USA > Ohio > Mahoning County > Youngstown > Century history of Youngstown and Mahoning County, Ohio, and representative citizens, 20th > Part 13
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HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY
of slaves from the States where slavery existed, if they were brought into Ohio by their masters for temporary purposes.
It was not merely that Southern slave hold- ers were free to visit Ohio, bringing their slave :servants with them, but that slave owners used to rent the services of their bondmen to farm- er's living on the free soil side of the Ohio, when there was unusual need of help, as at harvest. It is estimated that fully 2,000 slaves from Kentucky and the Virginia of those days were sometimes employed in Ohio at the same time.
Shortly before 1840 this condition finally and completely passed away. It became prac- tically certain that slaves brought into Ohio would be set free or aided to escape, and many citizens of this State took an active part in helping them flee to Canada. A new impatience of all contact with slavery came to be a marked phase of public opinion in Ohio. Long before the Civil War this State had become one of the most active in movements for the curbing and undermining of slavery as an institution.
COUNTY SEAT LOCATED.,
The County of Mahoning was created by the legislative act of February 16, 1846. For forty-five years previous to that date it had been included within the limits of Trumbull County, in accordance with the proclamation of Governor St. Clair, July 10, 1800, which de- clared that "all the territory included in Jef- ferson County, lying north of the forty-first degree, north latitude, and all that part of Wayne County included in the Connecticut Western Reserve, should constitute a new county to be known by the name of Trumbull, and that the seat of justice should be at War- ren." There was a good deal of dissatisfaction among the citizens of this part of the Reserve at the selection of Warren as the county seat. While Warren was nearer the center of the territory, Youngstown was the larger village, and nearer the center of population. Some of the most influential men on the Reserve, how -; ever, were interested in Warren, either through
holding land there or by being actual residents of the place. Prominent among them was Judge Calvin Pease, who was brother-in-law of Hon. Gideon Granger, Postmaster-General of the United States. Mr. Granger, besides his interest in Pease, was himself the owner of large tracts of land which was enhanced in value by the location of the seat of government at Warren.
"Under the old territorial law the Governor had authority to appoint officers for any new county he might choose to erect. The justices of the peace constituted the general court of the county, five of their number being desig- nated justices of the quorum, and the others associates. They met quarterly, and were known as the 'court of quarter sessions.' In this body was vested the entire civil jurisdic- tion of the county, local and legislative as well as judicial."
An account of the first court held in Trum- bull County, with a list of the officers appointed by the Governor, may be found in the chapter devoted to the Bench and Bar.
EARLY ELECTIONS.
Early elections in the county were held ac- cording to the English method. The sheriff presided over the assembly of electors and re- ceived their votes viva voce.
The first election in Trumbull County was held in Warren, the second Tuesday in Oc- tober, 1800. Owing to the difficulties attend- ant upon travel in those days only forty-two persons participated in the election. Thirty- eight out of the forty-two votes cast were cast for General Edward Paine, who "took his seat in the Territorial Legislature in 1801, and con- tinued to represent the county until a State government was established in 1803." During the May term of the following year the county of Trumbull was divided into tax and election districts, and the house of Mr. Simon Perkins, at the intersection of Young's road and. the Lake road was the place appointed for holding elections in the northern district, which con- sisted of the towns of Middlefield, Richfield, Paynesville and Cleveland.'
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COUNTY SEAT ISSUE.
For a number of years thereafter the county seat issue occupied so large a share of the public mind as to dwarf all other topics, State or National. Though Warren had se- cured the county seat, Youngstown was de- termined that she should not retain it and a local and sectional conflict arose that was bit- terly waged at the polls and in the legislature, and in almost every possible way short of physical hostilities, until the War of 1812 in- terrupted it temporarily by its appeal to a broader and wider patriotism. Every election was contested on the county seat issue. Youngstown, which seemed to have the initial advantage of having the commissioners and representatives of the legislature, succeeded in 1805 in having Geauga County set off, em- bracing all the settled western part of the Re- serve; this leaving Youngstown indisputably the center of population, if not of the county. In consequence of Youngstown's influence in the legislature, Warren, in defence of her in- terests, felt obliged to maintain two or three lobbyists at Chillicothe "whose duty it was to see that no law was passed infringing upon · the interests of their town.
