Brown County, Ohio - Chapter 7: Civil Organization, 1883

Chapter 7: Civil Organization

THE territory comprising Brown County was a part of Clermont and Adams Counties from the organization of the Government of the State of Ohio until March 1, 1818. Prior to the formation of the State Government, the territory had belonged, in whole or in part, to Hamilton, Adams and Clermont Counties.

Hamilton was the second county formed by the proclamation of Gov. St. Clair. As originally organized, it did not include any part of Brown. It was organized January 2, 1790, and was at first bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the east by the Little Miami, on the west by the Great Miami, and on the north by a line drawn due east from the Standing Stone Fork, or branch of the Great Miami. The Standing Stone Fork is supposed to have been Loramie's Branch, which flows into tl^e Great Miami near the northern boundary of Miami County.

On August 15, 1796, in a proclamation forming Wayne County, Gov. St. Clair declared that the eastern boundary of Hamilton County is "a due north line from the lower Shawnees' town upon the Scioto River." From this date until the organization of Adams County, the whole of Brown County was a part of the large county of Hamilton.

" Beginning upon the Ohio River at the upper boundary of that tract of 24,000 acres granted unto the French inhabitants of Gallipolis, by an act of Congress of the United States, bearing date the 3d of March, 1795; thence down the said Ohio River to the mouth of Elk River (generally known by the name of Eagle Creek), and up with the principal water of the said Elk River, or Eagle Creek, to its source or head; thence by a due north line to the southern boundary of Wayne County; and easterly along said boundary so far that a due south line shall meet the interior point of the upper boundary of the aforesaid tract of 24,000 acres, and with said boundary to the place of beginning."

On the 20th of August, 1798, a proclamation was issued, to take effect September 1, 1798, changing the western boundary of Adams, and attaching a part of Hamilton to Adams, as follows:

" To begin on the bank of the Ohio where Elk River, or Eagle Creek, empties into the same, and run from thence due north until it intersects the southern boundary of the county of Ross; and all and singular the lands lying between the said north line and Elk River, or Eagle Creek, shall, after the said 1st day of September next, be separated from the county of Hamilton, and added to the county of Adams. "

" The first court in Adams County was held in Manchester. Winthrop Sargent, the Secretary of the Territory, acting in the absence of the Governor, appointed Commissioners, who located the county seat at an out-of-the-way place, a few miles above the mouth of Brush Creek, which they called Adamsville. The locality was soon named, in derision, Scant. At the next session of the court, its members became divided, and part sat in Manchester and part at Adamsville. The Governor, on his return to the Territory finding the peo- pie in great confusion, and much bickering among them, removed the seat of justice to the mouth of Brush Creek, where the first court was held in 1798. Here a town was laid out by Noble Grimes, under the name of W ashington. A large log court house was built, with a jail in the lower story, and the Governor appointed two more of the Scant party Judges, which gave them a majority. In 1800, Charles Willing Byrd, Secretary of the Territory, in the absence of the Governor, appointed two more of the Manchester party Judges, which balanced the parties, and the contest was maintained until West Union became the county seat."

" Beginning at the mouth of Nine-Mile or Muddy Creek where it discharges itself into the Ohio, and running from thence with a straight line to the mouth of the East Branch of the Little Miami River to the mouth of O'Bannon's Creek; thence with a due east line until it shall intersect a line drawn north from the mouth of Elk River, or Eagle Creek; thence with that line south to the mouth of the said Elk River or Eagle Creek; and from thence with the Ohio to the place of beginning. "

The county seat of Clermont, from its organization until the formation of Brown County, was at Williamsburg - a very convenient location for the county as originally organized. Bethel was the principal contestant against Williamsburg for the seat of justice.

At the time of the organization of Clermont, there was a protracted dispute between Gov. St. Clair and the Territorial Legislature as to whom belonged the power of creating new counties. The Governor claimed that this power was legally invested in himself alone, and he placed his absolute veto on all acts of the Legislature establishing new counties. It is an interesting fact that, among the acts vetoed by Gov. St Clair, was one passed at Cincinnati at the first session of the Territorial Legislature, which was organized September 27, 1799, creating a county to be called Henry, and which embraced a portion of the present county of Brown. The act was entitled, "An act to establish a new county on the Ohio between the Little Miami River and Adams County." Denhamstown (Bethel) was made the temporary seat of justice, and the following persons were named in the act as Commissioners for the purpose of fixing on the most eligible place in the said county of Henry for the permanent seat of justice, some of whom resided within the present limits of Brown: Richard Allison, Samuel C. Vance. William Buckhannon, Robert

