Notes |
- "The Duree's trace their ancestry origins to Germany, whence thegreat-grandfather of Daniel (Duree) came to this country and firstsettled in Virginia. Later he removed to Hardin County, Ky., where hemarried and resided until he was killed by the Indians. From behindthe door of their cabin the mother fought the savage foes untilassistance came, and in this way she saved her own life and that ofher only child Samuel (Duree)." Montgomery-Putman County, PortraitAnd Biographical Record, Duree, pg. 134."
(Page 53 begins) PETRUS (PETER) DURIE, b 13 July 1754, moved toConewago, Pa., with his parents and mar there about 1774, Anna Seeverb 2 Nov 1759. Although her name is spelled Seever twice on theConewago Church records at the baptism of the two children, anaffidavit made by daughter-in-law Eleanor Van Arsdale Banta in 1873states that it was "Shafer," apparently a German name. The onlycontemporary record for that period is for an Anna Barbara Schaffer bp11 May 1760 at Strayer's (Salem) Reformed Church, Dover, York County,Pa., dau of Johannes and Elisabeth Schaffer. There is no furtherproof, however, that they are the same person.
>They moved to Berkeley County, Va., with his parents ion the Springof 1778, and migrated with the family group to Kentucky in 1780.There they lived at the White Oak Spring Station, a short distancesouth of Boonesborough. Peter served in Capt. David Goos' Company ofVirginia Militia under the command of Col. John Bowman from 6 Sept to31 Oct 1780, and received 2 pounds, 10 shillings, 8 pence for 38 days'pay.
>Early in Feb 1781 Peter was a member of the party that traveled southinto present Madison County for the purpose of building cabins on theland along Muddy Creek. They also built a cabin on the 50 acreMilitary Warrant entered by Samuel Durie lying a short distancenorthwest of present Moberly. After the group returned to theStation, in Mar Peter and brother-in-law John Bullock with wives andchildren, decided to move to the cabin near Moberly where they wouldawait the arrival of the rest of the family. They were there only avery short time when tragedy struck. The earliest known writtenversion of what happened is the recollection of Nathaniel Hart, Jr.,who was then about 11 years of age, living with his parents at theWhite Oak Spring Station. He heard the story when the survivorsreturned to the fort, and it no doubt was a tale told and retold. Inpreparation for an address given 25 May 1840 commemorating theBoonesborough settlement, former Kentucky Governor James T. Moreheadrequested Hart to write down his remembrances of that period. Hartreplied earlier in that year with a letter which Morehead made part ofhis Address. This was published the same year by the State Printer atFrankfort. The pertinent part of the Hart letter reads:
>"This incident is not more extraordinary than one that happened, inthe fall or winter of 1781-'2, to some families belonging to our ownfort at the White Oak Spring. My father settled this fort in 1779.It was situated about a mile above Boonesborough and in the samebottom of the river. It was composed principally of families fromYork County, Pennsylvania - orderly, respectable people, and the mengood soldiers. But they were unaccustomed to Indian warfare, and theconsequence was, that of some ten or twelve men, all were killed buttwo or three. During this period, Peter Duree, the elder, theprincipal man of the connection, determined to settle a new fortbetween Estills station and the mouth of Muddy Creek, directly on thetrace between the Cherokee and Shawanese towns. Having erected acabin, his son-in-law John Bullock and his family, and his son PeterDuree, his wife, and two children removed to it, taking a pair of handmill stones with them. They remained for two or three days shut up intheir cabin, but their corn meal being exhausted, they were compelledto venture out, to cut a hollow tree in order to adjust their handmill. They were attacked by Indians - Bullock, after running a shortdistance, fell. Duree reached the cabin, and threw himself upon thebed. Mrs Bullock ran to the door to ascertain the fate of her husband- received a shot in the breast, and fell across the door sill. Mrs.Duree, not knowing whether her husband had been shot or had fainted,caught her by the feet, pulled her into the house and barred the door. She grasped a rifle and told her husband she would help him to fight. He replied that he had been wounded and was dying. She thenpresented the gun through several port holes in quick succession -then calmly sat by her husband and closed his eyes in death. Youwould conclude that the scene ought to end here - but after waitingseveral hours, and seeing nothing more of the Indians, she sallied outin desperation (Page 54 begins) to make her way to the White OakSpring, with her infant in her arms, and a son, three or four years ofage, following her. Afraid to pursue the trace, she entered thewoods, and after running till she was nearly exhausted, she came atlength to the trace. She determined to follow it at all hazards, andhaving advanced a few miles further, she met the elder Mr. Duree, withhis wife and youngest son, with their baggage, on their way to the newstation. The melancholy tidings induced them, of course, to return.They led their horses into an adjoining canebrake, unloaded them, andregained the White Oak Spring Fort before daylight."
>There are two known discrepancies in Hart's account. The time hasbeen established as Mar 1781 and not the "fall or winter of 1781-2,"and naming Peter Duree "the elder and principal man" should insteadhave been his father Samuel. Taking into consideration the span ofnearly 60 years, Hart's remembrance is otherwise thought to be soundand the story remains the best basic account. The recollections ofthose who were aware of what happened at the time, were recorded inthe depositions taken during the land suit proceedings in 1809 andlater. Those facts, however, remained buried in the court records formany years. According to the testimony of Frederick Ripperdon, oneof the hunters who accompanied the group when the cabins were built,they moved in on a Friday and three of the adults were killed thefollowing Monday.
