USA > Ohio > Morgan County > History of Morgan County, Ohio, with portraits and biographical sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 7
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The subsequent acts in relation to public lands were so multifarious that it would be tedious to chronicle them ; therefore, having shown how public lands could be acquired in the beginning, we will drop the subject.
Allusion has been made in the begin- ning of this chapter to the first ordi- nance for the government of the North- west Territory. Another and far supe- rior measure was enacted on the 13th of July, 1787, which is known in history as the Ordinance of Freedom, and was the fundamental law from the time of its enactment until the Territory ceased to exist. The text of the ordinance is as follows :
"An ordinance for the government of the territory of the United States north- west of the river Ohio.
" Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled : That the said territory, for the purposes of temporary government, be one district, subject, however, to be divided into two dis- tricts as future circumstances may, in the opinion of Congress, make it expe- dient.
" Be it ordained by the authority afore- said : That the estates both of resident and non-resident proprietors in the said territory dying intestate shall descend to and be distributed among their child- ren and the descendants of a deceased child in equal parts ; the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild to take
the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among them; and where there shall be no children or descend- ants then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal degree; and among collat- erals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall have in equal parts among them their deceased parent's share; and there shall in no case be a distinction between kindred of the whole and half blood, saving, in all cases, to the widow of the intestate her third part of the real estate for life and one-third part of the personal estate; and this law relative to descents and dowers shall remain in full force until altered by the legislature of the district. And until the governor and judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter mentioned, estates in said territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed and sealed by him or her in whom the estate may be (being of full age) and attested by three witnesses, and real estates may be conveyed by lease and release, or bargain and sale, signed, sealed and delivered by the person (be- ing of full age) in whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses; pro- vided such wills be duly proved and such conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution thereof duly proved, and be recorded within one year after proper magistrates, courts and registers shall be appointed for that purpose, and per- sonal property may be tranferred by delivery ; saving, however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other set- tlers of the Kaskaskies, St. Vincents and the neighboring villages who have here- tofore professed themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force among them relative to the de- scent and conveyance of property.
"Be it ordained by the authority afore-
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TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC LANDS.
said : That there shall be appointed from time to time by Congress a governor, whose commission shall continue in force for three years unless sooner revoked by Congress. He shall reside in the dis- trict and have a freehold estate therein in one thousand acres of land while in the exercise of his office.
"There shall be appointed from time to time a secretary, whose commission shall continue in force for four years unless sooner revoked; he shall reside in the district and have a freehold estate therein in five hundred acres of land while in the exercise of his office; it shall be his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the legisla- ture and the public records of the dis- trict and the proceedings of the governor in his executive department, and trans- mit authentic copies of such acts and proceedings every six months to the Secretary of Congress. There shall also be appointed a court, to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall have a common law jurisdiction and reside in the district, and have each therein a freehold estate in five hundred acres of land while in the exercise of their offices; and their commissions shall continue in force dur- ing good behavior.
"The governor and judges, or a ma- jority of them, shall adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original States, criminal and civil, as may be necessary and best suited to the circum- stances of the district, and report them to Congress from time to time; which laws shall be in force in the district until the organization of the general as- sembly therein, unless disapproved by Congress ; but afterward the legislature shall have authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
"The governor, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the mili- tia, appoint and commission all officers in the same below the rank of general officers. All general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by Con- gress.
"Previous to the organization of the general assembly the governor shall ap- point such magistrates and other civil officers in each county or township as he shall find necessary for the preserva- tion of the peace and good order in the same. After the general assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and defined by the said assembly ; but all magistrates and other civil officers, not herein otherwise di- rected, shall, during the continuance of this temporary government, be ap- pointed by the governor.
" For the prevention of crimes and in- juries, the laws to be adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the dis- trict, and for the execution of process. criminal and civil, the governor shall make proper divisions thereof; and he shall proceed, from time to time, as cir- cumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district in which the Indian titles shall have been extinguished into counties and townships-subject, how- ever, to such alterations as may there- after be made by the legislature.
" So soon as there shall be five thou- sand free male inhabitants of full age in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the governor, they shall receive au- thority, with time and place, to elect representatives from their conties or townships to represent them in the general assembly: Provided, That for every five hundred free male inhab- itants there shall be one representative.
