Ashtabula County, Ohio - Chapter 3: The Connecticut Land Company, 1878

Chapter 3: The Connecticut Land Company

The members of this company effected an organization on the 5th day of September, 1795. This was done at Hartford, Connecticut. They adopted articles of association and agreement, fourteen in number. Their first article designated the name by which they chose to be known. Article number two provided for the appointment of a committee, consisting of three of their number, - John Caldwell, John Brace, and John Morgan, - to whom each purchaser was required to execute a deed in trust of his share in the purchase, receiving in exchange a certificate from these trustees showing that the holder thereof was entitled to a certain share in the Connecticut Western Reserve, which certificate of share was transferable by proper assignment. The form of this certificate is given in Article IX. Article III. provides for the appointment of seven directors, and empowers them to procure an extinguishment of the Indian title to said Reserve ; to cause a survey of the lands to be made into townships containing each sixteen thousand acres ; to fix on a township in which the first settlement shall be made, to survey the township thus selected into lots, and to sell such lots to actual settlers only ; to erect in said township a saw-mill and a grist-mill at the expense of the company ; and to lay out and sell five other townships to actual settlers only. Article IV. obliges the surveyors to keep a regular field-book, in which they shall accurately describe the situation, soil, waters, kinds of timber, and natural productions of each township ; said book to be kept in the office of the clerk of said directors, and open at all times to the inspection of each proprietor. Article V. provides for the appointment by the directors of a clerk, and names his duties. Article VI. makes it obligatory upon the trustees to give to each of the proprietors a certificate as named above. Article VII. imposes a tax of ten dollars upon each share to enable the directors to accomplish the duties assigned to them. Article VIII. divides the purchase into four hundred shares, and gives each shareholder one vote for every share up to forty shares, when he shall thereafter have but one vote for every five shares, except as to the question of the time of making a partition of the territory, in determining which every share shall be entitled to one vote. Article X. fixes the dates of several future meetings to be held. Article XI. reads : " And whereas, some of the proprietors may choose that their proportions of said Reserve should be divided to them in one lot or location, it is agreed that in case one-third in value of the owners shall, after a survey of said Reserve in townships, signify to said directors or meeting a request that such third part be set off in manner aforesaid, that said directors may appoint three commissioners, who shall have power to divide the whole of said purchase into three parts, equal in value, according to quantity, quality, and situation ; and when said commissioners shall have so divided said Reserve, and made a report in writing of their doings to said directors, describing precisely the boundaries of each part, the said directors shall call a meeting of said proprietors, giving the notice required by these articles ; and at such meeting the said three parts shall be numbered, and the number of each part shall be written on a separate piece of paper, and shall, in the presence of such meeting, be by the chairman of said meeting put into a box, and a person, appointed by said meeting for that purpose, shall draw out of said box one of said numbers, and the part designated by such number shall be aparted to such person or persons requesting such a severance, and the said trustees shall, upon receiving a written direction from said directors for that purpose, execute a deed to such person or persons accordingly ; after which, such person or persons shall have no power to act in said company." Article XII. empowers the company to raise money by a tax on the proprietors, and to dispose, upon certain conditions, of so much of a proprietor's interest, in case of delinquency, as shall be necessary to satisfy the assessment. Article XIII. provides for the appointment by the company of a successor to a trustee who may have caused a vacancy in the office by death. Article XIY. places the directors in the transaction of any business of the company under the control of the latter " by a vote of at least three-fourths of the interest of said company."

The following gentlemen were chosen to constitute the board of directors : Oliver Phelps, Henry Champion (2d), Moses Cleaveland, Samuel W. Johnson, Ephraim Kirby, Samuel Mather, Jr., and Roger Newbury. At a meeting held in April, 1796, Ephraim Root was made clerk, and continued to act in this capacity until the dissolution of the company, in 1809. A moderator was chosen at each meeting, and changes of directors were made from time to time.

The following are the names of the persons who subscribed to the " Articles of Association and Agreement constituting the Connecticut Land Company" :

Before this organized body of men lay the important work of obtaining a perfect title to their purchase ; of causing a survey of the lands to be made ; of making partition of the same ; and then of inducing colonies of men to undertake the settlement.

