USA > Ohio > Wood County > Commemorative historical and biographical record of Wood County, Ohio : its past and present : early settlement and development biographies and portraits of early settlers and representative citizens, etc. V. 1 > Part 43
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101
Congress Helped Perrysburg .-- Another Act of Congress, relating to the old county seat of Wood, which became a law, May 7, 1822, is in effect as follows: " That the right to all the unsold in-lots and out-lots, in the town of Perrysburg, be and the same is hereby vested in the commissioners of Wood county, and the right to all the unsold town lots and out-lots, in the town of Croghansville, be and the same is hereby vested in the commissioners of Sandusky county, in said State, on condition that said com- missioners shall permanently locate the seat of justice, for their respective counties, at said towns; and that the net proceeds of the sales of so many of said lots as are necessary to be re- tained, for the purpose of erecting public build- ings thereon, be applied to the erection and in- provement of the public buildings and squares, in said towns, respectively. This special grant was no doubt made in lieu of the quarter sec- tion granted for county-seat purposes, in the pre- ceding Act of May 15, 1820. It was not until the Act of Congress of April 5, 1832, that the public lands were sub-divided and offered for sale, in quarter-quarter sections, of forty acres each. The Act was not put in force until 1834, owing
to delays in preparing the necessary plats for the use of the local land offices,
Land Grants. --- Various grants were made by Congress from time to time, some of which di- rectly concern the lands in this county, and from which arise the terms "Road Lands," * Swamp Lands," " Canal Lands," etc. In connection with these grants, we shall also notice the Acts of the State Legislature with reference to the same. The grant made by Congress to the county commis- sioners of Wood of certain lots in the town of Perrysburg, for the purpose of establishing a seat of justice at said town, and for the erection of public buildings, has been already noticed in this chapter. A subsequent Act, approved July 27. 1842, gave to each purchaser, his heirs or assigns, of any lot or lots, in said town, at any sale for taxes thereon, assessed by the laws of Ohio the title to which had not been divested from the United States in any other manner than under color of such tax sale) the right to make an entry of the same, at any time within one year from the passage of said Act, at the land office in the district within which said town is situated, at the price for which the same were struck off at Wooster in July, 1817, with interest from that date.
Another Act of Congress, approved February 20, 1845, relating to the lots in said town, pro- vided that all title to lots in said town derived from Ohio, under color of the grant made to the State by virtue of the Act of Congress, entitled: "An Act for laying out and making a road from the lower Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie to the western boundary of the Connecticut Western Reserve, in the State of Ohio, " approved Febru- ary 20, 1823. be and the same are hereby recog- nized as valid and confirmed, in the same man- ner as though the title to said lots had been vested in said State, under the aforesaid Act: Provided, "That the authorities of said State shall. within one year from and after the passage of this Act, furnish the commissioner of the gen- eral land office with a certified list of all lots heretofore sold and disposed of, under color of the above recited Act.
Under the heading "Road Lands," of this chapter, the Act referred to, granting certain lands to the State of Ohio, for the construction of the above mentioned road, is more fully noted. It appears that the State authorities, under said Act, appropriated certain lots and lands within the limits of Perrysburg, which were not intended to be included in the above grant for road pur- poses, and hence confusion arose as to the tithe. The above mentioned Act, therefore, was passed to quiet the title in the owners, who had pur-
196
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
chased said lots from the State. A deed of quit- claim from the United States to the owners of the lots in question bears date March 10, 1846, dur- ing the administration of President Polk, and is recorded in the deed records of this county. The lots, thus relinquished by the United States, are fully described in said deed.
