Amanuensis Monday: 6 May 1813 deed from Josiah Lockhart and Nancy his wife to Josiah Wade

I don't really have much to say about this one. Apart from Josiah Wade, who is almost certainly my 4great-grandfather, none of the names of either the sellers or the witnesses ring any bells for me. I have yet to do any research on the land, so there is nothing for me to comment on there. So I guess I'll just dive in.

[p. 266]

Lockhart to Wade
Recorded October 27th 1813
Joseph Darlinton Recr A.C.


This Indenture made
this 6th day of May in the year
one thousand eight hundred and
thirteen between Josiah Lock-
hart and Nancy his wife of the county of Adams and
State of Ohio of the one part and Josiah Wade of the county
aforesaid and State aforesaid of the other part Witnesseth
that the said Josiah Lockhart and Nancy his wife for
and in consideration of the sum of two hundred and forty six

[p. 267]

Dollars current money of the United State of America to them
in hand paid the receipt whereof we hereby acknowledge and
forever acquit and discharge the said Josiah Wade his heirs Exe-
cutors and administrators have granted bargained sold aliened and
confirmed and by these presents doth grant bargain sell alien
and confirm unto the said Josiah Wade his heirs and assigns
forever and all that tract or parcel of land lying and being in the
county of Adams and state of Ohio situate and lying on Kites
fork of Eagle Creek apart of the tract No 651 entered in the
name of William Holliday and Patented to Robert Lockhart
and conveyed by deed to the aforesaid Josiah Lockhart bounded
and described as follows Beginning at an ash and Ellem near
a branch the East corner to said Survey runing [sic] West on hun-
dred and eighty poles to a sugar tree and Maple thence north
One hundred and forty poles to two ashes thence East one hun-
dred and eighty poles to two hickerys [sic] thence south one hun-
dred and forty poles to the beginning containing one hundred
and fifty seven acres and Eight poles Together with all im-
provement water courses profits and appurtenances whatso-
ever to the said premises belonging or in any wise appertain-
in and the reversions remainders and profits thereof and all the
estate right title interest property claim and demand of
they the said Josiah Lockhart and Nancy his wife of
in and to the same To have and to hold the lands hereby convey-
ed with all and singular the premises and every part and parcel
thereof with every of the appurtenances unto the said Josiah
Wade his heirs and assigns forever to the only proper use and
behoof of him the said Josiah Wade his heirs and assigns for
ever And the said said Josiah Lockhart and Nancy his
wife for heirs executors and administrators do covenant pro-
mise and agree to and with the said their heirs
and assigns by these presents that the premises before mentioned
now are and forever hereafter shall remain free of and from all
former and other gifts grants bargains sales dowers right and
title of dower judgments executions titles troubles charges and
incumbrances whatsoever done or suffered to be done by they the

[p. 268]

said Josiah Lockhart And the said Nancy Lockhart his
wife and their heirs all and singular the premises hereby
bargained and sold with the appurtenances unto the said
Josiah Wade his heirs and assigns against him the said
Josiah Lockhart and his heirs and all and every other per-
son or persons whatsoever doth and will warrant and for
ever defend by these presents In Witness whereof We the
said Josiah Lockhart and Nancy Lockhart hereunto
set our hands and seals the day and year first above written
signed sealed and delivered in the presence of us } Josiah Lockhart (seal
Nancy Lockhart (seal)
Matthew Campbell Aaron Moore
State of Ohio Adams County ss
This day the within named Josiah Lockhart and Nancy
Lockhart his wife personally appeared before me the sub-
scriber a Justice of the peace for the county aforesaid and
severally acknowledged the within signing and sealing
to be there act and deed for purposes therein mentioned
the said Nancy Lockhart being by me first fully in-
formed of the contents of the within deed also examined
seperate [sic] and apart from and out of the hearing of her hus-
band declared that she executed the same and relinquished
her right of dower to the premises therein mentioned freely
and of her own voluntary will and accord without the co-
ersion or compulsion of her husband In Witness whereof
I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 20th day of
May 1813 Aaron Moore (seal)

Source:

Adams, Ohio, Deeds, 1797-1900, 7: 266-268 (images #515-516 of 575), Josiah Lockhart and Nancy his wife to Josiah Wade, deed, 6 May 1813; digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, "Deeds, v. 6-7 1806-1814," FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 5 Aug 2024).  

 

Amanuensis Monday: 19 Feb 1814 deed from William Wade and Josiah Wade and Sydney his wife to Joseph Wade

I love this deed because, although it does not lay out what the relationship between these individuals is, it suggests a familial relationship between them. Josiah Wade is almost certainly my 4great-grandfather (the relationship remains unproven), and Sydney was the woman he married in 1809. This marriage was over a decade after the birth of my 3great-grandfather, so she was probably not his mother.

The William Wade in this record probably refers to Josiah Wade's father. Josiah has no known brother named William, and the birth of his son William was still four years away.

Most exciting to me is the presence of the name Joseph Wade, which is the name of my 3great-grandfather, Josiah's probable son. He would have been of an age at this point--about 17 years old--to possibly be investing in his first land. However, this Joseph could also be Josiah's brother of the same name. And the payment of $100 suggests someone with some means. At the age of 17, one might expect a property purchase from his father and grandfather to be more of a token amount. Tracing this property through its sale or inheritance will probably be able to solve the question of which Joseph Wade is the buyer.







