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Historical Collections of Ohio
in two Volumes
by Henry Howe
©1888
Vol 1 pages 726 - 737
GUERNSEY.
Guernsey County was organized in March, 1810. The upland is hilly and of various qualities, and the soil clay or clayey loam. There is much excellent land in the bottom of Wills creek and its branches, which cover about one-third of the county. Wool is a staple product of the county, together with beef cattle, horses and swine. Its area is 460 square miles. In 1885 the acres cultivated were 67,095; in pasture, 133,784; woodland, 48,407; lying waste, 1,134; produced in wheat, 68,313 bushels; oats, 206,490; corn, 671,694; tobacco, 231,191 pounds; wool, 685,262; sorghum, 32,069 gallons; sheep owned, 162,640; coal, 433,800 tons. School census, 1886, 9,690; teachers, 180.
It has seventy-eight miles of railroad.
Townships and Census 1840 1880
Adams 866 806
Beaver 1,686
Buffalo 1,025
Cambridge 2,033 4,665
Center 976 1,233
Jackson 1,155 1,140
Jefferson 755 931
Knox 538 964
Liberty 835 1,503
Londonderry 1,629 1,320
Madison 1,568 1,160
Millwood, 1,722 1,984
Monroe 1,398 1,080
Oxford 2,133 1,615
Richland 1,772 1,439
Seneca 1,356
Spencer 1,669 1,552
Valley 999
Washington 1,008 742
Westland 1,077 925
Wills 1,887 1,855
Wheeling 769 1,284
Population in 1820 was 9,292; in 1830, 18,636; 1840, 27,729; 1860, 24,474; 1880, 27,197; of whom 23,554 were Ohio-born, 1,499 Pennsylvania, 608 Virginia, 47 New York, and 578 from Europe.
Previous to the first settlement of the county there was a party of whites attacked by Indians on Wills creek, near the site of Cambridge. The particulars which follow are from the pen of Col. John M’Donald, author of the “Biographical Sketches.”
In the year 1791 or ’92, the Indians having made frequent incursions into the settlements along the Ohio river, between Wheeling and the Mingo bottom, sometimes killing or capturing whole families, at other times stealing all the horses belonging to a station or fort, a company consisting of seven men rendezvoused at a place called the Beech bottom, on the Ohio river, a few miles below where Wellsburg has been erected. This company were John Whetzel, William M’Collough, John Hough, Thomas Biggs, Joseph Hedges, Kinzie Dickerson, and a Mr. Linn. Their avowed object was to go to the Indian towns to steal horses. This was then considered a legal, honorable business, as we were then at open war with the Indians. It would only be retaliating upon them in their own way. These seven men were all trained to Indian warfare and a life in the woods from their youth. Perhaps the western frontier at no time could furnish seven men whose souls were better fitted, and whose nerves and sinews were better strung to perform any enterprise which required resolution and firmness. They crossed the Ohio, and proceeded with cautious steps and vigilant glances on their way through the cheerless, dark and almost impervious forest, in the Indian country, till they came to an Indian town, near where the head waters of the Sandusky and Muskingum rivers interlock. Here they made a fine haul, and set off homeward with fifteen horses. They traveled rapidly, only making short halts to let their horses graze and breathe a short time to recruit their strength and activity. In the evening of the second day of their rapid retreat they arrived at Wills creek, not far from where the town of Cambridge has been since erected. Here Mr. Linn was taken violently sick, and they must stop their march or leave him alone to perish in the dark and lonely woods. Our frontier men, notwithstanding their rough and unpolished manners, had too much of my Uncle Toby’s “sympathy for suffering humanity” to forsake a comrade in distress. They halted, and placed sentinels on their back trail, who remained there till late in the night, without seeing any signs of being pursued. The sentinels on the back trail returned to the camp, Mr. Linn still lying in excruciating pain. All the simple remedies in their power were administered to the sick man, without producing any effect. Being late in the night, they all lay down to rest, except one who was placed as guard. Their camp was on the bank of a small branch. Just before daybreak the guard took a small bucket and dipped some water out of the stream; on carrying it to the fire he discovered the water to be muddy. The muddy water waked his suspicion that the enemy might be approaching them, and were walking down in the stream, as their footsteps would be noiseless in the water. He waked his companions and communicated his suspicion. They arose, examined the branch a little distance, and listened attentively for some time; but neither saw nor heard anything, and then concluded it must have been raccoons, or some other animals, puddling in the stream. After this conclusion the company all lay down to rest, except the sentinel, who was stationed just outside of the light. Happily for them the fire was burned down, and only a few coals afforded a dim light to point our where they lay. The enemy had come silently down the creek, as the sentinel suspected, to within ten or twelve feet of the place where they lay, and fired several guns over the bank. Mr. Linn, the sick man, was lying with his side towards the bank, and received nearly all the balls which were at first fired. The Indians then, with tremendous yells, mounted the bank with loaded rifles, war-clubs and tomahawks, rushed upon our men, who fled barefooted and without arms. Mr. Linn, Thomas Biggs and Joseph Hedges were killed in and near the camp. William M’Collough had run but a short distance when he was fired at by the enemy. At the instant the fire was given, he jumped into a quagmire and fell; the Indians, supposing that they killed him, ran past in pursuit of others. He soon extricated himself out of the mire, and so made his escape. He fell in with John Hough and came into Wheeling. John Whetzel and Kinzie Dickerson met in their retreat and returned together. Those who made their escape were without arms, without clothing or provisio |
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