Maumee and Western Reserve Road Lands .- Article 2, of the treaty of Brownstown, be- fore mentioned, between the United States and certain tribes of Indians, held November 25. ISOS, is a cession by said Indians, to the United States, of a tract of land for a road, 120 feet in width, from the Foot of the Rapids (Perrys- burg) of the River Miami of Lake Erie, to the west line of the Connecticut Reserve, and all the land within one mile of said road, on each side thereof, for the purpose of establishing settle- ments along the same. Article 3, of said treaty, is an agreement that the lines embracing the lands given and ceded by the preceding article, shall be run in such direction's as may be thought most advisable by the President, for the purposes aforesaid. The Act of December 12, 1811, authorized the President to appoint three com- missioners to mark a road from Perrysburg to the western line of the Connecticut Reserve; said commissioners to make and to transmit the plats to the President, who, if he approve, shall cause the plats to be deposited in the office of the treasurer of the United States, and said road shall be considered as established and accepted, pursuant to the treaty of Brownstown.
A subsequent Act, approved February 4th, 1815, provided that in surveying lands ceded by the Indians, at Brownstown, the ordinary mnode of surveying the public lands should be so far deviated from, that the boundary lines of the tracts to be laid off should be run parallel to, and at right angles with, the road laid out, in con- formity to said treaty. Whether any commis- sioners were appointed, or a survey of the road, or of the lands ceded, by the United States, as contemplated, was made under the last two Acts, we are not able to state, in the absence of any official report in the matter, but it appears by an Act, approved February 28, 1823, that Ohio was authorized to lay out, open and construct a road, from the lower Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie to the western boundary of the Connecti- cut Reserve.
In order to enable Ohio to open and con- struct that road, a tract of land, 120 feet wide, whereon to locate the same, together with a quantity of land, equal to one mile on each side thereof and adjoining thereto, to defray the ex-
penses of said road, was granted to the State, to commence at the Miami Rapids and terminate at the western boundary of the Connecticut Western Reserve, with full power and authority to sell and convey the same, and apply the proceeds to the making of said road. In view of the proposal in the foregoing Act, the State Legislature at once took action thereon, by appointing John Wal- lace, of Champaign county, John Patten, of Wayne county, and Quintus F. Atkins, of Ashta- bula county, commissioners, to locate and survey said road, 120 feet wide, and to file a plat of said survey in the office of the ' Secretary of State. Said commissioners were charged with the duty of valuing the lands, on each side of said road. one mile in width, ond to certify the same to the Secretary of State, together with a plan of con- structing the road, and the probable expense of its construction. This was followed by another Act of the Legislature, of February 25, 1824. which provided for constructing said road, and for a superintendent, to be appointed by joint resolution of both Houses of the General Assem- bly. The superintendent to give bond in the sum of $5,000, conditioned for the faithful dis- charge of the duties required of him, and to ac- count for all moneys received by him, for the sale of lands, &c. This Act also authorized said superintendent to enter into contract, for the building and constructing said road, and also for the sale of the lands adjoining thereto, granted by Congress; the lands to be offered for sale for not less than $1.50 per acre; one-third of the purchase money to be paid at time of sale; one- third in one year, and one-third in two years. The superintendent was authorized to make con - tracts for constructing the road, payable in land, upon such terms as he might think most advan- tageons to the State. Under this Act, Atkins, one of the commissioners, was appointed first superintendent.
On February 7, 1825, the Legislature passed an Act, authorizing the superintendent of the Maumee and Western Reserve road to cause surveys of the lands belonging to the State of Ohio, in the reservation, at the foot of the Rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie, to be made as he might think fit, and to cause a plat to be made of the lands, so surveyed and owned by said State, and to sell said lands for not less than seven dollars yer acre. It was under this Act that the new survey of out-lots to Perrys- barg was made, a copy of which was unearthed by the writer in the State archives during the summer of 1895.
Under an Act of the Legislature, passed Jan-
.
.
-
197
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
uary 29, 1827. a surveyor was appointed to pro- ceed to survey such of the lands, granted by Con- gress to Ohio, for the purpose of building and keeping in repair the road, as have not been heretofore surveyed, under the authority of said State. The Act provided, that said lands should be surveyed into lots of 80 acres each, and where there are fractional parts occasioned by said road, such fractional parts to be surveyed with, and attached to, the half-quarter section, lying back of and adjoining such fractional part. Triplicate plats of surveys to be made, one of each to be filed with the superintendent of road, AAuditor and Secretary of State, and superintendent authorized to sell land for not less than $1.50 per acre. Thomas R. McKnight, of Perrysburg, was ap- pointed superintendent of said road, January 30, 1827. The lands in Wood county, surveyed under this Act, are designated as the Maumee and Western Reserve Road Lands, and are sit- nated in the townships of Perrysburg, Lake and Troy; such of said lands as lie contiguous to said road are known as Road Tracts.
