The following was written and submitted by Les Peine of [TBD] for inclusion at the Genealogy
in Washington Co., PA web site in January 1998.
Les writes:
This is the address which was given at the 1929 reunion of the
Bigger/Donaldson families. It is a very interesting account of the
disputed Washington lands, as well as an account of the Massacre at Fort
Dillow, and a fairly detailed look at life in the wilderness of western
PA in the late 1770's and beyond. Here is the first section - cover
page through page 10.
INGLE NOOK MEMORIES
This is a joint reunion of the Biggers and Donaldsons, who trace their
descent to Thomas Bigger or James Donaldson, or both of them. The
descendents of these two men, however, in the years gone by, did so much
in the way of unions that to hold a reunion of either of them now would
call out most of the others. So it was thought best not to attempt to
unscramble what had become so thoroughly scrambled, but to hold a joint
reunion. The representative of those bearing the name of Donaldson, and
the representative of those who bear the name of Bigger, who will on
this occasion sketch the early history of these two men and their
families, are each equally related to both of these two men. We are
both grandsons of the same son of James Donaldson, while one of us is
the grandson of one of the sons of Thomas Bigger, and the other the
grandson of another son of Thomas Bigger. So that in our veins there
flows an equal current of the blood of both of these our common
ancestors. If, therefore, either of us shall say anything about these
ancestors which shall reflect credit upon their descendants, it will
reflect credit equally upon both of us.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, some years ago, in a speech made in the
Senate of the United States, had occasion to say something about the
influence of heredity. He remarked that it was an interesting study but
that it was attended by some danger. By way of illustration he said
that a friend of his had told him of his experience in tracing the
history of his family. His friend said he had no difficulty at all
until he came to his great grandfather, who was a cashier of a bank in
New England, and that he had traced him as far as Borneo and there lost
all trace of him. There seemed to be some connection between his
position as cashier of a bank and the difficulty of tracing him beyond
Borneo. We do not anticipate any such difficulty in our case.
The writer of this sketch has been assigned the task of bringing to
your notice something of the early history of the Bigger family in
America, or rather that branch of it descended from Thomas Bigger and
Elizabeth Moore, who became his wife shortly before they emigrated to
America. This labor of love has been imposed upon him, he has no doubt,
by reason of the fact that he, together with his brother and sister,
enjoyed opportunities in their childhood and youth not possessed by many
others now living, to learn of the early life in this country of our
branch of the Bigger Family. Of eleven children to Thomas and Elizabeth
Bigger, three of them were members of our family, familiarly known as
Uncle Tommy, Aunt Ann and Aunt Betsy. This was the unmarried portion of
the family still living when we appeared upon the scene, two others,
Matthew the first born of the family, and Jean, who were also members of
the this unmarried portion of the family, having died before we were
born. Of this family of eleven children only four were married. The
children of Thomas and Elizabeth Bigger were all born before 1900, the
first in 1774 and the last in 1797. Of the three who were members of
our family Uncle Tommy was born in 1783, Aunt Ann in 1785, and Aunt
Betsy in 1797.
It is by reason of the date of the birth of Aunt Betsy, together with
our recollection of a statement we have frequently heard her make, that
we are able to fix the date of the building of the central part of the
ancestral home, still in good state of preservation. This statement was
that she had frequently heard her father and mother say that the house
was built before she was born, but that they did not move into it until
after that event. This fixes the date of the building as either 1796 or
1797, as Aunt Betsy was born in March 1798. This central part of the
house is, of course, constructed of logs, but since our recollection, it
has been covered by weatherboards.
These three old people in the long winter evenings, as we sat around
the grate or log fire, for we had both, would sometimes grow reminiscent
and would relate incidents of that early period which were of a
character calculated to remain in the memory of boys and girls. It is
by reason of this fact, and because there were three of them, all having
knowledge of the facts about which they talked, that the writer and his
brother and sister enjoyed peculiar opportunity to learn something of
that early period.
It is the writer's purpose on this occasion to confine himself to the
early period of history of the family, leaving it to another occasion,
and perhaps to another hand, to supplement it by sketching the later
history of the family. To go beyond that would be impossible in a
single paper on an occasion like this. Nor is it of such importance at
this time, as that those who perhaps alone now living possess the
knowledge of these matters should set them down before it is too late,
so that they may be preserved for present and future generations.
The Biggers were Scotch-Irish, that is they were Scotch, but at some
period now unknown, and for some reason or reasons, also unknown, but
perhaps because of religious persecution had been transplanted in the
north of Ireland, in the County of Antrim. The writer has often heard
the old people in the family say that their father said his ancestors
had been "Lairds", that is, Lords, in Scotland.
Lee Bigger, of Iowa, who was touring Scotland some years ago, in a
letter to his cousin, Samuel Bigger, of Smithfield, Ohio, says that he
obtained the information from Francis Joseph Bigger, Solicitor of
Belfast, that the name "Bigger" had been traced back to Scotland in
1136, and that the records in Edinboro show that on April 26th, 1136, a
Bigger, who was then High Chamberlain of Scotland, paid a visit to King
William at Northumberland.
Mrs. Florence Bigger, of Pittsburgh, who visited Scotland and spent
some time in tracing the family history says that one Walter Bigger held
a high office in the Royal household when Scotland had her own kings,
that of Lord High Chamberlain of the King's Household, and that records
are still in existence to establish this fact. This would be
verification of the statement made by Thomas Bigger that his ancestors
had belonged to the nobility of Scotland.
The family had a coat of arms which represents a pelican, with her
young at her feet, vulning, that is wounding, her breast to feed her
hungry brood from her own blood, according to the myth to that effect.
The motto under the crest is "Giving and Forgiving". The ancient chiefs
of the clan are said to have been retainers of the Royal clan of
Scotland, the clan Stuart.
The father of Thomas Bigger was named Matthew. He died in Ireland
before the emigration of his son Thomas to this country. The date of
his death is not known. Thomas Bigger had three brothers who had
emigrated to this country at some time prior to his coming. The names
of these brothers were James, John and Samuel, and according to
recollection this was the order of their ages, Thomas being the
youngest. James and John, in 1773, were living at the junction of the
rivers Monongahela and Youghiogheny, where McKeesport now stands.
