Sandusky County, Ohio - Chapter 4: Coming of the White Man and Passing of the Red, 1909

Chapter 4: Coming of the White Man and Passing of the Red

Places Along Same - Distribution of Indians - Algonquins and Iroqwois - Neutrals, Wyandots, and Ottawas Dispersed and Eries Destroyed by the Five Nations - Indian, French and English Occupancy - Return of Wyandots and Ottawas With Remnants of Other Dispersed Tribes and Their Settlements - Wyandots Dominant in the Valley - Stronghold of the Rebel Wyandot Chief Nicolas Along the Bay and Marshes - His Intrigues With English Colonial Traders - His Plot to Destroy the French Discovered and Defeated - Pickawillany a Center of Disturbance - Its Destruction and Death of Chief, Old Britain - French and Indian War - British Ascendancy - Treaty of Paris, 1763 - Indian Depredations - Pontiac's Consprracy - Fort Sandusky Taken and Garrison Massacred - Revolutionary War - Northwest Conquered by George Rogers Clark - County of Illinois Formed - Independence of Colomies - Treaty of Paris, 1783 - Virgimia's Chartered Rights - Counties of Orange, Augusta and Illinois Formed by Virginia Embracing Sandusky Valley - Indian Depredations Continue - Crawford's Disastrous Campaign - N. W. Territory Organzed - Harmar's and St. Clair's Campaigns and Defeats - Waynes' Victory at Fallen Timbers - Treaty of Greenville, 1795 - Tecumseh and his Designs - Sandusky County Territory Embraced Within Counties of Hamilton, Wayne, Franklin, Delaware and Huron, Respectively, Also in Radnor Township, Delaware County and in Lower Sandusky Township, Huron County, and All Its Territory East of the Sandusky River in Croghan Township, in Huron County - Sandusky County Erected With Village of Croghansville the Temporary Seat of Justice.

A view of the country comprising the county, with its broad, fertile fields, productive orchards, and sightly woodlands; its fair capitol city, with its great factories and successful merchants; its thriving villages; its churches and school houses, steam and electric railways, telegraphs and telephones, improved roads, rural mail delivery and beautiful homes in city, village and country, with its prosperous and happy thousands of population, would scarcely allow the thought, that but little over a century ago all this region was in reality a "howling wilderness" without the presence of a white man; yet such is veritable history.

And geologists inform us of what is still more wonderful: That all this country of which we are writing was once the bottom of a sea, believed to have been the Gulf of Mexico ex~- tending thus far northward; that it finally emerged from the depths of this sea and after it thus appeared above the waters, many thousands of years ago, there came down upon it from the north a mighty ice flood or glacier, which completely enveloped it to a very great depth. That this great ice flood or glacier brought with it hard and soft rocks, which in its tremendous onmoving course, it crushed and pulverized, between the bed rocks and those held in its frozen embrace, thereby creating what is known by geologists as till or boulder clay, but which is commonly called ground or earth, which the glacier, when it finally disappeared left distributed upon the bed rock throughout the region over which it passed forming the basis of the rich and productive soil for which the valley is noted.

The county when first erected (1820) included all of the congressional townships, beginning with number four, north of the base line, or forty-first degree north latitude, contained within north ranges thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen; and extending northerly to Lake Erie. Its eastern boundary was the western boundary line of the Connecticut Reserve. And as now bounded is mainly within what is known as the Lower Sandusky Valley, being the district of country drained by the Sandusky River and Bay, although some of the northwest part of the same drains through the Portage River direct into Lake Erie.

The River

The beautiful Sandusky rises in Richland County and from thence passing through the counties of Crawford, Wyandot and Seneca enters the present Sandusky County from the south, about midway of its south boundary line, and flows entirely across the county in a general northeasterly direction, but with many graceful bends, some of which embrace nearly, if not quite, all points of the compass as it meanders its course amid alternating picturesque slopes and flowering plains to where it mingles its waters with those of the bay of the same name, and which bay was designated by early geographers as "lake" Sandusky, and lake Junandat, the latter name probably being derived from that of the Wyandot Tribes of Indians sometimes called Owendets or Yendats, inhabiting its shores since about 1700.

The river, after entering the county, passes scenes along its banks and encircles islands in its course, of great interest; among them may be mentioned the site of Ball's Battle (1813), near where now stands the residence of Birchland Havens, a little way west of Ballville village, where the squadron, sent from Fort Seneca by Gen. Harrison to bring Major Croghan before him, to be tried for disobeying orders to abandon Fort Stephenson, were attacked by Indians on their way, and nearly all of the attacking Indians were killed in that skirmish; next appears the Blue Banks, noted for their interesting geological formation; then the low- village Junque in dundeh, or "place of the hanging haze," with Fort Stephenson on the west side and remains of an ancient Indian fortification on the east side and Brady Island just below the rapids where Samuel Brady, the celebrated borderer, sent by Gen. Washington during the Revolutionary War, to observe the movements of the hostile tribes, secreted himself while taking observations; and Spiegel Grove, the home of President Hayes, all within the present city of Fremont, once known as Lower Sandusky. Passing Fremont the peninsula known as Negro Point on the east bank is reached, so named from the fact that the Indians in 1780 captured a number of negro slaves in Virginia and placed them on this point where they were detained as slaves by their captors, and where they died and were buried; the site of the Indian town or village (Munsee) on the east bank near Negro Point is seen where the noted chief and warrior Tecumseh (1809) planned hostilities

-against the whites, and from whence an expedition for plunder of the Virginia frontiers was started; further down we: pass, on the west bank, the home of the white captives, Mr. and Mrs. James Whittaker, who married at Detroit and settled here about 1785, and who are believed to have been the first white settlers in Ohio; just above the mouth of the river are Cherry, Peach and Graveyard Islands where the rebel Wyandot Chief Orontony known as Nicolas, with his fellow conspirators, had his stronghold and villages, where he plotted the destruction of the French garrisons at Detroit and other points. And after entering the bay, are passed the supposed sites of forts, both English and French, on both sides of the same, erected about the middle of the eighteenth century, and whose precise spots have been the theme of interesting and animated discussion by Judge Rush R. Sloane, Col. Webb C. Hayes and other prominent antiquarians.

