The Worland Family in America and Beyond

I began my life in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, on an island filled with forests and wild rhododendrons. I was separated from my Worland family there at an early age. Recently, I was reunited with my family and learned of my heritage. And so, this journey to know my ancestors began. The Worlands, Gideons, Newtons, Conards... they were the colonists, the settlers, the pioneers. They fought in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Civil War. This is their story, and the story of a nation. -Deci Worland MacKinnon

Friday, July 31, 2009

1781 Connecticut

October, 1781- John Wasson marries Amea Turner in Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut.
John was one of George Washington's troops in the War of Revolution, he served as a private in Colonel Elisha Sheldon's Dragoons.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

1781 Maryland

1781- Maryland ratifies the Articles of Confederation.

1782


June 20, 1782 - Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States of America.

1783

February 4, 1783 - England officially declares an end to hostilities in America.

April 11, 1783 - Congress officially declares an end to the Revolutionary War.

September 3, 1783 - The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain. Congress will ratify the treaty on January 14, 1784.

1783 Virginia

October 7, 1783 - The House of Burgesses grants freedom to slaves who served in the Continental Army.


1783- Peter Gideon marries Mary Catherine Ernst.

October 7, 1783 - The House of Burgesses grants freedom to slaves who served in the Continental Army.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Friday, July 24, 2009

1787 New York

1787- Amea Wasson is born to John Wasson and Amea Turner Wasson in Stephentown, New York.

August 12, 1787-
John S. Randall is born to John Randall and Mary Seamans Randall in Rensselear County, New York.

1787 Baltimore, Maryland

1787- The Quakers condemn slavery at the Friends Yearly Meeting in Baltimore.

1788 Maryland


April 28, 1788 – Maryland Becomes the Seventh State in the Union.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

1788 Taneytown, Maryland

September 28,1788- George Gideon is born to Peter Gideon and Mary Catherine Ernst Gideon in Taneytown, Carroll, Maryland.

Interview with Dave Rencher of FamilySearch

Tobacco in Maryland


"Tobacco was the great product of the province. In all the parts of Maryland at that time colonized, was it cultivated. And it is said, upon good authority, that ' a hundred sail of ships,' a year, from the West Indies and from England, traded in this article-the source also of a very large revenue to the English crown, at 'his lordship's vast expense, industry, and hazard."
From the The day-star of American freedom, Davis, George Lynn-Lachlan, 1855.

1789 Maryland


October 12, 1789- A few months before his death, John Worland III purchased a plantation called Sly Fox in Washington County, Maryland.
The deed is found in Liber No. F, Folio 414 of the Land Records for Washington County, Maryland.
John is described as "John Worland Sr of Montgomery County."

Quakers: Marrying Out of Meeting

The Quakers believed that a marital union should be acceptable to the immediate families as well as to the entire Quaker congregation. When a Quaker man and woman wanted to marry, the parents were first consulted and, if they approved, the couples intentions were announced at the women's meeting and a note regarding their proposal was sent to the men's meeting. A committee was appointed to ascertain the couples "clearness" for marriage.
If approval was given, a special Meeting for Worship was appointed, within which the marriage took place. At the appointed meeting, bride and groom took their places, with or without a wedding party. A period of silent worship followed, then the couple rose, took each other by the hand and made their marriage promises to each other. A further time of silent worship passed, and perhaps some present spoke their thoughts or offerred a prayer. The wedding certificate was brought to the newly-married for their signatures, after which it was read aloud testifying that the marriage was accomplished in accord with the good order used among Friends. Then the certificate was signed by all in attendance. The bride signed her new name under that of her husband and the immediate families of the couple signed under their signature. Others in attendance then signed beside the family signatures.


Marriages of Quakers with someone of another faith was common. As early as 1694, the Philadelphia Meeting advised: "Take heed of giving your sons and daughters who are believers and profess and confess the truth, in marriage with unbelievers; for that was forbidden in all ages...it is unbecoming those who profess the truth to go from one woman to another, and keep company and sit together, especially in the night season, spending their time in idle discourse, and drawing the affections one of another many times when there is no reality in it."
Marrying out is believed to have caused immense losses in Quaker numbers after 1740. In Quaker records there are notations that someone "married out of unity" or "mou" - this indicated that they married someone not of the Quaker faith.
It would be necessary to make amends in writing to the satisfaction of a committee of members of the monthly meeting if they wished to remain Quakers. Sometimes the spouse adopted the Quaker faith and was received by request. If the Quakers were unwilling to make amends for their actions they would be dismissed from the monthly meeting.


Taken from Quaker Marriage.

1789 Virginia

January 24, 1789- Valentine Miller and Sarah Conard are married in Loudoun County, Virginia. Sarah was disowned by the Quakers for "marrying out of meeting."

