HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY. - 259
CHAPTER III.
FIRST WHITE MEN-CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES-FRENCH AND ENGLISH TRADING-
POSTS - FORT LAURENS-ATTEMPTED SETTLEMENT AT THE MOUTH OF THE
SCIOTO-SALT WORKS-FRENCH AND ENGLISH CLAIMS-ENGLISH AGENTS
-AMERICAN POSSESSION-OHIO COMPANY'S PURCHASE-SYMMES' PUR-
CHASE-FORT HARMAR - PIONEER SETTLEMENTS ALONG THE
OHIO-FOUT WASHINGTON-FIRST SETTLEMENT IN THE VIR-
GINIA MILITARY DISTRICT-NATHANIEL MASSIE - FRENCH
SETTLEMENT AT GALLIPOLIS-ERECTION OF WAYNE
COUNTY-TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE-OHIO BE-
COMES A STATE-THE LANDS EMBRACED IN
THIS COUNTY OPENED FOR SETTLEMENT -
DIVISION OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY
INTO COUNTIES-FUR TRADERS-
HULL'S TRAIL-FIRST SET-
TLERS OF HARDIN COUNTY
0NE hundred years ago the whole territory from the Alleghanies to the Rocky Mountains was a wilderness, inhabited only by wild beasts and Indians. The intrepid missionaries of the Catholic Church, viz., Fathers Mesnard, Allouez, Dablon, Hennipin, Marquette, La Salle and others, were the first white men to penetrate the wilderness, or behold its mighty lakes and rivers. The French traders and Moravian missionaries subsequently followed, and like their predecessors, continued their labors among the Indians of Ohio. While the thirteen old colonies were declaring their independence, the thirteen new States, which now lie in the western interior, had no existence, and gave no signs of the future. The solitude of nature was almost unbroken by the steps of civilization. The wisest statesman had not contemplated the probability of the coming States, and the boldest patriot did not dream that this interior wilderness would soon contain a greater population than the thirteen old States, with all the added growth of one hundred years.
Ten years after that the old States had ceded their Western lands to the General Government, and Congress had passed the act of 1785 for the survey of the public domain, and, in 1787, the celebrated ordinance which organized the Northwestern Territory, and dedicated it to freedom and intelligence. It was more than a quarter of a century after the Declaration of Independence ere the State of Ohio was admitted into the Union, being the seventeenth which accepted the Constitution of the United States. It has since grown up to be great, populous and prosperous, under the influence of those ordinances. Previous to her admission, February 19, 1803, the tide of emigration had begun to flow over the Alleghanies into the valleys of the Ohio and Mississippi. and, although no steamboat or railroad then existed, nor even a stage-coach line to help the immigrant, yet the wooden "ark" on the Ohio, and the heavy wagon slowly winding over the mountains, bore these tens of thousands to the wilds of Kentucky and the plains of Ohio. From
260 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
the date of the first settlements in 1788, at the mouth of the Muskingum, the tide continued to pour on for half a century in. a widening stream. mingled with nearly all the races of Europe and America, until now, the five States of the Northwestern Territory in the wilderness in 1776, contain more than ten millions of people, enjoying all the blessings which peace and prosperity, freedom and Christianity can confer upon any people. Of these five States born under the ordinance of 1787, Ohio is the first, oldest, and in many things, the greatest. We will then begin with the coming of the whites to the soil of Ohio, and briefly trace the events leading to the settlement of Hardin County.
The discovery and exploration of the great Northwest was the result of the religious enthusiasm of French Catholic missionaries for the conversion of the Indians inhabiting the country, coupled with a patriotic desire to enlarge the French dominions, and spread civilization over this unexplored land. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the French had four principal routes to their Western posts, two of which passed over the soil or waters of Ohio. About 1716, a route way established from the east, along the southern shores of Lake Erie, to the mouth of the Maumee River, thence following this stream to the Wabash Valley. The second route ran from the southern shores of Lake Erie, at Presqueville, over a portage of fifteen miles to the head of French Creek, at Waterford, Penn.: thence down that stream to the Ohio and on to the Mississippi. Along these routes forts or trading-posts were built and maintained, and were the first attempts of the white race to possess the land. Though their stay was brief, yet it opened the way to another people living on the shores of the Atlantic, who in time came, saw and conquered this portion of America, making of it what we to-day enjoy.
The French erected a trading-post near the mouth of the Maumee early in the eighteenth century, which become a depot of considerable note, and was, probably, the first permanent habitation of white men in Ohio. It remained until after the peace of 1763, the termination of the French and Indian war, and the occupancy of the country by the English. On the site of this trading-post the latter erected Fort Miami in 1794, which they garrisoned until the country came under the control of the Americans, encouraging and assisting the Indians in their hostility toward the young nation. As soon as the French learned the true source of the Ohio and Wabash Rivers, they began to establish trading-posts or depots at accessible points, generally at the mouths of rivers emptying into the Ohio. One of these old forts stood about a mile and a half southwest of the outlet of the Scioto. When it was erected is not known, but it was there in 1740.