Thomas Bigger and Elizabeth Moore were married shortly before they came
to this country. It is reasonable to conclude that, before this
marriage, his immediate family in Ireland, after the death of his father
must have consisted of himself, his mother and one unmarried sister, for
when he came he brought his mother and one unmarried sister, and his
wife. But he had at least one other sister, for he had in this country
two married sisters. One of them was married to a man named Walker, and
the other to a man named Anderson. The date of the coming of Thomas
Bigger, his wife, mother and sister, was 1773. Of course, they came in
a sailing vessel, and the port of departure was Londonderry. When the
green hills of Erin faded from view it was their last sight of their
native land, for they never returned. This undoubtedly did not cause
Thomas Bigger any great regret, for these old people in our family often
told us that their father said that the last year he worked in harvest
fields of Antrim, and after the last wheat had been cut, he threw his
sickle as far as he could, declaring that this was the last wheat he
would ever reap for King George. They also stated that he informed them
that he had delayed his departure to this country for some time because
of the danger of being impressed, while on the high seas, into the
service of his Majesty's Navy.
It seems the Biggers were members of the Presbyterian Church at
Ballemony, and the writer of this paper has in his possession the
certificate issued to them by the Session of the Church at Ballemony in
1773. This certificate includes Thomas, his wife, mother and sister.
Thomas Bigger was a weaver by trade, but from what has just been
stated, it would appear that he also worked, at least in the harvest
season, in the field. Before leaving Ireland he had provided what he
believed to be a sufficient supply of food for the four persons
composing his immediate party. There were, however, long periods of
calm, when the ship made little or no progress, and the voyage dragged
out to a period of between two and three months. As a result there was
a serious famine on board. To meet this situation the captain of the
vessel requisitioned all the goods on board, including that of our
ancestors, and placed every one on board on short rations drawn from
that common food supply this created. Upon arriving at Baltimore, the
termination of the voyage, the captain paid him in money for the food,
which he requisitioned.
Upon landing, Thomas Bigger's party started at once for Chambersburg,
PA, the home of his two older brothers, and the first winter of 1773-74
was spent with these older brothers at Chambersburg. In the spring of
1774 they crossed the mountains and came to the home of Thomas Bigger's
brother Samuel, at the junction of the rivers Monogahela and
Youghiogheny. It is not recalled that the old people ever said anything
about the means of transportation from Chambersburg to the home of
Samuel Bigger, but it must have been an arduous undertaking in 1774 to
cross the rugged range of mountains, densely wooded and without roads.
It is true that not long before that General Braddock, on his ill-fated
expedition, had cut a rude trail over the mountains, but it is not known
to the writer at what point it crossed the range, nor that they made use
of it. Neither did we learn from the old people, so far as recalled,
whether Thomas Bigger's mother and the unmarried sister, crossed the
mountain with Thomas Bigger and his wife in the spring of 1774. From
another circumstance often related by these old people, it is known that
he did not have his mother or unmarried sister with him when he first
established his home here. The story was often heard from the old folks
that shortly after he came here information was brought to him that his
mother had said that she had come all the way from Ireland expecting to
live with her son, Thomas, but that it now appeared she would not be
able to do so. When he heard this, he immediately went for her and
brought her to his own home, where she lived the remainder of her life,
as a member of his family. The old woman was afraid to ride on a horse
across the streams, and when they came to a stream he located a fording
place, then took her off the horse and carried her across on his back,
returning for the horse or horses. From this it seems reasonable to
conclude that the mother and unmarried sister were left in the spring of
1774 with James and John at Chambersburg. But whether he had only his
wife with him when they crossed the Alleghenies in the spring of 1774,
or whether his mother and unmarried sister came to Samuel Bigger's home
with them, it was a dangerous trip in 1774. They must have known of the
danger that confronted them. They had lived a quiet, peaceful life in a
densely settled community. They were, therefore, unfamiliar with life
in the forests on the frontier, and the cries of wild beasts in the
forests on the Alleghenies must have been weird music in the ears of
those people form the pastoral hills and valleys of old Antrim. The
truth about the dangers they confronted was bad enough, but as the
description of such dangers seldom loses anything in the telling it is
easy to conceive that it required high courage on the part of these
ancestors of ours to face them, as they sought a home in the trackless
wilderness beyond the Alleghenies.
During the preceding winter, spent at Chambersburg, they had undoubtedly
learned that General Braddock's army had been cut to pieces by the
French and Indians, near the very spot where Samuel Bigger lived. They
also doubtless heard that at Great Meadows George Washington and his
band of Virginians had also been defeated by the same foe. Of course,
they could not fail to have learned of lurking savages who, from ambush,
shot the settlers in their dooryards. They must have known that no
white man or woman could establish a home beyond that forbidding range
of mountains and be safe for a single hour in 1774. Yet they faced
these dangers unflinchingly. At the time of his marriage Thomas was
about thirty years of age, and his wife was nineteen years of age.
What must have been the motive of these ancestors of ours who were
willing to face these dangers? Remember that they were not escaping
from British rule, for the colonies were still under the rule of the
British Crown. Two more years were to elapse before the Declaration of
Independence was written. The impelling motive, as we learned it from
their own children, was to secure a home for themselves which would
really belong to them and their children. They had heard that in
America fertile soil in prodigal abundance lay open to him who would
take it and improve it. Compared to the land of promise beyond the sea,
Ireland to them appeared to be a land of bondage. To a people of high
spirit and imagination their condition in the north of Ireland was
deplorable and intolerable. It is difficult, if not impossible, for
their descendents of today to realize and appreciate the land hunger of
this Scotch-Irish race. The exactions of the landlords in Ireland left
for them the barest subsistence, and the dreary prospect of their
dependence upon others in their old age. The frontier line in America,
pushing back the forest and its savage inhabitants, was composed
predominantly of this hardy race.
On arriving at his brother's home at the point where McKeesport now
stands, Thomas Bigger borrowed a horse to carry him in his search for a
location for his home west of the Monongahela River. How far he went in
this search we do not know, but a circumstance which led to his decision
to locate here we do not know from the statements of the old people in
our family. As he rode along the hillside above the site which
afterwards became his home, he said he observed that the soil which the
horse's hoof's turned up seemed to be rich, and he further observed
below him on the hillside what appeared to be an opening in the forest;
that he rode down to it and discovered that some one had made a
deadening in the forest, and erected a cabin of small logs to the
square, but had not roofed it. That it appeared to him that whoever had
made this improvement must have abandoned it.
While we do not know who made this improvement, we do know that no one
ever appeared to claim it and the conclusion to which Thomas Bigger and
his wife came was that he had either been frightened away by the
Indians, or perhaps killed by them.
On returning to his brother Samuel's home he reported to his wife what
he had found, and she decided the question in favor of that place as the
site of their future home, and to it they came. There their children
were all born. But not all in the same house. None of them were born
in the present building, which was the third building erected at that
point by Thomas Bigger. This rude cabin which was their first home was
not occupied long until it was succeeded by a better log building, which
was occupied until the present building was erected, which, as before
stated, was in 1796 or 1797. All of the children were born either in
the rude cabin, which he found in the forest without a roof, or in the
second and more substantial cabin built some time later. That Thomas
was not much of a carpenter is indicated by the fact that, when he put a
roof on the rude cabin, he did not extend the roof beyond the logs, but
abutted the clapboards against the logs on the inside, so that the water
ran down inside the cabin when it rained.
