Washington Township

Washington Township

peer James S. Gurwell, Martin Hall, Jacob......... 3% Scott, Andrew... Hall, George {° : Strawser, Philip.. Hall, Adam....... 35: Struble, Martin, Hall, William. Ufer, William... : Pall, DOSSe ae ctversheres apse csseesecdsssasssencraavestecsts =ctascshesscasusvascoseccstoonwesecrau GS UE Try; GOONZO Waser reercdecoenss ees caeoseeaneee covet eeet eee eevee e870

Beardsley, L. b.. facing 200 | Hoeltzel, P.G...... Beattie, S. K.. . facing 368 Huber, Mr. and Mrs. A. Boutell, N. A.. facing 136 Kerr, R. F., residence .. Braucher, Isaac....... --facing 248 Knight, Richard and Harriet ... Brechbill, Mr. and Mrs. A. 'T. facing 312 | Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Hexies Roreeait and residence Brechbill, Mr. and Mrs. John facing 312 | Mix, BE. B.. ite ssuscpetbaes Sucseane Bronson, Obi ian.cattenectese facing 56 | Preisendorfer, J. M Cameron, John and ee facing 296 | Prentice, H. N.. Casebeer, J. E ..facing 200 | Price, Mr. and Mrs. John . Casebeer, James facing 40 Price, Mr. and Mrs, William . Court House and Jail frontispiece | Ralston, Joseph .. Clemmer, John ......... facing 296 Ridenonr, George, .. Conrad, Mrs. Mary .. facing 352 | Rohn, Mrs. Sar a) sess sesesssoeee ( 'rook, F. Wes residence . facing 288 | Rohn, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Deatrick, J. i ae .taecing 88 Sutphen, Sere

Elliott, Mr. and Ms -facing 136 | Skiver, AT HUSLUS oleic ie a a ei facing 360 Parlow, 'Am08 0 facing 40 | Snider, Mr.and Mrs. John, portraits and residence . .-facing 352 Forlow, Benjami pacin eg 40/ MIG trublen Martine cssccsvcscssossrteee eesesteaeecosssareres ..facing 368 state of nature; its forests unbroken by the labors of civilized man; its rich mines unopened; its beautiful lakes and rivers free from all navigation save the Indian canoe. The silence of solitude rested over its whole extent, except where the Indian villages gathered the sparse population, or the shout of the hunt or battle broke the stillness) A hundred years ago the Northwestern Territory that now comprises the great and prosperous States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, with a population of 9,- 000,000, was an almost unknown wilderness, with a few French settlements scattered among large tribes of roaming Indians. Great Britain had received this territory by her treaty with France in 1768, but she did not encourage its settlement by the American colonists. Her policy was to leave the Indians in undisturbed possession of it, and keep up a profitable commerce with them. Such was its condition on the 4th of July, 1776, when our independence of Great Britain was declared. During the war of Independence, Great Britain used these Indian tribes against the United States. By the treaty of 1783 between the United States and Great Britain, this territory west to the Mississippi and south to the Ohio was reluctantly granted to the United States. It is said that it was only by the firm purpose of John Adams in negotiating that treaty that the Ohio River did not become the southern boundary of the British possessions, instead of the present Canada line. Itis a matter of history that Great Britain maintained trading posts and forts within this territory long after it was ceded to us,and is believed to have aided and supported the Indian tribes in their deadly hostility to the first settlements of Ohio. During the Revolutionary war, New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Connecticut had each set up claims to this territory under royal charters, although to the other colonies their claims seemed unjust, their assertions for a time seriously affected the formation of the American Union.

It required all the patriotism and wisdom of the fathers of the republic to deal with this delicate question, so as to secure for the common good this vast empire, and not alienate any of these powerful colonies from the Union. The differences were finally adjusted, Virginia ceded her rights in 1785, reserving the territory between the Scioto and Little Miami Rivers, which amounted to over 3,70U,000 acres, and Connecticut ceded her rights in 1786, reserving out of her grant all north of latitude 41, extending for a hundred and twenty miles west of Pennsylvania, since known as the Connecticut Western Reserve, amounting to a little less than 3,700,000 acres. Massachusetts and New York ceded their rights with no other condition than that the territory should be held for the benefit of all the States of the Union.

Large bounties of land had been promised by Congress to the officers and soldiers of the line. Virginia, who regarded herself as the owner of the unlimited territories of Tennessee and Kentucky and northwest of the Ohio, had also made magnificent promises of bounties to her soldiers and officers. These bounties, in case of Brigadier Generals, were 10,000 acres; and to Major Generals, 15,000 acres; all other officers less, in proportion to their rank. Those who were entitled to these bounties became impatient to receive them. By the war their business had been broken up, the commerce and manufactures of the country were of little value, and the small and sterile farms of New England and the Atlantic coast offered small attractions for agriculture compared with the rich lands of Kentucky and the Ohio country, of which accounts found their way to these Hastern States. Congress was pressed by them to provide for the settlement of these territories, particularly the great region northwest of the Obio River. Believing that the Indian tribes who had been at war with the United States were tu be treated as defeated enemies, with no absolute rights in the lands they occupied, Congress made the treaty of Fort Stanwix in October, 1784, with the Six Nations, fixing their boundary west

