(Important information--Please read before continuing) Here, you will find excerts taken from a book, written by Clara Paine Ohler in 1912. She was the great-granddaughter of John and Esther (Denison) James, two of the inhabitants of Farmers’ Castle, in Belpre, Washington County, Ohio. Farmers’ Castle was a garrison built by farmers in the 1790 or 91, and used during the Indian War in the Northwest Territory. The author used the following sources in the writing about Belpre and Farmers' Castle: 1. Notes from Judge Barker’s manuscripts. 2. The records of Dr. Hildreth 3. The History of Washington County, Ohio, 1788-1881, by H. Z. Williams. Some of the information that Clara writes about in quoting one of the 3 sources mentioned above, is sometimes written word for word in the book, History of Belpre, by C. E. Dickinson, D. D. in 1920. Clara Paine Ohler wrote her book in 1912. The author, tells about the accounts of the first settlers of Marietta, the exploration and founding of Belpre, the massacre at Big Bottom, the contruction of the Farmers’ Castle Garrison and detailed information about the families who lived there in 1791. Also the recreational activities and celebrations within the garrison, famine, etc... She also tells about the killing of Jonas Davis by the Indians and the pursuit that was made in trying to hunt down the murderers. I have also included excerts about the family of John and Esther (Denison) James. There is much more about the family history in the book. Please take note that I capitalized the surnames in this extraction for easy identification. They are not that way in the book. Copying and/or reprinting this extraction, for the use of "profit" is stickly prohibited. The purpose of extracting some excerts of this well written book, is to assist those who have ancestors who lived in Farmers’ Castle, and/or descendants of John James and Esther Dennison. The author also states this in the front matter of the book. I must say....this author not only did her homework in supplying the information that she gave, but a book, that I find of great interest. It is 222 pages. Doing the entire book would of been nice, but not my intention. To view an pic of Farmers' castle, also taken from the book, copy & past this link into your browser: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/n/i/t/Debra-Nitsche/PHOTO/0117photo.html Extracted by Debbie Noland Nitsche Diamonddeb@comcast.net June 2005. Ancestors and Descendants of Captain John James and Esther Denison of Preston Connecticut Compiled by Clara Paine Ohler, Lima, Ohio, 1912 Pg. 11-37 ......It is nearly a century and a quarter since General Rufus PUTNAM and his brother officers met at the ‘Bunch of Grapes’ tavern in Boston on April 25, 1786, and organized the ‘Ohio Company of Associates,’ and it is a matter of history that Manasseh CUTLER, of Connecticut, ‘representing soldiers of the Revolutionary Army organized as the Ohio Company of Associates, purchased from the board of treasury of the United States, on authority granted by the Continental Congress, July 27, 1787, a million and a half acres of those waste and vacant land.’ The first body of settlers, forty-eight in number, headed by General Rufus PUTNAM, landed at the mouth of the Muskingum River on April 7, 1788, and christened their new home in honor of the French queen, Marietta. This has come to be known as the landing of the ‘Mayflower II, and has been made the subject of song and story almost as often as its famous predecessor. General ST. CLAIR, first governor of the Northwest Territory, arrived at Fort Harmar on July 9, 1788, and upon his official entry into Marietta, on July 10th, civil government was established. For a detailed account of these early settlers, I am indebted to Dr. Hildreth, their first historian. From his ancient records, I learn that, during the first winter of their occupation of the Northwest Territory, the directors of the Ohio Company sent out exploiting parties to examine their purchase. They reported a fine tract of land on the right bank of the Ohio river commencing near the mouth of the Kanawha River and extending down the Ohio four or five miles. It included a rich strip of bottom land and about three miles in length by one-third of a mile in width. This was divided into farms about forty rods wide and extending back to the hiss which rose to an elevation of a hundred feet in the background. This beautiful spot was named ‘Belle-prairie’ or ‘Beautiful meadow,’ but the name has been shortened by usage into Belpre. The second settlement was composed of about forty associates, the largest portion of whom had served as officers in the Revolutionary War, and when the army disbanded, retired with a brevet promotion. To a stranger, it seemed curious that every house he passed should be occupied by a commissioned officer. It is said that ‘No settlement ever formed west of the mountains contained so many men of real merit, sound practical sense, and refined manner. They had been in the school of WASHINGTON and were nearly or quite all of them, acquainted with that great and good man. All of the families in the Belpre settlement had received the advantage of the common schools in New England and some had been more liberally educated. They were habituated to industry and economy and brought up under the influence of morality and religion. They had been selected to lead their countrymen to battle and to defend their rights, no for their physical strength, but for their moral standing and superior intellect. In addition to these advantages they had also received a second education in the Army of the Revolution, where they heard the precepts of wisdom and witnessed the examples of bravery and fortitude, learning at the same time, the necessity of subordination to law and good order in promoting the happiness and prosperity of mankind. (From manuscript notes of Judge Barker.) Most of the Belpre associates passed the first winter in Marietta, moving onto their farms in the spring of 1789; several families, however, did not occupy their lands until the following year. The Ohio Associates came from New England in four companies, several months apart, and covering in all about two years. In the last company I find my great grandfather, Captain John JAMES, and family. The latter consisted of his wife, Esther Denison James, and ten children. The settlement of Belpre consisted at this time of the forty families before mentioned, who lived in log houses near the river bank; into one of these Captain JAMES and his family moved and began the life of pioneers. The immense forest trees were cut down and a rail fence was built in the rear of the fields to protect the crops from the cattle. The houses were connected by paths which ran through the fields, and a number of springs of pure water afforded comfort to the settlers. Scarcely were they thus comfortably housed than they were brought face to face with a famine caused by the rotting of the crops, and the history of the ‘starving time’ of the Pilgrims in Old Plymouth was repeated on the banks of the Ohio. No sooner had this calamity had overcome than the settlers were assailed by one yet more dire. From the records of Washington county we learn that a new association had been formed in the fall of 1790, locating upon a tract of land