History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 105

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 559

USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches > Part 105

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).

The constitution provided that the office of judges should continue for seven years, evidently seven years from the time they were elected, and not from the date of the admission of the State, which latter construction this headlong legislature had construed as the meaning. Many of the counties had been organized but a year or two, others three or four years; hence an indescribable confusion arose as soon as the new set of officers were appointed or elected. The new order of things could not be made to work, and finally, so utterly impossible did the justness of the proceedings become, that it was dropped. The decisions of the courts were upheld, and the invidious doctrine of supremacy in State legislation received such a check that it is not likely ever to be re- peated.

Another act of the assembly, during this period, shows its construction. Congress had granted a township of land for the use of a university, and located the town- ship in Symmes' purchase. This assembly located the university on land outside of this purchase, ignoring the act of Congress, as they had done before, showing not only ignorance of the true scope of law, but a lack of respect unbecoming such bodies.

The seat of government was also moved from Chilli- cothe to Zanesville, which vainly hoped to be made the permanent State capital, but the next session it was again taken to Chillicothe, and commissioners appointed to locate a permanent capital site.

These commissioners were James Findlay, Joseph Darlington, Wyllys Silliman, Rezin Beall, and William McFarland. It is stated that they reported at first in favor of Dublin, a small town on the Scioto about four- teen miles above Columbus. At the session of 1812-13, the assembly accepted the proposals of Colonel John Johnston, Alexander McLaughlin, John Kerr, and Lyne Starling, who owned the site of Columbus. The assem- bly also decreed that the temporary seat of government should remain at Chillicothe until the buildings neces- sary for the State officers should be erected, when it would be taken there, forever to remain. This was done in 1816, in December of that year the first meeting of the assembly being held there.

The site selected for the capital was on the east bank of the Scioto, about a mile below its junction with the Olentangy. Wide streets were laid out and preparations for a city made. The expectations of the founders have been, in this respect, realized. The town was laid out in the spring of 1812, under the direction of Moses Wright. A short time after, the contract for making it the capital was signed. June 18th, 1812, the same day war was declared against Great Britain, the sale of lots took place. Among the early settlers were George McCormick, George B. Harvey, John Shields, Michael Patton, Alex- ·ander Patton, William Altman, John Collett, William McIlvain, Danier Kooser, Peter Putnam, Jacob Hare,

Digitized by Google

Christian Heyl, Jarvis, George and Benjamin Pike, Will- iam Long, and Dr. John M. Edminson. In 1814, a house of worship was built, a school opened, a news- paper-Western Intelligencer and Columbus Gazette, now the Ohio State Journal-was started and the old State house erected. In 1816, the "Borough of Columbus " was incorporated, and a mail route once a week between Chillicothe and Columbus started. In 1819, the old United States court house was erected, and the seat of justice removed from Franklinton to Columbus. Until 1826, times were exceedingly "slow" in the new capital, and but little growth experienced. The improvement period revived the capital, and enlivened its trade and growth, so that in 1834, a city charter was granted. The city is now about third in size in the State, and contains many of the most prominent public institutions. The present capitol building, one of the best in the west, is patterned somewhat after the national capitol at Wash- ington city.

From the close of the agitation of the "sweeping resolutions," until the opening of the war of 1812, but a short time elapsed. In fact, scarcely had one subsided ere the other was upon the country. Though the war was national, its theatre of action was partly in Ohio, that State taking an active part in its operations. In- deed, its liberty depended on the war.

LIST OF TERRITORIAL AND STATE GOVERNORS

From the Organization of the First Civil Government in the Northwest Territory ( 1788 to 1802 ), of which the State of Ohio was part, until the year 1880.

NAME.

COUNTY.

Term Commenced.

Term Ended.

Arthur St. Clair (a).

July 13, 1788

1802

Charles Willing Byrd *.

Hamilton

1802

March 3, 1803

Edward Tiffin (6)

Ross.

March 3, 1803

March 4, 1807

Thomes Kirker+ (e) .

Adams.

March 4, 1807

Dec. 12, 1808

Samuel Huntington.

Trumbull.

Dec. 12, 1808

Dec. 8, 1810

Return J. Meigs (d)

Washington .

Dec. 8, 1810 Mar. 25. 1814

Othniel Lookert

Hamilton.

April 14, 1814

Dec. 8, 1814

Thomas Worthington.

Ross

Dec. 8, 1814

Dec. 14, 1818

Ethan Allen Brown (e).

Hamilton.

Dec. 14, 1818

Jan. 4, 1822

Allen Trimble+

Highland.

Jan.

7. 1822

Dec. 28, 1822

Jeremiah Morrow

Warren

Dec. 28, 1822

Dec. 19, 1826

Allen Trimble.

Highland.

Dec. 19, 1826

Dec. 18, 1830

Duncan McArthur.

Ross

Dec. 18, 1830

Dec. 7, 1832

Robert Lucas.

Pike.

Dec. 7, 1832

Dec. 13, 1836

Joseph Vance .

Champaign

Dec. 13, 1836

Dec. 13, 1838

Wilson Shannon.

Belmont .

Dec. 13, 1838

Dec. 16, 1840

Thomas Corwin

Warren

Dec. 16, 1840

Dec. 14, 1842

Wilson Shannon (f)

Belmont

Dec. 14, 1842

April 13, 1844

Thomas W. Bartley#

Richland.

