What Are You Reading in 2022?

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[oldgrappler]

I am reading two books on generally the same theme.  

1.  American Indians of the Ohio Country in the 18th Century by Paul and Sally Misencik.  The authors provide a brief history of the major Indian tribes who inhabited Ohio during that time, such as, the Wyandot, Miami, Huron, Shawnee, Lenape (Delaware), and Mingo tribes.  He then locates the various Native American routes throughout Ohio and matches them to their current site/city names.  He then divides the state into quadrants and details the locations of significant Indian villages and provides a quick summary of happenings and significant persons in those locations.  Locations are identified by their Native names, names they were commonly called in the 18th century, their current location names, and GPS coordinates.  He includes a quite detailed account of the Moravian villages and their frequent wanderings and relocations during those turbulent times.  Quite fascinating.  

2.  The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830 by R. Douglas Hurt and published by Indiana University Press.  It is a general history of the frontier period of Ohio.  The first part of the book gives a history of the Native American occupation of Ohio and talks about the various tribes and personalities.  It then turns to the clash of cultures and war that ensued from the French v English struggle for the region, to the English v American struggle, to the American v Indian struggle for the state of Ohio.  Again, fascinating details.  It then turns attention to the American immigration into Ohio, the establishment of the Northwest Territory and its early settlements, and how Ohio was and turned into farm country.  Very interesting history with portions of the story almost completely unknown by me.  This book was a Christmas gift.  The 1st book is on interlibrary loan.  

Still reading both books so some of my summary is by glancing at the chapter titles, and reading reviews.  I have always been interested in the frontier period but most of my reading was on the settling of KY, which does impact the settlement of Ohio and shares much of the same focus, especially during the battles with the various tribes who resided in Ohio.  I read things like, Allan Eckert's works, including, The Frontiersman, That Dark and Bloody River, and the entire series The Winning of America.  He is still one of my favorites.  However, being a native of Ohio, I did not have a good grasp of how Ohio went from being a region of conflict to settled by so many German immigrants and becoming a tranquil farm land (in the area where I originate).  So this is filling in some of these parts of my knowledge and curiosity.  

One fact I did not know is that Ohio was largely unpopulated throughout a large portion of the 17th century due to the Iroquois Beaver Wars.  It was then repopulated in the early 18th century by the tribes we know from that period who were looking for relief from the population pressures along the eastern seaboard, and to get beyond the reach of the Iroqouis.  I know KY was unoccupied in the 18th century and used as a hunting ground but assumed the Shawnee, Delaware, Miamis, etc. were in the locations I knew they were in during the 18th century, i.e. Chillicothe, Coshocton, and NW Ohio.  

If you like history, you may find either or both books to be fascinating here.  Some of the broad strokes of my prior knowledge were filled in with more detail and completely new facts.  

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