USA > Michigan > Wayne County > Detroit > The city of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Vol. I > Part 26
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Jay's treaty did not take effect until the formal surrender of the posts, which, in Detroit, was on June 11, 1796. The American troops took possession at once and the rule of our federal government commenced.
WAYNE COUNTY ORGANIZED
Winthrop Sargent, secretary of the Northwest Territory (and claiming to be acting governor), came to Detroit and on the 15th of August, 1796, organized the County of Wayne. Sargent was authorized to act as governor only in the event of the absence of the governor from the territory. Arthur St. Clair, the governor, was not absent from the territory on the day that Sargent proclaimed the organization of the new county. An extract from a letter of Governor St.
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Clair, dated at Pittsburg, August 13, 1796, fully explains the illegality of Sar- gent's action in this case. In this letter to Secretary Sargent, he writes:
"Yesterday I met with Capt. Pierce, from Fort Washington, and by him I learned that you were gone to Detroit. Should the object of that journey be of a publie nature, I have to wish that it had not been undertaken, for tomor- row I shall be in the territory, and then the powers of the governor, which devolve upon the secretary in his absence, will cease as to you, yet it may happen that both you and me are discharging the duties of that office at the same time and, of course, the aets of one must be void."
From the above letter it appears that St. Clair was in the Territory before August 15th and that consequently the organization of Wayne County by Winthrop Sargent, as acting governor, was illegal. However, General St. Clair afterwards recognized the county formation and appointed officers in it. The new county was named after Gen. Anthony Wayne, and Detroit was selected as the county seat. It was the largest county in existence in the United States. It ineluded the northern parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, all of Michigan and all of Wisconsin bordering upon the streams which emptied into Lake Michigan. Its eastern boundary was the Cuyahoga River, which runs through the present City of Cleveland.
As already stated, the legislative body of the Northwest Territory of 1796 consisted of Governor St. Clair and Judges Symmes, Turner and Putnam. In that year Putnam resigned to become surveyor-general, and Joseph Gilman was appointed in his place December 22, 1796. The next year Judge Turner resigned and he was succeeded by Return Jonathan Meigs, who was appointed February 12, 1798. It is said that Symmes and Meigs held court in Detroit, but there was never a general court held here, that is, a court where all three judges were present at the same time. There was no further change in the office of these judges until after the admission of Ohio in 1803. Governor St. Clair remained in office until his removal in 1802, and from that date Charles Willing Byrd, secretary, acted as governor until the Territory of Indiana was formed.
NEW TERRITORIAL LAWS
The only laws published by the governor and judges after Michigan became de facto a part of the Northwest Territory, are included in a little volume of thirty pages, printed at the time, and are ten in number. They are as follows:
1. Providing for the formation of corporations.
2. Punishment for maiming.
3. Vesting powers in justices of the peace in criminal cases.
4. Distributing estates of deceased persons.
ɔ̃. Improving breed of horses.
6. Mode of procedure in civil cases.
7. Fixing fees of officers.
S. Taxing unimproved real estate.
9. Acknowledgement of deeds.
'10. Establishing a land office.
The above are all the laws published, but in Chase's statutes is another act, repealing a former aet of the same legislative body. The above aets were of doubtful validity and were not enforced until they were reenacted by the first legislative council. None of the above acts are of any great importance to De-
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troit, save, perhaps, number three, which gave justices of the peace the right to punish by fine all persons found guilty of assault and battery, and to arrest and hold to the higher court affrayers, rioters and disturbers of the peace.
FORMATION OF COURTS
The names, formation and jurisdiction of the various courts in Detroit were necessarily the same as in the other parts of the Northwest Territory. There were the supreme court, the circuit court, the court of common pleas, probate court, justice court, and court of quarter sessions of the peace. A few days after the organization of the county, the court of quarter sessions and the probate court were organized (September 29, 1796). The first court of quarter sessions was held October 8, 1796, and the clerk was directed to notify the justices of the peace that such a court would be held, the first Tuesday in Decem- ber. This court was to divide the county into districts and name commissioners and constables. The historian, Lanman, says that court was opened by procla- mation December 10, 1796, and the commission appointing the judges and civil officers read, appointing Louis Beaufait senior justice, and James May, Charles François Girardin, Patrick McNiff and Nathaniel Williams as associate justices, and George MeDougall, sheriff. It is certain that Mr. Lanman is in error as to the date of the appointment of some of the officers. Nearly all of the earlier records have been so carelessly used that they have disappeared; only a few remain.
