John Filson (c. 1747 – October 1788) was an American author, historian of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, pioneer,

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is c ...

and one of the founders of

Cincinnati, Ohio 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 lin ...

Early life

John Filson was born in

Chester County, Pennsylvania Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5 ...

, around 1747. He was the son of Davison Filson, also of Chester County. He attended the

West Nottingham Academy West Nottingham Academy is an independent co-ed school serves both boarding and day students in grades 9-12. It was founded in 1744 by the Presbyterian preacher Samuel Finley, who later became President of The College of New Jersey (now Princeto ...

in Colora, Maryland, and studied with the Reverend

Samuel Finley Samuel Finley (July 2, 1715 – July 17, 1766) was an Irish-born American Presbyterian minister and academic. He founded the West Nottingham Academy and was the fifth president and an original trustee of the College of New Jersey (later r ...

, 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 on 16 November 1776, during the Battle of New York.

Career

Writing

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 ''The Discovery, Settlement and present State of Kentucke and an Essay towards the Topography, and Natural History of that important Country'' is a 1784 book by John Filson. It describes the discovery, purchase and settlement of Kentucky. Inacc ...

'' during this period, and travelled to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christin ...

, 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. Map of Kentucke (1784) color

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 (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 w ...

was extremely popular, and was referenced by (among others)

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

in ''

Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, ''El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...

''.

Gilbert Imlay Gilbert Imlay (February 9, 1754 – November 20, 1828) was an American businessman, author, and diplomat. He served in the U.S. embassy to France and became one of the earliest American writers, producing two books, the influential ''A Topograph ...

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). Filson 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.

Founding of Cincinnati

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 Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

and

Licking Licking is the action (philosophy), action of passing the tongue over a surface, typically either to deposit saliva onto the surface, or to collect liquid, food or minerals onto the tongue for ingestion, or to animal communication, communicate ...

rivers, the future site 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 lin ...

, 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. In 1790, General

Arthur St. Clair Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-American soldier and politician. Born in Thurso, Scotland, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in Pennsylvania, where he held local office. During ...

, Governor of the Northwest Territory, changed the name of Losantiville to Cincinnati in honor of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

, an organization of Revolutionary War officers founded by George Washington.

Disappearance

While on a surveying expedition near the

Great Miami River The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , access ...

, he disappeared, October 1, 1788, when the party was attacked by hostile

Shawnees The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky an ...

, and his body was never found. After his disappearance his partners, Denman and Patterson, transferred his interest in the site of Cincinnati to

Israel Ludlow Israel Ludlow (1765 – January 1804) was a government surveyor who helped found Cincinnati, Dayton and Hamilton in southwest Ohio. Early life Israel Ludlow was born near Morristown, New Jersey in 1765. Greve 1904 : 165 In 1786, each of the ...

, 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.

Legacy

The Filson Historical Society The Filson Historical Society, founded in 1884, is a privately supported historical society located at 1310 South 3rd Street in Louisville, Kentucky. The Filson is an organization dedicated to providing continuing adult education in the form of qua ...

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...

is named for him.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Filson, John 1747 births 1788 deaths American pioneers Writers from Cincinnati History of Kentucky American explorers People from Chester County, Pennsylvania West Nottingham Academy alumni People from Lexington, Kentucky