Elizabeth Tackett

From files of The Tackett Family Assn./Elizabeth Tackett --

!From the "Crists Weekly Advertiser," Cincinnati, OH - 15 J une 1847: [Being an abstract from an article which relate d this event that occurred at the time of the attack on For t Tackett, 27 Aug 1790.] "Betsy Tackett who had been captur ed by Indians , was stolen from them by a Mr. McPherson, wh o was trading with them, and carried her to Detroit where s he subsequently married Robert Johnson, who purchased Samue l Tackett (from the Indians), and then returned with them t o Kanawha..." (JWT Note: Samuel Tackett, b c1773 was the as sumed son of Christopher Tacket, who was killed in the 179 0 massacre of Fort Tackett.]

"Peaceful Park Scene of Indian Outbreak. Beuty Spot Was Onc e Bloody as Blackshoe Tribe Swooped Down on Men, Women, an d Children and Killed Them", by Cal. F. Young.

Copied from Microfilm in the Cabell County, WV

Library:

The Herald-Advertiser,

Huntington, WV,

Sunday morning, January 12, 1930

More than a score of men, women and children massacred on F our Pole Creek, Ritter Park, by a band of Black Shoe Indian s, an off-spring of The Shawnee or Mingo Tribe.

Such a story would circle the globe within a few hours an d be printed in newspapers within a day in more than a scor e of languages--as if it had "broken" yesterday, instead o f 140 years ago.

There are evidences of the truth of the slaughter. What i s stated abve is reorted to hve taken place about 1790, o r early in the 1790's.

Betty Tackett, a young woman living with her parents at th e junction of the Ohio and Guyan rivers, now Guyandotte, wi tnessed the scene of the slaughter before the bodies were d isposed of and frequetly related the incident to members o f her family and relatives. Betty Tackett, as Mrs.Reuben Cr emeans, died in Mason County in 1884 at the age of 118.

Shopman Relates Story

A son, Henderson Cremeans, through whom much of the data re lative to the early inhabitants of Huntington, was brough t down to existing relatives, was well known in the Ohio Va lley. His death occurred in 1913 at the age of 115. Our i nformation comes through these two persons to Henry R Bryan , 2344 Ninth Avenue, a night foreman at the Chesapeake an d Ohio shops. Some of the data Mr Bryan remembers having

heard Mrs. Reuben Cremeans (Betty Tackett) relate on visit s to the home of his parents in Mason County, to himself an d Henderson Cremeans, and as retold by Henderson Cremeans , to Henry A Bryan. Of some of the incidents Mr. Bryan is n ot

certain of the exact date but he is certain as to the incid ents and the approximate dates.

According to the information thus obtained the first whit e settlers in the Huntington section were the Tacketts--M r and Mrs Ambrose Tackett, one daughter, Betty and four son s. They came from the waters of the Rappahannock in Virgini a via the New River to the Creek just east of St. Albans, n ow known as Tackett's Creek.

Talks With Cornstalk

Here the caravan of ox teams and many hogs encountered Indi ans, who showed no diposition to be friendly and the Tacket ts headed down the kanawha River to Point Pleasant, reachin g there before the Battle of Point Pleasant on October 10 , 1774,

in which Tackett participated against the Shawnees under Co rnstalk.

At this time, Betty Tackett was about eight yeard old, havi ng been born in 1766. Betty was also present at the killin g of Cornstalk in 1777, and was reported to have frequentl y talked with the great Indian chieftain, who she greatly a dmired and

whom she always had been mistreatd by the white men.

Following the battle between Lord Dunmore's forces and th e Shawnees in 1774, and the killing of Cornstalk, the Tacke tts came down the Ohio to the junction of the Guyandotte an d Ohio, and built a home where now Guyandotte is situated . Trips back and forth between here and Point Pleasant wer e numerous. On one of these trips to Point Pleasant Betty f requently related, she saw General George Washington.

Friendly With Indians

As handed down, the early trials of the Tackett family in w hat is now Guyandotte, were varied. Tackett counted upon th is section as his future home. In most instances he and th e scattered Indian bands had few difficulties. About 1790 , it is related, a band of Red Hawks, with which Cornstalk' s son, Elinipsico, at one time affiliated, were located a t what is now known as Indian - Guyan, opposite the Ohio fr om Guyandotte.

With this band the elder Tackett and his sons had numerou s and friendly dealings, frequently trading hogs to the Ind ians. This tribe is claimed to have been a branch of the Sh awnees. At the same time there was also a settlement of In dians on the hill east of Guyandotte. Some of the old mound s are still visible.

The exact date of the massacre on Four Pole is not definite ly fixed by the data available, but was either in 1790 or w ithin the next year of two. Just when this white band settl ed on Four Pole and erected their block houses, is also lac king, except they were not there when the Tacketts reache d the junction of the Guyan and Ohio and the immediate yea r thereafter. It is known that the white band had erecte d a number

of block houses and had taken precautions against an India n attack.

White Coloy Attacked

These precautions were neglected on a hot summer day and th e double barricades to the houses were left open. Apparent ly watching for an opportunity the Indian band of

Black Shoes swooped down and completely annihilated the whi te colony. Children were picked up and swung about, their b rains being smeared about the trees. every one of the colon y was either killed or later died from injuries received i n the conflict.

It was from the injured that the Tacketts got their story.

The Tackett family witnessed the scene immediately after th e attack and saw the bodies scattered about the stockade . Betty and her son, Henderson Cremeans, are reported to h ave frequently related. Henderson's story coming from his f ather,

mother and uncles. In 1797 Betty Tackett married Reuben Cr emeans from what is

now Mason County. She is said to have been the first whit e woman married west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The cerem ony was performed by an army chaplain at Point Pleasant. A lmost immediately the Cremeans took up their abode near th e junction of Muc river and Lower Creek, about one mile fro m the present town of Milton in this county.

Felled Indian with turnip

In 1820 the family moved to Mason County, locating on Knif e Branch of Guyan Creek.

Henderson Cremeans, a son of Reuben and Betty, was born i n 1798. He died in 1913, aged 115 years. Until a few year s before his death he ws very active and frequently visite d the scenes of his parents' early life. Like most frontier smen, Henderson was of a rugged type and able to give a goo d account of himself in any kind of an encounter. Whil e a resident of Mud River Henderson was attacked by three I ndians

while gathering turnips. With a turnip he felled one of th e Indians and sprang on him and soon finished the Indian of f. The others escaped. These were the last Indians seen i n that community. This experience was related with a certai n degree of satisfaction by Henderson.

Mr Bryan stated that both Betty and her son Henderson, wh o was Mr Bryan's uncle, enjoyed relating their early experi ences. Expecially would the latter enjoy relating

the exeriences of his mother as she had related them to him.

Saw Buffalo in River

Among some of the experiences were the activities of the Bu ffalo when the family resided at what is now Guyandotte, Sh e told of having seen droves containing as many as 75 buffa lo and swimming the Ohio river at that point. The only lan d routes in those days were the Buffalo Trails. That is al l they had to follow over the Blue Ridge Mountains into th e New and Kanawha River Valleys, and on to the Ohio they wo uld declare. What is now known as Reservoir hill, was name d Panther Knob by the Tacketts A disturbance among the hog s one night was found to have been caused by a panther, bu t that fact was not definitely known until the next mornin g when the animal was found in a tree top where it had bee n chased by a number of dogs. The Tackett boys secured on e of their flintlocks and killed the panther. The animal me asured eleven feet from tip to tip. Thereafter the hill wa s known as Panther Knob..

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