Some English traders and Indians built a fort or station in 1749, which they called Pickawillany. It stood on the west side of Loramie's Creek, and about two miles north of the mouth of that branch, in what is now Shelby County. In 1752, the French captured the post, and subsequently a Canadian Frenchman named Loramie established a store at that point. He became very prominent among the Indians, gained great influence over them, and their attachment always remained unabated for their "French father," as they called him, often shedding tears at the mere mention of his name. He opposed the Americans in the struggle for possession of Ohio, and in retaliation Gen. Clark destroyed the station in 1782, Loramie escaping
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with the Indians to the West, where he lived and died. In 1794, a fort was erected on the site of Loramie's store, by Gen. Wayne, and named Fort Loramie, which became an important point in the Greenville treaty line.
The French had a trading post at the mouth of Huron River, in what is now Erie County, but when it was established is unknown. It was, however, one of their early outposts, and may have been built before 1750. They had a similar station on the shore of Sandusky Bay, on or near the site of Sandusky City. Both were abandoned previous to the Revolutionary war. On Lewis Evans' map, published in 1755, a French fort called "Fort Junandat, built in 1754," is located on the east bank of the Sandusky River, several miles above its mouth, while Fort Sandusky, on the western bank is also noted. Very little is known of any of these trading-posts, as they were evidently only temporary, and abandoned when the English came into possession. The mouth of the Cuyahoga River was another important trading point, for we find on Evans' map, on the west bank of that stream some distance from it, mouth, the words, "French House," doubtless the station of a trader. The ruins of a house found about five miles from the mouth of the Cuyahoga, on the west bank of that river, are supposed to be those of the station. There are few records of settlements made by the French prior to 1750. and even these were merely trading-posts. and could hardly he called settlements. These French traders easily affiliated with the Indians, treated them in a brotherly, friendly manner, but did little toward developing the country. They never laid low the forest or cultivated the fields, but passed their time in; hunting and trading.
A short time prior to the Indian war, a settlement of traders was established at the junction of the Auglaize and Maumee Rivers, where Gen. Wayne built Fort Defiance in 1794. O. M. Spencer, in speaking of this post says: "On the high ground extending from the Maumee a quarter of a mile up the Auglaize, about two hundred yards in width, was an open space, on the west and south of which were oak woods with hazel under growth. Within this opening, a few hundred yards above the point, on the steep bank of the Auglaize, were five or six cabins and log houses, inhabited principally by Indian traders. Tire most northerly, a large hewed log house, divided below into three apartments, was occupied as a warehouse, store and dwelling by George Ironside, the most wealthy and influential of the traders at the point. Next to his were the houses of Pirault (Pero), a French taker, and McKenzie, a Scot, who, in addition to merchandising, followed the occupation of a silverstnith, exchanging with the Indians his brooches. car-drops and other silver ornaments at an enormous profit for skins and furs.
"Still further up were several other families of French and English: and two American prisoners. Henry Ball, a soldier taken at St. Clair's defeat, and his wife, Polly Meadows, captured at the same time, were allowed to live here and pay their masters the price of their ransom, he by boating to the rapids of the Maumee, and she by washing and sewing. Fronting the house of Ironside, and about fifty yards from the bank, was a small stockade inclosing two hewed log houses, one of which was occupied by James Girty (a brother of Simon), the other occasionally by Elliott and McKee, English Indian agents living at Detroit." The post, cabins and all they contained fell under the control of the Americans when the English evacuated the lake
262 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
shores, but during its existence it was a constant source of trouble to the whites by encouraging and abetting Indian discontent.
About 1761, the Moravian missionaries. Revs. Frederick Post and John Heckewelder, established permanent stations among the Ohio Indians, chiefly on the Tuscarawas River, in Tuscarawas County. The first one, however, was on the north side of the Muskingum at the junction of the Sandy and Tuscarawas, in what is now Stark County. The missions in Tuscarawas County, known as Shoenbrun, Gnadenhutten and Salem were not established until 1771-72. In 1776, Zeisberger, a Moravian missionary, with a band of Indian converts, came from Detroit to an abandoned Ottawa village, on the site of Independence, Cuyahoga County. which they called "Pilgrims' Rest." Their stay was brief; as the following April they removed to the vicinity of where Milan, Erie County, now stands, and this they named New Salem. The account of the massacre of friendly Indians at the missions in Tuscarawas County, by Col. Williamson in 1782, appears in the former chapter. The principal part of those remaining finally removed to the Moravian missionary station, on the River Thames, in Canada, while others scattered among the hostile tribes of the Northwest.