The old people in the family often stated that their father and mother
had told them that they never wanted for necessities of life, except
during their first year here, when hunger was not an entire stranger to
them. It would seem, with the forests full of wild game, bear, deer and
wild turkey, that they should have had no difficulty in securing meat.
>From statements often heard from the old people it appears that their
father had little skill with a rifle, and no taste for it. It is not at
all certain that he even owned a gun when he first came here, and no gun
said to have been his was left in the family, so far as known. He must,
however, have had some sort of a gun, for he belonged to the militia and
was called out for duty at times.
That the children in the family enjoyed pets as much as the children of
this sophisticated age, we learn, especially from Aunt Ann. She stated
that the boys often brought fawns, which they found in the forest, to
the home, of which they made pets, and she spoke of the great beauty of
these little animals, but also remarked that when the bucks attained
their growth, and a set of antlers, they became vicious and had to be
slaughtered. She also stated that the boys shot so many wild turkeys
that she grew tired of plucking the feathers and for a time tried
skinning them. In these days, when turkey has a money flavor, the
descendents of these old Biggers and Donaldsons would do considerable
plucking if that was all that stood between them and a turkey roast.
The statement was often made by these old people, in our hearing, that
their father was enrolled in the militia, and that he was called out on
one or more occasions to do patrol duty along the Ohio River. Each man
was given a station and his beat along the river extended one mile each
way until he met the next patrol. This duty it seems was performed at
times when danger of Indian raids threatened the settlers.
In 1774, there was no mill for grinding grain in these trackless forests
of the West. The writer has the first mill, which was used by the
Biggers to obtain flour or cornmeal. It is a simple iron mortar and
pestle. It is impossible to say how long this mill was used.
The next was a small mill closely resembling the old fashioned coffee
mill, which would only produce a coarse flour or meal. This is in the
possession of the writer's brother, A. D. Bigger. The third form of
mill, which came some time later, was a horse mill, and a treadmill upon
which a horse walked and furnished the motor power for the mill. Some
time later came the water mills, along the streams, which were in
general use well within the recollection of the writer.
Thomas and Elizabeth Bigger and their children manufactured their own
cloth for the wearing apparel of both the men and the women. That they
might have woolen clothing, they early acquired some sheep, and the
writer remembers distinctly of Aunt Ann saying that to protect the sheep
from the wolves it was necessary to drive them into an enclosure every
night. Among the heirlooms in the writer's possession is a ball of
linen thread, spun in Ireland by Thomas Bigger and brought by him to
this country. The strands of this thread seem to be as strong today as
when first manufactured. From flax they obtained the fiber for linen
thread and clothing. It was in the manufacture of cloth that Thomas
Bigger's knowledge as a weaver was valuable, especially in the
manufacture of linen, which was his trade. The whole family, however,
learned from him the art of spinning and weaving, at least the female
members of it. The writer has the spinning wheel of his great
grandmother Bigger.
Photography was, of course, unknown in that day so that we have little
knowledge of the physical appearance of these our common ancestors. We,
however, learned from the old people in our family that their father was
of medium height and powerfully built, and that their mother was a large
woman. This we also heard from our father, who clearly remembered
seeing her in her old age. The writer's brother, A. D. Bigger, has a
corset worn by her, and a glance at that corset would lead to the
conclusion that she must have been an Amazon. The color of their hair
is unknown, but their children presented striking contrasts, some being
red haired and of a fair complexion, while others were black haired and
of a somewhat swarthy complexion. Old Uncle Tommy's hair, we were told,
was red in his youth, as was also the hair of the grandfather of the
writer, Samuel; while Uncle Tommy Bigger and Aunt Betsy were blacked
haired, their hair remaining black until old age.
These ancestors of ours were a deeply religious people. Being
Scotch-Irish they were, of course, Presbyterians, and they believed
implicitly in the theology of Calvin and Knox. Their religion was no
cloak in which to masquerade before the world, but a vital force in
their everyday life. The Holy Bible was indeed their rule of faith and
practice. It was read night and morning at family worship, and every
one under the roof was not only expected, but required to be present.
The Sabbath was a Holy Day, and observed as such, and even the children
were restrained from any undue levity. These Scotch-Irish seem to have
carried with them from Scotland to the North of Ireland, and then across
the sea to America the spirit of the Solemn League and Covenant of their
Ancestors. Of course, they were intolerant. But as we scan the page of
history, we are compelled to admit that some of the greatest reformers
ever wrought in the world were carried forward by men of deep conviction
who were intolerant. The Catholic Church was anathema to them, and the
Episcopal Church, the Established Church of England, which had
relentlessly persecuted them, was in their eyes but little better. But
notwithstanding their sternness and their intolerance, the writer has
yet to meet and individual, whose childhood and youth were molded and
shaped in such an atmosphere, who did not admit that it had a powerful
influence for good throughout his entire life. These Scotch-Irish
ancestors of ours were stern but they were just. If they did not find
it possible, owing to the weakness of our common human nature to love
their enemies, they at least did them no harm. We who have in our veins
the blood of both Donaldsons and Biggers have clearly stamped upon us
the hallmark of the Scotch-Irish.
Of this Scotch-Irish race Theodore Roosevelt has this to say in his
"Winning of the West:"
"The backwoods men were Americans by birth and parentage and of mixed
race. But the dominant strain in the blood was that of the Presbyterian
Irish - the Scotch-Irish as they were called. Full credit has been
awarded the Roundhead and the Cavalier for their leadership in our
history. Nor have we been blind to the deeds of the Hollander and the
Huguenot; but it is doubtful if we have fully realized the importance of
the part played by that stern and virile people, the Irish, whose
preachers taught the creed of Knox and Calvin. These Irish
representatives of the Covenanters were in the west almost what the
Puritans were in the Northeast, and more than the Cavaliers were in the
Southeast. Mingled with the descendants of many other races, they,
nevertheless, formed the kernel of the distinctively American stock who
were the pioneers of our people in their march westward, the vanguard of
the army of fighting settlers who, with axe and rifle, won their way
from the Alleghenies to the Rio Grande and the Pacific."
In another place he says:
"That these Irish Presbyterians were a bold and hardy race is proved at
once by their boldly pushing past the settled regions and plunging into
the wilderness as the leaders of the white advance. They were the first
and last set of emigrants to do this. All others have merely followed
in the wake of their predecessors."
This is emphatically true of Thomas Bigger and his wife. They passed at
once through the old settled part of the country east of the mountains,
and located their home on the extreme frontier, and being located
remained.
