From Gazetteer of Crawford County, 1874

The first settlement of this township was contemporary with
that of the county, as the first nine settlers, including the three
Meads, after one or two days' explorations on the east side of
French Creek, in the vicinity of Meadville, crossed that stream
above the mouth of the Cussewago, and erected a temporary
place of residence, about the middle of May, 1788. They
then commenced plowing one of the old Indian fields, with
four horses to the plow, and after breaking up some eight or
ten acres, they planted them with corn. A freshet in the
stream soon after destroyed their crop, and it was replanted in
the month of June." Those who settled on the west side of
the creek, in Vernon, were John and David Mead, the former
about one mile north of the site of Meadville, and the latter
upon a tract immediately south of him, but. which he soon
abandoned to occupy the location first selected by Thomas
Grant — the site of Meadville — where he erected a cabin in the
north part of the village which bears his name, and Cornelius
Van Horne, who moved into an old Indian cabin which stood
upon the track he selected. In October VanHorne was visited
by Archibald Davidson, Sr. and Jr. and Jacob VanHorne, who
remained about a week, when the four returned to New Jersey,
whence VanHorne came. In the fall of 1789 VanHorn again
visited this locality and remained until Christmas, when he
again returned to New Jersey. In October, 1790, he, in com-
pany with Thomas Lacey and Peter and Matthew Colsher, left
New Jersey for his new home with a wagon drawn by two
horses. They came via Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At the
latter place they sold their horses and conveyance and proceeded
thence to the Cussewago in a canoe.

The first few years of settlement were fraught with danger
as well as privation, for the frequent threatened and actual
attacks of bands of hostile Indian's rendered life upon these
frontiers perilous, and several times impelled the settlers to
abandon their lands and seek safety at Franklin, the nearest
fortified place of any pretensions. The house of David Mead
was fortified and in it the settlers were accustomed to congre-
gate when suddenly and unexpectedly attacked. We extract
from Incidents in the Early History of Crawford County, Pa., by
Alfred Huidekoper, the following episode which forms an in-
teresting chapter in the early history of this county, and is an
event which occurred in 1791 and in which one of the first
settlers in this township took a prominent part:

"About the first of May, Cornelius Van Horn, Christopher Lantz,
William Gregg and Thomas Ray, volunteered to leave the fort at Frank-
lin, and return to Meadville, with their guns in their hands, and endeavor
to put in a crop of corn. To do this it was necessary that Van Horn should
first get his horses from Pittsburgh ; and accordingly he went after them.
In returning he was obliged to follow a wild path through the woods,
from Pittsburgh to Venango, and he describes his ride as lonely, desolate
and disagreeable. Crossing the Slippery Rock Creek the first day, he en-
camped for the night in a deep ravine. He had obtained some bread and
two pounds of butter at Pittsburgh, out of which he made his supper, and
then threw himself on his blanket to sleep with his gun by his side.
Shortly afterwards he was awakened by the crackling of the fire, and
found that, spreading among the dry leaves, it had communicated itself to
his butter. In his endeavors to extinguish the flames, his hands were so
severely burned as to prevent him from sleeping any more for the night.
At day break he found that his harness was much injured by the fire, and
that the horses he had turned out to browse had wandered away, so that
it was ten o'clock before he was able to find them, and pursue his journey.

"The second day he progressed as far as Sandy Creek, and slept again
in the woods. On his route he encountered one Indian, who was on his
way to Slippery Rock, and whose good will he endeavored to gain by shar-
ing with him from his bottle and his remaining stock of bread. On the
third day he reached Franklin in safety, where he found the officer, with
about twenty-five of his men, preparing to set out in a few days for Erie.