- by the west line of Pennsylvania, and giving to the United States all north and west of the Ohio. treaty of Fort McIntosh was made on January 21, 1785, with the Delawares, Wyandots, Ottawas and Chippewas, who were then supposed to represent the Indians in actual occupation of Ohio, fixing their boundary by the Cuyahoga River on the east, and a line from the portage between the Cuyahoga and Muskingum to the head-waters of the Miami at the old French Fort, thence along the east side of the Maumee to Lake Erie, as a southern boundary of the lands of the Indians of Ohio. As soon as this, was done, surveys were ordered by Congress, and preparations for immigration to the Ohio country were discussed. But northeast of the Ohio was yet unoccupied under authority of the United States. The Moravians had a successful mission on the Tuscarawas River, where civilization had made its home, and white families and Indians were enjoying comparative comfort and prosperity. This mission was in charge of Brothers Ziesburgen, John Heckewelder, Jengman, Senseman and others. Mary Heckewelder was born at this misson, April 16, 1787, and is supposed to be the first white child born in Ohio. The history of this mission is one of the most interesting and saddest in Ohio history. It would be pleasant, did space permit, to pay a deserving tribute to the love and faithfulness of those devuted men and women and recall that scene of peace and Christian civilization which found its temporary home among those savages of the wilderness. Here they founded their villages, beautifully called Shoenbrun, the beautiful spring; Guadenhutten, tents of grace; and Salem, peace. But the want of space compels us to turn to other scenes, to learn from them, if we may, the source of Ohio's strength and glory.

On the 20th of May, 1785, Congress considering the United States to be the rightful owners and in possession of the lands ceded by the treaty of Fort McIntosh, passed an ordinance for ascertaining the mode of disposing of the lands in the "Western Territory," directing therein how surveys should be made. In these surveys, Section 16 was reserved for the use of schools, and four other sections were reserved for further disposal by Congress. Although many changes were made in the laws relating to lands in Ohio, this policy of providing for schools was continued throughout.

The Ordinance For The Government Of The Territory Of The United States Northwest Of The Ohio River

THE ORDINANCE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TERRITORY OF THE UNITED STATES NORTHWEST OF THE OHIO RIVER. This ordinance was passed on the 13th day of July, 1787. As this ordinance is spoken of so often, and has so often been eulogized, it is well for us to know exactly what it is, and what part of it is entitled to eulogy.

distasteful to the early settlers of Ohio, and were bitterly denounced by them very early in our history. This ordinance first provides certain temporary rules of property, which were subject to future legislation, regulating descents, dowers, wills and deeds. It provides for the rights of the inhabitants of Kaskaskia and Vincennes, or Port Vincents, as it is therein called, which were to be subject to the laws of Virginia at the time. Then it provides for a temporary government. This was to consist at first of a Governor, Secretary and three Judges, to be appointed by Congress. The Governor and Judges were to have the power to adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original States, criminal and civil, that might be necessary and best suited to the circumstances of the district, and not disapproved by Congress. All officers were required to be residents for certain peri- to own 1,000 acres; the Secretary and Judges each 500 acres. When the district should contain 5,000 free male inhabitants of fuil age, they were to elect a House of Representatives. Its members were to own each 200 acres of land, and those only could vote for representatives who owned 50 acres of land. These Representatives were elected for two years. They were to select ten names of citizens of the territory, each owning 500 acres of land, out of which Congress selected five persons who composed the coun. cil, and whose term was five years. The Governor, Council and Representatives formed the Legislature. This Legislature had power to make laws in all cases for the good government of the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles of the ordinance declared and established, and to repeal and alter those made by the Governor and Judges. All bills passed by a majority of the Council and the House had to have the assent of the Governor. -He also had power to convene, prorogue and dissolve the assembly, when in his opinion it should be expedient. He also had power to form counties, appoint all magistrates and other officers, not otherwise directed by the ordinance, during the temporary government. The third division of this ordinance contains a declaration of certain fundamental principles of government and the rights of man. Among these are the rights to worship and to religious opinions. It also declares that no law ought ever to be made that shall in any manner interfere with or effect private contracts, engagements bona fide, and without fraud, previously made. It declares that "religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools andthe means of education shall forever be encouraged." It further declares that "the utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians, their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights and liberty they shall never be invaded, or disturbed unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress, but laws

Article 6 declares that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in said territory otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted," to which a proviso was attached that fugitives from labor or service could be reclaimed. It is to this third part of the ordinance that the eulogies of many of our statesmen and citizens have been given, and to-day, in the light of almost a century of Ohio's history, cannot we unite in those eulogies? Mr. Webster, in his celebrated controversy with Hayne says, that this ordinance was drawn by Nathan Dow, of Massachusetts. "It was adopted, as I think I have understood, without the slightest alteration, and certainly it has happened to few men to be the author of a political measure of more large and enduring consequence. It fixes forever the character of the population northwest of the Ohio, by excluding from them involuntary servitude. It impresses upon the soil itself, while it was yet a wilderness, an incapacity to bear up any other than free men. It laid the interdict against personal servitude not only deeper than all local law, but deeper also than all loval constitutions. Under the circumstances then existing, I look upon this original and reasonable provision as a real good attained. We see its consequences at this moment, and shall flow." said of this ordinance: '" It need hardly be said that that paper expresses just sentiments on the great subject of civil and religious liberty. Such sentiments were common and abound in all our State papers of that day. But the ordinance did that which was not go common, and which is not even now universal; that

"After establishing the freedom of conscience, the sacredness of personal liberty, the inviolability of private contracts, and the security of private property; after recognizing the duty of the Government to foster schools and diffuse knowledge; and after enjoining the observance of good faith toward the unfortunate and ignorant Indian, and the performance toward them of these offices of kindness and peace advance the means of education, on the plain reason that religion, morality and knowledge are necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind."

