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1 July –
1796 – Louisville, KY. William Clark resigns his commission as first lieutenant of infantry. He returns to Mulberry Hill, hoping for a career in mercantile, but family responsibilities keep him busy. [EL, p. 199-200]
1846 – St. George Croghan and Cornelia Adelaide Ridgely, a Livingston cousin, marry. [Potts, p. 109]
2 July –
1802 – Louisville, KY. Jonathan Clark records in his diary: “At my own place [Trough Springs] for the first time.” [Potts, p. 63]
1857 – Ulster County, NY. The court orders all land sold to settle the 32 suits brought by St. George and Cornelia Ridgely Croghan against Eugene A. Livingston et al, seeking to breat Cornelia’s mother’s will regarding the Hardenburg Patent in Sullivan County, NY. [Potts, p. 205, note 16]
3 July –
1779 – VA. The Virginia Gazettereports that the General Assembly passed a resolution honoring George Rogers Clark with “an elegant sword” for his victory at Vincennes. It is a used sword, “but it was the best that could be purchased, & was bought of a Genl. Who had used it but a little & judged it to be elegant & costly.” GRC is underwhelmed. Some of his nephews later report that, he “took the fine sword, walked out on the bank of the river with none present but his servant, thrust the blade deep in the ground, & gave the hilt a kick with his foot, broke it off & sent it into the river.” Clark himself had paid for his Illinois Campaign, emptying his purse then borrowing what he needed to feed and arm his troops. Both the Virginia legislature and the United States government duck the responsibility of reimbursing him. A sword does not appease his creditors.
1803 – Washington City. Thomas Jefferson receives news of the Louisiana Purchase. [Potts, p. 77]
1806 – Traveler’s Rest, eastern front Rocky Mountains. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark divide the Corps of Discovery in two, in order to follow different routes to the confluence of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers. [EL, p. 509-10]
4 July –
1754 – PA. George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to the French. He partly blames (Uncle) George Croghan. Croghan loses 52 traders killed in action, plus 16,000 pounds in goods. (Potts, p. 10)
1778 – Kaskaskia, Illinois country. In the night, George Rogers Clark captures Lt. Governor Pierre de Rocheblave. Kaskaski capitulates. [EL, p. 197-8]
1803 – Washington City. Thomas Jefferson announces the Louisiana Purchase. Meriwether Lewis leaves immediately for the Falls of the Ohio, where William Clark is recruiting men in anticipation of the Voyage of Discovery. [Potts, p. 77]
1811 – Louisville, KY. Richard Clough Anderson, Jr. records, “George Rogers Clark escorted to dinner at Bottom near Mouth of Beargrass.” [Renau, p. 119]
5 July –
1778 – Louisville, KY. Captain Joseph Bowman departs for Cahokia, Illinois country.
1784 – Philadelphia, PA. Peter Muhlenberg writes to president of Congress: The Gentlemen who received the Illinois Grant of 150,000 acres opposite Louisville on the west side of the Ohio, have already laid off a Town in that district, which is settling fast, and this would probably give rise to an immediate quarrel. [Potts, p. 80, sidebar] The Continental Congress has paid George Rogers Clark’s Illinois Regiment with a land grant on lands which the United States does not own, i.e. Indiana. The men have moved to claim their grants, which turn out to be less than half of the land promised to each man, Congress having estimated less than half of the men entitled to land. [Potts, p. 80]
1849 – Louisville, KY. An inventory of Locust Grove is made to settle the estate of John Croghan. [Potts, p. 205, note 1]
6 July –
1752 – a Shawnee village on the Scioto River. Captain William Trent meets two white American traders and learns of the death of Piankashaw chief Memeskia, and the destruction of his village Pickawillany. (See On this day in Indiana history; 21 June 1752.) [Cayton, p. 24]
1778 – Cahokia, Illinois Territory. Tow surrenders to Captain Joseph Bowman. [EL, p. 197-8]
7 July –
1802 – Louisville, KY. Jonathan Clark records in his diary: At my own place [Trough Springs] for the first time.
