Nature Carries On

      While much has changed from early pioneer days, one thing changes little: nature. Summer gives us nature in full force. August nights in the woods start at dusk with lightning bugs, birds singing, and the plaintive buzzing of seasonal cicadas. After dark there is a din of whirring crickets, tree frogs, and squawking katydids. Recently it dawned on me – settlers two centuries ago saw and heard the same things.

     Meriwether Lewis at the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition floated down the Ohio River. His journal in September 1803: "observed a number of squirrels swiming the Ohio River...” Squirrels migrated then - millions of them. Lewis said his dog Seaman recovered several squirrels, and “I thought them when fryed a pleasent food." On September 13 Lewis stopped at Marietta. There he "... observed many passenger pigeons...". Now extinct, their huge flocks often blocked the sun.

     What's warm weather without bugs? Col. John May was "tormented beyond measure by myriads of gnats. They not only bite surprisingly but get down one's throat." Bugs (Ok, insects) could be dangerous. Mosquitoes bore diseases, such as malaria. Many were the poignant cases of sickness and death. Civic leader Ephraim Cutler moved from New England to Marietta in 1795. On the journey two of their children died of illness. Cutler himself was bedridden on arriving here. Several times, including 1822 and 1823, there were epidemics that infected hundreds. In late 1822, 95 people died in Marietta, which then had a population of 2,000.

     The buzzing periodical cicadas have been around for millenia; the first experience of pioneers was in 1795. Their scientific name is magicicada septendecim, attesting in Latin to its "magical" reappearance every 17 years. Scientist and historian Samuel Hildreth was one of the first in the country to observe the cycle, write about it, and draw illustrations.

Periodical Cicada from Roger Hall Illustration 

at inkart.com

Samuel Hildreth was a gifted artist. This shows the life cycle of a butterfly. From findagrave.com

     The rivers offered water for settlers and for transportation – but were fickle. Thomas Walcutt in February 1790: "Rivers choked with ice, which stopped all river traffic." A week later, "At sunrise water rising fast...before we could get our breakfast done, water came in so fast that the floor was afloat..." With no locks and dams, rivers had shallows, deep pools, riffles, and slack water. One could wade across during dry spells and walk over them when frozen.

     Rivers provided food. In 1790 James Patterson caught a 96 lb catfish. He had set out a trotline, then anchored his canoe and slept. The fish hooked itself and managed to drag the anchored canoe into deep water near an island – where Patterson found himself upon waking. Meriwether Lewis saw "a great number of Fish of different kinds, the Stergeon, Bass, Cat fish, pike.” Walcutt marveled at another water critter, a crayfish: "a complete lobster in miniature about two inches in length…found in streams and springs." 

                           Crayfish - Can Stock Photo

     The area teemed with plant life. Towering trees provided needed lumber for construction, but their shade hindered growth of crops. One of today's nuisance plants also bedeviled settlers; Colonel John May reported "feeling the effects of poison ivy" after clearing land. Plants also were a food source. Ever heard of nettle, celandine, and purslane? They helped settlers survive periods of famine early on. Historian Samuel Hildreth: "(the) tender tops (of nettle) were palatable and nutritious. The young, juicy plants of celandine afforded also a... pleasant dish.” Hildreth, also a scientist, was awed by this plant life. He observed that purslane grew "as if by magic" when exposed to sunlight from "seeds scattered ages before, by the Creator of all things.”

     Mark your calendars: the periodical cicadas will return here in 2033. The cycle of God’s creation goes on.

Prince Louis and Francis the Baker

      This is an abbreviated version for newspaper of an earlier post, “The Royal Visitors,” about Prince Louis Philippe of France’s visit to the Marietta area.. To read the full version, click here.

     In July 1839, King Louis Philippe I of France received an American visitor, a Mr. Hughes, the American charge d’affaires in Stockholm. After introductions, conversation turned to the King’s visit to America in the late 1790’s.

King Louis: “Have you ever been at Marietta?”

Mr. Hughes, surprised at the familiar connection, said yes! He had lived there for several years.

King: “Did you know a French baker there, named Thierry?” Francis Thierry was a French immigrant who arrived in Marietta in 1790 with his wife and two children.

Mr. Hughes answered that indeed he knew Thierry.

King, explaining with amusement: “Well, I once carried him away from his family,” referring to a decades-earlier "kidnapping" incident during Louis Philippe’s visit to Marietta in 1797.

     Louis Philippe De’Orleans, later King Louis Philippe I, visited the United States with his two brothers in 1796 and 1797. He was anxious to see natural wonders, Indians, and the backwoods of the new country. The King often amazed visitors with his memory of minute details of his American tour decades earlier.

           Portrait by James Sharple of Prince Louis Philippe at the time of his American visit in 1797.   

     Toward the end of their American tour, Prince Louis and his brothers visited Marietta on a frigid December day in 1797. They were floating down the Ohio River on a keelboat, headed to New Orleans for a return trip to Europe. River travel was treacherous with the ice, swift currents, and snags. They pressed on anyway. At Marietta they stopped for supplies. Louis Philippe wanted fresh bread and was directed to Francis Thierry, a French baker living in Marietta. Thierry fired up his oven to begin baking while the Frenchmen toured Marietta. They were fascinated by the Indian mound earthworks and made a sketch of them.

