Aaron Gutridge tells the story of his family

My favorite types of stories are those “straight from the horse’s mouth,” so to speak. The events in the lives of the earliest settlers, preserved in their own words, give an insight into the history of our country that no other source can duplicate.
The following family story was told by Aaron Gutridge in 1872, and included in the "History of Champaign and Logan Counties, Ohio." Aaron, who was 79 years old at the time, stated that he wrote the few lines without the aid of glasses.
Aaron’s sister, Catharine Gutridge, married James Lowry, and it is the family of their grandson, James Lowry and his wife, Mary Ann Welker, who settled in the St. James area of Wheatland Township in 1864.
“My father, John Gutridge, was born in Virginia; from there, he went to the state of Maryland. While there, in the year 1766, he married a lady by the name of Elizabeth Turner; remained there until after the close of the Revolutionary War; from there he moved to the state of Pennsylvania; lived there until the year 1785.
“He and others moved down the Ohio River in flat boats to what was then called Lime Stone, but is now known as Maysville, Mason County, Ky. They settled at Washington, near Kenton’s Station.
“For a few years, they were much annoyed by the Indian tribes, by killing of men, women and children, and killing their cattle and stealing their horses. I learned from my father that one dark, wet night, the Indians stole his last horse, which was tied to the door-cheek of the house that they lived in.
“Often, the men would follow them across the Ohio River. At one time, the white men were about to overtake them. They had taken a negro boy prisoner, cut his throat, and left him bleeding in their path; then they scattered and made their escape among the driftwood of Eagles Creek, near what was called Logan’s Gap.
“The white man’s living was deer and buffalo meat. The first settlers of Kentucky underwent many privations and hardships; but many of them lived to see better days. There, my parents buried their oldest son at Washington, Ky.
“My father was soon put in as Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Court, an office he filled as long as he remained in that state. My brother, Jesse Gutridge, was said to be the first child born in 1786 in Mason County, Ky., white or black.  
“In a few years, times became better; he followed farming and teaming on the road from the Ohio River to Lexington, Danville and other points. My brother, John, was a teamster, and was called the wagon boy. Times were fast becoming much better and prosperous.
“By this time, my father got his mind placed on what was then called the Western Territory, north of the Ohio River, and in the year of 1798 moved with his family into the territory. My parents raised 12 children; nine sons and three daughters. All settled in the territory on a stream of water called Fishing Gut.
“My father, in a few years, was elected Justice of the Peace in Adams County, an office he filled until he moved out of the county. In the year 1807, he moved to the Mad River country and settled on the east side of Dugan Prairie, on the headwaters of Buck Creek in Champaign County, Ohio.
“The people soon became alarmed about the Indians and built a fort at John Taylor’s mill, on King’s Creek, north of Urbana, but the fort was never occupied by the people. At that time, the Indians were quite plenty in the Mad River country, but seemed to be friendly.
“In the year 1812, Moses Corwin printed the first newspaper that ever was printed in Urbana, Ohio. About this time, came the news of a war between the United States of America and Great Britain. The army was soon made up and organized at Dayton.
“General William Hull marched the army from Dayton to Urbana. A council was held with the Indians, but no good grew out of it. My brother, Joseph Gutridge, was a member of the Spy Company, and William Gutridge and a brother-in-law, Wesley Hathaway, were members of Hull’s army.
“All landed safe at Detroit. There the Spy Company was discharged, and my brother,  Joseph, returned home safe and well. In  August 1812, Hull surrendered the whole army to Proctor, as prisoners of war. They were sent home on parole; the most of them got home during the fall months.
“We had a dark and discouraging time through the fall and winter of 1812-13, and in the spring of 1813, there was a great call for men to guard the frontiers of our country. My brothers, older than myself, were all out on the warpath; they returned home in harvest in July 1813.
“My father led in the harvest, and eight sons, all good reapers, followed him with sickles. After harvest, there was a call for more men. I had six brothers out in the war, all at the same time.  
“I was raised on corn and potatoes that grew in the fields, that were plowed with long, wooden mould-board plows, then the cast plow. The improvements of farming are great and good, and far exceed those of other years. In many places, where we used to hear the howling of wolves and the hunting of the red man, we can now hear the Gospel preached on Sunday."
Aaron’s story, as told here, is also the family story of the Lowry and Welker families of Fayette County.