In a Land Not Sown
The Life and Times of Jeremiah William Cory, Sr. 1793-1860
by David A.
Cory, M.D.
Chapter 3
Ohio
Take wives and have sons and daughters.
--Jeremiah 29:6, Revised Standard Version
On October 26, 1774, the Mingo Indian chief Tal-ga-yee-ta, commonly known by the English name Logan, met with frontiersmen Simon Girty, Simon Kenton, and John Gibson under a large elm tree on the Pickaway Plains in what is now south central Ohio. Logan refused to attend peace negotiations at the conclusion of Lord Dunmore's War, but agreed to dictate a message to be delivered at the peace conference. His words, translated by Girty and recorded by Gibson, follow:
- I appeal to any white man to say if ever he entered Logan's cabin hungry and I gave him not meat; if ever he came cold or naked and I gave him not clothing. During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained idle in his tent, an advocate for peace. Nay, such was my love for the whites that those of my own country pointed at me as I passed and said, "Logan is the friend of the white man." I had even thought to have lived with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cold blood and unprovoked, murdered all the relatives of Logan, not sparing even my women and children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any living creature. This called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace; but do not harbor the thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one [3].
Logan's lament arose from his grief at the murder of his brother, his pregnant sister, and his father at the hands of a band of unscrupulous frontiersmen (which did not include Colonel Michael Cresap, as Logan believed) on April 30, 1774 [2]. In a larger sense, his speech reflects the painful clash of cultures which occurred on the frontier, with relations between the Indians and the whites ranging from friendship and peace to murder and retribution. The end of Dunmore's War temporarily resulted in peace, but conflict between the Indians and the white settlers never truly resolved. The Indians of the Ohio country sided with the British during the Revolution, hoping to stem the tide of settlers from Pennsylvania and Virginia. After the treaty of Paris ended the Revolution in 1783, the new government set about acquiring Indian lands northwest of the Ohio River alternately by treaty and warfare, beginning with the treaty of Ft. Stanwix in 1784 and culminating with the victory of General Wayne over the Indians at Fallen Timbers in 1794.
The new government of the United States moved to organize the wilderness north of the Ohio River with the Ordinance of 1784, the Land Ordinance of 1785, and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 [8]. Although some illegal white squatters were already living north of the Ohio River, authorized surveys and settlement began in 1785. Statehood was granted to Ohio in 1803. Pickaway County was formed from parts of Ross, Franklin, and Fairfield Counties in 1810 [5], and included the land where Logan had given his impassioned speech in 1774. In the western part of the county, across the Scioto River from the Logan elm, white settlement had begun around 1800 [4]. Jeremiah William and Abijah Cory most likely came to the area after 1810. The Ohio tax duplicate of 1810 does not list the brothers, so if they were living in Ohio at that time, they were not land owners. The first records that place them in Pickaway County are their marriages. They married sisters. Abijah and Anna Martin were wed February 17, 1811, and Jeremiah and Dorothy (Dolly) Martin were married March 17, 1814 [11]. Dolly was born in Kentucky [1], but when she came to Ohio is not known. The 1820 census shows Abijah and Anna were living in Wayne Township, Pickaway County. In 1820, Jeremiah and Dolly were living in Deer Creek Township, and were the parents of four sons [13], John Calvin, Isaac Walker, Abijah Curtis, and Jeremiah Jr.
Lacking specific information about the Corys in Ohio, we can only infer what their lives might have been like. The trip from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania to Pickaway County, Ohio would not have been an easy one for Jeremiah and Abijah. They may have traveled down the Ohio River and then ascended the Scioto River to reach their new homes, or they may have gone down the Ohio or overland to Wheeling (now in West Virginia). At Wheeling, they could walk or ride to Pickaway County via Zane's Trace, which at the time was little more than a wide forest trail that connected Wheeling and Maysville, Kentucky, passed through the Pickaway Plains. Deer Creek Township, where Jeremiah settled, is a level plain composed of clay soil well suited to farming of corn and wheat [7], and Jeremiah was probably involved in raising these crops. Dolly was probably no different than other pioneer wives of the era, who labored constantly, processing flax and wool and making clothes of the resulting cloth, making soap and candles, and cooking [14]. These duties were, of course, in addition bearing and caring for the large number of children common to pioneer families.