It may be proper to remark here that Mary Heckewelder, daughter of the missionary, is generally believed to have been the first white child born, in Ohio, but this is largely conjecture. It has been established beyond doubt that captive white women among the Indians are known to have borne children during their captivity, who, with their mother, were subsequently restored to their friends. Some of these cases occurred previous to the birth of Mary Heckewelder, April 16, 1781, but as no record was kept of them, and hers being the first recorded, thus obtained priority.
In 1778, Gen. McIntosh with detachment of 1,000 men from Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) built Fort Laurens, in the northwestern part of what is now Tuscarawas County. It was vacated in August, 1779, as it was deemed untenable at such a distance from the frontier.
The locality around the mouth of the Scioto River must have been pretty well known to the whites, for in April, 1785, three years before the settlement at Marietta four families made an ineffectual attempt to settle in that vicinity. They came from the Redstone country in Pennsylvania, and floating down the Ohio, moored their boat under the high bank where Portsmouth now stands, and commenced clearing the ground to plant seeds for a crop to support their families, hoping that the red man would suffer them to remain in peace. Soon afterward the four men, heads of families, started up the west bank of the Scioto for the purpose of exploring the country. Encamping near the site of Piketon, Pike County, they were surprised by a party of Indians, and two of them killed as they lay by their fires. The remaining two escaped to the Ohio, and getting the families and goods on a passing flat-boat, arrived safely at Maysville, Ky. Thus was misery and disaster brought upon those peaceful families, their hopes blasted, and the attempt to settle north of the Ohio defeated.
The old "Scioto Salt Works," in Jackson County, was a spot early known to the whites, through prisoners being brought there by the Indians. The location is laid down on Evans' map of 1755, and although the works were occupied by the French and Americans as early as 1780, no settlement was made there until after the close of the Indian war and the treaty
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY. - 263
of l795. These outposts and attempted settlements are about all that are known to have existed on Ohio soil prior to the settlement at Marietta.
No sooner had the Americans obtained control of this country, than they began, by treaty and purchase, to acquire the lands of the natives. They could not stem the tide of emigration ; people, then as now, would go West, and hence the necessity of peacefully and rightfully acquiring the land. "The true basis of title to Indian territory is the right of civilized men to the soil for purposes of cultivation." The same maxim may be applied to all uncivilized nations. When obtained by such a right, either by treaty, purchase, or conquest. the right to hold the same rests with the power and development of the nation thus possessing the land, but there is no moral or Divine justice in an individual, people or nation acquiring land or territory, unless it is lying undeveloped, or uncultivated, by the original possessors thereof and that they fully intend to cultivate and develop the same. Thus the Americans were justified in acquiring by treaty, purchase and conquest the territory now embraced in Ohio.
The French had acquired title to the territory between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi by discos discovery and by consent of the Indians dwelling thereon, while the claims of the English were based upon the absurd theory that in discovering; the Atlantic coast, they had possession of the land from "ocean to ocean." and partly by the treaty of Paris, in 1763, long before which. however, they had granted to individuals and colonies extensive tracts of land within the disputed territory. These conflicting claims led to the French and Indian war against the English, ending in the supremacy of the latter.
As early as 1730, English traders began in earnest to cross the Alleghanies, anal gather from the Indians the stores beyond. In 1742, John Howard descended the Ohio River in a canoe, and on the Mississippi was taken prisoner by the French. In 1748, Conrad Wiser, a German employe of the English, who had acquired a knowledge of the Indian tongue, visited Logstown, the Indian village on the Ohio, below Pittsburgh, where he met the chiefs in Council and secured their promise of aid against the French. In the same year the Ohio Company was formed and a grant of 5,000,000 acres of land obtained.
In the fall of 1750, Virginia, through the Ohio Company, sent Christopher Gist to explore the region west of the mountains. He was well fitted for such an enterprise ; hardy, sagacious, bold, an adept in Indian character, a hunter by occupation, no man was better qualified than he for such an undertaking. He visited Logstown, where he was not received in a friendly manner, passed over to the Muskingum River, and at a Wyandot village here, met Crogan, another famous frontiersman, who had been sent out by Pennsylvania. Together they traveled to the Shawnee towns on the Scioto River, and thence to the Indian villages on the Miamis and Mad River. They made treaties with all these tribes, and Crogan returned to Pennsylvania, where he published an account of their wanderings, while Gist followed the Miami River to its mouth, passed down the Ohio, to within fifteen miles of the falls, returning to Virginia, by way of the Kentucky River, and over the Highlands of Kentucky.
264 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
By the treaty at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1744, with the Six Nations, and the Logstown treaty, in 1752, with these and some of the Western tribes confirming the previous one, the English claim to the territory embraced in Ohio was founded. While the French and English were fighting for the possession of the West, the Indians were used as a cat's-paw by each, and wavered in their friendship from one nation to the other according to circumstances. To Frederick Post, a Moravian preacher, who was sent on a mission to the Indians by the English, in 1758, they bitterly complained of both nations, saying: "Why did you not fight your battles at home or on the sea, instead of coming into our country to fight them ?" The struggle between the French and English finally closed, and was ratified by the treaty of Paris, in 1763.