[p 103]

Wade to Jos Wade ) This Indenture made this nineteenth day of
February in the year of our Lord one thousand
Eight hundred and fourteen between William Wade and Josiah Wade
and Sydney Wade his wife of the county of Adams and State of Ohio
of one part and Joseph Wade of the county and State aforesaid of the
other part Witnesseth that the said William Wade and Josiah Wade
and Sydney his wife for and in consideration of the sum of one hun-
dred dollars current money of the United States of America to them
in hand paid the receipt whereof they do hearby [sic] acknowledge and for
ever acquit and discharge the said Joseph Wade his heirs Executors
and administrators hath granted bargained sold aliened and con-
firmed and by these presents doth grant bargain sell alien and confirm
unto the said Joseph Wade his heirs and assigns forever all that tract
or parcel of land lying and being in the county of Adams situated on the
East fork of Eagle Creek Beginning at a white oak and hickory a
corner to Arthur McFarland and running thence South forty nine

[p 104]

Degrees West forty two poles to a Stake near a white Walnut
thence South three degrees ten minutes West forty seven poles to a
buckeye and Walnut thence South forty five west forty five poles
to a Sycamore on the bank of the Creek thence north fifty degrees
West one hundred and forty poles to a stone at the state road thence
South forty tow and a half west Sixty Six poles and nine tenths of
a perch to a Stone in the Division line between Robert McDaid
and William Wade thence with said line North thirty minutes West
one hundred and Sixteen poles to a black Walnut north East cor-
ner to said McDaid thence South Eighty Eight degrees East fifty
Eight poles a white oak thence South two degrees West forty two
poles to a white oak thence South Eighty Eight East one hundred
and sixty three poles to the beginning corner together with all im-
provements water courses profits and appurtenances whatsoever to the
said premises belonging or in any wise appertaining and the reversions
remainders and profits thereof and all the estate right title interest pro-
perty claim and demand of them the said William Wade and Josiah
Wade and Sydney his wife of and and to the same to have and to hold
the lands hereby conveyed with all and singular the premises and
every part and parcel thereof with every of the appurtenances unto
the said Joseph Wade his heirs and assigns forever to the only pro-
per use and behoof of him the said Joseph Wade his heirs and assigns
forever and the said William Wade and Josiah Wade and Sydney
his wife for themselves theare [sic] heirs executors and administrators do cove-
nant promise and agree to and with the said Joseph Wade his heirs
and assigns by these presents that the premises before mentioned now are
and forever hereafter shall remain free of and from all former and other
gifts grants bargains sales dowers right and title of dower judments
executions titles troubles charges and incumbrances whatsoever done
or suffered to be done by them the said William Wade and Josiah
Wade and Sydney his wife and theair [sic] heirs all and singular the
premises hereby bargained and sold with the appurtenances unto
the said Joseph Wade his hiers and assigns against them the said
William Wade and Josiah Wade and Sydney and thare [sic] heirs
and all and every other person whatsoever doth and will warrant
and forever defend by these presents In Witness whereof they the
said William Wade and Josiah Wade and Sydney his wife have

 

[p 105]

hereunto set their hands and seals the day first above written
Signed Sealed and delivered in the presents of us ) William Wade (seal)
Edmund Wade, Amos Duncan interlined before ) Josiah Wade (seal)
signed on the fif- ) Sydney her + mark Wade (seal)
teenth line
State of Ohio Adams County Ss
This day personally appeared before me the subscriber a Justice of the
Peace in and for the county aforesaid William Wade and Josiah Wade and
Sydney his wife and acknowledged the within signing and sealing to be
there act and deed for the purpose mentioned also Sydney Wade being sepe-
rate and apart and out of the hearing of her said husband declared that
she relinquished her right of dower to premises therein mentioned freely
and of her own Voluntary will and accord without the coercion or copulsion [sic]
of her husband In testimony wheareof [sic] I have heareunto [sic] set my hand and seale
this 19th day of February 1814 Aaron Moore (seal)
Recorded the 17th day of August 1814
Joseph Darlinton Recorder A.C.

The names of the witnesses are also of interest. Edmund Wade could have been either Josiah Wade's brother or his son; he had both relations of that name. The other witness, Amos Duncan, could have been a father-in-law or a brother-in-law. Sydney Wade's maiden name was Duncan.

Source:

Adams, Ohio, Deeds, 1797-1900, 8: 103-105 (images #72-73 of 549), William Wade and Josiah Wade and Sydney Wade his wife to Joseph Wade, deed, 19 Feb 1814; digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, "Deeds, v. 8-9 1814-1817," FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 5 Aug 2024).

 

Sunday's Obituary: Willis W. Wade

Yikes! Has it really been over a year since I have posted anything to this blog? (Edit: No, I posted something in July.) I suppose I can believe it, as my day job has been increasingly demanding the past few years and, sadly, I can devote less and less time to genealogy. My interest has not waned, but it is seldom now that I can sit down and concentrate on it for the amount of time necessary to create thoughtful blog posts.

I have, however, made many new discoveries over the past couple years. A summer road trip in 2023 took me to the FamilySearch Library and retraced the route my Underwood ancestors traveled through Utah and Idaho. Naturally, I did a fair amount of research along the way. I also took video footage and am slowly working my way through editing it and posting it to my YouTube channel.

FamilySearch's introduction of searching through computer-transcribed handwritten records has yielded some amazing results for me, as well. The project is still in beta testing, but I highly recommend you try it out if you haven't yet. You can access it at https://www.familysearch.org/en/labs/

Both of these activities have filled my to-do list with numerous documents to transcribe--in addition to the ones I already had. So perhaps I will keep this blog active for a while with these transcriptions as I slowly make my way through them. Not the most exciting content, perhaps, and bound to be rather disjointed as I jump from branch to branch, but at least it is something to keep my hand in.