     As they prepared to leave Marietta, Mr. Thierry rushed the fresh bread to their boat on the Muskingum River. But ice on the river was breaking up at that exact moment. The boat lurched away from the shore - with Thierry still on board - to avoid the ice. He was frightened and visualized never seeing his family again. He was relieved to be returned to dry land by canoe when the ice danger passed. The future King and his party continued down the Ohio River, grateful for the fresh bread. He later amused listeners, such as Mr. Hughes, in retelling the adventure of "kidnapping" a French baker at Marietta.

     There was another Marietta connection during his American tour. He had a chance meeting with pioneer leader Ephraim Cutler who recorded the event in his journal. Cutler met two Frenchmen while boiling salt at the "Salt Works" on Salt Creek in Muskingum County, Ohio. He was working there as a volunteer with a friend, Peter Noblaise, a Frenchman from Gallipolis, Ohio.

     The two visitors asked to stay with Cutler and Noblaise that night at their cabin. Cutler noted that the three Frenchmen became "quite loquacious in their native language." Noblaise was a good singer and sang the Marseilles hymn and several French airs. Cutler reported that one of the men asked him detailed questions about the Ohio Company, and the settlements at Marietta and Gallipolis. After midnight they retired; Ephraim gave him his bunk and bear skin. Cutler learned the next day that the man was Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, the future King of France.

     Louis was king from 1830 to 1848 when he was forced to abdicate. He was the last king of France; the monarchy ended with the French Revolution of 1848. He treasured memories of his American visit; stating that it profoundly influenced his beliefs and judgment during his reign. Likewise, he left fond memories with those he visited in Marietta.

John Miller and George Morgan White Eyes: Two men without a country

John Miller was bound and left in camp by a Delaware Indian war party. The Delaware, with George Morgan White Eyes (“George”), were headed for Waterford to attack settlers at Fort Frye in March of 1791. John knew he had to escape and warn his friends at Waterford. He had lived with them in the summer of 1790, using his hunting skills to supply wild game for the fledgling settlement. 

Miller was a “Stockbridge Indian” from Massachusetts who had come to Marietta in 1788 with General James Mitchell Varnum. He had lived most of his life among white people and was less attached to his native heritage. John and George were friends at Princeton University in the 1780’s. A chance meeting between the two in 1790 at Fort Harmar rekindled their friendship. George hired John as a guide and hunter. But after several months with him and his Delaware tribe at Sandusky, John longed to rejoin his friends at Waterford.

The war party headed to southeast Ohio from Sandusky. John Miller tagged along so he could return to the area, knowing he’d have to find a way out. They camped near present day Duncan Falls on the Muskingum River. It became clear they planned to attack soon. John had to think fast: how could he stay behind without raising suspicion? He deliberately cut his foot while chopping wood, pretending it was accidental. They left him in camp but tied him up, uncertain of his intentions. 

Fort Frye, located just below present day Beverly, Ohio, was named for Lt. Joseph Frye who designed the structure which was erected after the massacre at Big Bottom in January, 1791. It was triangular, not a typical design for frontier blockhouse forts. Image from Samuel Hildreth’s Pioneer History.

John watched and listened after the Delaware war party left camp on that cold March morning. A few birds chirped in the mist; deer wandered through the camp. Otherwise it was still. Were they gone? Yes. He struggled to free himself. His mind was racing. How could he get to Waterford before the war party attacked? He watched the Muskingum River flow by, swollen by heavy rains. That was it! He would have to take his chances floating down the dangerously swift water.  By late afternoon he was free. He scrambled to retrieve logs and grapevine to build a raft. At dusk he set off, his foot throbbing. Darkness enveloped him; now he was at the mercy of the river. 

George Morgan White Eyes was the son of Delaware chief White Eyes. Early in the Revolutionary War, White Eyes had led efforts by the Delaware to build better relations with the Americans. George Morgan, Indian agent and advocate, helped arrange a treaty between the Delaware and Americans. The Delaware offered the Americans access across tribal lands and its “best and most expert warriors” in support of U.S. troops. The US pledged basic necessities (food and supplies), protection for non combatant Delaware people, and a territorial guarantee with potential future statehood. 

It was fleeting vision of an idealistic future: Indians and whites living in peace with each other. But it wasn’t to be. The Delaware honored its promises; the United States did not. And Chief White Eyes was murdered in late 1778 while guiding U.S. Troops, severely straining the relationship. George was 8 years old at the time, facing an uncertain future. 

At daybreak, John Miller was chilled through from a night on the water. He panicked as he spotted a camp fire. It was the war party. He jerked as rifle fire echoed in the hills. Fortunately, they were hunting and not firing at him. He clung prostrate to the raft, heart pounding, but skimmed past without being seen. 

He landed just above Fort Frye and cautiously approached the fort. He was dressed like an Indian but spoke good English and named people in the fort who knew him. They let him in - at gun point. Some didn’t believe his warning and thought he was a spy for the Indians. Fortunately the commander, Captain William Gray, did believe him. John gave him full details of the Indians’ plan. The settlers at Fort Frye went on full alert, working feverishly to secure the fort. Indians did finally attack after a few days and were repulsed. Miller’s warning saved many lives. 