known as ‘Big Bottom,’ which had attracted attention from its great beauty and richness. This association numbered thirty-six members, only eighteen, however, going originally to the new settlement. All of these were young men with the exception of a hunter who accompanied them, taking with him his wife and children. Among the number was William JAMES, a son of Captain JAMES. The older members of the settlement tried in vain to dissuade them from making the venture, believing that the Indians were inclined to be hostile. Unheeded, however, were the warnings, and a block-house of good dimensions was erected upon the banks of the Muskingum River, several miles distant from the other settlements. Two cabins were also built about twenty rods from the block-house, one occupied by Francis and Isaac CHOATE, and the other by Eleazer BULLARD and his brother Asa. With all the rashness of youth and inexperience, the young men, believing that they were safe from any possible attack by the Indians in the winter season, failed to enclose their block-house with palisades, or make any system of defense, such as the setting of sentinels to watch for danger. By their carelessness, they thus brought upon themselves the attack which is known as the ‘Massacre of Big Bottom,’ and which was followed by years of Indian warfare. The following account of the massacre is taken from the history of Washington county: “One evening, in the winter of 1790-1791, the inmates of the block-house were gathered around the large fire place. Some were engaged in preparing the evening meal, while others warmed themselves by the genial blaze, when the door was thrown suddenly open, and a volley of musketry poured death into their midst. Several fell lifeless to the floor, while one, Zebulon THROOP, who was bending over a frying pan in which he was cooking venison for supper, sank down upon the blazing logs. The shots were fired from without, while one of the Indians, who had burst the door, held it open. No sooner had the guns been emptied than with a fledish yell, the savages leaped through the smoke to finish with their tomahawks the butchery begun with powder and ball. So sudden and so fierce was the onslaught that little resistance could be made, and one after another the inmates of the block-house were dispatched. Only one Indian was wounded and he by the wife of the hunter. She had witnessed the brutal slaying of her children; had seen them scalped and thrown into the blazing fire, and with the courage of a madman, she seized an axe and truck wildly at one of the murderers. The blow came near proving fatal at the instant, but was quickly avenged by the companion of the assaulted one, who, coming up behind her, as the woman was again raising the heavy axe to strike, cleft her skull with his tomahawk. The air was filled with the wild yells of the Indians, the moans of the dying, and agonizing shrieks and the supplications of those on whom the cruel death-blow had not yet descend. All were quickly dispatched except Philip, a son of Colonel William STACEY, who during the excitement of the massacre, had cowered down in a corner of the room and pulled some bedclothes over himself. He was discovered by an Indian who was searching for articles of plunder. As soon as his hiding place was revealed, a tomahawk was raised to kill him and the terrified boy, who then threw himself at the feet of the murderer, who have been dispatched in spite of his piteous entreaties if another Indian had not interposed and saved him. Besides the boy, only two men who occupied one of the cabins near by, escaped. The names of the killed were as follows: Ezra PUTNAM, Zebulon THROOP, John STACEY, John CAMP, Jonathan FAREWELL, James COUCH, John CLARK, William JAMES, Isaac MEEKS, his wife and children. Two days after the massacre, Captain ROGERS lead a company of men to Big Bottom. They met a company from Marietta headed by Anselm TUPPER, and together they found that the Indians, after taking the lives of the twelve pioneers, had pulled up the flooring, piled it over the bodies of their victims, and set fire to the whole. The block-house had not been long built, was constructed of birch longs and had been only partially consumed. Most of the bodies, however, were so disfigured by the tomahawks and the fire as to the unrecognizable. William JAMES’ remains were identified by his great size. He had measured six feet, four inches in stature and was of massive build. The ground being frozen very hard, a grave was dug within the walls of the block-house, where it had been prevented from freezing by the fire, and there the victims of the savages were buried side by side as they had fallen, and the charred charnel house remained in the now solitary and soundless forest as a grim shelter from the rain and snow--a desolate monument to the memory of the brave, unfortunate pioneers who slept beneath it, and a landmark to the hunter or scout, who passing it afar off, had a horrible suggestion of the fate which might be his. No attempt was again made to form a settlement here, until after the Greenville Treaty in 1795, for the massacre was the ‘bloodiest in the annuals of the first settlement of Ohio and is not only terrified the inhabitants of Marietta and Belpre, but sent a thrill of horror into all of the border settlements of Virginia and Pennsylvania, which left them, accustomed as they were to Indians atrocities, filled with foreboding for many a day.’ Meanwhile word of the massacre had been carried to Marietta, and I now quote a length from the long neglected records of Dr. Hildreth: ‘The county seat of quarter sessions met at Marietta on the first Monday in January. A considerable amount of the most active men were called there to attend as jurors, witnesses, etc. As it was a laborious task to get there by water, in canoes, many of them went up on Saturday and Sunday preceding. The court had barely opened Monday, when word was brought of the sacking and slaughter of Big Bottom. It was immediately adjourned and the men returned to their homes full of anxiety for the fate of their own families. Notices had been sent to the settlers at Belpre from Wolf Creek Mills at the same time it was sent to Marietta. The woman and children suffered much from fear, expecting every hour the Indians would attack them. The inhabitants were scattered along the river bank, living in their log cabins, without any preparation from defense, not expecting an Indian war, as a treaty had been made with them only two years before. Captain Jonathan STONE, at the upper settlement had built a small block-house for his dwelling, and into this all the women and children were gathered on Monday night. On Tuesday there was a general muster of all the heads of families, to consult on what was best to be done. They decided on collecting them all together, about thirty in number, at the middle settlement, where Colonel CUSHING and Colonel BATTELLE had already built two large log houses, and erected a spacious, strong, and well arranged garrison, sufficient for the accommodation of all the inhabitants. The spot selected was on the bank of the river, about half a mile below the ‘Bluff,’ and nearly against the center of BACKUS Island. A swamp about six rods back from the Ohio, protected its rear, while the river defended the front. The