Life of Rufus Putnam, with extracts from his journal and an account of the first settlement in Ohio

Chapter I.--chiluhood. Youth, Apprknticeship . Page

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13 16

II. -FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR

III.-INDIANWAR CONTINUED-JOURNAL OF RUFUS PUTNAM .5

V.-MARRI.AGE-EXPLORATIONS IN THE SOUTH 4°

VI.-REVOLUTIONARY WAR-SIEGE OF BOSTON-EVACU.ATION 43

.... 60 VII.— AFTER THE WAR

63 VII!. -SETTLEMENT AT MARIETTA •

IX.— CONCLUSION

Introduction

MEMOIR OF THE PUTNAM FAMILY.

BY RUFUS PUTNAM.

John Putnam came from Buckinghamshire, England, Anno Domini 1634, and settled in Salem, Massachusetts. He brought three sons with him, viz.: Thomas, Nathaniel and John. He, that is the father, died at the age of eighty years, very suddenly. He ate his supper, went to prayer in his family, and died before he went to sleep.

Edward Putnam, grandson of the first John, gives the above account in a manuscript dated 1733, himself being then seventy-nine years of age, and adds: " From these three proceeded twelve males ; from these twelve, forty males ; and from these forty, eight-two males. There were none of the name of Putnam in New England but those of this family." "With respect to their situation in life," he remarks, "I can say with the Psalmist: ' I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread,' except of God, who provides for all. For God had given to the generations of my fathers, Agar's petition — 'neither poverty nor riches' — but hath fed us with food convenient for us, and their children have been able to help others in their need. The third generation have all gone to their account but three, and he that gives this account is one of them, aged seventy-nine years."

In 1741, at the age of eighty-seven, he gives the names of the following heads of families of the fourth generation, viz.: Edward, Elisha, Joseph, Ezra, Isaac, Nathaniel, Daniel, Benjamin, Tarrent, Cornelius, Stephen, Israel, Thomas, Edward, Archelaus, Joseph, Samuel, John, Amos, Josiah, James, Caroline, Jethro, John, Jonathan, Henry, Holyoak, Jacob, William, David, Ely, Joshua, Henry — 32. But how many there were at that lo INTRODUCTION.

time, of that generation, he says he could not tell. This good, old man died in the year 1747, in the ninety-fourth year of his age.

The Putnam family, as before stated, settled at Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1634, and they were very numerous at that day in that and the neighboring towns. However, they are a family by no means so governed by local habits as some others. They now spread through all New England and many other parts of the United States; nor have I ever found one of the name but was descended from the Salem family. It would be in vain to attempt, at this day, to give an account of all the male descendants of the family. However, I shall attempt a genealogy, as far as has come to my knowledge:

First, Thomas Putnam, the eldest son of our ancestor, John Putnam, had four sons — Thomas, Edward, Archelaus and Joseph. Edward was born July 4, 1654, and died at upwards of ninety-three, before mentioned. His sons were the fourth generation, viz.: Edward, born April 29, 1682, lived to an old age; Holyoak, born September 18, 1683, killed by the Indians; *Elisha, born November 3, 1685, died June 10, 1745; Joseph, born November i, 1687; Nehemiah, born December 20, 1694, "^'sd young; Ezra, born April 29, 1696, died aged fifty-one ; Isaac, born March 14, 1698, died aged fifty-nine.

Of the fifth generation, sons of Edward^, viz.: Edward^ settled in Sutton, died at an advanced age, leaving a numerous issue ; Holyoak, who also settled in Sutton ; and Miles, who first settled in Middleton.

Fifth generation, sons of Elisha, third son of Edward ^ : Elisha, born December, 17x5, died in the army, 1758; Nehemiah, born March 22, 1719, died at Sutton, November 27, 1791 ; Jonathan, born July 19, 1721, died at Sutton ; Stephen, born April 4, 1728, died at Northampton March 5, 1803; Amos, born July 22, 1730, died August 19, 1804; fRufus, born April 9, 1730.