The earliest remaining file in the court of common pleas is David Acheron vs. John Bowyer, lieutenant in the army, and the case was begun October 10, 1796, showing that the judges must have been appointed before that date. The business of the court of common pleas soon fell into the hands of two of the justices, Louis Beaufait, "president of the court of common pleas," and James May, associate justice.
Among the appointments made at this time were Herman Eberts, coroner, and Peter Audrain, prothonotary, clerk and judge of probate.
On the 23d of December, 1796, George MeDougall, sheriff, and Herman Eberts, coroner, entered into an agreement by which Eberts agreed to perform, for one year, all the duties of sheriff and to relieve MeDougall. Eberts was to receive, as compensation for his work, two-thirds of the fees of the office, viz .: the taxable costs of each suit, and he was further to save MeDougall harmless from damages for escapes of prisoners in his custody and for all moneys he might receive as sheriff. To secure MeDougall for thus relinquishing his office, Eberts gave him a bond of four thousand dollars, with Robert Gouie and Charles F. Girardin as sureties.
During the year above mentioned, Eberts signs himself as "acting sheriff," but at the end of that time he signs "High Sheriff of Wayne County." It is probable that he received the appointment of sheriff in 1797. Lewis Bond was named sheriff by Governor St. Clair August 20, 1798.
PETER AUDRAIN
The most important official of this time was Peter Audrain. He was born in France in 1725, and came to Pennsylvania, where he became a citizen of the United States October 2, 1781. He lived for a time in Pittsburg. It is not known when or where he learned to read and write the English language, but prob- ably some years before he came to Detroit, for upon his arrival here he was
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appointed prothonotary and judge of probate, and the early records of the settle- ment, which are nearly all in his handwriting, show a great familiarity with the English language for a foreigner, and his handwriting is a wonder to the student who reads it today. His peculiar, small penmanship is never forgotten when once seen, and the many pages of the records kept by him are as clear as print, and nearly as perfect in formation as copper plate. The wonder is how a person with a quill pen, such as was in use in that time, could write so beautifully. Mr. Audrain's wife was Margaret Moore. They were married before coming to Detroit. There is a fragment of the journal of Audrain, printed in the "Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections," in Volume Eight, which indi- cates that he was in Pittsburg in July, 1796, and must have, a few days later, accompanied General Wayne's army on the march to Detroit. Wherever he journeyed he was received as a guest, which indicates that he occupied some place of importance with the army corps, though not an official position.
On the 27th of July, 1796, General Wayne met Secretary Winthrop Sargent at Greenville, and together they proceeded to Detroit, and there established, as we have seen, Wayne County and the county courts. The office of prothon- otary was of more real importance than any other in the new county. At least, Mr. Audrain made the office of importance, for he kept all the records, was register of deeds, judge of probate, clerk of the courts, and general scrivener of the community. He retained offices of importance nearly all his life, but in his old age, when he was ninety-four years old, the lawyers complained that the records of the supreme court were in great disorder through his neglect, and he was removed in 1819. He died the following year, October 6, 1820, and his remains were buried in the cemetery of Ste. Anne's Church.
ORPHAN'S COURT
The orphans' court, occasionally referred to in the early territorial records, was established by the act of June 16, 1795. Apparently nearly all of the records have been lost or destroyed, and very little information can be obtained regarding it. The justices of the court of quarter sessions of the peace were empowered to hold this court, the duties of which were to oversee and have control of estates in general. The judge of probate was to submit copies of the records of his office to the orphans' court for examination. The court had supervision over minors and their estates. It had authority to bind a minor out to learn a trade. It could probate wills, and grant letters of administration. Its powers were very large, but in practice it was nearly useless, as very 1 ez work was done under it. The judges of this court in 1800 were Joseph Voy .' Jean Marie Beaubien and George McDougall. The court was abolished in 1811.