upper and lower ends opened into a smooth, level bottom suitable for a road by which to enter or depart from the garrison. The work was commenced the first week in January, and was prosecuted with the utmost energy, as their lives, apparently, depended on its completion. As fast as the block-houses were built, the families moved into them. There were thirteen in number, arranged in rows, with a wide street between. The basement story was in general twenty feet square, and the upper twenty-two feet, thus projecting over the lower one, and forming a defense from which to protect the doors and windows below, in an attack. They were built of round logs a foot in diameter, and the interstices nicely chinked and pointed with mortar. The doors and window shutters were made of thick oak planks or puncheons, and secured with stout bars of wood on the inside. The large timbers were hauled with ox-teams, of which they had several yokes, while the lighter for the roofs, gates, etc., were dragged along the hand sleds by men. The drawing was much facilitated by a few inches of snow which covered the ground. The pickets were made of quartered oak timber growing on the plain back of the garrison, formed from trees about a foot in diameter, fourteen feet in length, and set four feet deep in the ground, leaving them ten feet high, over which no enemy would mount without a ladder. The smooth side was set outward, and the palisades strengthened and kept in their places by stout ribbons, or wall pieces, pinned to them with three-inch nails on the inside. The spaces between the houses were filled up with pickets, and occupied three or four times the width of the houses, forming a continuous wall or inclosure, about eighty rods in length and six rods wide. The palisades on the river side, filled the whole space and projected over the edge of the bank leaning on rails and posts set to support them. They were sloped in this manner for the admission of air during the heat of summer. Gates of stout timber were placed in the east and west ends of the garrison, opening in the middle, for the egress and ingress of teams and to take in the cattle in an attack. A still wider gate opened near the center of the back wall, for the hauling of the wood, and all were secured with strong, heavy bars. Two or three smaller ones, called water gates were placed on the river side, as all their water was procured from the Ohio. When there were signs of Indians discovered by the spies, the domestic animals were driven within the gates at night. At sunset all the avenues were closed. Every house was filled with families; and as new settlers arrived occasionally during the war, some houses contained three or four. The corner block-houses, on the back side of the garrison, were provided with watch towers, running up eight feet above the roof, where a sentry was constantly kept. When the whole was completed, the inmates of the station called it “FARMERS’ CASTLE,” a name very appropriate, as it was built and occupied by farmers. The directors of the Ohio Company, with their characteristic beneficence, paid the expense of erecting three of the block-houses, and the money was distributed among the laborers. The view of the castle from the Ohio River was very picturesque and imposing; looking like a small fortified city amidst the surrounding wilderness. During the war, there were about seventy able bodied men mustered on the roll for military duty, and the place assumed that of a regular besieged fort, as in fact it was a great portion of the time, the Indians watching in small parties, for or less constantly, for a chance to kill or capture inhabitants when they least expected it. At sunrise the roll was called by the orderly sergeant, and if any man had overslept in the morning, or neglected to answer to his name, the penalty was fixed at the cutting out of a stump of a tree to the level with the ground, they being scattered thickly over the surface inclosed with the castle. This penalty was rigidly exacted, so that few stumps remained at the close of the war. A regular commander was appointed, with suitable subalterns. Major Nathan GOODALE was the first captain, and held that post until he moved into his own garrison in 1793, when Colonel CUSHING took the command. The flag staff stood a few yards west of the back gate, near the house of Colonel CUSHING, on which floated the stars and stripes of the Union. Near the flag staff was a large iron howitz, or swivel gun, mounted on a platform incased in wood, hooped with iron bands and painted to resemble a six pounder. It was so adjusted as to revolve on a socket, and thus point to any part of the works. During the spring and summer months, when there was any probability of Indians being in the vicinity, it was fired regularly, morning and evening. It could be heard distinctly for several miles around, especially up and down the Ohio; the banks and hills, adjacent, re-echoing the report in a wonderful manner. This practice no doubt kept the Indians in awe, and warned them not to approach a post whose inmates were habitually watchful, and so well prepared to defend themselves. Among this spot it was customary for the loungers and newcomers to assemble, to discuss the concerns of the castle and tell the news of the day, while passing away the many idle hours that must necessarily fall to the lot of a community confined to such narrow limits. It was also the rallying point in case of an assault, and the spot where the muster roll was called morning and evening. The spies and rangers here made report of the discoveries to the commandant; in short it was the ‘place d’armes’ of Farmer’s Castle. In the upper room of every house was kept a large cask, or hogs-head, constantly filled with water, to be used only in case of a fire, either from accident, or from an attack by the Indians. It was a part of the duty of the officer of the day to inspect every house, and see that the cask was well filled. Another duty was to prevent any stack of grain or fodder being placed so near the castle as to endanger the safety of the buildings, should the Indians set them on fire, or afford a shelter in time of assault. They also inspected the gates, pickets, and houses, to see that all were in repair and well secured at night. They received dispatches from abroad, and sent out expresses to other stations. Their authority was absolute, and the government strictly military. No people ever paid more attention to the education of their children, than the descendants of the Puritans. One of the first things done by the settlers of Belpre, after they had erected their own log dwellings, was to make provision for teaching their children the rudiments of learning, reading, writing and arithmetic. Bathsheba ROUSE, the daughter of John ROUSE, one of the emigrants from near New Bedford, Mass., was employed in the summer of 1789, to teach the small children, and for several subsequent summers, she taught a school in Farmers’ Castle. She is believed to be the first female who ever kept a school within the present bounds of Ohio. During the winter months, a male teacher was employed for the larger boys and young women. Daniel MAYO was the first teacher in Farmers’ Castle. He came from Boston, a young man, in the family of Colonel BATTELLE, in the fall of 1788, and