35 Facts About William Conner

William Conner was an American trader, interpreter, military scout, community leader, entrepreneur, and politician.

William Conner served the American forces in several capacities during the War of 1812, and as an interpreter and witness at several treaty negotiations with Native American tribes that resulted in their removal from Indiana and established the state's geographical boundaries.

William Conner founded Hamilton County, Indiana, and Noblesville, its seat of government.

William Conner served three non-consecutive terms as a state representative in the Indiana General Assembly between 1829 and 1837, and was a charter member of the Indiana Historical Society, established in 1830.

Richard William Conner, born in Maryland, was a trader and tavern operator; Margaret William Conner was a former white captive of the Shawnee, whom Richard ransomed for $200 and a promise to give their first-born son to the tribe so that they could marry.

Richard and Margaret William Conner spent the early years of their marriage living among the Shawnee in Ohio, where their first son, James, was born in 1771 and delivered to the Shawnee as agreed.

The Moravian missionaries and their followers returned to Ohio, but the William Conner family remained at what was later named Macomb County, Michigan.

From his arrival in what became central Indiana in 1800 to the end of his life in 1855, William Conner was actively involved in the area's settlement and development, including founding Hamilton County, Indiana, platting the town of Noblesville in 1823, and donating land in the new town to establish it as the county's seat of government.

William Conner was a trader, interpreter, and liaison on treaty negotiations with the Native Americans.

The William Conner brothers settled among the Delaware along the west fork of the White River in present-day central Indiana, and married the Delaware women.

At the time of their marriage, William Conner would have been 24 or 25 years old; Mekinges would have been 12 or 13 years old.

William and Mekinges Conner had six children and settled on 200 acres of prairie land along the White River, where Conner built a log cabin that doubled as their home and a trading post.

William Conner was among those who helped identify the mutilated body of Tecumseh, who was killed in the battle.

William Conner continued to serve as an interpreter for the federal government during treaty negotiations after the war.

William Conner was involved in eight treaty negotiations, including service as an interpreter and liaison during the Treaty of St Mary's negotiations in 1818.

William Conner helped the treaty negotiators determine what the Native Americans would accept in exchange for their lands and urged the Native American leaders to agree to the treaty terms.

William Conner left no record to explain his decision to remain in Indiana.

William Conner used the wealth he amassed from his trading post and payments he received from his government service to re-establish himself in the white community of Hamilton County, Indiana.

Three months after his Delaware family's departure, William Conner married seventeen-year-old Elizabeth Chapman, the step-daughter of John Finch, a recent settler.

One of his sons was Alexander H Conner who was a lawyer and politician.

In 1823 William Conner began the construction of a brick residence near the site of the family's log cabin on an estimated 1,000 acres of land.

The William Conner home became a stopover for travelers, a mail stop, and a meeting place for the newly established Hamilton County government.

William Conner became a land speculator, sometimes joining with others to acquire land that was sold at a high profit to new settlers.

William Conner was the founder of Strawtown, in Hamilton County, and Alexandria in Madison County.

William Conner supported the Whig Party's policies and his political friends such as Jonathan Jennings, James Noble, and James B Ray, among others.

William Conner lobbied in support of internal improvements, such as new roads or the authorization of other public works that would benefit his business ventures.

Around 1834 William Conner became an agent for the Lawrenceburg and Indianapolis Railroad.

In 1837, at 60 years old, William Conner moved his family to Noblesville, where he continued to oversee his varied business and agricultural interests.

William Conner became a local authority on the area's history, especially its frontier and pioneer eras, and was known for his knowledge of Native American life.

William Conner died on August 28,1855, at the age of seventy-seven.

William Conner left a large estate, but no last will and testament.

William Conner's legacy is linked to the important trading relations that he and his brother, John, established with the Native Americans along the west fork of the White River in the early 1800s.

William Conner founded Strawtown in Hamilton County and Alexandria in Madison County.

In 1823, William Conner built a two-story Federal style brick house on the terrace edge of the west fork of the White River, about 4 miles south of Noblesville, in Hamilton County, Indiana.

Seven of William and Elizabeth Conner's ten children were born in the home.