Will of John Worland III

January 8, 1790-

WILLS WASHINGTON COUNTY, MARYLAND
Liber A folio 41
In the name of God, Amen. I, John Worland, of Washington County, and state of Maryland, being sick & weak in body but of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding, considering the certainty of death and the uncertainty of the time thereof and being desirous to settle my worldly affairs and thereby be the better prepared to leave this world when it shall please God to call me home do therefore make and publish this my last will & testament in manner and form following that is to say.
First & principally I commit my soul in the hand of Almighty God and my body to the earth to be decently buried at the discretion of my executors hereinafter named, and after my debts and funeral charges are paid I desire & bequeath as follows
First I give devise and bequeath all my estate both personal and real to my beloved wife Mary and to my five youngest children, Thomas Worland, Walter Worland, Barnabas Worland, Lucy Worland, & Rebecca Worland for and during the life time & during the widowhood of my said beloved wife Mary and in case of her death my will is that the whole of my estate both personal and real shall remain with & be in the hands of my five youngest children above named until the youngest of them arrives at the full age of twenty-one years.
That my plantation whereon I now live containing one hundred & sixteen acres to be sold and then equally divided among all my children vid. John, Charles, Henry, William, James, Eleanor & Anastasia, Thomas, Walter, Barnabas, Lucy and Rebecca share & share alike or to their heirs.
All and the whole residue of my estate I give devise and bequeath unto my five youngest children, Thomas, Walter, Barnabas, Lucy & Rebecca to be equally divided amongst them share & share alike to them & their heirs.
Lastly I do hereby constitute and appoint my beloved wife Mary & my son Thomas Worland to be my executors of this my last will & testament revoking & annuling all former wills by me heretofore made ratifying and confirming this and none other to be my last will & testament in testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and suffixed my seal this eighth day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety.

1790 Washington County, Maryland

February 19, 1790- John Worland III, (John Henry Worland), dies in Washington County, Maryland.

1790 Maryland

1790- Mary Worland, now a widow, is living in Washington County, Maryland, with her three youngest sons; Thomas, Walter and Barnaby, and daughters Lucy and Rebecca.

1790 St. Mary's, Maryland

1790- Alban Newton, father of Joseph Pike Newton, dies in St. Mary's, Maryland at the age of 42.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

1790 Virginia

1790- Loudoun is most populous county in Virginia. The census listed 14,747 whites and 4,030 slaves, for a total of 18,777 individuals.

1791 Virginia

August 16, 1791- Elizabeth Mary Miller is born to Valentine Miller and Sarah Conard Miller in Loudoun County, Virginia.

1796 Virginia

January 12, 1796- Christian Miller, paternal grandfather of Elizabeth Miller Gideon, dies in Virginia.

1799 Kentucky

December 8, 1799- My great great great grandparents, Thomas Worland and Verlinda Hardy, marry in Woodford, Kentucky.

Some sources place the marriage in Emmitsburg, Charles Co., Maryland. But, a bio of St. Vincent's Church in Shelby County, Indiana, published in 1880, states: "Thomas Worland was born in Maryland June 11, 1774; moved to Scott County, Ky., in 1796;.."

The Genealogical Society of Utah also possesses the following document on microfilm. It was filed with the Clerk of the County Court, Marriage bonds of Woodford County, Kentucky:

Know all Men by these Presents, that We Thomas Worlin and Patrick McGowan are held and firmly bond unto James Garrard Squire, governor or chief magistrate of the commonwealth of Kentucky, in the just and full sum of Fifty Pounds, current money of the said state, to whom payment well and truly to be made to our said governor and his successors, for the use of the commonwealth.
We bind ourselves, or heirs, executors and administrators, jointly, severally and firmly, by these presents. Sealed with our seals, and dated this 6th day of December 1799.
The condition of the above obligation is such, that whereas there is a marriage shortly intended to be held and solmenized between the above bound Thomas Worlin and Liney Hardin of the county of Woodford: Wherefore, if there be no lawful impediment to the said Marriage, then the above obligation to be void, else to remain in full force and virtue.

(Teste) Thos. Worland (L.S.)

Thomas Johnson Patrick McGowen (L.S.) X Mark

Liney Hardin: McGowan says is of age.

1800 Kentucky

1800- Thomas Worland appears in the tax lists for Woodford County, Kentucky.

