USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions > Part 2
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First
40
Northwest Territory
33, 36, 101
O
Odd Fellows 196, 288, 299, 330, 341,
335, 384, 397
Officers, First County
155
Officers of the County.
167
Ohio Admitted as a State.
46
Ohio Land Company Purchase __ 52, 122
Ohio, Natural Features
Ohio Politics
60
Ohio, Situation of
60
Ohio, Streams and Lakes
60
Oil, Attempts to Get
86
Order of the Eastern Star
288, 384
Organization of Preble County
152
Ordinance of 1787
Organization of Counties
37
61
Origin of Indians
94
Ottawa County
74
Digitized by
-
$
1
288
First Stores
163, 375
57
HISTORICAL INDEX.
P
Patrons of Husbandry _289, 386, 397, 401
Paulding County 74
Perry County 74
Physicians -283, 297, 320, 342, 354, 358, 400
Pickaway County
74
Pike County
75
Pioneer Customs 131
Plats, Village
162
Politics in Ohio
57
. Pontiac's Conspiracy
Population in 1800
42
Population Statistics
410
Portage County
74
Poverty of Pelf
142
Preble, Commodore Edward
154
Preble County Agriculture Society_
179
Preble County Fair Board
Prehistoric Man
179
89
Presbyterian Church
236, 285, 296, 327, 353, 373
Present Court House
164
Press of Preble County 138, 205, 282, 380
Probate Court
Probate Judges
181
183
Prosecuting Attorneys
189
Putnam County
Pythian Sisters
75
333, 385
Pythias, Knights of
289, 299. 333, 339, 385, 397, 401
Q
Quakers
236, 344, 357
Quebec Act
36
R
Railroads. .173, 261, 278, 301, 379, 393 Rebekah, Daughters of_288, 299, 341, 384
Recorders, County
169
Refugee Tract
54
Related State History
33
Representative Government
39
Representatives
168
Revolutionary Period
36
Richland County
76
Roads
125, 260, 343
Roads, Agitation for Better
127
Roadway Orchard, Proposed
127
Ross County
75
Roster of County Officers.
167
Royal Arch Masons
332
S
St. Clair, Gen. Arthur.
44, 101
Salt Sections
56
Sandusky County
76
School Facilities, Early
144
School Sections
57
Schools, 144, 231, 240, 241, 248, 261,
262, 275, 295, 304, 306, 312, 337, 339, 341, 347, 352, 358, 361, 371,
382, 393, 395, 400
Scioto County
77
Secret Societies (see Titles of Or-
ders).
Senators, State
168
Seneca County
77
Settlement by French
34
Settlement, Early, 129, 235, 244, 246,
254, 268, 292, 305, 336, 344, 360,
366, 368, 391
Settler. First in County
133
Shelby County
76
Sheriffs
189
Soil
81, 178, 291, 301, 336, 367, 390
Soldiers, Rewarding the
122
Somers Township-
Cemeteries
294
Churches
293
Creation of
Early Industries
158, 160
Ferry
294
161
Mills
146
Natural Features
291
Population
410
Settlement
Soil
Streams
291
Tax Values
291
Sonora
411
Spacht Meeting House
163, 393
Squirrel Hunters, The.
142
Stark County
222
State Boundary Lines 76
State History, Related
59
33
50
-
Digitized by
State Military Record
292
36
I
HISTORICAL INDEX.
State Politics
57
State Senators
168
Statistics
410
Tax Values
411
Stock Raising
178
Stone Crop
82
Storms
149
Streams __ 123, 245, 251, 291, 301, 305, 390
Streams, Names of
123
Sugar Valley
163, 248
Summit County
76
Surveyors, County
170
Surveys
120, 251
Surveys, First Territorial
37
Symmes Purchase
53, 122
T
Tax Duplicate for 1914
411
Tax Levies, Early
161
Tax Lists, Early
158
Teachers' Wages, Early
145
Temperance History
289, 319
Temperature
149
Territory Northwest of the Ohio.