To thepe tasks the purchasers addressed themselves in right good earnest. In order to make sound their title they must obtain from the United States a release of the government's claim, - a very just and formidable one, - and to extinguish the title of the Indian, whose right to the soil rested upon the substantial basis of actual occupancy. Whatever interest Virginia, Massachusetts, and New York may have had in the Western Reserve had passed to the United States, and if none of the claiming States had title, the dominion and ownership were transferred to the general government by the treaty made with Great Britain at the close of the Revolution. There was, therefore, a very reasonable solicitude upon the part of the Connecticut Land Company lest the claim of the United States would, if issue were made, be proven to be of greater validity than that of Connecticut, the company's grantor. Another difficulty made itself felt. When an attempt was made to settle the Reserve, it was discovered that it was so far removed from Connecticut as to make it impracticable for that State to extend her laws over the same, or to make new ones for the government of the inhabitants. Congress had provided in the ordinance of 1787 for the government of the Northwestern Territory; but to admit jurisdiction by the general government over this part of that territory would be a virtual acknowledgment of the validity of the government's title, and therefore an indirect proof of the insufficiency of the company's title. The right to such jurisdiction was therefore denied, and Connecticut was urged to obtain from the United States a release of the governmental claim. The result was that congress, on the 28th day of April, 1800, authorized the President to execute and deliver, on the part of the United States, letters patent to the governor of Connecticut, releasing all right and title to the soil of the Reserve, upon condition that Connecticut should, on her part, forever renounce and release to the United States entire and complete civil jurisdiction over the Reserve. Thus Connecticut obtained from the United States her claim to the soil, and transmitted and confirmed it to the Connecticut Land Company and to those who had purchased from it, and jurisdiction for the purposes of government vested in the United States.

The Extinguishment Of The Indian Title

At the close of the Revolution the general government sought by peaceable means to acquire the red man's title to the soil northwest of the Ohio. On the 21st of January, 1785, a treaty was concluded at Fort McIntosh with four of the Indian tribes, - the Wyandots, Delawares , Chippewas , and Ottawas. By this treaty the Cuyahoga and the Portage between it and the Tuscarawas were agreed upon as the boundary on the Reserve between the United States and the Indians. All east of the Cuyahoga was in fact ceded to the United States. The Iudians soon became dissatisfied, and refused to comply with the terms of the treaty. On January 9, 1789, another treaty was concluded at Fort Harmar, at the mouth of the Muskingum, between Arthur St. Clair, acting for the United States, and the Wyandots, Delawares, Chippewas, and Sac Nations, by which the terms of the former treaty were renewed and confirmed. But only a short time elapsed before the Indians violated their compact. Peaceful means failing, it became necessary to compel obedience by the use of arms. Vigorous means for relief and protection for the white settler were called for and enforced. At first the Indians were successful ; but in 1794, General Wayne, at the head of three thousand five hundred men, encountered the enemy on the 20th day of August, on the Maumee, and gained a decisive victory. Nearly every chief was slain. The Treaty of Greenville was the result. General Wayne met in grand council twelve of the most powerful northwestern tribes, and the Indians again yielded their claims to the lands east of the Cuyahoga, and made no further effort to regain them.

The Cuyahoga river and the Portage between it and the Tuscarawas constituted the boundary between the United States and the Indians upon the Reserve until July 4, 1805. On that day a treaty was made at Fort Industry, by which the Indian title to all the Reserve west of the Cuyahoga was purchased. Thus the Indian title to the soil of the Reserve was forever set at rest, and no flaw now existed in the Connecticut Land Company's claim to ownership of the lands of the Reserve.

Survey Of The Western Reserve

The title having been perfected, the company made preparations to survey the portion of the Reserve lying east of the Cuyahoga. In the early part of May, 1796, the company fitted out an expedition for this purpose, of which Moses Cleaveland was the leader of a company, - all told of about forty men, - five of them surveyors, one a physician, and the rest chainmen and axemen.

By previous arrangement they met at Schenectady, New York, at which point they commenced their journey, ascending the Mohawk in four flat-bottomed boats, proceeding by the way of Oswego, Niagara, and Queenstown to Buffalo, reaching the soil of the Reserve on the 4th of July.

Arrival Of The Surveyors

The records of the Ashtabula Historical and Philosophical Society contain an interesting narrative made by Judge Stow of the journey of this surveyingparty, aud from this we gather what follows in relation to the expedition.

At the time the party commenced its journey, Fort Oswego, which they were compelled to pass, was garrisoned by the British. They anticipated difficulty in being able to get beyond the fort. At Fort Stanwix, however, they had the good fortune to be overtaken by Captain Cozzens, who had been sent by the British minister, Mr. Bond, with open dispatches to all his majesty's officers and subjects, announcing the ratification by both governments of Jay's Treaty, and that the navigation of the lakes should henceforth be free to all American vessels. They now anticipated no trouble. Captain Cozzens took passage on board Judge Stow's boat, and they ascended Wood creek toward Lake Ontario. When arrived at Oswego, however, permission to pass the fort was denied on the ground that his instructions were positive, and, without the sanction of his superior officer, then at Niagara, he was powerless to grant the request.

