Tecumseh's Great Earthquake Prediction

Prior to the War of 1812, white settlers were increasingly taking over Native American lands, cutting and clearing trees and building villages. The British capitalized on the resentment felt by many tribes. In an effort to get them to join their side, Shawnee leader, Chief Tecumseh, was given guns and ammo to fight the Americans. The chief then went a step further by travelling from tribe to tribe with his Tenskwatawa, known as 'The Prophet,' trying to unite the Indians into a fight against the white settlers.

He told the Red Stick Creeks that the Great Spirit was angry with their enemies. "He speaks in thunder, and the earth swallows up villages, and drinks up the Mississippi. The Great Spirit will sweep those who escape to the hills from the earth with his terrible breath, he said.”

Tecumseh said he would give them proof that the Great Spirit had sent him. "I leave Tuckabatchee (on the Tallapossa River in what is today Alabama) and shall go to Detroit. When I arrive there, I will stamp on the ground with my foot and shake down every house in Tuckabatchee.”

His message didn’t go over well. His audience was skeptical, but imagine their surprise when on December 16, 1811, exactly when he arrived in Detroit, that the first of three strong earthquakes shook the ground. The first one on December 16, 1811, produced a magnitude of 8.1 on the Richter scale; the second on January 23, 1812, registered 7.8; and the third on February 7, 1812, registered an 8.8 magnitude.The epicenter was around what is today, New Madrid, Missouri and were felt as far away as Boston, Massachusetts, where it is said that church bells rang on their own. The earthquakes altered the landscape so severely, that the Mississippi River momentarily reversed its direction. Two thousand aftershocks occurred in the months following. The earthquakes, also known as the New Madrid earthquakes, were the biggest in American history.

The Red Sticks thought that this was Tecumseh’s signal to start war, to unite in resisting the white intruders intent on claiming their lands, but perhaps there had been a large number of mild or moderate tremors in the region leading up to the earthquakes and, since native peoples are more in tune with nature, that Tecumseh merely knew which natural signs to look for.

Was the Great Comet of 1812 part of Tecumseh’s prediction of a great fire, estimated to have been almost fifty percent larger than the sun, coming across the sky? The earthquakes arriving almost in conjunction with the fiery comet rushing across the horizon must have struck fear into many native peoples hearts.

It was in the fall of the year when the call for volunteers went out at the outbreak of the War of 1812. The soldiers would march to Lake Erie to assist General William H. Harrison in a fight with British troops and their Indian allies, including the great Shawnee Chief, Tecumseh. On October 5, 1813, American forces crossed over into Canada where they fought and won the Battle of the Thames. Tecumseh was killed during the battle.

Arthur Robinson Frogge: Pioneer of the Valley of the Three Forks o' the Wolf

My 5th great-grandfather, Arthur Robinson Frogge, was born to William and Mary Mitchell Frogg on April 13, 1776, almost three months before the Declaration of Independence was approved by the Second Continental Congress.

Arthur was of Scottish descent and was named after his uncle Arthur Frogg (c1744 – 1771) who was reportedly killed in a duel in Virginia. His middle name was in homage of his brother-in-law and business partner, David Robinson. According to his widow’s pension, Arthur Frogg was 6 ft. tall, slender, fair-completed, blue eyes and had black hair. President James Madison was Arthur's second cousin. Madison’s mother and Arthur’s grandmother were sisters.

In August of 1795, at the age of 19, Arthur enlisted as a private in the 14th Regiment of the Virginia Infantry. He served three years, taking part in several expeditions against the Creek Indians, before he was honorably discharged at Ft. Williams in Georgia in August of 1798.

Arthur married Jane Thompson Richardson on Jan. 31, 1799 in Wytheville, VA. The next month, his brother, Strother, married Jane’s sister. In 1802, after witnessing a mass exodus by many of their family and friends to Kentucky and Tennessee, the Frogg brothers moved their families to an area on Wolf River near Stockton's Valley, which later became known as Albany, Kentucky. The area where Arthur and his family settled was originally thought to be in Kentucky but would later become Pall Mall, Tennessee. It was there that Arthur purchased 200 acres near the Horsehoe Bend of Wolf River.

