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HENRY COUNTY

 

HENRY COUNTY was formed April 1, 1820, from old Indian territory and named from Patrick Henry, the celebrated Virginia operator of the Revolutionary era.  Area about 430 square miles.  In 1887 the acres cultivated were 102,558; in pasture, 5,377; woodland, 49,895; lying waste, 1,064; produced in wheat, 487,986 bushels; rye, 80,539; buckwheat, 1,319; oats, 303,186; barley, 14,787; corn, 938,584; broom corn, 275 lbs. brush; meadow hay, 10,945 tons; clover hay, 4,670; potatoes, 59,647 bushels; butter, 435,113 lbs.; sorghum, 6,338 gallons; maple syrup, 1,037; honey, 9,131 lbs.; eggs, 598,334 dozen; grapes, 2,967 lbs.; sweet potatoes, 17 bushels; apples, 22,883; peaches, 706; pears, 456; wool, 40,811 lbs.; milch cows owned, 5,480.  School census, 1888, 8,337; teachers, 225.  Miles of railroad track, 80. 

 

 

Population in 1840 was 2,492; in 1860, 8,901; in 1880, 20,585; of whom 15,721 were born in Ohio; 712 in Pennsylvania; 457 in New York; 181 in Indiana; 145 in Virginia; 17 in Kentucky; 2,106 in German empire; 140 in Ireland; 140 in British America; 127 in England and Wales; 116 in France; and 21 in Scotland.  Census of 1890, 25,080. 

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alike absorbing water, has given to the forest a homogenous character; the trees are all generally of the same height, so that when viewed at a distance through the haze of the forest appears like an immense blue wall, stretched across the horizon.  It is yet the abode of wild animals, where flocks of deer are occasionally seen bounding through its labyrinths.  Throughout the swamp, a mile or two apart, are slight ridges of limestone, from forty rods to a mile wide, running usually in a westerly direction, and covered with black walnut, butternut, red elm, and maple.  The top soil of the swamp is about a foot thick, and composed of a black, decayed vegetable matter, extremely fertile.  Beneath this, and extending several feet, is a rich yellow clay, having large quantities of the fertilizing substances of lime and silex.  Lower still is a stratum of black clay of great depth.  The water of the swamp is unpleasant to the taste, from containing a large quantity of sulfur; it is, however, healthy and peculiarly beneficial to persons of a costive habit, or having diseases of the blood.  The soil is excellent for grain and almost all productions - garden vegetables and fruit thrive wonderfully.  We were shown an orchard of apple trees, some of which had attained the height of twenty feet, and measured at their base twenty inches, which, when first planted, 5 years since, where mere twigs, but a few feet in height, and no larger than one's finger. - Old Edition. 

The foregoing description is copied from our original addition, issued forty-three years ago.  In the meantime this entire region - the Maumee valley - has undergone extraordinary changes.  Napoleon, the county-seat, was then so insignificant that our entire description was contained in 3 lines: "Napoleon, the county-seat, is on the Maumee River and Wabash canal, 17 miles below Defiance, 40 above Toledo, and 154 northwest of Columbus.  It is a small village, containing about 300 inhabitants."

Knapp, in his history of the Maumee valley, published in 1872, has given some valuable historical items, in regard to both town and county, which we here copy:

"Napoleon was platted in 1832, and the first dwelling, a log-cabin, erected that year.  By the census of 1830, two years previous, the entire county had but 262 inhabitants, and its tax valuation in 1823 was but $262.  The following were residents of Napoleon in 1837: Judge Alexander Craig, James G. Haley, Gen. Henry Leonard, James MaGill, John Powell, Hazell Strong, George Stout, and John Glass.  There were three small frame houses, the others being made of logs.  The first house erected in the place was a log-cabin, twelve by fourteen feet, and was offered to the public by Amos Andrews as a tavern. 

