Jean and List:
Things to think about regarding the land speculation legend:
What, if any, was the relationship between John Channell and John Crouch?
Working from the research of Mrs. Randy Stalnaker, I suspect that the John
Crouch who was given POA by Channell in 1801 is the same John Crouch, Jr.
who was Major of Militia during the War of 1812. If this is correct, then
this is the same Crouch who married Mary Nelson. If we are on the right
track, then we must keep in mind that John Channell makes a legitimate land
purchase in 1804 in present day Licking Co., Ohio of property from a Nelson
& Crouch. From my examination of early land records in the Virginia Miitary District
and pre-Licking Co., Ohio, Nelson & Crouch were active in land transactions.
Muskingum and Licking Co. were never part of the Virginia Military District as is commonly
thought -- Muskingum Co. was part of the Ohio River Survey, a completely different survey
intended to speed up land sales in Ohio. Who exactly they were, and whether they were
some type of land speculation company or partnership, I have not found the answer to.
Who John Crouch's father is - is the subject of debate. There is
a John Crouch, Sr. who goes from Randolph Co., to Bourbon Co., Kentucky
before settling in Ohio, date and location were not provided to me but have been
requested. This is important at this point because Crouch, Jr. is said to have never left
Randolph Co. Whether this Crouch, Jr. is connected to this mentioned Crouch, Sr. is
isn't known at the moment. From a land speculation point of view, the Kentucky lands
were first used for the military bounty land warrants before the Ohio lands were used. As
I have said before, those Bounty Land Warrants were traded like bubble gum cards, and it
is a fact that many Bounty Land Warrants were honored outside the Virginia Military
District. Could it possibly be Crouch, Sr. who was of the Nelson and Crouch and involved
in land speculation? Once again, until more research is done that can not be answered.
I have not seen the original POA between Channell and Crouch, Jr., but it would
seem that some type of relationship would exist between them -- I do not
think anyone would just hand over legal power for property to just anyone. The
original record might show if Crouch had to provide a Bond; if that were the
case then there very well may not have been much of a personal relationship
between the two.
Whatever the case, John Channell could possibly have been on the Randolph Co. land for a
period of roughly five years, from Sept. of 1793 to approx. 1799 when he is found on
McIntire's land. Channell would be approx. 26 to 32 years of age during this time.
John's oldest child is thought to be born in 1788, therefore, if John moves his family
to Ohio by 1799 then no records of marriages are going to exist in early Randolph Co. for
any children of John. This would provide a reasonable explanation for why only the
children of Joseph are recorded in the earliest marriages of Randolph Co. John's
children begin marrying in Licking Co. in 1811, which would be a reasonable time frame.
My personal opinion is that John was practicing "tomahawk land acquisition" in
Ohio and was forced out when McIntire received a legitimately surveyed land tract from his
father-in-law. To this point I have found zero evidence that Channell ever contested,
protested or otherwise disputed McIntire's right to the land. The POA to Crouch, Jr.
is said to state Channell's location as Washington Co., Northwest Territory of Ohio.
That being the case, then it appears that Channell stayed put in present day Muskingum Co.
which was then still Washington Co. and would have been where he was found by McIntire.
Does this mean McIntire did not evict him and the family and that Channell was still there
from 1799 to at least 1801? No way to determine that. However it went, I would think
Channell would have had to personally appear in Randolph Co. to execute the POA, but would
never have had to return to Randolph Co. after that.
The evidentiary trail for Channell begins in 1804 when he makes a legitimate purchase of
land in present day Licking Co. from Nelson & Crouch, which is then sold in 1811.
M. Mathews
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jean Loudin" <jloudin(a)rtol.net>
To: <CHANNELL-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2004 9:43 AM
Subject: Re: [CHANNELL] Correction: Thomas CHANNELL and Elizabeth MONTGOMERY
I will give one tradition and then shut up. Some family members and
workers have felt that John never lived in Randolph Co., but bought the
land as speculation, changed his mind and moved on to Ohio from Hardy
Co. I do not know what he did. I just know what Jeremiah did and that
Joseph has to have been living in Randolph for some time as his children
were marrying there.
Jean
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