Tombstone Tuesday: Lieutenant Perrin Ross
Perrin Ross was born July 4, 1748 to parents Jeremiah and Anna Paine Ross in New London, Connecticut. Jeremiah Ross was one of the Connecticut settlers who helped form the Susquehanna Company in 1753. The Company acquired two thousand acres of land in the Wyoming Valley the following year, and the area would be disputed for several years between Connecticut and Pennsylvania. In 1773 Connecticut received permission from England to settle the area regardless of the dispute. Jeremiah migrated to the Wyoming Valley in 1774.
Perrin married Mercy Otis, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth Otis, date uncertain although some believe in 1768. Six children were born of their marriage: Jesse, Elizabeth, Joseph, John, Daniel, Perrin, Jr. (born after his father’s death).
Yesterday’s article on The Battle of Wyoming related the history of settlers from Connecticut populating the Wyoming Valley. Between 1769 and 1775 there were numerous clashes, an almost perpetual state of war. The conflicts were with both the Indians and Pennsylvanians who also laid claim to the area, and it’s likely that the Ross family experienced those dangers and participated in arming and defending the Valley.
On August 23, 1776, the Continental Congress established six companies to defend Pennsylvania. Two of those companies were stationed in the Wyoming Valley (Westmoreland). On August 26:
Congress proceeded to the election of sundry Officers, when Jonathan Dayton was elected Regimental Paymaster of Colonel Dayton’s Battalion; Robert Durkee and Samuel Ransom were elected Captains of the two Companies ordered to be raised in the Town of Westmoreland; James Wells and Perin Ross First Lieutenants; Ashbel Buck and Simon Spalding, Second Lieutenants, and Herman Swift and Matthew Hollomback Ensigns of the said Companies.
Some sources indicate that Perrin Ross and his companies had joined the Continental Army at some point and had fought in New Jersey. One record for application to the Iowa Sons of the Revolution, indicates that Perrin served with General Washington’s army beginning in January of 1777 and wintered at Valley Forge. According to The Massacre of Wyoming, The Acts of Congress for the Defense of the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, Captain Ransom, Captain Durkee, Lieutenant Wells and Lieutenant Ross, all from the original companies formed in 1776, were home on furlough in July of 1778.
Lieutenant Perrin Ross was killed in the Battle of Wyoming, a savage ambush and probably the bloodiest and most heinous of all Revolutionary War battles, on July 3, 1778, just one day short of his thirtieth birthday. Perrin’s brother, Jeremiah, Jr. was also killed, as was Perrin’s brother-in-law, Jonathan Otis.
Perrin’s brother, William, was the only son of the Ross family left. Several years later, William, then a general, participated in Congressional hearings about the massacre. General Ross testified of the carnage he was witness to on that day, shocking scenes of unrecognizable bodies scattered about.
Mercy Otis Ross Allen
Mercy Otis Ross Allen, according to church records, was born on June 5, 1747 in North Parish, New London, Connecticut to parents Joseph and Elizabeth (Little) Otis. She was one of fifteen children.
In a speech given by William A. Wilcox, Esq. in 1878 on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary, her escape from the Wyoming Valley following the massacre was detailed:
When the news came to go into the fort she packed the papers and clothes in a chest and her pewter platters she buried with other articles in the garden. She then took her children and went into the fort (Forty Fort) the night before the battle. When the news came to the fort that our men were defeated she would not stay in the fort. A party of thirty, one old man with a horse, the rest women and children, went out of the fort at night, crossed the river at Wilkes-Barre and went up into Solomon’s Gap that night. When they got into the woods they lay down to rest and sleep. They went on next day and were ten days getting through the wilderness. Hannah, (Ford) wife of Josiah Rogers, died on the route and was buried under the root of a fallen tree, and Mrs. Ross was so worn down with the excitement and fatigue of the journey and starved for want of food, that when the burial was over and the party was about to move on, Mrs. Ross said that she could go no further and would like to be buried alongside of the other woman. She was, however, appealed to in behalf of her children, and urged to get up and go on with the party, which she was finally induced to do. They first met the abode of civilization at Allentown and stopped at the house of the people and asked for food, but were refused.
They did not go far after this before they were taken up by the Government and furnished with provisions. She had five children with her, all of whom were about naked, so badly were their clothes torn and worn in the journey. About the first of October, three months after the battle, her last child was born in Connecticut. In March of 1782 she married Samuel Allen, with whom she moved to Wyoming to the place of her former husband, Perrin Ross, on Ross Hill, in the winter of 1784-5.
Mercy Ross, at the time of the flight from Wyoming Valley, was carrying her sixth child, Perrin, and accompanied by her other five children, according to the above narrative. Her second husband, Samuel Allen, also served as both an ensign and a lieutenant in Colonel Putnam’s regiment in Pomfret, Connecticut, where Samuel had been born. Mercy and Samuel had at least one child, Otis, born in 1787 in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
Mercy died in 1824 in Luzerne County. Her tombstone says her birth year was 1745 and her name spelled “Marcy”. She and Samuel were buried in the Allen Cemetery. It seems amazing that this woman would want to go back to Wyoming Valley after the horrible massacre of Perrin, but it appears that some of her children returned there as well.
According to family history sources, Mercy’s mother Elizabeth was a descendant of Mayflower passengers John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. John and Priscilla’s descendants include Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Dan Quayle. Her father, Deacon Joseph Otis, was a first cousin of Daniel Boone.
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Surname Saturday: Utter
The surname “Utter” is of Scandinavian (Swedish) origin, a baptismal name meaning “son of Ottur”, and derived from an animal (otter). Amandus Johnson, a Swedish historian, believed it to be a distinctly Swedish name. One source indicates that the name was carried to England as a result of the Norman Invasion of 1066.
In the County of Cambridge the name Edward Oter appeared in 1273. In 1300 there is a record of Robert Oter in County Suffolk, and an Otur de Insula in Kent in the mid to late 1300’s. Listed on the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379 was Johanne Otour, and in 1766 Robert Otter married Sarah Henslowe in London. Alternate spellings of this surname include Ottur, Otter, Oter, Uter and Uttor.
Following are stories of an early American Utter and two of his descendants, one of whose family met a tragic end.