The recorder's office was established under an act of June 18, 1795 and the official in charge was called the "recorder." The office was opened for business in Detroit on the 10th day of September, 1796, and the first deed recorded was from Marie Petit, widow of Hiacinthe Deaitre, to Laurent Maure, conveying a farm on the Huron River of Lake St. Clair, now called the Clinton River. Audrain was the prothonotary or recorder or clerk who recorded this deed and all other conveyances for some years.
The court of common pleas was first held in Detroit under British rule. There was no provision under the treaty of 1794 for the continuing of the courts, but as the new American court bore the same name, there was an incli- Vol. I-16
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nation, on the part of some of the parties, to continue the old cases in the new establishment. There are certainly some eases that were begun under the British rule that were completed after the Americans came in.
There were no statutes of limitation for the recovery of debts, and obliga- tions of many years standing, some twenty or more years old, were sued in the territorial courts.
The lawyers whose names are found in these old records were Ezra Fitz Freeman, John S. Wiles, Solomon Sibley, Elijah Brush, and Walter Roe.
ALLEGIANCE TO GREAT BRITAIN
The transfer of allegiance in pursuance of the terms of Jay's treaty created a peculiar state of affairs at Detroit, which is difficult to understand and still more difficult to explain. The treaty had provided a method by which persons might become citizens of the United States, but no mode was pointed out by which they could stay in Detroit and remain British subjects.
Only one person, so far as the records show, took the oath of allegiance. This was William MeClure, gentleman, who took his oath "as a residenter of Detroit" in conformity to the provisions of Jay's treaty. It was not, however, at this time supposed to be necessary to take any formal action whatever in order to become naturalized. It was decided by our state supreme court, in the case of Crane vs. Reeder, that if a person resided in Detroit at the time this treaty took effect and did not file a remonstranee against becoming a citizen, he became naturalized by virtue of the treaty.
JOHN ASKIN'S PETITION OF ALLEGIANCE
There was considerable discussion over the proper method to be followed by those who wished to remain British subjects. As the year passed by, this subjeet was more and more discussed. A faetion was rapidly growing that hesitated to become naturalized. The leader in this faction was John Askin, whose name has been frequently mentioned in the preceding pages. Askin drew up a statement or notice to the effect that the signers did not wish to become citizens of the United States, but desired to remain subjects of Great Britain, and he took this paper around to the people living in the neighborhood of Detroit and succeeded in getting many of them to sign it. He then sent a copy of this list to Peter Russell, who was administrator of Upper Canada in the absence of the governor, and gave the original to Peter Audrain to be recorded in his offiee. Four of these notices were recorded in the registry office.
The actions of Askin in proeuring the notices above mentioned had made him an object of suspicion to the authorities. He was a man of great influence, a trader on a large scale, an officer in the Canadian militia, and to some extent the "Warwick" of the west. for if he did not hold important offices, he dictated who should hold then.
The peace which was declared by the treaty to exist between the United States and England, was more a peace of the mouth than of the heart, for each country was suspicious of the other. War existed between France and England, and the French government had sent emissaries through the United States to sound the French residing there or in Upper Canada on their feelings towards England. It was thought that an effort would be made to rouse the French- Canadians to a rebellion. Both the United States and Canada were excited over this affair. Francis Baby, deputy lieutenant for the County of Essex,
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then residing at Sandwich, was called hastily to Niagara, the seat of govern- ment, and from that place he issued the following secret cireular:
"Niagara, October 23, 1796.
"Intelligence of a very serious nature having reached me from lower Canada, which may require the exertion of his majesty's faithful subjects in this provinec, I am to request that you will recommend it to the officers and soldiers of militia battalions and independent companies under your command to provide them- selves with proper arms and a sufficiency of ammunition forthwith and you will be pleased to make a report to me without loss of time of the number of muskets and quantity of ammunition which you may want, to supply those who are absolutely incapable from poverty, or other causes, to supply themselves.
