When my mother was in grade school, her teacher gave her a book by Zane Grey titled Betty Zane. The story was based on historical facts that happened in the 1700s in what is now Wheeling, West Virginia. Betty Zane was the heroine and other main characters were Samuel McColloch, Simon Gerty and Lewis Wetzel. I loved that book and read it over and over.
When our daughter married and moved to Ohio, we went through Wheeling every time we went to visit her. I always thought someday I want to see the places I read about in the book, but we were always in a hurry to get there or get home again and never took the time to stop and hunt up the places. We went again this weekend and took a little side trip on Saturday to see some of the sites related to Betty Zane. We were blessed with a warm 70-degree day and colorful autumn leaves.
Betty Zane (July 19, 1765 – August 23, 1823) was the daughter of William Andrew Zane and Nancy Ann (née Nolan) Zane, and the sister of Ebenezer, Silas, Jonathan, Isaac, and Andrew Zane. Ebenezer is known for building a road from Wheeling, West Virginia to Kentucky. "Zane's Trace" opened Ohio to settlement and was the only major road in Ohio (now route 40) until 1812. In exchange for his work, Ebenezer received a tract of land in Ohio which was named Zanesville.
Three of the Zane brothers — Ebenezer, Silas and Jonathan — migrated from present-day Moorefield, West Virginia in 1769 and founded the first settlement at present-day Wheeling. The rest of the Zane family later joined them at the new settlement. At the conjunction of Wheeling Creek and the Ohio River, they began clearing land to farm, as well as established Fort Henry. The site of the fort is now under the streets of Wheeling but identified by a historical marker on the corner of Main and 10th streets. The marker stands at the entrance to the Wheeling Suspension bridge which was constructed in 1849 and easily identified by its red stone pillars.
As he rode along the top of the hill, he encountered another large body of Indians. He now found himself surrounded, with no path of escape. He knew, because of his reputation and history against the Indians, he would be tortured and killed if he were to be captured alive. With all avenues of escape cut off, he turned and faced the precipice, and with the bridle in his left hand and his rifle in his right, he spurred his horse over the edge to an almost certain death. The hill at that location is about 300 feet in height, and in many places is almost perpendicular.
The Indians rushed to the edge, expecting to see the major lying dead in a crumpled heap at the bottom of the hill. To their great surprise, they instead saw McColloch, still mounted on his white horse, galloping away from them.
We drove to the top of this steep hill and had a beautiful view of the Ohio River below.
Lewis Wetzel was involved in the 1777 battle at Fort Henry and again in the second battle in 1782. He was the son of John and Mary (Bonnet) Wetzel who moved to the Wheeling Creek area (about fourteen miles from Fort Henry) by the 1770s. Lewis was a scout, frontiersman and Indian fighter. He was renowned for an ability to load his rifle while sprinting (perhaps by using smaller shot than other frontiersman as well as for always holding a few bullets in his mouth), and which probably saved his life several times during raids. He roamed the forests waging guerilla warfare on Native Americans and sheltered in a cave now known as Wetzel's Cave. I would have liked to see this cave, but it is accessible only by a hiking trail which I would not have been able to do. We should have done this twenty years ago! Now I have to be content with photos I found online. The cave is located just south of I70, between Route 250 and Wheeling Creek.
Betty Zane had a crush on Lew Wetzel (in the story, perhaps not fact) but he was not the marrying kind. He helped defend Fort Henry in the siege of September 11-13, 1782, when Betty was the heroine.
A force of about 300 Wyandot, Shawnee, Seneca and Delaware Indians, under the direction of Simon Gerty, accompanied by a force of 50 British officers laid siege to Fort Henry. The colonists were disobeying royal order that all land west of the Appalachian Mountains was reserved for Native Americans. Simon Gerty had been captured by natives as a child and grew up among them. He was notorious for his savagery toward settlers.
As the force arrived at Fort Henry, the Zane family, under direction of Colonel David Shephard, was charged with defending the fort. The defending force was made up of 40 men and boys protecting the 60 women and children from the surrounding area who had come to the fort for protection.
The whole first day of the siege was wasted in attempting to batter the fort and burn down buildings. During the second day of the siege, the settlers encountered trouble. Their supply of gunpowder was running low, and they would not be able to defend the fort much longer if they lost use of the cannon and their rifles.
Betty Zane remembered the store of powder in her brother's cabin and volunteered to retrieve it for three reasons. First, the enemy would be less inclined to shoot a woman, and the twenty men still able to fight could not be spared. Second, she knew exactly where the powder was kept in the cabin. Third, she was young, and strong enough to carry the powder from the cabin back to the fort. What Betty Zane did not tell was that she had gone 40 hours without sleep as she was molding bullets for the men defending Fort Henry.
At about noon on the second day of the siege, 17-year-old Betty Zane opened the front gate of Fort Henry and walked the 60 yards to Ebenezer Zane's cabin. There was a pause in the fighting while the native and British force stared in awe as she disappeared into the cabin. Betty was not as fortunate on her return trip. As she wrapped the powder in her apron and left the cabin to return to the fort, the attackers recognized what she had and opened fire on her. She ran the 60 yards up the hill to the fort and made it safely inside unharmed. The powder allowed the settlers to defend the fort until help arrived. In the morning the native and British force left as patriot Captain John Boggs arrived with 70 soldiers to aid Fort Henry.
While the fort no longer exists, we were able to see a monument commemorating Betty's brave deed. This monument stands outside the Walnut Grove Pioneer Cemetery in Martin's Ferry, Ohio.
The Zane family eventually moved from Wheeling to Martin's Ferry on the Ohio side of the river. Betty Zane, her brother Ebenezer, and other Zanes are buried in this cemetery.
Memorial stone for Betty (above) and burial vault of her brother Ebenezer (below).
Ebenezer's wife, Elizabeth, is also buried in the vault with him.
Elizabeth "Betty" Zane was married to Ephraim McLaughlin with whom she had four daughters: Mary Ann "Polly", Sarah Nancy, Rebecca and Hannah McLaughlin. After his death, she married Jacob Clark with whom she had a son, Ebenezer Clark, and a daughter, Catherine Clark. Betty Zane died August 23, 1823. Her heroism is remembered each August during Betty Zane Pioneer Days in Martin's Ferry.
Betty's great-nephew, Zane Grey, wrote the historical novel about his famous aunt, titled Betty Zane. When he could not find a publisher for the book, he published it himself in 1903 using his wife's money. The book was a success and can be purchased today on Amazon. He went on to write many other western fiction books.
I am not a fan of cowboy and Indians books and have not read any other Zane Grey books. The characters in Betty Zane are less than noble and it contains far more war and killing than you would expect a nonresistant Mennonite woman to enjoy reading. Why did I find this book so fascinating? I think it was the historical aspect, pioneer setting, and the fact that Betty was a real person who risked her own life to save the lives of others. Also, the skillful portrayal of the Betty's character made her blossom under the author's pen to become larger than life.
Now that we took time for a little sightseeing in the Wheeling area, one more thing is crossed off my bucket list. I should read the book again.