"One observation further. The important provision incorporated in the Constitution of the United States, restraining legislative power in questions of private right, and from impairing the obligations of mighty with the weak, as if resolved to omit nothing which might be thought justly to belong to an instrument providing for the erection of free States, the framers of the ordinance, in the last article, declare 'there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude within the territory otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted.' Well might he say of this ordinance, never probably in the history of the world did a measure of legislation so accurately fulfill and yet

The law has been described as having been a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night in the settlement and government of the Northwestern States. When the settlers went into the wilderness, they found the law already there. It was impressed upon the soil itself while it yet bore up nothing but the forest. The purchaser of land became by that act a party to the compact, and bound by its perpetual covenants so far as its provisions did not conflict with the terms

"This remarkable instrument," he says again, "was the last gift of the old confederation of the country, and was a fit consummation of their glorious labors." At the time of its promulgation the federal constitution was under discussion in the convention and in a few months, upon the organization of the new nationa! Government, that Congress was dissolved, never again to re-assemble.

Some, and indeed most of the principles established by the articles of compact are to be found in the plan of 1784, and in the various English and American bills of rights. Others, however, and Of this number are the clauses in relation to contracts, to slavery and to the Indians. On the whole, the articles contain what they profess to contain, the true theory of American liberty. The great principles promulgated by it are wholly and purely American.

measure for the organization of a territorial government northwest of the Ohio River, the preliminary steps were taken in Massachusetts toward the formation of the Ohio Land Company, for the purpose of making a purchase of a large tract of land in said Territory and settling upon it. On the passage of the ordinance by Congress, the aforesaid land company perfected its organization, and by its agents, Rev. Manasseh Cutler and Maj. Winthrop Sargent, made application to the Board of Treasury, July 27, 1787, to become purchasers, said board having been authorized four days before to muke sales. The purchase, which was perfected October 27, 1787, embraced a tract of land containing about a million and a half of acres, situated within the present counties of Washington, Athens, Meigs and Gallia, subject to the reservation of two townships of land six miles square, for the endowment of a college, since known as Ohio University, at Athens; also every sixteenth 'section, set apart for the use of schools, as well also every twenty-ninth section, dedicated to the support of religious institutions; also Sections 8, 11 and 26, which were reserved by the United States for future sale. After these deductions were made, and that of donation lands, there remained only 964,285 acres to be paid for by the Ohio Land Company, and for which patents were issued.

Ata meeting of the directors of the company, held November 23, 1787, Gen. Rufns Putnam was chosen Superintendent of the company, and he accepted the position. Early in December, six boat builders and a number of other mechanics were sent forward to Simrall's Ferry (now West Newton), on the Youghiogheny River, under the command of Maj. Haffield White, where they arrived in January, and at once proceeded to build a boat for the use of the company. Col. Ebenezer Sproat, of Rhode Island, Anselm Tupper, and John Matthews, of Massachusetts, and Col. Return J. Meigs, of Connecticut, were appointed surveyors. Preliminary steps were also taken at this meeting to secure a teacher and chaplain, which resulted in the appointment of Rey. Daniel Story, who some time during the next year arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum, in the capacity of the first missonary and teacher from New England.

Early in the winter the remainder of the pioneers, with the surveyors, left their New England homes and started on their toilsome journey to the Western wilderness. They passed on over the Alleghanies, and reached the Youghioghemy about the middle of February, where they found their companions who had preceded them. The boat, called the " Mayflower," that was to transport the pioneers to their destination, was forty-five feet long, twelve feet wide command of Capt. Devol. "Her bows were raking, or curved like a galley, and strongly timbered; her sides were made bullet proof, and she was covered with a deck roof," so as to afford better protection against the hostile savages while floating down toward their Western home, and during its occupancy there, before the completion of their cabins. All things being ready, they embarked at Simrall's Ferry, April 2, 1788, and passed down the Youghioghemy into the Monongahela, and thence into the Ohio, and down said river to the mouth of the Musk ipngum, where they arrived April 7, and then and there made the first permanent settlement of civilized men within the present limits of Ohio. These bold adventurers were re-enforced by another company from Massachusetts, who, after a nine weeks' jour-

Many of these Yankee colonists had been officers and soldiers in the Revolutionary urmy, and were, for the most part, men of intelligence and character, and of sound judgment and ability. In short, they were just the kind of men to found a State in the wilderness. They possessed great energy of character, were enterprising, fond of adventure and daring, and were not to be intimidated by the formidable forests nor by the ferocious beasts sheltered therein, nor by the still more to be dreaded savages, who stealthily and with murderous intent roamed throughout their length and breadth. Their army experience had taught them what hardships and privations were, and they were quite willing to encounter them. A better set of men could not have been selected for pioneer settlers than were these New England colonists - those brave-hearted, courageous, hero-emigrants to the great Northwest, who, having triumphantly passed the fiery ordeal of the Revolution, volunteered to found a State and to establish American laws, American institutions and American civilization in this, the wilderness of the uncivilized West. If any State in our American Union ever had a better start in its incipient settlement than Ohio, I am not aware of it. Gen. Washington, writing of the bold pioneers, said that "no colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at the Muskingum. Information, property and strength will be its characteristics. I know many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community." Having had a personal army acquaintance with Gens. Putnam and Parsons, and with Col. Return Jouathan Meigs, and probably with many other leading members of this pioneer colony, his favorable opinion of them is entitled to great weight.