Before leaving Ohio, Jeremiah and Dolly were to become parents of five more children, Lucretia Jane, Matilda, Cassie, Robert V., and James Burbridge. The latter child was named after a neighbor who was elected treasurer of Deer Creek Township in 1816 [15]. The tombstone of the Cory's tenth child, Malinda, indicates that she was born November 5, 1831 [12]. The only published date for the migration of the family from Ohio to Indiana is the fall of 1831 [1]. The United States Census of 1850 and the Iowa State Census of 1854 indicate that Malinda was born in Ohio. None of these sources is infallible. Tombstones may carry wrong dates, especially if they are erected years after death, and Malinda's granite stone appears much newer than stones of her contemporaries in the same cemetery. It is also of note that the date of death listed on her stone differs by a year from the date published in a county history. The "fall of 1831" date of migration from Ohio to Indiana is not very specific and is based on an interview with Malinda's brother Abijah Curtis Cory many years after the fact. Finally, the census taker only records what the citizens tell him, with no attempt at verification. In summary, then, I think it is safe to say that Malinda was born near the time of the migration of the Cory family from Ohio to Indiana, but exactly where the birth occurred is uncertain.
Jeremiah's brother Abijah served in the Ohio State Militia in the War of 1812 [6]. There is no record of military service for Jeremiah. Abijah survived the war, and lived to father a large family (six sons and four daughters), but died before the two Cory families migrated to Indiana [9].
| 1. M |
NAME: BORN: DIED |
John Calvin Cory Before 1820 Unknown |
PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co., OH Martha Crosson (?) |
| 2. M |
NAME: BORN: DIED: BURIED: |
Abijah Curtis Cory 19 Apr 1818 22 Nov 1892 Syracuse, IN |
PLACE: PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co., OH Kosciusko Co., IN 1st Sally Ann Mann 2nd Matilda Wood |
| 3. M |
NAME: BORN: DIED: BURIED: |
Isaac Walker Cory 8 Nov 1819 23 May 1875 Unknown |
PLACE: PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co., OH Unknown Mariah Phebus |
| 4. M |
NAME: BORN: DIED: |
Jeremiah Cory After 20 Sep 1820 Unknown |
PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co., OH Rebecca Alexander |
| 5. F |
NAME: BORN: DIED: |
Cassie Cory Before 1825 Unknown |
PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co., OH Peter Gordy |
| 6. M |
NAME: BORN: DIED: BURIED: |
Robert V. Cory About 1825 23 Apr 1879 Syracuse, IN |
PLACE: PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co., OH Elkhart Co., IN Elizabeth Gordy |
| 7. F |
NAME: BORN: DIED: BURIED: |
Lucretia Jane Cory 23 Apr 1826 27 May 1888 Polk Co.,IA |
PLACE: PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co.,OH IA Abraham Byers |
| 8. F |
NAME: BORN: DIED: BURIED: |
Matilda Cory 1828 or 1829 1896 Polk Co.,IA |
PLACE: PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co., OH Elkhart,Polk Co.,IA Lemuel Veneman |
| 9. M |
NAME: BORN: DIED: |
James Burbridge Cory 1829 or 1830 Unknown |
PLACE: SPOUSE: |
Pickaway Co.,OH Sarah A. Smith |
| 10. F |
NAME: BORN: DIED: BURIED: |
Malinda Cory 5 Nov 1831 30 Mar 1863 Story Co., IA |
PLACE: PLACE: SPOUSE: |
OH or IN Story Co., IA William K. Wood |
References
- [1] Biographical and Historical Record of Kosciusko County, Indiana. Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago,
1887, page 489.
- Allan W. Eckert. The Frontiersmen. Bantam Books, New York, 1970.
[2] Pages 90-93.
[3] Pages 117-118. - History of Franklin and Pickaway Counties, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some Prominent
Men and Pioneers. Williams Brothers, Cleveland, 1880.
[4] Page 34.
[5] Page 41.
[6] Page 108.
[7] Pages 292-293. - 8] George W. Knepper. Ohio and Its People. Kent State University Press, Kent, OH, 1989, pages 55-62.
- [9] George W. Miles. A history of the town of Syracuse. Reprinted from the Syracuse Journal Weekly,
29 Jul 1909, in Our Missing Links, Vol. 14 (3), Fall 1990, pages 65-66.
- [10] William Orson Payne. History of Story County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress,
and Achievement. S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago, 1911, page 229.
- [11] Pickaway County, OH. Marriage records, Vol. 1-3, 1810-1839, pages 7, 32.
- [12] Tombstone of Malinda Wood, wife of W.K. Wood, Woodland Cemetery, Iowa Center, Story County, Iowa. Photographed
by the author, June 21, 1992.
- [13] United States Census, Pickaway County, OH, 1820, page 182A.
- A. R. Van Cleaf. History of Pickaway County, Ohio and Representative Citizens. Biographical Publishing
Co., Chicago, 1906.
[14] Pages 91-92.
[15] Page 112.