The name of the river, from which that of the country is derived, according to the bureau of American Ethnology, is from the word or term Tsaendosti, pronounced San doos tee, and is the proper Wyandot form of the expression. "It is cold, fresh (water)," and may have been originally an Erie term adopted by the Wyandots for the same waters, as we know the Eries were the first occupants here known to authentic history, preceding the Wyandots. They were both of the some lingual stock, and most likely had the same name for these waters, and which seems to have been applied first to the bay or lake and is found in history in different forms, as to its orthography as early as about the year 1700.

Contending Powers

Spain, France and England as we know contended for dominion over the country, embracing the Sandusky Valley, basing their respective claims upon discovery and settlement; but as it would seem the principal ground of contention was more that of occupancy than discovery. According to the principle maintained by civilized nations regarding territoriol acquisition by discovery, it was not sufficient as among themselves, to discover alone, but such discovery must be followed by actual settlement or occupancy. Discovery gave only the right initiate; occupancy must follow to consummate it.

Spain, while apparently entitled to priority of discovery, yet not having occupied or made settlements, based thereon, her claim was not regarded as valid by the other contending nations, nor indeed by herself it would seem, as to the region under consideration. The real contention therefore narrowed to France and England, both claiming by the application of the principal mentioned, to have the paramount right.

But there was an additional power asserting rights to sovereignty, whose claims could not he entirely ignored by the contending powers mentioned. This consisted of the native inhabitants, the North American Indians, whose rights, if occupancy had been allowed to govern, were paramount to all others.

But according to the rule maintained by civilized nations, occupancy by savage people gave only a qualified right, as against discovery by civilized powers ; complete sovereignty with the right of disposition was denied them; and their rights acquired by occupancy might be superseded or destroyed by conquest or forced purchase. Discovery by the civilized was superior to occupancy by the savage, upon the ground, it has been claimed, that the Creator could never have designed that a comparatively few savages should monopolize for hunting grounds an extent of territory capable of supporting many millions of civilized people.

Our own American doctrine maintained that the Indians had originally no fee in the lands occupied by them, but did have however a qualified vested right by occupancy, which could only be invaded in just wars or extinguished by treaty, but like the other civilized powers, our government denied to them unrestricted dominion, and in its dealings and treaties with them, these principles were applied, and no complete title to lands was recognized in the savage, unless by express grant from the government.

Thus it appears that civilized governments claimed, and when opportunity offered exercised the right of eminent domain over all lands occupied by savage or uncivilized people.

We know that when European discoverers first came they found all these northern parts of the continent in the exclusive possession of an uncivilized or savage people called Indians, divided in language into two great races, namely: the Algonquins and the Iroquois. The country of the Algonquins extended from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, and from Hudson Bay to the Carolinas, and "like a great island in this vast expanse of Algonquin population" were the homes of the Iroquois tribes or nations, distributed as follows: the confederacy known as the Five Nations, comprising the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondaiguas, Cayugas and Senecas extended through what is now central New York from the Hudson River to the Genesee; the Neutral Nation occupied the country around the upper end of Lake Ontario and between that and the north shore of the lower end of Lake Erie and probably extending some distance into the country across and eastward of the Niagara River; the Wyandots, or Hurons as they were called by the French, held the country eastward of Lake Huron, named from them, and northward of Lake Erie; and the Fries were seated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, from whom it took its name.

"The name it bears is that of an Indian nation of the Huron (Wyandot) language, which was formerly seated on its banks and who have become entirely destroyed by the Iroquois: 'Erie' in that language, signifies 'Cat', and in some accounts this nation is called the Cat Nation. The name probably comes from the large number of that animal (lynx) formerly found in this country." (Charlevoix in 1721.)

Of the Algonquins, who in later times became incidentally connected with the history of our valley and adjacent country, were the Ottawas, Miamis, Delawares and Shawnees. But it is mainly with the Iroquois, whose people were dominant therein, first the Five Nations by conquest, and afterwards the Wyandots, by settlement, and occupancy, that our history of this region is more directly associated. The

Incorporation in 1713 of the Tuscarawas) waged relentless wars, during the first half of the seventeenth century, against their kindred, the Neutrals, Wyandots and Eries, and also against the Ottawas and some others of the western Algonquins, and by about the middle of the seventeenth century, had conquered these nations and driven them into exile westward to and around Lake Michigan. The Eries were completely exterminated as a nation and their seats including our valley left a mere solitude. The conquerors, subject to their treaty relations with England, mentioned below, asserted dominion over the conquered regions which were but little more than hunting grounds for a period of half a century or more, until reinhabited by the refugee Wyandots, Ottawas and remnants of other dispersed tribes. It seerns that the Six Nations had lost ascendency over the country formerly conquered by them from the nations mentioned, and the Wyandots from their places of exile, having rallied their own scattered tribes, and collecting with them the bands of the dispersed Ottawas and other refugees of their fellow sufferers at the hands of the Five Nations, about 1700 returned to the vicinity of their ancient seats. The Wyandots settled about Detroit, extending thence their settlements along Lake Erie to and upon the shores of the Sandusky Bay or lake and along the Sandusky River to its sources. The Ottawas located on the islands of the Lake, the Sandusky peninsula and up the Portage River. They were on friendly terms with the Wyandots, to whom they, with other tribes, yielded sovereignty as among themselves over all the region mentioned, over which our Wyandots also exercised their limited sovereignty as between themselves and the United States "to live and to hunt on" until by the treaty of September 29th, 1817, at the foot of the rapids of the Maumee, they ceded all their rights therein to the United States. They had previously, in 1785, ceded to the United States the two-mile square tract on which the city of Fremont is built and in 1808 the Maumee and Western Reserve Turnpike lands, being a tract 120 feet wide for a road, and all the land within one mile of the road on each side for settlement, from the Maumee to the west line of the Connecticut Reserve; also a tract for a road only, 120 feet in width to run southwardly from Lower Sandusky to the Greenville treaty line.