Since it is Sunday, I might as well begin with an obituary. This one is for Willis W. Wade, my first cousin three times removed. He was a son of Joseph S. Wade (my great-grandfather Allen C. Wade's brother) and his wife Susan Evins.

Willis W. Wade


LODI, Sept. 9--Funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. tomorrow in the Hale & Bawden Funeral Home for Willis W. Wade, 84, retired local farmer, who died yesterday in his home at Rt. 4, Box 98.


Following the rites, graveside services will be conducted in Cherokee Memorial Park under the auspices of the Lodi Masonic Lodge.


Mr. Wade is survived by his wife, Sarah; a son, William J. Wade of Lodi, an officer in the Lodi Masonic Lodge; 2 daughters, Mrs. Bertha Spaulding and Mrs. Edna Brown, both of Ontario, Calif.; a sister, Miss Carrie Wade of Lodi; 2 grandsons and a graddaughter, including Mrs. Lataine Hughes of Turlock; and 5 great grandchildren.


Mr. Wade was the father of the Herbert A. Wade and Mrs. Lottie E. Wilson of Lodi.


A native of Falls City, Neb., Mr. Wade was a member of the Grandfield, Okla., Masonic Lodge and he was a past member of the Lodi Lodge of Odd Fellows.

Source:

"Willis W. Wade," Stockton Record, 9 Sept 1955, p. 15, col. 7; digital images, Newspapers.com (www.newspapers.com : accessed 18 Feb 2023).

Wade family from Kentucky to Ohio, part 3

Note: This series of posts deals extensively with the historical animosity between Native Americans and white settlers. Although the point of view of the Native Americans is underrepresented and deserves better recognition, my ancestors happened to be white settlers. Unfortunately, they participated in the historical travesties perpetrated against Native Americans. However, since this is a genealogical blog, it is primarily told from my ancestors' point of view, with an attempt to be sympathetic to both sides. The term "Indian" is used in reference to the indigenous peoples (when the nation or tribe is unknown) because it was the term most often used at the time, and because I have recently been informed that it is still the preferred term in many native cultures. I am not an expert in the subject, and humbly apologize if anyone finds it offensive. 

 

 

Nathaniel Massie, destined to become an important figure in the lives of the Wade family, had been making expeditions into the Virginia Military District north of the Ohio River (now part of the state of Ohio) to locate and survey lands since the year 1788. This land, part of the Northwest Territory, had been reserved by the state of Virginia to disperse among veterans of the Revolutionary War. The recipients of land warrants employed locators and surveyors like Massie to identify and claim the property for them. These lands were deep in the territory of the Shawnee, who had already experienced the injustice of misrepresented treaties and were determined, under the leadership of Tecumseh, to fight back. The white settlers and the American government, however, considered the treaties binding, and the explorations of surveyors perfectly legal. Because of the danger inherent in these expeditions, the surveyors were often rewarded liberally by their clients, often with a portion of the land itself. In this way, Nathaniel Massie stood to amass substantial land holdings.

On 10 Aug 1790, an Act of Congress passed “An Act to enable the officers and soldiers of the Virginia Line on Continental Establishment to obtain titles to certain lands lying northwest of the River Ohio, between the Little Miami and Sciota,” which opened up the Virginia Military District. Massie recognized opportunity. He knew that there would soon be high demand for his skills, but he also recognized that he and his crew could easily be annihilated by the Shawnee as they explored. He resolved to build a fort and settlement on the north side of the river as a base for his survey crews. "A settlement on the north bank would not only serve as a haven for the survey crews, it would also be a show of force to the Shawnee," Stephen Kelley explains in his article "The Founding of Manchester... Massie's Station."

After much deliberation and discussion, Massie decided to build his fort at a well known landmark of the Ohio River, known as Three Islands. These islands were located about ten miles upriver from Limestone and Washington, and the area was notorious for Indian ambush. "The river channels were narrow around the islands and proved a perfect place for the Shawnee to strike out into the river in their rapid-moving bark canoes and overtake the slower flatboats of the whites," says Kelley. Therefore the location would be ideal not only in its nearness to the lands needing surveying, but also in preventing further depredations on settlers traveling down the river.

To this end, Massie began advertising in Kentucky for families to join him. He offered one in-lot, one out-lot, and one hundred acres of land near the new town to each of the first twenty-five families to sign on with him. In return, they had to agree to help build a fort and man it for a period of two years. The contract was written and signed in the town of Washington, and four of the Wade men signed it. The patriarch of the family, William Wade, along with his sons Josiah, Zephaniah, and George all put their names to the paper.

 

Manchester Island 1 as seen from Manchester Island 2, the two islands that remain today of "Three Islands"
Photographed by Michael Schramm, USFWS
Public domain

 

 
Work on the new town apparently began by November of 1790, because the contract stipulated that the men make it their "permanent seat of residence" by December first. Beginning the station in the winter was strategic; Massie knew that the Indians seldom attacked during the coldest months, being much more occupied with simply surviving.

John McDonald, who actually lived in the fort as a child, says that Massie's group "went to work with spirit. Cabins were raised, and by the middle of March 1791, the whole town was enclosed with strong pickets, firmly fixed in the ground, with block houses at each angle for defence." The place was dubbed Massie's station, and is the site of present-day Manchester, Ohio. It was the first permanent white settlement anywhere in the Virginia Military District, and the fourth in what would later become the state of Ohio.

Building the station was only the beginning of the work to be done. Once the fort was defensible, "the whole population went to work, and cleared the lower of the Three Islands, and planted it in corn. The island was very rich, and produced heavy crops," remembers McDonald.

