Elizabeth Zane McLaughlin Clark (July 19, 1765 – August 23, 1823) was a heroine of the Revolutionary War on the American frontier. She was the daughter of William Andrew Zane and Nancy Ann (née Nolan) Zane, and the sister of Ebenezer Zane, Silas Zane, Jonathan Zane, Isaac Zane and Andrew Zane.

Biography

Three of the Zane brothers — Ebenezer, Silas and Jonathan — migrated from present-day Moorefield, Hardy County, estVirginia in 1769 and founded the first settlement at present-day Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia. The rest of the Zane family later joined them at the new settlement. According to a historical marker in Wheeling, on September 11, 1782, the Zane family was under siege in Fort Henry by Native American allies of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. During the siege, while Betty was loading a

Kentucky rifle The long rifle, also known as the longrifle, Kentucky rifle, Pennsylvania rifle, or American longrifle, a muzzle-loading firearm used for hunting and warfare, was one of the first commonly-used rifles. The American rifle was characterized by a ...

, her father was wounded and fell from the top of the fort right in front of her. The captain of the fort said, "We have lost two men, one Mr. Zane and another gentleman, and we need black gunpowder." Betty's family home was where the gunpowder store was for Fort Henry's defense. So Betty ran 40 to 50 yards to retrieve gunpowder, then returned safely. They held off the Native Americans and lived. The Zane family later settled in what became Martins Ferry, Belmont County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, across the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

from Wheeling, and played an important role during Ohio's formative years.

The Siege of Fort Henry

In 1782 Native American and Loyalist forces attacked the small garrison of Fort Henry (modern-day

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

) which was being defended by forty-two men under the command of Colonel David Shepherd of the Ohio Militia. When the garrison ran low on ammunition (

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). Th ...

), Zane volunteered to leave the garrison to retrieve more ammunition from her brother's home nearby. Zane's actions are credited with allowing the defenders to continue to hold the fort, which remained under American control.

Personal life

Elizabeth "Betty" Zane was married twice and was a mother of nine children. Before her first marriage, she bore a daughter, Minerva Catherine Zane, also known as Miriam, by one Capt. Van Swearingen. Court records in Ohio County, Virginia, show an order for Van Swearingen to deed property to Betty Zane, so the daughter would be provided for and not become a burden on the county. Zane's first husband was Ephraim McLaughlin with whom she had four daughters; Mary Ann "Polly", Sarah Nancy, Rebecca and Hannah McLaughlin. After the death of her first husband, she married Jacob Clark with whom she had a son, Ebenezer Clark, and a daughter, Catherine Clark. Zane's date of birth was July 19, 1765, and she died on August 23, 1823. She was buried in what is now the Walnut Grove Pioneer Cemetery in

Martins Ferry, Ohio Martins Ferry is a city in Belmont County, Ohio, Belmont County, Ohio, United States, on the Ohio River across from Wheeling, West Virginia. It is the largest city in Belmont County. The population was 6,915 as of the United States Census 2010, 201 ...

. Her heroism is remembered each year during Betty Zane Pioneer Days.

Legacy

The community of Betty Zane near Wheeling, West Virginia, was named after her. More than one hundred years after her death, John S. Adams wrote a poem called "Elizabeth Zane" that achieved some acclaim. Betty Zane's great-grandnephew, the author

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

, wrote a historical novel about her, titled ''Betty Zane'', also republished as ''The Last Ranger''. One of the main events in the story is the tale of Zane's fetching supplies from the family cabin. When Grey could not find a publisher for the book, he published it himself in 1903 using his wife's money. Grey later named his daughter Betty Zane after his famous aunt.

References

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