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| Indiana’s Timeless Tales - 1782 - 1791 |
Blacksmith John Van Cleve, his wife Catherine and eight children arrive at Washington, Pennsylvania.
John Van Cleve (May 16, 1749 - June 1, 1791)
The son of Benjamin and Rachel Covenhoven Van Cleve, John was native to New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey Colony. At fifteen, John apprenticed to a blacksmith in Freehold, New Jersey. By 1771, John had finished his apprenticeship and established a blacksmith shop. That year he met, and married, Catherine Benham. The couple would have nine children, three of whom would die in infancy.
American Revolution
After the Battles of Lexington and Concord occurred, the New Jersey militia mobilized. John enlisted in the militia and served in his father's company. In that capacity, he acted as a guide for Captain Daniel Morgan's company of Riflemen. He continued to serve in the New Jersey militia after Morgan's capture at the Battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775. He served under General David Forman of the Continental Army during the American loss at the Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777. After the battle, the British occupied Philadelphia. Van Cleve joined scouting parties that harassed British troops that had left the city to search for supplies.
Battle of Monmouth
By May of 1778, the British departed Philadelphia and began their march towards New York. General Washington pursued them, catching them at Monmouth, New Jersey, resulting in the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. Van Cleve's family fled in confusion to the Pine Swamps as the battle developed around them. John left them to help Morgan's company reorganize itself in the confusion of battle. Musket fire terrified the hiding family as the battle raged. The Americans prevailed, driving the British from the field, leaving devastation in their wake. The British had cut down the orchards, killed livestock and left the countryside in a state of charred destruction. John found his anvil in the ruins of his blacksmith shop and all that remained alive was a heifer and a sow that had its back broken by a British saber. This was the last battle of the Revolution that John served in during the Revolution.
Move to Washington, Pennsylvania
John's brother in law, Robert Benham, had settled in Washington, Pennsylvania, which is southwest of Pittsburg. He had traveled in early 1785 to Van Cleve's home in Freehold to visit John and convince him to near his home near the Monongahela River. John finally agreed to migrate, so the family, which had lived in the New Jersey area for over 100 years, decided to pull up stakes and move to the frontier area of southwestern Pennsylvania.
The Beginning
The family spent most of the summer preparing for the move. Finally, on November 2, 1785 the caravan of four wagons, eight horses and the entire Van Cleve family boarded their wagons and began the long journey to Washington, Pennsylvania. His thirteen-year-old son, Benjamin drove the lead wagon, with his mother beside him. Robert Benham drove another wagon and John's apprentice Tunis Voorheis drove another. Two of the daughters, ages seven and ten, walked alongside the wagon while four-year-old William and one-year-old George rode in the wagon with their mother. John rode a horse and rode ahead to scout the path. The author does not know who drove the fourth wagon. Three wagons held the family's possessions, the fourth John's blacksmith supplies.
The Journey
The family covered thirty miles the first day, the most they would cover for the entire thirty-four day journey of almost 400 miles. The camped about sixteen miles from Philadelphia in country that had been almost denuded of forests after almost 100 years of settlement. The next day they managed to find the Pennsylvania Road, which was little more than a rutted path leading west into the densely forested hilly area of southern Pennsylvania. Travel was slow. The road had no bridges, so the family had to ford each river and stream. The road ascended the steep hills using hairpin curves to gain the summit. The hills were so steep, they had to unhitch two horses from one wagon and add it to the next so the horses could gain the summit. After reaching the summit, they tied ropes to the wagons and lowered them down using raw muscle until they got to into the valley. They would then start the process over again for the next wagon until all were down. Then they would ascend the next hill. As winter approached, the family endured snow and ice. Wagons broke down periodically, and they would lose a day repairing the wagon. At length, they reached their destination on December 6, 1785. They lived in the Washington Pennsylvania area until 1790, when they would once again migrate to Losantiville in the Northwest Territory.
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