"On the usual road, on the north side of the river, between Maumee city and Fort Wayne, thirty-five years ago [1836], after leaving the former place, the first house the traveler would meet would be at Waterville, six miles above Maumee city, where he would find five or six dwellings.  Passing up seven or eight miles farther, he would reach the tavern of Mr. Tiehean, a half-breed Indian.  The next house, eighteen miles above, would be in a group of three or four, standing at Providence; thence he would reach the hospitable house of Samuel Vance, occupying the site of a farm which was found by Wayne's army in a high state of cultivation, in 1794, and which was then known as Prairie du Masque, and now as Damascus.  This point would bring the traveler twenty-seven miles above Maumee city.  The next house, about two miles above Damascus, was a tavern and trading-post owned by John Patrick.  Three miles above this the traveler would reach Napoleon, where he would discover the settlers above enumerated. 

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banks: The First National, organized February, 1872, and that of the Sheffield & Norton, a private institution, established in 1866. "-Knapp’s Maumee Valley. 

Napoleon, the county-seat, about 105 miles northwest of Columbus, thirty-six miles southwest of Toledo, is on the Maumee River, Miami and Erie Canal, and W. St. L. & P. R. R.  County Officers for 1888: Auditor, George Russell; Clerk, James Donovan; Commissioners, William N. Zierolf, Andrew J. Saygers, George Daum; Coroner, Conrad Bitzer; Infirmary Directors, Peter Schall, Edward Dittmer, Henry Bostleman; Probate Judge, Michael Donnelly; Prosecuting Attorney, James B. Ragan; Recorder, Thomas W. Durbin; Sheriff, Elbert T. Barnes; Surveyor, Charles. A. Schwab; Treasurer, James C. Waltimire.  City Officers, 1888: Mayor, John Thiesen; Clerk, E. C. Dodd; Treasurer, Oliver Higgins; Marshall, Oscar Rakestraw; Street Commissioner, Daniel Hess.  Newspapers: Democratic Northwest, Democratic, L. L. Orwig, editor and publisher; Henry County Democrat, German, C. F. Clement, editor and publisher; Henry County Signal, Republican, J. P. Belknap, editor and publisher; Catholic Companion, Catholic juvenile, Schmill & BrennEn, editors and publishers.  Churches:1 Methodist, two Lutheran, one Presbyterian, one Catholic, one Evangelical.  Bank: Meekison’s, W. H. Brownell, cashier; J. C. Sauer & Co.. 

Manufacturers and Employees. - A. Brunner, hoops, 47 hands; Thiessen & Hildred, doors, sash, etc., 8; Joseph Shaff, carriages, etc., 4; John Miller, carriages, etc., 4; T. Ludwig, potash, 3; A. J. Saggers, lumber, 4; M. Britton, boat oars, etc., 12; Napoleon Woolen Mills, flannels, blankets, etc., 25; C. Vock, flour, etc., 4; F. Roessing, beer, 5; J. Koller & Co., flour, etc., 6; C. F. Beard, founder and machinist, 5; Napoleon Foundry, castings, 5; Napoleon Elevator, grain elevator, 2. - Ohio State Reports, 1887. 

Population, 1880, 3,032.  School census, 1888, 1,053; W. W. Weaver, school superintendent.  Capital invested in industrial establishments, $119,000; value of annual product, $179,500. - Ohio Labor Statistics, 1887. 

In our original edition we stated, "The notorious Simon Girty once resided five miles above Napoleon, at a place called ‘Girty’s Point.’  His cabin was on the bank of the Maumee, a few rods west of the residence of Mr. Elijah Gunn.  All traces of his habitation have been destroyed by culture, and a fine farm now surrounds the spot."

Our authority for this statement, in the lapse of time, it is now impossible to trace, but probably some old pioneer whom we interviewed.  It is now known that it was George Girty, the brother of Simon, that resided there.  He was an Indian trader, and alike infamous in character.  Opposite the spot is a beautiful island of about forty acres, called Girty’s Island, with an extremely dense growth of vegetation.  Girty’s cabin and trading-house were on the left bank of the river, and it was said, "When he was apprehensive of a surprise he would retire to the island, as a tiger to his jungle, with a sense of almost absolute security from his pursuers."

After making our original statement, as above given, we followed with an article upon the Girty’s, which we repeat here verbatim:

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Top Picture

Gardner & Son, Photo.

GIRTY’S ISLAND.