The Name Conard


"By reason of the fact that these colonists were gathered from all parts of the world and spoke many different languages, names underwent strange transformations. Thones Kunders became known to his fellow colonists as Cunred, Conrad, and Conard, and these different renderings of the name appear in colonial records. His eldest son, who removed to the nearby colony of Worcester, called himself Conrad Conard, and his descendants, removing to Virginia, founded the Southern branch of the family. The site on which stood the home of our immigrant ancestor is marked be a memorial tablet in Philadelphia."
-Howard L. Conard, from the book The Descendants of John Conard of Loudoun County, Virginia by Amy Metcalf Bowen.
The plaque is located at 5109 Germantown Avenue, Germantown, Philadelphia, PA.

Descendants of John Conard

I just came across a book entitled The Descendants of John Conard of Loudoun County, Virginia by Amy Metcalf Bowen. I will be busy for some time checking this one out.
I found it with HeritageQuest Online. This is a tremendous resource for anyone interested in history or genealogy. You access their databases using your library card ID code. Your library must be a member for you to utilize this service.

Friday, July 17, 2009

1803 Virginia

April 9, 1803- John Conard, father of Sarah Conard Miller, dies in Loudoun County, Virginia at the age of 65. He was a veteran of the American Revolution and is buried at Pott's Cemetary, Loundoun County, Virginia.

1803 Kentucky

September 9, 1803- Joseph Pike Newton, grandfather of Thomas Clement Worland, marries Elizabeth (Betsy) Knott in Nelson, Kentucky.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

1806 Scott County

Thomas Worland was a signer of an appeal sent to Bishop Carroll in Maryland, regarding the need for a priest in the parish of St. Francis in Scott County, Kentucky.
They enclosed in their appeal the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars to furnish a horse and pay traveling expenses for the priest.
They stated that they had "built a church, purchased a piece of land, built a house with offices, and made improvements for the residence of a priest, which included some furnishings and two negro servants."

Early Settler on Kentucky

"When I was a boy there was a tradition rife here to the effect that when the old pioneers from this section used to meet Saturday evenings in Bardstown, as soon as they had shaken hands, one would turn his back to the other and beg him for half a dozen kicks under his coat-tail, and when they were duly administered, the other would turn around and ask his friend for his kicking... Not infrequently, half a dozen pairs have been noticed exchanging civilities of this nature, in the course of an afternoon. Why was this done, you ask? Why, in order to get temporal punishment inflicted, to expiate the grievous sin they had committed in abandoning the peaceful shores of Maryland for the wild forests and savage Indians of Kentucky. But the plunge had been made, the labor and exposure of going forbade the idea of return, and it was a clear case of "root hog or die'".

1806 Kentucky

1806- The list of names from Father Charles Nerinckx' Register of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, St. Mary's on the Rolling Fork, Kentucky includes some familiar ones:

Thomas Livers, Rachel Hardy, Thomas Worland, Sirlinder Worland, Anna Pike, Henrica Luckett, Charles Livers ...

1807 Kentucky

1807 or 1808- Mary Brady Worland, wife of John Henry Worland (John III), dies in Scott County, Kentucky.

1808 Pennsylvania

January 10, 1808- Lucinda, wife of Frederick Wagoner, is born in Pennsylvania.

1808 Kentucky

1808- From "The Centenary of Catholicity in Kentucky" by Hon. Ben J. Webb:

I James Leak, T.C. Jenkins, James Gough and Thomas Worland, applied by letter to Bishop John Carroll for instructions in regard to a proposed sale of the church property in Scott, and the investment of the proceeds of the sale in more desirable realty for church purposes.

There is some evidence that Thomas Worland may have returned to Maryland at least once on errands for the Catholic Church.
The following letter from Father Edward Dominic Fenwich to Archbishop Carroll in Maryland, suggests this:

I have troubled you with so many of my scrowls of late that I am almost ashamed to attempt it again. But so favorable an opportunity as this by Mr. Thomas Worland, trustee of St. Francis Chapel, in Scott County, will, I trust, be a sufficient apology.

1809 Kentucky


February 12, 1809- Abraham Lincoln is born in a log cabin near Hudgensville, Kentucky.

Genealogy tip

If you get lost during your genealogical research, you might try clicking here.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

1809 Germany

1809- Frederick Wagoner, maternal grandfather of Estella Lucinda Randall, is born in Stuttgart, Baden, Germany.

1810 New York

1810- John Samuel (or Seamans) Randall marries Amea Wasson in Colesville, Broome, New York.

1811 New York

August 24,1811- Hiram Randall is born to John Samuel Randall and Amea Wasson Randall in Rensselaer County, New York.

1812 Rokeby, Loudoun, Virginia



When the British invaded Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812 and burned many of the public buildings, Loudoun’s county clerk hid critical federal documents, including the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, in the vault of a family home, Rokeby, southeast of Leesburg.


Rokeby, a 21-room brick mansion, was built in 1757 by Charles Binns II, first clerk of the circuit court of Loudoun County.


