Jeremiah Armstrong

• General Notes
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    THE MURDER OF JOHN ARMSTRONG'S FAMILY
         John Armstrong and Peter Mixner, with their families spent the winter
    of 1793-94 in the block house of Isaac Barker in the upper settlement of
    Belpre. These men were interested in a floating mill on the Virginia shore a
    little above the head of Blennerhassett Island. Early in the Spring of 1794
    they built cabins and removed their families to the Virginia side of the
    river in order to be near their work. This was considered at the time a
    hazardous enterprise as it proved to be. On the night of April 24th an
    attack was made on the cabin of Mr. Armstrong where Mrs. Armstrong and two
    young children were tomahawked and scalped. Three other children were taken
    into captivity and restored after the war. The other family, hearing the
    alarm, fled to their canoe and escaped before the Indians reached their
    cabin. Mr. Armstrong retreated to the mill where his two oldest boys were
    sleeping and all escaped. As soon as the alarm could be given in the morning
    a party from Stone's Garrison crossed the river but the Indians had
    retreated beyond their reach. The dead bodies were taken across the river
    and buried.-
    The pursuing party found by their trail where the Indians had raised their
    sunken canoes and crossed the Ohio to the Big Hocking up which they pushed
    their boats several miles when they left them and traveled by land. By the
    prints of the children's feet in the mud they ascertained that the prisoners
    were yet alive; and lest they would kill them if they were overtaken by the
    whites, they gave up the pursuit, and returned down stream and across the
    Ohio in the bark canoe left by the Indians.
         On their arrival at the Wyandot towns the children were adopted into
    different families. Jeremiah the youngest, whose life was saved by the kind
    offices of a young warrior, was taken by the celebrated Chief Crane, who is
    represented to have been a kind hearted humane man and used him well. All
    were given up at the close of the war.