 

Bottom Picture

GARDNER & Son, Photo.

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many of the cruelties charged upon his brother Simon; yet he was caressed by Proctor and Elliott. 

Simon was adopted by the Senecas, and became an expert hunter.  In Kentucky and Ohio he sustained the character of an unrelenting barbarian.  Sixty years ago, with his name was associated everything cruel and fiendlike.  To the women and children, in particular, nothing was more terrifying than the name of Simon Girty.  At that time it was believed by many that he had fled from justice and sought refuge among the Indians, determined to do his countrymen all the harm in his power.  This impression was any erroneous one.  Being adopted by the Indians, he joined them in their wars, and conformed to their usages.  This was the education he had received, and their foes were his.  Although trained in all his pursuits as an Indian, it is said to be a fact susceptible of proof that, through his importunities, many prisoners were saved from death.  His influence was great, and when he chose to be merciful, it was generally in his power to protect the imploring captive.  His reputation was that of an honest man, and he fulfilled his engagements to the last cent.  It is said, he once sold his horse rather than to incur the odium of violating his promise.  He was intemperate, and, when intoxicated, ferocious and abusive alike of friends and foes.  Although much disabled the last 10 years of his life, by rheumatism, he rode to his hunting grounds in pursuit of game.  Suffering the most excruciating pain, he often boasted of his warlike spirits,.  It was his constant wish, one that was gratified, that he might die in battle.  He was at Proctor’s defeat, and was cut to pieces by Col. Johnson's mounted men. 

The above we derive from Campbell'S sketches.  We have, in addition, some anecdotes and facts which throw doubt over the character of Simon Girty, as there given. 

In September, 1777, Girty led the attack on Fort Henry, on the site of Wheeling, during which he appeared at the window of a cabin, with a white flag, and demanded the surrender of the fort in the name of his Britannic Majesty.  He read the proclamation of Governor Hamilton, and promised the protection of the Crown if they would lay down their arms and swear allegiance to the king.  He warned them to submit peaceably, and admitted his inability to restrain his warriors, when excited in the strife of battle.  Colonel Shepard, the commandant, promptly replied, that they would never surrender to him, and that he could only obtain possession of the Fort when there remained no longer an American soldier to defend it.  Girty renewed his proposition, but it was abruptly ended by a shot from a thoughtless youth, and Girty retired and opened the siege, which proved unsuccessful.  Baker's station, in that vicinity, was also attacked, not far from this time, by Girty and his band, but without success. 

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Dr. Knight, in his narrative of his captivity, and burning of Colonel Crawford (see Wyandot County), speaks of the cruelty of Simon Girty to the colonel and himself.  Colonel John Johnson corroborates the account of Dr. Knight.  In a communication before us he says; "He was notorious for his cruelty to the whites who fell into the hands of the Indians.  His cruelty to the unfortunate Colonel Crawford is well known to myself, and although I did not witness the tragedy, I can vouch for the facts of the case, having had them from eye-witnesses.  When that brave and unfortunate commander was suffering at the stake by a slow fire, in order to lengthen his misery to the longest possible time, he besought Girty to have him shot, to end his torments, when the monster mocked him by firing powder without ball at him.  Crawford and Girty had been intimately acquainted in the early settlement of Pennsylvania; I knew a brother of the latter at Pittsburg in 1793."

When Simon Kenton was taken prisoner, his life was saved through the interposition of Girty.  (See a sketch of Kenton in Champaign County.)

Mr. Daniel M. Workman, now living in Logan County, gave us orally the following respecting the last years of Girty.  In 1813 (1816), said he, I went to Malden and put up at a hotel kept by a Frenchman.  I noticed in the bar-room a gray-headed and blind old man.  The landlady, who was his daughter, a woman of about thirty years of age, inquired of me, "Do you know who that is?" pointing to the old man.  On my replying, "No!" she rejoined, "It is Simon Girty!" He had then been blind about four years.  In 1815 I returned to Malden and ascertained and Girty had died a short time previous.  Simon Kenton informed me that Girty left the whites, because he was not promoted to the command of a company or a battalion.  I was also so informed by my father-in-law, who was taken prisoner by the Indians.  Girty was a man of extraordinary strength, power of endurance, courage and sagacity.  He was in height about 5 feet 10 inches and strongly made. 

