William Conner - Settlement in Indiana and Hamilton County

Settlement in Indiana and Hamilton County

Conner and his older brother John arrived in Indiana during the winter of 1800-1801 as agents for a Canadian fur trader named Angus Mackintosh. Conner and his brother would become officially licensed traders by 1801. They would later settle among the Delaware along the White River. Conner married the Delaware woman Mekinges in 1802, whose name meant Dancing Feather. She was the daughter of Delaware Chief Kikthawenund, also known as Chief William Anderson, the namesake of Anderson, Indiana. They would have six children.

Beginning in 1808, Conner served in several capacities under William Henry Harrison and others. He helped maintain Delaware loyalty during the War of 1812 and identified the body of Tecumseh following the Battle of the Thames. Conner would later serve as an interpreter and liaison at the Treaty of St. Mary's in 1818, in which the Delaware ceded lands in central Indiana for those west of the Mississippi River.

In 1818 he petitioned to secure legal right to his land from the Delaware, who had signed a treaty to move west of the Mississippi River by 1820. Upon securing his petition in 1820, Conner divided assets with his business partner William Marshall and provided his own family with horses and goods. Mekinges decided to move west with the Delaware, and she took their six children with her. Conner chose to stay and gave Mekinges sixty horses as her part of the trading business. There is some controversy as to why Conner did not have his family stay or why he did not go along with them. Only three months after his family's departure, he married 18-year-old Elizabeth Chapman, possibly the only young, eligible white woman in the area, with whom he would have ten children over the next 25 years.

In 1823 Conner began the construction of his brick home overlooking the White River. It was the first seat of government and mail stop in Hamilton County. He and his brother John began acquiring land which they would turn around and sell at a high profit to new settlers. He and Josiah Polk platted Noblesville in 1823, and later Alexandria and Strawtown. At one point Conner owned approximately 4000 acres (16 km²) in Hamilton County.

In the late 1830s, Conner began investing in stores, mills, and a distillery. He made occasional forays into politics, supporting the Whig Party. He served three non-consecutive terms in the Indiana General Assembly in 1829-1830, 1831–1832, and 1836-1837.

In 1837, at 60 years old, Conner moved his family to Noblesville. He continued to oversee his business interests until his death in 1855. His widow Elizabeth would move to Indianapolis in 1864 and resided at 472 North East Street until her death in 1892.