Military Bounty Lands. - There are no lands within the limits of Wood county specially granted for bounties to the soldiers and sailors of the United States, although a large quantity : of land, in this county, has been located with military land warrants. It is proper to observe here, that on June 1, 1796, Congress set apart a tract of land, within the present State of Ohio, for the officers and soldiers, serving in the Revo- lutionary war, known as the United States Mili- tary District, comprising two and one-half mil- lions of acres, embracing within its limits, in whole or in part, the counties of Tuscarawas, Guernsey, Muskingum, Monroe, Coshocton, Holines, Knox, Licking, Franklin, Delaware, Noble and Lake. All warrants granted by the United States, under this Act, were restricted to, and located exclusively in this district, until after the passage of the Scrip Act, of May 30, 1830, by which the Revolutionary warrants could be exchanged for scrip, and the same located out- side of the military district.
Another district, known as the. "Virginia Military District," lying between the little Miami and Scioto rivers, containing over four million acres, was reserved in the cession by Virginia, in 1784, of her territory northwest of the Ohio river, for the purpose of satisfying the warrants, issued to the officers and soldiers of the Continental Line, army and navy, under the laws of Virginia, for military services during the war of the Revo- Intion, as they were promised by the Legislature of that State. Subsequent Acts were passed by
Congress, granting warrants to officers and sol- diers, who had served in the war of Iste, and in the war with Mexico, which were allowed to be located upon any of the unappropriated lands of the United States.
Canal Lands .- The Act of Congress, of May 24, 1828, granted to Ohio, for the purpose of aiding said State in extending the Miami canal. from Dayton to Lake Erie, by the Maumee route, a quantity of land, equal to one-half of five sec- tions in width, on each side of said canal, be- tween Dayton and the Maumee river, at the mouth of the Auglaize, reserving each alternate section of the land unsold, to the United States, to be selected by the Commissioner of the general land office, under the direction of the President, which land, so reserved to the United States, shall not be sold for less than two dollars per acre. The said land hereby granted to Ohio, to be subject to the disposal of the Legislature of said State, for the purpose aforesaid and no other. Said land to be selected by the Governor, and a report of such selection to be made to the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. After such selection, the State was authorized to sell and convey the same in fee-simple. The quantity of land granted to the State under this Act was five hundred thousand acres.
Under the provisions of this Act, the State of Indiana was authorized to convey and relinquish to Ohio, upon such terms as may be agreed upon by said States, all the right and interest granted to the State of Indiana to any lands within the limits of the State of Ohio, by an Act. entitled: "An Act to grant a certain quantity of land to the State of Indiana for the purpose of aiding said State in opening a canal to connect the waters of Wabash river with those of Lake Erie, approved March 2, 1827," the State of Ohio to hold said land on the same considera- tions upon which it was granted to the State of Indiana, by the Act aforesaid. The Legislature of Ohio, by Act passed December 22, 1828, as- sented to the several. provisions and conditions of the preceding Act of Congress. An Act of Con- gress, approved March 2, 1855, confirmed the selection of land made by the State of Ohio, under the Acts of March 2, 1827, and of May 24, 1828. Several thousand acres of lands. granted by the Acts of Congress aforesaid, were located in Wood county. and are found in the townships of Perrysburg, Lake. Ross, Webster. Freedom, Perry, Middleton, Plain, Washington and Weston. Also, one-quarter section in Mil- ton township, and a tract of ninety-one acres m Portage township. The total quantity of land
193
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
ยท
granted to Ohio, for canal purposes, was 1, 100, - 361 acres.
