Yellow Creek massacre facts for kids

The Yellow Creek massacre was a tragic event where several Mingo Native Americans were killed by Virginian settlers on April 30, 1774. This happened near the Yellow Creek on the Ohio River in what was then called the Ohio Country. It was a very important event that helped start Lord Dunmore's War, which lasted from May to October 1774. A group led by Jacob Greathouse and Daniel Greathouse carried out the killings. No one was ever punished for these deaths.

This event was especially sad because a respected Mingo leader named Logan had been friendly with the Virginian settlers. Chief Logan was away hunting when the massacre happened. His wife Mellana, his brother Taylaynee (also known as John Petty), Taylaynee's son Molnah, and their sister Koonay were among those killed. Koonay was married to John Gibson, an important trader who worked with both the Virginian settlers and different Native American groups. At the time of the massacre, these Mingo people were on a trading trip to the Shawnee.

What Happened at Yellow Creek?

The group led by Daniel Greathouse tricked the Mingo people, including Taylaynee, into coming to their camp. Once the Mingo group was there, the Greathouse group suddenly attacked them. They shot the Mingo people with muskets. The only person from the Mingo group who survived was Koonay's two-year-old daughter. She was later returned to her father, John Gibson, after being cared for by William Crawford for a while.

After the Massacre

Daniel Greathouse died from measles in 1775, about a year after the massacre. Jacob Greathouse was killed in an ambush in September 1777. Another person named Jonathan Greathouse was killed in 1791 while moving his family west. Native Americans captured his family on the Ohio River.