8 July –
Deaths –
1826 – Louisville, KY. Locust Grove. Mary O’Hara, nine-month-old daughter of William Jr. and Mary O’Hara Croghan dies. [Potts, p. 100]
9 July –
1755 – Braddock’s Defeat. The British army is completely surprised as French and Indian troops open murderous fire at 9:00 a.m. Sir John St. Clair is shot; a bullet passed through Braddock’s right arm and into his lung. In the late afternoon, torrential rain deluges gunpowder. Surrender terms are offered and Braddock accepts. His aide-de-camp, Lt. George Washington, and (Uncle) George Croghan, carry Braddock off the field. Quaker wagon driver, Daniel Boone, and physician Thomas Walker also survive, and stay in touch with George Croghan. [Renau, p.10]
1823 – Louisville, KY. Louisville Public Advertiserreports: “The 47thanniversary of American independence was celebrated on the race ground below Louisville…the following toasts were drank…By C.A. Wickliffe Esq. – Gen. George Rogers Clark; the Hannibal of the West.”
10 July –
1826 – Louisville, KY. The 73,962 acre tract of land granted to George Rogers Clark by Isaac Shelby is sold at the courthouse door to settle a suit brought by the heirs of John Thruston, dec’d. William Clark is the highest bidder at $2,500, paid to Thruston’s executor. With clear title, William had the town of Paducah surveyed and platted in 1827, and the town was created by the Kentucky legislature in 1830. (See 16 March 1970; 11 May 1792; 15 September 1795; 15 August 1796; 5 October 1796; 18 August 1797; 14 December 1797; 28 July 1803; 5 November 1815; 4 October 1830; 8 May 1835.) [Potts, p. 93-4]
1849 – Louisville, KY. A funeral is held at Christ Episcopal Church, following which the remains of George Croghan, sealed in a lead-lined casket, are buried in the family graveyard at Locust Grove. He is the last Croghan to be interred there. (See 7 June 1906.) [Potts, p. 205, note 157]
1883 – Louisville, KY. Colonel Rueben T. Durrett, Courier-Journal: “It was in the northwest room of the first story that Bush painted his celebrated picture of Gen. Clark.” Had he heard this from Bush himself when the two boarded together at the Galt House? (See 3 December 1887.) [Potts, p. 92] The “Historic Excursion” recounted in the article, led to the formation of The Filson Club :
From the Taylow monument the excursionists went across the country to the bnaks of the ohio to visit Locust Grove.
Here stands a grand old family mansion erected by William Croghan, who came to Lousiville in 1784 and died in 1822. Wm. Croghan married the sister of Gen. Geo. Rogers Clark, and it was here that Gen. Clark lived after the accident by which he lost his leg, in 1809. It was in the northwest room of the first story that Bush painted his celebrated picture of Gen. Clark, and here that the old hero breathed his last on the 13th of February, 1818.
Locust Grove is no longer the property of the Croghans. A few years ago it was purchased by the widow of Capt. J.M. Paul, who now occupies it. It bears but little resemblance to the abode of the Croghans three-quarters of a century ago. The old mansion is there, with its walls of brick, without a fracture, and its woodwork of walnut lending a solid appearance to rooms large enough for modern parlors, but all else is changed. The locusts that gave name to the place have felt force of storms and the decay of years. The lawns have put on the garb of fields of culture, and the old family graveyard where sleep our pioneers is a tangled thicket through which none may creep to read the inscriptions which tell of the honored dead. [Potts, p. 115]
11 July –
12 July –
1765 – (Uncle) George Croghan writes to William Murray: “I got the stroke of a hatchett on the head, but my scull being pretty thick, the hatchet would not enter, so you see a thick scull is of service on some occasions.”
1793 – Edmond Charles Genet to George Rogers Clark: A man who has given as much evidence of his love for Liberty and his hatred for tyranny should not have to address himself in vain to a minister of the french republic, General, it is time that the free Americans of the West are liberated from an enemy that is unjust as well as despicable…it is in you, General, that the direction of this honorable mission has been vested and you will be able to cover yourself with glory and you will earn the gratitude of a great number of men whom you will have freed from Tyranny. I have adopted all the suggestions put forward in the letter which you wrote me on the 2ndof February, and the citizen Michaux who will hand you this letter, acting as an agent of the French Republic, will be in charge of the administration side of this affair…You will negotiate with him, and he will give you the instructions and general plans which have been entrusted to him.