Nicholas Utter
It is estimated that Nicholas Utter was born some time between 1630 and 1637 in Sweden and immigrated to the New Sweden Colony in 1654 (in the area of present day Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania). Nicholas served as a soldier and by trade was a sword cutler and blacksmith. According to a genealogy book written in 1941 about Nicholas Utter and his descendants, it is unclear as to his movements after immigrating, but he did eventually reside in Westerly, Rhode Island.
Nicholas was made a freeman on June 13, 1698, which meant he could then own land. From 1701 to 1714 his name appeared on several land transactions, and he served as a grand juror in the General Court. In 1714 he migrated to Stonington, Connecticut where he lived until his death in 1722. His children (first wife’s name unknown) were: Jabez, Millicent, Thomas, Nicholas, Jr., William, and Sarah. It is believed that around 1670, he married a widow (Elizabeth) with a daughter named Eleanor. William and Sarah were children of his second marriage.
According to his will he was a “first day Baptist” (Seventh Day Baptist). One source suggested that perhaps he had originally been a Lutheran and converted when he moved to Rhode Island which had a large population of Baptists. He distributed various amounts of money to his children and at least one friend, and “the brethren of the first-day Baptist Church at Groton” received twenty pounds. His wife Elizabeth received a share of ten pounds per year for the remainder of her life and son Thomas received a double share for taking care of his father in his old age.
Jabez Utter
Jabez, the eldest child of Nicholas and his wife Mary had eight children, six daughters and two sons: Rebecca, Mary, Katharine, Beatrice, Elizabeth, Mehitable, Jabez, Jr. and Abraham.
According to Utter genealogy, an incident had occurred in 1715 when Mary and her daughters were forcibly removed from their home by the son of their Massachusetts landlord. Jonathan Belcher claimed that his father had changed his mind about the deed he granted Jabez, this after Jabez made improvements to the property. Jonathan gathered a “band of wild young men and a sheriff” and attacked the house where Mary and her daughters were barricaded. He went down the chimney to gain entry to the home and threw the family out in the wilderness (it was January). Jabez was absent or else he could have been there to defend his family – he was in jail for stealing a horse. He was later sued over a land dispute and earned a reputation as a “vagabond fellow” due to the fact that he was thought to be a land grabber who rarely participated in the community at large.
The Utter genealogists of 1941 concluded:
There is no doubt that most of our first families were a rough lot and the second generation may have been rougher than their fathers, having never known a gentler environment, but they must have excelled in courage and industry. And, in word at least, they were very religious.
Jabez died sometime between the date of the last deed he signed on May 25, 1727 and the death of his wife in February of 1729 or 1730.
Abraham Utter
Abraham Utter(2) was the great grandson of Nicholas through Jabez. Jabez’s son Abraham(1) had migrated and settled in Dutchess County, New York after leaving Connecticut. Abraham(1) was the father of Abraham(2). From this point I’ll refer to Abraham(2) simply as Abraham.
Abraham married Sarah and they had nine children: Moses, Lydia, Mariam, Abraham(3), James, Sarah(2), Thomas, Joanna, and Dorcas. A descendant of Abraham’s penned an article in 1860, hoping that his piece “might serve as a memento to his posterity and descendants in recalling to mind the toils and sufferings of their ancestors, enabling them more accurately to duly appreciate the blessings and safety they enjoy, which was purchased by the blood and treasury of their ancestry and left them as a rich legacy.” The two young girls mentioned (Sarah and Joanna) were his mother and aunt, respectively. A summary of that article follows.
According to the article, Abraham worked hard after entering the world with little or no means. While he lived in Dutchess County, New York, he maintained a respectable family and gave his children a “fair education”. On April 5, 1750, Abraham and his family left Dutchess County, along with ten other families, to settle in Pennsylvania. The trip, although not long, was difficult at times since roads had to be made and bridges built over streams. The family arrived at their destination, the Wyoming Valley, on the 14th of April. Abraham, his sons and his negro set about to improve the land and build a suitable dwelling. That year twelve acres were sowed with wheat.
In 1751 another thirty acres were cleared and sowed with wheat. The crops were good that year, which spurred the family to work harder. In 1752, the youngest child, Dorcas, was born and Abraham built a saw mill. In 1753 two of his daughters were married and returned to Dutchess County. In 1754 Abraham continued to prosper, building a grist mill.
In September of 1755 a band of Canada Indians took captive and massacred several inhabitants of the valley. Because the Indians attacked at different points, few had been able to escape. Abraham, however, had advance warning and was able to take his family away from the area. He sent his negro back to the house to retrieve some money he had forgotten to bring – he was scalped and horribly mutilated by the Indians. Abraham and his family were able to escape to a fort about fifteen miles from their home. Their home, barn, mills, cattle and crops were all destroyed by the Indians.
Abraham wanted to return to his home and in April of 1756 did so, finding everything he had worked so hard to build laid waste. He and his sons made repairs, built another house, cleared the land and sowed wheat. By June of the following year, they had built a dam and their mill was back in operation. That summer they harvested abundant crops.
In early September, Abraham and Moses were visiting Abraham’s brother Moses when Indians walked into his home. An employee of Abraham’s was seated at the table eating his meal and the family dog, upon seeing the Indians, bit one of them. The Indians shot the dog, and seeing Abraham’s employee sitting at the table, they grabbed him and took him outside where they scalped him. The Indians began rummaging through the house looking for food, and although Sarah and her children cowered in fear, she offered to prepare a meal for them.
The Indians took captive daughters Sarah (nine years old) and Joanna (seven years old), leading them outside to watch the scalping of their mother, two brothers (James and Thomas) and sister (Dorcas). Joanna and Sarah were taken away, Joanna being quite distraught and screaming that she wanted to be killed too. Sarah was able to calm her down, but the Indians continued down the road, killing their neighbor’s children, capturing the parents and burning down their house.
Abraham and Moses, upon returning to the valley, heard gun shots. Moses was sure their settlement was being attacked and urged caution, proposing that they wait and advance cautiously later that evening. Abraham rebuked him, thinking that the gunfire was merely celebratory – the neighbors being overjoyed for their abundant harvests. When they finally approached their house, they saw two figures in the shadows who stepped outside and let out a whoop and returned inside the house.