Thomas Bigger was a man of peace, but he was a man with a vision and a
purpose. He had no desire for warlike deeds or military renown. To a
boy fond of reading of the exploits of Boone and Kenton and Brady, and
the Poes, and others of like nature, there was a sort of feeling of
disappointment that his parental ancestor had not also shouldered his
rifle and gone gunning for Indians. Upon more mature reflection,
however, he has reached the conclusion that his quiet but indomitable
facing of known perils, which constantly surrounded him, furnishes
evidence of courage, moral and physical, not surpassed by any of them.
The quiet and patient facing of possible death before the battle is more
trying on a brave man's nerves than the heat of the contest. Beginning
in the spring of 1774 and continuing until the close of the
Revolutionary War, these ancestors of ours were in constant fear of
death at the hands of the savages, in its most cruel form. And what
shall we say of the partner of the joys and sorrows of Thomas Bigger,
who bravely stood at his side through all these terrible years? Here
mere words are inadequate. No Spartan wife and mother, in the days when
Greece was young, surpassed her in courage and supreme devotion. Let
those in whose veins runs the blood of this woman silently uncover
beside her tomb, as you do when the flag of your country passes. It is
becoming in us, their descendants, at this late day, to pay some tribute
to the memory of these our ancestors, Donaldsons and Biggers, and all
that generation of pure Americans who laid deep and strong the
foundations of the heritage we now enjoy.
Shortly after Thomas Bigger established his home here, his
brother-in-law, John Anderson and his wife, who was a sister of Thomas
Bigger, came to live with them. That it was very shortly after they
came here is evidenced by the following incident. An alarm of an Indian
raid came to them. The two men started the women, with the children, to
the east, while they went to find their horses, telling the women they
would soon overtake them on the trail. The children were two in number,
Matthew the older being large enough to walk, while Elizabeth carried
the younger. The Andersons at that time had no children. After the
women had gone some distance they heard an outcry behind them on the
trail. Believing that their husbands were being murdered by the
Indians, they struck off into the forest, at right angles to the trail.
Walking by this time had become irksome to Matthew, and he demanded to
be carried, refusing with true Scotch stubbornness to travel further on
his own feet. Thereupon, Mrs. Anderson said to her sister-in-law, in
the broad Scotch dialect, "Thraw him away," "Thraw him away." That,
however, was asking too much of a mother with reference to her first
born son. What Elizabeth's reply to this suggestion was, we do not
know, but we did learn that it resulted in a feeling of dislike on the
part of Elizabeth for his sister-in-law, which she never entirely
overcame. The men soon found the women and explained that, coming to a
fork in the trail, they were unable to determine which one had been
taken by the women and were calling to obtain an answering call.
In ploughing in the field it required the united efforts of both Thomas
Bigger and his brother-in-law, one driving the team while the other held
the handles of the plow. How long the Andersons continued to live with
them we do not know.
Salt in bulk, during their early residence here, could not be obtained
short of the eastern side of the Alleghenies, and a trip to Chambersburg
required from two to three weeks, according to the weather, season of
the year, etc. When away, Elizabeth remained alone in the cabin, but
before leaving he blazed a trail for her through the forest to the
nearest neighbor, to enable her to go there for fire in case her fire
should go out, as there were no friction matches in those days. After
he left she attempted to find this trail but failed. She, however, kept
her fire alive during his absence.
The first year of their residence here, Thomas Bigger planted some corn
in the clearing, and afterwards went on one of these trips for
supplies. During his absence she cultivated the corn. Having a baby
she placed it in a sugar trough, in lieu of a cradle, and placed this
trough in the shade of a tree,
In the spring of 1774, the same spring they established their home here,
the women and old men belonging to the family of the Indian Chief Logan
were brutally and treacherously murdered at the mouth of Yellow Creek by
some renegade white men, while Logan and his party were absent hunting.
This, of course, sent Logan and his people on the warpath to revenge
that outrage. The place of this murder could not have been more than
fifteen to eighteen miles distant from the Bigger home. This and other
outrages by the whites, against the Indians, such as the more extensive
massacre of the Christian Indians at Gnadenhutten on the banks of the
Tuscarawas, filled the Ohio Indians with a spirit of revenge, which
spared neither age nor sex. We have often heard the old people in our
family say that their parents often fled from their cabin, upon hearing
rumors that the Indians were on the warpath. On one occasion they were
just sitting down to dinner when the warning came, and closing the cabin
door they fled without waiting to eat. On their return they found the
cabin just as they had left it with the food on the table.
This brings us to an incident, which came near to rendering impossible
any reunions of the descendants of Thomas and Elizabeth Bigger. The
reference is to the massacre, by the Indians, of the people who were in
Fort Dillow. The location of this fort was on the south bank of
Dillow's Run, a tributary of Raccoon Creek, entering it from the west,
the mouth of the run being opposite to the residence of A. D. Bigger,
the brother of the writer of this sketch, and our boyhood home. This
little fort was built by Thomas Bigger and Dillow, whose home was there,
and at least two other men, whose names we do not know. It is built
after the usual pattern of such forts, with a stockade surrounding it.
It is location was about a mile, or a mile and a half, up the stream
from its mouth. The place was always called Fort Dillow, although in
our time there was no fort there, but its position was marked by a tree
of unusual variety in the neighborhood. We were told that, on one
occasion, a woman riding to the Fort, had stuck the end of her riding
switch in the ground where it took root and grew. The writer remembers
seeing the tree, but does not know whether or not it is there to the
present day. These four men, being neighbors and located upon the
extreme frontier, felt that they should have a fort nearby, to which
they might resort in case of danger, without being compelled to flee to
a more distant place of safety. On the occasion to which reference is
now made, these four men with their families had taken refuge in the
fort, by reason of an alarm that the Indians were on the warpath.
During the night, Thomas Bigger said, a man named Quinn, whom he had
known in Ireland, and who lived farther to the east, rode by and called
over the stockade that a large party of Indians were crossing the Ohio,
and that they should leave the little fort and escape to the east. It
would seem that no one else in the fort heard this. When he informed
the others of what he had heard, they said he must have been asleep and
that it was only a dream. He insisted that he was awake and urged them
that they should all leave the fort. This they refused to do. As soon
as it became light enough to see to travel he started, with his family,
for a stronger fort located probably twelve or fifteen miles to the east
on Miller's Run, believing that when the others saw him leaving; they
would believe him and follow. They, however, remained behind. Some
time during the day, the little fort was surrounded by a large body of
Indians, who soon captured it and took all the inmates of the place
prisoner. The Indians then with their prisoners started back toward the
Ohio River. On the way, in one of the deep ravines which lead down to
the Ohio, they massacred the entire party, except one of the Dillow
children, a boy about fourteen years of age, whom they carried with them
and adopted into the tribe. This boy remained with the Indians for ten
years. When he returned to the settlements, for the first time the
people of the frontier learned that fate of the inmates of Fort Dillow.