The continued resistance of the Indians to the encroachments of the whites has been related in the previous chapter, and with the breaking-out of the Revolutionary war this resistance was redoubled through the treachery and encouragement of the English Government. During the bitter struggle for American independence, white settlement north of the Ohio River was retarded for years, but soon after its successful ending, the eves of pioneers were turned longingly in this direction. On the 20th of May, 1785, Congress passed an act for disposing of the lands in the Northwest Territorv. and for this purpose surveyors were appointed to survey the country into townships, six miles square. Without waiting for the action of Congress. settlers began coming into the country, and when ordered by Congress to leave undisturbed Indian lands, refused to do so. They went, however. at their own peril, and could get no redress from the Government, even when life was lost. These hardy pioneers knew not fear, and continued the movement which resulted in a bitter Indian war, the triumphs of the white race. and their ultimate possession of the beautiful valleys and rich lands of Ohio.
The cession of the claims of New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Connecticut to the United States was the signal for the formation of land companies in the East whose object was to settle the Western country, and at the same time enrich the founders of said companies. Some had been. organized prior to the Revolutionary war, but that battle for human rights retarded these speculations, which were now, again, springing into life. Thus the Ohio Company was organized in March, 1787, taking the same name as one which existed in the old colonial days, Congress refusing to recognize the claims of the old companies. Dr. Manasseh Cutler, Gen. Rufus Putnam, Gen. Parsons, Benjamin Tupper and Winthrop Sargent, were the leading spirits in this enterprise. Beside the names which history gives as the Ohio Company, there were secret co-partners comprising many of the leading characters of America. The company purchased the vast region bounded on the south by the Ohio, west by the Scioto, east by the seventh range of townships then surveying, and north by a due west line drawn from the north boundary of the tenth township from the Ohio River, direct to the Scioto. This comprised a tract of nearly 5,000,000 acres of land, for which they were to pay $1 per acre, subject to a deduction of one-third for bad lands and other contingencies. The whole tract was not, however, taken by the company, and in 1792 the boundaries were so changed as to include 750,000 acres, besides reservations, this grant being the portion which it was originally agreed the company might enter into at once. In addition to this,
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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY. - 267
214,285 acres were granted as army bounties under the resolutions of 1779 and 1780, and 100,000 acres as bounties to actual settlers, both of the latter tracts being within the original grant of 1787, and adjoining the Ohio Company's lands.
The celebrated ordinance erecting the Northwest into a Territory, was passed July 13, 1787. It emanated from the brain of Dr. Manasseh Cutler, who was an accomplished scholar and a firm believer in freedom. He was ably assisted by Thomas Jefferson, to whose wise statesmanship is due much of the success which attended Dr. Cutler's efforts in having passed such an ordinance as would make Ohio a free land-free from the blighting curse of slavery, where religion, morality and education would forever be fostered and encouraged.
These events were soon followed by the grant of the lands between the Miamis to John Cleve Symmes, of New Jersey, who had visited that portion of Ohio in 1786. The axle was accomplished and contract signed in 17 88, the terms being similar to those of the Ohio Company.
In 1785, Fort Harmer was built on the right bank of the Muskingum River, at its junction with the Ohio, by a detachment of soldiers under command of Maj. John Doughty, and named in honor of his old commander, Col. Josiah Harmar. It was the first military post erected by the Americans within the limits of Ohio, except Fort Laurens, which was but a temporary structure and soon abandoned. During the following winter, a part of the garrison floated down the Ohio in flat-boats and erected Fort Finney, immediately below the mouth of the Big, Miami, subsequently known as North Bend. The troops did not remain permanently at this point but soon descended to the falls.
On the 7th of April, 1788, the first permanent pioneer settlement was made at the mouth of the Muskingum, opposite Fort Harmar. It consisted of forty-seven pioneers from the New England States, under the leadership of Gen. Rufus Putnam, who, building a boat at the mouth of the Youghioaheny River, in tire winter of 1787, and placing the same under the command of Capt. Devol, the first shipbuilder in the West, floated clown the Ohio to the lands previously obtained by the Ohio Company, where 5,760 acres, near the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, had been set off for a city and commons. They immediately began erecting cabins, and July 1, were joined by a colony from Massachusetts. Washington wrote the following lines concerning this settlement: "No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has commenced at the Kuskivi,,um. Information, property and strength will be its characteristics. I know m many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community."
