John Filson
Encyclopedia
John Filson was an American
author, historian of Kentucky
, pioneer, surveyor and one of the founders of Cincinnati, Ohio
.
, probably in 1753, although some sources place the date as many as 12 years earlier. He was the son of Davison Filson also of Chester County. He attended the West Nottingham Academy
in Colora, Maryland
, and studied with the Reverend Samuel Finley
, afterwards president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton). Heitman's Historical Register of Colonial Officers reports a John Filson served as an Ensign in Montgomery's Pennsylvania Battalion of the Flying Camp and was taken prisoner at Fort Washington
16 November 1776 during Battle of New York.
He worked as a schoolteacher and surveyor in Pennsylvania until 1782 or 1783, when he acquired over 13,000 acres (53 km²) of western lands and moved to Kentucky. He settled in Lexington, taught school, surveyed land claims, and travelled the region interviewing the settlers and leading citizens. He wrote The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke (1784) during this period, and travelled to Wilmington, Delaware, to have it published in the summer of 1784. He also had a "Map of Kentucke" engraved and printed in Philadelphia. The edition, including both book and map, consisted of 1,500 copies and was priced at $1.50. The map was reprinted several times before 1793. Filson's plan for a second edition, to be endorsed by George Washington, fell through.
The book was almost immediately translated into French and re-published in Paris (1785) and somewhat later a German edition appeared (Leipzig, 1790). The appendix relating the adventures of Daniel Boone
was extremely popular, and was referenced by (among others) Lord Byron in Don Juan
.
Gilbert Imlay reprinted Filson's entire work, along with other material, in A Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America (volume II, published in London and New York in 1793).
He left in manuscript A Diary of a Journey from Philadelphia to Vincennes, Indiana, in 1785; An Account of a Trip by Land from Vincennes, hid., to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1785; A Journal of Two Voyages by Water from Vincennes to Louisville, and an account of an attempted voyage in 1786. See Life and Writings of John Filson, by R. T. Durrett (Louisville, 1884).
After spending several years in Kentucky teaching school, surveying, trying (unsuccessfully) to start a seminary, and becoming embroiled in numerous lawsuits and financial difficulties, he purchased from Mathias Denman a one third interest in an 800 acre (3.2 km²) tract at the junction of the Ohio and Licking rivers, the future site of Cincinnati, which he called Losantiville, a name formed by Filson from the Latin "os," mouth, the Greek "anti," opposite, and the French "ville," City, from its position opposite the mouth of the Licking river. Filson's survey and plan of the town survives in the layout of modern downtown Cincinnati. General Arthur St. Clair
, Governor of the Northwest Territory
, later changed the name of Losantiville to Cincinnati in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati
, an organization of Revolutionary War officers founded by George Washington.
While on a surveying expedition near the Great Miami River, he disappeared, October 1, 1788, when the party was attacked by hostile Shawnees, and his body was never found. After his disappearance his partners, Denman and Patterson, to Israel Ludlow, transferred his interest in the site of Cincinnati and his heirs never reaped any benefit from the subsequent increase in the value of the land. He never married and left no direct descendants.
The Filson Historical Society
of Louisville, Kentucky
is named for him.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, historian of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, pioneer, surveyor and one of the founders of Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
.
Biography
John Filson was born in Chester County, PennsylvaniaChester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
, probably in 1753, although some sources place the date as many as 12 years earlier. He was the son of Davison Filson also of Chester County. He attended the West Nottingham Academy
West Nottingham Academy
West Nottingham Academy was founded in 1744 by the Presbyterian preacher Samuel Finley, who later become President of Princeton College . Today, the independent co-ed school serves both boarding and day students in grades 9-12...
in Colora, Maryland
Colora, Maryland
Colora is an unincorporated community in western Cecil County, Maryland in the United States, near Conowingo and Port Deposit.The zip code of this area is 21917, and has some historic houses and also some new ones, such as some development neighborhoods....