Nor did Massie forget his purpose in establishing the station. He continued to venture into the lands within a reasonable distance of the fort in order to survey them. On these expeditions, he was accompanied by a company of men. McDonald describes the process:

Three assistant surveyors, with himself making the fourth, were generally engaged at the same time in making surveys. To each surveyor was attached six men, which made a mess of seven. Every man had his prescribed duty to perform. Their operations were conducted in this manner:--In front went the hunter, who kept in advance of the surveyor two or three hundred yards, looking for game, and prepared to give notice should any danger from Indians threaten. Then following after the surveyor, the two chain-men, marker, and pack-horse men with the baggage, who always kept near each other, to be prepared for defence in case of attack. Lastly, two or three hundred yards in the rear, came a man, called the spy, whose duty it was to keep on the back trail, and look out lest the party in advance might be pursued and attacked by surprise. Each man (the surveyor not excepted) carried his rifle, his blanket, and such other articles as he might stand in need of. On the pack-horse was carried the cooking utensils, and such provisions as could be conveniently taken. Nothing like bread was thought of. Some salt was taken, to be used sparingly. For subsistence, they depended alone on the game which the woods afforded, procured by their unerring rifles. (pp. 44-45)

Despite the precautions, these expeditions did not always go as planned. In April 1791, one group was surprised by some Indians arriving in a pair of bark canoes. The surveying crew fled, but one of them, by the name of Israel Donalson, tripped and was captured. Although he managed to escape after about a month and make his way back to the white settlements, and later penned an account of his adventure, such a conclusion was not the norm.

This incident did not deter Massie in his efforts to survey the district. He enlisted help from many of the men at the station, including at least three of the Wades. The History of Warren County, Ohio records that a certain property in Hamilton Township was "Surveyed October 6, 1792, by Nathaniel Massie; Josiah Wade and Matthew Hart, chain carriers; Thomas Massie, marker."

Shortly thereafter, "During the winter of 1792-3, Massie ... employed two men, Joseph Williams and one of the Wades, to accompany him to explore the valley of Paint creek, and part of the Scioto country," stated John McDonald in his Biographical Sketches. Unfortunately, I have thus far been unable to determine which Wade accompanied Massie on this exploration. The survey mentioned above, in Hamilton Township, cannot have been part of this expedition. That was located in present-day Warren County, which is not near Paint creek or the Scioto country. Of course, this does not necessarily mean that Josiah Wade was not the Wade in question; only that the Hamilton Township survey does not prove that it was him.

Alternatively, the mystery Wade could potentially be Zephaniah, the subject of my first post on this family. In Portrait and Biographical Record of the Scioto Valley, Ohio, it is reported that Zephaniah "bought 100 acres or more from Massie, paying Massie by assisting him in surveying lands in various parts of Adams, Highland and Ross counties, as chain carrier and marker." It is a vague statement, but at least it confirms that Zephaniah was present on some of the surveys. Perhaps the Paint creek trip was one of them.

Finally, Jean Wallis records in her article "Putting ‘Hillsborough’ on the map" that Lot number 2513 in Highland County "was surveyed April-May 1795 by Nathaniel Massie, deputy surveyor. Chain carriers were Benjamin Massie and Joseph Wade, the marker was George Edgington." This brings a third Wade brother into the mix.

Therefore, we know from these sources that Josiah, Zephaniah, and Joseph all took part in Massie's surveying expeditions. Josiah and Zephaniah were two of those who had initially signed Massie's contract, and Joseph was a younger brother. He would have been only about fourteen years old when settlement at Massie's Station was begun, but, since his father and three of his older brothers had all joined up, it seems likely that Joseph would have been there from the beginning as well--or at least from when the men felt that their station was secure enough to bring their families. 

 

 

Sources:

 

Morten Carlisle, "Buckeye Station: Built by Nathaniel Massie in 1797," Ohio History Journal 40 (Jan 1931); digital images, Ohio History Connection (www.ohiohistory.org/ : accessed 8 Apr 2021) 1-22. 

 

Curran, A. F., "Israel Donalson, Maysville's First School Teacher: His Thrilling Escape From the Indians," The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 15 (May 1917); digital images, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/ : accessed 24 Jan 2021) 51-62.  

 

Nelson W. Evans and Emmons B. Stivers, A History of Adams County, Ohio From its Earliest Settlement to the Present Time Including Character Sketches of the Prominent Persons Identified with the First Century of the County's Growth and Containing Numerous Engravings and Illustrations  (West Union, Ohio: E. B. Stivers, 1900).

The History of Warren County, Ohio: Containing a History of the County; Its Townships, Towns; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio, Map of Warren County, Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, Etc., Etc. (Chicago: W.H. Beers & Company, 1882),  605. 

 

Stephen Kelley, "The Founding of Manchester... Massie's Station," Ohio Southland 3 (Issue #2 1991); digital images, Adams County Public Library, Biblioboard Open Access (https://library.biblioboard.com/anthology/e552f221-42f0-4b9b-963d-32739ee859fd : accessed 24 Jan 2021) 19-25.

 

John McDonald, Biographical Sketches of General Nathaniel Massie, General Duncan McArthur, Captain William Wells, and General Simon Kenton: Who Were Early Settlers in the Western Country  (Dayton, Ohio: D. Osborn & Son, 1852).  

Portrait and Biographical Record of the Scioto Valley, Ohio  (Chicago, Illinois: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1894),  346.  

 

Jean Wallis, "Putting ‘Hillsborough’ on the map," Times-Gazette, 28 Sept 2016, online archives (https://www.timesgazette.com/news/10602/putting-hillsborough-on-the-map : accessed 4 Dec 2022).  