Mr. Stow's instructions from the Land Company were not in any event to attempt to run by the fort ; but if permission were withheld, to lie in wait until further orders from the company should be received. But the climate was unhealthy ; the soldiers in the garrison were many of them sick, and some of them dying ; time was precious, and the anxiety to reach the Reserve was great. After much deliberation, it was almost the unanimous voice of the party to attempt the passage. The boats were floated down to within four miles of the fort, when they were hauled into a small bay and secreted among the bushes. One of the boats was then relieved of the greater part of its cargo, manned with double oars, 'and, with the agent (Mr. Stow) on board, moved down to the fort. The British officer in command of the fort evidently supposed that the boat was on its way to Fort Niagara to obtain the consent of the officer in command at that point to make the passage, and the crew were not disturbed. The garrison was thrown off" its guard by this stratagem, and at dead of night the other boats passed the fort unobserved, and joined their companions on the waters of Lake Ontario. The following incident of the voyage will be of interest :

" The first boat had proceeded as far as to Sodus, where the little fleet intended to make a harbor. A sudden storm arose, and overtook the boats before they could reach Sodus. Night had come on, and the darkness was intense ; the storm became more and more violent, and the situation was one of imminent peril. Beacon-fires were built by the crew of the boat which had landed, but it was impossible for the rest of the boats to make the harbor. The situation o£ the agent at this moment was intensely painful. His companions were in a perilous situation, and it was out of his power to afford them any relief. They were but a short distance from a dangerous shore, and the next billow might dash their little barks in pieces. Besides, he had assumed the responsibility of running by the fort, and, although successful in that attempt, yet if the boats were east away or lost, the whole responsibility of the catastrophe would rest upon him. In this state of suspense and alarm, a man from one of the boats came running from the beach with the intelligence that all was lost.

" No anxiety could be greater or suffering more intense than that of the men on shore. They ran up and down the beach to see if it were not possible to render some assistance or gain some tidings from their companions. They found thrown upon the shore a gun and oar, which they recognized as belonging to Captain Beard, who was in charge of one of the boats. This increased their alarm. The next moment, however, they met Captain Beard himself, and anxiously asked if all were lost. He replied that nothing was lost but a gun and an oar! No lives were lost. The boats sustained much injury, and one was so badly damaged it could not be repaired and was abandoned."

The names of this surveying-party, a company of fifty-two persons, all told, are as follows: Moses Cleaveland, the Land Company's agent; Joshua Stow, commissary ; Augustus Porter, principal surveyor ; Seth Pease, Moses Warren, Amos Spafford, Milton Holley, and Richard M. Stoddard, surveyors ; Theodore

It is a noteworthy coincidence that this advance-guard of the army of civilization that was soon to people the territorial limits of what is now known as " Old Ashtabula," first touched her soil on the anniversary of America's independence. Thus in this signal manner did a new colony, destined to play so important a part in the future of the nation, begin its existence on the same day of the same month in which the nation itself began to exist. Nor were these sons of Revolutionary fathers oblivious of the day which not only commemorates the birth of their country's freedom, but should henceforth be to them and their posterity the anniversary of the day on which their pilgrimage ended, and on which began their labors, toils, and sufferings for the establishment in the wilderness of Ohio of homes for themselves and their children. Animated with emotions appropriate to the occasion, these Pilgrim Fathers of the Western Reserve celebrated the day with such rude demonstations of patriotic devotion and joy as they were able to invent.

They gathered together in groups on the eastern bank of the creek now known as the Conneaut ; they pledged fidelity to their country in liquid dipped from the pure waters of the lake; they discharged from two or three fowling-pieces the national salute ; they ate, drank, and were merry, blessing the land which many of them had assisted in delivering from British oppression ; and they may have indulged in glowing predictions as to the future greatness and glory of the colonies they were about to plant. Could one of their number who shared their fancies, but who lived to see no part of them realized, behold to-day the changes which have proceeded in so wonderful a manner, we think that he would admit that the boldest anticipations of the little party of 1796 were but a feeble conception of the reality. However difficult it might be for him to understand the stages of the process by which so great a transformation has taken place, the actual truth would still present itself for his contemplation. What would astonish him most would be, not the conquest of forests, but that they have been succeeded by the numerous thriving cities and villages and the multitudinous homes of the prospering farmer, established on nearly every quarter-section of land in this county ; that distance has been annihilated by the use of steam and the consequent acceleration of speed ; that wealth and population have been so rapidly cumulative ; that the community is so opulent and enlightened ; that education is fostered by so admirable a system of free schools ; that intelligence is universally diffused by so many representatives of a free press ; that moral opinion has gained such ground ; that religion is sustained by the convictions of an enlightened faith, and that the happiness of the people is universal and secure.

