According to the account in the History of Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana by Berry Robinson Sulgrove, George Pogue, a blacksmith by trade, was among the first settlers in Marion Co., IN. He moved there from the "Whitewater settlement" which had been established some time earlier when Indiana was first opened for settlement. This was probably the area of Franklin Co. because two of his children were married in that county prior to the move to Marion Co.
The account of George's death is as follows:
Whether Pogue was the first man to live here or not, he was certainly t he first to die here. Mr. Nowland's description of the man and account o f his death so strikingly exhibit some of the characteristics of the ti me and country that it is reproduced here. " "George Pogue was a large, broad shouldered, and stout man, with dark hair, eyes, and complexion, a bout fifty years of age, and a native of North Carolina. His dress was l ike that of a Pennsylvania Dutchman; a drab Overcoat with many capes, a nd a broad brimmed felt hat. He was a blacksmith, and the first of that trade to enter the 'New Purchase.' To look at the man as we saw him last , one would think he was not afraid to meet a whole camp of Delawares i n battle array which fearlessness, in fact, was most probably the cause o f his death. One evening about twilight a straggling Indian, known to t he settlers as well as to the Indians as Wyandotte John, stopped at the c abin of Mr. Pogue and asked to stay all night. Mr. Pogue did not like to keep him, but thought it best not to refuse, as the Indian was known to be a bad and very desperate man, having left his own tribe in Ohio for some offense, and was now wandering among the various Indiana tribes. His principal lodging place the previous winter was a hollow sycamore log that lay under the bluff and just above the east end of the National road bridge over White River. (Above the site of the bridge, Mr. Nowland means, as the bridge was not built for more than ten years after.) On the upper side of the log he had hooks, made by cutting the forks or limbs of bushes, on which he rested his gun.
At the open end of the log next to the water he built his fire, which rendered his domicile as comfortable as most of the cabins. After John was furnished with something to eat, Mr. Pogue, knowing him to be traveling from one Indian camp to another, inquired if he had seen any white man's horses at any of the camps. John said he had left a camp of Delawares that morning, describing the place to be on Buck Creek, about twelve miles east, and near where the Rushville State road crosses that creek; that he had seen horses there with iron hoofs (they had been shod), and described the horses so minutely as to lead Mr. Pogue to believe they were his. Although the horses were described so accurately, Mr. Pogue was afraid that it was a deception to lure him into the woods, and mentioned his suspicions to his family. When the Indian left the next morning he took a direction towards the river, where nearly all the settlement was. Pogue followed him for some distance to see whether he would turn his course towards the Indian camps, but found that he kept directly on towards the river. Mr. Pogue returned to hisstories about his clothes and horses being seen in possession of t he Indians, all of which were untrue. There can be no doubt that the Wyandotte told Mr. Pogue the truth inregard to the horses, and in his endeavor to get possession of them had a difficulty with the Delawares and was killed, at least that was the prevailing opinion at the time. Not hing has ever been learned of his fate to this day, further then that he was never seen or heard of again, though the settlers formed a company to search all the Indian camps within fifty miles to find some indica tion that might lead to a clearing up of the mystery." Pogue's Creek, once the pride and now the pest of the city, takes its name from the pro to-martyr, if not proto-settler, of the county. cabin and told his family he was going to the Indian camp for his horses. He took his gun, and with his dog " set out on foot for the Delaware camp, and was never afterwards seen or heard of.
The account of George's death is as follows:
Whether Pogue was the first man to live here or not, he was certainly t he first to die here. Mr. Nowland's description of the man and account o f his death so strikingly exhibit some of the characteristics of the ti me and country that it is reproduced here. " "George Pogue was a large, broad shouldered, and stout man, with dark hair, eyes, and complexion, a bout fifty years of age, and a native of North Carolina. His dress was l ike that of a Pennsylvania Dutchman; a drab Overcoat with many capes, a nd a broad brimmed felt hat. He was a blacksmith, and the first of that trade to enter the 'New Purchase.' To look at the man as we saw him last , one would think he was not afraid to meet a whole camp of Delawares i n battle array which fearlessness, in fact, was most probably the cause o f his death. One evening about twilight a straggling Indian, known to t he settlers as well as to the Indians as Wyandotte John, stopped at the c abin of Mr. Pogue and asked to stay all night. Mr. Pogue did not like to keep him, but thought it best not to refuse, as the Indian was known to be a bad and very desperate man, having left his own tribe in Ohio for some offense, and was now wandering among the various Indiana tribes. His principal lodging place the previous winter was a hollow sycamore log that lay under the bluff and just above the east end of the National road bridge over White River. (Above the site of the bridge, Mr. Nowland means, as the bridge was not built for more than ten years after.) On the upper side of the log he had hooks, made by cutting the forks or limbs of bushes, on which he rested his gun.