When they were later able to safely approach their home, they of course discovered the carnage. Some of the bodies had already been buried in shallow graves but there were also bones scattered about. Understandably, Abraham was “despondent and sunk under the weight of his misfortune and never essayed to reoccupy his former possessions.” He returned to Dutchess County and died February 10, 1779.
Meanwhile, the Indians were making their way back to Canada with thirty-three prisoners. Three men, Israel Baldwin, Jonathan Mosher and Thomas Quick, were doomed to torture and death, so great was the hatred of the Indian for the white man. With Israel Baldwin’s wife watching, the Indians took him and tied him to a stake near a fire. His flesh was stuck “full of fine splinters, dry and easy of ignition”. They then encircled him with brands of fire, taunting and tormenting Israel, and began their pow wow. After a time of mentally torturing their victim, they set fire to the splinters.
Other prisoners were stripped naked and forced to run a gauntlet while being poked with spears — they were later tomahawked and scalped. The Indians arrived at their home with their remaining prisoners. Sarah Utter was given to an elderly squaw and taught to call her “Suky” (meaning “grandmother”). Even though in general the Indians treated their prisoners cruelly, the elderly squaw treated her “adopted granddaughter” kindly. The author related an interesting tidbit about the old squaw:
Whenever the tribe went off on such incursions as above narrated, which frequently they did, this old squaw would pray to the great spirit to soften and mollify the hearts of the Indians and turn them back; she would wring her hand, apparently in great distress, exclaiming O! the poor women and children.
Joanna was given to another squaw as an adopted daughter and was also treated kindly. Sarah and Joanna only saw each other once after arriving in Canada. One had been sent to hunt for a pony and the other to hunt for a cow. Joanna saw an object in the distance and feared it might be some sort of beast or an Indian, so she hid herself. As the “object” drew nearer, she realized it was her sister Sarah. They fell into each other’s embrace, but Sarah knew they could not remain together for long. Joanna was finally persuaded by Sarah to part ways and return to her adopted “mother”. The two girls thought it unlikely they would ever see each other again and supposed that their entire family had been killed by this time.
After about twelve months of captivity, Sarah and Joanna were part of a prisoner exchange at Niagra. In September of 1758 the two were reunited and informed by a British solider of the death of their brothers Moses and Abraham. Although Moses had narrowly missed the massacre, he died soon afterwards – their brother Abraham, a British soldier, had died of dysentery and was buried at Niagra, just four days before the prisoner exchange.
There were about ninety prisoners exchanged, mostly children. On October 10, 1758 they arrived in New York and every day afterwards were paraded in the streets in hopes that someone would recognize them. Sarah and Joanna’s brother-in-law, Joseph Adams, saw their names in the newspaper and went to find them. Upon passing Sarah in the street he did not recognize her. When he passed Joanna she ran to him and cried out, “Good Lord, here is our Joe!”
Sarah and Joanna were taken to Dutchess County to live with their sisters’ families. The girls had become so accustomed to the language and habits of the Indians that they had forgotten much of their “vernacular language”, but after a time with family and friends, they were able to adjust. Sarah married at the age of twenty-four years and the author of the article, her son Thomas Pattison, was born in 1782. She died at the age of fifty, “the hate, dread and fear of the Indians continu[ing] during [her] life.” Joanna married at the age of twenty-six and lived until the age of ninety-two.
It was referred to as the “Utter Massacre” and utter it almost was, save for his four daughters. All of Abraham’s sons were gone – Thomas and James massacred, Moses dying soon after the massacre (Moses had one child) and Abraham dying just days before Sarah and Joanna arrived in Niagra. If Moses and Abraham had no sons, then Abraham’s direct male lineage ended.
Note: The book referenced above, Nicholas Utter of Westerly, Rhode Island, and a few of his descendants,
by Katharine M. Utter Waterman and George B. and Wilfred B. Utter, can be found at Hathi Trust and is available to read free online: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005773271. Also, please take note of the comment below (and my response) submitted by Cathi Gross on August 10, 2019.
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Ghost Town Wednesday: Coolidge, Montana
The Elkhorn-Coolidge Historic District is located in the northern part of Beaverhead County, Montana and south of Butte. In 1872 silver was first discovered by Preston Sheldon, and his first shipment of ore yielded 300 ounces per ton. He supposedly named the mine “Old Elkhorn” after finding a pair of elkhorns near the site. In 1874, Mike Steele discovered the Storm Claim just west of the Old Elkhorn, his ore find yielding 260 ounces per ton. Other veins were discovered and increasingly more miners arrived.
Although there was plenty of silver to be mined, operations were restricted due to a lack of affordable transportation. The process of smelting was quite expensive – first the ore was hauled by animal teams to Corrine, Utah to be loaded on railroad cars headed for San Francisco. From San Francisco the ore was loaded on ships headed to Swansea, Wales where the smelting process would take place. Even with that long and arduous process of mining, transportation and smelting, miners still managed to eke out a small profit.
In the 1880’s profitability improved with the construction of the Utah and Northern Railway to Silver Bow (Montana) which was completed at the end of 1881. In 1893, however, the silver market crashed and all mines were closed for ten years. In 1903 mining activity was revived in the area but still struggled due to problems with financing the operations.
In 1911 a former Montana Lieutenant Governor, William R. Allen, began buying claims in the area and in 1913 established the Boston-Montana Development Corporation. Allen had resigned his position as Lieutenant Governor to devote all his efforts toward the revival of silver mining in the Elkhorn District. The Boston-Montana Mining and Power Company was established to further develop the mines and to construct a mill and small railroad line. In 1914 the town of Coolidge was established, named after Allen’s friend Calvin Coolidge, he being the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts at that time and future President of the United States.
A wagon road was built but a rail line would make the task of transporting the ore much more efficient. Plans were laid out and some machinery was purchased, but financial backing was scarce with the outbreak of World War I. Construction of the railroad finally began in May of 1917 and completed in late 1919. The line was 38 miles long and ran along the Big Hole River from Divide up to Wise River and from there south to the Pioneer Mountains and into Coolidge. It was possibly the last narrow gauge railroad to be built in the country.
