USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume I > Part 3
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ORDINANCE OF 1787.
There have been many volumes written about this instrument of gov- ernment and to this day there is a difference of opinion as to who was its author. The present article can do no more than merely sketch its outline and set forth the main provisions. It was intended to provide only a tem- porary government and to serve until such a time as the population of the territory would warrant the creation of states with the same rights and privileges which the thirteen original states enjoyed. It stipulated that not less than three nor more than five states should ever be created out of the whole territory and the maximum number was finally organized, although it was not until 1848 that the last state, Wisconsin, was admitted to the Union. The third article, "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged," has given these five states the basis for their excellent system of public schools, state normals, colleges and uni- versities. Probably the most widely discussed article was the sixth, which provided that slavery and involuntary servitude should never be permitted within the territory and by the use of the word "forever" made the territory free for all time. It is interesting to note in this connection that both Indi- ana and Illinois before their admission to the Union sought to have this pro- vision set aside, but every petition from the two states was refused by Con- gress in accordance with the provision of the Ordinance.
FIRST STAGE OF GOVERNMENT UNDER THE ORDINANCE.
The ordinance contemplated two grades of territorial government. During the operation of the first grade of government the governor, his sec- retary and the three judges provided by the ordinance were to be appointed
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by Congress and the governor in turn was to appoint "such magistrates and other civil officers in each county and township as he shall deem necessary for the preservation of the peace and good will of the same." After the federal government was organized a statutory provision took the appoint- ment of these officers out of the hands of Congress and placed it in the hand of the President of the United States. All executive authority was given to the governor, all judicial authority to the three judges, while the governor and judges, in joint session, constituted the legislative body. This means that during the first stage of territorial government the people had absolutely no voice in the affairs of government and this state of affairs lasted until 1799, a period of twelve years.
SECOND STAGE OF GOVERNMENT UNDER THE ORDINANCE.
The second stage of government in the territory was to begin whenever the governor was satisfied that there were at least five thousand free male inhabitants of the age of twenty-one and above. The main difference be- tween the first and second stages of territorial government lay in the fact that the legislative functions were taken from the governor and judges and given to a "general assembly or legislature." The ordinance provided for the election of one representative for each five hundred free male inhabitants, the tenure of the office to be two years. While the members of the lower house were to be elected by the qualified voters of the territory, the upper house, to consist of five members, was to be appointed by Congress in a somewhat complicated manner. The house of representatives was to select ten men and these ten names were to be sent to Congress and out of this number five were to be selected by Congress. This provision, like the ap- pointment of the governor, was later changed so as to make the upper house the appointees of the President of the United States. The five men so selected were called councilors and held office for five years.
ORGANIZATION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
The first governor of the newly organized territory was Gen. Arthur St. Clair, a gallant soldier of the Revolution, who was appointed on October 5, 1787, and ordered to report for duty on the first of the following Feb- ruary. He held the office until November 22, 1802, when he was dismissed by President Jefferson "for the disorganizing spirit, and tendency of every example, violating the rules of conduct enjoined by his public station, as dis- played in his address to the convention." The governor's duties were per- formed by his secretary, Charles W. Byrd, until March 1, 1803, when the state officials took their office. The first judges appointed were Samuel Holden Parsons, James Mitchell Varnum and John Armstrong. Before the
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time came for the judges to qualify, Armstrong resigned and John Cleves Symmes was appointed in his place. The first secretary was Winthrop Sargent, who held the position until he was appointed governor of Missis- sippi Territory by the President on May 2, 1798. Sargent was succeeded by William Henry Harrison, who was appointed by the President on June 26, 1798, and confirmed by the Senate two days later. Harrison was later elected as the first delegate of the organized Northwest Territory to Congress and the President then appointed Charles Willing Byrd as secretary of the Territory, Byrd's appointment being confirmed by the Senate on December 31, 1799.
REPRESENTATIVE STAGE OF GOVERNMENT (1799-1803).