In October, 1787, Arthur St. Chair had been appointed by Congress Governor of the Northwest Territory, which body also appointed Winthrop Sargent, Secretary, Samuel H. Parsons, James M. Varnum and John Armstrong, Judges. Subsequently, Mr. Armstrong resigned and John Cleve Symmes was appointed to fill the vacancy. This body constituted the Territorial government with full judicial powers under the ordinance of 1787, and, although none of those were on the around when the first settlement was male, the Judges came soon after. The first law was passed July 25, 1788, and two days afterwards the county of Washington was erected
268 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
by the proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, Marrietta being established as the seat of justice, it having previously been laid out and named in honor of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France. The emigration westward at this time was very large, 4,500 persons having passed Fort Harmar between February and June, 1788.
The second settlement in Ohio was made near the mouth of the Little Miami River, on the Symmes purchase, in the winter of 1788-89, but previous to the latter year. Benjamin Stites had bought 10,000 acres of Symmes at that point, and with a band of pioneers, whose numbers were soon afterward increased, erected a blockhouse, built cabins and laid out a town which was named Columbia.
In the mean time, Symmes laid out a town near the mouth of the Big Miami River, which he called Cleves City, but the place has been better known as North Bend. He offered special inducements to settlers locating at this point, hoping thereby to make it the future city of the West, but the great flood of January, 1789, overflowed the place so badly that the hopes of its projector were considerably weakened. A few families, however, erected cabins here, and upon the outbreak of hostilities with the Indians, Symmes succeeded in getting Maj. Doughty, with a detachment of soldiers, stationed at his town, hoping by that means to make it a military headquarters. The Major, it seems, did not view the position with a favorable eye, and in the summer of 1789 removed to the Losantiville settlement, where he erected and garrisoned Fort Washington, to which point most of the settlers soon followed, thus destroying forever the growth and prosperity of Clever City.
In January, 1788, Mathias Denman, of New Jersey, purchased of Symmes a tract of land opposite the mouth of the Licking River, and the following summer sold a two-thirds interest to Robert Patterson and John Filson, each holding a one-third interest in the land. These three agreed, about August, 1788, to lay off a town at this point, and in September visited the proposed location. They kept on up the Miami Valley on a prospecting tour, but Filson on attempting to return alone to the Ohio was probably killed by the Indians, as he was never seen again. His interest was sold to Israel Ludlow, Symmes' surveyor, and in December, 1788, he, with Mr. Patterson, Mr. Denman and fourteen others, came to "form a station and lay off a town opposite the Licking." This was accordingly done, block-houses built, cabins erected, and the settlement established on a permanent foundation. When the location was first selected, Mr. Filson, who had been a schoolmaster and was something of a poet, was appointed to name the town. In respect to its situation, and as if with a prophetic perception of the mixed races that were in after years to dwell there, he named it Losantiville, which, says the Western Annals, means ville, the town; anti, opposite to; os, the mouth ; L, of Licking. Judge Burnett, in his notes, says : "The name `Losantiville' was determined on but not adopted when the town was laid out." Throughout the summer of 1789 this settlement increased rapidly, and the erection of Fort Washington that year gave it an impetus which decided its future. In December of that year, Gov. St. Clair came down the Ohio from Marietta to the settlement opposite the Licking, and on the 2d of January, 1790, he proclaimed the erection of Hamilton County, and about the same time named the town
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Cincinnati, which appellation it has ever since borne. From that day, Cleves City declined, while Cincinnati steadily advanced in size and prosperity.
As early as 1787, the lands in the Virginia Military District, lying between the Scioto and Little Miami Rivers, were examined, and in August of that year entries were made; but as no good title could be obtained from Congress at this time, the settlement practically ceased until 1790, when the prohibition to enter them was withdrawn, and so soon as that was done surveying began. This body of land was appropriated by the State of Virginia, to satisfy the claims of her troops employed in the Continental line, during the Revolutionary war. It is not surveyed into townships, and a Virginia military land warrant could be located wherever, and in whatever shape the holder desired. In consequence of this the irregularity of the surveys has been the cause of much trouble and litigation, while it destroyed forever the convenience of straight roads and regular township or farm lines.
In the winter of 1790, Gen. Nathaniel Massie determined to make a settlement in the Scioto Valley, which now comprises Adams, Delaware; Fayette, Franklin, Hardin, Highland, Jackson, Madison, Marion, Morrow, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Union Counties. Gen. Massie was among the foremost men in surveying and locating lands in this tract of country; and in order to effect his object he sent notices throughout Kentucky, offering to the first twenty-five families who would join him, one inlot and one outlot, also 100 acres of land, provided, however, they would settle in a town which he intended laying off at his settlement. His generous offer met with a ready response, and he was joined by more than thirty families. The present site of Manchester, Adams County, was the point selected by Massie for the new town ; Here he fixed his station and laid off the land into town lots. The sealers, with the indomitable Massie, as leader, went to work and by the middle of March, 1791, many cabins together with a block-house, were erected, and the whole village includes by a strong stockade. Thus was the first permanent settlement in the Virginia Military District, and the fourth in Ohio, an accomplished fact.