With the railroad operational, heavy equipment and machinery for the mill could more easily be transported. Work on the mill was begun and also a 65,000 volt power line that would stretch from Divide to the mine and Coolidge. The mill cost approximately $900,000 to complete and the power line $150,000 – at the time it was the largest mill in Montana.
The town of Coolidge sprung up alongside the mining and mill operations. Although it was named after Calvin Coolidge, he never visited the area, although some believe he may have invested in the mining operations. At first there weren’t many permanent structures and miners lived in tents. Later the town began to be populated with buildings common for “company towns” of that day. A company store sold food, supplies and equipment to the miners and a boarding house provided meals. There was a pool hall, but no saloons. However, liquor was said to be obtainable from a still outside of town.
The company offices and living quarters for the miners were also built. Electricity and telephone service were provided, but plumbing was a bit primitive with few facilities for bathing. One of William Allen’s daughters, Elizabeth Patterson, lived in Coolidge when she was young and related that residents would trek up to the mill for a shower. There were no churches in Coolidge, and probably at the peak of its existence was home to about 350 residents.
A school was established in 1918 and the post office was in operation from 1922 to 1932. In the early 1930’s the population began to decline so the school and post office closed. Most of the mining development project had been completed by 1922, and approximately five million dollars had been poured into the project. However, the financial dominoes began to fall. In 1920-1921 there was a recession and the company’s bond and note issues were starting to come due. Also it had been discovered, after all the work and money put into development, that the projections for ore to be taken out of the mine were underestimated. The company was forced to mine lower-grade ore as well but the math just didn’t add up.
In 1927 the Wise River Dam burst and flooded out several miles of track and bridges. By 1930 the repairs were completed, but by then, of course, the Great Depression was having a huge impact on the country. By 1932, much of the town of Coolidge was abandoned. In 1933 the company was reorganized and through the years changed hands several times. The Elkhorn Mines had literally cost William Allen a fortune, but he continued to try and find other investors until 1953.
The town site of Coolidge is located south of Butte and a few dilapidated buildings remain. The mill remains are not accessible, however.
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Tombstone Tuesday: Leo Leroy and Pansy Mae (Willey) Hagel – Briston, Montana
Leo Leroy and Pansy Mae (Willey) Hagel, husband and wife, are buried in the Briston Cemetery in Beaverhead County, Montana – near the area called Big Hole. They were born in different places and their families made their way to Montana in the late 1890’s for different reasons.
Leo Leroy Hagel
Leo Leroy Hagel was born on January 21, 1888 in Limestone, Peoria County, Illinois to parents Franklin Charles and Matilda (Harris) Hagel, their second oldest child of ten. Leo’s father was a Doctor of Osteopathy as noted in the Lewis County, Idaho telephone directory in 1912 and various census records. The 1900 census referred to Frank as a “Magnetic Healer” – the practice of magnetic healing being a forerunner to chiropractic medicine.
Leo’s family was of German ancestry – his paternal grandparents were born in Prussia (grandfather) and Bavaria (grandmother). The Hagel family migrated to Salmon, Idaho (eastern Idaho, near the Montana border) in approximately 1894.
In 1907, Leo made his first trek over Big Hole Pass, a Continental Divide pass crossed over by Lewis & Clarke in 1805 or 1806. On the other side of the pass was the town of Briston, where he would meet Pansy Mae Willey and marry her on November 10, 1912.
According to family history, Leo trapped “red fox, weasel, skunks, coyotes and anything else he could get a dollar out of. His favorite fur-bearer was the pine marten.” Leo lived in Gibbonsville, Lemhi County, Idaho and worked as a gold miner, perhaps with his older brother Elmer (also a gold miner), according to the 1920 census. It was unlikely that their gold mining work produced much income, however. The Gibbonsville mine, although it had produced a considerable amount of gold, was beginning to play out by the early 1900’s. After a 1907 fire, official company mining operations ceased, although sporadic mining continued for a time.
In 1930 Leo and Pansy were living in the Noble precinct of Lemhi County and Leo was a farmer. In 1940 they continued to farm in the Gibbonsville precinct, with Leo at age 52 working 72 hours per week. Pansy, alongside him, put in the same amount of hours as a “laborer”. In 1940 the census, for the first time, enumerates information regarding levels of education – Leo had a fifth grade education and Pansy and eighth grade education.
Pansy died at the age of 59 in 1952, just a month short of her 60th birthday. Leo married Ruth Frederickson Schlagel, a widow, on February 11, 1954 at the age of 66. At the time of his death on July 18, 1986, Leo was residing in North Fork, Lemhi, Idaho, but according to death records he died in Missoula, Montana.
Pansy Mae Willey Hagel
Pansy Mae Willey was born on September 30, 1892 in Glidden, Iowa to parents Thomas Henry and Sophia Butterworth Pendleton Willey. Her mother had been born in England in 1849 and immigrated to America in 1850. Both of Thomas’ parents were born in England and he was born in Wisconsin in 1849.
Thomas, a farmer and cheese maker, died on February 23, 1895, leaving Sophie with six children to care for. According to family history, some cousins in Mississippi offered to help and Pansy’s brother Asa (age 13) piloted a flatboat down the Mississippi River with the family’s livestock on board. The rest of the family joined him and they remained there for approximately four years.
Their cousin, Frank Pendleton, visited them in 1898. He had a ranch in the Big Hole Valley in Montana and convinced Asa to come for a visit. At age 18 Asa left for Big Hole and settled in Wisdom. When the rest of his family joined him in Montana, they settled in Briston, where Pansy and Leo met.
After their marriage, Leo and Pansy had a child, Arlo, who was born on June 14, 1914. Sadly, Arlo died on January 2, 1917 – perhaps a victim of the flu pandemic. Leo and Pansy never had any more children.
On August 30, 1952 Pansy died and was buried in the Briston Cemetery in Beaverhead County, Montana. Years later, in 1986, Leo was buried next to her.