The French

France not only claimed, but exercised actual sovereignty over all the region of the St. Lawrence Basin for a period of about 150 years prior to 1763.

As we know, her claim to dominion rested upon the discovery of the St. Lawrence by Cartier in 1534, and upon later explorations and occupation of its basin by Champlain and others as early as the year 1608.

She maintained that to discover a river established the right to all the territory drained by that river and its tributaries. The waters of the Sandusky Valley being tributary to the St. Lawrence, the valley would therefore belong to France as a part of her domain, known as New France, with Quebec as its capitol. France subsequently greatly enlarged her asserted domain by the discovery of the Missis- sippi by Joliet and Marquette, in 1673, and the later explorations by La Salle and by his act of taking formal possession at the mouth of the tiver in 1682 in the name of Louis XIV, King of France, whereby the Mississippi Valley, which of course embraced that of the Ohio, was added to the possessions already claimed by France. These discoveries and explorations were followed by settlements and the erection and occupation of military forts and trading posts at points on the Mississippi and along the Lakes, including Sandusky Bay or Lake, as it was called.

In 1749 formal possession of the Ohio Valley was taken in the name of Louis XV, King of France, by Celoron De Bienville, who buried inscribed leaden plates at the mouths of the greater rivers emptying into the Ohio, as evidence of possession, thus reasserting the claims of La Salle made in 1682 at the mouth of the Mississippi.

On a map of M. Bellin, Royal French Geographer, Paris, in 1755, a "Fr. Fort Sandusky" is placed on the west side of the mouth of the river and noted as an "Ancient Fort abandoned" and in remarks published with the Atlas describing the Lake Erie country states that, "Where the river flows into the end of the bay we have a fort and habitation." John Pattin, a captive English trader, taken in 1750 to Detroit, in his narrative writes: "The French go in three days from the Fort Detroit to Fort Sandusky, which is a small palisaded fort with about twenty men, situated on the south side of Lake Erie and was built in the latter end of the year 1750."

The name Sandusky as applied to forts either French or British had no reference to the name of any town or village, because none was then nor for more than sixty years thereafter in existence, when (1816) Sandusky City was first laid out and named. These forts took their names from the waters near which they stood.

The English fort on the bay, occupied by Ensign Paully and his garrison was, on May 22nd, 1763, taken by a band of Wyandots living in the neighborhood, assisted b, a detachment of Wyandots sent by Pontiac from Detroit, in furtherance of his conspiracy to unite all the Indian tribes in a confederacy, and to destroy all the whites in the Northwest Territory. The garrison were all slaughtered, the fort burned, and Ensign Paully taken to Detroit as a prisoner, with the prospect of being burned at the stake; but a somewhat less sad fate awaited him, which was that of becoming the husband of an Indian widow, at her request. From this forced connubial relation, however, he soon found opportunity to escape, which he gladly embraced, as we are informed.

The British

Notwithstanding the dominion thus actually exercised by France, England was during all the time disputing the right of France to stich dominion, and claiming title in herself. England's claim so far as discovery went rested upon that of the Cabots in 1498, which antedated that of France by Cartier (1534) but she did not follow her discoveries by attempts of actual settlement in the northwest, until about the middle of the eighteenth century, confining her settlements to the region back of the Alleghenies along the seaboard. She claimed however, that this occupation of the region mentioned in connection with her discoveries entitled her to dominion from the Atlantic to the Pacific. She also made the further claim to the northwest by reason of transactions and treaties with the Iroquois. or Six Nations of Indians, who claimed dominion over this territory by conquest from the Eries and other Indians who previously occupied the same, as we have seen. .

England therefore claimed for herself and colonies not only the right by discovery, and seaboard settlements, but all the rights belonging originally or by conquest to,the Six Nations. English traders from the colonies had as early as 1700 penetrated the Sandusky Valley and from that time on they are frequently found in the neighborhood and finally about 1745 they built a blockhouse or stockade on the Sandusky Bay or Lake, which the French believed to be a part of a scheme to come into friendly relations with -the Wyandots, who were generally allies of the French, and if possible alienate them from the French and attach them to the English cause. The fears of the French seemed to have been justified by the movements of the powerful Wyandot Chief Orontony, whose baptized name was Nicolas, who as early as 1745, had settled in the region, with the villages of his followers along the islands and marshes of the Sandusky waters as before mentioned.

He intrigued with the English Colonial authorities of Pennsylvania and New York and encouraged traders from those colonies to come and permitted them to erect the block house on the bay mentionel. About this time a conspiracy was formed by Wyandots and some Miami tribes of which he was the leader, for a general overthrow of the French power. Detroit and the upper French posts were to be burned and the white inhabitants massacred. The general work of destruction was parcelled out to the various tribes of Wyandots and Miamis, engaged in the plot, in their respective localities. The plot was however discovered by the French in time to prevent its consumation,

Nicolas sued for pardon, which was granted nim and the Sandusky Wyandots engaged with him in the plot, under a pledge of loyalty to the French authorities. In 1748 he and his fellow conspirators numbering over 100 warriors and their families abandoned the Sandusky for the White River country, but previous to their departure they burnt the cabins of their villages, and Nicolas' fort Ayonotout, also called Junondat, was destroyed by Nicolas (N. Y. Colonial Documents).