>Hart's father, Nathaniel, Senior, was killed by Indians 22 July 1782. In mentioning the White Oak Spring Station in his letter, Hartwrote:
>"It is impossible at this day to make a just impression of thesufferings of the pioneers about the period spoken of. The White OakSpring Fort in 1782, with perhaps one hundred souls in it, was reducedin August to three fighting white men - and I can say with truth, thatfor two or three weeks, my mother's family never unclothed themselvesto sleep, nor were all of them, within the time, at their mealstogether, nor was any household business attempted. Food wasprepared, and placed where those who chose could eat. It was theperiod when Bryant's station was besieged, and for many days beforeand after that gloomy event, we were in constant expectation of beingmade prisoners. We made application to Col. Logan for a guard, andobtained one, but not until the danger was measurably over. It thenconsisted of two men only. Col. Logan did every thing in his power,as county Lieutenant, to sustain the different forts - but it was nota very easy matter to order a married man from a fort where his familywas, to defend some other - when his own was in imminent danger.
I went with my mother in January, 1783, to Logan's station to prove myfather's will. He had fallen in the preceding July. Twenty armed menwere of the party. Twenty three widows were in attendance upon thecourt, to obtain letters of administration on the estates of theirhusbands who had been killed during the past year."
>The Hart letter was subsequently used for accounts appearing inhistories of Kentucky written by Lewis Collins in 1847; Richard H.Collins in 1874; W.H. Perrin et al in 1889; as wellas a History ofMadison county by chenault. Another version by George W. Demaree,containing some elaborations and giving Peter and Anna a family of 3children, appeared in the Shelby Courant, shelbyville, Kentucky, in1874. This was used by Theodore M. Banta in the Banta Genealogy,published in 1893. the massacre was also mentioned in at least 5other depositions besides that of Frederick Ripperdon, made after 1800in connection with the land title suits in the Madison County CircuitCourt, which correct the errors of names and dates in the Hartrecollections. In his deposition made Nov 1809, Ambrose Coffeetestified that after the massacre he was among the men who went tobury the dead at the Duree cabin.
> In 1782 Anna and her children moved with her father-in-law and hisfamily to the Banta Station in Mercer County. She signed the Memorialto Congress in 1783 as "Antje Durie, widow." (Page 54 ends.)"
(Page 55 begins) Anna mar (2) 5 June 1784 in Lincoln County, DanielBanta, her husband's cousin. He was b in 1764, son of Hendrick Bantaand Ann Demarest, and bro of Cornelius who had married Helena, widowof Peter's bro Henry (46). They were the parents of 3 daughters and 5sons. Daniel also raised Samuel and Wyntie Duree, children by Anna'sfirst marriage. When the purchase of the tract of land in laterShelby County was being negotiated with Squire Boone in 1785, Danieland bro Cornelius, with a small party of other relatives, travelednorth to look over the area. They built a cabin a couple of milesfrom Hoagland's Station on part of the land later acquired byCornelius as his homestead. When the Low Dutch Colony tract ofseveral thousand acres was purchased from Squire Boone on 13 Mar 1786,Daniel was one of the signers of the Agreement made the following dayto cover the management rules for handling the group of participantsinvolved in the settlement. He acquired lot 11 in the subdivision ata valuation of 49 pounds, 3 shillings, 3 pence; also Lot 14 at avaluation of 52 pounds, 17 shillings, 3 pence. Both were situatedalong present U.S. Route 421 between Shipman's Corner and NorthPleasureville in Henry County. Lot 14 was immediately opposite Lot 13taken by bro Cornelius at the same time. Although settlement wasattempted in 1786, Indian raids forced them to return to the Low DutchStation in Mercer County, where they had to remain for several moreyears. By that time it was safe to return to the Boone tract, and ittook the colonists about two weeks making their way through thewilderness. On 24 Feb 1808, Daniel sold his homestead tract of 156acres on the waters of Six Mile Run, to bro Henry, together with 8horses, 11 head of cattle, 14 sheep, 50 hogs, 30 salt kettles atDrennon's Lick, 2 other kettles, a grindstone, a Dutch oven, and 3feather beds and bedsteads. All of this property was subsequentlyturned over to the Shaker Community in which Henry and his family weremembers. On 11 Dec 1811, Daniel purchased another tract of 145 acreson Drennon's Creek. This was sold prior to the time they moved toSwitzerland County, Indiana, where they went to live with son Henry.
Daniel d 15 Dec 1827 and was bur in the Pleasant Cemetery, Pleasant,Ind. Anna d 10 June 1829 and was bur in the Old Bethel Cemetery inCraig Township, in a plot with son Henry.
Peter's descendants adopted the Duree Spelling."
"Durie Family PC 929.2 Public Library, Rockville, Parke County,Indiana; Published 1985 By Howard I. Durie, Pomona, New York. Bookreference: Durie, H.I., THE DIRIE FAMILY, Pomona, New York 1985.Proof of maternal descendents of William H. Elkins dating from 1630 tothe present time. Pages from the beginning of the book to p. 197 havebeen copied and are in the ELKINS HISTORY VOLUME, Farner, Tyler, andDuree Families. Pages 1-410."
"THE DURIER/DURIE/DUREE FAMILY FROM UTRECHT, HOLLAND."
|