Citizen Michaux will also hand over to you your commission of Commander in chief of the independent and revolutionary army of the Mississippi. I will write to the Minister of foreign Affairs to ask him to submit, to the Council, your request for the rank of field Marshall of the armies of the French Republic, and I have no doubt that this honor and others even more important will be awarded to you…Go forward, then, with confidence, and overcome all obstacles to obtain your purpose. [Potts, p. 72]
Deaths –
1833 – Louisville, KY. Eliza Croghan Hancock dies of cholera at Locust Grove. [Renau, p. 131]
George Hancock reported that Eliza had contracted a “bilious fever” in 1832, but recovered. She had suffered a relapse in the spring of 1833, but 24 June, Hancock reported that she was improving. Within a week, however, he reported that she was “very critical” and asked Jesup to request Dr. John Croghan to leave for home. Neither her mother, sister, or any of her brothers reached her in time to say goodbye. She is buried in the family graveyard. [Potts, p. 102]
13 July –
1755 – PA. General Edward Braddock dies at sunset, assuring his second-in-command: “We shall know better how to deal with them the next time.”
1789 – Louisville, KY. John Clark certifies a bond stating: “Whereas there is a Marriage suddenly intended to be had & solemnized between…William Croghan & Lucy Clark, I am willing a Licence should issue out of your office for the Marriage of my Daughter Lucy Clark to Majr. William Croghan.” As “Daughter Lucy Clark” was 23 years old, she scarcely needed her father’s permission to marry whomever she chose. Was pater familiarecording his displeasure for future historians to ponder? [Potts, p. 64]
Births –
1784 – Baltimore, MD. Edward Mann Butler born. He will be the first president of the Jefferson Seminary, precursor to the University of Louisville; will be head of the first public school in Kentucky; will be Kentucky’s first reliable historian, publishing A history of the commonwealth of Kentucky: from the exploration and settlement by the whites, to the conclusion of the Northwestern Campaign, in 1813, 1836, Louisville, KY. (See 1 November 1855.) [EL, p. 150]
14 July –
1789 – Louisville, KY. William Croghan and Lucy Clark marry at her parents’ home, Mulberry Hill Farm [now George Rogers Clark Park].
15 July –
16 July –
17 July –
1789 – [now] Middletown, KY. Richard Chenoweth family attacked by Indians as they prepare for midday dinner. Peggy Chenoweth scalped. This is part of a chain of events leading to St. Clair’s Defeat. [Renau, p. 28]
1803 – Clarksville, IN. William Clark receives a long letter from Meriwether Lewis. Lewis sends papers pertinent to George Rogers Clark’s claim against Virginia, and goes on to detail Thomas Jefferson’s plan for a momentous expedition to the Western Ocean. He concludes by asking William Clark to be part of the expedition. [Potts, p. 78]
1823 – Edmund Croghan writes to his mother: Should I find that my health will permit, I will commence the study of law next October… Had I enjoyed any thing like health I would have taken my degree with the last graduates. I will go on to the springs, though I am confident that I shall never recover.
This is his last known letter. [Potts, p. 99]
18 July –
1803 – Clarksville, IN. William Clark receives Meriwether Lewis’ invitation “with much pleasure.” He will be part of the Voyage of Discovery. “This is an undertaking fraited with many dificulties, but My friend I do assure you that no man lives whith whome I would perfur to undertake Such a Trip &c. as yourself, and I shall arrange my matters as well as I can against your arrival here.” [Potts, p. 78]
19 July –
1829 – George Croghan writes to Lucy Clark Croghan: I dined with the President the other day, more because it was a family one. [Potts, p. 103]
20 July –
1752 – Pickawillany, on the White River, IN. Captain William Trent arrives to find the village deserted. He takes the few remaining furs. (See 6 July 1752.) [Cayton, p. 24]
1915 – Brookline, Mass. Architect John C. Olmsted makes notes of his meeting with client Juliet Rathbone Davidson, widow of W.R. Belknap, of Louisville, KY. She wants to build a home on property which was once part of Locust Grove farm: He land is open farming land in the main, with only a small group of trees on a little private cemetery and various trees down in the slopes and valley in the east side of the place… One reason why she had decided on this purchase was that it adjoins on the east the 2-acre tract upon which a newly married couple of whom she is very fond are going to build a small residence – Mr. and Mrs. Ed Thompson… The Ed Thompson place fronts on this subdivision road. She indicated that her front approach drive would probably leave the subdivision road at the saddle, and, curving more or less parallel with it southeasterly and southerly, would climb gradually up the hillside and turn west to a loop on the south side of her house which would be at the summit near the little cemetery… She said she was going to make an effort to have one of the descendants of one of the families interested in the cemetery make an effort to have the remains removed to Cave Hill Cemetery so this little private cemetery could be abandoned, as she thought likely her negro servants would have superstitious dread of having the graves so near where they were living. [Potts, p. 120]