Wade family from Kentucky to Ohio, part 2

Note: This series of posts deals extensively with the historical animosity between Native Americans and white settlers. Although the point of view of the Native Americans is underrepresented and deserves better recognition, my ancestors happened to be white settlers. Unfortunately, they participated in the historical travesties perpetrated against Native Americans. However, since this is a genealogical blog, it is primarily told from my ancestors' point of view, with an attempt to be sympathetic to both sides. The term "Indian" is used in reference to the indigenous peoples (when the nation or tribe is unknown) because it was the term most often used at the time, and because I have recently been informed that it is still the preferred term in many native cultures. I am not an expert in the subject, and humbly apologize if anyone finds it offensive. Although quoting racial slurs has been avoided as much as possible, one case of calling the Indians "savages" has been included in this post because of the strength of argument intended in the original. It is not intended to convey any approval of the offensive language.

 

 

Mefford's Fort, a cabin built in Washington, Kentucky, in 1787 from the planks of a flatboat.
Greg Hume, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The settlement of Limestone stood at the mouth of Limestone Creek where it emptied into the Ohio River and formed a natural harbor. It was located at the bison ford across the Ohio River, north of  the town of Washington, and the name was often applied to all of the larger area, including Washington. Today it is the site of the city of Maysville, Kentucky, although at the time of this narrative it was still part of the vast Virginia frontier.  After becoming a byword in the 1770s, Limestone was seeing a resurgence in settlement following Lord Dunmore's War and the American Revolution, both of which had bitterly set Indian against white settler. 

Near Limestone, frontiersman Simon Kenton had established a "station" in 1784, and there is confusion between various sources whether Limestone and Kenton's station were one and the same or whether they were separate fortifications. In either case, it seems the settlement originally consisted of a stockade of cabins adjoining one another, with a blockhouse on the corner, ready to welcome and afford protection to incoming settlers.

In addition to these shared habitations, settlers were beginning to erect individual cabins on their own personal claims, which could be a risky venture. As G. Glenn Clift, in his History of Maysville and Mason County, explains, "Barring the doors at night was not enough for these isolated dwellings. In the morning, the head of the house first climbed a ladder, always leaning against the left side of the door, and looked through the cracks for Indians.” He goes on to inform the reader that it was considered a “habit” of the Indians “to secrete themselves near the door and pounce suddenly on the unsuspecting pioneer as he greeted the sun.” (p. 49)

Even so, a mere two years later, in 1786, the population around Kenton's station had grown so much as to be considered a village, and a petition was written to the Assembly of Virginia to establish it as a town. Permission was granted, and the town was named Washington after the Revolutionary War hero George Washington, still three years away from becoming the nation's first President. As such, it was the first town of many that would eventually be named in his honor. According to a local tradition, which may be apocryphal, it was given the name of Washington in the hopes of one day becoming the nation's capital. The new town of Washington's nine trustees, "authorized to make such rules and orders for the regular building therein... and to settle and determine all disputes about the bounds of the said lots," included famed frontiersman Daniel Boone, who had recently opened his trading post and tavern on the Ohio River waterfront.

Washington and the larger area, still known as Limestone, were located at the time within Bourbon county, Virginia, and the county seat was a good forty miles distant. "To attend any form of court proceeding," Clift writes, "necessitated a long, dangerous journey to the seat of government." The petition to grant the settlers a town had been successful, so, riding on the coattails of their success, they soon sent another petition, this time for a division of the county. In this petition they dwelt on the difficulties of the journey, such as "the Intervention of a Mountainous tract of Barren Land running down on each side of the main branch of Licking Creek that cannot be inhabited," and the likelihood of being "surprised and murdered by the savages who frequently infest such places." This petition, however, met with opposition from elsewhere in the county and it took two more petitions and another year before a division of the county would finally be granted.

The third (and finally successful) petition, dated 25 Oct 1787 according to the Library of Virginia website Virginia Memories, contains nearly three pages of signatures, each page divided into three columns, and the petitioners are said to all "live in the Limestone Settlements near the Ohio River." One of these names is Josiah Wade. This is the earliest confirmed date of a member of the Wade family in Limestone.

Josiah Wade was a young man at this time, about 22 years of age. Perhaps he was the first of his family to arrive in the Limestone Settlements, or perhaps his family arrived with him and simply didn't sign the petition. At any rate, the family soon made their appearance. His mother had recently died, but his father William, at least five brothers--Zephaniah, George, Edmond, Joseph, and John--and at least three sisters--Margaret, Mary, and Abbie--are likely to have made their home in the settlement. Josiah himself may have been starting a family at this point; his probable son Joseph was born circa 1787. The exact location of the Wade family's residence is unknown at this time, but sources tend to place them somewhere in or near Washington.

Also in the area of Washington lived a surveyor named Nathaniel Massie, who would prove to be an important figure in the lives of the Wade family. 

Sources:

Bourbon, Virginia, Legislative Petitions Digital Collection, Accession Number 36121, Box 287, Folder 62, Inhabitants of Bourbon County: Petition (Division of County/New County), 25 Oct 1787; digital images, Library of Virginia, Virginia Memory (www.virginiamemory.com : accessed 10 Jan 2021).

David I. Bushnell, Jr, "Daniel Boone at Limestone, 1786-1787." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 25 (Jan 1917); digital images, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/ : accessed 15 Jan 2021) 1-11.

G. Glenn Clift, History of Maysville and Mason County  (Lexington, Kentucky: Transylvania Printing Co., 1936), vol. 1.

Allan W. Eckert, That Dark and Bloody River: Chronicles of the Ohio River Valley  (New York: Bantam Books, 1995),  180. 

Neal O. Hammon and James Russell Harris, "Daniel Boone the Businessman: Revising the Myth of Failure," The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 112 (Winter 2014); digital images, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/ : accessed 30 Dec 2020) 5-50.