Darlington in his "Gists' Journal" expresses the opinion that the villages of Nicolas were on Peach and Graveyard Islands at the mouth of the Sandusky River on the east side, and that probably he may have, at first, settled on Cherry Island abdut two niles above the mouth of the river and between that and Green Creek. We know that the events just mentioned happened within the Sandusky Valley in our immediate vicinity, and really contributed in no small degree toward the causes which hastened the impending conflict of arms between the contending powers.

About the same time and having relation to these events were disturbances farther south within the Ohio Valley, the center of which was the Indian town of Piqua or Pickawillany as it was called by the English, at the mouth of what was afterward called Loramies Creek, on the Miam River. This was the principal town of the Miami Confederacy of tribes, and then their capitol. The Miamis were not then friendly to the French, some of whose tribes were in the conspiracy of Nicolas as we have seen, and like Nicolas' tribes, with whom they were in full sympathy against the French, intrigued with the English traders from Virginia, and suffered them to make Pickawillany their headquarters as did Nicolas his Sandusky fort. Here in 1750 traders erected a stockade or fort at which the English flag was displayed not only by the traders but also by the Chief of the Miami confederacy known as Old Britain.

This occurring by the authority of the Colony of Virginia sanctioned as it was by England in authorizing the grant to the Ohio Company, an association of English Merchants and' Virginia planters, was regarded by France as a hostile invasion of her domain. As we have seen, formal possession of the Ohio Valley had been taken in the name of Kings of France, first in 1682 and again in 1749.

In 1752 Pickawillany was surprised and taken, by an expedition under French authority, composed mostly of Indians of the Ottawa and Chippawa tribes. One white trader was killed and the others in the fort at the time were plundered and taken captive to Canada. Several Indians were killed, among whom was the Chief, Old Britain, who was roasted and eaten by the enemy! The town was completely destroyed and never again occupied. Thus were begun hostilities which have been regarded as the inauguration of the war between France and England known here as the "French and Indian War," which finally resulted in the complete overthrow of France in the new world, and the transfer to England by the treaty of Paris which followed in 1763, of all her claims to dominion in Canada and the northwest to the Mississippi, which of course, embraced the Sandusky Valley. Claims of the Colonies under charters from England were not disposed of by the treaty nor were the rights, whatever they were, of the Indians passed upon. England however at once by proclamation (1763) reserved for the use of the Indians, who by former treaties, had placed themselves under her protection, all of the Northwest to the Mississippi, forbade further colonial grants of lands within the reserved country and demanded the abandonment of previous grants.

This was regarded by Virginia as a violation of her rights under her charter of 1609 from the British crown, being as it was, prior in date to such treaties, and which as to extent, was as follows: "Situate, lying and being in that part of America called Virginia from the point of land called Cape or Point Comfort all along the sea coast to the northward two hundred miles, and from the said Point of Cape Comfort all along the sea coast to the southward two hundred miles, and all that space and circuit of land lying from sea to sea, west and northwest."

The claims of other colonies are here omitted for the reason that no actual jurisdiction over our valley was ever exercised by them. It may be proper, however, to state that the charters of some of them overlapped in area that of Virginia, notably Connecticut, whose charter of 1662 nominally embraced all the present state of Ohio north of the 41st parallel of north latitude; but in 1786 she ceded to the general government all of the same west of the west lines of what are now Huron and Erie Counties.

Virginia's statesmen and jurists interpreted her charter of 1609 as granting all that vast bounded south by a line running west from the south point in the sea coast line named in domain, between the Atlantic and Pacific, said charter, and on the north by a line running northwest from the north point in said sea coast line. This interpretation was acted upon by Virginia and jurisdiction exercised by her from the beginning, and until modified as to western limits to the Mississippi, by the treaty of 1763 and subsequently until her cession in 1784 to the general government of her western territory. These lines as claimed by Virginia would be about at right angles to the trend of the coast lines described in the charter; an argument it is believed supporting the Virginia interpretation as to territorial extent.

Immigrants refused to obey the proclamation, ordering them to abandon their over' mountain settlements; while at the same time others were encouraged to follow them over the prohibited line. Virginia insisted upon her charter rights and continued to assert jurisdiction west of the mountains by creating counties, as we Shall see, and by other acts.

England's restrictive policy was also insisted upon by her and further emphasized by what was known as the Quebec Act in 1774, by which the province of Quebec was extended south to the Ohio River and west to the Mississippi, trial by jury in civil cases was abolished, and the French system of laws restored. Thus the region embracing our valley became subject to the jurisdiction of a government under English dominion, with the same capitol as when under that of France. England's unwise and oppressive policy toward the colonies brought on the Revolutionary War; the Quebec Act became inoperative during that struggle as did all other claims of England to dominion, in the territory of the northwest, and resulted, as we all rejoice to know in England's loss, not only of the disputed territory west of the mountains, but also of all her American Colonies. By the Paris treaty of peace, September, 1783, which followed, thirteen colonies were acknowledged to be free, sovereign and independent states, and "all claim to government, proprietary and territorial right of the same and every part thereof" was relinquished by England to them.

The long existing disputes among the colonies as to boundaries and extent of territory granted to certain of them by their respective charters now became acute and for a time threatened the peace of the country; but they were all finally settled by cessions to the general government, upon satisfactory conditions, or such as were acquiesced in by-all the states; and thus, except the Connecticut Western Reserve and the Virginia Military Lands, all the territory bounded by the lakes, the Ohio and the Mississippi became the public domain, and by the ordinance enacted by Congress, July 13, 1787, was organized as the Northwest Territory.

Under Virginia

In the dispute between England and France the chartered rights of the English Colonies, as between the Colonies and the Mother Country, were not directly involved; indeed the war which resulted in favor of England may be claimed as waged by her mainly in behalf of her Colonies.

Virginia had in the meantime pushed her settlements westward, but had not till early in the eighteenth century crossed the Alleghany mountains.