The young man said he believed he could find the place where the
massacre occurred, and took a party to the spot, where they found the
bones of the unfortunate inmates of Fort Dillow scattered upon the
ground. Thomas Bigger and his wife and children escaped safely to the
Fort on Miller's Run. Some time after this occurrence Thomas Bigger met
Quinn and inquired of him how he came to be at the fort that night, and
was informed that he never was there. We have frequently heard these
old people in our family say that their father always insisted, as long
as he lived, that on that night he was as wide awake as he ever was in
his life when he heard Quinn's voice. The writer has no explanation for
this, but it is as well established as any other fact in the early
history of the family, and we probably heard this incident discussed by
the old people more than any other and they had no explanation for it.
After making their escape to the fort on Miller's Run they found there a
group of settlers numbering at least thirteen, and a substantial fort.
There may have been more men that the thirteen, but we have the names of
these thirteen set down in the diary of a no less accurate chronicler of
passing events than George Washington, the Father of his Country. The
writer of this sketch has a copy of Washington's Diary, containing an
account of his trip to the West in the autumn of 1784, in which the name
of Thomas Bigger appears, along with twelve others. After the
destruction of Fort Dillow, and the disappearance of its inmates, Thomas
Bigger feared to return with his family to his former residence, but
purchased a farm from one of two brothers named, McBride, whose
descendants have lived side by side with the Biggers from that day to
this. He immediately went to work, building himself another house and
clearing land. This labor lasted for seven years, we have often heard
the old people say.
But their troubles were not yet over. The Revolutionary War having come
to an end, the Father of his Country turned his attention to his own
business interests. They had long been neglected. Having property west
of the Alleghenies, he mounted his horse at Mt. Vernon and rode across
the range. He first visited the site of a mill owned by him near Fort
Pitt, which he had leased before the war to a man named Gilbert Simpson,
with the object of settling with him under the terms of the contract.
Having concluded his negotiations with Simpson, he next turned his
attention to some land, which he claimed, on Miller's Run in this
county. As our venerable ancestors were living on this land, under
claim of ownership, this incident is of peculiar interest to us. We
often heard the story from these old people of the visit of Washington
to their home on Miller's Run, but never dreamed there was in existence
an account of this incident, written by George Washington himself. The
writer of this sketch has a copy of Washington's own account of this
transaction, in a volume entitled, "Washington and the West", written by
Professor Hurlburt, of Marietta College. The same account may be found
in a publication of Washington's Diaries by the ladies of Mt. Vernon
Association, which may be found in almost any well-equipped public
library. These Scotch-Irish settlers on Miller's Run having heard of
Washington's coming, and of his claim to be the owner of their land,
sent a deputation to see him, while he was still at Gilbert Simpson's.
They were unable to reach any settlement with Washington and returned
home. On the 18th of September 1784, Washington set out from Gilbert
Simpson's, in company with Dr. Craik, who accompanied him on his
journey, to visit the land he claimed on Miller's Run. The Colony of
Virginia had made land grants to her soldiers who served in the French
and Indian Wars. These grants for certain definite amounts of land, and
the written evidence of these grants were often sold by the owner. One
of Washington's neighbors at Mt. Vernon, a man named, Posey, sold his
grant for nearly three thousand acres to Washington. These grants of
wild lands, belonging to the Colony of Virginia, lying in the forests
beyond the Alleghenies, were accounted of little value by the recipients
of them. But Washington had a vision of the future growth of the
country beyond the Alleghenies which few, if any, others of his
contemporaries had. And the Father of his Country was thrifty. He,
therefore, commissioned Colonel Crawford, his friend and an early
surveyor like himself, to select for him a body of good land of the
amount called for by Posey's grant, and to do whatever was necessary to
perfect this title. Colonel Crawford, who was later burned at the stake
by the Indians near Upper Sandusky, Ohio, chose this land on which these
Scotch-Irish settlers
were afterwards living. True, it was not within the boundaries of the
Colony of Virginia, but was within the boundaries of Penn's Grant.
Mason's and Dixon's Line, however, had not yet been established, except
to the summit of the Alleghenies from the east, for the reason that the
Indians refused to permit the Commissioners of the King to cross the
Alleghenies, and they had returned home. For many years thereafter it
was unknown whether the land lying west of the Monongahela River was
part of Virginia or belonged to Pennsylvania. Washington had paid Posey
about twelve pounds, equivalent to about sixty dollars, for nearly three
thousand acres of land on Miller's Run. Compare sixty dollars for
nearly three thousand acres of the best land on Miller's Run, underlaid
with valuable seams of coal, within a few miles of Pittsburgh, and you
will agree that Washington was a man who had a vision of the future.
Returning to Washington's visit, the failure of the deputation sent to
meet him at Gilbert Simpson's, Washington states that on the 19th of
September, which he says was on Sunday, he arrived at the home of a man
named Cassons or Casson, whom he calls Colonel. We think it probable
that this was Colonel Cannon, from whom Cannonsburg takes its name.
Washington was careless about names and he spells "Bigger" in different
ways in his account, once correctly and again with a final "T". Casson,
or Cannon, it appears from his diary, lived a short distance from this
land on Miller's Run.
The following is quoted from Washington's Diary:
"Being Sunday, and the people living on the land apparently very
religious, it was thought best to postpone going among them until
tomorrow, but rid to Doctor Johnson's, who had a copy of Colonel
Crawford's surveying records, but not finding him at home, was
disappointed in the business which carried me there."
Under date of September 20th he makes the following entry:
"Went early this morning to view my land and to receive the final
determination of those living upon it. Having obtained a pilot near the
land, I went first to the plantation of Samuel McBride."
He then states the amount of land which Samuel McBride had under
cultivation, and the nature of the improvements thereon. He then states
he came next to the home of James McBride, and again describes the land
and its amount, and the portion of it under cultivation and the
improvements, as he does in the case of each of these settlers on the
land he claimed. He then came third, according to his account, to the
home of Thomas Bigger, our ancestor, and here the entry is as follows:
"Thomas Bigger-Robert Walker living thereon as tenant. No meadow-about
20 acres of arable land, dwelling house and single barn, fences
tolerable and land good."
This Robert Walker was undoubtedly Thomas Bigger's brother-in-law, who
was married to his sister Jane, the sister he brought with him when he
came to America.
