Indian Warfare, Household Competency, and the Settlement of the Western Virginia Frontier, 1749 to 1794
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Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2007 Indian warfare, household competency, and the settlement of the western Virginia frontier, 1749 to 1794 John M. Boback West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Boback, John M., "Indian warfare, household competency, and the settlement of the western Virginia frontier, 1749 to 1794" (2007). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 2566. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/2566 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Indian Warfare, Household Competency, and the Settlement of the Western Virginia Frontier, 1749 to 1794 John M. Boback Dissertation submitted to the College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Ronald L. Lewis, Ph.D., Chair Tyler Boulware, Ph.D. James Daddysman, Ph.D. Ken Fones-Wolf, Ph.D. Barbara Rasmussen, Ph.D Department of History Morgantown, West Virginia 2007 Keywords: Frontier, Warfare, Violence, Shawnee, Economy, Subsistence, Commercialism, Competency, West Virginia The thesis of this dissertation is that Indian-related violence and warfare had a profound influence on the duration and nature of the frontier experience of those men and women who settled in the western Virginia backcountry between 1749 and 1794. Recurrent attacks by Shawnees, Delawares, Mingos, and Indians from the Great Lakes region caused such widespread death, destruction, and depopulation that it effectively prolonged the period of austere and difficult living conditions for over forty years. This conclusion contradicts the assertions of some recent scholars who have argued that crude living conditions lasted for only a year or two on the Appalachian frontier, and that economic conditions improved rapidly. While this may have been the case in some sub-regions of Appalachia that experienced minimal upheaval from Indian attacks, this was not the case in trans-Allegheny “West Virginia.” The negative influence of Indian-associated violence manifested itself not only in how long it took Euro-Americans to gain hegemony over the region, but also in the household economies of the individual families. By using “competency” as a model for understanding household economics, it is demonstrated that although many settlers embraced the commercial economy when possible, the rigors of life on the oftentimes-violent frontier frequently left them no option but to shift their focus of their household production away from commercial production in favor of subsistence activities. Acknowledgments As I look upon this completed dissertation, I am amazed by how fully it incorporates and embodies the many ideas and arguments that I was exposed to over the years as a graduate student at West Virginia University. Otherwise disparate class readings, seminar papers, book reviews, reflective essays, formal class discussions, and informal conversations in hallways and offices somehow congealed into a coherent research project and dissertation. Any success that I have had as a student is a reflection of the quality of the professors that I have had the good fortune of working with over the years. In particular, I would like to thank Ron Lewis and Mary Lou Lustig who both served as my advisors as I pursued my masters and doctoral degrees. I consider it an honor to have studied under them. I would also like to offer my deepest gratitude to Ken Fones-Wolf, Barbara Rasmussen, and Tyler Boulware for their willingness to serve as readers on my committee. Their time, generosity, and gentle criticisms are truly appreciated. A heartfelt thanks is also extended to Lynn Laufenberg who exemplified what a classroom instructor should be. I found her excitement for teaching to be contagious. Lastly, I would like to offer a special word of thanks to my undergraduate advisor and friend Jim Daddysman. Not only was he there for me when I first walked into his office as a freshman history major at Alderson-Broaddus College, but he was also present as a member of my dissertation committee twenty-two years later when I completed my doctoral studies. I think of him as "bookends" on my college career. To Jim I dedicate this dissertation. iii Table of Contents ii Abstract iii Acknowledgments iv Table of Contents v List of Tables vi List of Maps vii Abbreviations 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 19 Chapter 2: Conceptualizing the Western Virginia Frontier 41 Chapter 3: Shawnee Culture and the Ceremonialism of Violence 65 Chapter 4: Settling the Western Virginia Backcountry 102 Chapter 5: Producing for the Household and Market 150 Chapter 6: Conflict and Competency 173 Chapter 7: Summary and Conclusion 180 Bibliography 209 Appendices 217 Maps iv List of Tables 140 Table 1: Household Size in Monongalia County, 1782 141 Table 2: Cattle Herds in Select Western Virginia Counties, 1787 143 Table 3: Slave Ownership in Select Western Virginia Counties, 1787 144 Table 4: Settlers Assessed for Twenty or More Cattle, 1787 163 Table 5: Documented New Settlers in Monongalia County v List of Maps (located after appendices) Map 1: Physical Geography of western Virginia Frontier Map 2: Migration Routes of Settlers Map 3: Refuge Forts Built on the Western Virginia Frontier, 1754-1772 Map 4: Refuge Forts Built on the Western Virginia Frontier, 1773-1774 Map 5: Refuge Forts Built on the Western Virginia Frontier, 1775-1794 vi Abbreviations Bouquet Papers Stevens, Sylvester K. and Donald H. Kent, eds. The Papers of Col. Henry Bouquet, series 21650, pt. 2. Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historic Commission, 1943. Diary GW Fitzpatrick, John C., ed. The Diaries of George Washington, 1748-1799. Vol. 1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1925. Writings GW Fitzpatrick, John C., ed. The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources. Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1931. Doc. Dunmore’s War Thwaites, Reuben G. and Louise P. Kellogg, eds. Documentary History of Dunmore's War, 1774. Madison: Wisconsin Historical Society, 1905. Doc. His. N.Y. O’Callaghan, E. B., ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York. Albany: Weed, Parsons, 1853-1887. HSW Historical Society of Wisconsin JR Thwaites, Reuben G., ed. The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. Vol. 59. Cleveland: Burrows Brothers Company, 1900. Penn. Archives Hazard, Samuel, ed., Pennsylvania Archives, Philadelphia: Joseph Severns, 1853. PFMFA Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation Archives, Fairmont, West Virginia WVRHC West Virginia and regional History Collection, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia vii Chapter One Introduction Americans have long been fascinated by the pioneer image. Rugged, brave, larger than life, the pioneers of popular imagination left friends and family behind as they ventured westward in search of adventure and what they hoped would be better lives. On the frontier, these archetypal Americans faced hostile Indians, wild animals, and a host of other tribulations as they carved homes from what Daniel Boone described as the “howling wilderness.”1 Over the years, much has been written on the lives, history, and experiences of the pioneers who settled the Appalachian Mountain region. Unfortunately, writers disagree over how their frontier experience should be characterized. Two primary schools of thought prevail. First, there is a more traditional view that envisions Appalachian people as having experienced the frontier as a protracted period of austere living conditions that lasted into the twentieth century. According to this model, the alleged physical and cultural isolation of the settlers caused the frontier period of their history to stagnate for well over a hundred years. The second much more recent interpretation takes the opposite perspective by presenting the frontier period of Appalachian history as being quite ephemeral. While recognizing that the rugged geography of the region posed series challenges to transportation, communication, and commerce, proponents of this position argue that difficult frontier living conditions in Appalachia lasted but a year or two 2 following initial settlement. 1John Filson, The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke (1784; reprint, Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1966), 49. 2Robert D. Mitchell, Commercialism and Frontier: Perspectives on the Early 1 Although both models of the Appalachian frontier experience raise important issues, such as the question of physical isolation, the difficulties of transportation, and the nature of regional economic development, a common shortcoming is that they both fail to adequately account for Indian resistance to white settlement. The thesis of this dissertation is that Indian attacks into western Virginia during the second half of the eighteenth