The first official exercise of jurisdiction by Virginia over the region west of the Alleghanies was the Act of her Colonial Assembly (4 Henning 450) creating the county of Orange in 1734, taking the same, in part, from that of Spottsylvania, which had been formed in 1720, but whose western limits were indefinite and did not extend bevond the Alleghanies. It was, however, the first county organization to extend west of the Blue Ridge. The first passage over this range, by the white man, was claimed to be that of the romantic adventure of Governor Spottswood in August and September of 1716, when he and a party of gentlemen, including members of his staff, numbering in all fifty persons, journeyed on horseback by way of the Upper Rappahannock River, with packhorses laden with provisions for the expedition. After thirty-six days they had "topped the mountain' and reached the famous valley later named the Shenandoah, and crossing to the west bank of the river, the governor named it "Euphrates," and there took formal possession in the name of King George First, then of England, by burying a bottle containing a written inscription to that effect. The occasion was there celebrated with much conviviality in drinking and banqueting by the governor and his gay party. Eight weeks were consumed and 440 miles traveled, in going and returning. The governor commemorated the journey by creating the "Knights of the Golden Horse Shoe," having reference to the careful shoeing of the horses required to enable them to climb the mountain. He caused small golden horse shoes, set with jewels, to be made, in London, inscribed with the legend sic jurat transcendere montes, which he distributed to his companions of the expedition.

In the Act of the Assembly creating the county of Orange and defining its boundaries, westward, are found these words: "Westerly by the utmost limits of Virginia,' which, of course, according to Virginia's construction of her charter of 1609, embraced all of the present state of Ohio and much more. It was claimed by Virginia as including all west of the Blue Ridge, extending southward to Tennessee and covering what is now Kentucky.

The immense domain of Orange County was on November 10, 1738 (5 Henning 79) divided by the Assembly, and the portion west of the mountains formed into the two counties of Augusta and Frederick. The latter embraced comparatively a small territory extending from the Potomac River to the northern boundary of the present county of Rock- ingham, and a little further westward. The remainder formed a part of Augusta, which county extended south to the borders of Virginia, west and northwest to the utmost limits of the territory of Virginia, and contained what is now Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, and consequently embraced our Sandusky Valley, and brought it within the nominal jurisdiction of Augusta County. Staunton became the county seat, and courts were held there before the Revolutionary War, and also as Pittsburg which was in Augusta County as claimed.

On November I0, 1769 (8 Henning 396), Botetourt County was formed by Act of the House of Burgesses by cutting off from Augusta all that part lying south and west of the North River, by a line west, bearing north 55 degrees, beginning at the Blue Ridge where that river flows through the same near the site of Lexington in the present county of Rockbridge, Virginia, and running to the confluence of the South River with the north branch of the James and up the James to the mouth of Kerr's Creek and up that creek to the mountain; which line of separation was by the provisions of the act mentioned, authorized to be continued westward as far as the courts of the two counties might thereafter order. The records of the court of Augusta, April 20, 1770, and of Botetourt, June 3, 1770, show an extention of this line westward bearing north 55 degrees, to a point described as the "west side of Anthony's Creek Mountain," which is in what is now the northeast part of Greenbrier County. West Virginia, There seems to be no records of legislative enactments or of court orders further extending this line to be found. That the Act of the Assembly creating the county of Botetourt contemplated its extension to the "waters of the Mississippi," ts apparent from its exemption from the payment of certain levies, the people situated on the "waters of the Mississippi in said County of Botetourt." It is further apparent from the two acts of the Virginia Assembly in forming Fincastle County from Botetourt (8 Henning 690) in 1772, and in dividing Fincastle into the three counties of Kentucky, Washington and Montgomery in 1776 (9 Henning 257), that at the dates of those enactments, the legislature must have considered that Botetourt did, in fact, embrace the territory described in those acts. While the boundaries of Fincastle are somewhat vague, as defined in the act forming the same, yet if studied in connection with the act dividing the same, as before mentioned, into the counties of Kentucky, Washington and Montgomery, it will be found, in addition to the southeastern portions thereof comprising the counties of Washington and Montgomery, to have embraced territory west and south of the "west side of Anthony's Creek Mountain" and bounded west and northwest by the Ohio River, to the Mississippi and south by the state of Tennessee, as it will be seen that this county of Kentucky as then bounded was nearly identical with the state of Kentucky as finally formed and admitted into the union.

The counties of Ohio, Yohogania and Monongalia were formed from that part of Augusta lying between the Alleghanies. and the Ohio River, thus cutting off from Augusta County and embraced territory west and south of the "west side of Anthony's Creek Mountain,' leaving the same outside of any county organization, all that vast extent of country northwest of the Ohio River, south of the lakes and east of the Mississippi, a "great and terrible wilderness" roamed over and dominated by savage tribes of the west in their murderous incursions against the Virginia and Pennsylvania frontier. Rightfully, as she claimed, it was within the jurisdiction of Virginia but this was disputed by the mother country, whose government as we have seen, claimed it for the benefit of the Indians, since the treaty of Paris (1763), and prior to that France had taught the Indians that their title to this region was valid to the Ohio River.

In 1778 all the region just described was conquered from England by Virginia under General George Rogers Clark, and in October, 1778, the legislature of Virginia established from it the county of Illinois with Kaskaskia on the Mississippi as the chief seat of justice and Cohokia and Vincennes,

Indian Hostilities

62 FUSS POY. sr subordinates. Thus the present state of Ohio with our Sandusky Valley was again brought within a county organization and subject territorially considered at least to the jurisdiction of the county of Illinois, which embraced all the chartered limits of Virginia northwest of the Ohio River east of the Mississippi, and so remained in so far as governmental relations existed, until March, 1784, when Virginia ceded to the General Government, subject to certain conditions, all her rights to dominion northwest of the Ohio River. INDIAN HOSTILITIES.