That summer they cleared the lower of the three islands, in the Ohio River, and planted it in corn. As the land was very rich, abundant crops were produced, which, together with a plentiful supply of game, furnishes the settlers with everything necessary to a livelihood, especially as their wants were few and easily gratified. From this point, Massie continued, throughout the Indian war. despite the danger, to survey the surrounding country and prepare it for settlers. This settlement suffered little from Indian depredations on account of the unexposed locality and well-fortified position, stragglers or prospectors alone being in danger of capture or death by the prowling savages.
The master mind of Gen. Massie saw the safety of the location from the outset, and to him, more than any other man, is due the rapid growth and development of the Scioto Valley. He was born in Goochland County, Va., December 28, 1763, and in 1780 engaged. for a short time, in the Revolutionary war. In 1788, he left for Kentucky, where he acted as surveyor. He was subsequently appointee Government surveyor, and labored much in that capacity for early Ohio proprietors,, being paid in land for his services. Thus he accumulated a vast amount of good land, while
270 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
conferring a lasting benefit on the country by his explorations. After the permanent establishment of the Ohio River settlement, he was instrumental in the gradual filling up of the country all over the valley. In 1796, he assisted in founding a settlement at the mouth of Paint Creek, and laid out the town of Chillicothe. In 1798, he was elected a member of the Territorial Assembly, to represent Adams County ; and at the first election for the Ohio Assembly he was elected from Ross County to a seat in the State Senate, and subsequently chosen Speaker of that body. In 1807, he was the opponent of Return J. Meigs for Gubernatorial honors. The latter was elected, but Massie contested the election upon the grounds that Meigs was ineligible on account of his absence from the State and insufficiency of time as a resident. Massie was declared Governor, but resigned the office at once, his fine sense of honor preventing him from holding a position for which his opponent had received the majority of votes cast. He was often Representative after, and always wielded a powerful influence in the affairs of the State. He died November 3, 1813, after seeing the State, whose constitution he had helped to frame, on the high road to prosperity. It was through him that the militia of this region was first organized, of which he became Colonel, and was the first Major General of the Second Division under the new Constitution of 1802. His residence was at the falls of Paint Creek, in Ross County, but his land operations made him well known in adjoining counties.
During the existence of the six years' Indian war, a settlement of French emigrants was made on the Ohio River in what is now Gallia County. In the spring of 1788, Joel Barlow went to France, claiming to be "authorized to dispose of a very large tract of land in the West." In 1790, he distributed proposals in Paris for the disposal of lands at 5 shillings per acre, which, says Volney, "promised a climate healthy and delightful; scarcely such a thing as frost in the winter; a river, called by way of eminence ` The Beautiful,' abounding in fish of an enormous size ; magnificent forests of a tree from which sugar flows, and a shrub which yields candles; venison in abundance; no military enrollments and no quarters to find for soldiers." All classes of tradesmen and artisans, to the number of 500 persons, including their families, purchased these titles, and in 1791-92, arrived in the New World. Upon reaching their destination, they found that they had been cruelly deceived, and that the titles they held were absolutely worthless.
Without food, shelterless and beset with danger on all sides, they were in a position that none but Frenchmen could be in without despair. The land to which they came was covered with immense forest trees, and they must clear these off or starve, their cabins were erected in a cluster, which afforded them protection from the Indians, and their food was purchased from passing boats. In a rude, uncultured manner they began felling the forest, this being their greatest difficulty, as they knew nothing of a woodman's life. They called their settlement Gallipolis, from Gallia or Gaul, the ancient name of their fatherland, and throughout the long winter drowned care and sorrow once a week in the merry dance. They could not pay for their lands the second time, therefore some went to Detroit, some to Kaskaskia, on the Mississippi, and others secured lands on generous terms from the Ohio Company. This outrage and deception coming to the knowl-
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edge of Congress, it granted them 24,000 acres of land in Scioto County, in 1795, to which another tract of 1,200 acres was added in 1798, thus partly wiping out the disgrace and swindle perpetrated upon these confiding people by unscrupulous men from the New England States. This tract has since been known as the French Grant, though few of the French emigrants remained any length of time in that vicinity.
We now come to the erection of Wayne County, by the proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, August 15, 1796, it being the third county formed in the Northwest Territory. The act creating it thus defined its limits: "Beginning at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, upon Lake Erie, and with the said river to the Portage, between it and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; thence down the said branch to the forks at the carrying place above Fort Laurens; thence by a west line to the east boundary of Hamilton County (which is a due north line froth the lower Shawnee town upon the Scioto River); thence by a line west-northerly to the southern part of the Portage, between the Miamis of the Ohio and the St. Mary's River; thence by a line also west northerly to the southwestern part of the Portage, between the Wabash and the Miamis (Maumee) of Lake Erie, where Fort Wayne now stands; thence by a line west-northerly to the southern part of Lake Michigan; thence along the western shores of the same to the northwest part thereof (including the lands upon the streams emptying into said lakes); thence by a due north line to the territorial boundary in Lake Superior, and with the said boundary through Lakes Huron, St. Clair and Erie to the mouth of Cuyahoga River, the place of beginning." These limits include territory now embraced in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, besides all of Michigan. The cities of Chicago, Milwaukee, Mackinaw, Sault St. Mary's, and every town in Northern Indiana. Northern Ohio west of the Cuyahoga, Michigan. and the lake towns in Illinois and Wisconsin, are within the original boundaries of Wayne County. Its southern boundary line was some distance south of Hardin County, which formed a portion of its territory.