It thus appears that all that portion of Brown County between its present western boundary and a line drawn due north from the mouth of Eagle Creek formed a part of Hamilton County, with its seat of justice at Cincinnati from August 15, 1796, until December 6, 1800, and from the latter date until March 1, 1818, a part of Clermont, with its seat of justice at Williamsburg. That portion lying between Eagle Creek and a line drawn due north from the mouth of Eagle Creek was a part of Hamilton from August 15, 1796, until September 1, 1798, and from the latter date a part of Adams until the organization of Brown County. And all that portion lying between Eagle Creek and the eastern boundary of Brown was a part of Hamilton from August 15, 1796, until July 10, 1797, when it became a part of Adams, and so remained until the organization of Brown.

But at still earlier dates, this territory had been made a part of political divisions called counties. During the Revolution, this region would have been marked on the map of the North American colonies as a part of Virginia, whose extensive domain, making her the mother of States, as well as of Presidents, reached to the Mississippi. Out of this broad territory, vast counties were formed. The county of Kentucky included the whole of the present State of that name. In October, 1778, Virginia, by statute, declared that: "All the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, who are already settled or who shall hereafter settle on the western side of the Ohio, shall be included in a distinct county, which shall be called Illinois County." This territory, then, once formed a part of the vast western county of Virginia called Illinois.

But, going back a few years further, we find this region included in a county of still more vast extent. South of the Natural Bridge, between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies, and intersected by the J ames River, is a county of Virginia, with Fincastle for its seat of justice, named Botetourt, in honor of Norborne Berkeley, Lord Botetourt, a conspicuous actor in American colonial history, and Governor of Virginia. That county was established in 1769, and originally included our county within its limits. It was bounded on the east by the Blue Ridge, on the west by the Mississippi, and comprised Western Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Fincastle then, as now, was the county seat.

"And whereas, the people situated on the Mississippi, in the said county of Botetourt, will be very remote from the court house, and must necessarily become a separate county as soon as their numbers are sufficient - which probably will happen in a short time: Be it therefore enacted by the authority aforesaid (House of Burgesses), that the inhabitants of that part of the said county of Botetourt which lies on the said waters shall be exempted from the payment of any levies to be laid by the said County Court, for the purpose of building a court house and prison for said county."

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That so much of the counties of Adams and Clermont as comes within the following boundaries, be, and the same is, hereby erected into a separate and distinct county, which shall be known by the name of Brown, to wit-. Beginning at a point eight miles due west from the court house, in the town of West Union, in the county of Adams; thence running due north to Highland County line; thence west with Highland County line to Clermont County line; thence north with Clermont County line to Clinton County line; thence west with Clinton County line so far that a line running south will strike the Ohio River two miles above the mouth of Bulskin Creek; thence up the Ohio River, and with the same so far that a line running due north will intersect the point of beginning.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That all suits or actions whether of a civil or criminal nature which shall be pending, and all crimes which shall have been committed within the limits of those parts of Adams and Clermont Counties, so to be set off and erected into a separate county previous to the organizing of the said county of Brown, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution, within the said counties of Adams and Clermont, in the same manner as they would have been if the county of Brown had not been erected; and the Sheriffs, Coroners and Constables of the counties of Adams and Clermont, shall execute all such process as shall be necessary to carry into effect such suits, prosecutions and judgments, and all the collectors of taxes for said counties of Adams and Clermont, shall collect all such taxes as shall have been levied and unpaid within those parts of the aforesaid counties previous to the taking effect of this act.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted , That all Justices of the Peace within those parts of the counties of Adams and Clermont, which bv this act shall be erected into a new county, shall continue to exercise the duties of their offices, until their term of service expires, in the same manner as if they had been '-ommissionecl for the county of Brown.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted , That the electors within the fractional townships which may be occasioned by the erection of the. county of Brown, shall elect in the next adjoining townships.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That on the first Monday of April next, the legal voters residing within the county of Brown, shall assemble in their respective townships at the usual places of holding elections, and shall proceed to elect their several county officers who shall hold their office until the next annual election.

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That the courts of the said county of Brown shall be holden at the house of Alexander Campbell in the town of Ripley, until the permanent seat of Justice shall be established for the said county of Brown.

