Daniel Greathouse
The Life of Daniel Greathouse
In 1984 he opened Oggi Domani Photography Gallery dedicated to photography. Artists featured included Kathe Burkhart and Anne Messner among many others.
Greathouse was also highly involved in his community, participating in fundraising and volunteering for various charitable causes. He enjoyed woodworking and would devote 8 hours per day for five days out of seven to building clocks, shelves and picture frames.
Early Life and Education
Dan Greathouse achieved much during his baseball career. He played an integral part in winning a national championship team and held several league records. Additionally, he served in the US Army before becoming an accomplished fastpitch pitching coach who eventually taught fastpitch pitching classes to over three generations of students.
Daniel Greathouse orchestrated the massacre of Mingo Chief Logan’s family at Baker’s Station, now situated within Hancock County Virginia, which led directly to Dunmore’s War.
At the outbreak of violence, a Shawnee warrior identified Greathouse. After receiving confirmation of its identity from his tribe, the warrior shot all remaining occupants and confiscated their possessions; hanging their scalps from his belt as an act of war among Indians.
Professional Career
Daniel Greathouse was an early settler and frontiersman who is widely credited with organizing the 1774 massacre of Mingo Chief Logan’s family at Baker’s Station in present-day Hancock County – which may have caused Dunmore’s War to begin.
In his later years, he became an accomplished woodworker, creating clocks, shelves, and picture frames out of wood. He would proudly take these creations to flea markets in his area. Additionally, he dedicated much of his time coaching fastpitch pitching; even offering 100 free clinics.
On January 19th, he sent out an email to officers that suggested Michaels, Sturtevant and Jacobs’ suicides were caused by weakness and selfishness – an interpretation police psychologists called inappropriate. Officers should feel safe to discuss their stress without fear of reprisals according to them.
Achievement and Honors
Greathouse was elected to Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District seat in 1994 and later served on its Ethics Committee.
He was renowned as an aggressive frontiersman who battled Indians on both sides, known for being known for being rough by both parties. His animus towards injens made him casually state that he would “kill some reds”, something which often came true.
He leaves behind his wife, Cynthia Gault Greathouse of Ubly; three sons: Daniel Greathouse Jr. of Sharon, Pa.; Derek Greathouse of Austintown and Daran Greathouse of Freeland; 12 grandchildren and one great-grandchild; as well as many friends and acquaintances who will host private services in his memory.
Personal Life
Dan loved woodworking and spent hours each day making clocks, shelves and picture frames from wood. He also appreciated flea markets where he met new people – taking home pieces he made as gifts for family and friends.
On April 30, 1774, Greathouse and Jacob duped Chief Logan’s family into traveling to Baker’s Station where an apparent massacre ensued, which many consider the direct cause of Lord Dunmore’s War; at first this act was blamed on Michael Cresap but eventually Greathouse himself was held responsible.
Indian appetite for white scalps had seemingly subsided following the Battle of Point Pleasant; however, Jacob and Daniel Greathouse provided the Indians with another means of fulfilling this desire. According to Allan Eckert’s “The Frontiersman”, Jacob and Daniel Greathouse were captured along the Ohio River in 1791 and used as bait by Indian tribes looking for scalps.
Net Worth
Greathouse was beloved among frontiersmen despite his role in the Yellow Creek Massacre, as his dislike for “injens” was so great he would often state “I want to go kill some reds.”
But his actions ultimately took their toll, not just on himself but also his brother Jacob who would later die two years later in another Native/Settler conflict on the frontier – Foreman Massacre at Grave Creek.
Gabriel Greathouse relocated his family from Ohio to Arkansas in 1828, and they settled near what is now Conway on a farm near an example of dog-trot architecture, known as Greathouse Museum. Gabriel and Maria gave birth to 11 children; Mary became married to Samuel Hinkson.