34
Tobacco Culture
178
Township Contest
159
Townships Created
158
Transportation
173
Treasurers, County
169
Treaties with Indians
45, 129
Treaty at Greenville
77
45
Trumbull County
Turnpike Lands
56
78
Tuscarawas County
Twin Township-
370
"Boohaw," The
366
Boundaries
375
Cemeteries
372
Churches
158, 160, 366
Drainage
371
Elections, Early
135, 369
First Settlers
366
Indians
147, 367, 372
366
Mills,
410
Name
Population
375
371
Quarries
366, 368
Schools
Settlement
Twin Township-
Soil
367
U
Underground Railroad
403
Union County
78
United Brethren Churches, 258, 293,
329, 337, 339, 340, 346, 353, 357,
387, 396, 400
United Presbyterian Church
.238, 285
United States Military Lands.
54
Universalist Churches
286, 296, 328, 337, 339
V
Vanausdal, Cornelius
139
Van Wert County
78
Verona-
Bank
229
Business Interests
399
Cemetery
393
Churches
400
Location
399
Mill
400
Plat
163
Population
410
Schools
400
Tax Values
411
Villages, Laying Out of the.
162
Vinton County
78
Virginia Military District
54, 122
W
Warren County
79
Washington County
78
Washington Township-
Area
305
Cemeteries
307
Churches
306, 325
Creation of
159
Drainage
305
Location
305
Mills
146
Population 410
Schools
306
Settlement
305
Streams
305
Tax Values
411
--
-
Digitized by
Creation of
368
370
Early Events
1
HISTORICAL INDEX.
Wayne, Gen. Anthony 44, 106
Wayne County 79
Weather 149, 349
West Alexandria-
Altitude
86
Banks
389
Cemeteries
387
Churches
161
Ferries
377
Improvements
378
Incorporation
377
Location
383
Lodges
378
Mayors
207, 380
Newspapers
378
Officers
86
Oil Wells
382
Pioneer Merchants
162, 377
Plat
377, 410
Population
380
Postoffice
379
Railroads
382
Schools
381
Taverns
411
Tax Values
85
Water
378
West Elkton ---
Beginning
355
Cemetery
348
Churches
357
Physicians
358
West Elkton-
Plat
Population
163, 355
Schools
410
Tax Values
358
411
"Underground Railroad"
West Florence-
403
Business
Church 259
Name Changed
257
Plat
259
Population
163, 259
School
259
West Manchester- 262
Bank
Business Interests 229
Churches
342
Growth
340
Lodges
340
Mills
341
Physicians 341
342
Population
163
Schools
Tax Values
341
Williams County 411
Wood County
79
79
79
Z
Zane Sections
56, 122
Digitized by
Plat
340, 410
Wyandot County
Water Works
227, 381
Digitized by
-
-
--
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX
A
503
595
Albert, Ira C.
Albright, Charles E. 441
B
Baker, Irvin O.
491
507
Baker, Joseph L.
718
Barr, John C.
628
Barton, Absalom
847
Batdorf, Frank
742
Beard, George E.
746
Beard, Jacob Q.
806
Beckett, James H.
667
Bevington, Dr. E. E.
599
Bittle, Seymour
630
Bohn, John H. L.
789
Bragg, Harry W.
637
Brandenburg, Richard E. 700
Bright, John D.
733
Brinkhoff, Frederick
568
Brouse, George H. 848
Brouse, Joseph L. 526
Brower, Daniel M. 815
Brown, Michael
693
Brown, Robert J.
765
Bruce, John E.
810
Bucke, Dr. William H.
885
Burch, Asa
Buriff, Silas Q.
688
Burtner, William L.
839
Busch, John
554
Byers, William M.
689
684
C
Call, David F.
Cail, John A.
Campbell, Archibald M.
703
699
476
Chambers, Henry
Christian, William I., M. D.
470
Christman, Albert H.
436
Christman, William R.
664
Clark, Edward R.
841
Cloyd, William S. 516
Coblentz, Prof. Clayton R. 556
Coffman, Andrew 715
Cokefair, Charles B. 485
Collins, Harry D.
492
Conger, James H. 669
Conger, Joseph E.
861
Cooper, Otto B.
747
Coovert, Martin L.
726
Corwin, William A.
754
Cotterman, Samuel
606
Cox. Charles E.
853
Creager, Ezra M.