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
and so on progressively ; with the num- ber of free male inhabitants shall the right of representation increase, until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five; after which the number and proportion of representa- tives shall be regulated by the legisla- tnre: Provided, That no person be eli- gible or qualified to act as a represent- ative nnless he shall have been a citi- zen of one of the United States three years, and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the district three years; and in either case shall likewise hold in his own right in fee simple two hundred acres of land within the same: Provided, also, That a freehold in fifty acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the States, and being resident in the district, or the like freehold and two years' residence in the district, shall be necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a representative.
" The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of two years; and in the case of the death of a representa- tive, or removal from office, the govern- or shall issue a writ to the county or township for which he was a member to elect another in his stead to serve for the residue of the term.
"The general assembly, or legislature, shall consist of the governor, legislative council and a house of representatives. The legislative council shall consist of five members, to continue in office five years, unless sooner removed by Con- gress, any three of whom to be a quorum ; and the members of the coun- cil shall be nominated and appointed in the following manner, to wit: As soon as representatives shall be elected, the governor shall appoint a time and place for them to meet together, and when
met they shall nominate ten persons, residents of the district, and each pos- sessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of land, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as aforesaid ; and whenever a vacancy shall happen in the council by death or removal from office, the honse of repre- sentatives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, and return their names to Congress, one of whom Congress shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term. And every five years, four monthis at least before the expiration of the time of service of the members of the council, the said house shall nominate ten persons, qualified as afore- said, and return their names to Con- gress, five of whom Congress shall ap- point and commission to serve as mem- bers of the council five years unless sooner removed. And the governor, legislative council and house of repre- sentatives shall have anthority to make laws in all cases for the government of the district not repugnant to the prin- ciples and articles in this ordinance established and declared. And all bills, having passed by a majority in the house, and by a majority in the council, shall be referred to the governor for his assent; but no bill or legislative act what- ever shall be of any force without his assent. The governor shall have power to convene, prorogue and dis- solve the general assembly when in his opinion it shall be expedient.
"The governor, judges, legislative council and such other officers as Con- gress shall appoint in the district shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity and of office-the governor before the President of Congress, and all other
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TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC LANDS.
officers before the governor. As soon as a legislature shall be formed in the district, the council and house, assem- bled in one room, shall have authority by joint ballot to elect a delegate to Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating, but not of voting, during this temporary government.
" And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty, which form the basis whereon these re- publics, their laws and constitutions are erected ; to fix and establish those prin- ciples as the basis of all laws, constitu- tions and governments, which forever hereafter shall be established in the said territory ; to provide also for the establishment of States and permanent government therein, and for their ad- mission to a share in the Federal Coun- cils on an equal footing with the origi- nal States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general inter- ests :
" Be it ordained and declared by the authority aforesaid: That the following articles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original States and the people and States in the said terri- tory, and forever remain unalterable umless by common consent, to wit :
" ARTICLE 1. No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly man- ner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious senti- ments in the said territory.
" ART. 2. The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas corpus and of the trial by jury; of a propor- tionate representation of the people in the legislature, and of judicial proceed- ings according to the course of the com- mon law. All persons shall be bailable
unless for capital offenses where the proof shall be evident or the presump- tion great. All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishments shall be inflicted. No man shall be de- prived of his liberty or property but by the judgement of his peers, or the law of the land; and should the public exigen- cies make it necessary for the common preservation to take any person's prop- erty or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same. And in the just preservation of rights and property it is understood and declared that no laws ought ever to be made or have force in the said territory that shall, in any manner whatever, interfere with or affect private contracts or engagements, bona fide and without fraud, previously formed.
"ART. 3. Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good gov- ernment and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed to- ward the Indians ; their lands and prop- erty shall never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights and liberty they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall, from time to time, be made for preventing wrongs being done to them and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
" ART. 4. The said territory and the States which may be formed therein shall forever remain a part of this con- federacy of the United States of Ameri- ca, subject to the articles of confederation and to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made, and to all the
60
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
acts and ordinances of the United States in Congress assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts, con- tracted or to be contracted, and a pro- portional part of the expenses of government, to be apportioned on them by Congress, according to the same common rule and measure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the inhabitants of other States ; and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the dis- trict or districts, or new States, as in the original States within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. The legislatures of those districts or new States shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the prop- erty of the United States ; and in no case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. The navi- gable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be com- mon highways and forever free, as well to the inhabisants of the said territory as to citizens of the United States and those of any other States that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost or duty therefor.
