General John Tipton’s Fort Wayne Connection

(Fort Wayne Monthly “Along the Heritage Trail with Tom Castaldi” – Oct 2016 No 141)

2016 Indiana Bicentennial Commission Legacy Endorsed Project

General John Tipton’s Fort Wayne Connection

Jonathan Jennings the first elected Governor of Indiana was responsible for naming commissioners to resolve the demands of government. The man who would eventually come to Allen County as Indian Agent, John Tipton, was a popular choice for several such assignments.  Just four years after statehood was achieved in January 1820, Tipton was named to a ten member commission to select and locate a site for a state capital.  Ultimately the Commission chose Indianapolis over Strawtown. 

On April 3, 1821, Jennings again tapped John Tipton for commission duty.  Now it was to locate the boundary line between Indiana and the new state of Illinois which was established in 1818.  Surveying meant plodding through unbroken country in the days before satellite technology offered its challenges.  M.W. Pershing, author of Life of General John Tipton published an interesting supposition: “But for an error made by the surveyor, who failed to establish a true meridian, the great city of Chicago would today be in the State of Indiana, instead of in the State of Illinois.”  Had the surveyor not made an error, would Chicago today be placed within Indiana as a city?  Pershing concluded that the surveyor’s notes held a stronger influence over Tipton’s insistence and Chicago stayed with Illinois.  

The notion that Chicago might be included within Indiana may have another interpretation.  Historian Will Ball’s account, taken from The Tipton Papers, delineates the field notes made during the boundary surveys. In 1834, Micajah T. Williams resurveyed the 1821 completed boundary line project and found no changes necessary.  In a moment of conjecture, Ball wrote that some years later when a member of the U.S. Senate, Tipton agitated for a harbor at the mouth of Trail Creek and not at the mouth of the Chicago River, both empting into Lake Michigan. Historian Will Ball contends, “If (Tipton’s) proposal had carried, Chicago today would be in Indiana where Michigan City now stands.”

 Well documented is another explanation to be considered and can be found in the pages of Indiana Boundaries edited by Dorothy Riker.  Illinois upon receiving the survey objected to the report since it did not fix any starting point at the site of Vincennes.  Stating that he was aware of their concern, Tipton confirmed that he had given Illinois an advantage since he was, “fearful he might injure his political standing by stating the fact in the Report and the Field Book, refused to make any other return.” On February 17, 1823, confirmation of both the Illinois and Indiana Assemblies approved the line.

In 1823, John Tipton by appointment of President Monroe, was made Indian Agent and assigned to Fort Wayne. General Tipton has even been credited with suggesting the name for Allen County to honor Colonel John Allen of the Kentucky Militia who lost his life at the Battle of River Raisin in Michigan.  Indian Agent Tipton was then assigned another important task. At the 1826 Treaty of Paradise Springs, now present-day Wabash, Indiana, the President appointed Tipton, Lewis Cass and Governor John B. Ray to negotiate with the Miami and Potawatomi.

In 1828, Tipton relocated the agency moving it to Logansport where Indian tribes received annuity payments resulting from treaties. He argued that the tribes would be better served if the agency moved away from the white traders.

After the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed, and the day came in 1838 for the Potawatomi to relocate to the lands set aside west of the Mississippi, tribe members resented having to make the move. It became such a serious resistance that Governor Wallace sent in soldiers to persuade the Indians to begin their move west. The Governor called on General Tipton to carry out the unfortunate mission and the oppressed, dejected, and humiliated Indians were forced to leave their beloved home land.

John Tipton was a man of many experiences packed into a relatively few years. He died in 1839 at the age of fifty-three and is buried in Logansport’s Mount Hope Cemetery.

Allen County Historian Tom Castaldi is author of the Wabash & Erie Canal Notebook series; hosts “On the Heritage Trail,” which is broadcast. Mondays on WBOI, 89.1 FM; and “Historia Nostra” heard on Redeemer Radio 106.3 FM.  Enjoy his previously published columns on the History Center’s blog, “Our Stories,” at history centerfw.blogspot.com and “Blogging Hoosier History” at Indiana Historical Bureau’s blog.history.in.gov.

