Coral’s family history · Chapter 3

Crawford County, Pennsylvania

For several decades in the early 1700’s, the villages of Shamokin (now Sunbury) and Kittanning were two of the most important Native American villages in all of Pennsylvania. Connecting the two was the Great Shamokin Indian Path. It was only a footpath just a few feet wide in most places so everyone had to walk single file when traveling on it.

Prior to 1787 any territory west of the Susquehanna River Valley was unbroken wilderness. It was inhabited only by the Indians and very dangerous for any white man. That year David and John Mead were living in Sunbury, Pa. They were attracted by reports of a great country on the borders of the Venango River. Braving all the dangers of uncivilized territory, they set out on a journey over the mountains and rivers to check it out for themselves. They were guided by that never changing star, the North Star in the heavens.

They followed the Great Shamokin Trail. It was an old Indian trail that followed the Susquehanna River from Lock Haven through the mountains and on to Clearfield. There the trail left the river and went over land until it reached Kittanning where it joined the Alleghany River and up to Venango and French Creek to what is now Mead Township (known then as Cussawago). The whole distance was only 144 miles as the crow flies but it was a lot farther on the ground.

The territory was then covered by dense forest. Sometimes it was so thick that it appeared dark even in the middle of the day. It was once remarked that a squirrel could travel from New York to Louisiana and never have to touch ground. Of course, that was a bit of an exaggeration, especially as there were a couple of rivers to cross. They found a section of land to the west of the stream and above where the Cussawago and the Venango meet. It appeared to have been cultivated by some unknown hand. It could have been inhabited by the long ago Erie Nation. They were a peaceful people who farmed, fished and hunted. They could have been overpowered and destroyed by the more warlike tribes. The land was covered by luxurious prairie grasses and beautiful wildflowers. This is where they decided to establish their homes.

The brothers then returned to Northumberland County and drew such a rosy picture of the territory that seven more sturdy pioneers decided to join them the following spring when they returned to establish a permanent settlement.

David, Joseph and John Mead, Thomas Martin, John Watson, James Fitz Randolph, Thomas Grant, Cornelius Van Horn, And Christopher Snyder returned that next spring. They arrived on the twelfth of May in 1788 and camped under a large cherry tree next to the stream. The next day they went exploring. They moved across French Creek and erected a temporary structure in which to live.

They then commenced plowing in one of the old Indian fields. Soon afterward a spring flood destroyed their garden but they replanted and had a good crop.

Alleghany County was neutral territory between the eastern Indians, who had made treaties with the white man and the western Indians who remained hostile. They considered the white man to be invaders of the territory which was their hunting grounds and the white man considered the Indians to be less than human.

In the spring of the following year the families of some of the men arrived.

There were a few friendly Indians living in cabins along French Creek. Living at the north of Conneaut Creek was an Indian chief by the name of Canadaughta and his three sons, Flying Cloud, Big Sun and Standing Stone. They were responsible for many acts of kindness bestowed upon the settlers.

Chief Cornplanter also befriended the settlers. He was born sometime between 1730 and 1740 in Genesee County, New York. His father was a white trader and gunsmith named John O’Bail who married a Seneca. Cornplanter participated in several peace treaties.

The settlers toiled long and hard, always with the danger of attack and death at the hands of the Indians. They perservered in spite of this and soon had a substantial settlement.

About the first of April 1791, Flying Cloud gave notice to the settlers that the western Indians were planning an attack. The next day all the women and children were sent in canoes down French Creek to the garrison at Franklin, a military post established in 1787.

Halftown, a half brother to Cornplanter, also a full blooded Indian Chief, sent six of his warriors on each side of the stream, keeping pace with the canoes and guarding them against an ambush and attack from shore. Halftown then placed himself at the head of his remaining warriors and lay in wait during the day on the east bank of the creek without further appearance of the enemy. The Indians spent the night at the house of David

Mead. The next day the settlers took their cattle and movable effects and left for Franklin. On the fourth of April they reached Franklin in safety, accompanied the whole way by Halftown and his men. A few of the men decided in the spring that they had to go back and do their planting. Some of them were killed and scalped or made prisoners, most of whom escaped. Cornelius Van Horn was captured by the Indians and taken to a place near Conneaut Lake. A companion, William Greg was shot in the hip by his own gun and murdered by his captors as he sat on the riverbank, but Cornelius managed to escape by cutting himself loose with a toy knife that he had in his pocket. These murders and fear of the Indians caused the settlement on French Creek to be abandoned for a while and for the rest of 1791 no white settlements resided in Crawford County.

In the early part of 1794 the settlers organized themselves into a military company and Cornelius Van Horn was chosen captain. A blockhouse was built for the protection of the inhabitants with a cannon mounted on the upper story. It was a rough log building with the second story projecting beyond the lower one and having a sentry on top.

The farms around Meadville were cultivated that year by the settlers who worked in small companies, always keeping a watchful eye for the Indians as they were constantly threatened.

On the tenth of August James Dixon (Scotch Jimmy) was in search of his cows when he was ambushed by a party of Indians. He was wounded in the shoulder, his hip and his hand. He yelled in Scotch, “Come out of here you rascals and fight us fair.” The Indians followed him with tomahawks, their guns being unloaded, afraid to approach as his gun hadn’t been fired. The old man insisted until the day he died that when he was in the act of firing, a low voice said “Don’t shoot” whereupon he reserved his load and saved his life. When he neared Mead’s Mill he shouted for help and was heard by Luke Hill, who gave the alarm. However the Indians retreated and escaped capture.

In the early 1790’s companies with large capital sought to obtain vast stretches of land west of the Alleghany Mountains. They were The Holland Land Co., The Pennsylvania Population Co and the North American Land Co. They bought the land and moved their field agents into the territory.

By the act of 1792 titles could only be perfected by actual settlement for five years and making improvements on the property. The settlement must begin within two years of the location. However there was an important proviso attached. If the settlers were prevented by armed enemies of the United States from settlement, the title would become valid the same as if settled. A wealthy Quaker from Philadelphia bought up a large tract of land next to the Pa. Population land in Fallowfield. It was known as Field’s claim. The actual settlement laws allowed for a payment of twenty cents per acre and survey fees for each 400 acres. Field made it possible for those who were without means to obtain land. The settler would make the settlement and improvements and Mr. Field paid the state and survey fees and the tract was divided between them. Many obtained homes in this way who otherwise would be unable to do so.

After General Anthony Wayne’s victory in 1795 and subsequent treaty with the western Indians, things improved but there was still a danger of hostilities for a few more years.

In 1800 Crawdord County was formed from Allegany County and was named after Colonial William Crawford, a frontier hero who was a close friend of General George Washington. Washington and Crawford became close friends when they were both seventeen and Washington took lodging with the Crawford family while he was surveying in Virginia. Washington taught Crawford to survey.

Besides being a farmer and surveyer, Crawford was also a leader in civil affairs. His military career claimed much of his life. He served in the Revolutionary War and was commissioned Colonial in 1776. He and his men were with Washington at the crossing of the Delaware. He served in the battle of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Germantown. In 1781 he retired from the service. The following year he was called to serve in the Sandusky Expedition and was captured by the Sandusky Indians in Ohio. The Indians and their British allies from Detroit learned about the Expedition in advance and brought about four hundred forty troops to Sandusky to oppose the Americans. During a confused retreat Crawford and some of his men were captured. He was tortured for hours and burned at the stake on June 11th 1782. His nephew and son-in-law were also captured and executed. This was in retaliation for the Gnadenhutten Massacre earlier that year when ninety six Christian Munsee American Indians were killed, including sixty women and children, by American Militia during the war.