The cotin ty was named in honor of Gen. Jacob Brown, who had distinguished himself in the late war with England. He was born in Bucks County, Penn., May 9, J 775, and died in Washington City February 24, 1828. He was an early surveyor in the public lands of Ohio; entered the army in 1812 as a Brigadier General, and had distinguished himself at the battles of Chippewa and Niagara Falls and the siege of Fort Erie, At the time of the organization of this county, he was a Major General in the regular army, and, three years later, succeeded to the supreme command.

The curious reader will be interested in knowing the origin of the six lines forming the boundaries of Brown, some of which had been described in statutes long before the organization of the county.

The northern boundary of Perry Township, which is also the northern boundary of the "boot-leg" of the county, is part of a line drawn due east from the mouth of O'Bannon's Creek, which empties into the Little Miami at Loveland. This line is first mentioned in a proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, dated December 6, 1800, and was the original northern boundary of Clermont.

The county line forming the northern boundary of IV ashington and Eagle Townships is part of the southern boundary of Highland County, and is first described in the act creating that county, passed February 18, 1805. It is an east and west line, drawn past the Twenty-Mile Tree, in the original boundary between Adams and Clermont, which was a due north line from the mouth of Eagle Creek.

The eastern boundary of the " boot-leg " is the western boundary of Highland, and is a due north line drawn from a point on the North Fork of White Oak Creek, where that fork is intersected by the southern boundary of Highland, just described.

The eastern boundary of Brown is a due north and south line drawn through a point eight miles west of the court house in West "Union. A special act of the Legislature provided that this line should be run by the compass without making any allowance for the variation of the needle.

The southern boundary of the county is the State southern boundary, which has been judicially determined to be the low-water mark on the northern side of the Ohio, and not the middle of that stream - a fact which is explained by the cession of the lands forming Ohio in 1784 by Virginia, which cession is described in the deed accepted by Congress as "lands northwest of the Ohio."

The line drawn due north from the mouth of Eagle Creek is frequently mentioned in the proclamations of Gov. St. Clair, and in the acts of the Territorial and early State Legislatures.

Gov. St. Clair at one time suggested this line as a suitable west boundary for the eastern State to be formed out of the territory northwest of the Ohio. An act of the Territorial Legislature passed January 23, 1802, provided that this line should be run and completed before the 1st day of May following. All traces of the line in Brown County seem to have disappeared.

The judiciary under the Government of the Northwest Territory consisted of the Courts of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace and of the Common

Pleas The law provided that the Court of General Quarter Sessions should be held iv ir times a year in each county. A competent number of Justices of the Peace were commissioned by the Governor in every county, and these Justices, or any three of them, constituted Judges of the Court of Quarter Sessions. Usually the magistrates composing the Court of Quarter Sessions were the same as those composing the Court of Common Pleas. The law establishing these courts was adopted from the statutes of Pennsylvania, and was framed and published at Cincinnati June 1, 1795. Corporal punishment, even for light offenses, was the usual penalty, and an old statute of the Northwestern Territory was entitled, "An act directing the building and establishing of a court house, county jail, pillory, whipping post and stocks in every county." Among the names of the early Judges and Jurors of the Territorial courts of Adams and Clermont Counties, some will be recognized as early pioneers of Brown County.

The first court of Adams County was that of tho Quarter Sessions, held at Manchester in September, 1797. The Judges of the court were Nathaniel Massie, John Beasley, John Belli, Thomas Wetherington, Hugh Cochran, Benjamin Goodin, Thomas Scott and Thomas Kirker; Sheriff, David Edie; Coroner, Andrew Ellison; Crier, Job Denning. The first Grand Jury of the county consisted of James January, foreman; Thomas Massie, John Barrett, John Ellison, Duncan McKenzie, Jesse Eastburn, Elisha Waldron, John Lodwick, Stephen Bayless, Robert Ellison, William McIntyre, Nathaniel Washburn, Zephaniah Wade, James Naylor and Jacob Piatt.

At this session of the court, the county was divided into six townships, named, respectively, Cedar Hill, Manchester, Iron Ridge, Union, Scioto and Upper. The first-named township was the only one which included any portion of the present county of Brown. The boundaries of Cedar Hill Township began at the mouth of Eagle Creek, and extended up the Ohio to a point opposite the mouth of Cabin Creek, in Kentucky, at Lawson's Ferry, thence north to the northern boundary of the county, thence west to the west line of the county, thence with the west line of the county to the place of beginning. William Rains was Collector of Cedar Hill Township in 1798. The townships of Adams County were re-organized by the County Commissioners in 1806.

