Simon Kenton - Noted Activities

Noted Activities

In 1774, in a conflict later labeled Dunmore's War, Kenton served as a scout for the European settlers against the Shawnee Indians. In 1777, he saved the life of his friend and fellow frontiersman, Daniel Boone, at Boonesborough, Kentucky. The following year, Kenton was in turn rescued from the Indians by Simon Girty after enduring many days of running the gauntlet and various other tortures that should have killed Kenton.

Kenton served as scout on the famous 1778 George Rogers Clark expedition to capture Fort Sackville and also fought with "Mad" Anthony Wayne in the Northwest Indian War in 1793-94. Kenton moved to Urbana, Ohio in 1810, and achieved the rank of brigadier general of the Ohio militia. He served in the War of 1812 as both a scout and as leader of a militia group in the Battle of the Thames in 1813. This was the battle in which the famous Indian chief Tecumseh was killed. Kenton was chosen to identify Tecumseh’s body but, recognizing both Tecumseh and another fallen warrior named Roundhead, and seeing soldiers gleefully eager to carve up Tecumseh’s body into souvenirs, he identified Roundhead as Tecumseh.

There is a large boulder on the west side of the Ritter Public Library, 5680 Liberty Avenue, Vermilion, Ohio that was found on a farm a few miles to the south inscribed "KENTON" and is believed to have been carved by Kenton himself. (no photo available) (no reference)

After Martha Dowden died in a tragic house fire, Simon Kenton married Elizabeth Jarboe and had 6 children in his second marriage. Kenton died in (and was initially buried at) New Jerusalem in Logan County, Ohio. His body was later moved to Urbana, Ohio. After Kenton's death, his widow and a number of descendents went to northwestern Indiana, to an area in Jasper, White, and Pulaski Counties which was heavily settled by families who migrated there from Champaign County, Ohio, where Kenton is buried. Simon Kenton was also called Cut-ta-ho-tha by the Shawnees.