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Military History Monday: The Battle of Big Hole (Montana)
In 1805, Lewis and Clark named them “Nez Perce”, which literally means “pierced nose”, except this tribe didn’t perform nose piercings – that was the Chinook tribe. The tribe’s name was actually “Nimi’puu” (Nee-Me-Poo) and meant “the people” or “we the people”. This tribe was indigenous to a vast area of land (17 million acres) which covered present day Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Rather than being one distinct tribe, this group actually consisted of various bands with somewhat different languages, managing to live together peacefully – the tribes (Shoshonis, Bannack and Blackfoot) to the south were not quite so friendly, however.
The Nez Perce acquired horses sometime in the mid-1700’s, becoming expert horseman, and by the nineteenth century were the largest owner of horses in North America. They were a nomadic tribe, moving with the seasons to fish, hunt and gather – salmon, deer, elk, berries, pine nuts, sunflower seeds, wild potatoes and carrots.
Two of the most prominent tribal leaders were Chief Joseph the Elder and Chief Joseph the Younger. The elder had taken the Christian name of “Joseph” when he converted to Christianity and was baptized at the Lapwai mission in 1838. His son was born in 1840 and given the name “Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt” or “Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain”, but became known as “Joseph the Younger”.
Joseph the Elder promoted peace with the white man, signing a treaty with the United States government in 1853 which set up a large reservation spanning across Oregon and into Idaho. When the gold rush brought more white settlers, in 1863 the government took more land and relegated the tribe to an area of land in Idaho which was one-tenth the size of the original allocation. At this point, Joseph the Elder denounced the United States government, destroyed the American flag and his Bible, refused to move his people to the Wallowa Valley and refused to sign another treaty. One faction of the tribe, headed by the Head Chief Lawyer and others decided to honor the treaty, and thus the tribe was split.
When Joseph the Elder died in 1871, leadership passed to Joseph the Younger. Like his father before him, Joseph refused to cede the land originally given to the tribe in 1853. Through negotiations and debates with the federal government, Joseph elevated his stature as a statesman, however. In 1873, it appeared that his efforts had been successful in allowing his people to remain, but the government reversed itself and beginning in 1877 threats of military enforcement and engagement were circulated.
Chief Joseph began to sense that he would not succeed and decided to lead his people towards Canada. His band of warriors fought a series of skirmishes and four major battles along the way – the third was called the Battle of Big Hole. Major General John Gibbon had served in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. After the Civil War he continued to serve, but reverted to the rank of Colonel while commanding the infantry based at Fort Ellis in Montana Territory.
Colonel Gibbon received a telegram from General Oliver Howard directing him to cut off the fleeing Nez Perce. On his way to intercept and attack the Nez Perce, he was joined by forty-five citizens who believed that the Indians should be punished. Gibbon and his troops were averaging thirty to thirty-five miles per day and estimated that for every day the Nez Perce traveled, they were traveling the equivalent of two, so it was only a matter of time until they caught up to them. Along the route they gathered information – there were still at least 400 warriors and approximately 150 women and children, in addition to 2,000 horses and plenty of guns and ammunition.
When some of the citizen troops wanted to turn back to attend to affairs at home, Gibbons implored them to continue knowing that without them they would likely be outnumbered. After a promise that any horses captured would be equally divided among them, the citizens enthusiastically agreed to continue. The Colonel then sent Lieutenant James H. Bradley, who was joined by Lieutenant J.W. Jacobs, to take their troops and strike the Nez Perce camp before daylight the next day. They thought if they were able to stampede the stock the Indians would begin to disperse and victory would be certain.
However, the trail proved to be more difficult than anticipated and they were unable to reach the camp before daylight. Consequently, the Indians had broken camp and traveled on – but their journey that day was short and they again encamped at the mouth of Trail Creek. Lt. Bradley would then conceal his troops in the hills and await the arrival of the infantry. Gibbons pressed on through the day and arrived at Bradley’s camp around sundown. He was then informed by Bradley that it was likely the Nez Perce would remain at that camp for several days since the women were seen cutting and peeling lodge poles to erect shelter.
Before Colonel Gibbon’s arrival, Bradley had sent out men to ascertain the exact position of the camp and its activities. Gibbon took a nap and at 10:00 p.m. he was awakened to begin preparations for the troops to move as quickly and quietly as possible to the encampment. After five miles without detection, the troops reached an area which opened up into the valley of the Big Hole River. They could see smoldering camp fires in the distance and were able to proceed to within a few hundred yards of the quiet, sleeping camp.
The troops encountered a group of horses and Gibbon was cautioned that if they tried to move the animals out they might lose the element of surprise. If he had known there was in fact no one guarding the horses that night, the Indians would have been placed in an extremely vulnerable situation, all without the Army firing a shot. By 2:00 a.m. on the morning of August 9, 1877, the troops were within approximately 150 yards of the camp, waiting quietly in the cold for stirrings in the camp. Around 3:00 squaws came out of their tents to stoke the waning fires and then returned to their beds.
At dawn the troops began to quietly move again. An Indian had arisen and mounted his horse and headed toward the herd. As he emerged from a thicket of willows, he and his horse were shot. The standing orders were to charge the camp as soon as the first shot was fired. The troops were more than ready and the element of surprise was complete. According to The Battle of the Big Hole by George O. Shield, “squaws yelled, children screamed, dogs barked, horses neighed and snorted, and many of them broke their fetters and fled.”
Even the warriors, usually so stoical, and who always like to appear incapable of fear or excitement, were, for the time being, wild and panic-stricken like the rest. Some of them fled from the tents at first without their guns and had to return later, under a galling fire, and get them. Some of those who had presence of mind enough left to seize their weapons were too badly frightened to use them at first and stampeded, like a flock of sheep, to the brush.
The soldiers shot to kill and “[M]any an Indian was cut down at such short range that his flesh and clothing were burned by the powder from their rifles.” The Indians, however, recovered from the overwhelming surprise and began to fight back. Only twenty minutes had transpired after the first shot was fired when the troops had secured victory – orders were then given to burn the camp, but several Indians had already fled and because of the dampness of the grass from the early morning dew the destruction was not complete.
The death toll was significant for both sides – the Army had lost 29 men with 40 wounded and they counted 89 Nez Perce bodies, mostly women and children. The battle had rendered a major blow, but not a fatal one, as the Indians continued fleeing to the northeast, intent on reaching Canada and a new home.
