George Croghan Part 1: Fur Trader in the Ohio Territory 1741-1754
You may have heard of men like Jeramiah Johnson and Jim Bridger. They are among the most famous fur trappers during the most famous fur trading period in American History. But these men belong to the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade, not the fur trade that characterized the Old Northwest, or the Great Lakes Fur Trade. The men of the Old Northwest have typically been forgotten and overshadowed in history class by those of the Rocky Mountains. One of these men, who was called "King of the Traders" by the surveyor Christopher Gist, was George Croghan. Irish born, he moved to America in 1741. He started trading quickly upon his arrival to the Americas and married a Mohawk wife.
Up until just prior to the Seven-Years War, traders from Virginia and New York had sporadically made their way into the Ohio country to trade with natives. During this time in history it is important to remember that most white men did not actually do the trapping themselves but instead traded with the natives to obtain furs, which European markets highly desired. Because of this style of obtaining furs, small settlements would spring up where natives would come to trade. If a trading post was not available, then the English traders would have to make their way into the camp of the natives, often a daring exploit.
Pennsylvania traders (like George Croghan) started to move into the country at a more consistent rate monopolizing the region in the Ohio Valley. The English quickly became the favored partner of many tribes because the English offered better and more fair prices for furs. Among the things traded were: rum, guns, ammo & powder, knives, tomahawks, linens, clothing, sewing awls, tin, brass, and anything that would make the job of trapping and obtaining furs easier on the natives. The French, who claimed this territory, took notice and tensions started to rise over the region.
Like many other traders, Croghan spent much of his time near Logstown (present day Beaver County, PA). He traded with the natives in the Ohio country and all the way to Detroit, which was a French trading post at the time. He gained much influence with many natives, and in his journal he notes how the native tribes around Detroit "longed to see him." At a time when natives were seen as savages and below human dignity Croghan saw them as humans. He would rise early and work long hours. His Episcopalian faith was part of his everyday life. He sought peace with the Indian tribes and earned their favor this way. More and more tribes became sympathetic to the English and Croghan grew his business to the point that it is assumed he had the largest trading empire in the Ohio Valley.
The French feared losing their trading partners and launched an assault on a native tribe who was sympathetic to British cause and, more importantly, friends of Croghan. This assault launched in June of 1752, was led by the French fur trader Charles De Langlade of Michilimackinac, and resulted in capturing British fur traders and goods which belonged to George Croghan. Only one year later, Croghan was establishing a trading post in Eastern Kentucky (20 years before Daniel Boone) when French forces allied with Indian rivals attacked his post and captured six English traders, five of whom were under Croghan's employment. Another year later, Croghan's business took a turn for the worst when George Washington commandeered horses to carry cannon and equipment on his retreat to Fort Necessity. These horses which Washington took were among many supplies that Croghan needed. The supplies were left and lost to the French, and the loss of the horses placed Croghan in debt. He became an outlaw, avoiding going east in an effort to escape a debtors prison.
With the French being a threat to not only Croghan but other English traders in the Ohio Valley the British set out to protect their interests. Croghan, with his business in shambles, debt up to his eyeballs, and the looming threat of prison if he returned east, still had his wits and a decade of frontier experience. Soon new opportunities as an Indian Agent opened to him as tensions between the French and British flared.
Resources:
Volwiler, Albert Tangeman. George Croghan and the Western movement 1741-1782. 1922. Philadelphia. The Library of Congress. https://archive.org/details/georgecroghanwes00volw/page/n1/mode/2up
Darlington, M. William. Christopher Gist’s Journals: With Historical, Geographical, and Ethnological Notes and Biographies of his Contemporaries. 1893. Pittsburgh. J.R. Weldin & Co. https://ia600506.us.archive.org/22/items/christophergists00gist/christophergists00gist.pdf