In February 1810, William Rector, writing from Kaskaskia in the Illinois Territory, noted in a letter to Jared Mansfield, Surveyor General of the United States, that he had put Nelson Rector to work subdividing townships in the Illinois Territory (Territorial Papers, Vol. 16, pgs 76-80).
In July 1813, Nelson Rector was assigned work under his own contract as a deputy surveyor to survey and subdivide fifteen (15) townships in the Illinois Territory (Territorial Papers, Vol. 16, pg 351 and Vol. 16, pgs 355-356). He wrote to Josiah Meigs, Surveyor General of the United States, on November 1, 1813 from Township 5 South, Range 6 East of the Third Principal Meridian, indicating that “I left Shawnee Town on the 28th day of Oct[ober] for the Woods, and have been engaged in Surveying the U. S. lands since that time, and shall continue with all possible, energy untill [sic] I complete my District.” After making some observations about the area, he concluded his letter with a postscript, saying, “I should be glad to get a letter from you. Be so good as to drop me a line & direct to Shawnee Town and I shall get it. Excuse this scrall as it is late at night & by the light of the fire” (Territorial Papers, Vol. 16, pg 374).
Trouble was lurking for Nelson Rector, however, as we learn from letters sent to Josiah Meigs by Judge Stanley Griswold, writing from Shawnee Town, Illinois Territory, on March 10, 1814 (Territorial Papers, Vol. 16, pgs 401-402), and William Rector, Principal Deputy Surveyor in the Missouri Territory, writing from the United States Saline in the Illinois Territory on March 16, 1814 (Territorial Papers, Vol. 16, pgs 397-399).
William Rector reported to Josiah Meigs that his brother, Nelson Rector, had been severely wounded by Indians on March 1, 1814.
Judge Griswold recounted that “Mr. Nelson Rector left his hands at work on his Survey, and set out alone to come in to the Saline about 25 or 30 Miles with his Field-Notes, with a view to Plat &c – At about half way, while riding carelessly along upon the Goshen Road, near the Bank of the North Fork of the Saline Creek, wholly unsuspicious of Indians, he was saluted with a discharge, from beneath the bank, of several pieces, within a very short distance: One ball entered his left breast, and passing thro’ a small portion of the cavity of his body and the left shoulder blade, lodged next to the skin behind – another ball struck his left arm, and shattered the bone between his elbow and shoulder – a third ball passed thro’ the body of his horse near the forelegs, beneath the back bone, and above the vitals. The horse sprang to a great distance, but providentially Mr. Rector kept his seat, and the Indians continuing their fire, another ball grazed one of his temples, and knocked off his hat. – On turning his eye, he perceived their number to be from six to ten, but could not tell exactly, as his deplorable situation permitted but a slight glance, nor did he look at them again – They, however pursued him a good distance, and it seems a miracle that he escaped. From the glance he had of them they appeared to be Kickapoos, and all young men: his horse held out beyond expectation, and brought him to a Fortification three miles from the Saline, but, on the way, Mr. Rector was obliged to use every method to save himself – one arm dangling by his side, with the hand of the other he was obliged to grasp the saddle to save himself from falling thro’ extreme faintness, and other affections produced by his wound. In this situation, taking the bridle in his teeth, he lost some of them by the stumbling of his horse – he thinks that if he had not been on a Spanish Saddle he must inevitably have fallen and lost his life.”
William Rector added that “in this miserable plight he rode twelve miles to a Fort three miles from this place [the United States Saline], when he got there, he was so much exausted [sic] with the loss of blood that he could scarcely stick on his horse. The same evening he was brought by men on a litter to this place, since which he has suffered very much with his wounds & part of the time very high fevers. But I am happy to add that for the two last days he has been nearly free from fever & pain, that a supperation [sic] has taken place in both his wounds, discharge freely and his surgeons say look very favorable. I think he is entirely out of danger, tho it will be several weeks before he gets entirely well – Such is the opinion of his Surgeons.”
Judge Griswold went on to note that “the men who went out in pursuit of the foe discovered many traces of Indians, but thought it most prudent to hunt up Mr. Rector’s Surveyors, whom they found pursuing their business, without any suspicion of danger, and brought them in, with one or two of the most exposed families.”