The Northwest Territory remained under the government of the first stage until September 16, 1799, when it formally advanced to the second or representative stage. In the summer of 1798 Governor St. Clair had ascer- tained that the territory had a population of at least five thousand free male inhabitants, and in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance of 1787, was ready to make the change in its form of government. On October 29, 1798, the governor issued a proclamation to the qualified voters of the terri- tory directing them to choose members for the lower house of the Territorial Legislature at an election to be held on the third Monday of the following December. The twenty-two members so elected met on January 16, 1799, and, pursuant to the provisions of the ordinance, selected the ten men from whom the President of the United States later chose five for the Legislative Council. They then adjourned to meet on September 16, 1799, but since there was not a quorum on that day they held adjourned sessions until the 23rd, at which time a quorum was present.
At the time the change in the form of government went into effect there were only nine counties in the whole territory. These counties had been organized either by the governor or his secretary. The following table gives the nine counties organized before 1799, with the dates of their organization and the number of legislators apportioned to each by the governor :
Date of
Number of
County.
organization. representatives.
Washington
July 27, 1788
2
Hamilton
January 4, 1790
7
St. Clair
April 27, 1790
I
Knox
June 20, 1790.
I
Randolph
October 5, 1795
I
Wayne
August 6, 1796
!
3
Adams
1 July 10, 1797
1
i 1
2
1
1
j
1
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GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
Jefferson
July 29, 1797 I
Ross
August 20, 1798 4
FIRST TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
The twenty-two representatives and five councilors were the first rep- resentative body to meet in the Northwest Territory and they represented a constituency scattered over a territory of more than two hundred and sixty- five thousand square miles, an area greater than Germany or France, or even Austria-Hungary. It would be interesting to tell something of the delibera- tions of these twenty-seven sterling pioneers, but the limits of the present article forbid. It is necessary, however, to make mention of one important thing which they did in view of the fact that it throws much light on the subsequent history of the Northwest Territory.
DIVISION OF 1800.
The Legislature was authorized to elect a delegate to Congress and two candidates for the honor presented their names to the Legislature, William Henry Harrison and Arthur St. Clair, Jr., the son of the governor. The Legislature, by a joint ballot on October 3, 1799, elected Harrison by a vote of eleven to ten. The defeat of his son undoubtedly had considerable to do with the subsequent estrangement which arose between the governor and his Legislature and incidentally hastened the division of the Northwest Terri- tory. Within two years from the time the territory had advanced to the second stage of government the division had taken place. On May 7, 1800, Congress passed an act dividing the Northwest Territory by a line drawn from the mouth of the Kentucky river to Fort Recovery, in Mercer county, Ohio, and thence due north to the boundary line between the United States and Canada. Governor St. Clair favored the division because he thought it would delay the organization of a state and thus give him a longer lease on his position, but he did not favor the division as finally determined. He was constantly growing in disfavor with the people on account of his overbearing manner and he felt that he would get rid of some of his bitterest enemies if the western inhabitants were set off into a new territory. However, the most of the credit for the division must be given to Harrison, who, as a dele- gate to Congress, was in a position to have the most influence. Harrison also was satisfied that in case a new territory should be formed he would be appointed its first governor and he was not disappointed. The territory west of the line above mentioned was immediately organized and designated as Indiana Territory, while the eastern portion retained the existing government and the old name-Northwest Territory. It is frequently overlooked that the Northwest Territory existed in fact and in name up until March 1, 1803.
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CENSUS OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY IN 1800.
The division of 1800 left the Northwest Territory with only about one- third of its original area. The census of the territory taken by the United States government in 1800 showed it to have a total population of forty-five thousand three hundred and sixty-five, which fell short by about fifteen thousand of being sufficient for the creation of a state as provided by the Ordinance of 1787. which fixed the minimum population at sixty thousand. The counties left in the Northwest Territory, with their respective popula- tion, are set forth in the appended table, all of which were within the present state of Ohio, except Wayne:
Adams
3,432
Hamilton
14,632
Jefferson
8,766
Ross
8,540
Trumbull
1,302
Washington
5,427
Wayne
3,206
Total
45,365
The population as classified by the census with respect to age and sex is interesting and particularly so in showing that considerably more than one- third of the total population were children under ten years of age.