Stephen Kelley, "The Founding of Manchester... Massie's Station," Ohio Southland 3 (Issue #2 1991); digital images, Adams County Public Library, Biblioboard Open Access (https://library.biblioboard.com/anthology/e552f221-42f0-4b9b-963d-32739ee859fd : accessed 24 Jan 2021) 19-25.

John McDonald, Biographical Sketches of General Nathaniel Massie, General Duncan McArthur, Captain William Wells, and General Simon Kenton: Who Were Early Settlers in the Western Country  (Dayton, Ohio: D. Osborn & Son, 1852).

James Rood Robertson M.A.Ph.D., Petitions of the Early Inhabitants of Kentucky to the General Assembly of Virginia 1769 to 1792  (Louisville, Kentucky: John P. Morton & Company, 1914). 

Eleanor Duncan Wood, "Limestone, A Gateway of Pioneer Kentucky," Register of Kentucky State Historical Society 28 (April 1930); digital images, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/ : accessed 14 Jan 2021) 151-154.

Wade family from Kentucky to Ohio, part 1

Note: This series of posts deals extensively with the historical animosity between Native Americans and white settlers. Although the point of view of the Native Americans is underrepresented and deserves better recognition, my ancestors happened to be white settlers. Unfortunately, they participated in the historical travesties perpetrated against Native Americans. However, since this is a genealogical blog, it is primarily told from my ancestors' point of view, with an attempt to be sympathetic to both sides. The term "Indian" is used in reference to the indigenous peoples (when the nation or tribe is unknown) because it was the term most often used at the time, and because I have recently been informed that it is still the preferred term in many native cultures. I am not an expert in the subject, and humbly apologize if anyone finds it offensive.

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Come all ye brisk young fellows who have a mind to roam

All in some foreign country, a long way from home,

All in some foreign country, along with me to go,

And we'll settle on the banks of the lovely Ohio.

We'll settle on the banks of the lovely Ohio.

-American folk song

Zephaniah Wade and Nehemiah Stites, both youths of about eighteen years old, along with Stites' dog, were traveling on foot along the old Buffalo Trace. They were somewhere along the eight mile stretch between the settlement of Mayslick and the town of Washington. The Buffalo Trace had been beaten down from centuries of American bison pounding through the bluegrass and canebrake from their ford on the Ohio River to the salt licks in the interior of Kentucky. These were not narrow game trails; in some places they reached fifteen feet wide and were rutted six feet deep, especially around the licks. The buffalo traces had been adopted as roads first by the Native Americans and later by the white settlers, and now settlements were popping up along them, taking advantage of the plentiful wild game seeking salt. Mayslick was one of these settlements, and Nehemiah Stites was one of the pioneers there. Zephaniah Wade resided in or around the town of Washington. 

The sources differ somewhat in the reason for Wade and Stites' journey. Allan W. Eckert in his book That Dark and Bloody River claims that they had been hunting on the North Fork Licking River, but Stites' cousin Mary Covalt Jone says in her journal that only Wade had been hunting; Stites was returning to Washington, where he was employed, from Mayslick, where he was "making a settlement," when he met up with Wade along the trail. 

In any case, Zephaniah's brother Joseph Wade later recalled that "because of the danger posed by marauding Indian bands, the two young men were not on the trail but traveling through the woods close by." A couple of Indians were in the area, spotted the pair of youths, and fired on them. Stites was instantly killed, "shot right through the breast over one shoulder & out the back" according to Jone. She goes on to say that "his dog stayed to defend him." Meanwhile, Zephaniah fled. His brother said that he "ran to a nearby tress, climbed part way up, and spied one of his attackers. Upon taking careful aim, he fired his rifle, wounding the Indian," whereupon the second Indian gave chase. At this point, Zephaniah took cover, either "behind a large root of a blown down tree" or "behind a bank." Jone adds that he could hear Stites' dog from his hiding place. Once he felt safe from pursuit, he hurried back to Washington, "barefoot but uninjured" (Eckert). He reported the death of Nehemiah Stites, and a company of men went out to retrieve his body and track the Indians. The body was retrieved, but the Indians got away. However, Joseph Wade adds, "they found an overcoat that had been worn by the Indian Wade had shot. They reported the overcoat had two bullet holes in it and had apparently been thrown off after the Indian was wounded."

The Kentucky Gazette of 21 Mar 1789 gives an account that took place the previous week which sounds remarkably similar to this one: "We are informed that on saturday the fourteenth instant, the Indians killed a man and wounded another, on the road from Lexington to Limestone, near May's lick... It is said they were pursued by about forty men who were determined to know to what place they belong." It is the same road, near Mayslick (May's lick), and the same number of white men mentioned, with one killed. The only detail disagreeing with the accounts of Zephaniah's experience is that the other man was wounded, while Zephaniah apparently escaped injury. Since no names are given in the Gazette, it remains uncertain whether this indeed refers to the same incident, but it is quite possible that it does. If it does, it provides an exact date for the event. The other sources are a bit hazy on the date. Eckert gives a date in the spring of 1787, but his source is not explicitly stated and is likely to be found somewhere within one of the many manuscript collections he cites for the chapter. Jone recollects the event as happening sometime around late 1788 or early 1789, but the recollection was not written at the time of the event. The latest date, the fall of 1789, is given by Joseph Wade, whose 1863 retelling of the story is summarized in an article by Stephen Kelley.

The story, whenever it occurred, also includes two postscripts. Mary Covalt Jone, who, as you will recall, was a cousin of Nehemiah Stites, concludes that "the dog followed me many a day after that." It is easy to envision the heartbroken dog pining for its master. However, Allan W. Eckert (or his source, whoever it may be) opts for a more amusing epilogue:

Back at Washington and Limestone word of the attack was quickly going the rounds, though in some tellings the dead man was confused with his friend.