The First Settlement Under The Ordinance Of 1787

Of course, no time was lost by the colonists in erecting their habitations, as well as in building a stockade fort, and clearing land for the production of vegetables and grain for their subsistence, fifty acres of corn having been planted the first year. Their settlement was established upon the point of land between the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers, just opposite and avross the Muskingum from Fort Harmar, built in 1786, and at this time garrisoned by a small military force under command of Maj. Doughty. At a meeting held on the banks of the Muskingum, July 2, 1788, it was voted that Marietta should be the name of their town, it being thus named in honor of Marie Antionette, Queen of France.

Surveys And Grants Of The Public Lands

The first survey of the public lands northwest of the Ohio River was the seven ranges of Congress lands, and was done pursuant to an act of Cougress, of May 20,1785. This tract of the seven ranges is bounded by a line of forty-two miles in length, running due west from the point where the western boundary line of Pennsylvania crosses the Ohio River; thence due south to the Ohio River, at the southeast corner of Marietta Township, in Washington County; thence up said river to the place of beginning. The present counties of Jefferson, Columbiana, Carrol], Tuscarawas, Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont, Noble, Monroe and Washington are, in whole or in part, within the seven ranges.

The second survey was that of the Ohio Company's -purchase, made in pursuance of an act of Coagress, of July 13, 1785, though the contract was not completed with the Ohio Company until October 27, 1787. Mention of its extent, also the conditions, reservations, and circumstances attending the purchase, have already been given; 100,000 acres of this tract, called donation lands, were reserved upon certain conditions as a free gift to actual settlers. Portions of the counties of Washington, Athens and Gallia are within this tract, also the entire county of Meigs. The donation lands were in Washington County.

The next survey was the "Symmes Purchase " and contiguous lands, situated to the north and west of it, and was made soon after the foregoing. The " Symmes purchase " embraced the entire Ohio River front between the Big Miami and Little Miami Rivers, a distance of twenty-seven miles, and reaching northward a sufficient distance to include an area of 1,000,000 acres. The contract with Judge Symmes, made in October, 1787, was subsequently modified by act of Congress bearing date of May 5, 1792, and by an authorized act of the President of the United States, of September 30, 1794, as to amount to only 311,682 acres, exclusive of a reservation of fifteen acres around Fort Washington, of a square mile at the mouth of the Great Miami, of Sections 16 and 29 in each township, the former of which Congress had reserved for educational and the latter for religious purposes, exclusive also of a township dedicated to the interests of a college; and Sections 8, 11 and 26, which Congress reserved for future sale.

The tract of land situated between the Little Miami and Scioto Rivers, known as the Virginia Military Lands, was never regularly surveyed into townships, but patents were issued by the President of the United States to such persons (Virginian) as had rendered service on the continental establishment in the army of the United States (hence the name), and in the quantities to which they were entitled, according to the provisions of an act of Congress of August 10, 1790. "Tt embraces a body of 6,570 square miles, or 4,204. 800 acres of land. The following counties are situated in this tract, namely: Adams, Brown, Clermont, Clinton, Fayette, Highland, Madison, and Union entirely; the greater or less portions of the following, to wit: Marion, Delaware, Franklin, Pickaway, Ross, Pike, Scioto, Warren, Greene, Clark, Champaign, Logan and Hardin."

Connecticut ceded all lands in the Northwest to which she claimed title to the United States (except the tract which has been known as the " Western Reaserve"), by deed of cession bearing date of September 14, 1786; and in May, 1800, by act of Legislature of said State, renounced all jurisdiction or claim to the " territory called the Western Reserve of Connecticut." That tract of land was surveyed in 1796, and later into townships of five miles square; and in the aggregate contained about 3,800,000 acres, being 120 miles long, and lying west of the Pennsylvania State line, all situated between 41° of north latitude and 42° 2'. Half a million acres of the foregoing lands were set apart by the State of Connecticut in 1792 as a donation to the sufferers of fire (during the Revolutionary war) of the residents of Greenwich New London, Norwalk, Fairtield, Danbury, New Haven, and other Connecticut villages whose property was burned by the British; hence the name " Firelands," by which this tract taken from the western portion of the reserve has been known. It is situated chiefly in Huron and Erie Counties, a small portion only being in Ottawa County. The entire Western Reserve embraces the present counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Trumbull; also the greater portion of Mahoning and Summit, and very limited portions of Ashland and Ottawa.

of Scioto County, granted by Congress in March, 1795, to certain French settlers of Gallipolis, who, through invalid titles, had lost their lands there. Twelve hundred acres were added to this grant in 1798, making a total of 25,200 acres. The United States Military Lands were surveyed under the provisions of an act of Congress of June 1, 1796, and contained 2,500,000 acres. This tract was set apart to satisfy certain claims of the officers and soldiers of the Revulutionary war, hence the title by which it is known. It is bounded by the seven ranges on the eact, by the Greenville treaty line on the north, by the Congress and refugee lands on the south, and by the Scioto River on the west, including the county of Coshocton entire, and portions uf the counties of

The Moravian Lands are three several tracts of 4,000 acres each, situated, respectively, at Shoenbrun, Gnadenhutten and Salem, all on the Tuscarawas River, now in Tuscarawas County. These lands were originally dedicated by an ordinance of Congress dated September 3, 1788, to the use of the Christianized Indians at those points, and by act of Congress of June 1, 1796, were surveyed and patents issued to the society of the United Brethren, for the purposes above specified.

The Refugee Tract is a body of land containing 100,000 acres, granted by Congress February 18, 1801, to persons who fled from the British provinces during the Revolutionary war and took up arms against the mother country and in behalf of the Colonies, and thereby lost their property by confiscation. This tract is four and one-half miles wide, and extends forty-eight miles eastward from the Scioto River at Columbus into Muskingum County. It includes portions of the counties of Franklin, Fairfield, Perry, Licking and Muskingum.