After visiting the home of each of these settlers upon the land he
claimed, the diary continues:
"The foregoing are all the improvements upon this tract, which
containes 2813. The land is leveler than is common to be met with in
this part of the country and good. A part of it is in white oak,
intermixed in many places with black oak, and is esteemed a valuable
tract."
Continuing his diary, under the date of September 20th, he says:
"Dined at David Reed's, after which Mr. James Scott and Squire Reed
began to inquire whether I would part with the land, and upon what
terms, adding that they did not conceive they could be dispossessed, yet
to avoid contention they would buy, if my terms were moderate. I told
them I had no inclination to sell. However, after hearing a good deal
of their hardships, their religious principles, which had brought them
together as a Society of Seceders, and unwilling to separate or remove,
I told them I would make them a last offer, and this was the whole
tract at twenty-five shillings per acre, the money to be paid at three
annual payments with interest, or to become tenants under leases of nine
hundred and ninety-nine years of ten per hundred per annum. The former
they had a long consultation upon, and asked if I would take a price at
a longer credit with interest; being answered in the negative, then they
determined to stand suit for the land. But it having been suggested
that there were among them some who were disposed to relinquish their
claim, I told them I would receive their answer individually, and
accordingly called upon them as they stood: James Scott, William
Stewart, Thomas Lapsley, James McBride, Brice McGeechan, Thomas Bigger,
David Reed, William Hillas, Samuel McBride, Duncan McGeechan, Matthew
Johnson, John Reed and Thomas Glenn, they severally answered that they
meant to, after this meeting, stand suit and abide the issue of the
law."
Washington, after this meeting, proceeded with his usual vigor and
thoroughness to carry out his purpose of ejecting these Scotch-Irish
people from his land. He states that on the 22nd of the month he
visited Beeson's Town, and engaged a lawyer named Thomas Smith to bring
an action in ejectment, which was done. This suit was brought in 1784,
but was on motion of Washington's counsel transferred to the Supreme
Court, (editor Les Peine's note inserted: According to the "History of
Washington County" pages 100-101, tells of action in Philadelphia by
the grantor, before James Biddle, President of the Court of Common Pleas
of the first district. It also speaks of the ejectment action of the
court,) and in 1786 it was tried before two judges of the Supreme Court
and a jury at Washington. The verdict of the jury and the judgment of
the Court were in Washington's favor.
Colonel J. T. Holmes, one of the most distinguished members of the
Columbus, Ohio Bar, stated to the writer that he had spent a great deal
of time and money in investigation the early history of Washington
County, PA., as his ancestor was contemporaneous in this county with
ours. He stated that the failure of these Scotch-Irish settlers to
establish a good title was due to the fact that they derived their title
to the land from Colonel Crogan, an early Indian Trader and Surveyor in
western Pennsylvania. This title of Crogan rested upon an agreement of
treaty between Crogan and the Indians, while Washington's title rested
upon a grant from Virginia. Therefore, Washington's title prevailed and
the settlers lost their land. If the question be raised as to how
Washington could establish a good title to land in Pennsylvania under a
grant from the Colony of Virginia, it appears that the legislative body
in Pennsylvania, after the western boundary of Pennsylvania had been
determined, validated all of the Virginia grants of land in Washington
County, and thus made good the title of Washington.
After the decision of this case, Thomas Bigger brought his family to
the home he had occupied near this spot, and there continued to live for
the remainder of his life. Thomas Bigger died on February 7th, 1829, in
the eighty-ninth year of his age. He was buried in the churchyard of
Candor Presbyterian Church, in the Village of Candor in Washington
County. In his burial lot there had already been interred, of the
Bigger family, the mother of Thomas Bigger, who died on May 20th, 1780,
in the seventy-eighth year of her age; James Bigger, a son of Thomas
Bigger and Elizabeth, his wife, who died October 1st, 1780, at the age
of one year and seven months; John Bigger, son of Thomas and Elizabeth,
who died on November 11th, 1808, in the twenty-ninth year of his age.
Jane Walker, a sister of Thomas Bigger, who died at the age of
eighty-eight years, was also buried there.
Martha Bigger, the mother of Thomas Bigger, dying in 1780, in the
seventy-eighth year of her age, fixes the date of her birth in 1702.
Matthew, the father of Thomas, who died in Ireland, being probably
somewhat older than his wife, we shall not be in much error if we put
the date of his birth at or a little before 1700, probably somewhere
between 1695 and 1700.
Upon the death of the mother of Thomas Bigger, whose Christian name was
Martha, but whose maiden name is unknown, or at least not known to the
writer, the question arose, as we learned from the old people, as to the
place of her burial. There was no church yet built in the part of the
country in 1780, and no cemetery established. Someone suggested that
they should bury her beside the graves of the three men who had been
killed in a fight with the Indians at Fort Beeler, where the Village of
Candor now stands. There is no monument to mark the graves of these
three men, but they are doubtless near to that of Martha Bigger, whose
grave is marked by a substantial monument. Carved upon this monument
there are also the names of the other members of the Bigger family
buried there. The person who made this suggestion of a burial place
also suggested that, it she were buried there beside the graves of these
three men, it would establish a burying ground and might lead to the
building of a church at that place. What influence, if any, her burial
there had upon the subsequent location of a church at that point the
writer does not know. It may have been because of these interments at
that point that the Candor Presbyterian Church was built there, or one
of the factors in fixing its location. This Presbyterian Church at
Candor was the first church in this country to which the Biggers
belonged.
Elizabeth Moore Bigger, the wife of Thomas Bigger, died on December
12th, 1836. She is buried in the churchyard of Robinson U. P. Church.
The reason that she and her husband, who stood so long side by side in
life, do not lie side by side in their long sleep, is due to the fact
that Robinson U. P. Church was not organized at the time of the death of
Thomas Bigger, but was organized before the death of Elizabeth Bigger,
his wife. Upon the organization of Robinson U. P. Church, the Biggers
became members of that church. The burial ground, where Elizabeth
Bigger, and most of her children are buried, was donated to the Church
for a burial ground by Matthew Bigger, the oldest son of Thomas and
Elizabeth, belonging to him adjoining the Church property.
The writer is uncertain as to which of the three sons of Thomas and
Elizabeth Bigger, who were married, was first married, but it was either
James or Andrew. Andrew, after his marriage, established his home on
the land of his father about a half mile west of the ancestral home.
The grandfather of the writer of this sketch, Samuel Bigger, was the
last of the sons to marry, and upon his marriage an addition was built
to the ancestral home, which addition was occupied by him and his wife.
