| Born: 3 Apr 1755, Hopewell Gap, Prince William, VA
.
2nd ELIZABETH JARBOE.
Died: 29 Apr 1836, Urbana, Ohio. 9 |
Notes for SIMON Kenton: [Brøderbund Family Archive
#313, Ed. 1, Census Index: U.S. Selected Counties, 1810, Date of Import:
14 Nov 1997, Internal Ref. #1.313.1.2340.4]
Simon Kenton was born in 1755, in the Bull Run Mountains of Prince William County, Virginia. We don't know a lot about Simon's parents' early life. We do know his father, Mark Kenton, Sr. was born in Ireland (presumably County Down), his family was known for their political activism. Simon's mother Mary Miller Kenton was apparently born in Virginia, but her family was of Scotch-Welch ancestry. Simon had a fairly uneventful youth but was intrigued by stories of the Kentucky wilderness until one day he was forced to flee to the frontier at the age of 16 under unusual circumstances.When Simon Kenton was 15 years old, the "love bug" bit him. He fell "head over apple carts" for a young lady named Ellen Cummins. To Simon, there was no other girl quite like Ellen. He had placed his brand on her and she was to be the future Mrs. Kenton. What a fateful day it was, when Simon learned that the love of his life was to marry another. The winning suitor was a young man by the name of Leachman. On the day of the wedding, Simon, full of anger, his pride crushed,
arrived at the church just prior to the ceremony. He called for Leachman
to step outside where he could whip him. Leachman, along with several friends
was willing to oblige. They beat Simon nearly senseless. Anger over being
publicly humiliated smouldered within Simon for a year. He decided not
to let this embarrassment go unanswered. Simon found Leachman working in
some nearby woods. This time Leachman's friends weren't around to help.
Leachman was thrashed to within an inch of his life. In fact, Simon believed
he had killed the young man. Knowing the penalty for murder was death by
hanging. Simon headed for the wilderness beyond the mountains.
Like the glowing iron straight from the coals to the anvil, Simon's later teen years forged a character that caused him to be respected for his knowledge of the land and competence as a woodsman by pioneer and indian alike. His courage under fire was legendary, tested again and again. Kenton was a key figure in opening up and keeping the frontier safer for all of north and central Kentucky. A big man in stature and strength, his stamina was often tested as he
endured the worst that was known to the frontier. During the winter of
1773, Simon and 2 companions were attacked around the campfire as they
were drying their wet clothes. Yeager killed, the other two barely escaped
naked. They finally met some longhunters on the banks of the Ohio River
after a week of hunger and barefoot wandering in the Kentucky wilderness.
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Children of SIMON Kenton and MARTHA DOWDEN are: Ke7-9-1 NANCY4 KentonN. Ke7-9-2 SIMON Kenton , JR., b. 8 Feb 1783. Ke7-9-3 SARAH (MCCORD) Kenton, b. 18 May 1785. Ke7-9-4 JOHN Kenton, b. 11 Dec 1790, Mason Co, KY. Children of SIMON Kenton and ELIZABETH JARBOE are:
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During the American Revolution, Kenton participated in a number of
military engagements against the British and Indians. In 1778, he joined
George Rogers Clark on a difficult but successful expedition into the Illinois
Country, to attack British outposts as well as Indian settlements. Returning
home, he accompanied Daniel Boone in an attack on the Shawnee Indians'
settlement of Chillicothe near what is now Oldtown, Ohio. That same year,
Kenton was captured by Indians who tortured him and attempted to burn him
at the stake.
In September of 1778 Simon was captured by Shawnee Indians. He was tied, his hands bound, to a wild horse galloping through the trees. He was forced to run the infamous 1/4 mile "gauntlet" (which killed many prisoners) nine times. After the sixth, while attempting escape, had a hole hammered in his skull and was unconscience for two days. With a war club and axe, his arm and collarbone were broken. The indians called him "Cuttahotha" which means "condemned to be burned at the stake" which they attempted 3 times. Finally in June 1779 he was able to escape from Detroit with the help of Simon Girty. After a 30 day march he made it back to the American settlements.But instead of being hanged, Kenton was sent to Fort Detroit as part of a prisoner trade with the British. By mid-1779, Kenton was free and had returned to service under George Rogers Clark. In 1782, he discovered that the man that he thought he had killed had actually lived. Therefore he was able to resume his own name once again. Joel Collins, who was a young boy in 1782, has left a vivid description of the young captain as he looked when marching through Lexington. [Returning from Blue Licks.] "He was tall and well-proportioned," says Collins, "a countenance pleasant but dignified. There was nothing uncommon in his dress; his hunting shirt hung carelessly but gracefully on his shoulders; his other apparel was in common backwoods style." The Indians also knew him as "The man who's gun is never empty" for his skill of running and reloading his faithful flintlock at the same time. He heroically risked his life to save many future Kentuckians not the least of which was his lifelong friend Daniel Boone. Another good friend and fellow soldier was George Rogers Clark who lived on Simon's property in his later years. Simon Kenton was a frontier military officer as well. He achieved the rank of General of the Ohio Militia. Simon's older brother Corporal Mark Kenton, Jr. fought for 7 years under Henry Lee III "Light Horse Harry". Contracting tuberculosis during the Revolutionary War, Mark was able to visit KY only once in the summer of 1784. He died the following year back in VA. Among the early pioneers, his daughter Sarah's Collins descendents are still found in the area. Individual: Kenton, Simon County/State: Champaign Co., OH Page #: 005 Year: 1810 Census type code: Tax List More About SIMON Kenton: Fact 6: County/State: Champaign Co., OH |
The following court extract from http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/court/court3.htm
ahows an early connection between Simon Kenton and the McConnells:
COUNTY: Not given
CASE: Alexander McConnell v. Simon Kenton
DATE: October Term 1799
CASE Type: Land
ON: Col. Preston(N); John Maxwell(N); ------ Douglas(N); James Keene(N)
and grantee from Alexander McConnell; Joseph Frazier (grantee from Keene);
Mary Frazier(N).
OGI: Simon Kenton PE Dec 1779 1400 acres; Alexander McConnell. HAL
to Francis McConnell; Simon Kenton was first known in Kentuck by the name
“Butler”.
Plat Map
CITATION: 1 Hughes 257 [very long case]
This was one of countless cases in early Kentucky caused by the uncertainty involved in land claims. Many of the early settlers who bore the Indian attacks during the Revolution were later turned out by the courts because of the law that allowed the sale of the land by the State of Virginia to people in the East although it had already been settled and claimed in the Western counties. Thousands were deeply embittered by such developments and had to move on.
The above are abstracts of appellate cases which were heard by the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which was created when Kentucky was granted statehood in in 1792. Appellate cases can often provide genealogical information, even if the only such information is the location of the parties involved and when they were there. Many of the cases in the early appeals time frame are associated with land disputes. Primarily, the issue involved warrants for surveys on land that was already claimed by preemption. The cases were brought to prevent another individual from settling on land through treasury or military warrants which had been settled earlier by what was commonly known as "squatting".
The abstracts present the essential information in these appellate cases, as found in the Opinion of the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The case files themselves, which would contain the actual depositions, petition and answer(s), and other materials are no longer extant for Kentucky appellate records until 1863, due to a fire. Copies of the full opinion (to be scanned and sent via e-mail attachment) in any case can be requested from me at billco@ARN.NET .