The erection of Ashtabula and Portage counties, in 1808, with western and southern boundaries as at present, gave Warren a geo- graphical disadvantage, which she sought to, .nullify at the next election. This was by ex- cluding aliens from the right to vote, which had hitherto been allowed them without ques- tion. The aliens were mostly Irishmen and by; " the help of their vote Richard J. Elliot and . Robert Hughes were the candidates elected. "It was proposed by Warren to contest the elec- tion and throw out the alien votes and thereby; secure the election of their candidate, Thomas " G. Jones. The Irish made-a vigorous resist- - ance to what they considered a blow at their . liberties, and some exciting scenes were the result. The justices, Mr. Leonard Case of · Warren, and Mr. William Chidester of Can- "- field, who was selected to take the testimony, sat first at Hubbard, the following day at | Youngstown, and another day at Poland.
Daniel Sheehy, the leader, and most violent of the Irish, made some long and flaming ora- torical outbursts, which greatly excited his hearers and caused him finally to be placed under arrest. Many of the witnesses sum- moned refused to testify until threatened with committal to jail. The upshot of the matter was that "when the legislature met at Chilli- cothe, in December, 1809, Messrs. Hughes and Elliot were regularly admitted to seats on proper credentials." The election of Hughes was contested by Matthias Corwin, of Warren County, in favor of Thomas G. Jones, but the committee on privileges and elections subse- quently reported in favor of Hughes. Some three days more were spent in discussion be- fore the house, the contestor and contestee being present with counsel, and ended in a resolution entitling Robert Hughes to his seat in the Assembly, Jones being given leave to whitdraw his memorial.
USELESS LEGISLATION.
A useless and vexatious change in county lines was made when, in accordance with bills passed by the legislature, towns number eight in ranges one to five in Ashtabula County, were made part of Trumbull County (only to be re- stored to Ashtabula County soon after), giving their inhabitants. just cause for indignation, and putting them to much inconvenience and - uncertainty with respect to matters of legal jurisdiction .. This action made Warren tem- porarily the geographical center of the county, but had no particular effect on the final issue. The two parties were now about evenly bal- anced, and in 1810, a decisive contest, of which both seemed afraid, was avoided by the elec- tion to the legislature of Aaron Collar, of Can- field, a neutral candidate.
In the following year, Thomas G. Jones was chosen candidate for Warren, and Samuel Bryson as candidate for Youngstown to the House of Representatives, and George Tod of Youngstown to the Senate. The war with England now absorbed the attention of the people, diverting their minds from the local conflict in the need of preparing to meet the
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HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY
common enemy, and in making preparations for defence against hostile Indians, whom British activity had stirred up to warlike demonstrations against the American frontier.
RENEWAL OF THE STRIFE.
....
It was not until 1840 that the county seat contest again took on an aggravated form, the renewal of the strife being due to a petition by leading citizens of Warren for a new court house, the old one having fallen into a dilapi- dated condition, and not being sufficiently im- posing in appearance for a place of such grow- ing importance. This proposition at once met with opposition from southern townships of the county, whose interests centered in Youngs- town. But the contest soon took on a wider phase than the mere question of erecting a new building at Warren, and brought the old county seat question again to the fore. A number of new projects for dividing the county were brought forward, four of which at least proposed to leave Warren without the seat of government. Youngstown elected officers committed against the new court house project. The people of Newton Falls wanted two new counties erected-one to be formed from the south part of Ashtabula County and the north part of Trumbull County; the other from the east part of Trumbull County, to consist of the townships of Mecca, Bazetta, Howland, Weath- ersfield, Austintown, Canfield, Boardman, Youngstown, Liberty, Vienna, Fowler, Johnston, Hartford, Brookfield, Hubbard, Coitsville and Poland, with the county seat at Poland; and the townships of Windham, Pal- myra, Nelson and Paris, in Portage County, to be annexed to Trumbull County, with the county seat at Newton Falls.