The hallowed documents were kept in a still-intact vaulted room in the cellar.

Friday, July 10, 2009

1812 Loudoun, Virginia

August, 1812- My great great great grandparents, George Gideon and Elizabeth Miller, marry in Loudoun, Virginia.

Soldiers of the War of 1812

In his reminiscences, Captain Henry Brush described with precision what newly enlisted recruits wore during the War of 1812. Soldiers were outfitted for service in unbleached, tow-linen hunting shirts and trousers. On their heads they wore low-crown hats, on the left side of which were black cockades about two inches in diameter. A small silver eagle (about the size of a quarter) was fastened in the center of each cockade. Each soldier strapped a leather girdle around his waist, where he carried a tomahawk, a knife, a cartridge box, a bayonet, and a quart-sized tin canteen. He was armed with a musket and shouldered a linen knapsack with a blanket lashed to the top. Both were covered with oilcloth to protect them from wet weather. A soldier’s arms and pack together weighed about thirty-five pounds, and troops traveled an average of twenty-five miles a day on foot.
Writing home to his wife, one soldier confessed: “My limbs were so stiff and sore at the end of each day’s march that I could hardly walk.”

1812 Virginia

1812- My great great great grandfather, George Gideon, enlists at Leesburg to fight in the War of 1812. He served as a lieutenant.

Kentucky in the War of 1812

During the War of 1812, Kentucky supplied numerous troops and supplies to the war effort. Because Kentucky did not have to commit manpower to defending fortifications, most Kentucky troops campaigned actively against the enemy. This led to Kentucky seeing more battle casualties than all other states combined.
A total of 25,010 Kentuckians fought in war, with five out of six men of military age fighting the British and/or the Indians. They served in 36 regiments, four battalions, and twelve independent companies.
Among the Battle at River Raisin casualties were 400 Kentuckians killed in battle, and eighty who were tomahawked by the Indians after already being wounded from the battle.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

1814 Ohio

Lavina M. Martin is born in Ohio.
"Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over."

- This quote has been attributed to Mark Twain, but until the attribution can be verified, the quote should not be regarded as authentic.

Pioneers and Whiskey

From The History of Licking County:



Next to water, the drink of the pioneers was whiskey-corn or rye whiskey. Everybody drank it. It was supposed to be indispensable to health, and a protection against the morning fogs. It was supposed to be indispensable to strength and endurance during the labors of the day, and to sleep at night.
It was supposed to be absolutely indispensable to warmth and animation in cold, chilly winter weather. It was the sacrament of friendship and hospitality; it was in universal use yet there was probably less drunkenness in those days than at present. The whiskey was absolutely pure: it was not drugged, doctored and poisoned as it is to-day, and, although enough of it would bring drunkenness, it did not bring delirium-tremens, or leave the system prostrated, and the victim with a head-ache upon "sobering up." It was the first thing in demand as an article of commerce. Stills for its manufacture sprang up everywhere, all along the stream. Pioneers soon found a market at these stills for their corn, hence corn became the great crop, and whisker the great article of commerce. It was the only thing that would bring money, and money they must have to pay taxes. Whiskey could be purchased for twelve or fifteen cents per gallon and paid for in corn, and the barrel of whiskey in the cellar, was as common as the barrel of cider was later. The whiskey that was not consumed at home was shipped on flat-boats or pirogues on the Muskingum, Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans and sold for Spanish gold. The rebellion against the government of the United States, commonly called the whiskey insurrection, had its growth out of the hardship of the conch-Irish of western Pennsylvania, who in the mother country had learned to love whiskey and hate gaugers : and this population gave tone and character to the first settlers of eastern Ohio. There was this apology for the production of whiskey, that it was the only means of disposing of surplus crops, or bringing money into the country.
The hardy pioneers, after disposing of their cargo of whiskey in New Orleans, would set out for home a distance of say fifteen hundred miles. Think of it, ye who ride in palace coaches at the rate of forty miles an hour while reclining in cushioned seats, smoking your cigar, and reading in your morning paper the happenings of yesterday in Europe and America. While apologizing some what for those whiskey days, it may be well to say the whiskey was not probably of any special benefit, was not to be compared to the pure water of their springs, and that too many of 'the pioneers drank too much of it, and that too often it made their eyes and noses red, their children ragged and their wives wretched, as it does to-day.