22 July –
1776 – Fort Pitt, PA. A group of explorers, including Reverend Mr. David Jones and George Rogers Clark, return. (See 9 June 1772; 20 August 1772.) [Potts, p. 21]
23 July –
24 July –
1805 – Clarksville, IN. Cuthbert and Thomas Bullitt acquire grist and saw mill in Clarksville. Built by John Owens in 1794, the property was sold to Henry Fait in 1801. He will be known as Bullitt Mill. Precise location is uncertain, but it was on Mill Creek, near George Rogers Clark’s home. [Potts, p. 199, note 28]
1961 – Louisville, KY. The Commonwealth of Kentucky and Jefferson County jointly purchase 55.15 acres, including the house, which is Locust Grove. The court has set a minimum of $200,000 to settle the estate of Lily Scott Waters. The bidding quickly escalates until John R. Carpenter, the court authorized real-estate dealer places the 43 bid. He offers $250,000, the maximum which has been authorized. Bidding ends and the partnership between commonwealth and county is triumphant. [Potts, p. 127]
25 July –
1759 – Williamsburg, VA. Indian agent Christopher Gist leaves with a party of Catawba Indians. They are en route to Winchester. Gist dies of smallpox along the way. [KE, p. 374-6]
1765 – Ouiatanon, IN. George Croghan is in company with the Shawnee Indians, and is championed by the Piankashaws. He has negotiated with the Kickapoo and the Mascouten, and with the four American Indian nations living in the Illinois Country, on behalf of Great Britain. All, including Chief Pontiac, “desired that their Father the King of England might not look upon his taking possession of the Forts which the French had formerly possest as a title for his subjects to possess their Country, as they never had sold any part of it to the French.” However, “whenever the English came to take possession [of the forts] they would receive them with open arms.” “…after settling all matters happily with the natives,” he departs, heading for Detroit. (See 17 August 1765.) [Cayton, p. 31]
1858 – Washington City. Thomas Sidney Jesup writes to his son Charles, graduating from West Point: There is a singular coincidence between the commencement of your military career and mine. I was…appointed in the Infantry; and my first station was Newport, Kentucky. General George Rogers Clark was an officer of Infantry as was Colonel Croghan, and so were both of your grandfathers. [Potts, p. 108]
26 July –
1843 – Louisville, KY. John Croghan writes to Victor Audubon: I saw your Father when on his way to the Rocky Mountains, and he promised me to visit the M C [Mammoth Cave] on his return from his interesting tour. I regret his not being able to do so. [Potts, p. 107]
27 July –
28 July –
1803 – Louisville, KY. George Rogers Clark conveys to William Clark “in consideration of the sum of Twenty one hundred dollars (sundry services by the said William)” two tracts containing 73,952 acres south of the Ohio River. Worden Pope conveys the deed to the office of the Kentucky Court of Appeals and has it recorded. Pope later testifies that William Clark told him the deed was prepared “to bring the said Marshall to terms in relation to the contract…or to obtain a vacation of the said contract. Upon his return from Frankfort, Pope found that Marshall had protested the transfer from George Rogers to William Clark. (See 16 March 1970; 11 May 1792; 15 September 1795; 15 August 1796; 5 October 1796; 18 August 1797; 14 December 1797; 5 November 1815; 10 July 1826; 4 October 1830; 8 May 1835.) [Potts, p. 93-4]
1820 – Lexington, KY. Orlando Brown writes to John Brown that George Croghan looks “a good deal ‘hen Pecked.’” He continues: He intends returning to Ky. in a short time leaving his aimable sweet tempered wife at her father’s. [Potts, p. 97]
29 July –
30 July –
1795 – Louisville, KY. Andrew and Margaret Hare of Lexington, KY, sell to Richard Terrell “one half acre lot No. 126 in the town of Louisville, adjoining a lot improved by Major William Croghan and whereon lately Croghan resided.” [Renau, p. 64]
1813 – Fort Stephenson, OH. George Croghan to his commanding officer, William Henry Harrison, who has ordered him to abandon the fort: We have determined to maintain this place, and by heavens we can. [Potts, p. 96]
31 July –
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