The James Cannon family. Some time prior to the
Revolution of 1776, a lad of fifteen found his way from Ireland to the United
States. This boy was James Cannon, who on reaching this country, became a
�tanners apprentice for about two years. He then joined the Continental Army and
served to �pave the way for Independence.� Commissioned as First Lieutenant,
James served part of the time under the immediate command of General Washington.
At the close of the war, he located in Sherman�s Valley, Pennsylvania, where he
married Mary Long. They moved to Ohio, settling in Franklin in 1795, where for
four years he operated a tannery. After moving to a Franklin County farm in
1799, they then came to Shelby County in 1806. The
Cannons started in southern Shelby County, moving to the mouth of the Loramie
Creek, later on to what is now Sidney (where James Cannon was one of the first
men to help improve the land on what was then �Charles Starretts farm) and
then settling north of Hardin in Turtle Creek
Township in 1815. The Cannons had seven children: Abraham, Catherine, Margaret,
James, Susanna, Richard M. and Daniel. James passed away in 1828. One of Cannon�s sons,
Abraham, stayed on Starrett�s farm, living
in a one-room log cabin. When Sidney was made the county seat of Shelby County,
this log cabin would serve as a meeting place for a court house until one could
be built. Another Cannon son, Richard, caused quite a
stir while stationed as a volunteer at the Johnston Farm in Piqua when he shot
an Indian who was
trying to steal a horse. Two old horses had to be given to the Indians in
apology for this act. Richard would serve as a Justice of the Peace in the 1840s
and outlive many of his fellow pioneers, passing away at one month shy of 92
years of age in 1888.
Surnames of Early Settlers
(from immigration web site
segment)
Turtle Creek
Cannon,
IRELAND
Cannon,
In the early years, Philadelphia was the major port of entry for
immigration
Arriving in U.S. Was Only First Step
Many More Hours of Travel Needed to Get to
Local Cities
Many early 19th century immigrants to Ohio entered the U.S. through the ports
of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other eastern cities, where, after a short stay,
they hired freight wagons to transport their possessions (while they walked) to
Wheeling, West Virginia, or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In both cities, they
boarded steamships for the trip down the Ohio River to Cincinnati, then began
the nearly 100 mile overland trip to Shelby County
Adapting is the Key to Immigrant Success
For being "...a teeming nation of nations" Americans have not always
treated its fellow immigrants kindly or as equals. In the case of slaves, they
were treated as servants, the Irish were looked upon as a drain on society [many
ads of the day included "Irish need not apply."],
According to the Shelby County Genealogical Society, there are 13
Revolutionary War
../indians/17761783 soldiers buried in
Shelby County, Ohio; Lewis Boyer, James Cannon pioneers/1806, Ezra Carey,
Zachariah Cecil, Reverend William A. Davis, Peter L. Hall, Colonel John Hardin John Line,
Joseph Line, Thomas A. Shaw, Joshua Stevens, Timothy Wales and
Samuel Woodward.
Berry, Phillips,
Valentine The first white settlement in southern Shelby County,
Ohio, (Orange Township) had been made by James Cannon
1806 but other early
settlers to the area included John Phillips/William Berry who arrived in the
spring and Daniel Valentine in the fall of 1809
First Home in Sidney, Ohio
John Blake, a wealthy man originally from
Yorkshire, England, wanted to start a new life in Sidney. In March, 1820, he
moved his family from Piqua and lived in a structure built by Richard
Cannon Pioneer 1806 on what had been Charles
Starretts property. At the auction, Blake bought Lot
No. 49, north of the Shelby County on Poplar Street, for
$125. The average cost of the lots were $50, ranging from $23.69 to $125.
This document is copied exactly as written from the original which appeared
in the Shelby County Genealogical Society�s "Shelbyana" newsletter issue, July
1990, No. 44. This
Indenture made this 10th day of August in the year of our lord one thousand
Eight hundred and twenty six witnesseth that John Hathaway and Jane Hathaway
hath this day placed and bound their son George Washington Cannon Aged fourteen
years and thirteen days an apprentice with Joseph Mellinger of Shelby County to
learn the art any mistery or ocupation of husbandry or farmer which the
said Joseph Mellinger useth with him as an apprentice to dwell continue and
serve from the day of the date here of until he shall have attained the full age
of twenty one years during all which time the said apprentice his said master
will and faithfully shall serve his screts keep his lawful Commands gladly doe
and obey, hurt to his said master he shall not doe nor willfully suffer it to be
done by others, but of the same to the utmost of his power Shall forthwith give
notice to his said master the goods of his said master he shall not Embzzle nor
waste nor them lend with out his consnet mattrimony he shall not contract from
the service of his said master he shall not at any time depart or absent himself
without his said masters leave but in all things as a good and faithful
apprentice shall and will demean and behave himself towards his said master and
all his said term. And said master will teach and instruct often the best way
and manner he can the said apprentice in the mistery or ocupation of husbandry
or farmer and Shall and will also allow unto the said apprentice meat drink
washing an lodging and other necessarys fit and convenient for such an
apprentice during the term aforesaid and shall cause said apprentice to be
taught to instructed to read and wright and cypher to the single rule of three
and at the End of the said term Shall and will make allow and provide and
deliver unto the said apprentice one good new suit of hollidays cloths and two
good suits of Every day cloths also one good hors Saddle and bridle worth one
hundred dollars and one new bible Attest: (signed) John Hathaway (her mark) Jane
Hathaway; James Buchanan; Josseph Mellinger
] 'Immigration' segment written in
November, 1997 by David Lodge
Feature on Carey Cemetery. TOPIC: PEOPLE PIONEERS Written by Lewis
Diehl in July, 1999
Revolutionary War Soldiers Buried at Carey
Of the four Revolutionary War
1780 veterans said to be buried there only
one grave, that of Rev. Wm. F.R. Davis, was located. One Revolutionary Veteran�s
flagstand was found. Rumors were heard of James Cannon Pioneer 1806 headstone being in a
sidewalk somewhere.
Reading through Turtle Creek and Washington Townships� historical records with
Carey Cemetery�s inscriptions in hand brings to mind how rightfully it is called
a "Pioneer cemetery.
The earliest known interment was that of Jane pioneer of 1810, wife of Cephas Carey, who
was one of the first settlers.
She died in 1814, only two years after they arrived. We uncovered the tombstone
of Mary Brodrick Cannon. She and her husband Richard were the first to be
married in Turtle Creek, in 1818, by Cephas Carey, who was then justice of the
peace. Her son, N.F., lies near her. He died in the army at
Murfreesboro.
The war was over for the British, although the upper Great Lakes Indian
tribes continued to fly the Union Jack through the 1840s, and the British Fort
Malden in Canada, across the river from Detroit, gave annual gifts to their
former American Indian allies. For the Indians, the fighting continued for more
years; but as the months passed, the battleground moved progressively further
west. Shelby County, Ohio, was not organized until 7 years after the War of 1812
so it cannot claim any soldiers at the time the war began. According to the
Shelby County Genealogical Society, various records indicate that the following
War of 1812 veterans (listed in alphabetical order) are buried in graveyards
within the county. Richard Cannon Pioneer of 1806 (one of the first men, along with father
and brother, to improve the land
in what is now Sidney),
--- Donald Cannon
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