Oliver M. Spencer, who was taken prisoner by the Indians while a youth in 1792, in his narrative of his captivity makes some mention of the Girtys.  While at Defiance, the old Indian priestess, Cooh-coo-Cheeh, with whom he lived, took him to a Shawnee village, a short distance below, on a visit.  There he saw the celebrated chief, Blue Jacket, and Simon Girty, of whom he speaks as follows:

One of the visitors of blue jacket (the Snake) was a plain, grave chief of sage appearance; the other, Simon Girty, whether it was from prejudice, associating with his look the fact that he was a renegade, the murderer of his own countrymen, racking his diabolic invention to inflict new and more excruciating tortures, or not, his dark, shaggy hair, his low forehead, his brows contracted, and meeting above his short flat nose; his great sunken eyes, averting the ingenious gaze; his lips thin and compressed, and the dark and sinister expression of his countenance, to me, seemed the very picture of a villain.  He wore the Indian costume, but without any ornament; and his silk handkerchief, while it supplied the place of a hat, hid an unsightly wound in his forehead.  On each side, in his belt, was stuck a silver-mounted pistol, and at his left hung a short broad of dirk, serving occasionally the uses of a knife.  He made of me many inquiries; some about my family, and the particulars of my captivity; but more of the strength of the different garrisons; the number of American troops at Fort Washington, and whether the President intended soon to send another army against the Indians.  He spoke of the wrongs he had received at the hands of his countrymen, and with fiendish exultation of the revenge he had taken.  He boasted of his exploits, of the number of his victories, and of his personal prowess; then raising his handkerchief, and exhibiting the deep wound in his forehead (which I was afterwards told was inflicted by the tomahawk of the celebrated Indian chief, Brandt, in a drunken frolic) said it was a saber cut, which he received in battle at St. Clair's defeat; adding with an oath, that he had "sent the d----d Yankee officer" that gave it "to h---l."  He ended by telling me that I would never see home: but if I should turn out to be a good hunter and a brave warrior, I might one day be a chief.  His presence and conversation having rendered my situation painful, I was not a little relieved when, a few hours after ending our visit, we returned to our quiet lodge on the bank of the Maumee. 

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Elliott ordered Joseph to take me over to James Girty’S, where he said our breakfast would be provided.  Girty’s wife soon furnished us with some coffee, wheat bread, and stewed pork and venison, of which (it being so much better than the food to which I had been lately accustomed) I ate with great gout; but I had not more than half breakfasted, when Girty came in, and seating himself opposite me, said, "So, my young Yankee, you're about to start for home."  I answered, "Yes, sir, I hope so."  That, he said, would depend on my master, in whose kitchen he had no doubt I should first serve a few years' apprenticeship as a scullion.  Then, taking his knife, said (while sharpening it on a whetstone), "I see your ears are whole yet, but I'm d—n--y mistaken if you leave this without the Indian ear mark, that we may know you when we catch you again."  I did not wait to prove whether he was in jest, or in downright earnest; but leaving my breakfast half finished, I instantly sprang from the table, leaped out of the door, and in a few seconds took refuge in Mr. Ironside’S house.  On learning the cause of my flight, Elliott uttered a sardonic laugh, the deriding my unfounded childish fears, as he was pleased to turn them; but ironside looked serious, shaking his head, as if he had no doubt that if I had remained, Girty would have executed his threat. 

We finished this notice of the GirtyS by a brief extract from the MSS. of Jonathan Alder (then in my possession), who knew Simon - showing that he was by no means wholly destitute of kind feelings. 

I knew Simon Girty to purchase at his own expense several boys who were prisoners, take them to the British and have them educated.  He was certainly a friend to many prisoners. 