Notwithstanding the conquest from Great Britain by General Clark, and the organization of the county of Illinois by Virginia, from the conquered territory, the Indians still dominated the Ohio country as its chief occupants, and would listen to no terms of settlement which did not grant them valid title, extending to the Ohio River. In the several attempted peace negociations with them, their ultimatum was title as thus claimed. This demand not being granted, hostilities against the frontiers continued with unabated fury. Murderous incursions by the Miamis and their confederated tribes from the Maumee, and western country, and by the Wyandots and their immediate allies from the Sandusky Valley, were frequent, attended with characteristic savage cruelties. In the meantime a number of ineffectual attempts to conduct offensive expeditions into the enemies' country were made.

Finally, in 1782, an expedition from the frontiers, commanded by Colonel William Crawford, was organized, and four hundred strong moved against the Wyandots and allies of the Sandusky Country. It started from Mingo Bottoms the 25th day of May, and on the 4th of June came upon the enemy near the present site of Upper Sandusky, Wyandot County, where a battle ensued in and around an island of timber in the plains, since known as "Battle Island." engagement the next day, with confident expectations of a victory, but the enemy being reinforced on the second day, by the arrival of about two hundred Shawnees from the south, and British troops known as Butler's Rangers from Detroit, coming by way of the Sandusky Bay and river to Lower Sandusky and thence to the scene of conflict, so greatly increased the force of the enemy that the intended renewal of attack was deemed too hazardous, and a retreat instead was decided upon, which commenced on the night of June 5th, Crawford's men being greatly harassed by the pursuing savages until the site of the present town of Crestline was reached, June 6th, where pursuit ceased.

Space will not permit a narration of the thrilling incidents of this disastrous retreat, connected as it was with the capture of the brave Colonel Crawford, who had become separated from the main force, and his inhuman torture and tragic death by burning at the stake, June 11, 1782. A monument stands where his torture and death occurred, near Carey on the east bank of the Tymochtee.

John Sherrard, great grandfather of Robert Sherrard of Fremont, was in that battle and rendered conspicuous service as a soldier in the fight, and in aiding the wounded by carrying them water in his hat from a pool caused by an upturned tree.

Under Federal Dominion

As we have seen, after the close of the Revolutionary War, and the cessions by the Colonies to the General Government of their respective claims in the northwest, our valley became subject to the jurisdiction of the Northwest Territorial Government. Indian depredations, however, still continued, founded upon their claim of title, extending to the Ohio, as before asserted by them. Notwithstanding the stipulations in the treaty of Paris, 1783, by Great Britain, to surrender all military posts within the territory ceded by that treaty, those at Mackinac, Detroit, and the Ohio posts on the Maumee, and on the Sandusky Bay, were still garrisoned by the British, under the pretense, as claimed, of regarding them as a guarantee by the Americans to carry out a stipulation in the treaty to pay certain debts owing by them to the British. It was believed, however, that their real motive was to keep on friendly terms with the Indians by carrying on trade, especially in furs, with them, exaggerate their grievances, and goad them on to hostile depredations against the western colonists, with assurance of British sympathy and support, in the hope that the western country might finally be lost to the United States and restored to Great Britain as a colonial dependency. British aid subsequently given the savages in their repeated aggressions against the settlers, leave no doubt as to the real purpose of Great Britain in thus wrongfully occupying these posts.

The United States at first, as the Colonies had done previously, resorted to amicable negotiations with the savages, which proving unavailing, General Harmar, under directions of General Washington, President, in the fall of 1790, with an army of 1,300 men marched from Cincinnati into the Indian country to subdue the hostile tribes and, at the confluence of the rivers St. Joseph and St. Mary (Fort Wayne), a large detachment of his forces under command of Colonel Harding encountered a large body of savages led by the famous chief, Little Turtle; a severe engagement ensued, resulting in the defeat of the Americans with great loss in killed and wounded. The expedition was an utter failure.

President Washington, inspired with great anxiety for an effective prosecution of the Indian War, caused a new army to be organized in every way superior to the former, under the command of Governor St. Clair; it was composed of three regiments of infantry, two companies of artillery, one of cavalry, and 600 militiamen. With this force St. Clair invaded the enemies' country, and on November 4, 1791, at the present site of Fort Recovery, in Mercer County, was suddenly atacked by the whole force of the Northwestern tribes and disastrously defeated, with a loss of 600 men and thirty-five officers killed; while 200 men and twenty-five officers were wounded. So St. Clair's expedition was alse a complete failure.

Fallen Timbers

The next year General Anthony Wayne was appointed to the command of the Army of the Northwest. In the spring of 1793, unsuccessful negotiations for peace were held with the tribes at the rapids of Maumee, pursuant to offered mediation of Great Britain, now believed to have been insincere. In the meantime, General Wayne was perfecting his plans for a decisive campaign against the combined tribes, which, when fully organized, was conducted by him along practically the same route as that of St. Clair in 1781. On August 20, 1794, his forces, about one thousand strong, met the enemy at the rapids of the Maumee, at a place known as 'Fallen Timbers,' where a severe engagement took place, resulting in an overwhelming victory for the Americans. The enemy, about sixteen hundred strong, including, perhaps, two hundred British volunteers and regulars, was under the general command of Blue Jacket. Tecumseh led the Shawnees; Little Turtle, the Miamis. Who led the Wyandots does not appear, but several of their chiefs were in the engagement, among whom was the great chief, Tarhe, the Crane, of Lower Sandusky, who was severely wounded in that engagement.

Treaty Of Greenville

Wayne's vietory and events succeeding it, led to the treaty known as the Treaty of Greenville of August 3, 1795, signed by Anthony Wayne and by the several Sachems and war chiefs of the Northwestern tribes of Indians.