Males.
Females.
Whites up to ten years of age-
9,362
8,644
Whites from ten to sixteen.
3,647
3,353
Whites from sixteen to twenty-six. 4,636
3,86I
Whites from twenty-six to forty-five_
4,833
3,342
Whites forty-five and upward.
1,955
1,395
Total
24,433 20,595
Total of both sexes.
45,028
Total of other persons, not Indians
337
Grand Total
45,365
1
1
I
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
A digression is necessary at this point in order to trace the growth of settlement of the territory now within the present state of Ohio up to 1803, when it was admitted to the Union as a state. Marietta, founded in July, 1788, by the Ohio Company, is the oldest permanent settlement in the state.
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GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
A number of New Jersey settlers were organized by John Cleves Symmes, and Symmes succeeded in securing a grant of land from Congress (1788- 1792) containing two hundred forty-eight thousand five hundred and forty acres, located between the Great Miami and Little Miami rivers. This grant of land is known in Ohio history as the Symmes purchase and contained the settlements of Columbia (1788) and Cincinnati (1789), although the latter place was first christened Losantiville. The man who devised this name exercised no small amount of ingenuity in its manufacture. The proposed settlement happened to be located at the mouth of the Licking river and this circumstance, with a little knowledge of Latin and a vivid imagination, was responsible for this hybrid word. The Latin word for town is "villa," which is Anglicized into "ville;" the Latin for opposite i's "anti" and for mouth "os." These three Latin words account for the completed word, with the exception of the "L," and this letter is the initial letter of Licking. To make the word clear it must be read backward, syllable at a time-thus L-os-anti- ville, which being interpreted means the town opposite the mouth of the Licking.
The Virginia Military District, to which reference has been made, was settled largely by people from that state. The Connecticut Reserve, along Lake Erie, attracted many settlers from that state, among whom should be mentioned Moses Cleaveland, who, in 1796, founded the city which bears his name. The northern part of the state did not begin to fill up rapidly until after 1832, when the Ohio-Erie canal was opened for traffic. There have been estimates running from fifteen to twenty thousand as to the number of people who floated down the Ohio river within a year after the Ordinance of 1787 went into effect.
COUNTY ORGANIZATION (1788-1810).
It has already been stated that there were nine counties within the Northwest Territory in 1799, when it advanced to the second stage of terri- torial government. According to the provisions of the ordinance, the crea- tion of new counties was in the hands of the governor, although after the federal constitution went into effect the secretary was also given the same power. Knox and Wayne counties were started by Secretary Winthrop Sar- gent according to this provision. The state of Ohio is now divided into eighty-eight counties, ten of which were created before the state was ad- mitted to the Union on March 1, 1803. The counties organized by Governor St. Clair, or his secretary, from 1788, when Washington county was organ- ized, up to 1803, when the state was admitted to the Union, are ten in number : Washington, Hamilton, Wayne, Adams, Jefferson, Ross, Trum- bull, Clermont, Fairfield and Belmont. The dates of the creation of the first
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six have already been given. Trumbull county was organized on July 10, 1800; Clermont and Fairfield, December 9, 1800; Belmont, September 7, 1801. Between the years 1803 and 1810, when Fayette county was organ- ized, there were no less than twenty-four counties organized within the state of Ohio. The first session of the General Assembly of the state organized eight counties as follows: Franklin, Gallia, Greene, Scioto, Warren, Butler, Montgomery and Columbiana. Muskingum started its independent existence on the first day of March, 1804. In 1805 there were four counties created, Champaign, Athens, Geauga and Highland. The session of 1807 added four more to the rapidly growing state, Miami, Ashtabula, Cuyahoga and Portage. The following year saw six new counties opened for entry, Delaware, Stark, Tuscarawas, Preble, Knox and Licking. One county, Huron, was created in 1809. The five counties organized in 1810 included Fayette, Pickaway, Guernsey, Clinton and Madison. This makes a total of thirty-nine counties up to and including the year 1810. In this year Cincinnati, the largest city of the state, boasted of a population of two thousand three hundred and twenty.