Sgt Alvin C. York wrote in is diary, “Above the spring in the rock-facing of the cliff is a large cave. Here Coonrod Pile spread a bed of leaves and made his home. The campfire was kept burning and its smoke was seen by other hunters, and Pearson Miller, Arthur Frogg, John Riley and Moses Poor came to Coonrod in the valley, and they too made their homes there, and Pall Mall was founded and descendants of these men are today eighty percent of the residents in the "Valley of the Three Forks o' the Wolf.”

The United States declared War on England in June of 1812 and Arthur and his brothers, William and Strother, enlisted to protect the frontier settlements from Tecumseh. Due to his previous experience as a soldier, Arthur served as a Lieutenant in the KY Mounted Infantry, 3rd Company; 7th Regiment for the Thames Campaign. He was mustered in at Newport, KY, enroute to Urbana, Ohio, 120 miles north of Cincinnati.

On Nov. 4, 1813, while marching around Lake Erie, Arthur fractured his ankle. He had served 84 days as Lieutenant. His paymaster reimbursed him two rations per day totaling 168, less ten of which were provided. He was reimbursed $31.60 sustenance during his term.

After the injury, Arthur came back home, where it is said he presided over the first ever county court. He also became road commissioner of Overton County, TN in 1815.

Tennessee and Kentucky compromised on a boundary dispute and on Feb. 4, 1820, the land where Arthur lived was now referred to as Overton County, TN instead of Cumberland County, KY. Fentress County, TN was created three years later from parts of Overton and Morgan counties, but Arthur remained in Overton County as the area along Wolf River would not be annexed into Fentress County until later.

In 1832, Arthur became Fentress County Road Commissioner and in 1835, he was appointed commissioner of Tennessee’s first railroad.

After the opening of the Illinois Territory, Arthur and his sons purchased 5,000 acres of land in Union County, Illinois in 1839. According to his widow’s pension papers, Arthur moved his family to Tippecanoe, Indiana where Jane died on Aug. 17, 1839. Following her death, Arthur returned home to Pall Mall and on April 18, 1841 he married his second wife, Louvisa Smith.

He applied for his military pension in 1844 and after a two year review, began receiving $8.50 per month on Jan. 1, 1846.

Arthur Robinson Frogge died on May 13, 1855 at the age of 78. He is buried at Wolf River Cemetery in Fentress Co, Tennessee.

Andrew Means: "The Battle of Horseshoe Bend"

Andrew Means, Jr., was born Randolph County, North Carolina in 1791 and migrated to Overton County, Tennessee in 1808.

As a young man, he fought in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend as a private in Colonel Stephen Copeland's regiment of Tennessee Volunteers.

It was the War of 1812 and the place was Alabama. The Creek Indians had become divided into two factions: the Upper Creeks (or Red Sticks), a majority who opposed the American expansion, and the Lower Creek, who were more assimilated and sought to remain on good terms with the Americans. On March 27, 1814, General Andrew Jackson's troops attacked a red stick Creek village. The battle lasted for more than five hours before the Creek warriors were defeated. Roughly 800 of the 1,000 Red Stick warriors were killed. Jackson lost fewer than 50 men during the fight and reported 154 wounded.

After the war, Andrew and his family migrated to Missouri. He died there in 1879 and is buried in Means Cemetery near Liberty. Andrew and his wife, Sara, raised 11 children.

Andrew's brother, Benjamin Means, was my 4th great-grandfather.

(Andrew Means)

Soldiers of Stockton Valley

It was the fall of the year when the call for volunteers went out at the outbreak of the War of 1812. There was no question that residents of Stockton Valley would be first in line. They were, after all, veterans, or sons of veterans, who had fought the British in the American Revolution, and would eagerly take up arms to defend their country once again.

