Ephraim Kibbey (1754 or 1756 – 1809) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

soldier in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, a

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

sman and early settler of

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 ...

, the leader of Mad

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

's famous forty scouts in the

Northwest Indian War The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwestern ...

, and a member of the 1st Ohio General Assembly. He was a contemporary of

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyond the we ...

Simon Kenton Simon Kenton (aka "Simon Butler") (April 3, 1755 – April 29, 1836) was an American frontiersman and soldier in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio. He was a friend of Daniel Boone, Simon Girty, Spencer Records, Thomas S. Hinde, Thomas Hinde, and ...

, and

Simon Girty Simon Girty (November 14, 1741 – February 18, 1818) was an American-born frontiersman, soldier and interpreter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who served as a liaison between the British and their Indian allies during the American Revolution. H ...

, and what Daniel Boone was for Kentucky, Kibbey and his fellow pioneer, Benjamin Stites, were to early southwest Ohio.

Family and early life

Ephraim Kibbey was a descendant of Edward Kibbe (born 1597 or 1611, died November 1694), an early settler of the

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

, who immigrated from England about 1639.

Noted activities

Ephraim enlisted in 1777 at Essex, New Jersey in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

. He endured the brutal winter of 1777-1778 at

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...

with

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

under the command of Capt. Jacob Martin in General William Marshall's

4th New Jersey Regiment The 4th New Jersey Regiment was raised on September 16, 1776, at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, for service with the Continental Army. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown and the Battle of Monmouth. The re ...

and was eventually assigned to Capt. Seth Johnson's company of the 3rd New Jersey Regiment under Col. Elias Dayton. Following the American Revolution, Kibbey spent time in the frontier of southwestern Pennsylvania before proceeding, with Benjamin Stites and several other pioneers, to settle the

Symmes Purchase The Symmes Purchase, also known as the Miami Purchase, was an area of land totaling roughly in what is now Hamilton, Butler, and Warren counties of southwestern Ohio, purchased by Judge John Cleves Symmes of New Jersey in 1788 from the Contine ...

with the establishment of Columbia, Ohio, just upriver from the future location of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, in 1788. All that remains today of this settlement is the

Pioneer Memorial Cemetery, Cincinnati The Pioneer Memorial Cemetery (also known as Columbia Baptist Church Cemetery) is a historic pioneer cemetery in the Columbia-Tusculum neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is located on a small hill overlooking Lunken Airport at 333 ...

, including a large monument erected in 1879 dedicated "To the First Boat-Load." Anthony Wayne and his

Legion of the United States The Legion of the United States was a reorganization and extension of the Continental Army from 1792 to 1796 under the command of Major General Anthony Wayne. It represented a political shift in the new United States, which had recently adopte ...

relied heavily on the famous forty (72) scouts led by then-Captain Kibbey in their fight against the

Western Confederacy The Northwestern Confederacy, or Northwestern Indian Confederacy, was a loose confederacy of Native Americans in the Great Lakes region of the United States created after the American Revolutionary War. Formally, the confederacy referred to it ...

. The scouts were selected from among the finest frontiersmen and Indian fighters, and had several notable forays assisting the Legion in leading to victory at the

Battle of Fallen Timbers The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States ...

. Kibbey was among the first settlers of Deerfield, now

South Lebanon, Ohio South Lebanon is a city located in Union and Hamilton Townships in central Warren County in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 4,115 at the 2010 census. History The first settlement at South Lebanon was made in t ...

about 1795 and participated in the defense of the new settlements and in surveying and cutting roads, notably the then-called Kibbey's Road, the first road across the state of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Vincennes, Indiana Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indi ...

. He was later elected to the Legislature of the Northwest Territory in 1798 and 1802 and served from 1803 to 1804 in the 1st Ohio General Assembly. Ephraim died at Deerfield, now South Lebanon, Ohio, in 1809.

Marriage and family

Kibbey and his wife, Phebe Ann (Crane) (1758-1813), had 7 children: John Crane, Elisabeth, Joseph, Julia Ann, Jerusha, Ephraim, and Phebe. John Crane Kibbey's son,

John F. Kibbey John Franklin Kibbey (May 4, 1826 - October 10, 1900) was an American politician, lawyer, and judge who served as the fifth Indiana Attorney General from March 19, 1862, to November 3, 1862. Biography Kibbey was born in Richmond, Wayne Count ...

, was the third

Indiana Attorney General The Indiana Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Indiana in the United States. Attorneys General are chosen by a statewide general election to serve for a four-year term. The forty-fourth and Attorney General is Todd Roki ...

, and John F.'s son was

Joseph Henry Kibbey Joseph Henry Kibbey (March 4, 1853 – June 14, 1924) was an American attorney who served as Associate Justice of the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court from 1889 to 1893 and Governor of Arizona Territory from 1905 to 1909. His legal career is mo ...

Territorial Governor of Arizona The governor of Arizona is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arizona. As the top elected official, the Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Executive (government), executive branch of the Government of Arizona, Arizona s ...

References

External links

*
The Stites Expedition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kibbey, Ephraim 1756 births 1809 deaths American explorers American people of the Northwest Indian War American surveyors Members of the Ohio House of Representatives Members of the Northwest Territory House of Representatives Northwest Territory officials Ohio folklore Ohio pioneers People from Somers, Connecticut People from Warren County, Ohio