At the open end of the log next to the water he built his fire, which rendered his domicile as comfortable as most of the cabins. After John was furnished with something to eat, Mr. Pogue, knowing him to be traveling from one Indian camp to another, inquired if he had seen any white man's horses at any of the camps. John said he had left a camp of Delawares that morning, describing the place to be on Buck Creek, about twelve miles east, and near where the Rushville State road crosses that creek; that he had seen horses there with iron hoofs (they had been shod), and described the horses so minutely as to lead Mr. Pogue to believe they were his. Although the horses were described so accurately, Mr. Pogue was afraid that it was a deception to lure him into the woods, and mentioned his suspicions to his family. When the Indian left the next morning he took a direction towards the river, where nearly all the settlement was. Pogue followed him for some distance to see whether he would turn his course towards the Indian camps, but found that he kept directly on towards the river. Mr. Pogue returned to hisstories about his clothes and horses being seen in possession of t he Indians, all of which were untrue. There can be no doubt that the Wyandotte told Mr. Pogue the truth inregard to the horses, and in his endeavor to get possession of them had a difficulty with the Delawares and was killed, at least that was the prevailing opinion at the time. Not hing has ever been learned of his fate to this day, further then that he was never seen or heard of again, though the settlers formed a company to search all the Indian camps within fifty miles to find some indica tion that might lead to a clearing up of the mystery." Pogue's Creek, once the pride and now the pest of the city, takes its name from the pro to-martyr, if not proto-settler, of the county. cabin and told his family he was going to the Indian camp for his horses. He took his gun, and with his dog " set out on foot for the Delaware camp, and was never afterwards seen or heard of.
According to the account in the History of Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana by Berry Robinson Sulgrove, George Pogue, a blacksmith by trade, was among the first settlers in Marion Co., IN. He moved there from the "Whitewater settlement" which had been established some time earlier when Indiana was first opened for settlement. This was probably the area of Franklin Co. because two of his children were married in that county prior to the move to Marion Co.
The account of George's death is as follows:
Whether Pogue was the first man to live here or not, he was certainly t he first to die here. Mr. Nowland's description of the man and account o f his death so strikingly exhibit some of the characteristics of the ti me and country that it is reproduced here. " "George Pogue was a large, broad shouldered, and stout man, with dark hair, eyes, and complexion, a bout fifty years of age, and a native of North Carolina. His dress was l ike that of a Pennsylvania Dutchman; a drab Overcoat with many capes, a nd a broad brimmed felt hat. He was a blacksmith, and the first of that trade to enter the 'New Purchase.' To look at the man as we saw him last , one would think he was not afraid to meet a whole camp of Delawares i n battle array which fearlessness, in fact, was most probably the cause o f his death. One evening about twilight a straggling Indian, known to t he settlers as well as to the Indians as Wyandotte John, stopped at the c abin of Mr. Pogue and asked to stay all night. Mr. Pogue did not like to keep him, but thought it best not to refuse, as the Indian was known to be a bad and very desperate man, having left his own tribe in Ohio for some offense, and was now wandering among the various Indiana tribes. His principal lodging place the previous winter was a hollow sycamore log that lay under the bluff and just above the east end of the National road bridge over White River. (Above the site of the bridge, Mr. Nowland means, as the bridge was not built for more than ten years after.) On the upper side of the log he had hooks, made by cutting the forks or limbs of bushes, on which he rested his gun.