" ART. 5. There shall be formed in the said territory not less than three nor more than five States ; and the bonnd- aries of the States, as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession and consent to the same, shall become fixed and es-
tablished, as follows, to wit ; The west- ern State in the said territory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio and Wabash Rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents dne north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada ; and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The middle State shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash, from Post Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami, to the said terri- torial line, and by the said territorial line. The eastern State shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct line. the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said ter- ritorial line : Provided, however, and it is further understood and declared that the boundaries of these three States shall be subject so far to be altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have author- ity to form one or two States in that part of the said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. And whenever any of the said States shall have sixty thonsand free inhabitants therein such State shall be admitted by its delegates into the Congress of the United States on an equal footing with the original States in all respects whatever, and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and State government. Provided, The constitution and govern- ment so to be formed shall be republi- can and in conformity to the principles contained in these articles ; and so far as it can be consistent with the general interest of the confederacy, such admis- sion shall be allowed at an earlier period and when there may be a less number
61
THE OHIO COMPANY.
of free inhabitants in the State than sixty thousand.
"ART. 6. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory, otherwise than in the punish- ment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted : Provided,
always, That any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any of the original States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor or service as aforesaid."
CHAPTER IV.
THE OHIO COMPANY.
FIRST STEPS TOWARD ORGANIZING THE OHIO COMPANY-CONFERENCE OF GENERALS PUTNAM AND TUPPER-THEIR ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE-MEETING IN BOSTON-THE COMPANY ORGANIZED-STATEMENT OF ITS OBJECTS-DR. CUTLER APPOINTED TO CONDUCT NEGOTIA- TIONS WITH CONGRESS-HIS ABILITY AND SUCCESS AS AN AGENT-RESULT OF HIS LABORS- THE OHIO COMPANY'S PURCHASE AND THE ORDINANCE OF FREEDOM-THEIR INTIMATE RELA- TION-REASONS FOR SELECTING LANDS ON THE MUSKINGUM-DR. CUTLER'S REPORT MADE AND ACCEPTED-THE PROPOSED CITY AND COLONY-MEASURES IN RELATION TO THE SAME-CONSPICU- OUS ZEAL MANIFESTED IN THE PROMOTION OF EDUCATION AND RELIGION-THE SURVEY-PROPOSED DONATIONS TO SETTLERS-FINAL ADJUSTMENT OF THE COMPANY'S AFFAIRS-A PERIOD OF EM- BARRASSMENT, FINALLY RELIEVED BY CONGRESSIONAL ACTION-THE PURCHASE AS FINALLY CON- CLUDED-THE DONATION LANDS-DIVISION OF LANDS AMONG SHAREHOLDERS.
T HE organization of the Ohio Com- pany, and consequently the found- ing of the first permanent English set- tlement in the Northwest, resulted from plans formed by two Massachusetts men, heroes of the Revolutionary war, General Rufus Putnam and General Benjamin Tupper. The war had nat- urally strengthened the spirit of ad- venture, always a prominent trait of New England character, and its close found many soldiers, reduced to por- - erty or bankruptcy by the results of the seven years' struggle, ready to embark in any scheme that promised to retrieve their shattered fortunes. The time was
ripe for western colonization, a subject which had attracted the attention of many of the Revolutionary leaders dur- ing the closing years of the war, and was especially favored by Washington. In 1776 Congress had provided for a system of military land bounties for the benefit of all soldiers who should serve through the war. This act provided that a colonel should be entitled to 500 acres, a lieutenant-colonel to 450 acres, while other officers should receive lesser amounts in proportion to their rank, and a private should be allowed 100 acres. Four years later the provisions of the act were extended to the higher officers.
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
a major-general becoming entitled to 1,100 acres, and a brigadier to 850 acres.