Licking County, Ohio Pioneers

From The History of Licking County:

The pioneers of Licking were largely from New England, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, who sought to better their condition by making permanent homes in the wilderness west of the Ohio river. They came largely on foot over the Alleghany mountains, many of them having a single horse and wagon; or a two-horse wagon, in which their worldly possessions were carried, and in which the very old or very young, only, were allowed to ride.
When once settled and his cabin erected, it was not only a home and shelter for himself and family, but for every stranger who passed that way, "without money and without price." The latch string was always out, for these pioneers were great hearted people, and no man, be he white, black or red, was turned away empty.
Their cabins, often not more than fifteen or twenty feet square, made of rough beech logs, with the bark still adhering to them, were frequently occupied by a dozen or even a score of people for a night, and no complaints made for want of room; genuine hospitality always finds room enough and never apologizes for lack of more; and when breakfast time came there was no apology for the scarcity of knives, forks and spoons, for "fingers were made before any of these." The fare was homely, but generally abundant. What to eat drink and wear were questions not, perhaps, difficult of solution in those days.
The first was the easiest to solve. The deer, the bear, the wild turkey, the rabbit, the squirrel, all started up and said, or seemed to say "eat me." These had been prepared for the red men of the forest, and were equally abundant for the pioneer. The forest was full of game, the streams full of fish, and wild fruits were abundant. To get bread required both patience and labor ; the staff of life was one of the articles that must be earned "by the sweat of the brow;" it could not be gathered from the bushes, fished from the streams, or brought down with the rifle. Every backwoodsman once a year added to his clearing, at least, a "truck patch." This was the hope and stay of the family; the receptacle of corn, beans, melons, potatoes, squashes, pumpkins, turnips, etc., each variety more perfectly developed and delicious because it grew in virgin soil. The corn and beans planted in May brought roasting ears and succotash in August. Potatoes came with the corn, and the cellar, built in the side of a convenient cliff or hill, and filled with the contents of the truck patch, secured the family against want. When the corn grew too hard for roasting ears, and was yet too soft to grind in the mill, it was reduced to meal by a grater, and whether stirred into mush or baked into Johnny-cake, it made, for people with keen appetites and good stomachs, excellent food. Place before one of those brawny backwoodsmen a square foot of Johnny-cake and a venison steak broiled on hickory coals, and no art of civilization could produce a more satisfactory meal.

1815 Ohio

January 12, 1815- Elizabeth Potts Conard, wife of Revolutionary War Veteran John Conard, and grandmother of Elizabeth Miller Gideon, dies in Homer, Licking County, Ohio. She is 75 years old.

1816 Photo from New York Times

1817 Letter to Wales

October 14, 1817- A letter sent from New York from David Jones, a joiner by trade, to his wife in Wales:

'This is the best place under the sun for earning money; but hundreds of men here kill themselves by drinking. A man who keeps himself sober will get respect and a job, and the best wages you can imagine. I shan't be pestering any of you on that account. Hundreds of people came here last year very poor, and many children, and not a trade to their name either, and on this account they become a burden on the state. They have room here for everyone to get his bellyful of food without begging from house to house. It's a very poor look out for the labourer here; but men on the land get land on credit immediately and pay when they can. But a little money is needed to start clearing the ground ... From the beginning cultivation here has almost all been done by newcomers. The people of the land are wild Indians; they live far off in the country, living by fowling and hunting wild beasts, and coming with skins to sell to the merchants. They are the inheritors of the land, but they sell the lot to great men, and get very little for it. These in turn sell it to all who come to buy'.

'There is every sort of religion here, and first rate chapels. 1 saw 28 Baptists dipped on Sunday morning every one of them in white gowns. There is great danger of fire here on account of the greater number of the Houses being built with Timber. There is more freestone here than of any other kind of stone; plenty of white marble; and plenty of bricks only labour is very dear. The Americans are an uncommonly clever people. You never saw anything like their kindness to strangers. I can earn as much money as I want. No one need work more than ten hours a day here; eating our breakfast before going out to work and begin to work at 7; knocking off at 12 and going back to it at one; and knocking off at six. There's a good place here for small jobs and ready money; there is a dollar for shoeing a horse. But people always take care to grumble, the Welsh worse than any. There is too much small change for drink; the best rum at a shilling a quart English money, and all other liquors at similar rates. This is a land that ruins its inhabitants, and that on account of its fruits. The women lose their teeth before they are twenty years old the greater number; men at 45 years old look very old; there are here no old people to be seen. They commonly ruin themselves with drink. It is a good place for fowling: every sort of fowl to be had...........................................

1816 New York

Lucinda "Lucy", wife of Hiram Randall, born in New York.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

1816 Kentucky

March 21, 1816- Elizabeth Matilda Newton is born to Joseph Pike Newton and Elizabeth (Betsy) Knott Newton in Scott County, Kentucky.

1817 Kentucky

November 18, 1817- John Basil Knott, father of Elizabeth Knott Newton, dies in Nelson, Kentucky at the age of 72.
His wife, Mary Drury Knott, dies in the same year.