John Miller was now in a difficult spot - like a man without a country. The Delaware Indians would torture and kill him if caught. And some of the white settlers distrusted him. He was dismayed by his predicament - and afraid. How could he be distrusted by the Indians and whites when he had friends in both groups? Yet so it was. John Miller fled to Marietta and returned to New England. His experiment at living in the Ohio Country was over.

George White Eyes’ life was also in cultural limbo. He and two other chiefs’ sons had been sent to Princeton, New Jersey in 1779 to be educated as a conciliatory gesture by Americans for his father White Eyes’ murder. The boys lived there under the guidance of George Morgan, George Morgan White Eyes namesake.

George Morgan’s Prospect Farm, ca 1797 where George Morgan White Eyes was housed. It was adjacent to College of New Jersey, as Princeton University was known at the time. From slavery.Princeton.edu.

George was overwhelmed at being thrust into an entirely new culture. He missed his father. Gone were the familiar people, landscape, and Delaware Indian customs. Yet he excelled in his classes at a private school, and then at The College of New Jersey. By his senior year, though, he had become disillusioned. And his mentor George Morgan was moving west to Missouri. He recommended to Congress that young George’s education be continued at Yale but received no response.  In August 1789, George Morgan White Eyes wrote to George Washington, “I am very sorry that the Education you have given & views you must have had when you took me into your Possession, & the Friendship which my father had for the United States (which I suppose is the chief Cause) are not sufficient Inducements, to your further providing for me.” With ambivalent feelings, George returned in 1789 to his native Delaware Indians in Ohio.

Now he too was like a man without a country, restless, uncertain of his place. White culture was unsettling to him, and after a ten year absence, reentry into his former Delaware culture would be a challenge. He had missed years of indoctrination and training - in fighting, scouting, and survival skills. And would he be accepted by Indians who barely knew him or his father?

George apparently fit in with his tribe. He took a wife, described as very young with long dark hair. Sadly, his life devolved into random aimless wandering, with her and some of his Delaware companions. One historical note says that George inherited some assets from his father White Eyes but “….squandered his (inheritance) in debauchery.” Another historian described their daily routine as “hunting by day and drinking by night.” We get a glimpse into his life through two fascinating encounters with George White Eyes by prominent Ohioans. 

Thomas Ewing, later a Lancaster attorney and U. S. Senator, had a chance meeting with him in 1796. Ewing was 6 years old, fishing on the Muskingum River with his father and older brother. Suddenly an Indian with a rifle appeared on a large rock and motioned them to shore. They complied, fearful on the Indian’s intentions. Fortunately, he only need help dragging a deer he had shot to the river.  They loaded it into the canoe and proceeded with some trepidation to the Indians’ camp. One of the group was George White Eyes. 

There was a feast of venison and ceremonial pipe smoking. Ewing’s father remembered that George had several of his school books in camp, including a “well thumbed” book of Eschylus Greek tragedies which he “took pride in exhibiting.” Ewing remembered the wife as “beautiful - dressed in a black silk robe…ornamented with silver brooches.” The next morning young Thomas recalled having fun playing with other Indian boys and learning how to more expertly gig fish.

Ephraim Cutler, prominent early settler and civic leader, was active in a work party that recovered salt from deposits near present day Chandlersville in southern Muskingum County. Salt was a valuable and scarce resource at the time. Groups from different settlements worked on a schedule. Indians often visited the site. 

One night in 1796 there was a memorable episode involving George Morgan White Eyes. He, his wife, and a Stockbridge Indian named Old Tom were drinking. George and Old Tom started arguing; Tom struck George with the blunt end of a tomahawk and fled. His wife came running into the salt camp and begged for help. Cutler and others found George unconscious and barely breathing. They brought him to the salt works. Soon a large number of Indians gathered. Several squaws went to work. They built a fire, heated a large flat rock, poured water over the rock, and directed the steam vapor around George’s face and head. This went on for several hours. The next day he was awake, alert though probably hung over, and left with the hunting party.

Two years later George Morgan White Eyes was dead. He drunkenly threatened a young man who fatally shot him. George had never found peace, trapped in a no man’s land between his native heritage, white culture, and alcoholism. We have no record about John Miller’s life after he left Ohio. As an Indian living in white man’s society, he too was out of place in the Ohio Country. Such were the conflicts that many Native Americans experienced in the early years.

Ohio Statehood: Spirited Debate and….Mob Violence

The path to Ohio statehood was marred by bitter politics and…..mob violence. Such were the passions inflamed by stark differences of political opinion. Civic leaders from Marietta and Washington County were in the thick of it.

Discussion of statehood began in the late 1790’s. What is now Ohio was then part of the larger Northwest Territory established in 1787, a vast expanse bounded by the Ohio River, Great Lakes, and Mississippi River. The Ohio area had grown the most and was approaching the 60,000 population level needed for statehood. 

The Original Northwest Territory created in 1787 included the area marked on this map plus all of Ohio and Michigan. In 1800 the territory was partitioned; land west of Ohio and the western half of Michigan became the Indiana Territory. The eastern Michigan area did not become part of Ohio, the state. Michigan became a separate territory before becoming a state later. Viewed at Wikipedia.com

Proponents of Ohio’s becoming a state were led by Thomas Worthington, Edward Tiffin, and other influential leaders. They believed statehood would bring good things:

• Equal status with other states. 
• More people and more money. The economic benefit would help all residents - and themselves.  
• A more responsive government and freedom from the heavy-handed rule of territorial governor Arthur St. Clair. 