" In 1783, seeing that the final reduc- tion of the army must soon take place, the officers, to the number of two hun- dred and eighty-eight, anxious for defi- nite action, petitioned Congress to locate the lands they were entitled to some- where in the region now known as Eastern Ohio ; but even the great influ- ence of Washington was not able to bring about the object sought, and no legislation affecting the interests of the petitioners was enacted. Congress had not yet a perfect title to the territory northwest of the Ohio. It must be re- membered that the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary army did not re- ceive money for their priceless services, bnt almost valueless certificates. In
1784 they were worth only about 3s 6d to +s to the pound, and as late as 1788 they brought not more than 5s or 6s."*
In 1784 Virginia ceded to the gen- eral government all her claims to the territory northwest of the Ohio, except- ing only that tract since known as the Virginia Military District, lying be- tween the Scioto and the Little Miami. This cession led to new efforts on the part of the New England officers to obtain some adequate recognition by Congress of the justness of their claims, but without result. At this juncture the plan of buying a tract was presented by Generals Putnam and Tupper. General Tupper was one of the government surveyors appointed by Congress to lay out in townships and ranges that part of the Northwest- ern Territory which is now Southeast- ern Ohio. He had visited the western
country in the performance of his duties in 1785, and doubtless that visit and his favorable report of the region had its influence on the subsequent purchase of the tract of the Ohio Company on the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers.
In January, 1786, General Tupper visited his friend General Putnam at the home of the latter in Rutland, Wor- cester County, Mass., and as the result of their conference there appeared in the newspapers of Boston on the 25th of January an address to the people, headed "Information," which read as follows :
" The subscribers take this method to inform all officers and soldiers who have served in the late war and who are by a late ordinance of the honor- able Congress to receive certain tracts of land in the Ohio country, and also all other good citizens who wish to become adventurers in that delightful region, that from personal inspection, together with other incontestable evidences, they are fully satisfied that the lands in that quarter are of a much better quality than any other known to the New En- gland people ; that the climate, seasons, products, etc., are, in fact, equal to the most flattering accounts that have ever been published of them; that being determined to become purchasers and to prosecute a settlement in the coun- try, and desirous of forming a general association with those who entertain the same ideas, they beg leave to propose the following plan, viz .: That an asso- ciation by the name of the Ohio Com- pany be formed of all such as wish to become purchasers, etc., in that country, who reside in the commonwealth of Massachusetts only, or to extend to the inhabitants of other States, as shall be agreed on."
*Alfred Mathews, in "The Earliest Settlement in Ohio," in Harper's Magazine for September, 1885.
63
THE OHIO COMPANY.
The address further proposed that all favoring the plan should meet at desig- nated places in their respective counties on the 15th of the following month (February) for the purpose of choosing delegates, who should assemble at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in Boston, on Wednesday, March 1, 1786, "then and there to consider and determine upon a general plan of association for said com- pany."
The meeting, which was destined to have such an important bearing upon the future of the West, came off at the time and place designated. The dele- gates, among whom were some of the foremost men of the State at that day, were as follows: Manasseh Cutler, of Essex County ; Winthrop Sargent and Jolın Mills, of Suffolk ; John Brooks and Thomas Cushing, of Middlesex ; Benjamin Tupper, of Hampshire ; Crocker Sampson, of Plymouth ; Rufus Putnam, of Worcester; Jelaliel Wood- bridge and John Patterson, of Berk- shire, and Abraham Williams, of Barn- stable. General Putnam was chosen chairman and Major Winthrop Sargent secretary. A committee of five was chosen to draft articles of association,* which were unanimously adopted on the 3d of March, and thus the Ohio Company formally entered upon its in- portant mission.
" The design of this association," as stated in the preamble of the resolu- tions, was to raise a fund in Continental certificates for the sole purpose and to be appropriated to the entire use of purchasing lands in the western terri- tory belonging to the United States, for the benefit of the company, and to pro-
mote a settlement in that country." Ar- ticle I provided that the fund should not exceed $1,000,000 in Continental specie certificates, exclusive of one year's interest due thereon (except as afterward provided); each share to con- sist of $1,000, as aforesaid, and also $10 in gold or silver. Article II provided that the whole fund, except one year's interest on the certificates, should be applied to the purchase of lands. The one year's interest was reserved to be "applied to the purpose of making a settlement in the country and assisting those who may be otherwise unable to remove themselves thither." The gold and silver was for the purpose of de- fraying the expenses of the agents of the company and other contingent expenses.
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