In the latter part of July, Kentucky Governor Isaac Shelby issued a proclamation calling for 2,000 mounted riflemen to meet him at Newport within thirty days. The soldiers would march to Lake Erie to assist General William H. Harrison in a fight with British troops and their Indian allies, including the great Shawnee Chief, Tecumseh. On August 31st, Company 53, led by William Wood of Stockton Valley, reached Newport, and the company's 47 men, including 36 rank and file, 11 commissioned officers and nine rifles, prepared for battle.

On the appointed day, 4,000 men, double the number Governor Shelby had asked for, assembled at Newport. With the Governor leading the way, the Kentuckians crossed the Ohio River at Cincinnati, and headed for Lake Erie. On October 5, 1813, General Harrison and his forces crossed over into Canada where they fought and won the decisive Battle of the Thames. It is said William Wood was present when Richard M. Johnson killed Tecumseh.

The soldiers of Stockton Valley returned to their settlement on November 13th. They had left their home and families to defend their country, and had returned as heroes.

William Wood....Man of Honor

Samuel Wood came to America by way of England in 1755. Though only eighteen, he soon enlisted in the Virginia Militia, a company commanded by Col. George Washington, and was with Braddock when he met defeat at Ft. Duquesne in the French and Indian War. During the Revolutionary War, Samuel Wood did his part to aid his adopted country in its fight for freedom.

His son, William, who was born on June 13, 1773 near the Great Falls of the Potomac River in Loudon County, Virginia, was seven years old when the family moved across the mountains into western North Carolina and settled along Little Limestone Creek, in an area later known as Washington County, Tennessee. When he turned 18, William also joined the State Militia and fought in the American Revolutionary War. In 1791, he obtained the rank of Lieutenant.

Four years later, the 24-year-old Lt. Wood was the third settler to arrive at Stockton Valley, taking up 200 acres on Lick Branch of Spring Creek. At Stockton Valley, William would wear many hats. For instance, he surveyed virtually all of the land of the earliest settlers. Later, Surveyor Wood served as Sheriff and Justice of the Peace. In 1808, Sheriff Wood was elected as State Representative to the Kentucky Legislature from the 38th District, and five years later, State Representative Wood was elected State Senator. He went on to serve a total of 24 years in state government.

Senator Wood was promoted to the rank of Captain of a company of mounted volunteer riflemen in Governor Shelby's campaign to Canada during the War of 1812. The rank of Brevet Major was bestowed to Captain Wood during the advance through Ohio as the group of mostly Stockton Valley men rode to join General Harrison's forces in the vicinity of Detroit. He was reportedly present when Tecumseh was killed. From the War of 1812, Major Wood rode on to the Battle of New Orleans.

Major Wood was known as a formidable competitor in a race before the people because of his good practical sense, proverbial honesty and plain blunt manner; and although he made no pretensions to the character of orator, his influence was always felt and appreciated. He was remembered as a man of no mean qualifications, of great moral worth and strict integrity. Amid the frontier hardships and limitations, Major Wood was a man of honor and influence in the growing settlement at Stockton Valley, and quickly assumed a position of leadership. Not only was William Wood a founding member of Clear Fork Baptist Church, but he also served 47 years, until his death, as the church clerk.

Even though he was a man who wore a lot of different hats - Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Surveyor, Sheriff, Justice of the Peace, State Representative, State Senator -I would venture to say the title he was most proud of was Christian. And, the second most title he was probably proud of was - member of the Church of Jesus Christ at Clear Fork Creek, Clear Fork Baptist Church.

William Wood died January 11, 1851, at the age of 78. He and his wife, Elinor Ryan Wood, are buried in the Clear Fork Burying Ground.

As we celebrate america's freedom this Independence Day, I hope you will join me in saluting William Wood, who's entire life was about freedom. He helped fight for it and he helped win it, and then he bravely put that newfound freedom to the test by moving into a strange new world, where one of the first things he did was help establish a Church, which he served faithfully, and freely, the rest of his days.