Two months later troops led by Colonel Nelson Miles again overtook the Nez Perce, decisively defeating them at the Battle of the Bear Paw Mountains. Chief Joseph and his remaining tribe members had traveled to within 40 miles of the Canadian border when he finally gave up saying:
I am tired of fighting. My people ask me for food, and I have none to give. It is cold, and we have no blankets, no wood. My people are starving to death. Where is my little daughter? I do not know. Perhaps even now she is freezing to death. Hear me, my Chiefs, I have fought; but from where the sun now stands, Joseph will fight no more.
The Nez Perce were sent to Kansas and then to Oklahoma Indian Territory, although General Miles had promised they would be allowed to return to their country. Many years later a small band was allowed to return to the Colville Reservation in eastern Washington, however. Chief Joseph was allowed to travel to Washington, D.C. to tell his story and he gave an impassioned speech, which was published in the April 1879 issue of the North American Review:
I only ask of the Government to be treated as all other men are treated. If I cannot go to my own home, let me have a home in some country where my people will not die so fast. I would like to go to Bitter Root Valley. There my people would be healthy; where they are now they are dying. Three have died since I left my camp to come to Washington.
When I think of our condition my heart is heavy. I see men of my race treated as outlaws and driven from country to country, shot down like animals.
I know that my race must change. We can not hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If the Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. If the white man breaks the law, punish him also.
Let me be a free man—free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself—and I will obey every law, or submit to the penalty.
Whenever the white man treats the Indian as they treat each other, then we will have no more wars. We shall all be alike—brothers of one father and one mother, with one sky above us and country around us, and one government for all. Then the Great Spirit Chief who rules above will smile upon this land, and send rain to wash out the bloody spots made by brothers’ hands from the face of the earth. For this time the Indian race are waiting and praying. I hope that no more groans of wounded men and women will ever go to the ear of the Great Spirit Chief above, and that all people may be one people.
In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat has spoken for his people.
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Surname Saturday: Titcomb
Titcomb is an English surname which referred to someone who came from Tidcombe in Wiltshire. In Old English the name was “Titicome”, or someone who dwelt at a place where birds habitated. In Wiltshire, this family held a seat as “Lords of the Manor of Tidcombe”.
Early records show the name used, but without a surname: “Titicome” in 1086 and “Titecumba” in Wiltshire in 1197 and “Titecumbe” in 1242. William Tittacombe was documented in Somerset County in the 1300’s. By the mid-1400’s, the usage of surnames became more common. Other spelling variations include: Tytcomb, Tidcom, Titcum, Tidcum, Titchcume, Titchcumb, Titchcomb and Tichcomb.
Perhaps the first Titcomb to venture across the ocean to New England is highlighted below, along with one of his descendants, many of whom fought valiantly in the Revolutionary War.
William Tytcombe
William Tytcombe was born on August 6, 1618 in Wiltshire, England to parents Edward and Alice (Coleman) Tytcombe. Young William took passage on the Mary and John with a group of Puritans on March 24, 1634. However, William was one of six men who were left behind to “oversee the chattle” (cattle) which departed Southampton on April 16, 1634. Both ships arrived in late May or early June and most passengers went first to the village of Ipswich in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
A year later the group moved up the coast and founded the town of Newbury. Prior to 1640, William married Joanna Bartlett, daughter of Elder Richard Bartlett, Sr. Their first child, Sarah, was born on February 17, 1640, followed by the birth of several more children:
Hannah – January 3, 1642
Mary – February 17, 1644
Millicent – July 7, 1646 (died January 20, 1664)
William – March 18, 1648 (died June 2, 1659)
Penuel – December 16, 1650
Benaiah – June 28, 1653
Joanna died on the same day that Benaiah was born so she died in childbirth. On March 3, 1654 William married widow Elizabeth (Bitfield) Stevens. To their union were born the following children:
Elizabeth – December 12, 1654
Rebecca – April 1, 1656
Tirzah – February 21, 1658
William(2) – August 14, 1659
Thomas – October 11, 1661
Lydia – June 13, 1663
John – September 11, 1664
Ann – July 7, 1666
William fathered fifteen children, all living to full adulthood with the exception of the first William, Hannah (not mentioned in his 1676 will) and Millicent.
William was a farmer and active in the affairs of both his church and town. On June 22, 1642, he took the oath of freeman, becoming a full-fledged member of the colony. In 1646 he was a selectman, served on various town committees, a commissioner in 1655, 1658 and 1670, a deputy to the General Court in 1655, a constable in 1651, as well as serving as a juror several times.
William became embroiled in a church controversy beginning in 1645. The faction that William aligned himself with preferred to be governed by elders and a presbytery, rather than the Congregational consent and election method of governance. The controversy continued until in 1671 a trial decision determined that William, along with five others (including his brother-in-law Richard Bartlett) were “guilty of very great misdemeanors, though in different degrees, deserving of severe punishment.” William’s fine was four nobles (coins) – the leader of the opposition was fined twenty nobles.
William died on September 24, 1776. Judge Samuel Sewall noted in his diary that he died “Sabbath day, after about a fortnight’s sickness of the Fever and Ague,” and “one week thereabout lay regardless of any person and in great pain.” His will had been written six days before his death wherein he bequeathed varying amounts of money to eleven of his children. To his wife Elizabeth he left one-third of all his lands for her use and benefit until she died. The remainder of his land and holdings passed to his oldest surviving son, Penuel.
Brigadier General Jonathan Titcomb
The great grandson of William Titcomb was a prominent officer during the Revolutionary War. Jonathan Titcomb was born to Josiah and Martha (Rolf) Titcomb on September 12, 1727 – Josiah was Benaiah’s son. Jonathan was appointed a Brigadier General and “manifested great zeal and activity in his country’s cause throughout the war.” His leadership during the Battle of Rhode Island was noted by Lafayette as “the best fought battle of the war.”
In 1784 he received an appointment from General Washington as a naval officer, and was appointed again in 1790. General Washington visited Newbury in 1790 and Jonathan served as one of his escorts, as noted in Washington’s diary. No doubt, great grandfather William would have been proud.