Upon the death of Thomas Bigger it was discovered that he had devised
the land which included the ancestral home to his son, Andrew, and the
land which included the home of Andrew he had devised to his son,
Samuel. Evidently each of them desired to remain where he had
established his home, and this led them to exchange deeds to have effect
to this desire, and by which each of them became the owner of the land
which their father had left to the other. This fact was only learned by
the writer two or three years ago when examining a copy of the will of
Thomas Bigger, and other old documents in the possession of his brother,
A. D. Bigger.
James Bigger, son of Thomas and Elizabeth, married Mary Biggart. Her
home, before her marriage, was somewhere on Miller's Run. Although the
name is spelled somewhat differently by her family, it was a spelling used by
some branches of our family, but they were unable to trace any
relationship between them. Andrew Bigger married Sarah Campbell, whose
home, according to recollection, was somewhere in Beaver County, PA.
Samuel Bigger married Jane Wills, whose home was between the ancestral
home and Pittsburgh. The daughter, Martha, was married to Nathaniel
McBride, a near neighbor of the Biggers, who was a son of either James
or Samuel McBride, whom Washington ejected along with our ancestors from
the land on Miller's Run.
Our ancestors were thrifty people. They owned a large body of land at
the time of the death of Thomas Bigger. Their children were
industrious. Saving their money, they invested it in land. They not
only accumulated much land in western Pennsylvania, but some of them
invested in land in Ohio, which was then regarded as the far west. The
writer has a deed signed by James Monroe, President of the United
States, and dated September 27th, 1819, which conveyed the title to 160
acres of land in Ohio to Thomas Bigger, one of the three who lived in
our family, but Aunt Ann and Aunt Betsy their portion of their father's
estate, coming to them at his death in Ohio lands. This they sold to a
man named Markle, and the writer distinctly remembers his being present
when the deeds were executed for this land.
All of the children of Thomas Bigger and Elizabeth grew up in the home,
with a single exception. The son Thomas, familiarly known as Uncle
Tommy in his old age, was indentured by his father to a man named
Burgett, who conducted a tannery on the site of the town of
Burgettstown, which derives its name from this man. He served Burgett
seven years in learning his trade. When this service was completed he
went over the mountain to Chambersburg, where his Uncles James and John
lived, and worked for some time as a journeyman tanner. He then
returned home and built a tannery on his own, which was located just
west and near to the land, which belonged to the brother Andrew. For
years he carried on a flourishing business the buildings, which were
three in number, were still standing in the boyhood days of the writer,
but have long since disappeared. All of the sons were farmers.
Of these children of Thomas and Elizabeth Bigger, only two of them, the
oldest, Matthew, and the youngest, Elizabeth, were able to celebrate the
anniversaries of their births. A record was kept of the month and year
when the others were born, but not the day of month. Thomas Bigger
himself, in an account book, set down the day of the month and year when
his oldest son Matthew was born, but the record goes no further. The
writer has this old account book, which contains the following item:
"Thomas Bigger. I was born in Ireland in the County of Antrim. I was
married the 23rd day of May 1773, and sailed from Londonderry the 9th
day of August 1773, and landed in Baltimore the 16th day of October
1773. My son Matthew was born the 9th day of March 1774." Amid the
excitements and labors of those early days, it is evident little
attention was paid to making records for the benefit of their
descendents.
In the War of 1812, James Bigger enlisted, and served under General
Harrison, in his campaign in Ohio against the French and Indians. We
have often heard Aunt Ann, who was a year and a half older than her
brother James, say that she wove the blankets which he took with him on
that expedition, and she frequently referred to the joy in the family
when he returned in safety.
Athletic sports are not a modern discovery. They engaged in athletic
sports in the early days of the frontier. Uncle Tommy Bigger used to
tell us something of the sports engaged in on the occasion, which he
called the "Musters"- that is, the occasions when the militia was
assembled for military training. The sports were wrestling, running and
jumping. He specially made mention of the athletic feats of a colored
man named Nels Fullum, and among other things said he had seen him in a
running jump clear two horses standing side by side. On these occasions
Uncle Tommy was one of the musicians and played the fife, which he
constructed himself from a hollow weed.
Money, in the first years of the residence here of our ancestors, was
scarce and of uncertain value, except, specie, the principle coin in
circulation being the Spanish Dollar. From the time the Federal
Government went into operation in 1789, our coinage system was the
decimal system, the being the unit of value, but all the entries in the
account book of Thomas Bigger are in pounds, shillings and pence, as
late as 1796. These entries are few, one or two a charge for weaving
cloth, and two or three for meat, without specifying kind. This little
book is the only writing known to exist in the hand of Thomas Bigger.
In these prohibition days, one hesitates to call attention to the fact
that most of the entries are for gallons, quarts and pints. Thomas
Bigger at an early period, the exact date not being known, established a
distillery, and the writer recalls the fact that Aunt Betsy, on one
occasion at least, pointed out its location. As the first organized
opposition to the Federal Government occurred in the western counties of
Pennsylvania and one of the Virginia counties, known as the "Whiskey
Insurrection" against the excise tax on whiskey, which President
Washington promptly suppressed by sending troops against the rebels, the
question becomes pertinent, did Thomas Bigger take any part in the
insurrection? It is the belief of the writer that he did not, and he
bases his conclusion upon these facts: first, that he never heard
anything said about it by the old people in the family, and second, that
all the entries in this account book are for whiskey sold in the three
summer months of 1796, which was two years after the whiskey
insurrection, which occurred in 1794. From the fact that all the
entries for whiskey sold are within the months of June, July and August
of 1796, it seems probable that it was in that year that he established
his distillery, and that he soon ceased to sell to his neighbors,
thereafter simply distilling for his own use. Men would not work for an
employer who did not furnish them whiskey. It must also be remembered
that no moral stigma was attached to either the manufacture or sale of
intoxicating liquor at that time. The statement of the old people is
recalled that when the minister of the church made pastoral visits, the
bottle and a glass were always set before him, and that a failure to do
so would have been regarded as a serious breach of hospitality.
From what we learned from the old people, the first business engaged in
by Thomas Bigger which brought in any considerable return in money was
the growing of wheat. This wheat was hauled to the gristmill and
converted into flour. The flour was barreled and hauled to Pittsburgh,
where it was sold, to be floated down the Ohio River on flat boats to
New Orleans, where it was doubtless largely exported. The writer
learned from his grandfather, Samuel, that he hauled the flour to
Pittsburgh using six horses in a team. Wheat then grew luxuriantly, as
the elements necessary to its growth were present in the virgin soil,
which later were exhausted.
Another incident of that early period which should be made a matter of
record is the following, which occurred shortly after Thomas Bigger came
here, and probably the first year. Two young men were making an
improvement for someone named Hollingsworth, at or near the place where
James Witherspoon now resides. After the day's work was done, on a hot
summer day, these young men went down to Raccoon Creek for a swim, and
one of them drowned. The other man, name unknown, went to his nearest
neighbor, Thomas Bigger, and brought him to the spot, which was just
below the mouth of Chamberlain's Run. The name of this young man who
was drowned was Richard Dixon, and the writer's father often pointed
out to him a large tree, at the foot of which Dixon's grave was located,
but this tree has been long gone, as the land was afterwards cleared.