Dohrman's grant is a township of land six miles square, containing 23,040 acres, situated in the southeastern part of Tuscarawas County. It was given to Arnold Henry Dohrman, a Portuguese merchant, of Lisbon, by act of Congress of February 27, 1801," in consideration of his having,during the Rovolutionary war, given shelter and aid to the American cruisers and vessels of war." The foregoing is a list of the principal land grants and surveys during our Territorial history, in that portion of the Northwest that now constitutes the State of Ohio. There were canal land grants, Maumee road grants, and various others, 'but they belong to our State, and not to our Territorial history.

Treaties Made With The Indians

By the means of the treaty of Fort Stanwix, concluded with the Iroquois or Six Nations (Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and Oneidas), October 22, 1784, the indefinite claim of said confederacy to the greater part of the valley of the Ohio was extinguished. The Commissioners of Congress were Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee. Cornplanter and Red Jacket represented the Indians.

This was followed in January, 1785, by the treaty of Fort McIntosh, by which the Delawares, Wyandots, Ottawas and Chippewas relinquished all claim to the Ohio Valley, and established the boundary line between them and the United States to be the Cuyahoya River, and along the main branch of the Tuscarawas to the forks of said river near Fort Laurens, thence westwardly to the portage between the headwaters of the Great Miami and the Maumee or Miami of the Lakes, thence down said river to Lake Erie, and along said lake to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. This treaty was negotiated by George Rogers Clark, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee for the United States, and by the chiefs of the aforenamed tribes.

A similar relinquishment was effected by the treaty of Fort Finney (at the mouth of the Great Miami) concluded with the Shawnees January 31. 1786, the United States Commissioners being the same as the foreyoing except the substitution of Samuel H. Parsons for Arthur Lee.

treaties previously made. So also was the treaty of Greenville, of August 3, 1795, made by Gen. Wayne on the part of the United States, and the chiefs of eleven of the most powerful tribes of the Northwestern Indians, which re-established the Indian boundary line through the present State of Ohio, and extended it from Loramie to Fort Reeovery, and from thence to tho Ohio River, opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River.

The rights and titles acquired by the Indian tribes under the foregoing treaties were extinguished by the General Government, by purchase, in pursuance of treaties subsequently made. The Western Reserve tract west of the Cuyahoga River was secured by a treaty formed at Fort Industry, in 1805. The lands west of Richland and Huron Counties and north of the boundary line to the western limits of Ohio were purchased by the United States in 1818. The last possession of the Delawares was purchased in 1829; and by a treaty made at Upper Sandusky, March 17, 1832, by Colonel John Johnston and the Wyandot chiefs, that last remnant of the Indian tribes in Ohio sold the last acre they owned within the limits of our State to the General Government, and retired,

Fik 8T Officers Of The Territory

Congress, in October, 1787, appointed General Arthur St. Clair, Governor; Maj. Winthrop Sargent, Secretary; and James M. Varnum, Samuel H. Parsons and John Armstrong, Judges of the Territory, the latter of whom, however, having declined the appointment. John Cleves Symmes was appointed in his stead in February, 1788. On the 9th of July, 1788, Gov. St. Clair arrived at Marietta, and finding the Secretary and a majority of the Judges present, proceeded to organize the Territory. The Governor and Judges (or a majority of them) were the sole leg: islative power during the existence of the first grade of Territorial government. Such laws as were in force in any of the States, and were deemed applicable to the condition of the people of the Territory, could be adopted by the Governor and Judges, and, after publication, became operative, unless disapproved of by Congress, to which body certified copies of all laws thus adopted had to be forwarded by the Secretary of the Territory.

The further duty of the Judges, who were appointed to serve during good behavior, was to hold court four times a year, whenever the business of the Territory required it, but not more than once a year in any one county.

The Second Grade Of Territorial Government

After it shall be ascertained that 5,000 free male inhabitants actually resided within the Territory, the second grade of Territorial government could, of right, be established, which provided for a Legislative Council and also an elective House of Representatives, the two composing the law-making power of the Territory, provided always that the Governor's assent to their acts was had. He possessed the absolute veto power, and no act of the two Houses of the Legislature, even if passed by a unanimous vote in each branch could become a law without his consent. The conditions that authorized the second grade of Territorial government, however, did not exist until 1798, and it was not really put into operation until September, 1799, after the first grade of government had existed for eleven years.

Early Laws Of The Territory

the militia." sued a proclamation establishing tbe county of Washington, which included all the territory east of the Scioto River to which the Indian title had been extinguished, reaching northward to Lake Erie, the Ohio River and the Pennsylvania line being its eastern boundary; Marietta, the seat of the Territorial government, also becoming the county seat of Washington County.

Quite a number of laws were necessarily adopted and published during 1788 and the following year. From 1790 to 1795 they published sixty-four, thirtyfour of them having been adopted at Cincinnati during the months of June, July and August of the last named year, by the Governor and Judges Symmes and Turner. They are known as the " Maxwell Code," from the name of the publisher, and were intended, says the author of "Western Annals," "to form a pretty complete body of statutory provisions." In 1798, eleven more were adopted. It was the published opinion of the late Chiéf Justice Chase, "that it may be doubted whether any colony, at so early a period after its first establishment, ever had so good a code of laws." Among them was that "which provided that the common law of England, and all statutes in aid thereof, made previous to the fourth year of James I, should bein full force within the Territory." Probably four-fifths of the laws adopted were selected from those in force in Pennsylvania; the others were mainly taken from the statutes of Virginia and Massachusetts.