At the small tavern in Limestone, where Wade dropped in after the expedition returned, he was greeted with handshakes and cheers, and one of their neighbors gripped Wade's shoulders and commented relievedly, "Why, Zeph, we heard you was killed."

"Y'know," Wade replied dryly, "I heard that, too, but decided it was a lie."

The "small tavern in Limestone," incidentally, was at this time run by a man with a name very familiar to most Americans. His name was Daniel Boone.

 

 

Sources:

David I. Bushnell, Jr, "Daniel Boone at Limestone, 1786-1787." The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 25 (Jan 1917); digital images, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/ : accessed 15 Jan 2021) 1-11.

G. Glenn Clift, History of Maysville and Mason County  (Lexington, Kentucky: Transylvania Printing Co., 1936), vol. 1. 

Don Corbly, Pastor John Corbly and his neighbors in Greene Township  (N.p.: Lulu.com, 2011).

Allan W. Eckert, That Dark and Bloody River: Chronicles of the Ohio River Valley  (New York: Bantam Books, 1995),  180. 

Neal O. Hammon and James Russell Harris, "Daniel Boone the Businessman: Revising the Myth of Failure," The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 112 (Winter 2014); digital images, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/ : accessed 30 Dec 2020) 5-50.

Stephen Kelley, "Lore, Legends & Landmarks of Old Adams," The People's Defender, online archives (http://peoplesdefender.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=129868&SectionID=36&SubSectionID=360&S=1 : accessed 19 May 2012). No longer accessible.

"Lexington, March 18, 1789," Kentucky Gazette, 21 Mar 1789, p. 2, col. 2; digital images, Lexington Public Library (https://www.lexpublib.org/digital-archives : accessed 8 Jan 2021), Kentucky Gazette 1787-1840.

52 Ancestors Week 11: Luck

A horse and buggy in 1909
On the road, 1909 by Fylkesarkivet i Vestland, on Flickr. No known copyright restrictions.

When I saw that this week's prompt was "Luck," the first thought that leapt to mind was of a certain newspaper report about an incident involving my great-grandma Cora's brother, Buchanan Wade, whom my Uncle Lowell (and probably the rest of the kids) called "Uncle Buck." But no, I reasoned, I have told that story too many times; it has featured in my Instagram feed and in my WikiTree comments. Surely I have written about it on my blog as well. A search of my blog posts, however, revealed that the story has yet to be told here, so I am free to share it this week!

Upon reading the article, you will discover that the phrase "leapt to mind" was something of a pun...

Horse Falls 30 Feet; Lands In Tree-Top and Wasn't Hurt
   It is said that a cat has nine lives but now it is believed that a horse belonging to Buck Wade has all the cats in catdom beaten a mile. Mr. Wade's horse jumped over the guard rails on the big fill by the ice plant Tuesday morning, fell fully thirty feet into the top of a tree and apparently was none the worse for its thrilling adventure.
   Mr. Wade was driving east along the north side of the fill when an approaching auto frightened his animal. The horse whirled to the guard rail and Mr. Wade leaped for his life, landing safely on the road side. But the horse went on and landed with the buggy on top of it in a tree at the bottom of the creek below. How it escaped instant death is a miracle. Probably such a thing could never happen again without fatal results either to the horse or its driver.
   Men in the vicinity rushed to the scene and got the horse out as quickly as they could. The animal walked away just a little stiff in some of its joints but otherwise apparently safe and sound. The buggy fared much worse, being torn all to pieces.

It seems that both Uncle Buck and his horse had plenty of luck that day. Only the buggy did not share in their good fortune.

The article does not state what make of auto was involved, but this Firestone-Columbus automobile (in this case, chauffering presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan) was one of the vehicles on American roads at the time.
Unknown author / Public domain

Citation:

"Horse Falls 30 Feet; Lands In Tree-Top and Wasn't Hurt," Sedan Times-Star, 25 Nov 1909, p. 1, col. 5-6; digital images, America's GenealogyBank (www.genealogybank.com : accessed 15 Aug 2011), Historical Newspapers. 

52 Ancestors Week 10: Strong Woman

Katie Sandwina, "The Lady Hercules," lifting three men
Bain News Service / Public domain

It is incredibly difficult to narrow down the topic of "Strong Woman" to a single woman in my family. In just one generation--that of my great-grandparents--it is impossible to decide. There is Great-Grandma Flora (Amos) Underwood, who left England with her husband and infant son, to travel across the ocean on a journey to America, knowing she would never see her home in England again. She left a comfortable middle-class life for the unknown world of the western U.S., living almost a pioneer existence and learning the skills along the way.

There is Great-Grandma Cora (Wade) Brosius, who raised a family of six boys and one girl in Kansas, married to a man nearly twenty years older than she was. When he died and left her with four children who were still quite young, she packed those children into a car and the five of them drove across the country to the Pacific Northwest to begin their new lives.

There is Great-Grandma Mary (Craig) Stroesser, who grew up in "the Bottoms" in Omaha, a neighborhood marked by its shanty houses and poverty, and frequently flooded by the nearby Missouri River. She went on to marry and give birth to thirteen children, suffering post-partum depression after many of them according to family lore, and suffering also the deaths of three of her sons. Although Grandma Rose, her daughter, had a strained relationship with her, it seems clear that Great-Grandma Mary was battling her own demons.