The first court ever held in Clermont County was that of the General Quarter Sessions, convened at Wdlliamsburg on the fourth Tuesday in February, 1801, with the following magistrates as Judges: Owen Todd, Presiding Jusice; William Hunter, Amos Ellis, William Buchanon, Philip Gatch, Robert Higgins and Jasper Shotwell. The court was organized with William Lytle as Prothonotary, and William Perry, Sheriff. The following persons were impaneled as a Grand Jury - the first in Clermont: Amos Smith, John Charles, John Trout, John Boothby, Henry Willis, Samuel Brown, Joshua Lambert, Jonathan Clark, John Kain, John Cotteral, John Anderson, Samuel Nelson, Benjamin Frazee, John Colthar, Kally Burke, Harmon Pearson, Ebenezer Osborn and Absalom Day. This Grand Jury of staid men, appointed to inquire into crimes and misdemeanors committed in their county, reported that they found no indictments, as did also the Grand Jury at the next session - a good report of the people of that day. Thomas Morris, who had recently removed from Columbia to Williamsburg, entered into a contract with the Judges to furnish a suitable house for the meetings of the court, with tables, benches, fuel, etc., for the term of four years, at $20 per year. In addition to the J udges of this court, the names of the following persons appear in the minutes of subsequent Territorial courts of Clermont as magistrates who sat upon the bench, viz. : Peter Light, Houghton Clark, Alexander Martin and John

The foremen of the Grand Juries of Clermont County during the Territorial stage of government were as follows: Ephraim McAdams, May 26, 1801;

The Justices' Court of the General Quarter Sessions of Clermont County, at its first term, February 25, 1801, divided the new county, Clermont into five townships - Williamsburg, Ohio, Washington, O'Bannon (a year or two later changed to Miami) and Pleasant (now in Brown) ; but the records of the court, so far as they can now be found, fail to give the boundaries of these townships. We, however, may date the existence of Pleasant Township from February 25, 1801.

Lewis Township was formed by the Commissioners of Clermont County June 2, 1807. A number of the inhabitants of the east end of Washington Township having petitioned for the formation of a new township, the prayer was granted and the new township was named Lewis. It extended from the east end of Washington Township (the Adams County line) down the Ohio to Bullskin Creek, and northward to the Denhamstown road.

Clark Township was created by the Commissioners of Clermont County October 18, 18l)8, with the following boundaries: " Beginning where the State road from Denhamstown to West Union crosses White Oak; thence running with the State road to the Adams County line; thence north with said line to Highland County; thence with said county line to the corner of Highland, and continuing west so far as to include Aaron Leonard and Moses Moss; thence south to Lewis Township line; thence with the same to the place of beginning."

Perry, the last of the townships within the limits of Brown formed by the Commissioners of Clermont, dates its existence from June 6, 1815. Its original boundaries were as follows: ''Beginning on the Clermont County line at the corner of Warren and Clinton Counties; thence a straight course to Samuel Ashton's old place on Anderson State road; thence east by south to the line between Clermont and Highland Counties; thence north with Clermont County line to the Clinton County line; thence with Clermont and Clinton County line to the place of beginning. "

At the first session of the Clermont County Commissioners at Williamsburg, beginning on the first Monday in June, 1804, Edward Hall was allowed $5 for services as Supervisor of Highways in Pleasant Township. Thomas McFarland was granted $1.50 for killing one old wTolf, January 22, 1804. On July 23, 1804, Henry Chapman was allowed $1 for returning the poll book of Pleasant Township. In 1804, the name of William White appears as Lister of Taxable Property in Pleasani Township.

In June, 1805, the rates for tavern licenses were established as follows: In Williamsburg, $8; in Bethel, $6; in White Haven (Higginsport), $4; in Staunton (Bipley), $4; all other taverns, $4. Ferry licenses were priced as follows: At Staunton (Bipley), $2; at Waters' Ferry, $4; at Samuel Ellis', above the mouth of White Oak, $1.50; at White Haven, $4; at Boude's and Bolander's, $4 each; at the mouth of Bullskin, $5; at or within one mile of Twelve Mile Creek, $3; at all other ferries that may be established across the Ohio, $2.