The signature of Tarhe, the Crane, of the Wyandots is the first to appear, next under that of General Wayne. Indian hostilities ceased from the time of this treaty for a period of ten years, or until the uprising of the tribes under Tecumseh, immediately preceding the War of 1812, with Great Britain, in which he was also a conspicuous ally of the British, and a general in their army. The Wyandots of the Sandusky Valley did not join Tecumseh, nor take part against the Americans in the War of 1812, but on the contrary were friendly and adhered to us throughout that war, as shown by the report of General Harrison to the secretary of war, March 22, 1814. The Detroit Wyandots, however, under the leadership of

The Wyandots were admitted to be the leading nation among the Indian tribes of the northwest, not because of numbers, but for the reason that they were more intelligent and more civilized in their manner of life. They were generally not so cruel toward their enemies in war, and were more humane in their treatment of captives than any of the other savages known to this region. To them was entrusted the Grand Calumet, which united all the Indians in that territory in a Confederacy for Mutual Protection and to assemble the tribes in council and to kindle the council fires.

The Sandusky Valley, dominated by them, as we have seen, was an ideal Indian place of abode, Its waters and marshes were at certain seasons alive with wild fowl, the river teemed with fish and large game abounded in the forests on every hand. It was, indeed, suggestive to them of the "Happy Hunting Ground," in their hoped for "Land of the Hereafter."

As to the name Wyandot, we have the authority of the American Bureau of Ethnology for saying, that it is the Anglicized form of their name, applied by themselves to the confederation of their four peoples, the Bear, Cord, Rock and Deer peoples of the nation of Owendots, Yendats or Wyandots, as Anglicized from their language or dialect; and that the name Huron is of French derivation, and signifies, in the singular, a bristly savage, a wretch or lout - a ruffian and was probably applied to the confederation mentioned, with reference to the manner in which the hair and head ornament of these Indians were worn, and was therefore a nickname. The names Wyandot and Huron are quite frequently employed interchangeably by historians, in writing of this nation. But since their occupancy of this region the name Wyandot is generally used to designate them.

The first treaty made with the Indians, affecting title to our valley, was that with the Wyandots, Delawares and Ottawas at Fort McIntosh, January 21, 1785, by which the boundary line between the United States and the Wyandot and Delaware Nations was to be- gin at the mouth of the Cuyalioga River (Cleveland) and run thence up that river to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum, then down the same to the forks at the crossing place above Fort Laurens; then westerly to the portage of the Big Miami, which runs into the Ohio, then along said portage to the Maumee River and northerly down the southeast side of the same to its mouth (Toledo), thence along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River where it began (Cleveland).

All the land contained within these lines was allotted to the Wyandot and Delaware Nations, "to live and to hunt on," and to such of the Ottawa Nation as then lived thereon. There were certain reservations for the use and under the government of the United States for trading posts. Amiong these were a six-mile square tract on the Sandusky Bay, "where a fort formerly stood," and a two-mile square tract on each side of the lower rapids of Sandusky River (Fremont).

All the lands east, south and west of the described line, were to belong to the United States. This treaty in substance was renewed, or reaffirmed, on the gth day of January, 1789, at Fort Harmar, the Chippewa, Patawatima

These treaties, however, were never fully carried into effect, on account of the continued Indian hostilities, instigated by the principal western tribes, who claimed that to make a treaty binding, all the tribes interested must join therein, and that inasmuch as they had not taken any part in these treaties and were interested they were not bound by them. As we have seen, the treaty of Greenville was finally signed by all of the warring tribes and brought peace between the settlers and Indians.

The first county organization under federal government embracing our valley was that of Hamilton County, which came into existence by the proclamation of the territorial governor, Arthur St. Clair, January 2, 1790. It did not, however, at first extend this far north, but on February 11, 1792, the boundaries of Hamilton County were extended to the then north boundary line of the territory, and included the territory which is now Sandusky County. On the west it was bounded by Knox County, in northwest territory, now parts of Indiana and Michigan, and on the east side by a line which would be the west line of Huron and Erie Counties prolonged to the north boundary of Ohio (Vol. 2, page 310, The St. Clair Papers ). WAYNE COUNTY.

Map Of Wayne And Other Counties, 1799

MAP OF WAYNE AND OTHER COUNTIES, 1799. (Courtesy of the Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society.) the first American banner that ever floated over Detroit." On August 15, 1796, Winthrop Sargent, secretary of the Northwest Territory, the governor being, as he supposed, absent from the territory, by proclamation formed the county of Wayne, with Detroit as the seat of justice. The absence of the governor would confer authority upon the secretary to so act. This county as formed embraced all the northwestern part of Ohio, west of the Cuyahoga and Tuscarawas Rivers to Fort Laurens, a large tract in the northwestern part of Indiana, including Fort Wayne, a part of Illinois, including the site of Chicago, and the whole of the territory of Michigan. It was larger in extent than the present states of Ohio and Michigan. Peter Audrian was judge of probate, register of deeds, and justice of the peace of this vast county, which of course, included the Sandusky Valley. All lawsuits between inhabitants of our valley, within the jurisdiction of a justice's court, would have been required, by law, to be in the court of Peter Audrian as such justice. Probate of wills and settlement of estates were also within his exclusive jurisdiction. NORTHWEST TERRITORY DIVIDED.

An Act of Congress, May 7, 1800, to take effect July 4th, following, divided the Northwest Territory, and created the territory of Indiana, making Vincennes the capital thereof. The dividing line began at the Ohio, opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River, thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north to the north boundary line of the United States.

This division still left our region, with Detroit, in Wayne County. By Act of Congress, April 30, 1802, known as the "Enabling Act," authorizing the Ohio division of the Northwest Territory to form a Constitution, preparatory to admission as a state, the region including Detroit was attached to Indiana territory. No delegates from Wayne County to the Ohio Constitutional Convention were admitted, notwithstanding its inhabitants were counted to make up the required population. Our valley thereby once more became outside of any county organization.

was formed by Act of the Legislature, March 30, 1803 (Vol. 1, p. 26), with the seat of justice at Franklinton (Columbus) and would seem to have embraced the Sandusky Valley; but there is a question whether its north boundary line was intended to be the "Indian boundary" line or the state line. In the Act referred to, after defining the west line, we find these words: "thence north with the said line until it intersects the state line' and then reads as follows: "thence eastwardly with the said line

Now it is apparent that this last described line It is hardly supposeable that any portion of must have been a diagonal one to reach the Franklin would have been purposely left depoint mentioned and could not have been the tached from the main part, with Delaware lystate line. So it would seem that the Legisla- ing between the main and detached portions.