This finishes our original account of the three GirtyS, viz., Simon, James and George.  Simon was the leading one of these renegades.  It was his name especially that during the Revolution struck terror in every backwoods cabin in Pennsylvania and Virginia.  The annals of that period were so full of conflicting statements in regard to them, while their lives from boyhood to old age were to a large extent so tragically romantic, as to lead the historian, Cunsul Willshire Butterfield, to devote his leisure moments to obtain a full and correct history of them so far as it was possible to obtain it at this late day.  The result is the publication of a large octavo volume of over 400 pages, "History of the GirtyS: A Life Record of the Three Renegades of the Revolution," Cincinnati, Robert Clark & Co., 1890.  The book will greatly enhance his reputation "as a most industrious gatherer of information and as a forcible writer of history."  From his work these statements are gathered and are reliable. 

Simon Girty, Sr., was an Irishman who settled on the borders of Pennsylvania, and became an Indian trader.  About 1737 he married Mary Newton, an English girl, by whom he had four children, all sons, viz.: Thomas, born in 1739; Simon, in 1741; James, in 1743; and George, 1745.  In 1751 Simon, Sr., was killed in a drunken frolic in his own house, by an Indian named "The Fish." John Turner, who lived with Girty, avenged his murder by killing "The Fish."

Two years later Turner married Mrs. Girty, who was a reputable woman.  In August, 1756, the year after Braddock’s of defeat, Turner with his family were in Fort Randall, a stockade, on the Juniata, which was taken by the French and Indians, and Turner, wife and children were carried into captivity.  Turner, according to tradition, was recognized as the slayer of "The Fish," and his fate was sealed, and on their arrival at Kittaning he was doomed to death.  "They tied him to a black post; danced around him; made a great fire; and having heated gun barrels red hot, ran them through his body! Having tormented him for three hours they scalped him alive, and at last held up a boy with a hatchet to give him the finishing stroke." Mrs. Turner and her four children were compelled to witness the horrible scene. 

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a useful life.  He raised a family and died on Girty’s Run, near Pittsburg, in 1820. 

The three remaining boys were adopted by the savages - Simon, then fifteen years old, going with the Senecas; James, then thirteen years, by the Shawanese; and George, then eleven years, by the Delawares.  They with their mother and her infant John Turner remained with the Indians three years, until 1759, when as a result of a treaty with the Indians all their prisoners were brought to Pittsburg and surrender. 

Simon was at this time eighteen years of age, and became to a certain extent a man of influence.  He was illiterate, never having learned to read or write.  For about thirteen years after his return his employment to a great extent was that of Indian interpreter.  James worked as a common laborer and sometimes as an interpreter for the traders.  George for a time traded with the Indians on his own account.  While living with the Indians the Girtys were kindly treated.  Having been taken at a tender age it was natural for them to have become attached to those simple children of nature, who had many virtues. 

In the Dunmore expedition, in the fall of 1776, Simon Girty acted as a scout, and accompanied John Gibson in his celebrated interview with the Mingo chief, Logan.  (See Pickaway County.)  Girty from recollection translated Logan'S "speech" to Gibson, and "the latter put it into excellent English, as he was abundantly capable of doing."

In the war of the Revolution, up to February, 1778, Simon Girty had sided with the Whigs.  On the night of March 28 seven persons secretly absconded from Fort Pitt for the Indian country, on their way to Detroit, to join their Lieut.-Governor Hamilton, the British commandant.  Three of these eventually became notorious allies of the enemy.  They were Simon Girty, Matthew Elliott, an Indian trader, Irish by birth, and Captain Alexander McKee, also Indian trader, a native of Pennsylvania.  On their way they stopped first among the Delawares at Coshocton, then at the Shawnee towns on the Scioto, near the site of Circleville.  They met there James Girty, who was engaged in trade with the Indians, and easily persuaded him to espouse the British cause, to remain with the Shawanese, and to help those of the tribe who were yet wavering from all thoughts of peace with the United States.  James then appropriated presents that had been intrusted to him by government for the Indians.  On their arrival all three, Simon Girty, McKee and Elliott, entered the British Indian Department under regular pay, Simon Girty as interpreter for the Six Nations, at $2 per day.  His brother James joined him a few months later, and both from that time forth were devoted to the British interest.  They were sent by Hamilton to live with the savages in the Ohio wilderness, Simon to the Mingoes, and James to the Shawanese, to do the best possible service in interpreting or fighting. 