Local Courts And Court Officers

Among the earliest laws adopted was one which provided for the institution of a County Court of Common Pleas, to be composed of not less than three nor more than five Judges, commissioned by the Governor, who were to hold two sessions in each year. Pursuant to its provisions, the first session of said court was held in and for Washington County, Saptember 2, 1788. The Judges of the court were Gen. Rufus Putnam, Gen. Benjamin Tupper and Col. Archibald Crary. Col. Return Jonathan Meigs was Clerk, and Col. Ebenezer Sproat was Sheriff. Elaborate details of the opening of this, the first court held in the Northwest Territory, have come down to ' us, showing it to have been a stylish, dignified proceeding. Briefly, "a procession was formed at the Point (the junction of the Muskingum with the Ohio River) of the inhabitants and the officers from Fort Harmar, who escorted the Judge of the court, the Governor of the Territory, and the Territorial Judges to the hall appropriated for that purpose, in the northwest block-house in "Campus Martius." " The procession," says Mitchener, " was headed by the Sheriff, with drawn sword and baton of office." After prayer by Rev. Manasseh Cutler, the court was organized by court was open for the administration of ae teen justice to the poor and the rich, to the guilty and the innocent, without respect of persons; none to be punished without a trial by their peers, and then in pursuance of the laws and evidence in the case.

On the 23d day of August, 1788, a law was promulgated for establishing " General Courts of Quarver Sessions of the Peace." This court was composed of not less than three nor more than five Justices of the Peace, appointed by the Governor, who were to hold four sessions in each year. The first session of this court was held at " Campus Martius" September 9, 1788. The commission appointing the Judges thereof was read. "Gen. Rufus Putnam and Gen. Benjamin Tupper," says Mitchener, " constituted the Justices of the quorum, and Isaac Pearce, Thomas Lord, and Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., the assistant Justices; Col. Return Jonathan Meigs, Sr., was Clerk. Col. Ebenezer Sproat was Sheriff of Washington County fourteen years. The first grand jury of the Northwest Territory was impaneled by this court, and consisted of the following gentlemen: William Stacy (foreman), Nathaniel Cushing, Nathan Goodale, Charles Knowles, Anselm Tupper, Jonathan Stone, Olive Rice, Ezra Lunt, John Matthews, George Ingersoll, Jonathan Devol, Jethro Putnam, Samuel Stebbins and Jabez True."

Organization Of Counties

Washington County, embracing the eastern half of the present State of Ohio, was the only organized county of the Northwest Territory until early in 1790, when the Governor proclaimed Hamilton County, which included all the territory between the Big and Little Miami Rivers, and extended north to the "Standing Stone Forks" on the first-named stream.

mouth of the Little Miami, was wie first of these laid out, its early settlers being Col. Benjamin Stites, of " Redstone Old Fort" (proprietor), William Goforth, John S. Gano, John Smith (a Baptist minister, who afterward became one of Ohio's first United States Senators), and others, numbering in all twenty-five persons or more, though some of them arrived a little later.

Cincinnati was the next in order of time, having been laid out early in 1789, by Col. Robert Patterson, Matthias Denman and Israel Ludlow. Several not very successful attempts had also been made at various points between Cincinnati' and the mouth of the Great Miami by Judge Symmes.

The early settlers of Hamilton County were principally from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky. Judge Symmes and Burnet were representative men in the Miami Valley from New Jersey, Jeremiah Morrow and Judge Dunlavy from Pennsylvania, William H. Harrison and William McMillan from Virginia, and Col. Robert Patterson and Rev. James Kemper from Kentucky.

The Scioto Valley, the next in order of time, was settled chiefly by Virginians and Kentuckians, represented by Col. Thomas Worthington and Gen. Nathaniel Massie, two of its prominent settlers.

And the early settlements along Lake Erie, during the closing years of the eighteenth century, whose representative men were Gov. Samuel Huntington and Hon. Benjamin Tappan, were established by men not a whit inferior to those above named. And the good that Gen. Washington said of the New England Colony that settled Marietta could, with very slight modifications, be said of most of the settlers and pioneers of the aforesaid settlements.

Early Territorial Villages And Towns

The following is a list of the principal villages and towns in the Northwest Territory, started and built up during Territorial rule, with the time of the first survey of lots, together with the names of their proprietors: ing about 1,000 inhabitants. It was incorporated in 1802, with the following as its first officers: President - David Zeigler. Recorder - Jacob Burnet.

Secretaries - Winthrop Sargent, served from 1788 to 1798; William H. Harrison, served from 1798 to 1799; Charles Willing Byrd, served from 1799 to 1805.

The latter gentleman was also elected Governor during the closing months of the Territorial government, Gov. St. Clair having been removed from office

Territorial Delegates in Congress - William H. Harrison, served from 1799 to 1800; William Mc- Millan, served from 1800 to 1801; Paul Fearing, served from 1801 to 1803. |

Territorial Judges - James Mitchell Varnum, Samuel Holden Parsons and John Armstrong were appointed Judges for the Northwest Territory by Coneres: in Orbuae 1787; the latter, aes declined and John Cleves Symmes was appointed to the vacancy in February, 1788, and he accepted.

