75.118.53.241: /* Early life */ Fixed personal pronoun, replaced comma with semi-colon, fixed plural possessive suffix

2025-02-01T02:35:11Z

Early life: Fixed personal pronoun, replaced comma with semi-colon, fixed plural possessive suffix

New page

{{Short description|American settler}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Jonathan Alder
|image =
|caption =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1773|09|17}}
|birth_place = [[Gloucester Township, New Jersey|Gloucester, New Jersey]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1849|01|30|1773|09|17}}
|death_place = [[Canaan Township, Madison County, Ohio]]
|other_names =
|known_for = [[Settler|settling]]
|occupation = Farmer
|spouse = {{plainlist|
* Barshaw
* Mary Ann Blont
}}
}}
'''Jonathan Alder''' (September 17, 1773 – January 30, 1849)<ref name="Howe">{{Cite book |last=Howe |first=Henry|authorlink=Henry Howe |url=https://archive.org/details/historicalcolle08howegoog |page=[https://archive.org/details/historicalcolle08howegoog/page/n436 425] |quote=Jonathan Alder. |title=Historical Collections of Ohio: An Encyclopedia of the State |publisher=Henry Howe & Son |year=1891 }}</ref> was an American pioneer, and the first [[White American|white]] [[settler]] in [[Madison County, Ohio]].<ref name="Marker">{{cite web|title=Jonathan Alder|publisher=hmbd.org|date=|url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=12810|access-date=2009-03-11}}</ref> As a young child living in [[Virginia]], Alder was kidnapped by [[Shawnee]] Indians, and later adopted by a [[Mingo]] chief in the [[Ohio Country]]. He lived with the Native Americans for many years before returning to the white community.<ref name="Nelson">{{Cite book |last=Nelson |first=Larry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1lLD8jn2YAwC&q=A+History+of+Jonathan+Alder&pg=PP1 |title=A History of Jonathan Alder: His Captivity and Life With the Indians |publisher=University of Akron Press |year=2003 |isbn=1-884836-98-4 }}</ref>

Alder settled near present-day [[Plain City, Ohio]], where he became a farmer. He was reunited with his birth family, which moved to Ohio with him, and also had a short career as a military officer during the [[War of 1812]].<ref name="OHS">{{Cite book |publisher=Ohio Historical Society |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=peKyAQzpPTYC&q=Jonathan+Alder&pg=PA378 |title=Ohio History |year=1906 }}</ref> A middle school, high school, and school district in Plain City all bear his name.

==Early life==
[[File:Running the gauntlet.jpg|thumb|upright|Example of running the gauntlet]]
Alder was born September 17, 1773, in [[Gloucester Township, New Jersey|Gloucester, New Jersey]],<ref name="Howe"/> to Bartholomew Alder and Hannah Worthington. The family moved in 1775 to [[Wythe County, Virginia]], where Alder's father died about a year later.<ref name="OHS"/> In May 1782,<ref>May 1782 is the date stated in Nelson's book, which claims to be a direct re-telling of Alder's own tale. The date of the kidnapping has also been stated as 1781 (Foster) and March 1782 (Howe)</ref> Jonathan, at eight years old, was sent out with his brother David to search for a couple of horses that ran away. They were attacked by a small group of Shawnee Indians from Ohio.<ref name="Nelson"/> David saw the Indians first and tried to escape, but he was chased down, killed, and later [[Scalping|scalped]].<ref name="Howe"/> The Indian group also captured Alder's neighbor, Mrs. Martin, and her young child.

The group travelled north, passing present-day [[Chillicothe, Ohio]], on the way to a [[Mingo]] village on the north side of the [[Mad River (Ohio)|Mad River]], somewhere near present-day [[Logan County, Ohio]]. During the trip, the Indians killed and scalped Martin's child, whom they found burdensome. Martin responded by screaming in grief; when the Indians' threats to scalp her did not quiet her screams, they whipped her until she was silent.<ref name="Howe"/> Alder's life was spared due to his appearance; his captors thought his black hair would allow him to pass as an Indian.<ref name="Howe"/>

