Washington County, Ohio - Chapter 21: Later History of the Ohio Company, 1902

Chapter 21: Later History of the Ohio Company

We have described in a former chapter the earlv history of the conditional purchase made by the Ohio Company of Associates and the hard bargain which was extorted from them by the Congress of the Confederation. In that first contract, it was expected that the company would buy 1,500,000 acres of land about the Muskingum, and pay for the samd $1,000,000 in cash or in the hard-earned certificates, which they had received in lieu of money, from the government, for their services ' in the Revolution. The Indian war with its hardships and perils, and the subsequent opening of the large tracts of fertile land to the north and west, rendered it impossible for the company to find a sufficient number of shareholders, at $1,000 each, to buy the full amount. There were but 819 shares subscribed and paid for. Finally Congress in 1792 directed that three deeds be given to the company, amountinig in all to i,- 064,285 acres, but really only 964,285 acres went to the shareholders, since 100,000 acres, which by the way included nearly all the best land availaljle at that time, west of the present Newport township line, were given in lots of 100 acres each to actual settlers whether they were members of the Ohio Company or not. In no sense could this "donation" tract be considered a part of the land sold to the Ohio Company since it was paid for by the holders in actual militarv service in the militia in defending the frontier against the Indians, who were incited to make attacks by the British agents.

Each shareholder received one eight-acre lot near Marietta; one three-acre lot in the same vicinity; one city lot of one-third of an acre; one i6o-acre lot; one lOO-acre lot; one 640-acre lot; one 262-acre lot; making a total of 1,173 acres to each shareholder for the $1,000 he had paid to the government. These larger tracts were rarely occupied by those to whom they were first assignee! by lot. In the course of years they were bought up at a low rate by persons who could afford to hold them, in the liope that they would appreciate in \alue. Besides the money which the shareholders had paid to the government for the land, they had expended large sums in making the settlements, providing for the general defense and the welfare of the pioneers, and in carrying out the surveys and allotments. The total amount of these expenditures was very large and a giievous burden upon men who had spent so long a time in the prime of life in the service of their country.

In 181 5 Gen. Rufus Putnam advertised a final dividend of the Ohio Company, - a payment of $3.75 to each one of the shareholders who had contributed so much to the common fund, but it seemed as if the final settlement never would come, as the following extracts from Marietta papers of later date will abundantly show. Among these assets of the company were 43 Loan Office Certificates, for the sum of $400 each, issued by authority of Congress and countersigned "by order of J A. Treutlen, Governor of Georgia" lay E. Davis, Jr.

Nahnm Ward, believing that these certificates, whose genuineness was lje}-ond dispute, represented a just claim upon the government, bought up the shares of the Ohio Company and in its name presented a claim against the government. TJie suit was continued after his death, according to the directions of his vi^ill, by his son, William S. Ward. In 1870 it was decided by the Supreme Court that there was no legal claim on the part of the plaintiff against the United States government and thus we may say that at this late date the affairs of the Ohio Company w^ere finally settled.

Notice Of A Mehting Of The Proprietors

Whereas, The Interests of this Comp_any are multifarious, scattered and unsettled. - The Resolutions of January 1796, passed at the last meeting of the Ohio Company, in this place, making a provision for a speedy, final settlement and division ot the residuary property, then in the hands of Benjamin Tallmad§e, Esq., Treasurer of said Company, not having heen complied with - as there are now in said Treasurer's hands, belonging to said Company, Lnan Otfice Certificates, issued by order of Congress, dated J.^d Dec. 1777, on interest at 6 per cent, per annum, for the sum of .$17,200 - And as there are also 6,-|00 acres of Land in the Ohio Company's Purcl-.ase, belonging to the shareholders (817 in number) yet held in common.

Therefore - the undersigned - owner and proprietor by Deeds of one hundred and fifty-two shares, and special Attorney for sixty-five other shares - Gives Notice that there will be a meeting of the Proprietors of shares in said Company, by themselves or legal representatives, on the 3d of July next, at 3 o'clock P. M. in the Exchange Coft'ee House. Boston - for the purpose «f adopting such measures in regard to the interests of the Company as may then and there be resolved upon.

