HUSBAND |
John
Minter |
Parents |
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Born |
1755;
Culpepper Co., VA |
Died |
June
1, 1835, Radnor, Delaware Co., OH (15) |
Buried |
Radnor
Cemetery, Radnor, Delaware Co., OH (15) |
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WIFE |
Elizabeth
Crawford |
Parents |
Valentine
Crawford Jr., Sarah Morgan |
Born |
Oct.
6, 1757, Frederick Co., VA |
Died |
Oct.
26, 1829, Radnor, Delaware Co., OH
Oct. 27, 1829, Radnor, Delaware Co., OH (15) |
Buried |
Radnor
Cemetery, Radnor, Delaware Co., OH (15) |
Married |
Abt.
1775,
Shepherdstown
,
VA
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CHILDREN |
Sarah
Crawford Minter |
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William
Minter |
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John
Minter |
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Valentine
Minter |
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Mary
"Polly" Minter |
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Elizabeth
Minter |
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Margaret
Minter |
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Effie
Minter |
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Lucy
Minter |
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Nancy
Minter |
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PHOTO ALBUM |
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John Minter Elizabeth
Crawford
Tombstone
Radnor Cemetery
Radnor, Ohio |
John Minter Plaque Radnor Cemtery Radnor, Ohio |
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RECORDS |
SWORN STATEMENT
BY JOHN MINTER DATED NOV 21, 1832 MINTER,
Capt. John State of Ohio Delaware County
Be it
remembered that on the twenty first day of November in the
year eigthteen hundred and thirty two, personally appeared
in open court before the judges of the Court of Common Pleas
in this and said County of Delaware and the state of Ohio,
now in session, John Minter, a resident of Radnor Township
in the said county, age seventy seven years, who being first
duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath, make the
following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the
Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832.
I the said, John
Minter on my oath said oath state that I entered into the
service of the United States and served therein as herein
states to wit:
I was born in the year of 1755 in
Culpepper County in Virginia. About the year 1770 I removed
to a place near Connollville (now forty miles from
Pittsburgh) then in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvaina and
resided there during the revolution. During the
revolutionary war I served as a Captain of a company of
militia in that part of the country. I am now aged and my
memory has become very trecherous. I recollect that I had
been duly conscripted, but I cannot tell at present from
what authority I received it, wheter from Congress, the
state of Pennsylvania, or the state of Virginia but I
suppose from the circumstances of the state of Virginia,
claiming jurisdiction over the west part of Pennsylvania,
that I received it from Virginia. Soon after the
commencement of the revolutionary war, Gen. Hand, Commander
at Pittsburgh and he conducted an expedition to the west of
there. He had some regular troops with him, but mostly
volunteers. I went with my company with Gen. Hand. I do not
recollect the precise number of troops, but I about suppose
there were as many as 3 or 400 hundred men. We marched to
the west against the Indians. We march as far as the
Cuyahoga River, and to a place within 30 miles of the place
where Cleveland now stands. We surprised the Indians
generally and therefore had no skirmishes with them. I saw
during the expedition 15 Indians killed. From the Cuyahoga
river we returned to Pittsburgh, after being absent five or
six weeks. After that I went with some of my men with Gen.
Hand in an expedition against some tories near the Laurel
Hill to a place called Beavertown now called Uniontown. We
took the leader of the tories there by the name of McCarty.
I was in the service this time only a week or two. Some time
after this I went again into the service with my company in
the expedition of Genl. McIntosh. First to the mouth of the
Big Beaver river where we built a fort [Fort McIntosh]. And
were there some time. We then went to the Tuscarawas river
where we built another fort [Fort Laurens]. I was in the
service this time the greater part of the summer and before
I was discharged there was a considerable snow of the
ground. I do not recollect the length of time I served this
time but I believe it was four or five months at least. I
have long since lost my commission with names or papers. I
have no documentary evidence and know of no person whose
testimony I can procure who can testify to my services.