Territorial Elections

The first elections for Bepresentatives in the Territorial Legislature were held at the seats of justice of the respective counties. There was so little of democracy in the government established by the celebrated ordinance of 1787 that the settlers were seldom called on to exercise the right of suffrage. Under that ordinance, no one could vote unless he was the owner of fifty acres of land. All the officers of the Territory were required to be residents for specified periods, and all to be land -owners - the Governor to own 1,000 acres; the Secretary and Judges, 500 acres each; the members of the Legislative Council, 500 acres each; the members of the House of Representatives, 200 acres each, The first election for Representatives was held on the third Monday of December, 1798. At this time, the greater portion of Brown County was included in Hamilton County. .

In October, 1,880, an election was held for Representatives in the second Territorial Legislature. This election was held under a law, passed by the first Territorial Legislature, which required the polls to be open in each county at the court house on the second Tuesday in October, 1800, between the hours of 10 and 11 in the forenoon, and to be kept open until 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and again opened the next day from 10 until 5 o'clock, and then finally closed, unless some candidate or the Judges desired the election to be continued, in which case the poll was to be open the third day from 10 until 3 oclock. The election at Cincinnati continued three days. The vote was taken viva voce. There were seven Representatives to elect from Hamilton County, and the following is the vote of the successful candidates: M. Miller, 284; J. Smith, 273;

F. Dunlavy, 229; J. Morrow, 212; D. Reeder, 204; J. Ludlow, 187; J. White, 162. On the same day, William Lytle was elected for the ensuing session in place of Aaron Cadwell, who had removed from the Territory. The vote stood: William Lytle, 153; F. Dunlavy, 140. Thirty- five persons had been announced by their friends in the columns of the Western Spy as candidates, and at least twenty- four of them received votes. The total number of votes cast at this election cannot now be ascertained. In both the first and second Territorial Legislatures, Nathaniel Massie and Joseph Darlington were the Representatives from Adams County.

At the election for members of the convention to form a State constitution, held in October, 1802, the electors of Clermont County voted at Williamsburg. The delegates chosen from Clermont County were Philip Gatch, a Methodist minister, who had been a member of an abolition society in his native State; and James Sargent, who had freed his slaves in Maryland before removing to the Western country. It is said that both were elected because they were anti-slavery men. Joseph Darlington, Israel Donalson and Thomas Kirker were elected Delegates from Adams County.

This election was attended with great excitement. It was the first election north of the Ohio in which entered questions of national party politics. One of the questions before the people was, whether a State Government at all should at that time be formed. The enabling art of Congress, under which the election was held, provided that, after the members of the convention had assembled, they should first determine, by a majority of the whole number elected, whether it was or was not expedient to form a constitution and State Government at that time. The friends of Gov. Arthur St. Clair and the Federalists generally were opposed to the formation of a State Government; the Republicans generally favored an immediate admission of the Territory into the Union as a State. At the last session of the Territorial Legislature, the opponents of a State Government had been largely in the majority, and, under the lead of Jacob Burnet, of Cincinnati, had passed an act having for its object the division of the Territory into two future States, a measure which, had it received the sanction of Congress, would long have delayed the admission of both into the Union. The act passed the Council unanimously, and the House by a large majority. A minority of seven Representatives entered their solemn protest against it, and began an appeal to the people and to Congress with a fixed determination to defeat the division of the Territory and to secure an early State Government. They were successful. Congress not only refused to divide the Territory, but passed an act to enable the people to form a State Government. The canvass which preceded the election of members of the convention was one of great bitterness; fast friends became enemies for life. The increasing unpopularity of Gov. St. Clair, who was accused of a tyrannical and arbitrary exercise of the powers of his office, and the declining fortunes of the Federalists in the States, intensified the popular excitement. A large majority of the people of Adams and Clermont Counties at this time were anti -Federalists.

The contest for the seat of justice of Brown County was a heated one, and continued for several years. The contest was between the advocates of Ripley and the advocates of a central location. Ripley was the largest and most important town in the county, but it was thirty-five miles distant from the northwest corner of the new county. The act creating the county designated the house of Alexander Campbell, in Ripley, as the place of holding the courts until the permanent seat of justice should be established.