Swamp Lands. --- The subject of worthless pub- lic lands, swamps, marshes and overflowed lands, was frequently discussed in Congress, at an early period, but no legislation was had successfully, until the Act of March 2, 1849, which applied exclusively to Louisiana. Then followed the law of September 28, 1850, extending the grant, to enable the ". State of Arkansas to construct the necessary levees and drains, to reclaim the swamp and overflowed lands therein," the last section of which enlarged the grant, so as to embrace "each of the other States of the Union, in which such swamp and overflowed lands, known and designated, as aforesaid, may be situated." The reasons assigned for these donations to the sev- eral States, were the alleged worthless character of the lands, in their natural condition; the great sanitary improvement to be derived from the rec- lamation of extensive districts, notoriously ma- larial, and the probable cultivation that would follow; and the enhancement in value, and read- ier sale of Government lands, adjoining the same.
The above Act made it the duty of the Secre- tary of the Interior to make accurate lists and plats of all such lands, and transmit the same to the Governors of the several States, in which such lands might lie, and at the request of the Governor of any State, in which said swamp and overflowed lands were. situated, to cause patents to be issued to said State therefor, conveying to said State the fee-simple of said land. Said Act also provided, that in making out lists and plats of the lands aforesaid, all legal subdivisions, the greater part whereof was wet and unfit for culti- vation, should be included in said lists and plats; but when the greater part of a subdivision was not of that character, the whole was to be ex- cluded therefrom.
!
In pursuance of said Act, on November 21, 1850, the Commissioner transinitted to the Gov- ernors of the respective States, to which the grant applied, copies of office circular, setting forth the provisions of said Act; giving instruc- tions thereunder, and allowing the States to elect which of two methods they would adopt, for the purpose of designating the swamp lands, viz. : Ist: The Government field notes could be taken, as the basis for selection, and all lands shown by them to be swamp or overflowed, within the meaning of the Act, would pass to the States. ed: The States could select the lands by their own agents, and report the same to the United States Surveyor-General, with proof as to the
character of the same. Ohio was one of the number of States which elected to make its selec- tion by its own agents.
Up to and including June 30, 1883, Ohio laid claim to 54,45811% acres, but, up to the same date, there had been approved and patented to said State 25.640106 acres. By an Act of the Legislature of Ohio, approved March 2, 1853, the auditor of State was directed to transmit to the county auditor of each county, in which any swamp or overflowed lands were situated, a list of the same, by such description and in such divisions and subdivisions, as reported by the Secretary of the Interior to the Governor of said State of Ohio. It was also made the duty of the county commissioners of each county to appraise said lands and make return, in writing, to the county auditor; and, upon such return, the audi- tor was required to give notice, in some news- paper in said county, at least thirty days, that sealed proposals would be received, until the ex- piration of said time, for draining and reclaiming said swamp lands, in the manner specified by, and under the direction of, said county com- missioners, to be paid in said lands, lying in said county, at the appraised value thereof; the bids, when opened, to be awarded to the lowest re- sponsible bidder, such bidder to enter into bond, with security, for the faithful performance of his contract, which was limited to two years from the date of suchi contract. Upon completion of his contract. each contractor received from the county auditor of his county a certificate for the amount due him thereon, and containing an ac- curate description of the land to which he was entitled. Such certificate, when presented and delivered to the Governor, entitled said con- tractor to a deed from the State. The town- ships in this county containing swamp lands ap- propriated under this Act, are Jackson, Milton. Portage, Center, Montgomery and Webster.