After the Revolution I moved from Pennsylvania to Harrison
County Kentucky where I spent upwards of twenty years. About
the year 1808 I removed from there to Delaware County where
I now reside.
I hereby relinquish all claims
whatsoever to a pension or annuiyt except the present and
declare that my name is not on the pension roll of any
state.
Sworn and subscribed to this day and year
aforesaid /S/ John Minter
We, Wm C. Watson of
Radinor [sic] Township and Moses Bixler of Delaware Township
in said county residing in the neighborhood of the above
named John Minter hereby attest that we are well acquainted
with the said John Minter who has signed and sworn to the
above declaration. That we believe him to be seventy seven
years of age. That he is reputed and believed in the
neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the
Revolution and we concur in that opinion.
Sworn and
subscribed to this day and year aforesaid
Wm. Watson
Moses Buxbe
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OCCUPATION |
None found. |
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MILITARY |
22
Jun 1778
,
Appointed as Captain of the Militia of Yohogania Co., VA. |
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KNOWN
RESIDENCES |
Kentucky
(35) |
Came to Radnor, Delaware County, OH
about 1804 |
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IN THE NEWS |
None found. |
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BIOGRAPHY |
Capt.
John MINTER, from Kentucky, one of the early settlers
in Radnor, and brother-in-law of Col. CRAWFORD, who was
burnt by the Indians, was, in his younger days, a great
hunter, and became famous for a terrible bear fight, in
which he came very near losing his life.
When hunting alone one day he came across a very
large bear and fired at him.
The bear fell, and reloading his gun MINTER
advanced, supposing him dead, and touched his nose with
the muzzle of the gun, when he instantly reared upon his
hind legs to seize him.
MINTER fired again, which increased his rage, only
inflicting a flesh wound, and then threw his hatchet at
him; and as the bear sprang forward to grasp him he struck
him with the rifle on the head with all his might,
producing no other effect than shivering the gun to
pieces. Too
late then to escape he drew his big knife from his sheath
and made a plunge at his heart, but old Bruin, by a stroke
of his paw, whirled the knife into the air, and enfolding
its weaponless owner with his huge arms both rolled to the
ground.
A
fearful struggle then ensued between the combatants: one
ruled by unvarying instinct, and the other guided by the
dictates of reason. The
former depended wholly upon hugging his adversary to
death, while the latter aimed at presenting his body in
such positions as would best enable him to withstand the
vice-like squeeze till he could loosen the grasp.
He was about six feet in height, possessing large
bones and well-developed muscles, and being properly
proportioned was very athletic.
The woods were open and clear of underbrush, and in
their struggles they rolled in every direction.
Several times he thought the severity of the hug
would finish him; but by choking the bear he would compel
him to release his hold to knock off his hands, when he
would recover his breath and gain a better position.
After maintaining the contest in this way several
hours they, happily for him, rolled back near where his
knife lay, which inspired him with buoyant hope, but he
had to make many ineffectual efforts before he could
tumble the bear within reach of it.
Having finally recovered it he stabbed him at every
chance till he at last bled to death, only relaxing his
hold when life became extinct.
He
attempted to get up, but was too much exhausted, and
crawling to a log, against which he leaned, his heart
sickened as he contemplated the scene.
Not a rag was left on him, and over his back, arms
and legs his flesh was lacerated to the bones by the claws
of the bear. By
crawling and walking he reached home after night with no
other covering than a gore of blood from head to foot.
His friends, who went out next morning to survey
the ground and bring in the trophy, said the surface was
torn up by them over a space of at least half an acre.
After several weeks he recovered, but he carried
with him the cicatrices and welts, some of which were more
than a quarter of an inch thick, till he died, which occurred
about fifteen years ago.
He never desired another bear hug, but gave up
hunting, and turning his attention to agriculture left his
children a comfortable patrimony and a good name. (35)
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RESEARCH
CONCERNS & ISSUES |
None found. |
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