The quotation which follows is from the Hon. William Reynold’s contribution to the Centennial History of Crawford county:
"In the twilight of the evening of May 12, 1788, a party of ten men built their camp fire beneath a wild cherry on the bank of French creek, near the present site of the Mercer street bridge, in the town of Meadville. They were the first settlers in Crawford county—Cornelius Van Horne and Christopher Snyder, from New Jersey; David Mead and his brothers—Darius, John and Joseph—John Watson, Thomas Martin, James F. Randolph and Thomas Grant, from Sunbury, Northumberland county. On the next day these pioneers built a cabin on the deserted corn fields of the Indians on the bottom, between the Cussewago and French creek, and commenced their first planting. Grant selected the present site of Meadville, but abandoned the settlement the same summer, when David Mead took possession and built a double log house on the bluff banks of French creek, where is now the residence of James F. McFarland, Esq. This house was built with a view of defense against Indian attacks, and was surrounded with a stockade and protected by a small, square log blockhouse on the northwest corner.
During 1789 the little colony known as "Mead’s settlement" was reinforced by the arrival of the family of Darius Mead, Frederick Baum, and Robert Fitz Randolph with their families, Frederick Haymaker, William Gregg, Samuel Lord and John Wentworth. On April 1st, 1791, the settlers were warned by Flying Cloud—a son of the Chief Connedaughta— of threatened danger from the hostile western tribes, and on the same day eleven strange Indians were seen a few miles northwest of the settlement. The women and children of the colony were gathered within the Mead house and cellar and on the next day sent in canoes to Fort Franklin. The Indian chief, Half Town—who was a half-brother to Cornplanter— was encamped here at the time with twenty-seven of his "braves." Twelve of these he sent to guard the canoes, six on each side of the creek, and with his remaining warriors he joined the settlers in a fruitless search for the hostiles seen by Gregg. On the following day all the men departed for Franklin with their horses, cattle and moveable effects.
On May 3d, Cornelius Van Horne, William Gregg and Thomas Ray returned to plant the spring crops. Stopping for the night at Gregg’s cabin, they shelled a bag of corn, part of which they ground the next morning at the Mead house. Arriving at the corn field, Van Horne laid his gun on the bag of seed corn and ploughed while Gregg and Ray planted. At noon Gregg and Ray returned to the Mead house for dinner and fresh horses. While ploughing, Van Horne saw two Indians emerge from the woods. The one dropping his bow and the other his gun, they rushed to the attack with their tomahawks. Van Horne grasped the uplifted arm of the first savage and entered on a struggle for life. By his superior strength and agility he shielded himself from the attack of his more formidable foe with the body of his weaker antagonist, calling loudly for help. After a time the Indians promised his life on condition of surrender. Mounting the horses, Van Horne between them, they crossed the Cussewago, and entering a ravine on the hillside they met two other Indians. They tied the arms of their prisoner and three returned to the corn field. Van Horne and the Indian rode the horses to Conneaut Lake and crossed the outlet. Here they dismounted and Van Horne was tied by the ends of the rope which secured his arms to a tree while his captors left in search of game. With a knife he had secreted he succeeded in cutting the rope and made his escape to the settlement where by good fortune he found thirty soldiers under Ensign Jeffers, on their return from Erie to Fort Franklin.
"Gregg and Ray returning with the horses discovered the three Indians and fled, crossing the Cussewago near its mouth. Gregg, after reaching the opposite bank, was wounded, and seating himself on a log he was shot by his pursuers through the head with his own gun. Ray was captured and carried to Detroit, then occupied by a British garrison. Here he was recognized by an old school-fellow of his boyhood in Scotland, Captain White, who purchased him from his captors for two gallons of whiskey, furnished him money and sent him on a vessel to Buffalo, from whence he was piloted to Franklin by Stripe Neck—an old Mohawk chief, who lived after the early settlement on the west side of French creek near the site of the present tannery in Kerrtown. Ray made his settlement and ended his days in the northwest corner of Mead township.
"In the summer of the same year Darius Mead, the father of David and John, was captured near Franklin. His body was found side by side with that of one of his captors, Captain Bull, a Delaware chief. The duel had been to the death and they were buried side by side where found, near the Shenango creek in Mercer county.
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