474
Crider, Earl C. 836
Crowel, Josiah M. 593
Cunningham, Martin J.
717
Curry, John V.
518
739
D
Dalrymple, John A.
Danily, Richard
842
Davis, Judge Arthur D. 886
Davis. B. S.
878
Davisson, Francis M.
868
Deardorff, George W.
Deem, James K.
592
Disher, Leonidas 720
Duggins, John F.
585
Dye, Edmond S.
727
685
E
Earhart, Benjamin F.
Earhart, Marion A.
656
576
Digitized by Google
863
Deem, Charles H.
Duggins, Elmer E. 720
Durkle, Harry C.
820
426
Acton, Charles O.
Bloom, Charles W.
Bloom, Horace G.
670
-
-
-
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Eby, Christian N.
566
798
Ehrhardt, Adam
777
Ehrhardt, Levi L.
744
Ervin, John F.
Harris, Gov. Andrew L.
413
Harris, Dr. Charles H.
463
Hart, Stanley S.
480
Haston, Jesse L.
569
Hawley, Crittenden A., M. D. 654
Henry, Ellsworth J.
456
Herbst, John
714
Hiestand, Robert A.
438
Hinea, Henry
613
Hines, William R.
489
Hoover, David E.
545
Hoover, Grant L.
483
Hoover, Martin
624
Horn, George C.
695
Howsare, Rev. McDaniel
736
Huber, William
825
Hyland, Rev. Joseph M.
816
I
Irvin, Earl H.
435
J
John, Frank
850
Johnson, Hiram
546
Johnson, Lewis
500
Johnson, Minford D.
573
Johnson, William S.
708
Jones, Charles P.
634
Jones, Clement L.
724
K
Kayler, Estie W.
729
Kayler, John J.
512
Kelley, Henry B. 831
Kelly, Capt. George H.
418
Kennedy, Wilson
773
Kessler, Elwood M.
679
Kimmel, Orla P.
King, David M.
529
Kirk, Albert R.
830
772
Kisling, Irvin
Kramer, Herman
843
563
Krekler, Albert
779
Kumler, Granville M.
450
L
Laird, George A.
852
Lander, Solomon S.
487
-
F
Fadler, Charles D.
756
Ferst, Otto
600
Finney, Mrs. Cevilla
Fisher, William C.
793
496
Fleisch, Joseph
845
Flora, Josiah E.
457
Flory, George W., M. D. 604
Flory, Harry H.
623
Flory, Ira O.
572
Flory, Salmon
680
Fogarty, Prof. Walter S.
759
Forsberg, Philip, D. V. S.
531
Fowble, Augustus
873
Frame, Leander A.
440
Fritz, Orange V.
784
Fritz, William C.
652
Fudge, David L.
578
Fudge, Ira
G
Gale, Oscar A.
677
618
Gangwer, John
Garber, Allen
Gard, Clifford C.
856
Gartland, John J.
855
Gazell, Frank
615
Gebhart, David
659
Geeding, William
Gilbert, John D.
587
Gilmore, Hugh R.
865
Glenn, Timothy
883
Goldsmith, William A. 711
Goldsmith, William E.
697
Graham, Albert R.
552
Griem, Casper
580
H
Hamilton, Artie J.
647
Hamilton, Thomas B. 775
Hardin, George W.
822
Harlan, Calvin C.
882
574
-
Digitized by Google
602
550
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Lesh, Daniel E.
581
692
Lesh, Leander D.
Longanecker, Joseph 524
Lowry, Robert E.
832
610
Lyons, Anderson
Parker, Charles M. 877
Parker, John
710
Paul, Edwin T.
621
Paxton, Samuel M.
Pickett, George W.
661
Pierce, Charles W.
632
801
Pinkerton, William S. 750
Plummer, Winfield S.
521
Poos, Joseph 768
Potterf, John H.
532
Pryor, Dr. Logan R.
740
Pundt, Jacob H.
598
Q
Quinn, Nelson J.
514
R
Rehfuss, Elizabeth
Rehfuss, George W.
520
Rehfuss, Sophia
452
Reid, Everett O.
520
Reinheimer, David F.
658
Reynolds, Mrs. Sarah E.
