240
VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
his death, at Middleborough, Kentucky, Au-
gust 8. iSii.
Zane, Col. Ebenezcr, was born October, 1747, in that part of Augusta county. \*ir- ginia. which is now Ohio county, West Vir- ginia. This family is of Danish origin, but at an early day removed to England and thence in the seventeenth century to America. In 1770 he wandered to the west with his brothers Silas and Jonathan, and settled at Wheeling. In 1772 his family and a few friends removed to his new abode on the Ohio. There was not at the time a perma- nent Anglo-Saxon settlement from the source to the mouth of the Ohio. The little band at Wheeling stood alone in the im- mense solitude. In 1773 many families join- ed the settlement. Zane's intercourse with tlie Indians was marked by mildness and honorable dealing — hence his hamlet es- caped the fur>- of the savages until 1777. All three brothers were men of enterprise, piudence and sound judgment, and the Wheeling settlement was mainly due to them for its security and preservation dur- ing the revolution. He was conspicuous dur- ing the siege of Fort Henry, and brought himself so prominently before the public that he received various marks of distinction from the colonial state and Federal govern- ments. He was a disbursing officer under Dunmore. and enjoyed under the common- wealth numerous civil and military distinc- tions. Col. Zane's fearlessness was exempli- fied by his almost single-handed defence of his own dwelling, in the fall of 1782. The government of the United States, duly ap- ' preciating his capacity, energy and influence, employed him by an act of congress, May, 1796. to open a road from Wheeling to Lime-
stone (Maysville). This duty he performed
in the following year, assisted by his brother
Jonathan, and son-in-law, John Mclntyre,
aided by an Indian guide, Tomepomehala,
whose knowledge of the country enabled
him to render valuable suggestions. The
road was marked through under the eye of
Colonel Zane and then committed to his as-
sistants to cut out. As a compensation for
opening this road, congress granted Col.
Zane the privilege of locating military war-
rr.nts upon three sections of land ; the first
to be at the crossing of the Muskingum, the
second at Hock-hocking, and the third at
Scioto. Col. Zane thought of crossing the
Muskingum at Duncan's falls, but fore-
seeing the great value of the hydraulic power
created by the falls, determined to cross at
the point where Zanesville has since been
established, and thus secure this important
power. The second section was located
where Lancaster now stands, and the third
en the east side of the Scioto opposite ChilH-
cothe. The first he gave, principally, to his
two assistants for services rendered. In ad-
dition to these fine possessions, Col. Zane
acquired large bodies of land throughout
western Virginia, by locating patents for
those persons whose fear of the Indians de-
terred them undertaking personally so haz-
ardous an enterprise. Mr. Zane married a
sister of the daring borderer, McCulloch, by
whom he had eleven children. He died in
iSii, at the age of sixty-four.
Hening, William Walter, born in Virginia about 1750. He was for many years a suc- cessful lawyer. In 1804 he represented Albe- marle county in the house of delegates, and two years later was made a member of the executive council, serving in that station for
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