Judge Varnum died in January, 1789, and William Barton was appointed his successor, but declined the appointment; George Turner, however, in 1789, accepted it. On the 10th of November,'1789, Judge Parsons was drowned in attempting to cross Big Beaver Creek, and Rufus Putnam became his successor March 31, 1790. In 1796, he resigned, and Joseph Gilman succeeded him. The Territorial court was composed of three Judges, two of whom

Names, When Appointed. End Of Service

From the time of the organization of the government of the "Northwest Territory," in 1788, until the ratification of the "treaty of Greenville," sometimes called "Wayne's treaty," in 1798, the attitude of many of the Western Indian tribes toward the white settlers in the Northwest Territory was that of extreme, unrelenting hostility. The military organization which had marched against them, before the establishment, of civil government in the great Northwest, had signally failed to subjugate them, or secure a permanent cessation of hostilities. The disastrous expedition of Gen. Braddock in 1755, of Maj. Wilkins in 1763, of Col. Bradstreet in 1764, of Col. Lochry in 1781, and of Col. Crawford in 1782, and the disgraceful and murderous expedition against the Moravian Indians on the Tuscarawas, in the last tribes, and inspire them with greater courage in their hostile movements and aggressive measures against the white settlers, The fruitless, if not abortive, campaigns of Col. McDonald in 1774, of Gen. Mc-

Intosh in 1778, and of Gen. Broadhead in 1781, of _ course, led to no salutary results. Even the successful campaigns of Col. Boquet in 1763-64, of Lord

Dunmore and Gen. Lewis in 1774, and of Gen. George Rogers Clark in 1778, failed to secure a permanent peace with the Western Indian tribes. The inhabitants of the Northwest Territory were, therefore, from the 7th of April, 1788, when the first immigrants arrived at the mouth of the Muskingum, until the treaty of Greenville was concluded in August, 1795, constantly liable to the stealthy but deadly attacks of the perfidious, merciless savage tribes of the Northwest. But they met their dastardly, cruel, relentless foe in the spirit of genuine manhood- - of trne, determined, unflinching heroism! They were men worthy of the heroic age of the West! Bravely did they bear themselves during those seven years of toil and privations, of dread and apprehension, of suffering and sorrow, of blood and carnage.

atrocities the National Government early organized number of military expeditions, the first of these being that of Gen. Harmar, in 1790, who was then the West. He had a few hundred regular troops under his command, stationed chiefly at Ft. Harmar and at Ft. Washington, which served as the nucleus of his army. The great body of his troops, however, numbering in all above fourteen hundred, were Pennsylvania and Kentucky volunteers, the former being under the immediate command of Col. John Hardin, and the latter of Col. Trotter. The expedition left Ft. Washington and marched to the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's Rivers (now Ft. Wayne, Ind.), where detachments of the army, under command of Col. Hardin, on the 19th and 22d days of October, encountered the enemy and suffered mortifying defeats. Of course, the campaign failed to give peace or relief from apprehended barbarities.

The next year Gen. St. Clair, the Governor of the Territory, who had a Revolutionary record of patriotism and ability, organized an expedition, whose strength somewhat exceeded that of Gen. Harmar's. It met with a most disastrous defeat, November 4, 1791, near the head-waters of the Wabash, now in Mercer County, Ohio, the battle-field being known as Ft. Recovery. Of 1,500 men in the battle, more than raise a large army to operate against the hostile tribes, for the purpose of finally and permanently subjugating them. Military preparations, however, progressed slowly, and the summer of 1794 had nearly passed before the confederated hostile Indian tribes were met in battle array by Gen. Wayne's army. The battle was fought at the Maumee Rapids, near Perrysburg, and Ft. Meigs, in Wood County, Ohio, and is known as the battle of " Fallen Timbers," though sometimes called the battle of the Maumee. Wayne's army numbered more than three thousand men, well disciplined, and ably officered, 1,600 of whom being mounted volunteer troops from Kentucky, commanded by Gen. Charles Scott, of said State, who was the second ranking officer in the army, and who, as well as Gen. Henry Lee (the "Light Horse Harry" of the Revolation) and Gen. William Darke, had been favorably considered by President Washington in connection with the chief command of the expedition. The choice, however, fell upon Gen. Wayne, the old com - panion in arms of the President, and to him is justly aseribed the honor of defeating the Indian tribes commanded by the celebrated Shawnee chief, Blue Jacket, on the Maumee, August 20, 1794, and of permanently breaking the power of a very formidable Indian confederacy. Cessation of hostilities followed this victory, and a peace, which the General Government had vainly sought by friendly negotiation, was secured - a peace which continued for many years, even, until after the northwest territory had

Of The Second Grade Of Territorial Goyernment Organization

The Governor having satisfactorily ascertained that the conditions existed entitling the territory to the second grade of government, that is, that there were "5,000 free male inhabitants, of full age," within the Territory, he, on the 29th day of October, 1798, took the preliminary steps to effect that object, by issuing his proclamation, directing the qualified voters to hold elections for Territorial Representatives on the third Monday of September, 1798. The election was held in pursuance of said proclamation, which resulted in the following gentlemen being chosen to constitute the popular branch of the Territorial Legislature for the ensuing two years:

Members Of Territorial Legislature Of 1799-1800

The above-named gentlemen met at Cincinnati on the 22d of January, 1799, and nominated ten men, whose names they forwarded to the United States Congress, five of whom were to be selected by that body to constitute the Legislative Council of the Territory. They then adjourned to meet on the 16th of September, 1799.

On the 22d of 'March, 1799, either the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives,or the President of the United States (authorities are not agreed), chose from among those whose names had been suggested to them the following gentlemen, to compose the first Legislative Council of the Northwest Territory, their term of office to continue five years, any three of whom to form a quorum:

The ordinance of 1787 named Congress as the authority in whom was vested the right to select five from the list of ten persons to constitute the Territorial Council. But it will be borne in mind that said ordinance was passed by a Congress that legislated in pursuance of the articles of confederation, while yet we had neither President nor United States Senate, hence authority was given to Congress to make the selection. But it is highly probable that the aforesaid authority was subsequently transferred to the President, or to the Senate, or to them jointly.

