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Note: '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 chidren, 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 Jonatan 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 Phebe. 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 some 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 died soon after the war. The daughters all married and settled in Ohio. Lincoln studied medicine, but afterward entered into 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 onw 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 Ilinois; 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 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, Conneticut, 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 Washington 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 controversy 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 others try to adjust the difficulty. While there, this same B. Patterson, with two other men took Mr. Pickering from his bed at night, and conveyed him three or four miles into the woods, and bound him fast to a white oak sapling, and left him there to die 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 further 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 chldren, 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 western 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, useful 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 daughter married to Joel Oaks, of Newbury. Dorcas married William Dana, of Newport. Some of their descendants 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 high 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.
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