Arthur St. Clair had been a respected patriot and a distinguished Revolutionary War veteran. In 1787 he was President of the Continental Congress and was appointed Governor of the new Territory. Judge Jacob Burnet described St. Clair as “a man of superior talents, of extensive information, and of great uprightness of purpose….” But he became imperious and inflexible in his governing. He demeaned his territorial residents as “A multitude of indigent and ignorant people (who are) ill-qualified to form a constitution and government for themselves…” St. Clair was out of touch with the changing attitudes in the territory. 

Major General Arthur St. Clair. Portrait by Charles Wilson Peale c 1783. Viewed at Wikipedia.org

Statehood opponents, including people at Marietta, said: not so fast. They realized becoming a state was inevitable. But not now. Statehood would mean higher taxes - with little benefit. Besides, Federalists, the party of most anti-state opponents, were in the minority. Locals would therefore have little influence and be overlooked. Better to wait. 

Local opposition became quite animated in 1801. There were a series of township meetings where statehood was “fully discussed and strongly opposed.” An “anti-state” meeting was held in Marietta on June 18, 1801, chaired by Gilbert Devol and Joseph Barker. Barker gave a spirited address in opposition to becoming a state now. This resolution was passed:

RESOLVED, That in our opinion it would be highly impolitic and very injurious to the inhabitants of this territory to enter into a State government at this time. Therefore, we, in behalf of our constituents, do request that you would use your best endeavors to prevent and steadily oppose the adoption of any measures that may be taken for the purpose.

Conflict about statehood boiled over when the territorial legislature met in Chillicothe in November, 1801. Two legislative acts ignited controversy. First was passage of a resolution, originally proposed by Governor St. Clair, which would divide the territory so that Ohio east of the Scioto River would be a separate state. The population mix would give Federalists, and Marietta, more influence. It would delay statehood because the population was below the minimum 60,000 needed. And, possibly, Marietta could even be the capital. Washington County representatives William Rufus Putnam (son of Rufus Putnam) and Ephraim Cutler were in full agreement with the concept. 

Statehouse at Chillicothe image. From ohiomemory.org - Ohio Guide Collection.

Territorial legislature meetings were held here. At least one observer at the time did not give the building a high rating: “The house (of representatives) occupied the large room on the ground floor, a very uncomfortable, badly lighted, roughly finished room, with a fireplace at each end…..the fires failed to heat the large room in the winter.”

This proposal aroused vehement opposition from statehood supporters, including Edward Tiffin, Thomas Worthington, Nathaniel Massie, and others. They lodged a formal written protest. A petition to the U. S. Congress was urgently circulated in Chillicothe and surrounding counties.

The Second legislative action was moving the territorial capital to Cincinnati from Chillicothe. This further enraged Statehood proponents, and Chillicothe residents in particular. There was talk of protests - even violence.

Thomas Worthington, Chillicothe political leader and wealthy landowner, and lawyer Michael Baldwin were political allies promoting statehood. Baldwin, though considered a brilliant lawyer, had a darker side: He led an “obnoxious,” “boisterous” group who were prone to civil disobedience.  Baldwin planned to lead his rabble to forcibly enter Governor St. Clair’s boarding house and drag him out to see himself burned in effigy -  as an insult and to intimidate him. This group headed out to the Governor’s boarding house on December 23, 1801. 

Thomas Worthington Governor’s Portrait

Viewed at ohiomemory.org

Worthington was passionate about statehood. He sought the limelight, leading efforts to forge a new state with exciting growth opportunities. He was a quintessential land speculator from Virginia, buying and selling land, often acquired from land grants sold by other Revolutionary War veterans. He had moved to the fledgling settlement at Chillicothe in 1798. Worthington became actively involved in business and politics of the area. In 1800, he was listed as owning 18,273 acres in the Virginia Military District located in south central Ohio. 

Thomas Worthington was deeply religious. He was also pragmatic and had developed, even in his late 20’s, a keen political sensibility. He was alarmed to learn of Baldwin’s plan. He knew that violence was wrong - and counterproductive. It would harm the statehood effort and could even damage his own reputation. He had to act quickly. Worthington intercepted Baldwin and forcibly convinced him to stand down, threatening even to shoot him if he laid a hand on Governor St. Clair.

The next night on Christmas Eve Baldwin’s mob had mobilized again. They had been incensed upon hearing of William Rufus Putnam’s toast at a dinner that evening: “May the Scioto (River) lap the borders of two great and flourishing states” - a reference to St. Clair’s plan to split the state. Baldwin’s group forcibly entered a boarding house where Governor St. Clair and several legislators - including Putnam and Cutler - were staying. 

That night the venerable, though disliked, Governor Arthur St. Clair was in his room, writing. There were so many issues that swirled in his mind. He was startled by a “violent noise” below. What could that be, he thought, not dreaming that his personal safety was at risk. Immediately he went downstairs to find a crowd shouting and jostling in the hallway. Many more were milling around outside. St. Clair was shocked to see mob leader Michael Baldwin strike Michigan¹ representative Jonathan Schieffelin who promptly drew a dirk (a long handled knife) then grabbed two pistols and threatened to shoot the intruders. Schieffelin had become a target because of his outspoken support of relocating the capital to Cincinnati from Chillicothe. Sight of the pistols quieted the crowd. It also helped that Statehood leader Thomas Worthington was again present and defended Governor St. Clair.