LOWER SANDUSKY 'TOWNSHIP, AUGUST 1). US 5. ture must have confused the state line with the It seems, however, that there was some uncer- Indian boundary line; and further, when the tainty, with reference to the question of bouncounty of Delaware was subsequently formed dary, for in 1809 the Legislature annexed to by being taken from the north part of Frank- Delaware "all that part of Franklin County lin (1808) its northern boundary was defined lying north of Delaware." Did this annexed territory extend to the north boundary line of the state? was formed, as we have seen, in 1808 (Vol. 6, p. 29) and unless our valley was embraced in Franklin County, when first formed, it remained outside of any county organization from April 30, 1802, until 1809, when the addition to Delaware, which is believed to have embraced it, was made as before shown. RADNOR TOWNSHIP.

That this annexed territory was intended to, and did, include our region, would appear from the fact that the county commissioners of Delaware County on April 29, 1811, as recorded in their journal (Vol. 1, p. 35), passed the following resolutions:

"Resolved by the Board of Commissioners of Delaware County in conformity to a petition from the white inhabitants of Sandusky and by the verbal request of some of the inhabitants of Radnor Township, that all that part of country, commonly known and called by the name of Upper and Lower Sandusky, shall be and now is attached to Radnor Township, enjoying township privileges so far as is agreeable to law."

HURON COUNTY was organized January 31, 1815 (Vol. 13, p. 113). Section 3 of the Act organizing the same, attached to Huron County for judicial purposes, "all that part of the state of Ohio lying westwardly of Huron County, northwardly of the south line of the Connecticut Reserve extended westwardly and eastwardly of the east line of Champaign County, extended due north to the north line of the state." This included our valley. That the same had been regarded as being within Delaware County, as before stated, is evident from the further provision of Section 3, "that all suits and actions which shall have been commenced with the above described territory shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution in Deleware County as though the territory had not been attached to Huron County." Avery was then the county seat of Huron County. In 1818 Norwalk became the seat of justice of that county. LOWER SANDUSKY TOWNSHIP

Palmer, Charles Parker, and Eli Barnum of Huron County, at their first meeting for the county which was held at the house of David Abbot, August 1, 1815 (Journal 1, p. 1).

This township organized, as it was betore the organization of Sandusky County, emnamely: All lands between, the west line of Huron and the east lines of what are now Hancock, Wood and Lucas Counties, including Oregon and Jerusalem Townships, now in Lucas, and all north of the south boundary line of Seneca County to Lake Erie. The first election for township officers of this immense township was held in Lower Sandusky August 15, 1815, at the house of Israel Harrington on the west side of the river. The officers elected were, Israel Harrington, Randall Jerome and Jeremiah Everett (father of Homer Everett) trustees; Isaac Lee, clerk; Morris A. Newman and William Ford, overseers of the poor, and Charles B. Fitch and Henry Dubrow appraisers.

"May 18, 1819, Commissioners met, towit: Joseph Strong and Bildad Adams. A petition was presented for a new township, therefore ordered that all that tract lying west of the "fire lands" (Huron County) and east of the Sandusky River is hereby set off and made a saparate township by the name of Croghan."

Croghan Township, as will be observed, was formed after the treaty at the foot of the rapids of the Maumee was made, by which the title of the Indians was extinguished to all lands within the state of Ohio, then claimed by them, east of the west line thereof, and north of the Greenville treaty line. This treaty was in the nature of a purchase, and the lands included were known as "The New Purchase." The consideration passing from the United States, was as follows: To the Wvandots, who were the chief Indian parties concerned as to the Sandusky Valley, a perpetual annuity of $4,000, a tract of land twelve miles square at Upper Sandusky and a tract one mile square on Broken Sword Creek (a tributary of the Sandusky River) ; to the Senecas, $500; to the Shawanees, $2,000; to the Pattawatimies an- nually for fifteen years, $1,300; to the Ottawas annually for fifteen years, $1,000; to the Chippewas annually for fifteen years, $1,000, and to the Delawares, $500, but no annuity; to the Senecas, .30,000 acres on the east side of the Sandusky Rived, in what is now Sandusky and Seneca Counties, about one-third of which was in Sandusky, beginning at a point opposite the mouth of Wolf Creek, running thence east through the north parts of Sections 29, 28, 27, 26 and 25 in Ballville, and Sections 30, 29, 28, and into the west part of Section 27 of Green Creek Townships, thence south to the Seneca County line. It also contains the 1280-acre tract reserved to Elizabeth Whitaker "on the west side of the Sandusky River below Croghansville," and the 160-acre tract reserved ito Sarah Wiiliams, Joseph Williams and Rachel Williams Nugent "on the east side of the Sandusky River below Croghansville, and to include their improvements at a place called Negro Point." By a subsequent treaty at St. Mary's, September 17, 1818 (7 Stat., p. 179), there was added to the Senecas, on the south side of the above reservation a tract of 10,000 acres, and to the Wyandots was ceded a tract about twelve miles square in northeast corner of Seneca County. -

On February 12, 1820, "The New Purchase" was carved into fourteen new counties. Sandusky was one of the fourteen to thus appear among the sisterhood of counties of the great state of Ohio. Croghansville was the temporary seat of justice, where public matters were conducted for a little more than two years, or until May 23, 1822, when the permanent county seat was located in the "Town of Sandusky," where, by the names successively of Sandusky, Lower Sandusky and Fre-