663
643
Richards, James F.
732
Richie, Samuel C.
425
Riner, John C.
Riner, Lawrence
505
Roberts, Fred C. 770
Roberts, Jesse C.
752
471
Roberts, Samuel W.
635
Rule, Thomas
743
S
Sanders, Henry
824
Sawyer, John M.
674
Saylor, Philip A.
Scheid, Reuben J.
869
Schlingman, Dr. Albert S.
478
Schlotterbeck, John
522
Schreel, Frederick
625
Shade, Charles
760
Shaver, Ernest R.
488
Sheppard, Hon. Oscar
466
Shoemaker, Levi T.
528
Shumate, James N.
627
Silver, Dr. Horatio Z.
499
Digitized by
M
Maddock, Edward
808
Marker, Perry A. 561
Markey, Orange
834
Marsh, Hon. Felix M.
422
Marshall, Charles H.
446
Marshall, Joseph
448
Michael, Charles E.
464
Miller, Isaac
682
Miller, John E.
535
Miller, Samuel
734
821
Mitchell, Francis A.
Mitchell, Theodore W.
544
Moore, Waldo C.
428
Morris, William O.
818
Morrow, Asa R.
814
Morrow, Richard E.
538
Murray, Charles A.
707
Murray, Edwin O.
510
Murphy, Hon. Will E. 560
Murray, James B.
638
Myers, John E.
589
N
Neff, Fred M.
804
O
O'Dea, John J.
642
O'Hara, John W. 713
O'Leary, Thomas
826
Ozias, Edwin
555
Ozias, Ezra J.
590
P
Pansing, Floyd O.
454
Pardonner, William A.
570
Mc
McCoy, Samuel L.
730
McPherson, Joseph O.
666
Mc Whinney, John L.
860
Porman, Casper F. 612
875
-
BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX.
Silver, Oscar W. 533
443
Simpson. Ray R.
Sizelove, John E. 791
838
Skinner, Thomas S.
Sloan. Nathan C.
649
786
Slover, George F.
459
W
Waggoner, Prof. Walter 648
Wair, Christopher 748
Watts. Isaac
857
Weadick, Joseph A. 796
Webb, Porter P.
536
Weber. Rev. George 461
Whipp, John
607
White, William W. 596
Wilkinson, Charles C. 800
Williams, John A.
851
Wilson, Albert H.
Wilson, Solomon C.
858
502
Winkelman, John
Woerner, Joseph T. 558
888
Wolford. Charles T. 686
Wright. Edward F. 828
Wright, William
672
Wynkoop, James E.
690
Wysong, Daniel
565
Y
Yost. John M.
660
Young, Charles L.
577
Young, Dallas A. 482
Young, Prof. Edwin H.
540
Unger, John H.
564
V
Van Ausdal. Francis
619
Vanskiver. William E.
781
Vaughan, Edmund P.
871
Smith, Henry P.
676
Smith, Nathan
755
Somers, Edmond
722
Stamback, Elijah V.
640
Steel, Joseph C.
542
Steele, Robert 702
Stempel, George F. 880
Stevens, Newton E. 704
Stotler, Edward S. 548
Stover, John C. 509
Straw, George W.
494
Straw, William H.
616
Studebaker, Daniel
Swihart, James
497
763
Swope, George P.
T
819
Thomas, William H.
608
Toney, William
721
Treffinger, Jonas H.
432
Tyler, Isaac A.
U
433
Unger. Charles B.
Unger, Jacob B.
583
Digitized by
-
HISTORICAL
CHAPTER I.
RELATED STATE HISTORY.
The first white men to set foot upon the Northwest Territory were French traders and missionaries under the leadership of La Salle. This was about the year 1670 and subsequent discoveries and explorations in this region by the French gave that nation practically undisputed possession of all the territory organized in 1787 as the Northwest Territory. It is true that the English colonies of Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts claimed that their charters extended their grants westward to the Mississippi river. However, France claimed this territory and successfully maintained posses- sion of it until the close of the French and Indian War in 1763. At that time the treaty of Paris transferred all of the French claims east of the Mississippi river to England, as well as all claims of France to territory on the mainland of North America. For the next twenty years the Northwest Territory was under the undisputed control of England, but became a part of the United States by the treaty which terminated the Revolutionary War in 1783. Thus the flags of three nations have floated over the territory now comprehended within the present state of Ohio-the tri-color of France, the union jack of England and the stars and stripes of the United States.