was a graduate of Cambridge University. The school was kept in a large room of Colonel BATTELLE’s block-house. He was a teacher for several winters, and during the summer worked at clearing and cultivating his lot of land. He married a daughter of Colonel Israel PUTNAM, and after the war, settled at Newport, Kentucky, where his descendants now live. Jonathan BALDWIN, another educated man, also kept a school a part of the time during their confinement in the garrison. These schools had no public funds as at this day to aid them, but were supported from the hard earnings of the honest pioneers. The larger portion of the time during the war, religious services were kept up on the Sabbath, in Farmers’ Castle, by Colonel E. BATTELLE. The people assembled at the large lower room in his block-house, which was provided with seats. Notice was given of the time when the exercises began by his son, Ebenezer, then a lad of fifteen or sixteen years old, and a drummer to the garrison, marching the length of the castle, up and down, beating the drum. The inmates understood the call as readily from the ‘Tattoo,’ as from the sound of a bell; and generally attended regularly. The meeting was opened with prayer, sometimes read from the church service, and sometimes delivered extempore, followed by singing, at which all the New Englanders were more or less proficient. A sermon was then read from the writings of some standard divine, and the meeting closed with singing and prayer. There was usually but one service a day. Occasionally, during the war, the Rev. Daniel STORY visited them and preached on the Sabbath; but these calls were rare, owning to the danger of intercourse between the settlements from the Indians. After the war his attendance was more regular, about once a month; on the three other Sabbaths, religious services were still kept up by Colonel BATTELLE, at a house erected on the ‘Bluff,’ which accommodated both the upper and middle settlements, until the time of their being able to build other and more convenient places of worship. This holy day was generally observed and honored by the inhabitants; but not with that strictness common in New England. Very few of the leading men at that day were members of any church; yet all supported religion, morality and good order. Here is a list of the families who lived in Farmers’ Castle, at Belpre, in the year 1792. No. 1 Colonel Ebenezer BATTELLE, wife, and four children, viz: Cornelius, Ebenezer, Thomas and Louisa. Cornelius and Thomas, soon after the close of the war went to the West Indies, where a rich uncle put them into lucrative employment. Thomas married a daughter of Governor Livingston, of New York, and Cornelius, the daughter of a rich planter. Louisa remained single and resided in Boston, the birthplace of her mother. Ebenezer settled on a farm in Newport, in this county, and has a numerous family of children, noted for their intelligence and respectability. No. 2. Captain John JAMES, wife, and ten children, from New England, viz: Susannah, Anna, Esther, Hannah, Abigail and Polly; William, John, Thomas and Simeon; William was killed by the Indians at the sacking of Big Bottom. The others all married and settled in the vicinity, either in Ohio or Virginia. Also, Isaac BARKER, wife and eight children, from near New Bedford, Mass. Michael, Isaac, Joseph, William and Timothy; Anna, Rhoda and Nancy. All of whom subsequently married and raised families, in Athens county, where Mr. BARKER settled after the war. Also, Daniel COGSWELL, wife and five children. John, Abigail, Peleg, Job and Daniel. He was noted for his eccentricity and love of fun. Settled after the war, below Little Hockhocking, where the children now live. No. 3. Captain Jonathan STONE, wife and three children, from Massachusetts, viz: Benjamin Franklin, Samuel and Rufus Putnam--two others born after the war. He lived in the upper room while the lower was used for a work shop. Benjamin Franklin settled in Belpre, where the children now live; Samuel in Licking county, and Rufus Putnam, near McConnelsville, on a farm where his children now reside. No. 4. Colonel Nathaniel CUSHING, wife and six children, from Boston, Mass., viz: Nathaniel, Henry, Varnum, Thomas, Sally and Elizabeth. These all married and settled in Ohio. Three other daughters were born after the war. Also, Captain Jonathan DEVOLL, wife, and six children, lived in the upper room of the same building, from Howland’s Ferry, Rhode Island, viz: Henry, Charles, Barker, Francis, Sally and Nancy, with a nephew, Christopher DEVOLL, whom he adopted when a child. He was the son of Silas DEVOLL, captain of marines on board the ship ‘Alfred,” under Commander Abraham WHIPPLE. He was taken prisoner and died in the prison ship, at, New York. Christopher acted as a spy for some months near the close of the war. After the peace, he returned to Rhode Island and followed the sea. No. 5. Contained three families, viz.: Isaac PIERCE, wife and three children, Samuel, Joseph and Phoebe. Joseph settled in Dayton, Ohio, and held some of the most responsible positions; Samuel became a sailor; Phebe married and settled also in Dayton. Nathaniel LITTLE, wife and one child; he settled in Newport where some of the children now live. Joseph BARKER, wife, and one child; Joseph born in Belpre; after the war he settled on a farm, six miles up the Muskingum. He held som of the highest offices in the county; raised a numerous family of children, who rank among the most useful and intelligent citizens in the country. No. 6 Major Nathan GOODALE, wife, and seven children, Betsy, Cynthia, Sally, Susan, Henrietta, Timothy and Lincoln. Henrietta died of the smallpox; Timothy was a young man and served a part of the time as a ranger. He did soon after the war. The daughters all married and settled in Ohio. Lincoln studied medicine, but afterward entered into the trade and settled in Columbus, where he became distinguished for his wealth, many amiable qualities, and especially his affectionate kindness to his more dependent relatives. No. 7, in the southwest corner of the garrison, contained three families, viz: A. W. PUTNAM, wife and one child, William Pitt, born in the garrison; he married the daughter of Daniel LORING, Esq. Also D. LORING, wife, and seven children, Israel, Rice and Jesse, Luba, Bathsheba, Charlotte and Polly; Israel was a young man after the war settled near Gibson’s Fort, Miss., where he became very wealthy in lands; Rice and Jesse settled in Belpre, on farms; Rice held the office of associate judge of the court of common pleas, and Jesse was sheriff of the county several years. The daughters all married and settled in Ohio, where their descendants now live. Major Oliver Rice lived in the family of Mr. Long. Captain Benjamin Miles, wife, and five children lived in the same block-house, from Ruthland, Mass., Viz: Benjamin Buckminster and Hubbard, twin brothers, William, Tappan and Polly. Benjamin Buckminster settled in Athens, and followed merchandise; Tappan became a preacher of the gospel; Hubbard settled in Illinois; and William lived in Belpre, all married with numerous descendants. No. 8. contained GRIFFIN GREENE, Esq., wife and four children, from Rhode Island. Richard, Philip, Griffin and Susan; all married and settled in Ohio, but the youngest son. PHEBE GREEN was