St. Clair’s political instincts kicked in as the adrenaline faded. Don’t overreact, he thought, and don’t show any sign of being intimidated by the mob. He then circulated among those present, “calm and collected,” as Ephraim Cutler recalled, yet firm in telling them to disperse. He called for law enforcement. A deputy sheriff and magistrate appeared on the scene. The mob gradually faded away. Despite law enforcement’s first hand witness of the violence, mob participants never suffered any legal consequences.

Marietta area pioneer Ephraim Cutler, elected to the Territorial legislature in 1801, witnessed the violence. Cutler was the son of Manasseh Cutler, the ordained minister, medical doctor, educator, and scientist, who had provided valuable guidance in creating the Northwest Territory. Ephraim had farmed in Connecticut and held some civic offices. By the mid-1790’s, though, he was feeling unsettled. He had suffered losses in two different businesses. Future prospects in Connecticut seemed limited. His mind kept drifting to the land of opportunity in Ohio, which his father had extolled and where his younger brother had lived for a while. Ephraim’s wife Leah was in poor health. Moving to a warmer client was recommended for her, so they moved to Marietta in 1795. 

Ephraim Cutler portrait, from Wikipedia.org.

The legislative session in November, 1801 was Ephraim Cutler’s  first - and the Territorial legislature’s last. It was an intimidating yet beneficial learning experience for him. “We (Mr. Putnam and I) were the youngest members of the House….My inexperience led me to tremble at the responsibilities of the position, but the benefit of associating with…such men as Governor St. Clair, Judges Burnet and Sibley, and others….., was very great.” He roomed in Gregg’s house, where the mob violence took place. His memoirs did not mention any violence directed at him, though he was surely one of the targets because of his support for state-delaying measures. 

A letter to Cutler from Dudley Woodbridge at Marietta gives additional perspective to the violent protests. “We met yesterday and had a meeting to consult on the proper steps to be taken to…..confront the doings” of those favoring statehood. Woodbridge also added in dismay, “We hear that mobs are around you….this, however, I cannot think is true. The present reminds me of Shays (Rebellion) and those times.” 

Cutler noted in his memoirs, “the bill (to split the state and delay statehood) passed the legislature, but was of no avail; it rather caused those desirous of coming into a state to be more vigorous in their efforts.” For better or worse, Ohio was on the path to statehood. On April 30, 1802, Congress passed “An Act to enable the people (of Ohio) to form a constitution and state government and for the admission of such State into the Union…..” 

Thomas Worthington had carried out his lobbying mission to Congress for statehood successfully. Randall and Ryan in History of Ohio: “In acknowledgment of his service he was received at his home with rejoicings and celebrations. Chillicothe was illuminated in his honor and bonfires burned brightly in expression of joy….” Those authors opined that despite further protests of opponents, “(their) efforts….to stem the tide of statehood were petty and partisan.”  

Athough opponents’ efforts failed, their concerns about taxation were validated. Historian Samuel Hildreth stated in his biography of Joseph Barker (mentioned above as a vocal opponent), “the apprehensions of the evil results (of statehood) to the Ohio Company settlers, were soon realized, as the taxes for support of the new government fell heavily on them….” 

The initial property tax structure was oppressive for rural areas because it was based mostly on acreage not value. If that system were in place today, an acre of rocky hillside would be taxed at a similar rate as an acre of prime real estate at an interstate highway interchange. The current fairer ad valorem (tax based on market value) tax system in Ohio was adopted in 1825. It was championed by the same remarkable, unassuming Ephraim Cutler who 24 years earlier had “trembled at the responsibilities” of being a legislator but was not swayed by the mob violence in Chillicothe. 

¹ The original Northwest Territory was partitioned in 1800 to create the Indiana Territory. The residual Ohio portion included the eastern half of Michigan, thought that part was not included when Ohio actually became a state.

Epidemics: Disease, Courage, Perseverance in Early Washington County

We rarely experience serious epidemics today. That’s why the Covid-19 virus pandemic is so unusual - and traumatic. The experience will be etched into our memory and our national psyche for decades to come. The terms social distancing, apex, surge, hot spot, flattening the curve, and shelter-in-place will become part of our lexicon. 

But in the first hundred years of Marietta’s founding, epidemics were a somewhat regular occurrence. The threat of disease was always stalking the population. There was incomplete knowledge about diseases and how they were spread. Treatments were generally ineffective. Outbreaks often happened during times of other stresses, compounding their impact. An example was the first smallpox outbreak in early 1790 which was followed by a food shortage and Indian hostility.

The 1790 smallpox epidemic began when an infected man named Welch arrived in Marietta. Concerned residents approved construction of “pest houses,” rough cabins to house the sick persons away from others. It recurred again in 1793 throughout Washington County. On August 9, the Court of Quarter Sessions ordered sick persons to be quarantined at Devol Island in the Muskingum River.