The period froth 1795 to 1800 was marked by a rush of emigration which extended to the Greenville treaty line. From the settlements upon the Ohio River, as well as from those in the eastern part of the Territory, the bravest and hardiest of the pioneers spread themselves further to the north and west throughout the rich valleys of the Muskingum, Cuyahoga; Tuscarawas, Scioto, Miamis and Mad River, so that with the beginning of the nineteenth century there were settlements scattered all over those portions of Ohio.
In December, 1798, a Territorial Legislature was elected under the proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, and in accordance with the ordinance of 1787, which provided for an Assembly as soon as the Territory should contain 5,000 inhabitants. The members from Wayne County, of which Hardin, though included in the Indian Territory, was then a part, were Solomon Sibley, Jacob Visgar and Charles F. Chabert de Joncaire. It met at Cincinnati January 22, 1799, and nominated ten persons for the Legislative Council, fire of whom were to be chosen by the President of the United States, to compose said Council. This selection was made on the 2d of March, and the same confirmed by the United States Senate upon the following day. The members chosen were Jacob Burnet, James Findlay, Henry Vanderburgh, Robert Oliver and David Vance. On the 16th of September, 1799, the Legislature met again at Cincinnati, the House consisting of nineteen members, of whom one was from Washington County
272 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
erected in 1788; seven from Hamilton-erected in 1790; three from Wayne -erected in 1796; one from Jefferson-erected in 1797; two from Adams erected in 1797 ; four from Ross -erected in 1798, and one from Knox, which subsequently became the Territory of Indiana. The member from St. Clair County (Illinois Territory) does not seem to have been present. There was no quorum until September 24, and the session lasted until December 19, 1799, when, having finished all business on hand, the Assembly was prorogued be the Governor until the first Monday in November, 1800.
The Indiana Territory was formed from Knox County in 1800, and the seat of government of the Northwest Territory established at Chillicothe during the same year. The first session was opened at that town on the 3d of November, but at the second session, held in the fall of 1801, so mach enmity was expressed and so much abuse heaped upon the Governor and the Assembly that a law was passed removing the place of holding the Legislative sessions back again to Cincinnati. Fate, however, had destined a new order of things, and the Territorial Assembly newer met after that session.
On the 1st of November, 1802, a convention assembled at Chillicothe for the purpose of framing a constitution for a State government: on the 29th of that month, the same was ratified and signed by the members of the convention, and the Territory became a State. February 19, 1803, receiving its name from the river called by the Indians Ohezuh, meaning beautiful, and changed by the whites to Ohio. Chillicothe was made the temporary seat of government, and the Legislative sessions were held there from March, 1803, until 1810. The sessions of 1810-11 and 1811-12 were held at Zanesville, then again at Chillicothe until December, 1816, when Columbus, which had been selected in 1812, became the seat of Government, and has ever since been the capital of Ohio.
The lands embraced in Hardin County are north of the Greenville treaty line, and west, of the territory acquired from the Indians by the treaty held at Fort Industry (Toledo), in 1805, which is partly included in the Connecticut Western Reserve, erected as Trumbull County in 1800. The western boundary of the "Fire Lands." which is the dividing line between the counties of Seneca and Huron, was by that treaty established as the eastern boundary of the Indian territory. Thus this county was not opened for settlement until 1817, as the lands did not come into market until after the treaty with the Indians held at the foot, of the Maumee Rapids, by which they were ceded to the Government, and certain reservations, mentioned in the previous chapter, set apart for the use of the Indian tribes. Even then, many causes assisted in keeping back the rapid settlement of the newly acquired territory. The Indians were not, as a body, satisfied with the continuous deeding away of their heritage, and looked with disfavor upon the intrepid surveyors who soon began to divide the land which they had such a short time before called their own. Though we are not aware that any of these surveying parties were attacked by the Indians who then infested the country, it is a well-known fact, that the savages regarded them with hostile intentions, and nothing but the strong arm of the law and the wholesome dread of the white man's vengeance prevented a collision.