a niece, lived with them, and married CAPTAIN JONATHAN HASKELL, of the army, and settled in Belpre, on a farm. Their descendants live in this country. No. 9 contained two families, viz: John ROUSE, wife and eight children, from Rochester, Mass. Michael, Bathsheba, Cynthia, Betsy, Ruth, Stephen, Robert and Barker The latter were twins. Robert died of the scarlet fever. These children married and settled in this county; Cynthia to the Honorable Paul FEARING and Betsy to Colonel Levi BARBER. These men were highly respected, and held some of the most honorable posts, both of them having been members of congress. Their descendants are among the most respectable citizens of the state. Also, Major Robert BRADFORD, wife and three or four children, from Plymouth, Mass. Several of these or four children, from Plymouth, Mass. Several of these children died of scarlet fever; others were born after the war and now live in Ohio. No. 10. Captain John LEVINS, wife and six children, from Killingly, Connecticut, viz: Joseph, a young man, and John a boy of ten years, Nancy, Fanny, Esther and Matilda. Nancy married Jonathan PLUMER; Betsy, to Dr. MATHEWS, of Putnam, Ohio; Esther, to Mr. SANFORD; Fanny, to Joseph LINCOLN, while in garrison--he was for many years a merchant in Marietta, and an excellent man--and Matilda to John WHITE. Also, Captain William DANA, wife and eight children, from Watertown, Mass.; Luther and William were young men, Edmund, Stephen, John, Charles and Augustus, Betsy, Mary and Fanny; Augustus and Fanny were born in the garrison; all these married and settled in Washingtion county, some in Belpre, and some in Newport, which was a colony from Belpre; Charles and John settled in Mississippi. Between No. 10 and 11, there was a long low building called the barrack in which a small detachment of United States troops were quartered. In No. 11, Mrs. DUNHAM, the widow of Daniel DUNHAM who died in 1791, with one son and two daughters. Simeon WRIGHT married one of the girls, and lived with her. She was the mother of Persis, killed by the Indians. Also, Captain Israel STONE, wife and ten children, from Rutland, Massachusetts, viz; Sardine, a young man, Israel, Jasper, Augustus, B. Franklin and Columbus; Betsy married to T. GUTHRIE, of Newbury; Matilda to Stephen SMITH, of Rainbow; Lydia to Ezra HOYT, of Big Hockhocking; Polly to John DODGE, of Waterford; and Harriet, born in the castle, to James KNOWLES, of Newbury. the sons and their descendants settled and lived in Washington county. In No. 12 lived Benjamin PATTERSON, wife and six children, three of the rangers, or spies, who were single men, viz; John SHEPARD, George KERR and Mathew KERR. This man, PATTERSON, served as a spy three years for the settlement at Belpre, and then moved down the river. He came from Wyoming, in Pennsylvania. At the period of the contoversy between the state of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, relative to their conflicting claims to land on the Susquehanna river, congress appointed Timothy PICKERING, of Salem, Massachusetts, a man of Spartan integrity, to go upon the ground and with other try to adjust the difficulty. While there, this same B. PATTERSON, with two others conveyed him three or four miles into the woods, and bound him fast to a white oak sapling, and left him there to died of starvation. After two or three days, PATTERSON’s conscience so worried him that he relented, and unknown to his companions, he went and unbound him, setting him at liberty. For this outrage he left Wyoming, and fled to the state of New York, and from thence, after a time, to Marietta. It was not uncommon for such persons to visit the new settlements; but finding their characters after a time following on after them they proceeded futher down the river. (MS. Notes of Judge Barker.) Benoni HURLBURT, wife and four children lived in the same house at the time of his death. His family settled in Amestown, Athens county, where his descendants now live. No. 13. Colonel Alexander OLIVER, wife and eleven children, from the west part of Massachusetts, viz; Launcelot, a young man, Alexander, John and David. They settled in Ohio. Two of Alexander’s sons are now preachers of the gospel in the Methodist church. David studied medicine and settled in the westers part of Ohio. The daughters were named, and married as follows, viz; Lucretia, to Levi MUNSEL, and lived several years in Marietta; his son Leander, was the first man born in Ohio who had a seat in the legislature. Betsy, to Honorable Daniel SYMMES, of Cincinnati; he was the first register in the United States land office at that place. Sally, married to Major AUSTIN, of the United States army, and settled in Cincinnati. Lucretia, to George PUTNAM, son of Colonel Israel PUTNAM. Mehala, to Calvin SHEPARD, son of Colonel SHEPARD, of Marietta. He was cashier of the Miami Exporting Company Bank, and his son, R. O. is said to be the first preacher in the Methodist church who was born in Ohio. He is now an elder. Mary, to Oliver WING, of Adams, in this county. The descendants of Colonel OLIVER rank with the most active, usful and wealthy citizens of Ohio. In No. 13 also lived Daniel BENT, wife and four children, from Rutland, Massachusetts, viz Nahum, Daniel, Dorcas, and one other daugher married to Joel OAKS, of Newbury. Dorcas married William DANA, of Newprot. Some of their descendanst are living in this county, and some in Missouri. Silas BENT, Esq., the oldest son of the colonel, and wife, also lived there with two or three children. He was one of the judges of the common pleas, appointed by Governor ST. CLAIR After the purchase of Louisiana he removed to St. Louis, and was employed in surveying the United States lands. One of his sons became the head of a fur trader’s company, and established a fort hight up on the Arkansas river. Elijah PIXLEY, wife and two children from Wyoming. He served a part of the time as drummer for the garrison, and was a celebrated maker of drums, using for this purpose a block of sassafras wood, which made a very light and neat article. Several other families lived in Farmers’ Castle for a short time and then proceeded down the river; but the above list contains nearly all the permanent and substantial head of families who settled in Belpre in 1789 and 1790. Joshua FLEEHART, wife, and four children, lived in a small cabin east of block-house No. 3. He was a noted hunter, and supplied the garrison with fresh meat. Soon after the war closed, he moved nearer to the frontiers, where he could follow hunting and trapping to better advantage. One of his hunting adventures in related in the transaction of the year 1794. During the long and tedious confinement of the inhabitants of the garrison, various were the modes sought out to make the time pass as happily as their circumstances would allow. The sports of the young men and boys consisted of games at ball, foot races, wrestling, and leaping, at all of which the larger number were adepts. Foot races were especially encouraged, that it might give them an advantage in their contests with the Indians. Those of a more refined character, in which both sexes could participate, consitsted chiefly in dancing. Parties of young people from Campus Martius and Fort Harmar used to comd down as often as four or five times a year, and join in