1817- the Miller Family

"In the year 1817 several members of the Miller family emigrated from the vicinity of Harper's Ferry in Loudon County, Va., to Champaign County, Ohio. The emigrants consisted of Valentine Miller, his wife and some of his family including several sons-in-law. It was a sort of exodus of the Miller family since the father and mother resolved not to be left behind if the children came West.

"Valentine Miller was of German descent and followed the occupation of a miller continuing in it for years after coming to Ohio. He bought a tract of land in Champaign County and divided it among his children retaining a farm for himself. He and his wife are buried in a family burying ground on a part of the Miller estate near Millersville, Ohio, which took its name from this family.

"The wife of Valentine Miller was Sarah Conrad. She was of English and Welsh descent and came of that early Virginia colony which obtained its wives by paying for their passage with tobacco. ..."
- The Clinton Register, Clinton, Illinois, 26 Jan 1912, excerpted from the obituary for Ann (Gideon) Parker

1817, Champaign County, Ohio

...the settlement grew, and the necessity for a schoolhouse was apparent; so, about the year 1817, the first house for that purpose was built in the township. It stood on the Zerkle farm, and in size was about 18x20 feet, constructed of round log, having the wooden and mud chimney of that day in either end. Two small windows, and an opening the width of a log, covered with greased paper, graced one side and furnished light. Split puncheon, supported by wooden legs or pins, without backs, were the seats, and the door of split puncheon, with wooden latch, opened and closed on wooden hinges. The first master was ... Jackson ... This house was also used as a meeting-house. The roads to school in those days were through woods and swamps, and the fear of Indians and of wild beast, we will warrant, made the children's hair almost stand erect. The schools were at this time, and for years later, maintained by subscription, it being the only mode of support.

1817 Ohio

George Gideon settles in Millerstown, Ohio, a village named for his wife Elizabeth's family.

George's wife, Elizabeth Miller, was a sister of the wife of Henry, his brother. George, with his family, emigrated to Clinton, Dewitt Co., Ill. They reared a large family of children -Armstead, George W., John W.. Jacob, Samuel, Kitty, Ann, Sally and Elizabeth.

Treaty- Ohio, 1818


On October 6, 1818, the Miami Indians agreed to relinquish much of their land in Indiana and Ohio. In exchange, the United States government agreed to provide the Miami with six reservations in Indiana. These reservations were relatively small, averaging less than ten square miles in size. The government also gave the Miami Indians a yearly annuity consisting of fifteen thousand dollars and 160 bushels of salt. In addition, the federal government agreed to construct one gristmill and one sawmill for the natives' use. This agreement became known as the Treaty with the Miami.
The Treaty with the Miami, along with several other treaties between Indian tribes and the United States government during the first decades of the nineteenth century, marked the slow but gradual removal of native people to land west of the Mississippi River.

1818- Treaty with the Miamis

The Treaty with the Miamis (Also known as the Treaty of St. Mary's.)

Oct. 6, 1818.

Articles of a treaty made and concluded, at St. Mary's, in the State of Ohio, between Jonathan Jennings, Lewis Cass, and Benjamin Parke, Commissioners of the United States, and the Miame nation of Indians.

ART. 1.
The Miami nation of Indians cede to the United States the following tract of country: Beginning at the Wabash river, where the present Indian boundary line crosses the same, near the mouth of

[*172]

Raccoon creek; thence, up the Wabash river, to the reserve at its head, near Fort Wayne; thence, to the reserve at Fort Wayne; thence, with the lines thereof, to the St. Mary's river; thence, up the St. Mary's river, to the reservation at the portage; thence, with the line of the cession made by the Wyandot nation of Indians to the United States, at the foot of the Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie, on the 29th day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventeen, to the reservation at Loramie's store; thence, with the present Indian boundary line, to Fort Recovery; and, with the line, following the courses thereof, to the place of beginning.

ART. 2.
From the cession aforesaid the following reservations, for the use of the Miami nation of Indians, shall be made; one reservation, extending along the Wabash river, from the mouth of Salamanie river to the mouth of Eel river, and from those points, running due south, a distance equal to a direct line from the mouth of Salamanie river to the mouth of Eel river. One other reservation, of two miles square, on the river Salamanie, at the mouth of Atchepongqwawe creek. One other reservation, of six miles square, on the Wabash river, below the forks thereof. One other reservation, of ten miles square, opposite the mouth of the river A Bouette. One other reservation, of ten miles square, at the village on Sugar Tree Creek. One other reservation, of two miles square, at the mouth of a creek, called Flat Rock, where the road to White river crosses the same.