Fifth generation, sons of Joseph, fourth son of Edward^ : Oliver and Joseph.

*Elisha removed from Salem and settled in Sutton, May, 1725. Isaac also removed to Sutton soon after. ^Commenced the settlement at Marietta, on the Ohio, April 7, 1788, and arrived there with his family November, 1790.

INTRODUCTION. ii

Fifth generation, sons of Ezra, sixth son of Edward^: Nehemiah, died young. Ezra had three sons ; all died without male issue.

Fifth generation, sons of Israel, seventh son of Edward^ : Phineas, Asaph, Nathan, Isaac, Edward, Daniel. Edward died young. The others have numerous families.

Sixth generation, descending from Elisha, son of Edward^, viz.: sons of Elisha^ : Andrew, Elisha, Antepas, Jockton, Luke, William. Sons of Nehemiah — Aaron, Reuben, Joseph, Benjamin. Sons of Jonathan — Adonijah, Trolinsbee, Jonathan, Francis, John. Sons of Stephen — Solomon, John, Elisha, Gideon, Lewis, David, Rufus. Son of Amos — Paul, who died in childhood. Sons of Rufus — *Ayres, William Rufus, *Franklin, Edwin.

Seventh generation, grandsons of Rufus, son of Elisha. Sons of William Rufus — William, died a few days after birth ; William Rufus, born June 13, 1812. Sons of Edwin — Franklin, Rufus, William Rice.

In reviewing this memoir, in justice to the character of my father, Elisha Putnam, I ought to mention that he was much respected as a citizen and Christian, was town clerk many years and deacon of the church, and represented the town of Sutton in the general court, how many years I cannot say.

Descendants of Joseph, the youngest son of Thomas and grandson of our venerable ancestor. He was half-brother to Edward^, whose descendants have been noticed :

Fourth generation, sons of the above Joseph — William, David, Israel^.

Fifth generation, sons of David — William, Allen, Joseph, Israel, Jesse.

Fifth generation, sons of flsrael'^ : Sixth generation — Israel, David (who died young), Chuyler.

Sixth generation, sons of William, son of David^ — Andrew and William.

Sixth generation, sons of Joseph, son of David^ — Jesse.

Sixth generation, sons of Israel, son of David'— Allen, David, Israel.

* Died in childhood.

fThis is the celebrated General Putnam, born at Danvers, Mass., 1716 ; settled at Porafret, Conn.

12 INTRODUCTION.

Sixth generation, sons of Israel, son of Israel^ — Israel, Aaron Waldow, David, William Pitt, George Washington.

Sixth generation, sons of Daniel, son of General Israel — William.

Sixth generation, sons of Chuyler, son of General Israel — John, Nathan, P. Schuyler, Oliver.

Seventh generation, sons of Aaron Waldow, son of Colonel Israel — William Pitt, Aaron Waldo, Israel Loring.

Seventh generation, sons of David, son of *Colonel Israel — Benjamin Perkins, Charles M., Peter R. , Douglas, David, Murray, George.

The descendants of the branches of the Putnam family are very numerous, an account of whom has not been attempted for want of documents, and it is to be observed that, of the thirty-two heads of families mentioned by my grandfather in 1741, the descendants of only eight of them have been noticed, and those very partially in several instances.

* Colonel Israel Putnam, with all his family, removed to the Ohio between 1788 and 1797 ; settled at Marietta and Belpre.

CHAPTER I.

CHILDHOOD YOUTH APPRENTICESHIP.

As MAY BE seen, by reference to the genealogy in the introduction, Elisha Putnam, the father of Rufus, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, November 3, 1685. He married Susannah Fuller of Danvers. In 1725 he moved, with his wife and three children, to Sutton, where he purchased a farm and continued to be a tiller of the ground, as his fathers had been before him. Three sons were born to him after his removal. Rufus, born April 9, 1738, was the youngest. The Rev. Dr. Hall said of him: " Deacon Elisha Putnam was a very useful man in the civil and ecclesiastical concerns of the place. He was for several years deacon of the church, town clerk, town treasurer, and representative in the general court or colonial assembly in Massachusetts. He died in June, 1745, in the joyful hope of the glory of God."