"Youngstown finally petitioned for a di- vision of Trumbull County, as it then existed, into two counties, the south division having the county seat at Youngstown, and the north- west, which should retain the name Trumbull, retaining the county seat at Warren. Canfield further complicated matters by petitioning for the erection of a new county seat out of the ten southern townships of Trumbull and five north-
ern townships of Columbiana. This last propo- sition received the support of the Warren peo- ple, and was finally confirmed by the legis- lature in 1846, the new county being desig- nated "Mahoning." This name is generally considered to be of Indian origin, meaning "Beautiful Meadow," though some other theories have been occasionally advanced.
SOME INTERESTING LETTERS.
To depict more clearly the strenuous times that have been thus briefly sketched above, we print herewith some interesting old letters written in the height of the strife by three men prominent in the political, social, and financial life of the Western Reserve, the originals of which are now in possession of Mr. Frank B. Medbury, of Youngstown. They were written to Asahel Medbury ( father of Frank B. Med- bury), who was a member of the legislature which effected the division. R. W. Tayler was the father of Judge R. W. Tayler and was later controller of the United States Treasury. Ira Lucius Fuller was probate judge for years of Trumbull County and a close personal friend of Governor David Tod. Judge William Rayen, the writer of the third letter, is known to every one in the city. It would seem that his letter was written after Mahoning County had been detached from Trumbull and another county was still being talked of, to be known as Clay County.
THE SALARY LAW.
One of the matters discussed in Judge Fuller's letter is particularly interesting at the present time, the salary law having been but recently passed and applying to all county of- ficials of the State. It is relative to a proposi- tion to decrease the compensation of the county officials. How amazing the figures are that he gives can only be determined by comparison with the present figures. For in- stance he suggests that the sheriff should re- ceive $800; clerk $600 and treasurer and re- corder each $500.
The subject which was of the most vital importance, though, was the matter of the di-
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vision of the county. This affected the entire territory and everyone took an interest in it.
The letters are written with a care that is seldom found at the present time among busy men. The consideration which is shown re- garding public affairs and interests bespeaks the old time citizen and gentleman.
ANOTHER PROPOSITION.
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The letters are as follows :
Youngstown, Dec. 14, 1843.
Dear Sir: Last evening Mr. Horace Stev- ens, Mr. Carlile and Mr. Lane of Newton Falls were here, having come down to make some arrangement about a different division of the county concerning which Mr. Carlile said he had spoken with you on your way to Colum- bus. That proposition was to divide North and South between the third and fourth ranges making a county seat at Youngstown and an- other at Newton Falls, taking four townships from Portage, then cutting off the northern tier of towns in Trumbull and two southern tiers of Ashtabula and adding one other town- ship and making another county there. The proposition if carried out would suit us quite as well, but it is now too late to relax our efforts on account of it.
They proposed to us to abandon our pro- ject or not push it to a consummation but wait until another year and join with them, inti- mating that our refusal would induce them and their neighbors to sign remonstrances which they had not yet done. Of course, how- ever, we cannot abandon ours nor agree to give up any portion of our efforts.
Their visit, however, will result in their refusal to sign the Warren remonstrances which are general against any division of the county. They will, however, probably remon- strate, expressing a favorable disposition to- wards their own proposition and such remon- strance will aid us as showing a willingness to have the county divided.
Yesterday William Woodbridge enclosed you a petition together with proof of the publi- cation of motion and today I forward another petition to Dr. Manning. If not done already,
measures should be taken to secure a majority of the Senate in favor. Would not John E. Jackson, Senator from Portage, go in for it to prevent any further dismemberment of Port- age as proposed by the Newton Falls people ? The Falls project would undoubtedly obtain a strong support from the southwestern and western part of the county and from the four towns in Portage and from the northern towns interested in the new county project there, as well as from our neighborhood.
I should be pleased to hear from you as often as you can conveniently write.
Yours truly, R. W. TAYLER.
HE URGES ECONOMY.
Warren, O., Dec. 26, 1843. Ashel Medbury, Esq., Columbus.
Dear Sir: I was much gratified to re- ceive your favor of the 17th inst. Although a very short epistle it served to remind me that the friendly relations so long and pleasantly continued still subsist between us. It is truly pleasing to me to be numbered among your personal as well as political friends and I trust it will be long ere a cause shall exist to disturb these amicable feelings so grateful to the human heart.