"Francis Baby, "Dep. Lt. C. E."
Mr. Askin, then living in Detroit, was lieutenant-colonel of the Canadian militia, and to him one of these orders was directed. He undertook the collec- tion of the details of the militia as requested and sent out orders to all captains and other militia officers to report to him at once the state of the companies. Many of these officers reported as requested and copies of their reports were forwarded to Niagara. The conduct of Askin would have been subject to censure on the part of the government if it had ever been discovered. It is even possible that it might have been considered treasonable. It is certain that suspicion rested upon him, but it is very probable that most of his actions were concealed from the authorities.
A COUNTER PETITION
It was at this time also that the papers prepared by Askin for those who did not wish to become citizens of the United States were given to Audrain to be recorded. These petitions, or certificates, caused a counter petition to be drawn up and forwarded to Secretary Winthrop Sargent, of which the follow- ing is a copy:
"Detroit, 12 July, 1797.
"Sir :- We, the undersigned, magistrates and sheriff of Wayne County, in the territory of United States of America, impressed with every degree of at- tachment to the government of the United States and most sincere wishes for the safety of this country and its inhabitants, have sincerely to regret its present situation, and for its safety disagreeable apprehensions from the dangers that at present menace its tranquility from an approaching enemy as well as from internal and increasing factions.
"Twelve months ago we knew of no more than ten of the inhabitants that were avowed British subjects, they remaining here for one year after the evacua- tion of the place by the British, during that period they, with some other emis- saries, found means by indirect insinuations and circulating papers, to corrupt the minds of the inhabitants and alienated their affections from the government of the States to such a degree that it was with difficulty that the sheriff could procure a jury of real citizens to attend the last sessions, or bailiffs to do their duty. Some scores (it is said some hundreds) of the inhabitants having signed the said circulating papers declaring themselves British subjeets, which gives us reason to fear that little or no dependence can be put on the militia of the country if called upon. This being truly the state of the country we feel the
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greatest anxiety for its safety. We therefore conceive it our duty to transmit you every part of our apprehension and the causes exciting them, hoping that you will see the propriety of vesting sufficient power in the commander- in-chief here or the commanding officer for the time being, to take such steps as may check the progress of the present prevailing faction and prevent a further complaint of the inhabitants, we, by experience, finding it out of the power of the civil authority at present, to do it.
"James Abbott, Jr.,
"James May,
"Nathan Williams, "Charles F. Girardin,
"Joseph Voyer,
"Patrick McNiff,
"Herman Eberts,
"John Dodemead
"Joncaire Chabert,
" Antoine Beaubien,
"Robert Abbott,
"Daniel Sawyer."
"Esqrs."
These were exciting times in Detroit. A newspaper in the place would have been filled with interesting reading matter concerning local events. But no such paper existed, and the history of the times must be collected from a variety of sources and pieced together to make a story of the times. It cannot be wondered if some of the important events are omitted, because we do not know where to search for the information.
The French government, through General Collot, was striving to create dis- sensions among the French of Canada, had visited the Ohio country and planned to visit Detroit. He had the surrounding country mapped, also the Detroit River mapped and sounded for his use for military purposes.
An attempt was made to obtain the entire northern part of Ohio west of Cuya- hoga River (Cleveland) for John Askin and others who claimed ownership under deeds from the Indian tribes. They likewise set up claim under similar conveyances to the lands along the Miami (Maumee) River, and were urging their claims before members of Congress and others of influence in the East.
The same John Askin, with Ebenezer Allen and others, had prepared a peti- tion to be allowed to purchase, the entire lower peninsula of Michigan, and believing that they could obtain their desires by corrupting Congress, they undertook to bribe some of the members. In this they were detected, their plans diselosed, and failure followed as a matter of course.
DISAFFECTION AMONG TROOPS
The feelings between the American and British soldiers stationed along the borders of the Detroit River were not the most cordial and deserters were passing from one side to the other to the annoyance of the authorities of both sides. All of these affairs were coming together to make up a period of excitement never exceeded in the history of the village before that time.