They christened the place where occurred these demonstrations of patriotism and joy Fort Independence, and the following are the toasts which they drank :

The surveyors proceeded to the south line of the Reserve, aud ascertained the point wThere the forty-first degree of north latitude intersects the western line of Pennsylvania, and from this line of latitude, as a base, meridian lines five miles apart were run north to the lake. Lines of latitude were then run five miles apart, thus dividing the Reserve into townships five miles square. As the lands lying west of the Cuyahoga remained in possession of the Indians until the Treaty of Fort Industry, in 1805, the Reserve was not surveyed at this time farther west than to the Cuyahoga and the portage between it and the Tuscarawas, a distance west from the western line of Pennsylvania of fifty-six miles. The remainder of the Reserve was surveyed in 1806. The surveyors began, as we have seen, at the southeast corner of the Reserve, and ran parallel lines north from the base-line and parallel lines west from the Pennsylvania line five miles apart. The meridian lines formed the ranges, and the lines of latitude the townships. The southeast corner of what is now Ashtabula County is thirty-five miles distant from the southeast corner of the Reserve, and the southeast township of the county (Williamsfield) lies in range one and township eight, Andover next north in the same range, and in township nine, Richmond in township ten, same range, etc.

The Appointment Op An Equalizing Committee

After this survey was completed the Land Company, in order that the shareholders might share equitably as nearly as possible the lands of the Reserve, or to avoid the likelihood of a part of the shareholders drawing the best and others the medium and others again the poorest of the lands, appointed an equalizing committee, whose duties we will explain.

The amount of the purchase-money, one million two hundred thousand dollars, was divided into four hundred shares, each share value being three thousand dollars. The holder of one share, therefore, had one four-hundredth undivided interest in the whole tract, and he who held four or five or twenty shares had four or five or twenty times as much interest undivided in- the whole Reserve as he who held but one. As some townships would be more valuable than others, the company adopted, at a meeting of shareholders at Hartford, Connecticut, in April, 1796, a mode of making partition, and appointed a committee of equalization to divide the Reserve in accordance with the company's plan. The committee appointed were Daniel Holbrook, William Shepperd, Jr., Moses Warren, Jr., Seth Pease, and Amos Spafford, and the committee who made up their report at Canandaigua, New York, December 13, 1797, were William Shepperd, Jr., Moses Warren, Jr., Seth Pease, and Amos Spafford.

The directors of the company, in accordance with Article III. of the Articles of Association, selected six townships to be offered for sale to actual settlers alone, and in which the first improvements were designed to be made. The townships thus selected were numbers eleven, in the sixth range ; ten, in the ninth range ; nine, in the tenth range ; eight, in the eleventh range ; seven, in the twelfth range ; and two, in the second range. These townships are now known as Madison, Mentor, and Willoughby, in Lake county ; Euclid and Newburg, in Cuyahoga county ; and Youngstown, in Mahoning. Number three, in the third range, or Weathersfield, in Trumbull county, was omitted from the first draft made by the company owing to the uncertainty of the boundaries of Mr. Parsons' claim. This township has sometimes been called the Salt Spring township. The six townships above named were offered for sale before partition was made, and parts of them were sold.

Excepting the Parsons' claim and the seven townships above named, the remainder of the Reserve east of the Cuyahoga was divided among the members of the company as follows :

Mode Of Partition

The four best townships in the eastern part of the Reserve were selected and surveyed into lots, an average of one hundred lots to the township. As there were four hundred shares, the four townships would yield one lot for every share. When these lots were drawn, each holder or holders of one or more shares participated in the draft. The committee selected township eleven, in range seven, and townships five, six, and seven, in range eleven, for the four best townships. These are Perry, in Lake county, Northfield, in Summit county, Bedford and Warrenville, in Cuyahoga county.