ART. 3.
The United States agree to grant, by patent, in fee simple, to Jean Bapt. Richardville, principal chief of the Miami nation of Indians, the following tracts of land: Three sections of land, beginning about twenty-five rods below his house, on the river St. Mary's, near Fort Wayne; thence, at right angles with the course of the river, one mile; and from this line, and the said river, up the stream thereof, for quantity. Two sections, upon the east side of the St. Mary's river, near Fort Wayne, running east one mile with the line of the military reservation; thence, from that line, and from the river, for quantity. Two sections, on the Twenty-seven mile creek, where the road from St. Mary's to Fort Wayne crosses it, being one section on each side of said creek.
Two sections on the left bank of the Wabash, commencing at the forks and running down the river.
The United States also agree to grant to each of the following persons, being Miami Indians by birth, and their heirs, the tracts of land herein described.
To Joseph Richardville and Joseph Richardville, jun. two sections of land, being one on each side of the St. Mary's river, and below the reservation made on that river by the treaty of Greenville, in 1795.
To Wemetche or the Crescent, one section, below and adjoining the reservation of Anthony Chesne, on the west side of the St. Mary's river, and one section immediately opposite to Macultamunqua or Black Loon.
To Keenquatakqua or Long Hair, Aronzon or Twilight, Peconbequa or a Woman striking, Aughquamauda or Difficulty, and to Miaghqua or Noon, as joint tenants, five sections of land upon the Wabash river, the centre of which shall be the Wyandot village, below the mouth of Tippecanoe river.
To François Godfroy, six sections of land, on the Salamanie river, at a place called La Petite Prairie.
To Louis Godfroy, six sections of land, upon the St. Marys river, above the reservation of Anthony Shane.
To Charley, a Miamie chief, one section of land, on the west side of the St. Mary's river, below the section granted to Pemetche or the Crescent.

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To the two eldest children of Peter Langlois, two sections of land, at a place formerly called Village du Puant, at the mouth of the river called Pauceaupichoux.
To the children of Antoine Bondie, two sections of land, on the border of the Wabash river, opposite a place called l'Esle a l'Aille.
To François Lafontaine and his son, two sections of land, adjoining and above the two sections granted to Jean Bapt. Richardville, near Fort Wayne, and on the same side of the St. Mary's river.
To the children of Antoine Rivarre, two sections of land, at the mouth of the Twenty-seven mile creek, and below the same.
To Peter Langlois' youngest child, one section of land, opposite the Chipaille, at the Shawnese village.
To Peter Labadie, one section of land, on the river St. Mary's, below the section granted to Charley.
To the son of George Hunt, one section of land, on the west side of the St. Mary's river, adjoining the two sections granted to François Lafontaine and his son.
To Meshenoqua or the Little Turtle, one section of land, on the south side of the Wabash, where the portage path strikes the same.
To Josette Beaubien, one section of land on the left bank of the St. Mary's, above and adjoining the three sections granted to Jean Bapt. Richardville.
To Ann Turner, a half-blooded Miami, one section of land on the northwest side of the Wabash river, to commence at the mouth of Fork creek, on the west bank of the said creek, and running up said creek one mile in a direct line, thence at right angles with this line for quantity.
To Rebecca Hackley, a half-blooded Miami, one section of land, to be located at the Munsey town, on White river, so that it shall extend on both sides to include three hundred and twenty acres of the prairie, in the bend of the river, where the bend assumes the shape of a horse shoe.
To William Wayne Wells, a half-blooded Miami, one section of land, at the mouth of the Fork creek, where the reservation for Ann Turner commences, running down the Wabash river on the northwest bank one mile; thence, back one mile; thence, east one mile, to the boundary line of the grant to Ann Turner.
To Mary Wells, a half-blooded Miami, one section of land, at the mouth of Stoney creek, on the southeast side of the Wabash river, the centre of which shall be at the mouth of said creek, running with the meanders thereof, up and down the Wabash river, one half mile, and thence back for quantity.
To Jane Turner Wells, a half-blooded Miami, one section of land, on the northwest side of the Wabash river, to commence on the west bank of said river, opposite the old lime kiln; thence, down the said river one mile and back for quantity.

ART. 4.
The Miami nation of Indians assent to the cession made by the Kickapoos to the United States, by the treaty concluded at Vincennes, on the ninth day of December, one thousand eight hundred and nine.

ART. 5.
In consideration of the cession and recognition aforesaid, the United States agree to pay to the Miami nation of Indians, a perpetual annuity of fifteen thousand dollars, which, together with all annuities which, by any former treaty, the United States have engaged to pay to the said Miami nation of Indians, shall be paid in silver.
The United States will cause to be built for the Miamis one gristmill and one saw-mill, at such proper sites as the chiefs of the nation may select, and will provide and support one blacksmith and one gunsmith for them, and provide them with such implements of agriculture as the proper agent may think necessary.