In 18'20, all of the territory acquired from the Indians by the treaty of 1817 was divided into fourteen counties, viz.: Allen, Crawford, Hardin, Hancock, Henry, Marion, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Seneca, Sandusky, Van Wert, Williams and Wood. This county was attached to Logan, and re-
HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY. - 273
mained under its jurisdiction until 1833, when the Legislature passed a law organizing Hardin as a separate county, with all the rights and privileges thereof. During the progress of these events, a more friendly feeling had grown up between the whites and Indians, and the pioneers began pouring in from the older settled counties on the south and east.
It is said that French and English "fur traders" were located at the Indian villages and camps of Hardin County, during the early Indian occupation of this territory, and, doubtless, such was the case, for we know that this class of men were scattered throughout the whole Northwest, traveling from village to village and from camp to camp, buying peltries, which they paid for either in goods or money, just as the occasion required, whisky, tobacco, powder and lead being principally in demand. After the occupation of these lands by the whites, the fur companies employed agents to travel through the country and purchase furs from the Indians and white hunters who followed the chase. One of those agents was Harvey Buckmister, a pioneer of the southeastern part of Hardin County. He was engaged for thirteen winters in buying peltries for the Hollister Fur Company, and often paid out as much as $5,000 for furs in one season. Mr. Buckmister is now a resident of Kenton, having secured a competency and retired from active business life to enjoy the fruits of his early industry.
The old Military road was opened in 1812, by Col. Duncan McArthur, through what is now Taylor Creek, Lynn and Buck Townships, to the Scioto River; thence by Col. James Findlay, through Cessna, Pleasant, Blanchard and Washington Townships; thence northward through Hancock and Wood Counties, to Sandusky. For many years, the old McArthur road, or "Hull's trail," as it is sometimes called, was the principal highway from Bellefontaine to Detroit. In the northwest corner of Buck Township, on the south bank of the Scioto River, Col. McArthur built the fort which bore his name. It was one of the military posts in the Indian territory, and continued to be garrisoned for some time after the close of the war of 1812. The soldiers, traders and emigrants passing over this road became familiar with the country through which it passed, and when the lands of Hardin County came into market. many pioneers of the older settlements concluded to take up their residence upon its soil.
Tradition says that Alfred Hale and wife, Mary, with two sons and one daughter, located at Fort McArthur in 1817, where, two years subsequently, another son, Jonas. was born. There can be little doubt that this was the pioneer family of Hardin County, but it is probable that Hale was a hunter, and belonged to that shiftless, migratory class known as "squatters." It is evident that he owned no laud, and, upon the death of his wife, which occurred a few years after the birth of the child spoken of, he removed from this vicinity. The neighborhood of Roundhead was, we might say, the first point in this county to receive the impress of a permanent civilization. Here, in the spring of 1818, Peter C. McArthur and Daniel Campbell built their cabins on the east bank of the Scioto River, and northeast of the present village of Roundhead, in what is now McDonald Township. They cleared up a patch of ground, which they planted in corn, and the nucleus around which gathered the large population of Hardin County was established. The settlements close to Bellefontaine contained their nearest civilized neighbors, and, it is said that, upon one occasion, having allowed their fire to go out, McArthur was compelled to walk to that point for the purpose of obtaining a fresh supply. On his return, he met an Indian squaw, who, upon hearing his story, laughed at his ignorance, and taught
274 - HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.
him how to light a fire with a flint and punk. After planting their corn, they went back to Ross County, whence they had come, with the object of moving out their families, but a threatened Indian outbreak frustrated these intentions, and they did not return until early in the spring of 1822. In a few years, the pioneer's cabin began to make its appearance in every portion of the county. Small clearings soon dotted the forest, and the sound of the woodman's ax broke the grandeur of its solitude. The Indian, with a sad heart, watched the destruction of his hunting grounds, while year by year the grand old forest shrunk away to give more room for the coming race.
While the same general characteristics underlie the early settlers of every portion of the State, yet each had its local heroes and adventurers. The men who first tried the wilderness were poor, hardy, strong and hospitable. Their strength made them self-reliant, and their poverty never closed the cabin door. They were fitted by nature to build up a new country, and, restless under the conservative influences of old and well established communities, fled from what men call the luxuries and security of civilized life, to try the dangers and discomforts of the wilderness. If the motives were inquired into why the chance was made, which not only insured unusual hardships and disappointments, but too frequently was attended with all the barbarities of savage warfare, the answer would doubtless be, to promote their success in life; but underneath and beyond this was the love of forest life, the freedom from conventional restraint. the hunter's paradise. Accustomed to look discomfort and danger in the face, the earliest settlers soon learned to regard them as matters not worthy of anxious thought. Their wants were few and easily supplied, but daily labor became necessary for daily sustenance. These pioneers of civilization, and their immediate descendants, braved the dangers of a comparatively unknown region, and endured the tails and trials unavoidably incident to a country totally without improvements. The present generation knows little or nothing of what it costs in time, in patient endurance, and in deprivation of every comfort, to change. the wilderness into a fruitful field, and to lay broad and sure the foundations of the prosperity that crowns the State of Ohio to-day.