If Rufus was born under a propitious sky, it was clouded over before he had well begun the journey of life; for he was but little more than seven years old when his father died. To the little boy the loss of such a father was a calamity that could not be measured, and the consequences were as lasting as his life. The first two years of his orphanage were passed at the house of his maternal grandfather in Danvers. While there, he was sent to school, where he learned to read, and thus secured for himself the key to the labyrinth of knowledge. In 1747 his mother married Captain John Sadler, and Rufus went back to his home. But it was a home without a father, for Captain Sadler but illy supplied the place of the good man that death had taken away. He was illiterate himself, and what was worse and more to be deplored, he despised learning. The little boy Rufus was not only not sent to school, but, so far as his stepfather had the power, all opportunities for improvement at liome were denied him. No books were furnished him, and, if by chance, he obtained them, he was allowed but scant opportunity to use them. His aspirations were scoffed at, and his efforts to go to the living fountains to slake his thirst for knowledge were ridiculed and derided. Captain Sadler kept a house of entertainment, and by diligently waiting upon guests, Rufus sometimes became the possessor of a few pennies, which he invested in ammunition, and, with the help of an old shotgun, killed partridges. These he sold, and with the proceeds of the sales he bought a spellingbook and an arithmetic.

From these, without help or guidance, he learned what he could. There were many discouragem.ents thrown in the way of his doing even so much as this. He was not allowed even the faint light of a tallow candle to enable him to use, in his own behalf the long winter evenings. But worse than this and harder to bear was the ridicule which he was made to bear from him who stood to him in the place of a father. Yet all that did not avail to make him give up his determination to know. The divine spark was in him, and could not be quenched or destroyed. There is something very pathetic in the earnest striving after knowledge of this little, fatherless boy, in the face of discouragements that might well have daunted the brave heart of one that was older. In his latter days he wrote out an account of some of the main parts of his life, for the benefit of his children and descendants. The manuscript, with its yellow paper, is before the writer, and will be not infrequently quoted in the progress of this writing. He says: "After I was nine years old, I went to school in all only three weeks." Yet, by dint of persevering effort, he went as far as "the rule of three" in arithmetic and learned to write so as to be intelligible, even when quite young, and subsequently he became sufficiently master of the English language and the art of expressing thought therein on paper, to leave letters and manuscripts behind him that will, in vigor of thought and clearness of expression, compare favorably with the productions of educated men of the same period.

In March, 1754, when in his sixteenth year, Rufus was apprenticed to Daniel Matthews of Brookfield, to learn the trade of millwright. He says: " By him my education was as much neglected as by Captain Sadler, except that he did not deny me the use of a light for study in the winter evenings. I turned my attention chiefly to arithmetic, geography and history. Had I been as much engaged in learning to write, with spelling and grammar, I might have been much better qualified to fulfill the duties of the succeeding scenes of life which, in providence, I have been called to pass through. I was zealous to obtain knowledge, but having no guide, I knew not where to begin nor what course to pursue. Having neglected spelling and grammar when I was young, I have suffered much through life on that account." The account is closed with a pathetic appeal to his descendants: "Oh! my children, beware you neglect not the education of any under your care, as I was neglected."

From sixteen to nineteen Rufus Putnam was engaged in learning the trade of a millwright, interspersed with more or less farming. How much soever the mental faculties suffered from neglect during this period, the physical powers were in health and prospered to an unusual degree. When he was eighteen, Rufus had the stature and strength of a mature man. He was nearly six feet in height, with brawny limbs and great muscular power. He was as good as the best in all feats that required strength of muscle or power of endurance. A brave heart beat in his bosom, and in his soul there was the high resolve to act justly toward all and always be found on the side of right. From the beginning to the end of his career, he was never known to prove recreant to a trust, or fail to fulfill faithfully and well' the requirements of any duty that devolved upon him. The hardships of his early life were schoolmasters to fit him, in many ways, for what lay stretched out before him in the future. He was toughened for the life of peril and adventure that a common soldier in a frontier army was compelled to encounter, for the time drew near when he was to lay aside the implements of trade and husbandry and take up the weapons of war.

