Auction Date:2009 Jun 24 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
Location:6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
Samuel P. Hildreth Collection of the history of Belville, Ohio, and region, 1830s. AMs drafts 48p., 2 ALsS.
The manuscripts and letters in this collection relate to the work of the ambitious and prolific historian of the settlement of the Ohio Valley, Samuel P. Hildreth. Comprised of drafts, mostly partial, of chapters in one or more of Hildreth's works, the essays are centered largely on the village of Belville, located half way between Columbus and Cleveland, and reflect Hildreth's characteristic interests: life on the Ohio frontier and the efforts to combat and displace the region's Indians.
The centerpiece of the manuscript -- consuming more than half of the pages is a fascinating account of the captivity of a six or seven year boy, Joseph Kelly, who was captured by Shawnee Indians at Belville, then still part of Virginia (also spelled Belleville), in April 1791. Typical of his approach, Hildreth uses the occasion of the captivity not only to tell that tale, but to record details about Indian life, from the manner of burying their dead to food, social life, and medicine. Kelly remained a captive in a village on the Auglaize River for over four years, forgetting how to speak English, before he was returned to American hands with the advance of Mad Anthony Wayne's forces.
This version of the Kelly captivity narrative appears to be the one featured in Hildreth's Contributions to the Early History of the Northwest (1864). Typical of Hildreth's work, it relied on interviews with Kelly himself, who died as the book was in press in 1864. Other essays in this small collection include a piece on the murder of Mrs. Runyan near Clarksburgh, 1794, which appears to be from a different publication.
An exciting addition to the collection are two extraordinary letters. The first of these was written by Hildreth to his cousin S. Devall, August 1838, in which he seeks a few dates and facts about the old transactions at the garrison of Belville. An avid searcher after eye witness accounts, and a man punctilious about accuracy (at least for the era), Hildreth asks his cousin of inquire of old Mrs. Coleman about a laundry list of details about Stephen Sherrod, a man whose family was attacked by Indians in 1792, and whose wife was almost miraculously saved from being scalped by a crack shot at the right time. Among the details he was seeking: 6. did they [the Indians] kill one of his oxen when they killed Mr. Kelly? 7. who shot the Indian in the arm when he was trying to scalp Mrs. Sherrod?... 10. at what time, & what year, did the Indians take & scalp a young woman, near Clarksburgh, & on their return cross below Belville in a raft? 11. What are the names of the men who followed them & killed the two Indians on Shade River & brot back the scalp of the young woman?...
The second letter is an exceptionally important, long (8p., incomplete) reply from an informant providing information about the founding of the first settlement of Belville and about "Indian troubles." The correspondent identifies himself as a Quaker and a native of New Jersey who came to the region in 1785, and he begins the letter by describing his journey via Philadelphia and Pittsburg and providing details of the first settlement. The first thing we did was to erect a large log house and some smaller ones as a number of Scotch families were expected down that season. They started with their boats the winter was so sever the Ice prevented their arrival until Spring. I divided land into lots for all the settlers and we went on prosperously making improvements and raising corn in abundance until we was discovered by the Indians which I think was some time in 1787...
The letter continues at great length to discuss struggles with the Indians and life in the shadow of the fortified house, and a colorful account of Stephen Sherwood, a seemingly legendary Indian hater. The rambling reminiscences about Sherwood begin with an incident in which Sherwood was caught unaware by a party of Indians and was shot through the neck. Sherwood, according to the author who knew him, felt sure the wound was mortal & all he wished for was to kill one of them. He caught up his Rifle and ran out into open ground and called them all the harsh names he could think of such cowardly yellow devils standing behind trees shooting at a single man in open ground... Such action did not immediately improve his situation, and after being shot a second time, Sherwood ran. The writer relays other stories of Sherwood and his wife, who gained the reputation of being a witch, more captivities involving Sherwood, a narrative of a wealthy Quaker come west to buy land, and a story of an Indian attack on boats on the Ohio. The letter ends with a brief description of the fort at Belville, with a drawing in plain view as it looked in the 1790s. A short variant of the Sherwood tale appears in Hildreth's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio (1852). This first-hand account is considerably richer and more detailed and makes Hildreth's version seem somewhat sanitized.
A wonderful piece of early Ohio history, offering insight into the methods of a significant 19th century historian, but also a long and important first person reminiscence of frontier life.
Descended Directly in the Putnam-Hildreth Families of Marietta, Ohio
Condition: Good condition throughout, with expected wear.
Auction Location:
6270 Este Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio, 45232, United States
Previewing Details:
Tuesday, June 23, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday, June 24 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Taxes:
| Tax | Rate | Desc. |
| Ohio |
5.5% |
Ohio State Tax |
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
17.5% |
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