P. S. - Powers of Attorney to present shares in said meeting, postage paid, directed to me - care of A. H. Ward, Esq. Custom House, Boston - will claim my special attention.

Marietta, Ohio, November 10, 1831, - "At a meeting of the Shareholders of the Company,' held this day, at the Court House, by adjournment from time to time, of a meetinig of the shareholders of said company, at Boston, Mass., July 5. last past, at which Temple Cutler, Esq., of Lynn, was appointed Chairman, and John Skinner, Esq. of Boston, Secretary, and of which notice was given in the newspapers; and the proceeding at Boston published, and forwarded to all the proprietors known to the members at said meeting.^Temple Cutler, Esq. resumed the Chair, and William A. Whitney. Esq. was appointed Secretary.

"There not appearing at this adjourned meeting a majority of shares, as was fully anticipated, and not being disposed without further trial, notwithstanding the apathy of many shareholders, to abandon the interest we have in the undivided property of the company which cannot be obtained without a majority of the whole number of shares : Therefore,

Resolved, unanimously, That Temple Cutler, Nahum Ward and Joseph Barker, Esquires, be and are hereby appointed a committee to make a concise statement of the unsettled afifairs of the "Ohio Company," and communicate the same to the shareholders, in such manner and form as shall be in their opinion most for the Interest of all concerned ; that those shareholders, not represepted at this meeting, may, if possible, be induced to be represented at the adjourned meeting in May next, that the unsettled affairs of this company may be legally and finally closed.

Marietta, November 15, 1831. 'To the Sliareliolders, or Their Legal Representatives, in the Ohio Company. "The undersigned, proprietors and share- holders in the Ohio Company of Associates, which was first organized at the Bunch of Grapes T'avern,at Boston, in 1786, having been appointed a committee to lay before you a concise statement of facts, relative to the unsettled affairs of this Company, that you may more fully comprehend the objects which we have in view, it will be necessary to a correct understanding of these matters, that we give an historical sketch of the Company from its formation.

"In the organization of the company, the folloAving named gaitlemen appeared as agents, and represented the number of shares against their names, viz. :

Joel Barlow, 19 shares. William Corlis, 100 shares. .\rch. Crary. 15 shares. M. Cutler, 86 shares. Ephraim Cutler, 13 shares. E. Downer, 18 shares. E. Harris, 31 shares. Henry Jackson, 13 shares. John May, 35 shares. S. H. Parsons, pi shares. Rufus Putnam, 59 shares. Winthrop Sargent, 148 shares. E. Sproat, 43 shares. N. Freeman, 0 shares. Benj. Tupper, 30 shares.

"The proprietors by these Agents appointed the Rev. Mr. Cutler and Winthrop Sargent, Esq., to contract with the Government for i,- 500,00 acres of Land, and appointed Richard Piatt, Esq., of New York, their Treasurer.

"A contract was entered into by the parties on the 27th of October, 1787, for 1,500,- 000 acres. Subsequently a patent was then taken out by the Directors of the Company for 750,000 acres only, in the present district of Marietta, Ohio. In 1793, Mr. Piatt failed, and sunk a large sum for the Company. In the same year, Benj. Tallmadge, Esq., of Litchfield, Conn., was chosen as Treasurer, and all the stocks, notes, and effects, in the hands of Mr. Piatt belonging to the Company, together with 43 Loan Office Certificates, the private property of Mr. Piatt, paid to the Company to make good, in some measure, the loss they had sustained by him, were placed in the hands of Col. Tallmadge.

"About this period. Col. Hamilton, having established the Funding System, the Directors of the Company advised the turning of the stocks and effects of the Company in the hands of the Treasurer into cash, and to make arangements with the Government, whereby no more land should be patented to the Directors in trust for the Company, than could be covered with the army warrants, then on hand. This arrangement was effected, and two dividends were made of the funds prior to 1796." The army warrants covered a tract of 214,205 acres, which was located on the west and north side of the first purchase, in ten townships.