William Rector went on to note that “Nelson desires me to present his respects to you, and inform you that before he received his wounds he had surveyed the exterior boundaries of all the Townships in his district, and had subdivided into sections &c one Township & part of another. He wishes me also to say to you that he is determined to complete the Surveying you assigned to him as soon as possible that notwithstanding his ill luck he hopes to get the whole done before the expiration of the time mentioned in his contract with you.”
On March 4, 1815, Nelson Rector, writing from Saint Louis in the Missouri Territory (Territorial Papers, Vol. 17, pg 143), reported to Edward Tiffin, Surveyor General of the United States, that “I am (& have been for some months past) useing [sic] every exertion in my power to comply with the contracts I entered into with Josiah Meigs Esqr late S. Genl of the U. S. & shall comply fully if not driven from the Woods by the hostile bands of Indians that are continually lurking on our Frontier & who have given me greate [sic] trouble pain & expence [sic] in executeing [sic] my business; as they wounded me so miserably last March & have latterly driven in my assistants.”
He went on to note that “I have now procured a Guard of Rangers from the comanding [sic] officer of this District & am in a fair way of completeing [sic] my contract, if the guard is continued I shall finish by the 1st of April next; as soon as I get my contract completed I shall set out for your office with a return of my surveys.”
On June 25, 1815, writing from Cincinnati, Ohio (Territorial Papers, Vol. 17, pgs 192-194), Nelson Rector notified Edward Tiffin that he had “been waiting very impatiently several weeks, for my Brother William Rector, as soon as he arives [sic] I shall set out for your office in order to make the residue of the returns of the Surveying done pursuant to my contracts with Josiah Meigs Esqr late Surveyor General of the United States.”
Continuing in his letter, he felt the need to defend himself against slanderous accusations he believed to have been made by John Messenger, another deputy surveyor in the Illinois Territory. Concluding his exposition on the matter, he asked, “did I not finish my contract last winter under the most trying circumstances ... I surveyed Sir without a guard (which is well known in the Country where I live) under the very muzzles in a manner of the most ferocious & inhumane enemies, to the Human Family I mean the Savages. I have been shot to peaces [sic] (comparitively [sic] speakeing [sic]) by the Indians & I have completed two very important contracts of Surveying for my Government since the Indian War & in a Woods they frequented & murdered seven or Eight People at the time I was performing my duty.”
On July 21, 1815, Edward Tiffin reported to Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of the General Land Office, that “the three Mr Rectors are all here [in Chillicothe, Ohio], but two of them are ill with fevers” (Territorial Papers, Vol. 15, pg 71).
A few days later on July 26, 1815, Edward Tiffin sent to Josiah Meigs a copy of instructions for review that he had prepared for William Rector, pertaining to establishing the principal meridian and base line for the Missouri Territory and then beginning the surveys for the military bounty lands (Territorial Papers, Vol. 15, pg 72 and Vol. 17, pg 203).
As part of these surveys, Nelson Rector, in partnership with William L. May, contracted on October 25, 1815 to lay off and subdivide townships south of the Base Line of the Fifth Principal Meridian in Ranges 1 and 2 East (Territorial Papers, Vol. 15, pg 91).
William Rector, as Principal Deputy Surveyor of the Missouri Territory, reported to Edward Tiffin, Surveyor General of the United States, on January 15, 1816 that Nelson Rector had died at the mouth of the St. Francis River on November 17, 1815 (Territorial Papers, Vol. 15, pgs 103-104). John Messinger, in a correspondence with Tiffin, dated January 12, 1816, noted that Nelson Rector had died by suicide (Territorial Papers, Vol. 17, pgs 283-284). Thomas Sloo, Register of the Land Office at Shawneetown in the Illinois Territory, writing on January 8, 1816 to Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of the General Land Office, reported that, “We have just Recd News of the Death of Nelson Rector. Report says [he] went on to the Arcansaw [sic] to Survey and their [sic] Blew out his own Brains” (Territorial Papers, Vol. 17, pgs 276, 278).
Source: The Territorial Papers of the United States, compiled by Clarence Edwin Carter, U. S. Government Printing Office
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original composition by Steven E. Weible
