Here is the first chapter of the book, it has only one family name mentioned
(Deputy) but is so interesting I thought others might want to read it.
COFFEE CREEK ASSOCIATION
PART I Chapter I
Description of Country When First Settled
Coffee Creek Association, at the present time (1883), is composed of
seventeen churches, embracing the western part of Jefferson County, the
southern part of Jennings, and the eastern part of Scott, in Indiana, and
covers an area of about 350 square miles. The few persons now living who
were here prior to the organization of the Association, in 1827, know what
the condition of Southern Indiana was at the time better than it can be told
them; but for the younger portion of the present generation it may be well to
briefly outline the general appearance and situation of the country, the
character of the pioneer immigrants, and the trials and hardships and dangers
encountered by them in those early days.
The State of Virginia, which claimed the whole territory north of the Ohio
River and east of the Mississippi, confirmed, in 1783, the bargain made by
Gov. Henry, of Virginia, with Gen. George Rogers Clark, granting to him, and
to his followers, 149,000 acres of land, in compensation for military
services rendered in the successful campaign of 1778-79. This grant, located
in what was then Illinois Country (now Clark), was deeded by the Continental
Congress to Gen. Clark in 1786--Virginia having previously ceded the whole
territory to the general government--and was the first point settled in
Southern Indiana.
Prior to the ordinance of 1787, a few families had located at the head of
the falls of the Ohio River, at a place they named Clarksville (now
Jeffersonville). Aside from this, not a trace of the white man could be seen
in all this region, except, perhaps, at a few trading points established by
the French settlement at Kaskaskia, Illinois, and a similar one on the East
bank of the Wabash River, at Vincennes. The whole of this vast territory,
embracing more than one hundred million acres of fertile lands, was in the
undisputed possession of the Indians, who made every possible exertion to
prevent the encroachments of the whites.
The reports carried back to the States by the few exploring parties which
had been out, of the remarkable productiveness of the soil, the salubrity of
the climate, and the wonderful beauty and grandeur of the scenery, induced
immigration. In a few years thousands of hardy pioneers were locating homes
in the new country. They were met and opposed by the natives at every point,
but the indomitable will and perseverance of the whites enabled them to drive
the red man back, step by step, and finally force them west of the
Mississippi. This result, however, was attained only after years of deadly
struggle, and a great sacrifice of life; and it was not until after the
battle of the Thames, October 5, 1813, when the British and Indians, under
the command of Gen. Proctor and the renowned chieftain, Tecumseh, were
totally defeated by the American troops, under Gen. Harrison, that any degree
of security could be felt by the settlers.
It is not the present intention, however, to write a history of the
Northwest Territory, but to briefly sketch the settlement and development of
that small portion of it embraced in the bounds, and immediate vicinity, of
Coffee Creek Association, with particular reference to the progress of the
Baptist denomination.
Between the years 1790 and 1795, a few settlements were made along the
northwest bank of the Ohio River, above Clarksville. These gradually
increased from year to year, but it was not until about the time of the
organization of a separate territorial government for Indiana, in 1809, that
any considerable number of these were extended into the interior. This act
greatly stimulated immigration, and several of the States, particularly
Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia, soon furnished recruits to come over
and take possession of the land.
In that year (1809) a few families from North Carolina and Kentucky
settled about ten miles north from the Ohio River, and about the same
distance west from where now is the city of Madison, on White River. In 1810
a single family from Virginia (Solomon Deputy) located on Coffee Creek, in
the southern part of Jennings County. About the same time a small settlement
was made on Lewis' Creek, Jefferson County, some four or five miles south
from Coffee Creek; and a little later, a company from Kentucky, attracted by
the fertile valley of the Muscatatack, where Vernon now stands, made that
point their future home. Other families came in from time to time, selecting
lands, and thus settlements were made through the wilderness, generally from
three to five, often from ten to twelve miles distant from each other. The
ratio of increase advanced each year, and, after the battle of the Thames,
before mentioned, so rapidly was the country developed, that, in 1816,
Indiana was admitted a State into the Union.
At the time of the first settlements, this whole section of country was a
dense, unbroken forest. Hill and valley, high land and low, were alike
covered with a heavy growth of timber. Not a tree had been cut down; not a
road opened; not even a foot-path marked out, except the Indian trails
leading from the Ohio River back to their villages on the Wabash and other
streams.
Sheila Kell