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The United States will also cause to be delivered, annually, to the Miami nation, one hundred and sixty bushels of salt.

ART. 6.
The several tracts of land which, by the third article of this treaty, the United States have engaged to grant to the persons therein mentioned, except the tracts to be granted to Jean Bapt. Richardville, shall never be transferred by the said persons or their heirs, without the approbation of the President of the United States.

ART. 7.
This treaty shall be obligatory on the contracting parties after the same shall be ratified by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof.
In testimony whereof, the said Jonathan Jennings, Lewis Cass, and Benjamin Parke, commissioners as aforesaid, and the chiefs and warriors of the Miami nation of Indians, have hereunto set their hands, at St. Mary's, the sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighteen.

Jonathan Jennings,
Lewis Cass,
B. Parke,
Peshawa, or Richardville, his x mark,
Osas, his x mark,
Ketauga, or Charley, his x mark,
Metche Keteta, or Big Body, his x mark,
Notawas, his x mark,
Wapapeslea, his x mark,
Tathtenouga, his x mark,
Papskeecha, or Flat Belly, his x mark,
Metosma, his x mark,
Sasakuthka, or Sun, his x mark,
Keosakunga, his x mark,
Koehenna, his x mark,
Sinamahon, or Stone Eater, his x mark,
Cabma, his x mark,
Ameghqua, his x mark,
Nawaushea, his x mark.

In presence of --
James Dill, secretary to the commissioners,
William Turner, secretary,
John Johnson, Indian agent,
B. F. Stickney, S. I. A.
John Kenzie, sub-agent,
G. Godfroy, sub-agent,
John Conner,
John F. Swan, major Third U. S. Infantry,
Wm. Brunot, lieutenant Third Infantry,
Wm. P. Rathbone, army contractor,
Wm. Oliver,
Joseph Benson, sworn interpreter,
Wm. Conner, interpreter,
Antoine Pride, interpreter.

1818 Ohio

March 30,1818- My great great grandfather, Armstead Gideon, is born to George Gideon and Elizabeth Miller Gideon in Millerstown, Champaign, Ohio.

Friday, July 3, 2009

1818 New Purchase- Indiana


October 3, 1818- The Delaware and other tribes sign The Treaty of St. Mary's, ceding the large territory known as the New Purchase to the United States.

1818- Indiana

Settlers begin to arrive in Shelby County, Indiana.
A squatter by the name of James Wilson, with the help of his three sons, builds the first cabin in Shelby County.

Delaware Women- Indiana


Isaac Wilson once told of how he remembered two families of Indians that had camped near his family’s home around the winter of 1819-1820. They often dined together. Isaac also remembered one of the Indian women that had camped near his home bringing a pair of moccasins for one of the Wilson babies. The day before, she had measured the child’s foot with her thumb and forefinger. When she slipped the moccasins on the child’s foot, they fit perfectly.
There were others that told stories of Indians in the area. The descendants of Dr. Sylvan Morris passed on the story of an Indian woman that brought her sick child in for treatment. After the child was treated, the woman left without saying a word. Several months later, the woman returned. She brought to his cabin a beautifully woven blanket that she had made for him to thank him. The Delaware Indians were pushed further west, as time passed, leaving behind only memories and a few remnants.

1819 Indiana

January 1, 1819- James Wilson, his wife Nancy, son Isaac, four daughters and a baby boy moved in to their cabin in Shelby County. The two older sons, that had also helped build the cabin, had a fire burning in the fireplace to welcome the rest of the family when they arrived. Once they were settled into their new home, James established a trading post.

Settlers at Shelby- Indiana

The sale of "New Purchase" lands began in October of 1820. After the land had been purchased from the Indians and surveyed, it was sold to the highest bidder for private ownership. Between October and December, there were over 100 claims entered for Shelby County.
The minimum price for early land sales in Indiana was $2.00 per acre. Hard times had fallen on the frontier. Many banks had failed and many of the settlers, who had contracted for land, could no longer meet the payments. The government reduced the minimum price to $1.25 per acre and lowered the minimum number of acres needed to purchase to 80.
The squatters were allowed to purchase their land at the $1.25 per acre rate. Those that had arrived when the land was first purchase from the Indians, were allowed ‘squatters rights’. All of the earlier settlers to this area were squatters.

1820 Shelby, Indiana

October 9, 1820- David Fisher and James Wilson enter their land at the Brookville Land Office. The area of land where the two men had settled was known as ‘Marion’ , which had been named in honor of General Francis Marion, also known as the "Swamp Fox" during the Revolution.