When the group reached the village, Alder learned why his life had been spared. One of the Mingo chiefs, [[Succohanos]], and his wife, Whinecheoh, were an aging couple who had lost their son, and planned to adopt Alder as a replacement.<ref name="Howe"/><ref name="Backs">{{cite web|last=Backs|first=Jean|title=Jonathan Alder - A Man of Two Worlds|publisher=Ohio State Parks Magazine|date=Fall–Winter 2004|url=http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/magazinehome/mag2004fallwin/jonathanalderfw2004/tabid/431/Default.aspx|access-date=2009-03-11|archive-date=2009-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220153611/http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/parks/magazinehome/mag2004fallwin/jonathanalderfw2004/tabid/431/Default.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Alder was forced to [[Running the gauntlet|run the gauntlet]], as a rite of passage, and after he exhibited bravery during the trial, he was adopted and cared for by Whinecheoh. The Indians' other prisoner, Mrs. Martin, had been promised to a man in another village, and was taken away during Alder's adoption ceremony.<ref name="Backs"/>

==Native American life==
The first few years that Alder lived with the Indians he was very ill, a condition Alder attributed to the Indians' diet.<ref name="Howe"/> The other children in the village were friendly towards Alder, and worked together to teach him their language, customs, and traditions.<ref name="Backs"/> In time, Alder fully adopted the Mingo way of life; he lived, hunted, and fought as an Indian. When he was old enough he was given an English [[musket]], which he used to hunt [[mud turtles]], [[wild turkey]]s, and [[raccoon]]s. He was praised in the village for his hunting skills.<ref name="Howe"/> He grew attached to his new life and when, in 1783, a trader from [[Kentucky]] offered to exchange him for a Shawnee prisoner, Alder refused.<ref name="Foster">{{Cite book |last=Foster |first=Emily |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=frYt5KcfMlMC&q=Jonathan+Alder&pg=PA81 |title=The Ohio Frontier: An Anthology of Early Writings |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=2000 |isbn=0-8131-0979-5 }}</ref> Alder was living in the Indian village of [[Mack-a-chack]] when it was destroyed by [[Benjamin Logan]] during his [[Logan's Raid|raid into Ohio Country]] in 1786, and he accompanied the Indians on raids into Kentucky to steal horses from white settlers.<ref name="Howe"/><ref name="Foster"/>

In 1790, Whinecheoh died at the age of eighty, and Succohanos died in 1792 at the age of ninety.<ref name="Backs"/> After their deaths, Alder wandered from village to village, and began courting an Indian woman from [[Upper Sandusky]] named Barshaw.<ref name="Backs"/> In the fall of 1793, during the peak of the [[Northwest Indian War]], he joined Shawnee chief [[Blue Jacket]] to defend against [[Anthony Wayne]]'s attacks in the Ohio Country,<ref name="Backs"/> and also took part in the attack on [[Fort Recovery]] on June 30, 1794.<ref name="Howe"/> Alder was asked for advice on the 1795 [[Treaty of Greenville]] on land reservations, and urged by the Indians to attend its signing. Alder, not realizing the treaty's importance, chose not to attend.<ref name="Howe"/>

==Life as settler==
[[File:AlderGravestone.JPG|thumb|left|Alder's gravestone]]
In the summer after the signing of the Treaty of Greenville, which restored peace between Indians and settlers, Alder decided to return to the white community. He married Barshaw,<ref name="Foster"/> and settled in Pleasant Valley, in the area of [[Jerome Township, Union County, Ohio|Jerome Township]], about {{convert|5|mi|km|0}} north of present-day [[Plain City, Ohio]].<ref name="Backs"/><ref name=Curry>Curry, W.L., ''History of Jerome Township, Union County, Ohio'', Heritage Books, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, 1913</ref> He built a cabin, took up the lifestyle of a farmer, and raised hogs, cows and horses. He sold milk and butter he made to the Indians, and pork and horses to the whites.<ref name="Howe"/><ref name="Backs"/> Alder began adopting the white community's habits, and learned English from the other white settlers.<ref name="Foster"/> While living in Pleasant Valley, Barshaw struggled to integrate with settler life.<ref name="Howe"/><ref name="Foster"/> She gave birth to two of Alder's children, but both died in infancy.<ref name="Backs"/> The couple decided the [[Great Spirit]] was opposed to their marriage, and separated.<ref name="Backs"/><ref name="Foster"/> Alder gave Barshaw most of the couple's property, including the cabin, all of the cows, seven horses, and about [[USD|$]]200 in silver.<ref name="Howe"/> Alder kept only two horses and the hogs.
[[File:Historical Collections of Ohio- An Encyclopedia of the State; History Both General and Local, Geography with Descriptions of Its Counties, Cities and Villages, Its Agricultural, Manufacturing, Mining (14586493188).jpg|thumb|Alder's cabin]]
After some time, Alder developed interest in his original family in Virginia. A companion, John Moore, learned that Alder had been taken prisoner near [[Greenbrier, Virginia|Greenbrier]],<ref name="Howe"/> and traveled to Wythe County to search for Alder's family. Initial inquiries were unsuccessful, but one of a series of advertisements Moore placed in the district was seen by Alder's surviving brother Paul. Paul then wrote Jonathan to inform him that the family was still alive.<ref name="Howe"/>