their festivities. These visits were made by water, in a barge or large row boat, attended by a guard of soldiers from the fort. They brought musicians with them, who were attached to the military service. A player on the violin, from Galipolis, named VANSAN, one of the French emigrants, was celebrated for his musical talents, and always accompanied the young men from that place in their visits to Farmers’ Castle, where they were very welcom visitors. It is true, they did not always abound in nice cakes and rich wines; but they treated their gusts with the best they had, while the hilarity and cheerful looks of the company made amends for all besides. The garrison at Belpre contained about twenty young females in the prime of live, with fine persons, agreeable manners, and cultivated minds. A dangerous recreation of the younger girls was to steal out of the castle in the pleasant moonlight evenings of summer, and taking possession of a canoe, push it silently up the Ohio, for a mile or more; then paddle out into the middle of the river and float gently down with the current. Some favorite singer then struck up a lively song, in whcih all joined their voices, making sweet melody on the calm waters of the “Belle Riviere,” greatly to the delight of the young men and guards on the watch towers, but much to the alarm of their mothers, who were always in fear of the Indians. But their young and cheerful hearts thought little of the danger, but much of the amusement on the water, and a brief escape from the confinement within the walls of the garrison. Promenading up and down the smooth broad avenue between the rows of block-houses, about eighty rods in extent, was also another favorite summer evening recation for the young people, while the elder ones gathered in cheerful groups at each other’s dwellings, to chat on their own affairs, or the news of the day, collected as it might be from the passing voats, or the rangers in their visits to the other garrisons. Newspapers, they had few or none of, until some years after the war, the first printed in Marietta being in 1802, with the exception of a chance one sent out from a friend east of the mountains, by some moving family. After a mail route was established in 1794, they were more common. Early in autumn, parties of the young folks visited the island, on which several families resided, for the purpose of gathering grapes, papaws, nuts, etc. On the heads of the island, at that day, there grew a very fine, rich, red grape, said to have been scattered there from seeds left there by the early French voyagers; it is however probable they were a native variety, fitted to grow in a sandy soil. The ground beneath the lofty trees was but little encumbered with bushes, and afforded beautiful walks, when there was no danger from the lurking savages, whose swarthy visages were mingled more or less with the thoughts of their most cheerful hours. The 4th of July was regularly celebrated in a bowery within the walls of the garrison, where the old officers and soldiers of the revolution again recounted the trials and hardships of that eventful period over a flowing vowl of whiskey puch, while the report of their little noisy howitz awoke the echoes among the neighboring hills, at the announcement of each patrotic toast. A celebration of this glorius day without gunpowder or puch, would at that time have been called a burlesque. The last of February, 1795, about ten months after the massacre of ARMSTRONG’s family, Jonas DAVIS, a young man from Massachusetts, and an inmate of STONE’s garrison, at the upper settlement, had been to Marietta, by land, and on his return, at the mouth of Crooked Creek, three miles from the Garrison, discovered an old skiff, or a small boat, that had been thrown on shore among some driftwood by the high water. Nails being scarce and dear at that time, he concluded to go up the next moring with some tools, pull it to pieces and get out the nails. +While busily occupied with the old skiff, a war party, consisting of two Indians and a negro who had been adopted by their tribe, happened to be in that vicinity looking for an opportunity to kill or plunder the whites, heard him at work, and creeping up carefully to the edge of the bank, shot him, without his being aware of thier approach; as was sfterwards ascertained from on of the party, at the treaty of Greenville, in August following, where many things were disclosed in relation to the depredations on the settlements, that could only be learned from the Indians themselves. He was scalped, stripped of his clothing, his toos taken away, and his dead body left by the side of the skiff. As he did not return that night, fears were entertained of his fate, and the next morning a party of armed men went up, under the guidance of one of the rangers, where they found DAVIS as above related. He was brought down to the garrison and buried. His death was the most distressing as he was shortly to have been married to a daughter of Isaac BARKER, one of the inhabitans of the garrison, and his wedding suit already prepared. Had he followed the rules of the station, which stictly forbade anyone going out alone beyond gunshot of the block-house, he would have escaped his untimely fate. The victory over the Indians by Wayne, and their quiet demeanor, since, no doubt unduced him to think there was little or no danger. But as no treaty was yet concluded with the Indians, strict discipline was kept up in all the garrisons after that period, and no trust placed in their forbearance; for, although greatly humbled, their hatred of the whites was not lessened by their defeat. The day of the death of DAVIS, a party of four young men, headed by John JAMES, Jr., one of the most active and relolute of the borderers, proceeded down the Ohio, in a canoe, in pursuit of the murders of DAVIS. The rangers at Gallipolis had ascertained that a party of Indians were hunting on the head of Symmes’ creek, and from the direction pursued by the war party in their retreat, they were led to think they belonged to that band. With all deligence they hastened on to the mouth of the Big Kanawha, in expectation of being joined there by volunteers from the garrison; but none turned out, declining to do so on account of the armistice made with the Indians after their defeat by General WAYNE. Proceeding on to Gallipolis, and making known the object of their pursuit, four men volunteered their aid and joined them. From this place they hastened onward to Raccoon Creek, and ranged up that stream one day without making any discovery of the Indians. Here one of their men fell sick and turned back, while another had to accompany him, leaving only six to continue the pursuit. The following day they reached the head of Symmes’ creek, where is a large pond, about a mile and a quarter of a mile wide, a famous place for trapping beaver. They soon fell upon signs of the Indians, and on a bush by the edge of the pond found an Indian’s cap made of beaver skin. which he had left to mark the spot where his trap was set. Mr. MAMES took this into his own keeping. As it was near sunset, the party secreted themselves behind a large fallen tree, waiting for night, when they intended to attack the Indians in their camp, make one fire and rush on with their tomahawks, not thingking the hunting