Chapter II. French And Indian War

The conflict known as the "Seven Years' War" in Europe, on the American continent is known as the "French and Indian War. " The origin and object of the struggle on the eastern continent were diverse from those on the western.

Frederick the Great, king of Prussia, had wrested the important province of Silesia from Maria Theresa, empress of Austria. When she thought that a propitious time for retaking it had come, she made the attempt. One European nation after another took sides, and the war became general. There was also a difference between England and France in regard to power and possession in India. In America, the war was a contest between France and England for the possession of the valley of the Ohio. Finally, all the Catholic powers of Europe, together with Russia, were on one side ; Frederick and England on the other. The war thus became a struggle between Protestantism and Catholicism — between the new ideas and the old — between freedom of thought and worship and the rule of one over many — between the right of self-government and deference to individual opinion and the worn-out feudal principle of the elevation of the prince at the expense of the people.

Frederick was the leader and champion of Protestantism on the continent. For him prayers ascended from the humble homes of Christians in New England — prayers that the God of battles would give him success in every endeavor.

The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, concluded in 1748, had left unsettled the greater part of the differences that had caused the war. So far as England was concerned, almost the only gain was the acknowledgment on the part of France that the House of Hanover had the right to the throne of England. From that time the pretender sank into oblivion and had no following. The treaty was, however, unsatisfactory to all the parties concerned, and proved to be scarcely more than an armistice. Only a few years passed till war broke out afresh.

It was by no means the beginning of strife between France and England for the possession of territory on the western continent. There had been struggles between the two parties, with varying results, as to the ownership of tracts in the north. Now the gauge of battle was the fair lands that border La Belle Riviere. In regard to the claims of the two parties to the country in dispute, looking at it from a moral point of view, it would be difficult to take sides with either. Sympathy rather goes out to the poor red men, who were to be despoiled by whichsoever party proved itself most able in the fight. To them, of right, the whole belonged.

The claim of France rested upon discovery and nominal possession. Joliet and Marquette, in 1673, had gone from the head waters of the Fox river to the upper tributaries of the Wisconsin, down which river they went a seven days' journey to the Mississippi, and for an entire month, in their light canoe, continued their perilous journey. Passing the mouth of the Arkansas, they terminated their voyage at the thirty-third parallel of latitude. Returning, they entered the mouth of the Illinois and went up that stream. Finally they reached Lake Michigan and the present site of Chicago. Their journey did not give them the opportunity of deciding whether the Mississippi emptied into the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific ocean. It was left for Robert de la Salle to solve that problem. This brave adventurer, in a second effort, went down the Illinois td its junction with the Mississippi, and the Father of Waters carried him and his men on his bosom till he brought them to where he loses himself in the Gulf of Mexico — a grand performance on the part of La Salle, which ought to make his name famous through all the ages.

The country thus revealed to her, through the courage and enterprise of her brave sons, France speedily endeavored to make a sure possession. Posts had previously been established in the north at Frontenac and Niagara and the Straits of Mackinaw. Having already settlements in the south, they wished to connect the two by a line of forts extending from the lakes, by way of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and so shut up the English between the Atlantic ocean and the Alleghany mountains. These discoveries and possessions formed the basis of the claims of the French.

The claims of the English rested upon as baseless a fabric as those of the French. The discoveries of the Cabots and others on the Atlantic coast, they claimed, gave them the right of ownership to all the territory lying between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Some of the charters of the original colonies extended the grants from ocean to ocean. But when the contest with France began, the English shifted their ground. They then claimed the territory because of purchases from and treaties with the Indians. As early as 1726, the Iroquois, or Six Nations, were induced to give a formal deed by which these western lands were conveyed to England, in trust, "to be defended and protected by his majesty to and for the use of the grantors and their heirs." To be sure, this deed was somewhat invalidated by the fact of the doubt as to whether the Iroquois had any right to transfer the valley of the Ohio to any one. They did not hold it in actual possession, and there were other tribes that did, and they claimed that the Iroquois had never conquered them and had no right or title to a foot of the land.

