The author of this book has written the stories as they would recur
to his memory, and no effort has been made at classification. They
are not fictitious; many of the persons named are now living, and
they can and will testify that the stories are founded on facts.
He belongs to the celebrated Devol family of Marietta. His
grandfather, Jonathan Devol, was an officer in the Revolutionary
War, and was well known to the pioneer history of Ohio. He was
one of the passengers on the _Mayflower_, which he constructed for
the use of the first company of emigrants to Ohio. He erected a
house on the Campus Martius in 1788, and was joined by his wife
and six children in December of that year. He was one of the
committee to explore the country in search of suitable places for
mills and farming settlements. In 1791 he repaired to Belpre with
his family. He succeeded in clearing a patch of land, and built
a log cabin not far below the house of Captain William Dorce. The
news of the Big Bottom massacre reached him while attending court
at Marietta, and he hurried home. Mrs. Devol, hearing that the
Indians were on the war-path, ordered the children to lie down with
their clothes on, ready for the danger signal. He became famous
by building the floating mill. In 1792 he built a twelve-oared
barge of twenty-five tons burden for Captain Putnam. The author's
father was Barker Devol, who died at Carrollton, Ky., on the 8th
day of March, 1871, at the age of 85. He was a ship-builder, and
worked with his father at Marietta. He left a widow and six
children, who are all living, except one, the youngest being George
H. Devol.
The Author.