Anne Rowe Hupp
Born1757 (1757)
DiedJune 26, 1823 (aged 65–66)
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War

Anne Rowe Hupp (1757 – June 26, 1823) was an American frontierswoman of the Buffalo Creek Valley in Washington County, Pennsylvania. She led the defense of a small, isolated fort, Miller's Blockhouse, against a Shawnee Indian Attack,[1] for more than twenty-four hours in 1782 while she was eight months pregnant.[2][3][4]

Personal

Anne was the daughter of Adam Rowe, who himself survived an Indian massacre in November, 1776, which killed his wife and one son and left another son missing. Anne had remained at home on Buffalo Creek.[5] Anne had married John Hupp, a pioneer in the Buffalo Creek Valley, about 1775. The couple had four children: Mary (b.1775), Margaret (ca.1779), John, Jr. (b.1780), and Elizabeth (ca.1781).[6][7]

Anne later married John May and they had 3 children: Benjamin, Ann, and George.[8]

Miller's Blockhouse

Another early settler, Jacob Miller, settled 400 acres (1.6 km2) of land on Buffalo Creek watershed in the 1770s.[9] Here he built "Miller’s Blockhouse", a fortified strong-point for protection against attack.

Indian attack

See also: Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War after Saratoga and Sullivan Expedition

In early April 1782, a party of Shawnee attacked the area, and the settlers gathered in forts and blockhouses for protection. Many of the men were absent from Miller's Blockhouse, defending a nearby strong point known as Rice's Fort. Among the remaining defenders were John and Anne Hupp with their children. The attackers hid nearby, perhaps hoping to surprise the men returning home. A colt belonging to Jacob Miller, Sr. strayed in the night and, despite pleadings from Anne that she had had a dream presaging disaster, John Hupp set out with Jacob to retrieve him. Once away from the fort the pair were attacked and killed by Indians lying in wait. The fort was left with only one elderly man, with several women and children. Anne took charge of the defense. She attempted to send eleven-year-old Frederick Miller as a messenger to Rice's Fort, but he was attacked and driven back inside. Anne encouraged the defenders and they were able to keep the attackers at bay. Somewhat later three men happened to return from Rice's Fort, Jacob Rowe, Jacob Miller, Jr., and Philip Hupp (Jacob, Anne's brother, was a survivor of the 1776 attack that killed his mother and brother). The arrival of the three discouraged the attackers, who lingered in the area until dark and then left. The settlers suffered only the two fatalities of John Hupp and Jacob Miller.[7]

Attacks continued in the area from April to May 1782.

References

  1. ^ Alfred Creigh (1871). History of Washington County. B. Singerly. p. 49. ann hupp indian.
  2. ^ Lewis, Mary Anne (July 22, 1998). "Tracking Down Settlers' Forts". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. p. W-5.
  3. ^ G.D. Albert; Thomas Lynch Montgomery; Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards; John M. Buckalew; Sheldon Reynolds; Jay Gilfillan Weiser; George Dallas Albert (1916). Thomas Lynch Montgomery (ed.). Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania: The frontier forts of western Pennsylvania. W.S. Ray, state printer. p. 413. ann hupp indian.
  4. ^ John Crawford; Henry Jolly; Lydia Boggs Shepherd Cruger; Jared Lobdell; Lyman Copeland Draper; Draper Society (1992). Jared Lobdell (ed.). Indian warfare in western Pennsylvania and north west Virginia at the time of the American Revolution: including the narrative of Indian and Tory depredations by John Crawford, the military reminiscences of Captain Henry Jolly, and the narrative of Lydia Boggs Shepherd Cruger. Heritage Books. ISBN 978-1-55613-653-5.
  5. ^ Powell, Scott. "History of Marshall County West Virginia". Marshall County WVGenWeb. Retrieved Sep 21, 2016.
  6. ^ Leckey, Howard L. (2009). The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families. Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-8063-5097-4. Retrieved Sep 21, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Hupp-Scrougham, Peggy. "Anne Rowe Hupp and the Siege of Miller's Blockhouse". Rootsweb.com. Retrieved Sep 21, 2016.
  8. ^ http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nwa/hupp.html [user-generated source]
  9. ^ "Michael A. Vacca and Ron Eisert, "History of the Buffalo Creek Valley," Buffalo Creek Watershed Assessment and Protection Plan" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-11-21. Retrieved 2009-06-21.

External links

40°06′33″N 80°29′42″W / 40.1093°N 80.495°W / 40.1093; -80.495 (Miller's Blockhouse Historic Marker)

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