"By the ordinance of Congress of May, 1785, it is therein enacted, there shall be reserved. Sections No. 8, 11, 26 and 29, for future disposition of Congress, and Section 16,- for the maintenance of public schools. In the Contract with the Agents of the Ohio Company, Oct. 1787, by the Board of the Treasury of the U. S., it was expressly stipulated that in each township, or fractional township,^ Sec. 16 should be reserved for schools, and Sec. 29, for the purposes of religion. The Patent for 750,000 acres contains those reservations ; but in the second Patent there are na reservations whatever. At the last jneeling of the Company, January, 1796, the Agents made a donation of Sec. 16 for the use of schools, and 29 for the purposes of religion in the ten townships last patented, before a division was made of the land among the Shareholders, that these townships should not ht disfranchised of their rights ; and then they petitioned Congress for twenty Sections in lieu thereof, which, if granted, were to^ be sold for the benefit of the shareholders. What became of the petition to Congress, which is mentioned on the books of the Company, we have no knowledge.

"In April, 1802, Congress ordered other lands equivalent to Sec, 16, out of the reserve lands, to be given. And by Act of Congress, March, 1803, it was enacted, that the Sections of land heretofore promised for the use of Schools, in lieu of such of Section 16 as have been otherwise disposed of, shall be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury out of the unappropriated land, most contiguous to said Townships, which was done accordingly and is recorded on the books of the Treasury. The several townsjiips accepted of lands given by Congress in lieu of Sec. i6, is the undivided property of the Company. The Company have a fair and just claim on Congress for ten Sections of land, in lieu of the ten sections, 29, disposed of by Congress.

"There are also several tracts of undivided common land, at the mouth of the Big Hocking RiVer, and in the vicinity of Gallipolis; - in all there is a fair and undivided claim of about 13,000 acres of land, which is a claim too large to be lost sight of.

"We will now remark upon the Treasury affairs of this Company. By referring tO' the resolutions of the Comipany, January. 1796, we find Col. Tallmadge was authorized to sell and dispose of all the funded or unfunded stock belonging to the Company, on the best terms he could, without limitation of price, and petition Congress or otherwise to obtain tlie payment of the Loan Office Certificates, which were received of Col. Piatt, and when the Treasurer had turned all the stock, notes, and accounts, and other funds of the Company into cash, he be directed to make a final dividend of the same. Aluditors were appointed to examine and report to the Superintendent, Gen. R. Putnam, a final settlement of the Treasurer's accounts, when requested so to do by the Treasurer, agreeable to the resolutions of 1796; and, by the same resolutions, the Superintendent was recjuested to deliver up the Treasurer's bond, and all receipts by him given for any effects belonging to the Company, when a final settlement was ready to be made, and dividend declared to the shareholders. The Treasurer's final account, as presented to Gen. Putnam Oct. 1804, is a very ambiguous document, which, by its own showing, was not final, as the Auditors say, 'We find a balance of $818.12 due said Treasurer, which balance together with the interest arising on the same from the date hereof, he is at liberty to take and apply, from the avails of the

"On the presentation of this final account to Gen. Putnam, the Treasurer demanded his bond and receipts. Gen. Putnam informed two of this Committee, that he peremptorially refused to deliver up the bond and receipts of the Treasurer, but would hold them, as a sacred deposit for the shareholders to rest upon, until a fair and full development was made of the whole property in Col. Tallmadge's hands, and a final account of it rendered, agreeable to the resolution of 1796.

"It is well, however, that the frequent correspondence was carried on between the Superintendent and the Treasurer from 1804 to about 1814 - upon the subject of fun.ds in the Treasurer's hands subsequent to the 3d dividend being declared, and the rendition of his final account; when Col. Tallmadge proposed" that he would divide among the shareholders the further sum of $3,073 - to this Gen. Putnam would not accede, but demanded, from his knowledge of the funds, a dividend upon the capital of $6,241 - and to Gen. Putnam's agency Col. Tallmadge paid a dividend on this sum being $7.76 per share, ten years after his final settlement, and the demand of his bond and receipts, as some of the committee have heard him say, and have received dividends of him accordingly.