party could number more than eight or then men, but they subsequently found they amounted to near forty, divided into two camps, one on each sied of the pond. They had lain concealded by a short time, when an Indian, who had been out hunting came in sight, and was closely examining the trail made by the whites, knowing it was that of strangers. When he came within forty or fifty yards, on of the party, Joseph MILLER, fired and the Indian fell. As Mr. JAMES rushed up with his with his tomahawk he raised the war cry, and was instantly answered by his comrades in camp, distant not more than two or three hundred yards, for they came directly rushing up in force, before JAMES could accomplishe his purpose, and his party was obliged to retreat, as the Indians far out numbered them. Seeing the whites likely to escape, they set their dogs on the trail, who came yelping and barking at their heels, like hounds in pursuit of a fox. Fortunately it soon came on so dark that their enemies could not see their trail and followed only by the barking of the dogs. For a day or two previous it had rained heavily, and when they reached the east fork of the creek, it was too high for fording. They hastily made a raft of dry longs, but it became entangled in the bushes , in the creek bottom, which was all overflowed, so that they had to abandon it. Their escape this way being cut off, they were forced to return to the ridge, between the two branches, and travel up until they could -cross by fording. A little before morning they halted and rested until daylight, the dogs for some time having ceased to pursue them, or by barking give notice of their position. Soon after this they found a fordable place in the creek and crossed over. Here they lay, and hour or two, waiting for the Indians, expecting them to pursue the trail with daylight and intending to fire upon them when in the water; but they did not come, having probably crossed higher up in the stream. When they reached Raccoon Creek, that was also full, and had to be crossed on a raft. The party reached Gallipolis the next day at evening, much wearied with their toilsome and exciting journey. Colonel Robert SAFFORD of Gallipolis, then acting as a ranger, went out the next morning and found the trail of the Indians pursuing the whites to within a short distance of the twon. The pond on Symmes; creek is distant about one hundred miles from Belpre, and shows this to have been one of the most hazardous, daring, and long-continued pursuits, after a depredationg band of Indians, which occured during the war; reflecting great credit on the sspirited men who conducted it. It was the last warfare with the savages from this part of the territory. When at last the Indian war was ended, the farmilies who had been so long and intimately associated together in Farmers’ Castle, left their historic garrison to make once more homes for themselves in teh land now forever reclaimed from the savages. Near the site of Farmer’s Castle is the thriving village of Belpre, and just across the river lies the prosperous city of Parkersburg, tributes to the thrift and energy of this band of New England Pilgrims. Between the two towns lies the beautiful and historic island made famous by the names of Aaron BURR and Harman BLENNERHASSETT. Previous to its occupancy by the latter, it was divided into farms which were occupied by early settlers. One of there was Captain JAMES, who with his family, from which, alsa!, one member was missing, removed to Blennerhasset Island, where they lived for several years. About 1798, he purchased a tract of land in West Virginia, seven hundred acres in extent, at the junction of Stillwell Creek, and the little Kanawha river, six miles above Parkersburg. Captain JAMES, however, lived only a short time after removing his family to their new home, his death occuring at the close of the eighteenth century, the latter part of which had proved so eventful for him and for his family, both in New England and in the ‘Old Northwest.’ ........... (Captain John James and his wife Esther Denison James are buried in Wood County, West Virginia.) THE FAMILY OF JOHN and ESTHER DENISON JAMES (The book contains more information that is contained within this extraction.) JOHN JAMES b. probably at Exter, Rhode Island; d. about 1799, near Parkersburg, West Virginia. Married April 26, 1763 at Stonington, Conn. to ESTHER DENISON, b. April 23, 1746, at Stonington Conn.; d. after 1785, near Parkersburg, W. Va. Residence; Exeter, R. I.; Preston, Conn.; Belpre, O., and Wood county, W. Va. John James was a RW soldier, and a member of the Ohio Company. He came to Ohio in 1789. Children of John and Esther (Denison) James: (See below for additional info) Susannah, b. Oct. 1764. Anna, b. July 28, 1766, Preston, Conn. William, b. May 18, 1769, Preston, Conn. John, b. June 14, 1771, Preston, Conn. Hannah, b. Dec. 8, 1773, Preston, Conn. Esther, b. Sept. 22, 1775, d. Jan. 23, 1776 Abigail, b. March 17, 1777, Preston Conn. Polly, b. July 28, 1779, Stonington, Conn. Thomas, b. March 11, 1781 Esther, b. Jan. 3, 1783, Preston Conn. Simeon, b. Aprl. 29, 1785. SUSANNAH JAMES died unmarried, and is buried at Warren, O. ANNA JAMES died probably at Parkersburg, W. Va. She married Cleb Bailey. He was a merchant of Parkersburg, W. Va. in early days. More than a century ago he made a visit to England and whild there purchased three silk dresses. One was a sky blue broncade, which he presented to his fiancee, Anna James. A green brocade was given to hier sister, Hannah (James) Cook, and ther third one, of black, to Polly, wife of Seth Bailey. Anna wore hers as a wedding gown, and sixty years later, it was again used for the same purpose by her grandaugher, Emma Humphrey. Children of Caleb and Anna (James) Bailey: Charles P. John A. Sallie Emma Nancy Polly. WILLIAM JAMES lost his life in the Inidan Massacre at “Big Bottom,”, January, 1791 HON. JOHN JAMES. died on May 31, 1854 at Jackson, O., Married February 16, 1798 to Nancy Cook, b. June 15, 1775 at Long Plain, Mass.; d. May 31, 1849, at Jackson, O., She was the dau. of Captain Joseph Cook, Jr. Residence Jackson, O. At the age of 16, John James lived for a time at Reading, Pa., but came to Ohio with his family a year or two later. He served in the Indian wars, gaing considerable prominence. From 1795 to 1800 he lived at Blennerhassett Island, W. Va.; afterward on James Island, now known as Neales Island. He remvoed from there in 1806 to what is now Jackson, O., but was then only a salt works in teh wilderness. John James was 6’ 2” in height, and weighed 220 pounds; was a successful business man, and a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He served in the war of 1812 under +General Roop, and was afterward a member of the Ohio senate. OBITUARY-- “Died: At the residence of Daniel Hoffman, in the town of Jackson, on Wednesday, May 31, 1854, the Hon. John James. The deceased was born in New London county, Connecticut, June 14, 1771, and emigrated to this state and landed at Fort Harmar in 1788. His father and family came the following year and settled on James’ Island, about two miles above Parkersburg, W. Va. During his residence at Harmar and at Parkersburg, W. Va., his name is intimately associated with the pioneers of that day in the trials, difficulties, sufferings