Smallpox treatment at the time offered a crude but fairly effective immunization not yet available for COVID-19. It was called inoculation or “variolization.” Tissue from smallpox sufferers was rubbed into a scratch of the person to be immunized. That person would contract smallpox, usually in a less severe form, and then was immune. 

In the 1793 epidemic, the Belpre community voted to be thus inoculated, rather than face almost certain illness and death because of close quarters in the “Farmers Castle” stockade. “Farmers Castle became one great hospital,” one historian observed. Of one hundred people inoculated, all but 5 survived and were thereafter immune.

Farmers Castle viewed at Ohiomemory.org

Lithograph originally published in Hildreth’s Pioneer History, with inscription “Ch W. Elliott Lith”

Farmers Castle was a stockade enclosing 13 houses built in 1791 to protect residents from Indian attacks.

Pioneers also endured periodic outbreaks of scarlet fever, spotted fever, conjunctivitis, measles, and what was then called “bilious fever,” (forms of malaria and yellow fever). Cholera was another deadly disease which periodically swept through America starting in the 1830s. 

Dr. Samuel Hildreth, noted physician, scientist, and historian, wrote a research paper, “On the Climate and Early History of Diseases in Ohio” in 1839. It documented epidemics in the early settlements, including Washington County. 

The epidemics of 1822-1823 were especially severe. The disease was malaria-like. Such diseases were thought to be caused by natural conditions - such as air polluted by stagnant water or decaying vegetation. Preceding the 1822 epidemic, Hildreth reported abnormally dry weather, stagnated rivers, and pest infestations of grasshoppers, gray squirrels, and potato bugs. Ugh. Sounds biblical. Before the 1823 epidemic, weather was unusually wet with lots of standing water. We know now that most of the malarial-type sicknesses are transmitted by mosquitoes. The conditions observed by Hildreth may have led to mosquito infestations that brought disease.

Many impacts were similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. There were hotspots: Marietta was one. In September 1822, at the peak of illness, 400 cases were reported within a square mile. There were also examples of heroic doctors and nurses like we’ve seen with COVID-19. One of these was Dr. Samuel P. Hildreth who reported on his experience:

“For four months in succession I ate but two meals a day, and spent from sixteen to eighteen hours out of twenty-four in attending on the sick. Through a merciful Providence my own health was good, and the only suffering was from exhaustion and fatigue through the whole of this disastrous season. The proportion of deaths was about six in every hundred cases, where proper medical attention was given to the sick; but so general was the disease that many lives were lost from a lack of nurses.”

Samuel Prescott Hildreth, Physician, Scientist, Historian

1923 Portrait by Aaron Corwine

Christopher Busta-Peck at Flickr.com

The community acted with caring support and concern. On September 15, 1822, a public meeting was held. Committees were appointed to visit the sick and give them needed supplies. Apparently there was little concern about contagion. On September 18, resolutions were adopted noting “the distressed situation of our fellow citizens and friends calls for the upmost exertions and deepest humiliation,” and that “we will exhort and encourage each other in visiting the sick....” A day of “public fasting, humiliation, and prayer” was observed on September 21. Soon after, most people were recovering, though the epidemic did not end for sure until “hard frosts came in November.” Ninety Five people died from June through November of 1822. The population of Marietta at the time was about 2,000.

Reverend Cornelius Springer’s memory of the 1822 epidemic was vivid, even decades later. He was stationed in Marietta with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He knew of only two people, Judge Wood and a Mr. Putnam of Harmar, who avoided the virus. He remembered that five members of a single family named Adams died. He attended the funeral of attorney and judge Paul Fearing and his wife who died within six hours of each other, early victims of the epidemic. Two sisters named Wells died together and were buried in the same grave.

Rev. Springer and his wife escaped the illness. But the next year in the epidemic of 1823, Mrs. Springer became ill. She ran a temperature for 24 days. He noted with gratitude that Dr. Hildreth cared for “Mrs. S. With great punctuality...and would take nothing for his services. His reply: I am disposed to do something for the Gospel, and I can do it in this way as easy as any other.” And further, Dr. Hildreth sent a load of wood and quarter of beef to the Springers at the parsonage. Rev. Springer also noted that local prejudice against Methodists (his church) dissipated during his two year stay, perhaps an unintended consequence of the epidemic.

Animals also suffered in some epidemics. Even COVID-19  has infected a bengal tiger. Rabies outbreaks in 1810 and 1811 affected wolves, dogs and foxes. Many domestic animals were bitten and died. Hildreth recalled that several people were bitten, though he did not remember anyone dying. He treated one such patient successfully with “free internal use of calomel and cantharides, producing strangury and ptyalism.” Don’t think I want to know what that was.

Chillicothe, Ohio, experienced Malaria-like symptoms in horned cattle and horses during a community-wide epidemic in 1839. There were similar illnesses in Washington County horses in 1815. 

Each epidemic is unique; some produce unexpected events. A deadly cholera outbreak in 1833 struck Columbus. There was panic; contracting cholera was often fatal. A fourth of the population fled to nearby communities. 100 people died. An 1849 a cholera recurrence decimated the Ohio Penitentiary population. Prison workshops became hospital wards. Guards deserted. Discipline was relaxed. For sixteen days, prisoners were not locked in cells, and yet order prevailed. Unfortunately, 118 Prisoners died, including 18 in one day.