INDIAN WARS
(1787-1803).
The period from 1787 to 1803 in the Northwest Territory was marked by several bitter conflicts with the Indians. Just as at the close of the French and Indian War had the French stirred up the Indians against the Ameri- cans, so at the close of the Revolutionary War did the English do the same thing. Thi's inciting of the Indians by the British was one of the causes of the War of 1812, a struggle which has very appropriately been called the second War for Independence. The various uprisings of the Indians up to 1794 retarded the influx of settlers and was a constant menace to those who did venture into the territory. Three distinct campaigns were waged against the Indians during this period before they were finally subdued. The first campaign was under the command of Gen. Josiah Harmar, 1790, and re- sulted in a decisive defeat for the whites. The second expedition was under the leadership of Gen. Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Territory, and was marked by one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an American army at the hands of the Indians. A lack of knowledge of Indian methods of warfare, combined with reckless mismanagement, sufficiently accounts for both disasters. It remained for Gen. Anthony Wayne, the "Mad Anthony" of Revolutionary fame, to bring the Indians to terms. The battle which closed his campaign against the Indians is known as the battle of Fallen Timbers and was fought on August 20, 1794. The scene of the battle lies along the Maumee river within the limits of the present county of Defiance. This crushing defeat of the Indians, a rout in which they had lost twelve out of thirteen chiefs, was so complete that the Indians were glad to sue for
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GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
peace. On June 10, 1795, delegates from the various Indian tribes, headed by their chiefs, met at Greenville, Ohio, to formulate a treaty. The United States government appointed General Wayne as commissioner plenipotentiary to draft the treaty and, after nearly two months of bickering, a treaty was drawn up on August 3, 1795. It was signed by General Wayne on behalf of the United States and by ninety chiefs and the delegates of twelve inter- ested tribes. The treaty was faithfully kept by the Indians and ever after- wards Little Turtle, the real leader of the Indians, was a true friend of the whites. It may be said that this battle of Fallen Timbers was the most important battle fought in America between the close of the War for Inde- pendence and the battle of Tippecanoe in the fall of 1811. To General An- thony Wayne will remain the honor of opening the way for permanent set- tlement of the Northwest Territory.
THE FORMATION OF A NEW STATE ..
The three years intervening between the creation of Indiana Territory (May 7, 1800) and the admission of Ohio to the Union (March 1, 1803), are marked by an acrimonious struggle during which Governor St. Clair was constantly growing in disfavor with his Legislature and the great mass of the people of the territory. The Legislature wanted a state formed as soon as possible and succeeded in getting Congress to pass an act, April 30, 1802, authorizing the calling of a constitutional convention. This act estab- lished the limits of the proposed new state as follows: "That part of the Northwest Territory bounded east by Pennsylvania, south by the Ohio river, west by a line drawn from the mouth of the Big Miami river due north to an east and west line passing through the south extremity of Lake Michigan, and by this line and the Canada line through Lake Erie to the west line of Pennsylvania." Since these boundaries omitted the eastern half of the present state of Michigan which had been left a part of the Northwest Ter- ritory by the division of May 7, 1800, it was denounced as a fraud by the Federalists in the omitted territory. However, it is very plain that Congress carried out the intent of the Ordinance of 1787 by their act and the charge of political trickery fails of substantiation in the light of the specific pro- visions therein set forth regarding the creation of states out of the North- west Territory. The enabling act provided for an election of delegates to the constitutional convention to be held in September of the same year (1802), the delegates to meet at Chillicothe on the first Monday of the fol- lowing November. The thirty-five delegates met at the appointed time and by a vote of thirty-four to one, the negative vote being cast by Ephraim . Cutler, decided to proceed at once to the organization of a state government and the formation of a constitution. The convention was in session until
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GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
November 29th, at which time it had completed the first constitution for the state and the one which lasted until 1851, when a second constitution was adopted.