"What sum formed the capital, when the 3d dividend was declared, has never been made known to the Agents, nor is it known what property or effects were remaining in his hands on presenting his final account, out of which, some ten years afterwards, he acknowledged the sum of $6,341 to be in his hands - no account has been stated or rendered since 1804, to our knowledge, yet immediately upon the death of Gen. Putnam, in 1824, Col. Tallmadge again demanded his bond and receipts and Gen. Putnam's Executor gave them up.

"The Loan Office Certificates, 43 in number for $405 each, dated 23d Dec. 1777, made payable to Thomas Stone or bearer, on the first of Dec. 1781, with interest annually, at the rate of 6 per cent, signed, Samuel Hille- gas, and countersigned E. Davis, were presented at the Treasury of U. S. Dec. 22d, 1 78 1, and the interest paid on 31 of the 43 as certified 1>y Samuel Hlillegas, Treasurer. Those certificates now in the hands of Col. Tallmadge, Treasurer of the Company, and which he acknowledges belong to the Company, were presented at the Treasury in 1792 to be funded, but refused for some informality. Col. Hamilton, in his report to Congress '92, said 'It would be a hardship to individuals ; who, upon the payment of the interest have been induced to become the purchasers of those certificates for a valuable consideration.' 'It remains for the Legislature to decide how far there are considerations strong enough to induce a special interposition in their behalf.' He says further - 'There is no evidence that the Certificates were issued for any purpose of the United States.' Since that period, evidence has been obtained from Gentlemen of' the highest standing, and familiar with the transactions of the Revolution, that they were legally signed and countersigned - and paid out in Georgia for the subsistence of the Continental Army. Setting aside whatever claims there may be upon the Treasury for funds many years on hand, and not distributed, the Loan Office Certificates, and the undivided lands together with the claims on the Governme:it for the ten Sections will, Avhen turned into money, make a sum worthy the attention of every shareholder.

;. "From the foreo-oing considerations we cannot but urge the shareholders by themselves or proxy to be represented at the adjourned meeting on the first Wednesday in May next. Without a majority local proceedings cannot be had.

"P. S. We are in justice bound to say that Nahum Ward. Esq., has been assiduous- Iv stri\-ina; for manv \ears, at a heavv expense, to bring this concern U) a close - and had it not been for his indefatigable exertions and unwearied attention the claims of the Company, set forth in this report, would have been forever lost.

"The undersigned have placed unlimited confidence in Mr. Ward in the management of this concern, having, each of us, given him power to act for us when we are not present. "Temple Cutler, "E. Cutler."

"Among the articles received by the Directors of the late Ohio Company from Colonel Piatt, the first Treasurer of said company, towards the payment of the balance of his debt, were a number of Loan Office Certificates. These were duly deposited in the Treasury Department, to be funded ; but on examination they were rejected, from some supposed infomiiality in their issue. Application was then made to Congress to have them assumed and paid by the Government; and although repeated applications have been made to Congress, nothing favorable has yet resulted.

"Being very desirous to close this business, I deem it proper to make the following proposal. Each Loan Office Certificate for division, being for $400 principal, it has been found utterly impracticable to divide them among more than 800 proprietary shares. If then the proprietors, or legal representatives of twenty-one proprietary shares, will unite and authorize some person to present their claims, the same being substantiated and allowed, said Agent or Attorney shall receive one of these Loan Office Certificates of $400 principal, for every twenty-one proprietary shares. The original agents are already authorized to draw for their whole agencies ; Ijut no evidence of title to draw dividend, already paid, will be sufficient to substantiate a claim for the Loan Office Certificate, as those vouchers are filed away among papers and accounts closed.

personal application, and to obviate the inconvenience arising from my occasional absence, I would recommend George C. Woodruff, Esq., Attorney at Law, and Post Master at this place, as a suitable person for the complainants to appoint to transact their business with me.

"Holding a few small unclaimed dividends, of long standing, belonging to said proprietors, this may notify all original proprietors aforesaid, or their legal representati\-es, whose dividends remain unpaid, that I wish them to apply for the same, through the said George C. Woodruff, or in any other way that shall be agreeable to themselves. No application to me, through the mail, will be noticed, unless the postage on the same is paid; and in every application the original proprietary share and agency must be particularly noticed. "Benjamin Tallmadge, "Treasurer late Ohio Couipaiiy. "State of Connecticut,