Another claim of the English was based upon actual purchase. A treaty was made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1744, the contracting parties representing the same interests as in the previous case. One William Marshe, who went as secretary to the commissioners of Maryland, has given a full account of the journey thither and the proceedings afterward. Time, that destroys so much, has left the account intact. After describing the tribulations of the journey — among which were bad roads and "villainous bacon," which, however, was mollified by "fresh eggs and fine tongues and hams," and "serry rum and water called bumbo" — he gives an accaunt of their arrival in Lancaster and the subsequent proceedings. He says: " After eating a good dinner" — we are glad to hear that he had a good dinner to gladden his heart — "|and engaged lodgings," they went out to take a look at the town, which had then been settled some sixteen years. They "found it well laid out, but very dirty and inhabited by a mixture of Dutch, Scotch, Irish, English and Israelites. Most of the houses were of wood, two stories high, and dirty." It would seem that each of the colonies represented at this time made separate terms with the Indians. It will be remembered that these eastern colonies still considered the Pacific ocean their western boundary. The commissioners from Maryland agreed to pay two hundred pounds for the land upon which any settlements had been or should be made in their province. Those from Virginia paid two hundred pounds in gold and the value of a like sum in goods, with the promise of additional payments as the settlements increased. How much "bumbo" was given to the Indians in order to secure a state of mellowness that would induce them to make such a treaty, the narrator does not say.

Such was the famous treaty of Lancaster upon which so much stress was subsequently laid. Here was an actual sale and veritable payments received. This and the previous grant of the Six Nations constituted the sum and substance of English claims to the Ohio valley and adjacent territories. So far as present needs and wishes were concerned, the English colonies did not expect to cultivate the soil. They only wished to be favorably situated to carry on trade with the Indians. The French had found the sam.e a lucrative business, and the cupidity of the English made them wish not merely to share but to monopolize the commerce. Previous to this period, in 1748, Thomas Lee and twelve other Virginians — including Lawrence and Augustine Washington, the brothers of George Washington, together with a Mr. Hanbury, a rich merchant of London — had formed an association called the " Ohio Company. " The company petitioned the king for a grant of land west of the mountains. Their prayer was heard and favorably answered. The governor of Virginia was ordered to grant the petitioners a half million acres of land within the bounds of the colony, beyond the Alleidianies; two hundred thousand acres, to be located at once, to be held for ten }'ears, free of quitrent, provided the company placed thereon one hundred families and built a fort for their protection. The first public service upon which George Washington was employed was undertaken in behalf of this company. He was then only nineteen years of age. The fidelity and tact with which he performed the duties growing out of this mission were an earnest indication of what might be expected of him when he had reached a maturer age and was called to more important duties.

This movement on the part of the English stirred up the French to adopt new measures to establish their claim. One of their methods for doing so was of a rather novel character. Louis Celoron was sent out to place leaden plates at the mouths of rivers and on mounds, upon which plates were engraved the claims of his high mightiness the king of France. Long afterwards one of these'plates was found at the mouth of the Muskingum, bearing the date August, 1749. They reasoned that by establishing a claim to the river at its mouth, they made sure of all the territory bordering not only that particular river, but all its affluents — a broad claim, certainly, for so narrow a base. But the English were not inclined to surrender their demands on account of these harmless pieces of lead.

The lead must be administered in quite another fashion to induce them to surrender and give over the contest.