WHEN WAS OHIO ADMITTED TO THE UNION?
It is interesting to note the difficulty which Ohio historians have had in trying to fix upon the date which marks the formal admission of the state to the Union.
The natal day of Ohio has given rise to more dispute than the natal day of any other state in the Union. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that Congress never passed an act formally admitting it to the Union. There have been no less than five dates assigned by as many different authorities and each group of historians substantiate their claim by the citation of facts. These five dates are as follows: April 30, 1802; November 29, 1802; Feb- ruary 19, 1803; March 1, 1803; March 3, 1803.
The first date ( April 30, 1802) has for its chief sponsor the editor of the "United States Statutes at Large." This date is not tenable at all, since the territorial judges were in office for several months after this date and were, by the congressional act of February 21, 1806, paid their full salaries up to March 1, 1803. The second date (November 29, 1802) is advanced by Hickey in his volume, "The Constitution," on the ground that the con- stitution was adopted on that day. The third date (February 19, 1803) has been held by several good authorities, notably, Caleb Atwater, in his "Political Manual;" G. W. Pascal, in his "Annotated Constitution," and the late president of Marietta College, I. W. Andrews. It was upon this date that Congress passed an act to "provide for the due execution of the laws of the United States within the state of Ohio." This would seem to indicate that Congress recognized February 19, 1803, as the date of the admission of Ohio to the Union, but when it is recalled that Congress had not yet ap- pointed the necessary judicial offiers it must be concluded that this is not the proper date. The fourth date (March I, 1803) is now recognized officially as the actual day on which Ohio formally entered the Union, although it was an act of Congress passed nearly three years later which definitely settled this fact. The question arose in 1806 in Congress regarding the payment of the territorial officers and the act of February 2Ist of that year ordered that the governor and judges be paid for their services up to March 1, 1803. There can be no question but that Congress placed its official approval on this date as being the first day of Ohio's existence as a separate state. The fifth and last date (March 3, 1803) was advanced as the real date of the admission of the state, for the reason that on this date Congress gave its approval to certain changes in the constitution of the state which had been adopted on November 29, 1802. These changes related to the disposition of
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GREENE COUNTY, OHIO
certain school lands within the state and were of minor importance and in no sense advocated any radical changes in the constitution of the state. However, on March 3, 1803, the state had been in full operation for a space of three days and exercising all the rights and privileges of a state; the governor had been installed; the Legislature was in session and the various state officials were discharging their duties in accordance with the constitu- tion. Thus it must be concluded from all available evidence that Ohio was admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803.
CAPITALS OF NORTHWEST TERRITORY AND OHIO.
The capital of the Northwest Territory was located within the present limits of Ohio during the whole existence of the Territory both before and after the division of the Territory in 1800. When the Ordinance of 1787 was formally put into operation, on July 17, 1788, the capital was estab- lished at Marietta, the name being chosen by the directors of the Ohio Com- pany on July 2, 1788. The name of Marietta was selected in honor of the French Queen Marie Antoinette, compounded by a curious combination of the first and last syllables of her nanie.
The capital remained at Marietta until 1800, when it was moved by the congressional act of May 7th of that year to Chillicothe and by the consti- tution adopted in 1802 the capital was to remain there at least until 1808. The Legislature of 1809 moved the capital to Zanesville until such time as a permanent site should be selected. The Legislature at the same time that it moved the capital to Zanesville appointed commissioners to report at the fol- lowing sessions "the most eligible and central spot for permanently estab- lishing it." The approaching War of 1812 made it necessary to take the capital back to Chillicothe, where there was less danger from attack by the Indians and British. The commissioners appointed by the Legislature of 1809 selected a small village by the name of Dublin, on the Scioto, about fourteen miles north of Columbus, but the Legislature refused to abide by their choice.
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