In the orderly books kept at the post by General James Wilkinson are evi- dences of disaffection among the troops, promoted possibly by Askin's petition. Under date of July 12th is the following general order:
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"The desertion of the troops may be ascribed chiefly to the scenes of drunk- edness produced by the unrestrained sales of liquor which have been permitted, and to the seductive arts of persons ill disposed to the government of the United States. To remedy evils replete with consequences so destructive to the natural interests and so subversive of subordination and discipline, all persons are hereby prohibited selling liquor of any kind to the troops, except under the written permission of Lieutenant Colonel Commandant Strong."
It was also stated that "any person detected in attempting to inveigle a soldier from his duty, or in advising him to desert, shall receive 50 lashes and be drummed out of the fortifications."
The continued desertions from the American and British troops occasioned an additional order on the same subject on July 15th, as follows:
"The soldier who deserts his colors, of whatever country or nation, forfeits the protection of all good men. To discourage so foul an offense the com- mander-in-chief orders all deserters from the corps of his Britannic majesty to depart the town in 24 hours. He forbids positively the enlisting of deserters from the troops of any nation, and he assures all persons of this character that they will find no asylum within the sphere of his authority. But as it has been represented to him that several privates seduced from the service of the United States when in the state of intoxication by designing, vicious persons, have re- pented of the foul transgression, and are deterred from returning to duty by the fear of punishment only-now to give to all absentees a fair opportunity of testifying their contrition, and to make atonement for their crimes, he hereby offers full pardon to all such as may surrender themselves to some officer of the troops of the United States within 30 days from these presents."
General Wilkinson, on the 16th of July, sent a long letter to the magistrates of the western district of Canada, requesting them to prevent desertions from the American Army as far as possible and to assist him in maintaining the standing of his army, as well as of their own, in opposition to their common foe-the French-and to preserve order along the border. The Canadian magistrates, in their reply, offered a hearty cooperation with General Wilkinson as far as their powers would permit, and stated that the general's communication should at once be laid before the administrator of the province.
SENTIMENT AGAINST ASKIN
Public sentiment was running strongly against Mr. Askin and his party. He was arrested, or was served with a summons as the commencement of a suit against him. Unfortunately, the files of this suit have been lost, or have not yet come to light. A letter from Mr. Askin to David W. Smith gives as much information upon the subject as can be ascertained at present. It is as follows:
"Detroit August 26, 1797.
"My dear Sir: Since writing to you I have been served with a summons, the copy of which I enclose, and beg you will make it known to his honor, the administrator, so that I may be furnished with advice how to act before the general court is held here, which I learn is to be soon. The paper alluded to -I sent you a copy of it-contained the names of a number of people who made their election to continue British subjects and carried it to the recorder to have it enregistered, for which much trouble and interruption is given to me. I have never before been called before the court about this matter and asked
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if I did so or not. So clear do I feel that I had not only a right to do so, but also even advise subjects to continue under the British government (which I, however, did not meddle in) had I been so disposed that I must certainly acknowledge not only my doing so but that I was perfectly right, and that it was in conformity to the treaty."
Askin's letter was given to the Honorable Peter Russell, who at the time was performing the duties of governor of Upper Canada in the absence of the governor, and his reply was as follows:
"West Niagara 5th Sept. 1797.
"Sir: Mr. Smith has just sent to me your letter of the 26th ult. and the copy of the summons for your appearance before the General Quarter Sessions of the County of Wayne and a copy of the letter from the British inhabitants of Detroit to Peter Audrain Esq.
"I am extremely sorry that I do not feel myself competent to give you the advice you desire, as your place, or residence, is without the power of my jurisdiction, nor do I see any possibility of even the British minister's interference until you are able to state to his excellency the nature of the offense you have given to the government of the United States and the sort of notice which has been taken of it. This I presume to advise you to do without loss of time immediately from Detroit as the quickest mode of communicating with his excellency.
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