and danger of a pioneer life, and at all times +when necessary, he was an active and vigilant spy against the Indians, and in that capacity he traversed most of the counties of southern Ohio and western Virginia. In 1790 he visited the Spanish settlements on the Mississsippi as a trader; his goods were seized and confiscated by the authorities, and he and his companions were compelled to travel on foot from Kaskaskia to Parkersburg, through a wilderness country inhabited only by tribes of Indians, then at war with our people. On his return, he organized a second expedition for the same purpose, and in crossing the falls of the Ohio, one of his boats was sunk and those on board perished. On the 16th of February, 1798, he married Nancy Cooke, a daughter of Joseph Cooke, of Parkersburg, W. Va. She died May 31, 1849. In 1807, he came to this county, where he resided until his death, during which time he was elected to the senate and the house of representatives in the state of Ohio, and associate judge of Jackson county. The deceased was a member of the Methodist chuch over forty years, and was a zealous and enthursiastic supporter of the religion of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in his last sickness, during which he suffered much and losng (being confined several months) his confidence in the Savior appeared to grow stronger as he came near his time of departure, and but a few hours before his death, he sang with all his usual warmth his favorite hymn; “A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify; A never dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky.” He had a large stalwart frame; kind and benevolent face; was an affectionate husband and father; a sincere christian, benovolent to the poor, and a true hearted friend. He lies buried in the Jamestown cemetery which derives its name from Major John James, on whose land it was laid out; his grave being on the Indian mound in the cemetery. In the death of Mr. James, on of the old landmarkes disappears. The name of James has been associated prominently with the entire history of Jackson; and “Jamestown” of itself, has come to be quite an important part of the place. The james are of good stock, and the fmaily record holds an important place in the pioneer history of Ohio and the west.” --- (End of obituary) Children of John and Nancy (Cook) James: Nancy, b. Nov. 22, 1798 Julia, b. Apr. 10, 1800 Elizabeth, b. Mar. 7, 1802 Roanna, b. Feb. 4, 1804 John D., b. Mar. 23, 1806 William, b. Mar. 23, 1806, d. Aug. 28, 1806 Harmeon, b. Sept. 29, 1808 Eliza, b. Dec. 13, 1810. HANNAH JAMES died May 12, 1843 in Parkersburg, W. Va., and is buried in the old Cook buring ground. She married 1. Benjamin Johnson; 2. Bennett Cook, a brother of Nancy (Cook) James. He was born Oct. 3, 1776 at Long Plain, Mass., d. Oct. 8, 1845 at Parkersburg, W. Va. Residence, Parkersburg, W. Va. Bennet Cook was the 3rd child of Capt. Joseph Cook, Jr., and went to sea while yet a boy, and was absent in Europe when his parents removed to the west. Upon his return he joined them accompanied by his uncle, Pardon Cook. He purchased a farm of one hundred acres and built the large brick dwelling house still standing on Jan. 1, 1907. He was appointed justice of the peace for Wood county, Virginia, and in 1826 and 1827 became exofficio high sheriff of the same county. He became, later in life, presiding justice of the county court. Children of Bennett and Hannah (Johnson) Cook: Harriet, b. July 17, 1807; d. Oct. 30, 1820 Paul, b. Oct. 2, 1809 James, b. Oct. 1810, d. 1811 Bennett, b. Feb. 8, 1812 John James, b. Jan. 18, 1814. ABIGAIL JAMES died on June 15, 1832 in Jackson county, Ohio. Married March 26, 1801 in Wood county, West Virginia, to David Paine. He was born Sept. 14, 1775, in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, d. Jan. 5, 1856 in Jackson county, Ohio. Residence, Preston, Conn., Wood county, West Virginia and Jackson county, Ohio. Children of David and Abigail (James) Paine. Eliza, b. Mar. 13, 1802; d. Mar. 1804 David, b. Oct. 7, 1804; d. 1805 Melissa, b. Oct. 24, 1805 Lemuel Shepherd, b. Aug. 15, 1807 Thomas Denison, b. Sept. 27, 1810 Sarah, b. May 31, 1813 Johnathan Douglas, b. Sept. 8, 1815 Caroline, b. May 25, 1817. POLLY JAMES, d. Sept. 4, 1852 at Warren, O. Married 1800 to Seth Bailey Jr. He was born Easton, Mass., died Mar. 7, 1861 at Warren, O., (son of Seth and Deborah (Packard) Bailey.) Authority: Family record compiled by Ellen Francis Bailey. Resience, Warren, O.; now Constitutuion, O. Polly (James) Bailey was a woman of great force of character and at one time was the only professing christian in the township. She was one of the constituent members of the Warren Presbyterian church. During the sickly season of 1822-23, when almost every family for miles around, lost one or more members, they carried their large family of eleven children through without the loss of one, and without the aid of a physician. Beside their own large family they brought up five nieces and nephews, and another little girl who was left an orphan. Seth Bailey, a native of Massachusetts, emigrated to Virginia in 1798. While there he married Polly, the daugher of Captain John James, who at that time owned Vienna Island, Neals Island and a large tract of land in Virginia. Polly recieved as a marriage protion Vienna Island. Mr. Bailey built a cabin on the island and the work of clearing in 1802. He at this time owne one hourse, two oxen and one cow. The island was densely covered with immense trees, and clearing progressed slowly and involved the hardest kind of labor. Winter set in before a shelter could be provided for the stock, but nature had supplied that. A sycamore tree, seventeen feet in its greatest diameter, and fifteen in its shortest, was discovered to be hollow. A door was cut in one side and the interior found large enough to afford a comfortable shelter for all the stock. In after years the tree caught fire and burned to the ground. Mr. Bailey one year later planted corn inside the remaining snags and harvested from it one bushel. Early in 1805, a frame house was built opposite the head of the island. This house became the Bailey homestead. (from history of Washington county, Ohio, pg. 635) Seth Bailey was one of the pioneer settlers of Ohio. At the time of his death, he was one of the most venerable, as he was one of the most respected and esteemed of the citizens of Washington county. Having secured for himself a sufficient estate, he spent his last years in freedom from care, and exhibited a rare instance of a genial and hearty old age. He was a lover of education and good morals; and was for many years a member of the Presbyterian church (Bailey Genealogy.) Children of Seth and Polly (James) Bailey: Maria, b. Apr. 6, 1803. Elizabeth, b. Sept. 1804; died unmarried Jan. 10, 1872. Seth, b. Sept. 9, 1806 Charles Pease, b. 1808 John James, b. Apr. 15, 1810 Susan Uhl, b. 1811 Bennett Cook, b. Nov. 28, 1813 William Denison, b. May 24, 1816 George Washington, b. Dec. 12, 1817 Augustus Stone, b. 1819 Thomas James, b. Apr. 22, 1822; died unmarried in 1882. ESTHER JAMES married ______ Gillespi and removed to the west. Ancestors and Descendants of Captain John James and Esther Denison of Preston Connecticut Compiled by Clara Paine Ohler, Lima, Ohio, 1912 (222 pages)