Ebenezer Sproat Ebenezer Sproat ( 1752 – 1805 ) , surname also spelled Sprout , was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War , a pioneer to the Ohio Country , and one of the founders of Marietta , Ohio , the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory . He served throughout the entire American war of independence , from April 1775 through November 1783 , achieving the rank of colonel . After the war , he was a pioneer and surveyor in the Northwest Territory , and became a leader of the militia at Marietta during the Northwest Indian War . He was the first sheriff in the Northwest Territory and Ohio , serving fourteen years as sheriff of Washington County , the oldest county in Ohio . Early life . Ebenezer Sproat was born in Middleborough , Massachusetts in 1752 . He was the son of Ebenezer Sproat , who owned a farm and was the proprietor of the Sproat Tavern in Middleborough . During his boyhood and youth , he assisted his father in cultivating the farm . When quite young he became interested in the public affairs of the colony . Like his father Ebenezer grew to be a tall man and was of perfect proportions . Revolutionary War . Ebenezer Sproat was in the field with the Continental Army throughout the American Revolutionary War , and was engaged in the battles of Trenton , Princeton , and Monmouth . He was a disciplinarian , but also of cheerful disposition , and was a favorite with both officers and enlisted ranks . He initially served with Colonel Theophilus Cotton ' s Massachusetts Regiment during 1775 . He joined as captain in April 1775 , several days after the Battles of Lexington and Concord , and was promoted to major in June 1775 . During 1776 he served with Colonel Ebenezer Learned ' s 3rd Continental Regiment . He was subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel of Colonel William Shepard ' s 4th Massachusetts Regiment and served with this regiment from January 1777 to September 1778 . While with this regiment , he was one of the officers who wintered at Valley Forge with General George Washington during the winter and spring of 1777 and 1778 . He was said to be the tallest man in his regiment . Ebenezer subsequently transferred to the 12th Massachusetts Regiment , where he served until from September 1778 through year - end 1780 . Ebenezer Sproat next joined the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment where he served from January 1781 until November 1783 . During January 1781 , he was executive officer under General Robert Howe with a detachment of five hundred men , ordered out to suppress a mutiny of the 2nd New Jersey Regiment at Pompton , New Jersey . Three of the ringleaders of the mutiny were tried on the spot , with Lieutenant Colonel Sproat being president of the court - martial . This was a sorrowful duty for Colonel Sproat ; two of the men were sentenced and executed . He often said that duty was the most painful ever imposed upon him . Ebenezer Sproat was promoted to colonel during September 1783 , shortly before the end of his eight and one - half years of service in the Continental Army . An anecdote illustrating Colonel Sproat ' s good nature with the enlisted ranks concerns a furlough early in the war when he was home visiting his mother . Three private soldiers asked for lunch at his parents ' tavern , and when finished eating , asked him the cost . He informed them that the cost was about a shilling for each man . To their surprise , instead of collecting the money from them , he paid each man a shilling and wished them a good journey . Colonel Sproat was also on good terms with the officers such as General Von Steuben , and was a friend of General Washington . Post - war in Rhode Island . After the war , Ebenezer Sproat lived in Providence , Rhode Island , where he married Catherine Whipple , daughter of Commodore Abraham Whipple of the Continental Navy . He purchased a store , and worked as a merchant , but was not successful . In 1786 he was appointed as surveyor for the state of Rhode Island . In that role , he participated in the surveying of the Seven Ranges in the Ohio Country . The Ohio Country . Ebenezer Sproat became a shareholder of the Ohio Company of Associates , and was engaged as a surveyor with the company . On April 7 , 1788 , Ebenezer Sproat and a group of American pioneers to the Northwest Territory , led by Rufus Putnam , arrived at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers to establish Marietta , Ohio as the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Territory . Ebenezer ' s wife , daughter , and Commodore Whipple joined him at Marietta the following year . Colonel Sproat , with his tall and commanding presence , was a notable member of the pioneer settlement of Marietta . He greatly impressed the local Indians , who in admiration dubbed him " Hetuck " , meaning " eye of the buck dear " , or " Big Buckeye " . Some historians believe this is how Ohio came to be known as the Buckeye State , though a more commonly accepted explanation involves the later presidential campaign of William Henry Harrison . During the Northwest Indian War he was authorized by Secretary of War Henry Knox to superintend the military affairs of the United States in Washington County . He was a founding member of the Society of the Cincinnati , and helped form the American Union Lodge No . 1 of Freemasons at Marietta along with others including Rufus Putnam , Benjamin Tupper , and William Stacy . Ebenezer Sproat was the first sheriff in the Northwest Territory , serving fourteen years from 1788 to 1802 as sheriff of Washington County , the oldest county in Ohio . At that time , the county encompassed lands from the Ohio River in the south , to Lake Erie in the north , embracing half of the eventual state of Ohio . Sheriff Sproat was cheerful and fond of company , and quite attached to horses and dogs . As sheriff , he always rode a horse during his long journeys through the county , accompanied by two or three large dogs . He filled the office of sheriff with dignity , and exhibited a great kindness in his execution of the law . He was often known to furnish a poor family with his own money for repayment of a debt , rather than to make an arrest . Later life . In his latter years he was fond of physical labor and of cultivating the land . Ebenezer Sproat died in Marietta in early 1805 , either on January 7 , or perhaps during February , with his oft - repeated wish of a sudden exit fully answered . He is buried adjacent to his father - in - law , Commodore Whipple , and near many other American Revolutionary War soldiers and pioneers at Mound Cemetery in Marietta .