You do not inform me how you are pleased with your legislative business, but I must in- fer from your silence that the burdens imposed by your official oath are not hard to be borne. Yet if the session should be long, as I trust it will not be, the time may not seem to pass so swiftly.
Our strength in the House is less than an- ticipated by some three or four but as you say, "it is thus strong." The "retrenchment" bill which passed the House, is being so much amended in the Senate that its father will hardly know it.
There can be little doubt but what the taxes of the people can be sensibly reduced by a care- ful application of the power vested in the legis- lature. But the difficulty, if any exists, con- sists in great diversity of interests to be con- sulted in the process of reducing the salaries
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HISTORY OF MAHONING COUNTY
of our public officials, as well as the expendi- tures, to a proper medium. The reduction of the fees, however, should in justice be limited to those officers who may be hereafter elected or appointed. A large sum in the aggregate can be saved by dispensing with the records of proceedings in our courts of justice. The clerks of our courts will not object to the lopping off of this item. Also for marriage licenses, etc. Public policy requires that the expense attend- ing the solemnization of a marriage or the liti- gation of a suit at law or equity should be as trifling as possible. But care should be taken that the salary of no office is reduced so low that a man of the requisite qualifications would not be willing to fill it. Now the proposition of Parkers' amendment to give $800 to the sheriff, $600 to the clerk and $500 each to the treasurer and recorder, etc., would answer in my opinion, provided the necessary deputies were paid in addition to those sums. I was conversing yesterday with our clerk and he had no doubt that the requisite qualifications could be obtained for that sum.
DISCUSSES LEGISLATION.
The natural tendency of legislation is to throw wealth into the hands of the rich and in a government like ours it is necessary to check that tendency. Give all classes of the people the benefit of equal laws and as we all have equal rights by nature, no one can justly com- plain.
Doubtless you have observed that a meet- ing of some of our citizens was held at the court house and after the passage of sundry resolutions, Battels, Crowell and Baldwin were elected (lobby) members of the legislature to act against those elected by the people. Peti- tions have been circulated and signatures ob- tained to influence your honorable body against the organization of a new county. I am per- sonally willing that the people should have a new county if they wish one, although it may -be against my interest. There is territory -enough in Trumbull County for two counties and the profits and emoluments of office being divided, if a division of the county is made,
the burdens of the people will be to some ex- tent removed instead of increased. Go ahead! I shall not petition.
But I must close. Mr. Edwards starts in the morning. I am now in the office for the second time since cutting my foot, but cannot go to Columbus as I anticipated. This is a disappoint- ment, truly. But I must submit like a good citizen and hope for the best.
TOD for Governor.
Respectfully, your friend, IRA LUCIUS FULLER.
ANOTHER COUNTY.
Youngstown, O., Jan. 7, 1848. A. Medbury, Esq. :
My Dear Sir: On Monday last William (his nephew), hearing things were not going right in what would be Clay County, he started and went up to Gustavus, and saw Haislep and Horner, and found the Warren clan had got remonstrances against any division of the county, and that there was considerable strife between the people of the township of Green and Gustavus about where the county seat should be; that the people of Green had got up a new petition altering the lines, taking some of the northwest townships of Trumbull and attaching them to Clay, cutting some more townships off the southwest corner of Ashta- bula County and putting them to Trumbull County, so as to make the township of Green the center, and asking the legislature to put the county seat at Green. But this petition I don't apprehend will amount to anything, as no notice had been given, and besides, they will not be able to get many petitioners for that plan.
When William went back to Gustavus he found the people willing to give up the remon- strance and determined to go in for our di- vision. Are now busy getting petitions signed and will have them forwarded immediately. Our people are now busy getting signers and will forward petitions on regular as fast as they are got in.
What was a great stimulus to the Gus- tavus people was they found that the Warren
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NEW MAHONING COUNTY COURTHOUSE, YOUNGSTOWN (Now in course ( f construction)
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OLD MAHONING COUNTY COURTHOUSE AT CANFIELD (With addition) Now the North Eastern Ohio Normal College)
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MAHONING COUNTY COURTHOUSE, YOUNGSTOWN
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friends had been promising the people of Green if they would lie still this year they would assist them next and get the county seat at Green, and had also promised Gustavus the same. By that means the citizens of Clay County had pretty much concluded to lay still.