Then there is Great-Grandma Hazel (Fox) Hoyt, who, according to family lore, graduated valedictorian. Unlike my other great-grandmothers, she began to work outside the home during WWII, and continued to work after the war was over. She was a shipping clerk at Dehner Boot Company until her retirement. She was also the only great-grandmother whose lifetime overlapped my own.

Truly, I believe that you could pluck almost any woman off my family tree and, looking at her life and circumstances, come to find that she deserves the appellation of a "Strong Woman."

52 Ancestors Week 2: Challenge

The prompt for Week 2 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge this year was "Challenge."

Of all the many challenges our forebears faced, perhaps one of the worst was war. Thanks to the advent of photography, the United States' Civil War immediately conjures up images of dead soldiers strewn across silent battlefields. These grim scenes were only the aftermath of brutal fighting, the likes of which few of us have seen.

I have several Civil War soldiers in my various family lines, all of which must have faced any number of challenges I shall never know. Undoubtedly, these challenges did not end with the war, as they all had to piece their lives back together and cope with the changes wrought by the conflict. Much of this will forever remain undocumented, and, with the passage of time and its consequent loss of oral history, undocumentable. However, my great-great-grandfather Allen C. Wade's ongoing struggle was to some extent recorded. Thanks to a cousin who long ago sent me a nice, fat packet of paperwork, I can tell his story.

He enlisted in the Nebraska militia during the Civil War. According to his own report, he was in Company B of the 2nd Regiment, 2nd Brigade. On 20 Oct 1864, “his horse fell down pitching him forward to the ground and breaking bone in left wrist at same time producing left Scrotal Hernia.”(Ouch!) One assumes he would have received medical aid of some sort before returning to his duties, although no records have yet been found containing these details. He was discharged from the service a little less than a week after the conclusion of the war.

Robert Furnas, colonel of the 2nd Regiment Nebraska Cavalry
JustHopeIcanHelp at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The preceding information all came from his pension file. I have not yet found documentation, apart from his own claims, for Allen's service in the 2nd Regiment, and most online sources don't even acknowledge that there was a 2nd Regiment militia. There are indications here and there, however, that it may have existed. Additionally, it is unclear whether Allen would have served in the militia infantry or cavalry. The fact that he fell from his horse suggests the cavalry, but the 2nd Cavalry does appear online, and he does not appear in any published roster. Unfortunately, finding the records that prove Allen's service, if they exist, will require archival searching in Nebraska, which is not exactly a day-trip drive for me. For my present purposes I will accept Allen's word regarding his service, although I must admit I have reservations.

Twenty-seven years after his injury, he was still feeling the effects.On 19 March 1891, while residing in Lone Elm Township, Anderson county, Kansas, he appeared before a Justice of the Peace to swear to his injury and "that since having ‘Lea Grippe’ he is not able to do a days work + the last named disease he had about one year ago + That he is not addicted nor ever was to any vicious habits that would produce the above named diseases." (I can't help but chuckle at the "vicious habits" bit.)

Later that same year, his pension still unresolved, he relocated to Sedan, Chautauqua county, Kansas. According to the local newspaper, he "purchased the McNight place lying west of the city. This is one of the best suburban places in the city." On 30 June 1892, his neighbor Alva Russell swore "That he knows of his own personal knowledge that said Allen C. Wade organized Co ‘B’ 2^nd Regiment 2^nd Brigade Nebraska Militia in the year 1864 and that he was in the service of the United States for more than 90 days in the war of the Rebellion." Although I have not yet verified my supposition, I am reasonably certain that this Alva Russell was the same Alva Russell who was Allen's brother-in-law as well as a cousin of Allen's wife Angeline.

Evidently the War Department had the same difficulty I had in locating Allen's regiment. On 3 March 1893, it informed him “It does not appear from the records of this office that such an organization as Co B 2' Reg’t 2' Brig Nebr Militia was mustered into the service of the United States.” By 1899, the Bureau of Pensions flatly rejected his claim “on the ground that the records of the War Department show that you were not in the military service of the United States as alleged.”

One can almost hear the frustration and anger in Allen's reply:

Mr Evans what departement was in if iwaente in the ware departement whate did the govnere comition mee for what rite had he to call mee in to serves whoes serves was in it was in the teritory of Nebraska an it belonged to the united states ihave my commition an all the testamony requeired they have falde to share my nam thare iff the govneres nam ante good whoes name is good

Since his spelling and lack of punctuation can make his reply difficult to read, here is a corrected transcription:

Mr. Evans, what department was I in if I wasn't in the War Department? What did the governor commission me for? What right had he to call me into service? Whose service was I in? It was in the territory of Nebraska and it belonged to the United States. I have my commission and all the testimony required. They have failed to share my name there. If the governor's name ain't good, whose name is good? 

 

Sadly, Allen passed away just a few days over a year later. His obituary stated that "For some time Mr. Wade had been confined to his bed and was very feeble."

Sources:

I am currently working from notes taken from the xeroxed copies of the pension file sent to me by my cousin, and do not have access to the papers themselves, which have not yet been scanned. Neither have I yet written source citations for them. I will return to this post at a later time, when I again have access to those papers, and cite that source.

Entry for Allen C. Wade, image #459 of 828; "Enrollment of Ex-Soldiers and Sailors, their Widows and Orphans, 1889"; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., "Kansas, Enrollment of Civil War Veterans, 1889," Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 Dec 2016). 

"Of Local and General Interest," Freeman's Lance, 4 Dec 1891, p. 1, col. 2; digital images, America's GenealogyBank (www. : accessed 15 Aug 2011), Historical Newspapers.

[Obituary of A. C. Wade] Sedan Lance, 8 Feb 1900, p. 5, col. 3; digital images, America's GenealogyBank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 15 Aug 2011), Historical Newspapers.