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Locating a Capitol City for Indiana

(Fort Wayne Monthly “Along the Heritage Trail with Tom Castaldi” – Sept. 2016 No 140)

2016 Indiana Bicentennial Commission Legacy Endorsed Project

Locating a Capitol City for Indiana

In 1816, when Indiana entered the Union, Corydon was designated as the first state capital.  In those early Territory days, pioneer settlers had clustered together on the lands in proximity with the Ohio River. An Indiana Assembly had petitioned Congress for statehood in 1811, but its appeal was not approved. The want-to-be state of Indiana registered a meager 24,520 population in the 1810 census. Northwest Territory guidelines required a population of 60,000 before a territory qualified for adopting a constitution and joining the Union. 

 Jonathan Jennings, the territorial delegate was a central political figure of the Indiana Territory since 1809 and a significant player in the movement for statehood.  He was from Charleston near New Albany, Indiana.  Jennings was the successor of William Henry Harrison, across the state to the west who had set Vincennes as the seat of the Indiana Territory.  Corydon had a geographical advantage being situated at the near center to the south at the bottom of the Territorial border.

A second request for statehood was made in 1815 as Indiana’s population had increased to 63,897 moving Congress to pass an enabling act in April 1816 and called for a constitutional convention.  The convention took place the following June at Corydon conveniently located for those who travelled to the event. Indiana was well on its way to join Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Louisiana following the original thirteen United States.

After Indiana was admitted, the governor appointed a ten-member Commission to select and locate a site for a new state capitol.  Among the Commissioners named was John Tipton who later served as the Indian Agent at Fort Wayne.  Several towns petitioned for the honor and each location was visited by the Commissioners.  Some of the sites included Vincennes, Corydon, Madison, Terre Haute, Strawtown and Indianapolis. 

Locations were narrowed down to the wooded area near the junction of Fall Creek and the White River.  The other finalist according to M.W. Pershing’s biography of John Tipton was Strawtown. The influential William Conner strongly supported Strawtown, however, Tipton was favorable to Indianapolis, “and to head off further discussion and delay, he made a motion that Indianapolis be made the site of the new capital.” When the vote was cast and counted, Indianapolis positioned at the center of the state was selected.

History writer Alan McPherson reminds us that the name Indianapolis is derived from “Indian” attached to “polis” the Greek word for city. The name Marion was chosen for the county to celebrate Brigadier General Francis Marion known as the “Swamp Fox” and hero of the Revolutionary War.  By 1824 the legislature authorized building a temporary structure to serve as a courthouse enabling State Treasurer Samuel Morrill to move the records from Corydon to the new location.  In January 1821, the legislators first met there and by 1835 a new capital building was erected.

Having lived in northern Indiana as a lifelong Hoosier, it is not uncommon to have heard the lamenting that our state capital is at such a distance to travel.  In 1998 while serving on the project team charged with planning a new Indiana State Museum building the question of where it should be located was laid on the table for a vote. Where else should it go? North central at Logansport or Peru is too far north for the people to travel living in Evansville, Tell City or Madison.  Place it in Bloomington or Columbus and it’s too distant from Fort Wayne, South Bend or Gary. Back in 1821, the Commission, charged with locating the seat of government found Indianapolis geographically offers a greater, if not more equitable, access to most Hoosiers. When Indiana gained statehood, her population was concentrated across southern reaches of the state.  As a capital, centrally placed Indianapolis is as practical for today’s Hoosiers as was the southern community of Corydon back in 1816.

Allen County Historian Tom Castaldi is author of the Wabash & Erie Canal Notebook series; hosts “On the Heritage Trail,” which is broadcast. Mondays on WBOI, 89.1 FM; and “Historia Nostra” heard on Redeemer Radio 106.3 FM. Enjoy his previously published columns on the History Center’s blog, “Our Stories,” at history centerfw.blogspot.com. and “Blogging Hoosier History” at Indiana Historical Bureau’s blog.history.in.gov.