AFTER WARREN PEOPLE.
I saw the report of the standing committee relative to the erection of the new county of Gilead made by Mr. Hardesty. I think his . arguments made in favor of his report are just and conclusive, and they meet our wishes exactly.
I suppose you will have much said this · winter on the subject of vested rights by the Warren and Canfield people. The Warren people need no more sympathy than the Can- field people, for when they got the seat of jus- tice made at Warren they got it by every kind of villainy, fraud and deception that probably could be practiced and contrary to the then known will of a very large majority of the citizens of what was then Trumbull County, - and has retained it still, against the will of the people.
There is now forwarded from Mahoning County about 2,269 petitions. There will be probably in the course of a week 700 or 800 more. I have not heard exactly from Trum- bull, but I suppose they are busy.
Nothing new has transpired since you left home. My respects to Dr. Manning. If the money. I sent to Medray to pay my account to him is not sufficient, if you have funds I wish you would pay him the balance and take his - receipt, and I will pay you when you return. Yours truly, WILLIAM RAYEN.
COUNTY SEAT CHANGED.
About 1872 the county seat agitation again loomed up, but this time in another form. Youngstown had now become a city, paid one- fourth the taxes, was the seat of more than one-half the litigation in the county courts, and as a railroad center was more accessible
than Canfield. It was thought by her citizens. that she was more entitled to the county seat than Canfield in spite of the provisions of the act of 1846. The question began to be openly discussed. Among the principal advocates of the change were T. W. Sanderson, John Stam- baugh, George Rudge, M. Logan, D. M. Wil- son and M. Logan, all of whom were present and spoke at a large and enthusiastic meeting held in Arms Hall, Youngstown, early in 1873- A committee appointed as the result of this meeting, one of whose members was Dr. T. Woodbridge, reported subsequently in sub- stance, "that the removal of the county seat was to the interest and convenience of a large majority of the people of Mahoning County; „second, that to attain this end it was necessary to unite upon some man to represent them in the State Legislature, irrespective of party, who was fully committed in favor of removal; third, that the city and township of Youngs- town pledge themselves to build the necessary county buildings, to be twice as valuable at least as those in Canfield, and in addition do- nate a site for such buildings." This report was adopted. The candidates of the two po- litical parties both favored the State consti- tutional provision giving the power of removal to the majority of the voters.
On June 30, 1873, the following county ticket was nominated: Sheldon Newton, of Boardman, representative; James K. Bailey,. of Coitsville, auditor ; Isaac Justice, of Youngs- town, Jonathan Schillinger, of Springfield, commissioners ; J. Schnurrenberger, of Green, infirmary director; Henry M. Boardman, of Boardman, surveyor; Dr. Ewing, of Milton,. coroner. All these gentlemen, some of whom were Republicans and some Democrats, were pledged to use their best efforts in favor of the removal of the county seat.
The other side, in a meeting held in Can- field. August 19th, with G. Van Hyning, Esq., of Canfield, chairman, nominated a ticket com- posed partly of Democrats and partly of Re- publicans, who were in favor of the retention of the county seat at Canfield. This ticket was as follows: For representative, C. F. Kirt- land, of Poland ; auditor, James M. Dickson, of
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Jackson; prosecuting attorney, Jared Huxley, of Canfield; commissioner, James Williams, of Ellsworth; infirmary director, Isaac G. Rush, of Coitsville ; coroner, Dr. E. G. Rose, of Austintown; surveyor, Daniel Reichart, of Milton.
The following resolutions were reported and unanimously adopted :
Resolved, That we deprecate the issue forced upon us by the convention held at Youngstown; that said convention is directly and wholly responsible for rup- turing long established and valued political associations for the probability of engendering local and neigh- borhood strife and division, the consequence uncertain borhood strife and division, the consequence of which will be to injure one portion of our citizens in the un- certain expectation of benefiting them.
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