The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1953-05-21


length. Two and a half miles of the
four and a half mile strip belongs to
the United States military tract and
the remainder of it to the Congress
lands. The line between the military
and Congress lands runs through the
Refugee Tract and also is the south
ern boundary of Licking County and
the northern boundary of Fairfield
and Perry counties. All three coun-
ties have a part of the Refugee Tract.
The southern boundary of Licking
County also was the southern boun-
dary of the 1,500,000-acre United
States military tract.
1t was in the Refugee Tract the
displaced persons were located.
Though the original tract extended
into Muskingum County, few if any
of the refugees located in that coun-
ty. The tract was too large for the
awards and the Muskingum part of
it reverted to the government. Vir-
tually all of the refugees were in the
Scioto River end of the acreage.
Whether the individual awards
were based on acreage lost in Eng
land; station in life of the refugee
or the size of families only is con-
lecture. But the refugees were divi-
ded into classes, the highest class get
ting 2,240 acres apiece and the low
est class 160 acres. Any way it is
taken that was getting a lot of
ground.
The displaced persons were ances-
tors of persons now living in three
counties and others who famed out
from them all over Ohio. The names
thus are important and worthy of
preservation.
John Edjar, Samuel Rogers, P.
Francis Cazieu, John Alling, Seth
Harding, Martha Walker, Widow:
and James Boyd's heirs each re-
ceived 2,24O acres.
Jonathan Eddy, Col. James Liv-
iAl5oGoiS SldIh ana JOnn
Dodge's heirs each got 1880 acres.
Nathaniel Reynolds heirs; Thomas
Faulkner, Edward Faulkner, Daniel
Gay, Martin Brooks, Lieutenant Col
'onel Bradford, Noah Miller, Joshua
Lamb, Atwood Fales, John Starr,
William How, Ebenezer Gardner,
Louis ]. Delesdernier, John Meow
an, James C. Minot; Simeon Chester's
heirs; Charlotte Hasen, widow; Chloe
Shannon, widow; Mrs. Obadiah Aver,
widow; Israel Rutland's heirs; Elijah
Ayers heirs; Edward Antell's heirs;
and Joshua Sprague's heirs received
900 acres each.
Jacob Venderhayden, John Living
ston, Jacob Crawford, Isaac Danks,
Maj. B. Won Heer, Benjamin Thomp-
son, Joseph Binden, Joseph Levittre,
1t. William Maxwell, John ID. Mer-
Ger, Seth Noble; Martha Bogart, wild
ow; John Halsted, Robert Sharp. John
Fulton and John Morrison, received
GAO acres each.
David jerks, Ambrose Cole, James
Cole, Adam Johnson; jeremiah Du-
gan's widow; Daniel Earl Jr., John
Paskell, Edward Chinn, Joseph Cone,
John Torrerre, Elijah Aver Jr., An
thony Burk's heirs; James Sprague,
David Dickey, John Taylor and Gil
bert Seaman's heirs got 800 acres
each.
Samuel Fales did not fare so well-l
he alone was given the minimum 100 |
acres.
The Walker, Hasen, Shan
non, Aver, Bogart and Dugan were
those of soldiers killed in the Revolu-
tionary War. In instances where
land was awarded to the heirs they
were those of soldiers killed or who
had died since the close of the war.
The award to jeremiah Dugan also
his heirs in sharing the land.
The City of Columbus is located in
the western borders of the Refugee
Tract.
That appoftionment of grants in
the Refugee Tract was not haphazard
IS evidenced in that those refugees
who had actually fought in the Con-
tinental army in the war were given
tracts in the military lands part of
the Refugee Tract and British who
simply had been forced to flee Eng
land and so had their lands confisca-
ted there but had not fought in the
army were given grounds in the part
made from Congress lands. Those
who were soldiers were entitled to
grants in the military tract anyway,
without taking into account that they
we're refugees from Britain.