Each party prepared to dispute the claims of the other. The French, starting from their headquarters at Presque Isle (now Erie, Pennsylvania), built a fortress which they called Le Bceuf,on a tributary of the Allegheny; following down the stream to its junction with the Allegheny, they built another fort — Venango. From here they proceeded to a British post on the Miami, broke up the settlements and sent the men in the garrison, as prisoners, to Canada ; or, as some authorities have it, put them to death. The Ohio Company also were awake to the importance of vigorous effort to secure their western possessions. They sent out a party of thirty-three men, under the command of a man named Trent. The object of the expedition was to build a fort at the forks of the Ohio. So urgent did the enterprise seem, that the men were sent out at mid-winter. The youthful Washington had seen and proclaimed the importance of this position. He says : "I spent some time in viewing the rivers and the land at the fork, which I think extremely well situated for a fort, as it has absolute command of both rivers. . . . The rivers are each a quarter of a mile or more across, and run here very nearly at right angles, the Allegheny bearing northeast and the Monongahela southeast. The former of these two is a very rapid and swift-running stream, the other deep and still, without any perceptible fall."

This point was looked upon by both parties as the key to the Ohio valley, and whichsoever gained that could control the whole.

The English party began their preparations for building the fort in all haste, but they were foiled in their attempt. The fort was still in a very immature condition when, spring having melted the ice in the Allegheny, the French came swooping down from Venango, their fleet having been all ready and waiting for the melting of the waters. The feeble garrison, in a fort in so unfinished a condition, were unable successfully to resist the attack. The English surrendered and the French took possession and went on to complete the fort, to which they gave the name of Duquesne, in honor of the governor of Canada.

As soon as might be. Colonel Washington was commissioned to raise a force and go out and recapture the fort. The difficulties in the way of accomplishing this were many. The roads were wretched, and over them the men were compelled to drag the cannon to be used in the attack they expected to make on the fort. It was not until the last of May that

Washington reached the Great Meadows. There he learned that a French force had been sent out from the garrison to meet and, if possible, defeat him. In consequence, Washington sent out scouts to scour the country and bring him information in regard to the enemy's movements. Meanwhile, he advanced cautiously on the road leading to the fort. The French also were on the alert. A detachment was soon met. Washington, with his musket in his hand, advanced to meet them at the head of his command. They were soon within fighting distance. The forest echoed the young commander's order, "Fire!" The hills repeated the sound, but had not done so until the command was obeyed. The conflict was of short duration. Jumonville, the leader of the French, was killed, and ten of his men ; twenty-one were made prisoners. That was the first blood shed in the French and Indian war, which lasted seven years. It was also the beginning of the military career of George Washington.

Although the victor in this unimportant skirmish, Washington learned enough of the condition of the fort to know that there was no possibility of his being able to attack it successfully with the small number of men in his command. He went to work, therefore, to build a fort where he was, hoping that he could so intrench himself as to hold it until reinforcements could arrive. To it he gave the name of Fort Necessity. Here he waited for supplies and additional troops. He waited in vain ; they did not come.

Meanwhile French troops were gathering in large numbers at Fort Duquesne. Finally, Washington was attacked and compelled to capitulate. But he obtained honorable terms, and on the fourth of July the little band of soldiers marched out of Fort Necessity with all their accoutrements. The French now considered themselves secure in the possession of this important point in western Pennsylvania, and employed themselves in strengthening their forts at Crown Point, Niagara and elsewhere.

To the wise men in the colonies it had been evident long before this that the indispensable thing for the welfare of the colonies was union. The want of it was a source of weakness, and would prevent successful effort in every direction. Benjamin Franklin was one of the stoutest advocates. Very much through his influence a convention was called to meet in Albany. There was a two-fold object in the meeting. First, to renew the treaty with the Iroquois and bind them more securely to their interest; and, secondly, to form a union so as to bring about concerted action on the part of the colonies; for by this time it was evident to the most superficial observer that a struggle with the French was imminent, and that when it came, it would be no child's play.

Franklin was appointed to draft a constitution that would bind together the colonies and bring about united effort. The constitution was drawn up and accepted by the delegates, but when submitted to their constituents it was rejected by them because it gave too much power to the king, and it met with the same fate at the hands of the king because it allowed too much authority to the people.