"On the fifth day of May, (Christopher Lantz being too unwell to ac-
company them,) Cornelius Van Horn, William Gregg and Thomas Ray,
having returned to Meadville, went to their field to plant it with corn.
They worked during the morning, Van Horn ploughing, and the others
planting until noon, when Ray and Gregg returned to their cabin for din-
ner, leaving Van Horn ploughing alone, they engaging to bring his dinner
to him. Shortly after they left. Van Horn, who had laid his gun on the
bag of corn, at the end of the furrow, observed his horses to appear fright-
ened, and on turning round, discovered two Indians running towards him.
The foremost one threw down his bow and arrows, knocked off Van
Horn's hat, and drew his tomahawk to strike. Van Horn, who, though
short, was a stout built man, seized the tomahawk and held it with such
force that the Indian could not wrest it from him. The second Indian,
having laid down his gun, now came up and endeavored to get a stroke
with his tomahawk, but Van Horn managed to keep up so much action,
had to throw the other Indian between himself and the danger, that he
could not accomplish it. Van Horn pleading for his life, the Indians con-
ferred a moment together, when one of them, who spoke English, after
cautioning him, with an oath, to make less noise, told him they would
spare him, and that he might go with them. The Indians commenced un-
harnessing the horses, but Van Horn requested them to take the gears
along, promising to plow for them. They took each a horse, and Van
Horn ran between them. Crossing the Cussewago near its mouth, and
going west, up a ravine, for about a quarter of a mile, they came to whare
two other Indians were waiting for them on the hill. Here the Indians in-
quired of Van Horn the situation of the settlement, and on learning how
things stood, three of them took up their arms and went back, leaving the
remaining one, an elderly Indian, in charge of the prisoner. After re-
maining about three-quarters of an hour, the Indian put Van Horn on one
of the horses, while he rode the other, and they pursued a dim Indian jMith
until they came to Conneaut Lake. After crossing the outlet they dis-
mounted. The horses were fettered so that they could not escape, and
the Indian then tied the rope which confined the arms of his prisoner, to
a tree and left him, going back upon the trail, it is suposed, either to fish
in the lake or to watch if they were pursued. When left alone. Van Horn,
who had given up his knife and powder-horn to the Indian who had cap-
tured him, began to search in his pockets to see if he could find any in-
strument to escape with. He fortunately discovered a small toy knife,
which he had picked up the day before. It was deplorably dull, but,
after whetting it on the key of his chest, and sawing awhile, he succeeded
in cutting off that part of the rope which confined him to the tree. He
immediately ran down the outlet, crossed it, and after struggling through
the swamp, succeeded in making his way eastward, until he came to a
path leading up French Creek, which he followed until he reached a small
nursery of apple trees he had planted near Kennedy's Bridge. Finding
the nursery full of weeds, and apprehensive if the fire got among them
that his trees would be injured, he commenced weeding, as well as he
could with his arms fettered. He had been at work but a few minutes,
when he heard some one call to him from across the creek. Fearful of
danger, he dared not to answer; but when the call was repeated, he
recognized the voice of John Fredebaugh, an old acquaintance. He im-
mediately left his work, and, though the water was deep and cold, he
waded through it to Fredebaugh, who conducted him to Ensign Jeffers,
who, with thirty soldiers and three Indians, was at Mead's house. Jefters
cut the cord which bound Van Horn, and immediately ordered sentinels
to be posted, and sent part of his men to the island for his horses, intend-
tending at once to leave for Franklin. The horses were all found but the
Ensign's, and he with his men left, leaving behind two Indians and Van
Horn, the latter refusing to go until he had collected some articles he
wanted. He passed the night with the two Indians under some oak trees
east of the present village, [Meadville] and in the morning, finding he had
nothing to eat, he returned to the field where he had the day before been
made a prisoner, and where he discovered, in a basket, the dinner which
had been brought out for him the day before, by Gregg and Ray. After
breakfast, having succeeded in catching the missing horse of Ensign
Jeffers, he put his own saddle upon it, and gave it to one of the Indians to
ride, while the other Indian and himself took a canoe, and descended to
Franklin by water. The Indian on horseback was not heard of afterwards,
and probably took his booty and rode off' with it to the west.

William Gregg and Thomas Ray, whom we left going to their cabin,
after dinner went out to where they had left Van Horn, and found that he
was gone, and immediately after discovered the three Indians approaching
them. They retreated, but as Gregg was crossing the Cussewago Creek,
near its junction with French Creek, he was shot through the thigh, and
disabled for further flight. He called to Ray to assist him. Ray stopped,
and the Indians came up. Both Ray and Gregg appear to have been panic
stricken, or they might have defended themselves. The Indians took
Gregg's gun (their own being unloaded) and shot him with it, as he was
seated on the bank of the creek. They scalped and left him, taking Ray
with them as a prisoner.

"They followed the trail of the Indian who had preceded them, and on
arriving at Conneaut Lake found their comrade, and learned from him
that Van Horn had made his escape ; a circumstance which, the Indians
told Ray, was entirely in his favor, as they had determined to risk taking
with them but one prisoner, and that either he or Van Horn must have
perished, if the latter had not eluded them. * * * After un-
dergoing the usual vicissitudes of Indian captivity on his way to the west,
his captors brought him at last in the neighborhood of a British garrison,
near Detroit ; here Ray, who was a Scot by birth, recognized one of the
British officers (a Captain White) as a fellow-countryman, whom he had
seen in Scotland. On making known his situation to Captain White, the
latter, with generous benevolence, purchased his liberty from the Indians,
gave him a suit of clothes, and paid his passage in a schooner to Buffalo.
On reaching the latter place, Ray met with a Mohawk chief, of the name
of Stripe Neck, who resided at Meadville, and who conducted him to
Franklin, and from thence he proceeded to join his family at Pittsburgh,
to the agreeable surprise of his relatives and friends, who had relinguished
all expectation of having him return."

In the early part of 1794, the settlers organized a military
company, and Cornelius Van Horn was chosen captain.

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