Then the committee proceeded to select from the remaining townships certain other townships that should be next in value to the four already selected, which were to be used for equalizing purposes. The tracts thus selected being whole townships and parts of townships were in number twenty-four, as follows : six, seven, eight, nine, and ten, in the eighth range ; six, seven, eight, and nine, in the ninth range; and one, five, six, seven, and eight, in the tenth range; and sundry irregular tracts, as follows : number fourteen, in the first range ; number thirteen, in the third raDge ; number thirteen, in the fourth range ; number twelve, in the fifth range ; number twelve, in the sixth range ; number eleven, in the eighth range; Dumber ten, in the tenth range; number six, in the twelfth range ; and numbers one and two, in the eleventh range. These tracts are now known as Auburn, Newbury, Munson, Chardon, Banbridge, Russell, and Chester townships, in Geauga county ; Concord and Kirtland, in Lake county ; Springfield and Twinsburg, in Summit county ; Solon, Orange, and Mayfield, in Cuyahoga county. The fractional townships are Conneaut gore, Ashtabula gore, Saybrook gore, Geneva, Madison gore, Painesville, Willoughby gore, Independence, Coventry, and Portage. After this selection had been made they selected the average townships, to the value of each of which each of the others should be brought by the equalizing process of annexation. The eight best of the remaining townships were taken, and were numbers one five, eleven, twelve, and thirteen, in the first range ; twelve, in the fourth range ; eleven, in the fifth range; and six, in the sixth range. They are now known as Poland, in Mahoning county ; Hartford, in Trumbull county ; Pierpont, Monroe, Conneaut, Saybrook, and Harpersfield, in Ashtabula County; and Parkman, in Geauga county. These were the standard townships, and all the other townships of inferior value to these eight, which would include all the others not mentioned above, were to be raised to the value of the average townships by annexations from the equalizing townships. These last named were cut up into parcels of various sizes and values, and annexed to the inferior townships in such a way as to make them all of equal value in the opinion of the committee. When the committee had performed this task, it was found that, with the exception of the four townships first selected, the Parsons' tract, and the townships that had been previously set aside to be sold, the whole tract would amount to an equivalent of ninety-three shares. There were therefore ninety-three equalized townships or parcels to be drawn for east of the Cuyahoga.

The Draft

To entitle a shareholder to the ownership of an equalized township it was necessary for him to be the proprietor of twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents of the original purchase of the company, or in other words, he must possess about three and three-tenths shares of the original purchase.

The division by draft took place on the 29th of January, 1798. The townships were numbered from one to ninety-three, and the numbers on slips of paper placed in a box. The names of shareholders were arranged in alphabetical order, and in those instances in which an original investment was insufficient to entitle such investor to an equalized township, he formed a combination with others in like situation, and the name of that person of this combination that took alphabetic precedence was used in the draft. If the small proprietors were, from disagreement among themselves, unable to unite, a committee was appointed to select and classify them, and those selected were compelled to submit to this arrangement. If after they had drawn a township they could not agree in dividing it between them, this committee, or another one appointed for the purpose, divided it for them. That township which the first number drawn designated belonged to the first man on the list, and the second drawn to the second man, and so on until all were drawn. Thus was the ownership in common severed, and each individual secured his interest in severalty. John Morgan, John Cadwell, and Jonathan Brace, the trustees, as rapidly as partition was effected, conveyed by deed to the several purchasers the lands they had drawn.

It will be borne in mind that it required twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars rand twenty-three cents to entitle a shareholder to one of the equalized townships or an average township. It frequently happened that a number united and drew several townships together. As, for example, in draft No. 61, Gideon Granger, Oliver Phelps, and Phelps and Granger united their joint money, being ninety thousand three hundred and twenty-two dollars and sixtyone cents, or seven times twelve thousand nine hundred and three dollars and twenty-three cents, which entitled them to seven townships.

To The Survey Thereof Other Drafts

The second draft was made in 1802, and was for such portions of the seven townships omitted in the first draft as remained at that time unsold. This draft was divided into ninety shares, representing thirteen thousand three hundred and thirty-three dollars and thirty-three cents of the purchase-money.

The third draft was made in 1807, and was for the lands of the company lying west of the Cuyahoga, and was divided into forty-six parts, each representing twenty-six thousand six hundred and eighty-seven dollars.

A fourth draft was made in 1809, at which time the surplus land, so called, was divided, including sundry notes and claims arising from sales that had been effected of the seven townships omitted in the first drawing.

Land east of the Cuyahoga, exclusive of the Parsons' tract, in acres.. Land west of the Cuyahoga, exclusive of surplus land, islands, and Sufferers' Lands