On January 29, 1818, one month after the passage of the act creating the county, the Legislature, by joint resolution, appointed Gen. Isaac Cook and William McFarland, of Ross, and Philip Good, of Green, Commissioners to locate the seat of justice in Brown. Their duties were defined by a general law. They were required to give twenty days' notice of the time and place of their meeting, and, after taking an oath to discharge their duties faithfully, "to proceed to examine and select the most proper place as the seat of justice, as near the center of the county as possible, paying regard to population and quality of land, together with the general convenience and interest of the inhabitants." They were required to make a report of their proceedings to the next Court of Common Pleas held in the county.

The three Commissioners met, and, after examination, made a report, on March 27, 1818, in favor of a place on Straight Creek, since known as Bridgewater, or the "Old County Seat." On July 23, 1818, George Edwards was appointed by the court a Director to purchase the land at the place selected, lay out a town and sell lots for the erection of county buildings.

The friends of Ripley were much dissatisfied with the selection made, and used every means in their power to prevent the seat of justice from being established at Bridgewater. It was claimed that the title of the land selected was imperfect. A majority of the Judges of the court were opposed to the location made, and, after much controversy, decided to reject the report of the Commissioners, and ordered them to return to the county and select another place. In the meantime, the Legislature passed the following act, which shows that the report of the Commissioners was not regarded as a final settlement of the question:

Section 1. Beit enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That from and after the first day of June next the courts of the county of Brown shall be holden at the place fixed upon as the seat of justice by the Commissioners appointed by the General Assembly at its last session, until a permanent seat of justice shall be established for said county, and that so much of the act to which this is an amendment, as refers to holding the courts of said county at the house of Alexander Campbell, in the town of Ripley, be and the same is hereby repealed.

The Commissioners appointed by the Legislature were induced to meet again and make a new selection, and this time Ripley came off victorious. The following is their report to the Court of Common Pleas:

We, the undersigned commissioners, appointed by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, for fixing the seat of justice for the county of Brown, did proceed to examine the various sites in said county, and made report on the 27th of March, 1818, in favor of one on the east side of Straight Creek, near where the State road from West Union to Cincinnati crosses said creek, on the land of James Poage and John Abbott ; and, whereas the Court of Common Pleas of said county of Brown gave official notice to us that the title to said land was incomplete, we again met in said county, and, after further examination and consideration, have fixed on the town of Ripley, on the banks of the Ohio, for the permanent seat of justice for the county of Brown.

The County Commissioners, on June 7, 1820, let the contract for the erection of a court house at Ripley to George Poage for $2,999. The citizens of Ripley and vicinity had subscribed $7,488 for the erection of county buildings, the subscriptions being conditioned on the location of the county seat at that place.

The question now arose, Where should the courts of the county be held ? - at Bridgewater, in accordance with the act of February 8, 1819, given above, or at Ripley, under the proceedings of the Commissioners in their second report of April 8, 1820. The contest, of course, was carried into the Legislature at its next session. A bill was introduced and passed the House of Representatives by a vote of forty-six yeas to sixteen nays, declaring that " the permanent seat of justice of Brown County be, and the same is hereby, declared to have been legally established on the east side of Straight Creek, near where the State road from West Union to Cincinnati crosses said creek, on the lands of James Poage and John Abbott, as fixed by the Commissioners appointed for that purpose by the General Assembly." The Representatives from Brown, Adams and Clermont all voted in the affirmative. When the bill came up in the Senate, an amendment by way of a substitute was proposed, which provided for " submitting all the papers, etc., in relation to the establishment of a seat of justice in Brown County to the Supreme Court for judicial investigation and determination whether any seat of justice has been fixed in said county, and if any, where it is." The vote on the substitute stood, yeas, eighteen; nays, fourteen, Mr. Pollock, of Clermont; Mr. Russell, of Adams; and Mr. Nathaniel Beasley, of Brown, voting in the negative. The proposed amendment was then, on leave, withdrawn, and a substitute by way of amendment was, on motion of Mr. Beasley, agreed to, appointing new Commissioners to fix the seat of justice. The act, as it finally passed both Houses, is as follows :

Section 1. Beit enactedby the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That there shall be three commissioners appointed by a joint resolution of both Houses of the present General Assembty, whose duty it shall be to fix on a place for the permanent seat of justice for the county of Brown, who, in discharge of their duty, shall be governed in ail respects by the provisions of the act, entitled "An act to establish seats of justice," and the place fixed upon by said commissioners shall be the permanent seat of justice for said county, any place heretofore selected by commissioners for the seat of justice to the contrary notwithstanding.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the County Commissioners of said county shall not make any further contract for the erection or completion of any public buildings in the county of Brown until the commissioners to be appointed to fix the permanent seat of justice in said county shall have performed that duty.