Alder left for Paul's house, with Moore, in November 1805.<ref name="Foster"/> He and Moore arrived in Virginia the Sunday after New Year,<ref name="Howe"/> and Alder was reunited with his biological mother and siblings. Alder stayed with his family in Virginia for over a year, and while visiting his family, he met and fell in love with Mary Ann Blont, a woman from Virginia.<ref name="Marker"/><ref name="Foster"/> The couple were married on January 6, 1806,<ref name="Backs"/> and in August 1806, Alder, Blont, and the rest of Alder's family returned to Pleasant Valley.<ref name="Backs"/> Alder built another log cabin along the [[Big Darby Creek]] in 1806, and he and Mary had 12 children between 1808 and 1830.<ref name="Nelson"/>

==Military career==
During the [[War of 1812]], during the summer of 1812 or 1813, Alder was elected captain of a [[Company (military unit)|company]] of 70 men formed in Plain City.<ref name=Curry/> With [[Frederick Loyd]] as his [[lieutenant]],<ref name="OHS"/> Alder's company was ordered by the Governor to march about twenty miles north and build a blockhouse at [[Mill Creek (Cuyahoga River)|Mill Creek]], about three miles north of [[Marysville, Ohio]], to protect the Darby settlements. The company built and garrisoned the blockhouse for a few weeks, but when a false alarm was sounded regarding Indians attacking the settlements, the men returned to their homes.<ref name="OHS"/> This was the only fort ever constructed in [[Union County, Ohio|Union County]], and some of the foundation is still visible today.<ref name="OHS"/>

After the war ended, Alder returned to the life of a farmer. He continued to visit the other former captives with whom he had become friends.<ref name="Backs"/> In the fall of 1818, Alder received a visit from [[Simon Kenton]], to share and compare stories. The two discovered that they had much in common, and had been at many of the same battles, even if they had been on opposite sides.<ref name="Backs"/> They met several times up until 1828.<ref name="Backs"/>

==Legacy==

Living out the rest of his days as a farmer, Jonathan Alder died on January 30, 1849, in [[Canaan Township, Madison County, Ohio]], at the age of 75. He had become a well-known figure in the region, and is still remembered today with a school district, [[Jonathan Alder High School|high school]], and junior high school named after him. A [[historical marker]] was erected by Ohio in front of Foster Chapel Cemetery at {{coord|39|59|42.31|N|83|15|48.11|W|display=inline}}, near [[West Jefferson, Ohio|West Jefferson]], where he is buried.<ref name="Howe"/><ref name="Marker"/> The cabin Alder built in 1806 is now located at the Madison County Historical Society Museum in London.<ref name="Foster"/>

==See also==
*[[History of Ohio]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite web|title=Early settler's home gets modern materials|publisher=[[The Vindicator]]|date=2006-11-11|url=http://www.vindy.com/news/2006/nov/11/early-settlers-home-gets-modern-materials/|access-date=2009-03-11|archive-date=2019-07-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703204654/http://www.vindy.com/news/2006/nov/11/early-settlers-home-gets-modern-materials/|url-status=dead}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111002011535/http://ohsweb.ohiohistory.org/ohiopix/search.cfm?searchfield=Collection.Title&searchterm=Jonathan%20Alder OhioPix - Search results for Jonathan Alder]

{{Good article}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alder, Jonathan}}
[[Category:1773 births]]
[[Category:1849 deaths]]
[[Category:American pioneers]]
[[Category:People from Gloucester Township, New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from the Northwest Territory]]
[[Category:People from Ohio in the War of 1812]]
[[Category:Captives of Native Americans]]
[[Category:Farmers from Ohio]]
[[Category:People from colonial Virginia]]
[[Category:People from colonial New Jersey]]
[[Category:People from Plain City, Ohio]]
[[Category:Mingo]]

Jonathan Alder - Revision history

75.118.53.241: /* Early life */ Fixed personal pronoun, replaced comma with semi-colon, fixed plural possessive suffix