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Tombstone Tuesday: Nancy Crawford Bray (b. 16 Feb 1801 d. 12 Mar 1902)
Nancy Crawford Bray was born on February 16, 1801 in Virginia (possibly Greenbrier, which is now West Virginia). Her mother died when Nancy was but seven years old — family histories and newspaper articles record that she helped raise her three young brothers. Her father, William, moved his family to Ohio in the early 1820’s, possibly 1823.
On November 7, 1823, Nancy Crawford married a Baptist minister, Harrell Bray, in Gallia, Ohio. The Justice of the Peace, Samuel Denny, was related to Harrell’s mother, Elizabeth Denny Bray.
The children born to Harrell and Nancy were (as best I can determine, although one source said they had ten children): Elisha, Elizabeth, Louisa, William, Harrell, Jr., Nathaniel, Nancy and Reuben.
According to the 1830 census, the Bray family lived in Starr, Hocking County, Ohio. Census records for 1840 weren’t found but it’s possible the Bray family had already migrated to Dallas County, Missouri. A newspaper story referred to Harrell Bray participating in the 1841 founding of Buffalo, Missouri (county seat). He helped survey the town site and Nancy prepared meals for the camp (referring to Nancy as an “energetic woman”), according to the article.
Polk County, Missouri marriage records indicate that Harrell performed marriages in early 1841, and he received a land grant for 80 acres in Dallas County on April 10, 1843. Apparently, Harrell was bi-vocational – a Baptist minister and a farmer. However, in 1849 Harrell got a case of gold fever. Gold was first discovered in early 1848 and by the end of the year hundreds of people made their way west to seek their fortunes.
Harrell headed to California sometime after the 1850 census (enumerated on August 10, 1850), leaving Nancy and his children behind. In 1853, Nancy began her journey to California. In 1901, the Guernville Republican told her story:
This undaunted woman who had braved the perils of Missouri frontier life, started westward at the head of an emigration train. Instead of oxen for draft animals, as was the custom, she had 15 cows shod in leather boots for the protection of their feet and drove them in two teams, guiding one team with her own hands. The cows furnished milk enroute and were sold for large sums of money when they reached California. They were worth far more than the gold nuggets which were dug and washed up.
The newspaper article said that the Bray family joined the local First Baptist Church around 1855 or 1856 and the next two censuses indicate that Harrell had returned to farming. The 1860 census recorded that Harrell and Nancy and four of their sons (Harrell, William, Nathaniel and Reuben) were living in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California. A young Elisha Bray, 9 years old, was enumerated with them and I assume that perhaps he was their grandson.
In 1870, Nancy and Harrell were enumerated with their son Reuben in Santa Rosa. Two of their grandchildren, Samuel and Joseph Culbertson (daughter Nancy’s children) were present in the same household. Nancy was only 16 years old and married to William Culbertson (age 27) in 1860 and bore at least twelve (possibly thirteen children) of her own.
On February 2, 1877, just two weeks before Nancy’s seventy-sixth birthday, Harrell passed away. According to the Guernville Republican, Nancy had an accident, injuring her hip in 1881 or 1882. At the time the article was written, she had been confined to the County Hospital for nineteen years. “She refused to leave this place, fearing that in death she might be separated from her husband who is buried here”, according to the article.
Nancy was enumerated in the 1880 census with her son Elisha (56), a widower. In 1900, Nancy was counted as a resident (boarder) of the Santa Rosa Poor Farm – her son Elisha was a boarder in the same facility at the age of 77 on June 18, 1900. On July 19, 1900, Elisha passed away and was buried in the same cemetery (Santa Rosa Rural Cemetery) as his father.
The day of her 101st birthday, February 16, 1902, Reverend Gason and members of the First Baptist Church planned to visit, honoring her with a reception, “most likely the last honor which they will be able to bestow in her lifetime.” At that time, she was reported to have been too weak to leave her cot, but the reception would be held in a corner of the women’s ward. She was in “full possession of her faculties” and eager to greet her guests and celebrate her birthday that day.
A few weeks later, on March 12, 1902, Nancy Crawford Bray passed away and was buried next to her beloved husband. Nancy had 114 descendants – ten children, sixty grandchildren, forty great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren. What a life Nancy Crawford Bray must have lived! She outlived her husband and at least two of her children.
I randomly selected Nancy Crawford Bray for a tombstone article several weeks ago, and of course, my rule is that I don’t research known relatives or ancestors for these articles. I unexpectedly found a connection with the Bray family and my Grandmother Okle (Erp) Young’s family.
Harrell Bray was the son of William and Elizabeth Denny Bray. One of William’s brothers, Isiah Bray, married the daughter of my fourth great grandparents Johnathon and Belinda Taylor Brinson, Phoebe Brinson in Kentucky. Phoebe’s sister, Hannah (married to Singleton Earp), is my third great grandmother, so that would make Phoebe my second great grand aunt (if our calculations are correct). Phoebe would be Harrell Bray’s aunt by marriage, and thus Nancy a niece by marriage. The Brinsons lived in Pulaski County, Kentucky as did many other ancestors (Earp, Stogsdill, Sears, Chaney and Simpson).
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Motoring History: The Great Race of 1908 – New York to Paris (via Alaska and Siberia)
The first decade of the twentieth century had already seen its share of automobile races, beginning with the Gordon Bennett Races in France, sponsored by James Gordon Bennett, Jr. who owned the New York Herald newspaper. At the beginning, races were city to city (Paris to Lyon was the first) and after the 1905 the race was known as the French Grand Prix. William Kissam Vanderbilt, Jr. established the first American race event, the Vanderbilt Cup, held on Long Island from 1904 to 1910 and then on to Wisconsin, Santa Monica in 1912 and to San Francisco in 1916.
The races became progressively more daring. In 1907 the Peking to Paris race was held, spanning two continents and over ninety-three hundred miles. That race proved to the world that the automobile craze was not a fluke; however, the next major race would further convince all skeptics of the automobile and its capabilities. Audaciously, after the 1907 race, another race was proposed and this time the race would begin in New York City in the dead of winter and end in Paris, France – via Alaska and Siberia.
The Great Race of 1908
The Great Race of 1908, sponsored by the New York Times and Le Matin, a Paris newspaper, consisted of six teams (though thirteen had actually entered): one from the United States, one from Italy, one from Germany and three representing France.