At the open end of the log next to the water he built his fire, which rendered his domicile as comfortable as most of the cabins. After John was furnished with something to eat, Mr. Pogue, knowing him to be traveling from one Indian camp to another, inquired if he had seen any white man's horses at any of the camps. John said he had left a camp of Delawares that morning, describing the place to be on Buck Creek, about twelve miles east, and near where the Rushville State road crosses that creek; that he had seen horses there with iron hoofs (they had been shod), and described the horses so minutely as to lead Mr. Pogue to believe they were his. Although the horses were described so accurately, Mr. Pogue was afraid that it was a deception to lure him into the woods, and mentioned his suspicions to his family. When the Indian left the next morning he took a direction towards the river, where nearly all the settlement was. Pogue followed him for some distance to see whether he would turn his course towards the Indian camps, but found that he kept directly on towards the river. Mr. Pogue returned to hisstories about his clothes and horses being seen in possession of t he Indians, all of which were untrue. There can be no doubt that the Wyandotte told Mr. Pogue the truth inregard to the horses, and in his endeavor to get possession of them had a difficulty with the Delawares and was killed, at least that was the prevailing opinion at the time. Not hing has ever been learned of his fate to this day, further then that he was never seen or heard of again, though the settlers formed a company to search all the Indian camps within fifty miles to find some indica tion that might lead to a clearing up of the mystery." Pogue's Creek, once the pride and now the pest of the city, takes its name from the pro to-martyr, if not proto-settler, of the county. cabin and told his family he was going to the Indian camp for his horses. He took his gun, and with his dog " set out on foot for the Delaware camp, and was never afterwards seen or heard of.
The account of George's death is as follows:
Whether Pogue was the first man to live here or not, he was certainly t he first to die here. Mr. Nowland's description of the man and account o f his death so strikingly exhibit some of the characteristics of the ti me and country that it is reproduced here. " "George Pogue was a large, broad shouldered, and stout man, with dark hair, eyes, and complexion, a bout fifty years of age, and a native of North Carolina. His dress was l ike that of a Pennsylvania Dutchman; a drab Overcoat with many capes, a nd a broad brimmed felt hat. He was a blacksmith, and the first of that trade to enter the 'New Purchase.' To look at the man as we saw him last , one would think he was not afraid to meet a whole camp of Delawares i n battle array which fearlessness, in fact, was most probably the cause o f his death. One evening about twilight a straggling Indian, known to t he settlers as well as to the Indians as Wyandotte John, stopped at the c abin of Mr. Pogue and asked to stay all night. Mr. Pogue did not like to keep him, but thought it best not to refuse, as the Indian was known to be a bad and very desperate man, having left his own tribe in Ohio for some offense, and was now wandering among the various Indiana tribes. His principal lodging place the previous winter was a hollow sycamore log that lay under the bluff and just above the east end of the National road bridge over White River. (Above the site of the bridge, Mr. Nowland means, as the bridge was not built for more than ten years after.) On the upper side of the log he had hooks, made by cutting the forks or limbs of bushes, on which he rested his gun.
At the open end of the log next to the water he built his fire, which rendered his domicile as comfortable as most of the cabins. After John was furnished with something to eat, Mr. Pogue, knowing him to be traveling from one Indian camp to another, inquired if he had seen any white man's horses at any of the camps. John said he had left a camp of Delawares that morning, describing the place to be on Buck Creek, about twelve miles east, and near where the Rushville State road crosses that creek; that he had seen horses there with iron hoofs (they had been shod), and described the horses so minutely as to lead Mr. Pogue to believe they were his. Although the horses were described so accurately, Mr. Pogue was afraid that it was a deception to lure him into the woods, and mentioned his suspicions to his family. When the Indian left the next morning he took a direction towards the river, where nearly all the settlement was. Pogue followed him for some distance to see whether he would turn his course towards the Indian camps, but found that he kept directly on towards the river. Mr. Pogue returned to hisstories about his clothes and horses being seen in possession of t he Indians, all of which were untrue. There can be no doubt that the Wyandotte told Mr. Pogue the truth inregard to the horses, and in his endeavor to get possession of them had a difficulty with the Delawares and was killed, at least that was the prevailing opinion at the time. Not hing has ever been learned of his fate to this day, further then that he was never seen or heard of again, though the settlers formed a company to search all the Indian camps within fifty miles to find some indica tion that might lead to a clearing up of the mystery." Pogue's Creek, once the pride and now the pest of the city, takes its name from the pro to-martyr, if not proto-settler, of the county. cabin and told his family he was going to the Indian camp for his horses. He took his gun, and with his dog " set out on foot for the Delaware camp, and was never afterwards seen or heard of.
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