Adversity was part of life in the early years in the Ohio Country. That included frontier hardships, Indian threats, disease, and leaving family and friends behind in the East. Ephraim Cutler, a prominent leader, recalled his arrival at Marietta in September of 1795:  “We had landed sick, among strangers, and mourning the loss of two children to disease on the trip west to Marietta. Such was our introduction to pioneer life.” He recovered and became a successful farmer and civic leader. Sadly, he lost another child, Manasseh, in the 1822 epidemic.

Sources:   

Andrews, Martin R., History of Marietta and Washington County and Representative Citizens, Chicago, Biographical Publishing Company, 1902

Brush, Edmund Cone, “The Pioneer Physicians of the Muskingum Valley,”

Ohio History Journal, a Paper Read at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Society, in the hall of the House or Representatives, at Columbus, March 6, 1890, viewed at resources.ohiohistory.org.

DeWitt, David C., History Thursday, “Ohio’s first epidemic rock star doctor, Samuel Hildreth of Marietta,” April 9, 2020, ohiocapitaljournal.com

Dickinson, C. E., D. D., History of Belpre, Washington County, Ohio, Parkersburg WV, C. E. Dickinson, 1920

Hildreth, Samuel P., Pioneer History: Being an Account of the First Examinations of the Ohio Valley and the Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory, Cincinnati, H. W. Derby & Co., 1848.

Hildreth, Samuel P., M.D., “Address of S. P. Hildreth, M.D., President of the Third Medical Convention of Ohio, Delivered at Cleveland,” 1839

Williams, H. Z. et al, History of Washington County with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Cleveland, H. Z. Williams and Bro., 1888

“The Second Blessing: Columbus Medicine and Health The Early Years, God’s Scourge” The Ohio State University, Health Services LIbrary, viewed at: https://hsl.osu.edu/mhc/second-blessing-columbus-medicine-and-health-early-years

Washington County Epidemics, Genealogy Trails History Group, genealogytrails.com

The Royal Visitors

In July, 1839, King Louis Philippe I of France received an American visitor, a Mr. Hughes, the American charge d’affaires in Stockholm. After introductions, conversation turned to the King’s visit to America in the late 1790’s.

King: “Have you ever been at Marietta?”

Mr. Hughes responded yes, that he had lived there for several years. 

King: “Did you know a French baker there, named Thierry?” Francis Thierry was a French immigrant who arrived in Marietta in 1790 with his wife and two children.

Mr. Hughes answered that indeed he knew Thierry.

King: Explaining with amusement, “Well, I once carried him away from his family,” referring to a decades-earlier incident during Louis Philippe’s visit to Marietta in 1797. More about this episode later. 

Louis Philippe De’Orleans, later King Louis Philippe I, “King of the French” visited the United States in 1796 and 1797. The King often amazed visitors with his memory of minute details of his American tour decades earlier. 

King Louis Philippe I, Getty image -  Portrait by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1841

Marietta Connection - Ephraim Cutler

There were two Louis Philippe encounters with a Marietta connection. The first was a chance meeting with pioneer leader Ephraim Cutler who recorded the event in his journal. He met two Frenchmen while boiling salt at the "Salt Works"1 on Salt Creek in Muskingum County, Ohio. He was working there with a friend, Peter Noblaise, a Frenchman who had emigrated to Gallipolis,Ohio.

The two visitors asked to stay with Cutler and Noblaise that night. At the cabin Cutler noted that the three Frenchmen became "quite loquacious in their native language." Noblaise was a good singer and sang the Marseilles hymn and several French airs. Cutler reported that one of the men asked him detailed questions about the Ohio Company, and the settlements at Marietta and Gallipolis. After midnight they retired. Ephraim gave the man his bunk and bear skin. As they left the next day, Louis’ companion explained to Noblaise that the other man was Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans. He would later be King of France

Louis Philippe was born into royalty in the House of Orleans in 1773. He and his family supported the French Revolution. At age eighteen he was given a command in the French army. He performed well but was forced to flee when he was implicated in an ill-fated attempt to overthrow the French government. He spent the next twenty years in exile from France.

 Young Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres in 1792 by Léon Cogniet wikipedia. 

Louis Philippe and his two brothers, Antoine Philippe, the Duke de Montpensier,  and Louis Charles, Duke De Beaujolais, toured the United States. Louis Philippe was anxious to see natural wonders, Indians, and the backwoods of the new country. The introduction to Louis Philippe's Diary of My Travels to America, observed: "What is amazing is the breadth of his experiences and the distances he covered when most of the Eastern half of the United States remained unknown and unexplored.“ 

Marietta visit

Louis’ other local visit was a stop at Marietta in December of 1797 toward the end of their American tour. They were on a keelboat trip down the Ohio River, headed  to New Orleans and a return trip to Europe. It was December. River travel was treacherous with the ice, swift currents, and snags. They pressed on anyway. 

At Marietta they stopped for supplies. Louis Philippe wanted fresh bread and was directed to Francis Thierry, the baker whom King Louis Philippe recalled. He had no bread available at that moment and fired up his oven to begin baking. The group obtained their supplies and toured Marietta. They were fascinated by the Indian mound earthworks ("interesting ancient remains") and made a sketch of them. 