, and studied with the Reverend Samuel Finley
Samuel Finley
The Rev. Samuel Finley , 1763 DD University of Glasgow . Evangelical preacher and academic, he founded the West Nottingham Academy, and was the fifth president and an original trustee of the College of New Jersey from 1761 until 1766.-Family and students:Finley was the...
, afterwards president of the College of New Jersey (later Princeton). Heitman's Historical Register of Colonial Officers reports a John Filson served as an Ensign in Montgomery's Pennsylvania Battalion of the Flying Camp and was taken prisoner at Fort Washington
Fort Washington
Fort Washington may refer to:In the United States:* In California:** Fort Washington, California, census-designated place* In Maryland:** Fort Washington, Maryland, census-designated place...
16 November 1776 during Battle of New York.
He worked as a schoolteacher and surveyor in Pennsylvania until 1782 or 1783, when he acquired over 13,000 acres (53 km²) of western lands and moved to Kentucky. He settled in Lexington, taught school, surveyed land claims, and travelled the region interviewing the settlers and leading citizens. He wrote The Discovery, Settlement and Present State of Kentucke (1784) during this period, and travelled to Wilmington, Delaware, to have it published in the summer of 1784. He also had a "Map of Kentucke" engraved and printed in Philadelphia. The edition, including both book and map, consisted of 1,500 copies and was priced at $1.50. The map was reprinted several times before 1793. Filson's plan for a second edition, to be endorsed by George Washington, fell through.
The book was almost immediately translated into French and re-published in Paris (1785) and somewhat later a German edition appeared (Leipzig, 1790). The appendix relating the adventures of Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone
Daniel Boone was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose frontier exploits mad']'e him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now the Commonwealth of Kentucky, which was then beyond the western borders of...
was extremely popular, and was referenced by (among others) Lord Byron in Don Juan
Don Juan
Don Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
.
Gilbert Imlay reprinted Filson's entire work, along with other material, in A Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America (volume II, published in London and New York in 1793).
He left in manuscript A Diary of a Journey from Philadelphia to Vincennes, Indiana, in 1785; An Account of a Trip by Land from Vincennes, hid., to Louisville, Kentucky, in 1785; A Journal of Two Voyages by Water from Vincennes to Louisville, and an account of an attempted voyage in 1786. See Life and Writings of John Filson, by R. T. Durrett (Louisville, 1884).
After spending several years in Kentucky teaching school, surveying, trying (unsuccessfully) to start a seminary, and becoming embroiled in numerous lawsuits and financial difficulties, he purchased from Mathias Denman a one third interest in an 800 acre (3.2 km²) tract at the junction of the Ohio and Licking rivers, the future site of Cincinnati, which he called Losantiville, a name formed by Filson from the Latin "os," mouth, the Greek "anti," opposite, and the French "ville," City, from its position opposite the mouth of the Licking river. Filson's survey and plan of the town survives in the layout of modern downtown Cincinnati. General Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair
Arthur St. Clair was an American soldier and politician. Born in Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office...
, Governor of the Northwest Territory
Northwest Territory
The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, more commonly known as the Northwest Territory, was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 13, 1787, until March 1, 1803, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Ohio...
, later changed the name of Losantiville to Cincinnati in honor of the Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a historical organization with branches in the United States and France founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the American Revolutionary War officers and to pressure the government to honor pledges it had made to officers who fought for American...
, an organization of Revolutionary War officers founded by George Washington.
While on a surveying expedition near the Great Miami River, he disappeared, October 1, 1788, when the party was attacked by hostile Shawnees, and his body was never found. After his disappearance his partners, Denman and Patterson, to Israel Ludlow, transferred his interest in the site of Cincinnati and his heirs never reaped any benefit from the subsequent increase in the value of the land. He never married and left no direct descendants.
The Filson Historical Society
The Filson Historical Society
The Filson Historical Society is a historical society located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky. The organization was founded in 1884 and named after early Kentucky explorer John Filson, who wrote The Discovery, Settlement, and Present State of Kentucke, which included one...
of Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
is named for him.