History will record the fact that there was another nation, however, which claimed possession of this territory and, while the Indians can hardly be called a nation, yet they made a gallant fight to retain their hunting grounds. The real owners of this territory struggled against heavy odds to maintain their supremacy and it was not until the battle of Tippecanoe, in the fall of 1811, that the Indians gave up the unequal struggle. Tecumseh, the Washington of his race, fought fiercely to save this territory for his people, but the white man finally overwhelmed him, and "Lo, the poor Indian" was pushed westward across the Mississippi. The history of the Northwest
(3)
Digitized by Google
-
34
PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
Territory is full of the bitter fights which the Indian waged in trying to drive the white man out, and the defeat which the Indians inflicted on General St. Clair on November 4, 1792, will go down in the annals of American history as the worst defeat which an American army ever suffered at the hands of the Indians. The greatest battle which has ever been fought in the United States against the Indians occurred in the state of Ohio. This was the battle of Fallen Timbers and occurred August 20, 1794, the scene of the battle being within the present county of Defiance. After the close of the Revolutionary War the Indians, urged on by the British, caused the settlers in the Northwest Territory continual trouble and defeated every de- tachment sent against them previous to their defeat by Gen. Anthony Wayne at the battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Although there was some trouble with the Indians after this time, they never offered serious resistance after this memorable defeat until the fall of 1811, when Gen. William Henry Har- rison completely routed them at the battle of Tippecanoe.
TERRITORY NORTHWEST OF THE OHIO ( 1670-1754).
Ohio was the first state created out of the old Northwest Territory, although Indiana had been previously organized as a territory. When the land comprehended within the Northwest Territory was discovered by the French under La Salle about 1670, it was a battle ground of various Indian tribes, although the Eries, who were located along the shores of Lake Erie, were the only ones with a more or less definite territory. From 1670 to 1763, the close of the French and Indian War, the French were in possession of this territory and established their claims in a positive manner by exten- sive exploration and scattered settlements. The chief centers of French settlement were at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Fort Crevecour and at several missionary stations around the shores of the great lakes. The French did not succeed in doing this without incurring the hostility of the Iroquois Indians, a bitter enmity which was brought about chiefly because the French helped the Shawnees, Wyandots and Miamis to drive the Iroquois out of the territory west of the Muskingum river in Ohio.
It must not be forgotten that the English also laid claim to the North- west Territory, basing their claim on the discoveries of the Cabots and the subsequent charters of Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut. These charters extended the limits of these three colonies westward to the Pacific ocean, although, as a matter of fact, none of the three colonies made a settle- ment west of the Alleghanies until after the Revolutionary War. New York
Digitized by Google
35
PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
sought to strengthen her claim to territory west of the Alleghanies in 1701, by getting from the Iroquois, the bitter enemies of the French, a grant to the territory from which the French and their Indian allies had previously ex- pelled them. Although this grant was renewed in 1726 and again confirmed in 1744, it gave New York only a nominal claim and one which was never recognized by the French in any way.
English traders from Pennsylvania and Virginia began in 1730 to pay more attention to the claims of their country west of the Alleghanies and north of the Ohio river. When their activities reached the ears of the French the governor of French Canada sent Celeron de Bienville up and down the Ohio and the rivers and streams running into it from the north and took formal possession of the territory by planting lead plates at the mouth of every river and stream of any importance. This peculiar method of the French in seeking to establish their claims occurred in the year 1749 and opened the eyes of England to the necessity of taking some immediate action. George II, the king of England at the time, at once granted a charter for the first Ohio Company (there were two others by the same name later organized), composed of London merchants and enterprising Virginians, and the com- pany at once proceeded to formulate plans to secure possession of the territory north of the Ohio and west of the Mississippi. Christopher Gist was sent down the Ohio river in 1750 to explore the country as far west as the mouth of the Scioto river, and made several treaties with the Indians. Things were now rapidly approaching a crisis and it was soon evident that there would be a struggle of arms between England and France for the disputed region. In 1754 the English started to build a fort at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, on the site of the present city of Pitts- burgh, but before the fort was completed the French appeared on the scene, drove the English away and finished the fort which had been begun.
FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR ( 1754-63).
The crisis had finally come. The struggle which followed between the two nations ultimately resulted in the expulsion of the French from the mainland of America as well as from the immediate territory in dispute. The war is known in America as the French and Indian War and in the history of the world as the Seven Years' War, the latter designation being due to the fact that it lasted that length of time. The struggle developed into a world-wide conflict and the two nations fought over three continents, America, Europe and Asia. It is not within the province of this resume of
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36
PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
the history of Ohio to go into the details of this memorable struggle. It is sufficient for the purpose at hand to state that the treaty of Paris, which terminated the war in 1763, left France without any of her former posses- sions on the mainland of America.
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY ( 1763-64).
With the English in control of America east of the Mississippi river and the French regime forever ended, the Indians next command the attention of the historian who deals with the Northwest Territory. The French were undoubtedly responsible for stirring up their former Indian allies and Pontiac's conspiracy must be credited to the influence of that nation. This formidable uprising was successfully overthrown by Henry Bouquet, who led an expedition in 1764 into the present state of Ohio and compelled the Wyandots, Delawares and Shawnees to sue for peace.
NORTHWEST TERRITORY AND QUEBEC ACT.
From 1764 to 1774, no events of particular importance occurred within the territory north of the Ohio river, but in the latter year (June 22, 1774), England, then at the breaking point with the colonies, passed the Quebec act, which attached this territory to the province of Quebec for administra- tive purposes. This intensified the feeling of resentment which the colonies bore against their mother country and is given specific mention in their list of grievances which they enumerated in their Declaration of Independence. The Revolutionary War came on at once and this act, of course, was never put into execution.
REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD (1775-83).
During the War for Independence (1775-1783), the various states with claims to western lands agreed with the Continental Congress to surrender their claims to the national government. In fact, the Articles of Confedera- tion were not signed until all of the states had agreed to do this and Mary- land withheld her assent to the articles until March 1, 1780, on this account. In accordance with this agreement New York ceded her claim to the United States in 1780, Virginia in 1784, Massachusetts in 1785 and Connecticut in 1786, although the latter state excepted a one-hundred-and-twenty-mile strip of three million five hundred thousand acres bordering on Lake Erie. This
Digitized by Google
37
PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
strip was formally relinquished in 1800, with the understanding that the United States would guarantee the titles already issued by that state. Vir- ginia was also allowed a reservation, known as the Virginia Military Dis- trict, which lay between the Little Miami and Scioto rivers, the same being for distribution among her Revolutionary veterans. There is one other fact which should be mentioned in connection with the territory north of the Ohio in the Revolutionary period. This was the memorable conquest of the territory by Gen. George Rogers Clark. During the years 1778 and 1779, this redoubtable leader captured Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Vincennes and thereby drove the English out of the Northwest Territory. It is probable that this notable campaign secured this territory for the Americans and that without it we would not have had it included in our possessions in the treaty which closed the Revolutionary War.
FIRST SURVEYS AND EARLY SETTLERS.
The next period in the history of the territory north of the Ohio begins with the passage of a congressional act (May 20, 1785), which provided for the present system of land surveys into townships six miles square. As soon as this was put into operation, settlers-and most Revolutionary soldiers- began to pour into the newly surveyed territory. A second Ohio Company was organized in the spring of 1786, made up chiefly of Revolutionary officers and soldiers from New England, and this company proposed to estab- lish a state somewhere between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. At this junc- ture Congress realized that definite steps should be made at once for some kind of government over this extensive territory, a territory which now in- cludes the present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and about a third of Minnesota. Various plans were proposed in Congress and most of the sessions of 1786 and the first half of 1787 were consumed in trying to formulate a suitable form of government for the extensive terri- tory. The result of all these deliberations resulted in the famous Ordinance of 1787, which was finally passed on July 13, 1787.
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-
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PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
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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 educa- tion 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 pro- vided 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 Indiana 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.
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