School Lands. -- The most important act of the founders of the American Republic, is the provision made for educational purposes. The first reservation, for such purposes, was made by the Congress of the Confederation, in the Ordinance of May 20, 1785, which provided that Lot No. 16, of every township shall be re- served for the maintenance of public schools. within said township. This was an endowment of 640 acres in a township of six miles square, but the manner of establishing such public schools, or by whom, was not mentioned, or pointed out. This reservation, by subsequent enactment, became perpetual. This endowment of one thirty-sixth part of the public land, was
199
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
the subject of much legislation in the years fol- lowing. Whether the public schools, thus en- dowed by the United States, were to be under National or State control. remained a question. and the lands were held in reservation, until after the admission of Ohio into the Union. By the Act of April 30, 1802, authorizing the forma- tion, of a State government in Ohio, Congress submitted three propositions, which were offered for the acceptance or rejection, by the conven- tion, to form the constitution for said State, for as vet no transfers had been made by the United States of the title or control of the sixteenth sec- tion of reserved school lands; one of these propo- sitions being, "that the section No. 16, in every township, and where such section has been sold, granted or disposed of, other lands equivalent thereto, and most contiguous to the same, shall be granted to the inhabitants of such townships, for the use of schools." This proposition was accepted by resolution, passed in convention, November 29, 1802.
An Act of Congress of March 3, 1803, con- tains the following: " That the following several tracts of land, in the State of Ohio, be and the same are hereby appropriated for the use of schools in that State, and shall, together with all the tracts of land heretofore appropriated for that purpose, be vested in the Legislature of that State, in trust, for the use aforesaid, and for no other use, intent or purpose whatever; that is to say: one thirty-sixth part of all the lands of the United States, lying in Ohio, to which the Indian title has not been extinguished, which may hereafter be purchased of the Indian tribes by the United States, which 36th section shall consist of the Section No. 16, in each town- ship, if the said land shall be surveyed into townships of six miles square, and shall, if the lands be surveyed in a different manner, be designated by lots." The Legislature assumed control of all the school lands within Ohio, and enacted laws, from time to time, regarding the use and management of the same. Finally, by Act of February 1, 1826, Congress authorized Ohio to sell all or any part of the lands reserved and appropriated by Congress, for the use of schools, and to invest the money . arising from such sale in some productive fund, provided said land, or any part thereof, shall in no case be sold withont the consent of the inhabitants of such township or district.
After the passage of this Act, whenever it was desired to sell the school lands of any township, a special Act was obtained from the Legislature authorizing such sale, until, finally, a general Act
:
was passed. April 16, 1852, under which they have been sold since that time.
The provisions of the Act are cited here to show the manner of making such sales. First, it was enacted that all those lands granted by the Congress of the United States for school pur- poses, known as Section 16, might be sold; that in townships where no vote had previously been taken for the sale of such lands, the trustees of any original surveyed township, to which such lands belonged, should give not less than thirty days notice to the legal voters, residing in such township, to meet at a specified time and place, and cast their ballots for or against the sale of any such lands belonging to such township; if such ballot was in favor of a sale, the trustees were required to deposit one of the poll-books with the county auditor, together with a copy of the proceedings had in relation to such election. The next step necessary and requisite was for the trustees of such township to file a petition in the Common Pleas of the county, asking the court to appoint three disinterested freeholders, not resi- dents of the township, in which the land was situate, to divide and value the same, in money. If the proceedings were found to be legal, the prayer of the petition was then granted, and three persons were appointed to divide and appraise the lands, and, if necessary, call to their aid the county surveyor; the divisions to be made into such parcels as would be best for the sale thereof. The court, upon examining the return of said ap- praisers, and finding their proceedings to have been regular and just, then certified the same. and ordered such proceedings to be entered of record, a copy of which was required to be filed in the office of the county auditor. The auditor then advertised said land for sale six weeks in a newspaper of the county, and by notices posted in the county, containing a description of the lands to be sold, the valuation of the same, and the time when it would be offered at public auc- tion by said auditor at the door of the court house, at not less than the appraised value thereof; one-twelfth of the purchase money to be paid at the time of sale, and the balance in eleven annual instalinents of equal amount, with annual interest thereon. The land was to be sold to the highest bidder over the appraisement. and on the terms above stated. The purchas. ers of the land, when having made payment in full, received from the county auditor a final cer- tificate to that affect, and that such purchasers are entitled to receive from the State a deed in fee-simple fer said land. Upon tiling such cer- tificate with the Auditor of State, a deed was pre-
200
WOOD COUNTY, OHIO.
pared, signed by the Governor, and delivered to the person entitled to receive it.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.