George Girty was at this time a Lieutenant in the Continental army; a year later, May 4, 1779, he deserted to the British, and made his way to Detroit, where he entered the Indian Department as interpreter, and was sent to the Shawanese, with headquarters at Wapatomica.  There is reason to believe that the GirtyS when joining Hamilton at Detroit had no idea of going upon the war path with the Indians; but Hamilton eventually required this of them, and they most ferociously performed that duty. 

Simon, a poor, ignorant young man, had been persuaded to desert the American cause by McKee and Elliott, men of education and influence.  That his brothers should have joined him was natural, considering the attachment they had for the Indians, and for a wild, free life, united to the influence in general of an older brother. 

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attack on Fort Henry.  James Girty was present, but he had no command of the savages. 

The incidents of the attack on Bryan's station, in Kentucky, in August, 1782, are given as originally published about 1835, in McClung’s "Sketches of Western Adventure," but it was under the command of Captain Caldwell, not of Simon Girty, although Girty was with him.  There is strong evidence adduced by Butterfield to show that there was no cessation of the attack when begun, and that the bantering scene between young Reynolds and Girty was purely fiction. 

The remainder of my account of the GirtyS must be correct, including the testimony of Colonel Johnson, Oliver M. Spencer, and my interview with Daniel M. Workman, and the extract from the MSS of Jonathan Alder, which last I had in my personal possession and copied from just forty-four years ago.  Butterfield states that it must have been in 1816 and not in 1813 that Workman saw Simon Girty at Malden, as he was not there at that date, although there before and after.  In 1784 Simon married Catherine Malott, a white girl, who had been captured on the Ohio in 1780.  He eventually took up his residence just below Malden, where he died, in February, 1818, and was buried on his farm, on land given him by the British government for his loyalty.  British soldiers from Malden fired a salute over his grave site.  Simon was about five feet nine inches in stature, eyes black and piercing, and in his prime very agile. 

George Girty married a Delaware Indian woman, and in his latter days was an habitual drunkard.  He died at a trading-post of the Maumee, belonging to his brother James, about two miles below Fort Wayne, just before the war of 1812.  James married Betsy, an Indian woman of the Shawnees.  Before the war he gave up his business and retired to his land at Gosfield, Canada.  He was tall in person, temperate in his habits, and had acquired by trading considerable property, beside receiving large donations in land from the British.  His general reputation for cruelty was on a par with that of his brothers. 

Deshler is situated at the crossing of the B. & O, D. & M. and McC. D. & T. Railroads, 37 miles south of Toledo and 18 miles southeast of Napoleon.  It has 1 newspaper: Flag, neutral, W. H. Mitchel, editor and a proprietor.  Three churches: 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Catholic, and 1 Free Methodist.  Factories and employees: A. W. Lee, heading and staves, 90; J. P. Gates, potash, 2; Ball & Smith, lumber and pickets, 16; A. A. Luber, machinery and molding, 6; Mitchell & Widner, lumber, tile and feed, 10; Heidelbach & Bros., tobacco boxes, etc., 8. - State Report, 1888.  Population in 1880, 752.  School census, 1888, 389; H. G. Gardner, superintendent. 

Liberty Centre is 7 miles northeast of Napoleon and 29 miles southwest of Toledo via W. St. L. & P. Railroad.  It has 1 newspaper: Press, Independent, J. H. Smith and D. S. Mires, proprietors.  Four churches: 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 German Reformed, 1 Adventist, and 1 United Brethren.  The population in 1880, 504. 

Colgate is 10 miles south of Napoleon and 42 miles southwest of Toledo, at the crossing of the T. C. and St. L. and B. & O. railroads.  It has 1 newspaper: Times, Independent, W. E. Decker, editor and publisher.  Four churches: 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Lutheran, and 1 Catholic.  Factories and employees: Chris E Whitlock, lumber, 10; Shelly & Bros., hoops and staves, 60; Bray Bros., staves and heading, 40; G. Laubenthal, lumber, etc., 10. - State Report, 1888.  Population in 1880, 595.  School census, 1886, 353; W. E. Decker, superintendent