This article is no longer available for free at this site. It was re-written and enhanced, complete with footnotes and sources and has been published in the June 2018 issue of Digging History Magazine. Should you prefer to purchase the article only, contact me for more information.
I invite you to check out Digging History Magazine. Since January 2018 new articles are published in a digital magazine (PDF) available by individual issue purchase or subscription (with three options). Most issues run between 70-85 pages, filled with articles of interest to history-lovers and genealogists — it’s all history, right? 🙂 No ads — just carefully-researched, well-written stories, complete with footnotes and sources.
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Surname Saturday: Doolittle
Doolittle
The surname Doolittle is of Norman origin and gradually Anglicized over time. One of the members of William of Normandy’s expedition was named “Du Litell” or “de Dolieta” (which meant “of Dolieta” a location along the Normandy coast). Rudolph of Dolieta, the Norman nobleman is likely the progenitor of most, if not all, Doolittles in England.
In the fourteenth century, mention is made of Robert Dolittel who received a royal pardon. In the sixteenth century, records mention the names “Dolittle”, “Dolitell”, “Dolitill”, “Dolitle” and “Doolitlie”. In the early seventeenth century the name “Doolittle” begins to appear. Anthony Doolittle, a glover, was married and had three sons and mentioned as an “honest and religious” citizen. His son Thomas was ordained as a Presbyterian minister, and a non-conformist which would be later be referred derisively to as “Puritan”.
Some sources suggest that “Doolittle” was an English nickname for a lazy man. However, the man featured in today’s article was undoubtedly not lazy. He appears to be the first Doolittle to immigrate to New England and is considered the progenitor of most of the Doolittle family in America.
Abraham Doolittle
Abraham was born in either 1619 or 1620 and possibly a descendant of Reverend Thomas Doolittle. Abraham married Joane Allen (or “Alling”) and soon afterwards set out for New England. Records indicate Abraham’s presence in Boston in 1640, but he like many others, heard good reports of the fertile lands in what would become Connecticut. Sometime before 1642 the couple arrived in New Haven and built a home. (Note: Although I use the evolved surname of “Doolittle”, Abraham actually used “Dowlittell” as noted in early colonial records.)
Abraham quickly established himself as a well-respected citizen. In 1644, although he was perhaps just twenty-five years old, he was appointed the chief executive officer of the colony. Not only did Abraham deal with issues of concern to his fellow colonists (land, trade, public defense), he also had dealings with the Indians. His participation in New Haven civic affairs was notable as well – according to one historian when an individual of that day was prominent in public affairs it was guaranteed that he was of the highest moral character and an asset to his community.
His wife Jane died and in 1663 he married Abigail Moss, the daughter of John Moss. He and John Moss would later participate in the founding of Wallingford, Connecticut. It is believed that Abraham was the first white man to explore the land beyond the Quinnipac River. Wallingford was incorporate as a town on May 12, 1670.
Again, Abraham plunged into the civic affairs of his town, appointed to almost every position available in the town over the next twenty years until his death in 1690 – including treasurer, surveyor of highways and selectman. In 1673 he was appointed sergeant of the “first traine band” and thereafter bore that title. On February 15, 1675 he was appointed to a committee which would found the town’s first Congregational church.
Records indicate that Abraham served his community continuously until just before his death on August 11, 1690. His grave stone is still standing and quite interesting – a stone about four inches thick and perhaps a foot high and wide, which has his initials, age and date of death etched on it.
Theophilus Doolittle
Theophilus was the youngest son of Abraham and Abigail Doolittle, born on July 26, 1678 in Wallingford. Theophilus was only twelve years old when his father died and when he became of age he received his share of Abraham’s land, becoming a farmer.
On January 5, 1698 he married Thankful Hall, daughter of David and Sarah Rockwell Hall. Theophilus and Thankful named their children: Thankful, Sarah, Henry, David, Theophilus, and Solomon Doolittle. Interestingly, the name Thankful was carried forward as Thankful Doolittle married Timothy Page and they named on of their daughters Thankful, who married Asher Thorpe – and of course, one of their daughters was named Thankful Thorpe.
I believe Thankful is quite possibly a distant relative of mine (note: as with the Tombstone Tuesday articles, I usually just pick a random surname to research). Although I haven’t traced out the entire Hall line, the information so far seems to point to my ancestors as part of the line descended from John and Jane Woollen Hall of England who immigrated and settled in Wallingford, Connecticut. Thankful’s father David was a son of John and Jane Hall.
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Feuding’ and Fightin’ Friday: Boyce-Sneed Feud (Because This Is Texas) – Part One
A woman was at the center of this feud in early twentieth-century Texas, a love triangle in which two wealthy cattle ranchers fought over who would win her back – the husband or the lover. The feud might have started, innocently enough, years before when the two men, John Beal Sneed and Albert Boyce, Jr., vied for the attention of Miss Lenora (Lena) Snyder while attending Southwest University in Georgetown, Texas.
John Sneed won her hand in marriage, but after twelve years of marriage Lena wanted a divorce – and with good reason in her estimation as she had been carrying on an affair with none other than her husband’s college rival, Albert Boyce, Jr. Sneed, a cattle buyer and lawyer (Princeton graduate) reacted by committing his wife to a sanitarium in Fort Worth to treat her “moral insanity”. One source related that Lena was treated with calomel (mercury chloride). It had been common practice in the nineteenth and into the first part of the twentieth century to treat people in the advanced stages of syphilis, which typically would be accompanied by mental illness.
This extensive, four-part article is no longer available at the web site. It will, however, be republished in a future issue of Digging History Magazine, complete with footnotes and sources. In the meantime, I invite you to check out Digging History Magazine. Since January 2018 new articles are published in a digital magazine (PDF) available by individual issue purchase or subscription (with three options). Most issues run between 70-85 pages, filled with articles of interest to history-lovers and genealogists — it’s all history, right? 🙂 No ads — just carefully-researched, well-written stories, complete with footnotes and sources.
Want to know more or try out a free issue? You can download either (or both) of the January-February 2019 and March-April 2019 issues here: https://digging-history.com/free-samples/
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