First Council And House Of Representatives

Both the Council and House of Representatives met at Cincinnati, September 16, 1799, and effected a permanent organization. The Council perfected its organization by the election of the following officers:

Thirty bills were passed at the first session of the Territorial Legislature, but the Governor vetoed eleven of them. 'T'hey also elected William H. Harrison, then Secretary of the Territory, a Delegate. to Congress, by a vote of eleven to ten that were cast for Arthur St. Clair, Jr., son of the Governor, then a promising young lawyer of Cincinnati, and who then held the office of Attorney General of the Territory. The first session of the Territorial Legislature was prorogued by the Governor December 19, 1799, until the first Monday of November, 1800, at which they re-assembled and held the second session at Chil- | licothe, which, by an act of Congress of May 7, 1800, was made the seat of the Territorial government until otherwise ordered by the Legislature. _ This, the second session of the Territorial] Legislature, was of short duration, continuing only until December 9, 1800.

On May 9, 1800, Congress passed an act establishing the Indian Territory, with boundaries including the present States of Indiana and Illinois, and William H. Harrison having accepted the office of Governor of said Territory,it devolved upon the Territorial Legislature, at its second session, not only to elect a Delegate to fill the vacancy occasioned by his resignation, but also to elect a Delegate to serve during the succeeding Congress. William McMillan, of Cincinnati, was elected to fill the vacancy, and Paul Fearing, of Marietta, was elected to serve from the

By the organization of the Indiana Territory, the counties of St. Clair, Knox and Randolph were taken out of the jurisdiction of the Northwest Territory,and with them, of course, Henry Vandenburg, of Knox County, President of the Council; also, Shadrack Bond, of St. Clair County; John Small, of Knox County, and John Edgar, of Randolph County, members of the popular branch of the Legislature.

On the 23d of November, 1801, the third session of the Territorial Legislature was commenced at Chil- The time for which the members of the House of Representatives were elected having expired, and an election having been held, quite a number of new members appeared.

| The Council remained nearly as it was at the previous sessions, there being not more than two changes, | perhaps only one, that of Solomon Sibley, of Detroit,

Wayne County, who took the place of Henry Vandenburg, thrown into the new Territory. Robert Oliver, of Marietta, Washington County, was chosen

The third session of the Legislature continued from the 24th of November, 1801, until the 23d of January, 1802, when it adjourned to meet at Cincinnati on the fourth Monday of November following, but that fourth session was never held, for reasons made obvious by subsequent events.

Congress, on the 30th of April, 1802, had passed an "act to enable the people of the eastern division of the territory northwest of the River Ohio to form a constitution and State Government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an equal | footing with the original States, and for other purposes." In pursuance of the aforesaid enactment, an election had been ordered and held throughout the

Constitutional Convention chosen, who met at OChillicothe on the Ist day of November, 1802, to perform the duty assigned them. Edward Tiffin, Esq., of Ross County, was chosen as President, and on takiny his seat in the chair delivered the following address:

" GuntLeMEN: I beg you to be assured that I duly appreciate the honor you have conferred in selecting me to preside over your deliberations on this important occasion; the duties of the chair will, I presume, be pleasing and easy, for, from the known | tion, there can be no doubt but that the utmost propriety and decorum will be observed, without the aid of interference from the chair. Whatever rules you may adopt for the government of the convention, shall be strictly observed; and in every decision which may be required from the chair the utmost impartiality shall be evinced."

The convention continued in session twenty-nine days, adjourning on the 29th of November, 1802, having formed the first constitution of the State, which met with the approbation of the people, and under which they lived and prospered till A. D. 1851, when the new constitution was adopted.

When the time had arrived for commencing the fourth session of the Territorial Legislature, the aforesaid Constitutional Convention was in session, and had evidently nearly. completed its labors, as it adjourned on the 29th of said month. The members of the Legislature (eight of whom being also members of the Convention), therefore, seeing that a speedy termination of the Territorial Government was inevitable, deemed it inexpedient and unnecessary to hold the proposed session.

The Territorial Government was ended by the organization of the State Government, March 3, 1803, pursuant to the provisions of a constitution formed at Chillicothe, November 29, 1802, by the followingnamed gentlemen: Joseph Darlinton, Israel Donalson and Thomas Kirker, of Adams County; James Caldwell and Elijah Woods, of Belmont County; Philip Gatch and James Sargent, of Clermont County; Henry Abrams and Emanuel Carpenter, of Fairfield County; John W. Browne, Charles Willing

| Byrd, Francis Dunlavy, William Goforth, John Kitchol, Jeremiah Morrow, John Paul, John Reily, John Smith and John Wilson, of Hamilton County; Rudolph Bair, George Humphrey, John Milligan, Nathan Updegraff, and Bazaliel Wells, Jefferson County; Michael Baldwin, Edward Tiffin, James Grubb, Thomas Worthington, and Nathaniel Massie, of Ross County; David Abbot and Samuel Huntington, of Trumbull County; Ephraim Cutler, Benjamin Ives Gilman, Rufus Putnam, and John MclIntire, of Washington County.

Joseph Darlinton, of Adams County; Francis Dunlavy, Jeremiah Morrow and John Smith, of Ham ilton County; John Milligan, of Jefferson County; Kdward Tiffin and Thomas Worthington, of Ross County; and Ephraim Cutler, of Washington County, were the eight gentlemen of the last Territorial Legislature that were also elected members of the Constitutional Convention.