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That no exception shall ever be taken against tin* proceedings of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Brown, on account of said court having been holden in the town of Ripley, and the several courts for said county shall continue to he holden in said town of Ripley until the first day of June next, and until said commissioners shall have fixed on a permanent seat of justice of said county, after which time the courts of said county shall be holden at the place selected by the commissioners appointed by virtue of this act.

On January 29, 1821, the General Assembly, by joint resolution, appointed John Pinkerton, of Preble County ; Francis Dunlavy, of Warren County; and Henry Weaver, of Butler County, Commissioners under the provisions of the foregoing act. The following is their report:

We, the undersigned, having been appointed Commissioners by the General Assem bly of the State of Ohio, by virtue of an act entitled, "An act to establish a permanent seat of justice in the county of Brown, " passed January 19, 1821, beg leave to report : That, having assembled at the present place of holding courts for said county, in the town of Ripley, on Thursday the 10th of the present instant, according to a previous notice duly published, and having taken the oath prescribed by law, we proceeded to examine said county as the law directs, and are unanimously of opinion that Georgetown previously laid out and duly recorded, is the most proper place for the seat of justice in said county, and that we have accordingly selected the said town of Georgetown for the permanent seat of justice for said county of Brown. And we, the Commissioners aforesaid, further report to your Honors that a certain tract of land containing fifty acres adjoining said town of Georgetown can be procured for the price of $5 per acre, and which we are of the opinion is a reasonable price, and which we, therefore, limit to the price of §5 per acre as aforesaid, all of which will more fully appear by certain documents herewith enclosed, and which are numbered.

We, the Commissioners aforesaid, beg leave also to refer to your Honors certain documents proposing certain benefits, privileges and facilities for the advantage of said county of Brown, and the inhabitants thereof, which last mentioned are also herewith enclosed and numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, all which is most respectfully submitted by

The courts had been held at Ripley, except one or two terms which were held in a log structure at Bridgewater. The Court of Common Pleas was in session at Ripley when the foregoing report was presented. On the second day of the term, the Judges proceeded to Georgetown, which has ever since been the seat of justice. The agitation of the county seat question, however, was continued for some years later. The propriety of a law submitting the question to a vote of the people was discussed. The continued agitation of the subject is shown by the following editorial from the Benefactor and Georgetown Advocate , of the date October 1, 1824, a paper then edited by Thomas L. Hamer :

" The settlement of the county seat has been again brought up as a pivot on which the election is to turn. This hobby has been prodigiously useful to the politicians of this county. The people have been duped once or twice by it, and it is to be hoped they will not De again. The candidates who expect to be elected by declaring their determination to support the law for fixing it by vote do not believe such a law can be passed. They are men of too good sense. It is impossible in the nature of things it should be passed. Whoever brings in a bill and petitions to that effect before the Legislature will feel a sensation they never experienced before. They will be laughed out of countenance. Their sensibility will be wounded, and they will feel ashamed of the project and of themselves.

" Ho county in the State (except, perhaps, Clermont) has had so much done for it by the Legislature as this one. We have been listened to; our grievances redressed; onr claims investigated; and everything granted us consistent with justice and good policy. We may rest assured the Legislature will not listen to complaints and petitions such as are now talked of. They cannot with propriety do so. Suppose they should pass such a law as Gen. Cochran and Capt. Brackenridge are in favor of - what would be the consequence ? Have they any assurance that we will be satisfied with the result of one election? What security have we to give them against future applications for relief? None; noneat all. Our former proceedings are proof against us that we will not be satisfied. If a majority of one vote should fix the county seat at Ripley or Georgetown or Bridgewater, is it probable that the minority would be satisfied? Would not the malcontent parties unite and crowd their claims before the Legislature again? Have they not done so heretofore in this county? Have they not done it in Clermont, and in every county where there are two parties? They have; and if a majority is to govern in this way, then we have no stability, no security - no prospect of any. Whenever that part of the county which has lost the seat of justice (say by one vote) gets a half-dozen more voters in it, 4 they will be able to show a majority of petitions and voters, and then huzza for Republican principles; away goes the county seat again to some other part of the county. This simple consideration is sufficient to show the fallacy of the project, and to convince every unprejudiced man that no reasonable Legislator would ever vote for a law of that kind."