Bob would tell me how people would walk up to him and strike up a conversation about his being of Indian blood. I didn’t have a “The Bittinger book,” so Bob would tell me a little about what had been written as well as other, more believable versions. On this last trip, Bob said someone had just recently confirmed that based on Henry Bittinger’s whereabouts before William was born, he was of Shawnee blood. Up to this point I didn’t know about William, only about the lady he called “ Grandma Buckel.” I really wanted to get Bob’s side of the story about William and asked him if he would tell me the story so I could document it properly. Bob agreed to meet a little early before dinner our last night in Maryland and he very patiently took me back to a time when Henry Bittinger was living with the Indians. I do not know the source of the information on how Bob finally found out about his grandfather, but here is what I learned The Story About William . . . Most knew William H. “Bill” Bittinger as Henry Bittinger’s youngest son. He was even given the middle initial of Henry’s name. Henry Bittinger was known to have lived among the Indians as a young man. Why he lived with the Indians is not known. At some point Henry got into an argument with an Indian inside of a cabin and the male Indian and squaw were both killed. Both were buried under the floor of the cabin where they would not be found so that Henry could get away. It was not known what the argument was about. The child would have died if left behind. That child was William. One would wonder if the argument might have been over the child. As you will see later, it appears William’ s older brothers were also of Indian blood. William’s death was reported in the Bittinger book as a result of his falling on a sapling while chasing after a deer. The sapling went through his side mortally injuring him. Bob believes William was stabbed. Bob’s stories about William seemed to be very credible. It seems to match the time period that Henry and his family were missing for several years. Bob’s great-uncles, the twins, on pages 73 & 75 of The Bittinger Book appear to be of Indian blood—they are obviously not identical twins—could even have been from two different families. Before I decided to write this story, I first read the first 23 pages of The Bittinger book very intently to see what had been written before. I discovered several interesting things that happened leading up to and after William’s birth and I put that in a timeline as well as numbered the children born. It is impossible to verify through documentation if William, the “twins” Jonathan or Solomon or even if the “missing” child (#7) were Henry’s and Barbara’s biological children. The census records give some evidence that three children had been born in OH. The twins were said to have been born May 14, 1814. They look very much like Native Americans in their picture in The Bittinger book, p. 73 and 75. Someone gave their birthplace as Maryland in the 1850 or 1870 census. Ohio schedules had been destroyed, so there is no real proof, just more “say so.” William (b. Apr 24, 1817), child #10 was Henry and Barbara Bittinger’s last child—Barbara would have been 45 when William was born. Three children under six for a woman that age would be a handful. The following is a timeline summary from what I read. (1) There was a period of time from 1806-1816 that Henry’s whereabouts were not known. He was no longer a resident of Somerset after 1806. He reappears in 1815 taxed in District 2, which is now part of Northern Garrett County (Grantsville?). (2) 1816 was a bad weather year for Garrett County, Henry’s father Philip died this same year, and Henry sold his share of Philip’s estate (in Brothersvalley, Somerset, 1½ miles NE of Meyersdale, along Berkeley Flat Road, now owned by Harold Saylor) (3) In 1817, Henry’s worth was reassessed. It appears he lost a horse and gained cattle. His cash was also less. Could be he bargained with the Shawnee for the children born after 1806. Who would know. Records were not kept on Indian births or marriages. Women and children’s names were not included in the census before 1850—just the number of how many males and females in various age categories. (4) The marriage of Henry (b. Jul 14, 1778) and Barbara Barbary Bauser (b. Jul 1772) was estimated to be about 1799 based on the age of their first child Peter born Jul 17, 1800. Henry was about 21 and Barbara already 27. Therefore, when William was born in the Spring of 1817, Barbara would have been almost 45. How many would have even known this family when they moved back after 11 years? How many would have seen her through the winter to know if she had been pregnant or not—the snow probably hadn’t even melted by April 24th. Who would have been the wiser whether Barbara had even carried the baby, especially if she was a little on the heavy side. As far as I can tell, there is no documentation to prove or disprove the last five children were Henry’s and Barbara’s. The stories in the Bittinger book that were passed down through Charlotte Bittinger’s family shows that Henry not only lived with the Indians, but he was obviously welcomed into their camp and into their homes. The stories told by Henry Bittinger’s grandchildren show Henry’s disregard and lack of respect toward the Indians. Could it be that after Henry received his portion of his father’s estate in 1816, he needed to populate his household quickly to help with the farm as his older children were approaching legal age. This meant that at 21, the boys, now men, would no longer be required to hand over their wages to the head of household. Many worked outside of the farm to earn wages and that was all turned over. That's the way it was as told to me by my cousin Doris Knox. Peter and Charlotte Bittinger, Henry and Barbara’s two oldest children, would have been 17 and 15, when William was born (or brought home). Bob Brenneman descends from William’s line as follows _[1]_ (aoldb://mail/write/template.htm#_ftn1) : 1. William H. “Bill” Bittinger (Apr 24, 1817-Dec 9, 1862) m. (Apr 11, 1843) Agnes Ruckle (May 2, 1816-Mar 23, 1875). 1.1 Alice Bittinger (Jul 23, 1858-Apr 1, 1937) m. Joe Buckel (Nov 10, 1848-Sep 27, 1920) 1.1.1 Mary Jane Buckel (Oct 23, 1889-Jun 14, 1973) m. Lloyd Franklin Brenneman (Dec 1, 1872-Mar 27, 1953). Mary was called “Mary Lloyd” after marrying to differentiate her from the other Mary Brennemans. 1.1.1.1 Robert Owen “Bob” Brenneman (Jul 30, 1918) m. Marguerite Lucille “Margie” Hetrick (Sep 14, 1926) The Shawnee The Shawnee are known to have resided in Ohio. I did some research on Tecumseh (means Shooting Star), a Shawnee chief from Ohio, more specifically it is believed he was born in a camp near Chilicothe which only means “The Old Campsite.”_[2]_ (aoldb://mail/write/template.htm#_ftn2) The place of his birth and his age are equally uncertain. The first record of Tecumseh’s official communication with the whites was in 1807 (the same time frame that Henry and family disappeared). Tecumseh was the son of a Shawnee chief and the captured daughter of Governor Jesse Bayles and Marie Monraine. They came from the vicinity of Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley to settle near Ice’s Ferry in 1770. Their second child, daughter Mary, born in 1763, was stolen by the Indians and returned years later with a two-year old son whom she call Tecumseh. She said he was born in the Indian Camp on Quarry Run, about two miles from Ice’s Ferry. Tecumseh was said to have a complexion more of a light brown (or a light copper) than red, his countenance oval, with bright hazel eyes—some said his eyes were more green—Henry referred to the Shawnee as “yellow buggers.” There are white, black, yellow, tan and red Indians. ____________________________________ _[1]_ (aoldb://mail/write/template.htm#_ftnref1) From The Bittinger Book by Wayne Bittinger _[2]_ (aoldb://mail/write/template.htm#_ftnref2) Tecumseh and the Bayles Family Tradition by G. H. Bayles, taken from the Register of Kentucky Historical Society