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Indian Agents a Factor in Early Fort Wayne

(Fort Wayne Monthly “Along the Heritage Trail with Tom Castaldi” – Aug 2016 No 139)

2016 Indiana Bicentennial Commission Legacy Endorsed Project

Indian Agents a Factor in Early Fort Wayne

In the years leading up to the time Indiana advanced to statehood, the U.S. Government was represented by Indian Agents and Factors.  The Factor or Factory was the government representative for financial and commercial matters leaving the political affairs to the Indian Agent.  However, the functions oftentimes overlapped, and the titles used indiscriminately.  Eventually, the terms “Factory” and “Factor” were nearly replaced with “Agency” and “Agent” and intended to be helpful to the Indian people by providing an appointed representative for the native population living on the Wabash-Maumee frontier.  

Who were these first players who took on this responsibility? A list of those who served in that capacity in Fort Wayne from 1798 through 1828 can be found in The Tipton Papers.  Here is a short description of some of the agents.

William Wells (serving 1798 to 1809) as a boy, was captured along the Ohio River by the Miami who adopted and assimilated him into their tribe. Married to Little Turtle’s daughter, Wells became a confidant of the great War Chief. He died at the relief of Fort Dearborn in 1812. To honor his remarkable service to his country, congress gave him the right to pre-emption of lands that today comprise Fort Wayne’s Bloomingdale and Spy Run neighborhoods known as “Wells Pre-emption.”

John Johnston (1802-1811) had been appointed Indian Factor or Factory in 1802 as the government representative for financial and commercial matters, leaving the political affairs to the Indian Agent. He did, however, succeed Wells as Agent.  Today, the Johnston Farm at Pique, Ohio, is celebrated as a tourist attraction and recalls the life of Johnston.  It was Col. Johnston’s place which provided a safe haven for the women and children who had escaped the dangers surrounding the siege of Fort Wayne.

Benjamin F. Stickney (1811-1819) the grand nephew of Ben Franklin took charge as both Factor and Agent in 1811 and was at Fort Wayne when Indiana became a state in 1816.  In 1820, Stickney was reassigned to Toledo, Ohio and became involved in the Ohio-Michigan border dispute. It was a time when both the state of Ohio and the-then Michigan Territory fought over a ten-mile strip of land. Each hoped for control over the Wabash & Erie Canal’s connection with Lake Erie before Ohio finally won the argument.

Dr. William Turner (1819–1820) arrived from Maryland and was first stationed at Fort Wayne as the garrison surgeon’s mate from 1810 to 1812. He became surgeon of the Seventeenth Infantry in 1813.  He resigned from the army in 1815 and married Anne Wells the daughter of William Wells.  In 1819, he became Indian Agent but as historian Griswold noted that due to failing health, Dr. Turner was relieved of his duties and his office turned over to John Hays. Turner died in Fort Wayne in 1821.

John Hay (1820–1831) born in New York City in 1770 gained experience as a trading house clerk dealing with the Indians in Canada.  He moved to Cahokia and was sheriff of St. Clair County and postmaster during the years 1798 to 1818. At Fort Wayne he took over for Dr. Turner at a salary of $1,200 per year. After his service at Fort Wayne he became Receiver of Public Moneys in Jackson, Missouri. His last days were said to have been spent in Cahokia.

John Tipton (1823- 1831) was born in Tennessee, in 1756 and moved to Indiana with his widowed mother. As an adult he served at the Battle of Tippecanoe eventually rising to the rank of Brigadier General. He served as a U.S. Senator but while in the Indiana legislature was a member of the commission that selected the first state capital at Corydon. Acting to separate the Indians receiving government annuities from the traders, Tipton moved the agency to Logansport in 1828.

For thirty years Fort Wayne was the center of the Indian Agent / Factor. Some were better known to history than others, however, they were on the ground to handle the furs brought in by the Indian people as well as for shipments to the East, dispensing annuity payments paid to the Indians, and financed land purchases.  Later perhaps in other places, others were on hand following Federal government orders and participated in the unfortunate removal of these same Indian charges forcibly removed from their traditional homeland to reservations in the West.

Allen County Historian Tom Castaldi is author of the Wabash & Erie Canal Notebook series; hosts “On the Heritage Trail,” which is broadcast. Mondays on WBOI, 89.1 FM; and “Historia Nostra” heard on Redeemer Radio 106.3 FM. Enjoy his previously published columns on the History Center’s blog, “Our Stories,” at history centerfw.blogspot.com.

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