While the young man went to Washington for the coroner, Thomas Bigger
remained beside the body, passing at least one night in that lonely
vigil in the forest. It might be well for the descendants of Thomas
Bigger to do what the writer's father said was his purpose, to place a
large stone near the spot, with the name of Richard Dixon engraved
thereon, to make the last resting place of this young man who was as
early as our ancestor, and who was his nearest neighbor.
As to the long period of time covered by the lives of this family of
children of Thomas and Elizabeth Bigger, attention is called to the fact
that of the ten brothers and sisters of Aunt Betsy Bigger, seven of them
were born more than a hundred years before her death, and one of them
died one hundred and seven years before her death. The entire period
from the birth of Matthew to the death of Aunt Betsy was a period of one
hundred and thirteen years.
All of these children of Thomas and Elizabeth Bigger continued to
reside during their lives in the immediate neighborhood of the ancestral
home, except James. James Bigger established his home in 1816 or 1817
on a farm near Frankfort Springs, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and
continued to reside there until his death, which occurred on October
15th 1861. He is buried in the churchyard of Frankfurt Springs U. P.
Church.
But this sketch must be brought to an end. The bridge across this
chasm of the years, resulting from childhood and youth joining hands
with old age, may seem to some to be a somewhat unstable structure for
the passage of authentic records of events so far in the past; but as to
the substance of the incidents related, it is believed by those who
listened to the recital of them that they are an authentic statement of
facts. Of the ten children of Thomas and Elizabeth Bigger, who grew to
manhood and womanhood, the writer knew six of them intimately. These
were the three who lived in our family, Samuel, the writer's
grandfather; Andrew, who lived on the adjoining farm in our boyhood; and
Martha, the wife of Nathaniel McBride. All of them were of sound mind
and memory. Aunt Ann in particular possessed a remarkable memory.
These matters were stated as the truth by these old people, who were
nearing the end of life; they were not addicted to the circulation of
falsehoods. Whenever it has been possible to verify their statements,
they have been verified. This is especially true of the incident, which
brings the Father of his Country into the picture. It was many years
after we heard the old people speak of Washington's visit before the
writer learned that Washington's diary contained an account of it.
As to the Fort Dillow incident, the location of it was a matter of
common knowledge in this neighborhood. It was always referred to as
Fort Dillow, although the Fort had long ago disappeared, and was
doubtless destroyed by the Indians.
It is believed that no one who has written of the history of this
country has ever mentioned Fort Dillow, and the tragic fate of its
inmates. Of course, they had never heard of it. It required something
more than a mere report of an Indian raid to drive these ancestors of
ours from their home permanently, for they had fled before on occasion
of such rumors, but always returned again to it. The tragic fate of
Fort Dillow, however, was a more serious matter, which impelled them to
desert the home and buy another, when they already had expended some
years of labor on the one they had. No one who knew these children of
Thomas and Elizabeth Bigger, would for a moment believe they fabricated
this story, or that their parents fabricated it. We have often heard
these old people say that their father insisted, as long as he lived,
when the subject came up, that on the night before the massacre at Fort
Dillow he was wide awake when he heard Quinn's voice. None of the
inmates of the Fort were left to tell the tale except the Dillow boy,
and according to our recollection it was stated that he went back to
live with the Indians.
Before closing this sketch the writer desires at this late day to say a
few words of personal appreciation and acknowledge an obligation to one
of these children of Thomas Bigger which was unusual in its nature.
This obligation rests equally upon the writer and his brother and
sister. We had the misfortune to lose our mother when the writer, the
oldest of her children, was but seven years of age, and our sister but
two years of age. Upon her deathbed our mother committed her children
to Aunt Betsy, and asked of her that she take the place of a mother to
her motherless children. Aunt Betsy was then sixty-six years of age,
and this was a weighty obligation for a woman of that age to assume but
the promise was given. The three of us are living witnesses to the
faithfulness with which that trust was discharged. Day and night, in
sickness and in health, that benign influence surrounded us. The loss
of a good mother is an irreparable loss; but no mother could have been
more solicitous for the welfare of her own children than was this aged
woman for our welfare. The moral grandeur of this daughter of Thomas
and Elizabeth Bigger, her utter unselfishness, and her supreme devotion
to the call of duty, glows more brightly with the passing of the years.
Few now living knew her. Her life reflects light upon our common
ancestors, which cannot be mistaken. We have often heard her say that
God had prolonged her life, in order that she might carry out the trust
reposed in her by our mother. She lived nearly a quarter of a century
after she assumed that trust, dying at the age of ninety-one.
We, who are descendants of Thomas Bigger and James Donaldson, (for what
I am saying applies equally to both) have no reason to be ashamed of
these our ancestors. They were plain, earnest, God-fearing people. In
this highly commercial and industrial age, we are in some danger of
losing some things, which they regarded of greater importance than the
mere accumulation of wealth. We belong to a virile race, which has had
no superior in great achievements in every field of human endeavor. We
are the bearers of the torch of the race. Let us carry it proudly and
transmit it undimmed to future generations. Courage and integrity have
been two of the outstanding characteristics of the race. These, our,
ancestors stood ever ready to lend a helping hand to their neighbor in
his time of need, often times to their financial loss, but to the
everlasting gain of the memories we cherish. There was always the open
door and a welcome to the board for the wayfarer. They perhaps did not
possess many of the graces, which mark polite society; but they
possessed the fundamental traits of character, which mark the highest
types of manhood and womanhood, in all ages and under all conditions.
In the light of everything we know of these ancestors of ours, let us
each one seriously ask ourselves, are we worthy descendants of Thomas
Bigger and James Donaldson, and the heroic women who were their wives?
There is appended to this sketch the dates of the births and deaths of
the children of Thomas Bigger and Elizabeth Moore, his wife.
Matthew Bigger, born March 9, 1774; died November 11, 1849
Jane Bigger, born March 1776; died August 30, 1851
John Bigger, born March 1778; died November 11, 1808
James Bigger, born March 1780; died October 1, 1780
Thomas Bigger, born March 1783; died February 8, 1870
Ann Bigger, born August 1785; died August 9, 1872
James Bigger, born March 1787; died October 15, 1881
Samuel Bigger, born March 1789; died March 17, 1873
Martha Bigger, born April 1791; died October 20, 1866
Andrew Bigger, born March 1793; died October 18, 1869
Elizabeth Bigger, born January 18, 1797; died September 11, 1887