James Galloway Log Cabin in Park of Xenia Ohio, in Greene County.
James Galloway Sr. who was one of the very first pioneers of Greene County, arriving there in 1797. This is published about James Galloway Sr. on pages 228 and 229 of the "Greene County Ohio History.
"...the Galloways having been prominently represented here since the days of the very beginning of the Xenia settlement, or from the time that James Galloway, Sr., a soldier of the Revolution and an Indian fighter, companion of Daniel Boone, came into the valley of the Little Miami with his family from Kentucky in 1797 and settled in the vicinity of the Indian Village, or Chillicothe, now and for many years known as Oldtown, just north of the city of Xenia."
In 1803 Ohio became the first territory carved out of the Northwest Territory, and was opened for settlement. Ohio was rich with both Pioneer/Frontier/Settler exploits and Native Native American history and events, and the struggle that ensued as settlers moved in during the western expansion into Ohio territory was monumental, to say the least. About two miles north of Xenia Ohio, lies a crossroads now called Oldtown (or Old Town) or Old Chillicothe. This area was the center of civilized Native American activity in the Ohio Territory.
The Shawnee in the Ohio River valley had been mobilizing a full scale campaign beginning as early as 1775 to stop white settlers. Shawnee Chief Blackfish is well known for repeatedly laying siege to Daniel Boone's Boonesborough beginning in 1775. When Daniel Boone was captured by the Shawnee in 1778, it was the Shawnee Village Oldtown or Chillicothe where he was held. Boone ultimately developed friendly relations with the Shawnee.
In 1797, the frontiersman and revolutionary war soldier, James Galloway moved his family just south – at the site of present day Xenia. Twenty nine 29-year-old Tecumseh was taught to read by a James Galloway daughter named Rebecca and the two reportedly fell in love (some say the "love affair" part may or may not be actually true, but the fact that she taught him to read and write English language was true) .
In 1808
Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa moved their Indian center from Oldtown /Chillicothe, Ohio to "Prophet’s Town" in Tippecanoe County, Indiana (junction of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers).Events were set into motion in September 1809 when Governor/General Harrison got some Indian leaders to sign the Treaty of Ft. Wayne, which ceded about three million acres of Indian lands to Ohio and Indiana Territory at a price of less than a penny an acre. This was the catalyst that started Tecumseh's attempts to form his envisioned inter-tribal confederacy to fight the settlers and invalidate the Ft. Wayne Treaty. But, at the end of day, the lack of a an effective Indian civilization (effective government, legal system, education, land deed system, infrastructure, unified documents, military & etc.) ultimately provided too many obstacles.
In November 7, 1811, at Prophetsown, Indiana Territorial Governor and General William Henry Harrison's army defeated the Indians with a force of 1,000 men, and after the battle burned the evacuated and empty Prophetstown to the ground. The battle happened while Tecumseh was away, recruiting other tribes to join the Indian confederacy. Tecumseh had apparently warned his brother not to do battle (yet) against Harrison until Tecumseh returned with more men. But the Prophet was somehow provoked into attacking Harrison's forces anyway, resulting in a great Shawnee defeat, and a subsequent diminishment of the Prophet's status among the Indians.
Tecumseh returned later to Prophetstown and continued to battle the settlers. Later, he thought aligning with the British in the War of 1812 was his last hope to battle the superior American numbers, organization, weaponry, and technology. The British, for their part, thought the establishment of an Indian State could serve as a buffer between America and British Canada.
Tecumseh was commissioned a Brigadier General by the British and commanded a force of 2,000 native Americans from 30 tribes. In 1813 General Harrison moved north with 3,500 troops chasing the fleeing British. Tecumseh's troops stood and fought at the British flank - to cover the British retreat - as the British General Proctor and the Redcoats fled for their lives into Canada. Tecumseh was killed there - making a last stand protecting the British flank at Battle of the Thames River, Ontario.
There ended Tecumseh's vision of any unified Indian confederacy which could be strong enough to fight the Americans. The various tribal leaders following Tecumseh drifted away to other places or where they had came from. The fame and acclaim William Henry Harrison received for the Battle of Tippecanoe victory later helped Harrison to become the 40th US President in 1840.
The following is found concerning the local history of the area:
"Some of the first people to experience the area's beauty were the Moundbuilders, and later, the Shawnee Indians. Just five miles south of Yellow Springs, approximately where the town of Oldtown is now, was the site of Old Chillicothe, one of the leading Shawnee settlements in Ohio.
The great Shawnee warrior, Tecumseh, was a frequent visitor here and to the nearby James Galloway House, which has been kept intact by the Greene County Historical Society."
Also this related information concerning Greene Co. Ohio: "The Moundbuilders were eventually driven out by the Indians who moved into the area. These Indians were organized into tribes and governed by chiefs. Many simply roamed through the area with the exception of the Shawnee who build cabins, had orchards, garden and cornfields.
They even identified a capital which was three miles north of present day Xenia in Old Chillicothe or as it is known today, OldTown. You may recognize a few of their famous Chiefs and Warriors, Silver Heels, Cornstalk, Blackfish, Blackhoof, Blue Jacket, and Tecumseh & The Prophet.
Tecumseh became a great orator and maintained a great influence among tribes from Ohio to Florida.
He was often in Xenia and maintained a close relationship with the James Galloway family. He fell in love with Rebecca Galloway. However they never married because he would not take up the white man's ways and she would not become an Indian."
(Author note: There is generally a mixture of fact and legend concerning historical and famous figures such as Daniel Boone and the Shawnee Chief Tecumseh. It is hard to know where truth ends and legends begin concerning such events.)
Nonetheless, it appears old James Galloway may qualify to be considered as an American pioneer.
I have not been able to determine the answer to the question of "WHY" Galloway gave 100 acres of land to Eli Pendroy. It may well turn out to be a question that is never answered.
The land deed transfers themselves are public records and are well documented.
The following records are in the Land Index.
1819 Vol. 8, page 81 - 100 Acres, Virginia Military District 2358 - Grantor: James Galloway - Grantee: Eli Pendroy.
1819 Vol. 8, page 81 - 100 Acres, Virginia Military District 2358 - Grantor: Nancy Grimes Galloway - Grantee: Eli Pendroy.
1824 Vol. 9, page 217 47 Acres, Virginia Military District 2358 - Grantor: Eli Pendroy et. al. - Grantee: Jacob Pendroy.
1824 Vol. 9, page 285 30 Acres, Virginia Military District 2353 - Grantor: Eli Pendroy et. al. - Grantee William A. Ellis.
-end-