As they prepared to leave Marietta, Mr. Thierry rushed the fresh bread to the group's boat on the Muskingum River. But ice on the river was breaking up at that exact moment. The boat lurched away from the shore - with Thierry still on board - to avoid the ice. He was frightened but soon was deposited on dry land by canoe when the ice danger passed. The future King and his party continued down the Ohio River grateful for the fresh bread. He would later amuse listeners, such as Mr. Hughes, in retelling the adventure of "kidnapping" a French baker at Marietta.

The American Tour

Louis Philippe had arrived from Europe in October 1796 at Philadelphia, then the U. S. Capital. He met many prominent people while there and made a good impression. He was described as “modest, amiable, unpretending, cheerful, forgetful of his lost rank." Louis Philippe witnessed the inauguration of John Adams and heard Washington's last speech as President. He reportedly proposed marriage to a young lady. She apparently was willing, but her father was not: "As an exile, destitute of means, you are not a suitable match for my daughter." 

Louis Philippe was not a typical prince in demeanor or lifestyle. He and his brothers had been educated by a governess, Madame De Genlis. They learned by doing through games and role playing. They learned other languages. They spoke only English at lunch; Italian at dinner; German when working with a German gardener. They were toughened by sports, long walks, and sleeping on the floor. He also developed medical skills working with a surgeon. It was an education for adversity as well as for the royal life. Louis Philippe recalled later that his governess "brought us up with ferocity."

Lithograph after the painting by David showing him in Switzerland circa 1793 teaching geography and mathematics under an assumed name at the college at Reichenau during his 21 years of exile from France. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images). A few years after this he visited America.

His two brothers joined him in America after a long sea voyage in February of 1797. Soon the trio was off to explore. One of the the first stops was Mount Vernon. They visited with George Washington for four days. Washington gave them a recent Abraham Bradley map of the United States and traced a recommended itinerary in red ink. The future king impressed visitors by showing them the "George Washington" map years later.

Abraham Bradley map approx 1796; similar to the map George Washington gave Louis Philippe. Viewed at Tennessee Virtual Archive.  

CLICK TO ENLARGE 

https://teva.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15138coll23/id/359/

They next wound their way through Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and southern Ohio. Often they lodged with locals, sleeping on the floor surrounded by the occupants, sounds, and smells of a cramped cabin. They stayed one night with a Captain Chapman in Tennessee who wondered out loud why they would “endure all the fatigues of a hard journey to see wilderness, savages, and other (unworthy things).” 

At Chillicothe, Ohio, Louis Philippe stopped a barroom brawl, rescuing the landlord. They endured bedbugs, coarse manners, indifferent workers, excess drinking by the settlers, and periods of rough travel. Antoine Philippe wrote to his sister in August 1797 after a rugged two weeks in New York State: “We have spent fourteen nights in the woods, devoured by all kinds of insects, soaked to the bone, unable to get dry, eating pork and sometimes a little salt beef and corn-bread.” 

There were also delightful visits and excellent hospitality. They met prominent people in cities like Pittsburgh, Boston, and Philadelphia. There were surprise encounters with emigrants from France. One of these, Chavelier Dubac, ran a sweet shop in Pittsburgh. His pet monkey, Sultan, entertained guests. 

They spent time with Indians to learn more about them. Louis coaxed Cherokees in Tennessee to play a lacrosse-type game. At a Seneca Indian Reservation in New York state, he successfully treated a tribal chief by bleeding him. The chief granted Louis the high honor of sleeping on the family mat - between the grandmother and great aunt. 

The brothers departed the U.S. from New Orleans in August of 1798 bound for Cuba. They finally reached England in February of 1800, after a series of harrowing delays. Louis Philippe eventually ascended the French throne as Louis Philippe I, “King of the French” in 1830. He wrote to  historian François Guizot in 1839: “My three years’ residence in America have had a great influence on my political opinions and on my judgment of the course of human affairs.” 

His reign promised to be middle-of-the-road. He was called “citizen king.” Attempts at reforms were frustrated by political and economic unrest. There were seven assassination attempts on the King's life. He was deposed in the French Revolution of 1848. That ended the monarchy for good. Louis Philippe I was the last King of France. He died in 1850.

Notes:

1. The Salt Works was a salt deposit along Salt Creek in Muskingum County. Surrounding communities formed the "Salt Springs Company" to make salt. Volunteers worked long, tedious hours boiling the salt water to produce salt crystals for community needs. They sold the surplus. Ephraim Cutler was among the volunteers working that day.

Sources:

Abbott, Jacob, Louis Philippe, New York and London, Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1901

Bishop, Morris, “Louis Philippe in America,“ American Heritage Magazine, Volume 20, Issue 3, 1969, viewed at americanheritage.com 

Cutler, Julia Perkins, Life and Times of Ephraim Cutler, Cincinnati, Robert Clarke & Co, 1890

“Louis Philippe,” NNDB tracking the entire world, nndb.com 

“Louis-Philippe Biography,” , Biography.com editors, Biography.com

“Louis Philippe I,” Wikipedia.org

Perley Poore, Ben, Rise and Fall of Louis Philippe, Ex-King of the French, Boston, William D. Ticknor & Company, 1848 

Wright, Rev. G. N.  Life and Times of Louis Philippe, Ex-King of the French,

London, Peter Jackson, Late Fisher, and Son