Isaac Zane, known as the White Eagle of the Wyandots, was born in Berkley County, Virginia, in 1753 and died at Zanesfield in 1816 at age 63. Captured by the Wyandot Indians in 1762 and carried to the Valley of the Mad River, he grew to manhood among them and married the daughter of Chief Tarhe. He became the first white settler in the Mad River Valley by nearly half a century, and his fort and cabin became the center of a new civilization, with the town named in his honor. His labors and influence for peace on behalf of whites, and his service to his country, were recognized and rewarded by the government. The captivity of the young Virginian and his union with the daughter of the Wyandots proved a great blessing to settlers in the valleys of the Mad River, the Miami, and the Great Northwest.