Afterward given title of captain. Born 1749 in Connecticut ; died November 23, 1804 ; buried Old Episcopal Cemetery, Worthington. Came to Ohio and settled in Worthington, 1804. HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY - 99 PRICE, STEPHEN R.—Was a sergeant in Second Regiment, Maryland Line. Received a medal for bravery at Stony Point ; pensioned September 1, 1825. Born Radmanshire, Wales, 1757 ; died May 22, 1832 ; buried on Enieg's Hill, one mile from Gahanna. He was educated in London, England, for the ministry ; ran away at the age of nineteen ; came to America, enlisted and served through the war. Came to Ohio from Virginia in 1815 and settled in Mifflin Township. RUGG, MOSES—Served in Tenth and Third Massachusetts Regiments until 1783. Born 1759 in Massachusetts ; died April 21, 1832, in Blendon Township ; buried Riverside Cemetery, Parks Mills. SELLS, LUDWIG—Served in Captain Martin Bowman's Company, Pennsylvania. Born Huntington County, Pennsylvania, 1743 ; married Catherine Deardorf, 1770 ; Settled in Franklin County, 1798 ; died 1823. (See Washington Township). SMITH, JOHN—Served in First Regiment, Continental Line of New Jersey. Born 1742, Passaic County, New Jersey ; married Sarah Snider ; died May 24, 1813, in Plain Township ; buried in Smith Cemetery two miles from New Albany. SPRAGUE, FREDERICK—Enlisted in Connecticut as private March, 1779, to December, 1779 ; re-enlisted, 1781; at Stony Point and Johnstown. Born 1752 ; married Rebecca Nichols, 1782, Connecticut. They had fifteen children. Pensioned 1818 ; died January 3, 1837, Truro Township. STARR, JOHN—As volunteer served at Fort Griswold, 1781; wounded. Born 1743, Groton, Connecticut ; married Mary Sharp; died 1824, Columbus. STARRETT, JOHN—Served in Pennsylvania Militia; pensioned April 15, 1833. Born Chester County, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1757 ; died Mifflin Township, January 25, 1840 ; buried in cemetery at Gahanna. Came to Franklin County, 1818. WAIT, JENKS—Private in Captain Angell's Company, Colonel Hitchcock, Rhode Island. Born 1756 ; married Sarah Brown ; died 1824 at Franklinton. Pensioned 1818 for services as private at battle of Lexington. WALCUTT, WILLIAM—Enlisted in Fifth Maryland Continental, May 7, 1778 ; taken prisoner February 10, 1781; pensioned May 12, 1820. Born Talbot County, Maryland, in 1760; died June 23, 1833,