The early lives of the brothers Jesse and Joseph P. were associated to such an extent that the history of either one must embrace the lives of both of them. Orphaned as children, they were raised by their maternal grandmother, Rebecca Prichard, and the record of their lives attest to the careful religious and moral training they received from her.
When he was seventeen years of age Jesse went to live with the Alexander Irwins on the farm which [Daniel] Weddell sold to the Irwins in 1794, part of his Grandfather George's claim, and there he lived till he was thirty years old.
The two boys, Jesse and Joseph, took their first extended journey together in 1808 when they went down the Ohio River by boat to Cincinnati, then overland to Paris, Kentucky, near Lexington, where they consulted their half-brother Peter, who had now arrived of age, about renewing the suit against Andrew Robertson for possession of the farm where they were born; the farm that Peter, their father, had homesteaded, which they had been forced to abandon when they as small children were orphaned. Peter evidently joined them in the suit but it was long drawn out, fought thru the lower and superior courts, and not definitely settled until 1830, when Joseph and Peter won a verdict as far as they were concerned but the statute of limitations deprived Jesse of his share.
He was then 44 and she 19 years of age, and in the course of their married life they were blessed with a family of eight children, four boys and four girls.
Family affairs kept the boys well occupied for the next ten years or so but their. trip down into Kentucky was on ever present subject for recollection and discussion between them, and the stories of the wonderful opportunities being offered in the Ohio country and the prairies to the west stirred the adventuresome imaginations of these brothers, and although they had arrived at an age well along in middle life, they determined to see for themselves the possibilities of the newly opened up country.
The pioneering instinct inherited from their father and grandparents was no doubt incited into action by the tide of immigration now surging westward and the stories told by returning settlers, back for their families.
When the Indians were driven out of Pennsylvania and Virginia treaties were mode with them,by the terms of which they were to keep for their exclusive use the territory north and west of the western shoreline of the Ohio River. This gave the white men the right to travel up and down the river without interference, since this was the natural pathway for the vast company of pioneers heading for the outposts of civilization at Saint Louis, Kansas City, Independence and the various other settlements in the western country.
But the advance of the whites could not be contained by the Ohio River and the Indians gradually gave ground, their resistance to encroachment weakened until by treaty settlers were permitted to occupy the Ohio country and the prairie land beyond.
So it came about that Jesse and Joseph started out to see for themselves what the prairie country had to offer, and they went the hard way, overland, thru the Ohio country. This was in 1832 and already a road of sorts existed from Washington to Wheeling but our men would have none of it. Instead, they and a companion named Alexander struck out cross country on their horses, fording the Ohio somewhere near Steubenville and continuing west or a little northwest.
One day as they were riding along they overtook a man with a cart, making slow progress along the rough trail. He gave Joseph his axe and asked him to cut wood for a fire when they came to camp that night and he would join them when he got there; which he presently did, and they spent the night together.
There were Indians about and they saw them occasionally. This caused them no particular concern, tho, for the most part they avoided them, but one night a party of Indians came to their camp, quite a number of them. They acted ugly, fluttering around the fire and by their actions showing displeasure and resentment against the travelers, who they considered were trespassing on their lands.
The white men could not understand what they were saying but they did understand their actions and they kept a careful watch on them and were on their guard. Joseph had hair as black as an Indian's and he wore it uncut to his shoulders, as the settlers frequently did at that time. Presently he went over to the chief, who was a big fellow, as tall as Joseph himself, leaned over so that their heads touched and with his hand mixed the black hair of the chief's with his own. The chief laughed and immediately the feeling of hostility and distrust was changed into one of good humor. They all laughed end clapped their hands and showed every sign of friendship as long as their visit lasted. The little act of friendship and brotherhood averted trouble and brought to a happy ending an incident which they remembered with a thrill as long as they lived.
Their course of travel took them thru the neighborhood of Fort Wayne and northward around the lake region, past Elkhart and on to Chicago. Chicago they found to be a few straggling cabins built along the low, swampy banks of the river, under the protection of a fort where Major Dearborn and a number of soldiers were stationed.
The spirit which has dominated the growth of this great city thru out its existence was already in evidence. An optimistic settler had laid out a plan of lots among the mud flats which bordered the river and tried to persuade the travelers to buy some of the lots. But to them it was an unsightly place, swampy and undesirable, and they could not be interested. Joseph had a fine rifle with him end he considered it as only a hunter can regard his favorite gun. The land agent liked the looks of the gun, too, and finally offered Joseph one of his lots in exchange for it. Joseph scornfully told him "I would not trade you this rifle for your whole passel of lots". The rifle is still in the family, in the possession of his grandson, Horace Prichard Weddell. It is valuable now as an heirloom, its days of usefulness ended. The mud flat lots along the Chicago River, without valuing the buildings on them, are worth possibly a million dollars apiece. Joseph lived for forty years after this and witnessed from afar the astounding growth of this city, but at that time it did not appear to him it would ever amount to much. And that is how it comes that the family is the possessor of a million dollar rifle.
From Chicago the three men rode, without adventure of any noteworthy nature to the river at Cincinnati. This town they found to be quite a thriving place in their opinion much ahead of Chicago. This was due to the lively river trade occasioned by the many settlers westward bound down this main artery of travel, the Ohio.
In Cincinnati they sold their horses thru a dealer. Jumping on one of the horses he rode thru the town at a mad gallop, calling out that the horse was for sale. Finding a buyer in this manner he then disposed of the others in the same way.
From this point they took passage up the river on a flatboat but they found traveling in this manner tiresome, as they had to depend on man power to pole the boat along and it made slow progress against the current. Disgusted with their progress and impatient now to get home, although they had paid their fare to Pittsburgh, when they reached Wheeling they disembarked and finished the journey on foot, arriving there much sooner than if they had continued on by river.
Jesse was well impressed by the appearance of the land in northern Indiana. in his opinion Elkhart Flats was the finest section thru which they passed in their travels and he liked it so much that about two years later he took his family and settled there. Many of his descendants are now living in this neighborhood and in the vicinity of Fort Wayne.
Jesse did not live long after the family established themselves there, dying in 1838, and his widow, not yet forty years of age when he died, married a man by the name of Morehouse.
This oldest member of the third generation has a large number of descendants in this Midwestern
country, a group of cousins in which we can justly take pride.