April 13, 1844

Dec. 3, 1844

Mordecai Bartley William Bebb

Butler

Dec. 12, 1846 Jan. 22, 1849

Seabury Ford (g)

Geauga

Jan. 22, 1849

Dec. 12, 1850

Reuben Wood (h)

Cuyahoga

Dec. 12, 1850 |July 15, 1853

William Medill (j)

Fairfield

July 15, 1853

Jan. 14, 1856

Salmon P. Chase .

Hamilton.

Jan. 14, 1856

Jan. 9, 1860

William Dennison .

Franklin .

Jan. 9, 1860 Jan. 13, 1862

David Tod.

Mahoning

Jan. 13, 1862

Jan. 12, 1864

John Brough (k)

Cuyahoga

Jan. 12, 1864

Aug. 29, 1865

Charles AndersonS. Jacob D. Cox

Trumbull.

Jan.

9, 1866

Jan. 13, 1868

Rutherford B. Hayes

Hamilton. .

Jan. 13, 1868

Jan. 8, 1872

Edward F. Noyes

Hamilton.

Jan. 8, 1872

Jan. 12, 1874

William Allen

Ross

Jan. 12, 1874

Jan. 14. 1876

Rutherford B. Hayes (2)

Sandusky.

Jan. 14, 1876

Mar. 2, 1877

Thomas L. Young (m) . .

Hamilton.

March 2, 1877

Jan. 14, 1878

Richard N. Bishop.

Hamilton.

Jan. 14, 1878

Charles Foster

Sandusky.

Jan. 14, 1880

(a) Arthur St. Clair, of Pennsylvania, was governor of the Northwest Terri- tory, of which Ohio was a part, from July 13, 1788, when the first civil govern- ment was established in the Territory, until about the close of the year 1802, when he was removed by the President.

CHAPTER XI.

THE WAR OF 1812 .-- GROWTH OF THE SATE .-- INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

IN June, 1812, war was declared against Great Britain. Before this, an act was passed by Congress, authorizing the increase of the regular army to thirty-five thou- sand troops, and a large force of volunteers, to serve twelve months. Under this act, Return J. Meigs, then governor of Ohio, in April and May, 1812, raised three regiments of troops to serve twelve months. They ren- dezvoused at Dayton, elected their officers, and prepared for the campaign. These regiments were numbered First, Second and Third. Duncan McArthur was col- onel of the First; James Findlay, of the Second, and Lewis Cass, of the Third. Early in June these troops marched to Urbana, where they were joined by Boyd's Fourth regiment of regular troops, under command of Colonel Miller, who had been in the battle of Tippeca- noe. Near the middle of June, this little army of about twenty-five hundred men, under command of Governor William Hull, of Michigan, who had been authorized by Congress to raise the troops, started on its northern march. By the end of June the army had reached the Maumee, after a very severe march, erecting, on the way, Forts McArthur, Necessity and Findlay. By some care- lessness on the part of the American Government, no official word had been sent to the frontiers regarding the war, while the British had taken an early precaution to prepare for the crisis. Governor Hull was very careful in military etiquette, and refused to march or do any offensive acts, unless commanded by his superior officers at Washington. While at the Maumee, by a careless move, all his personal effects, including all his plans, number and strength of his army, etc., fell into the hands of the enemy. His campaign ended only in igno- minious defeat, and well-nigh paralyzed future efforts. All Michigan fell into the hands of the British. The commander, though a good man, lacked bravery and

* Secretary of the territory, and was acting governor of the territory after the removal of Governor St. Clair.

(6) Resigned March 3, 1807, to accept the office of United States Senator.

(c) Return Jonathan Meigs was elected governor on the second Tuesday in October, 1807, over Nathaniel Massie, who contested the election of Meigs, on the ground that "he had not been a resident of this State for four years next preceding the election, as required by the constitution," and the general assem- bly, in joint convention, declared that he was not eligible. The office was not given to Massie, nor does it appear, from the records, that he claimed it, but Thomas Kirker, acting governor, continued to discharge the duties of the office until December 12, 1808, when Samuel Huntington was inaugurated, he having been elected on the second Tuesday of October in that year.

(d) Resigned March 25, 1814, to accept the office of Postmaster General of the United States.

(g) The result of the election of 1848 was not finally determined in joint convention of the two houses of the general assembly until January 19, 1849, and the inauguration did not take place until the twenty-second of that month. (/) Resigned July 15, 1853, to accept the office of consul to Valparaiso.

(j) Elected in October, 1853, for the regular term, to commence on the second Monday of January, 1854.

t Acting governor.

: Acting governor, vice Wilson Shannon, resigned.

I Acting governor, vice Reuben Wood, resigned.

§ Acting governor, vice John Brough, deceased.

(4) Resigned March 2, 1877, to accept the office of President of the United States.

(,) Vice Rutherford B. Hayes, resigned.

Digitized by

Google

Richland

Dec. 3, 1844

Dec. 12, 1846

(e) Resigned January 4, 1822, to accept the office of United States Senator. (f) Resigned April 13, 1844, to accept the office of minister to Mexico.

Montgomery ..

Aug. 30, 1865

Jan. 9, 1866

Jan. 14, 1880 (k) Died August 29, 1865.

HISTORY OF OHIO.

promptness. Had General Harrison been in command, no such results would have been the case, and the war would probably have ended at the outset.

Before Hull had surrendered, Charles Scott, governor of Kentucky, invited General Harrison, governor of Indiana Territory, to visit Frankfort, to consult on the subject of defending the northwest. Governor Harrison had visited Governor Scott, and in August, 1812, ac- cepted the appointment of major general in the Ken- tucky militia, and, by hasty traveling, on the receipt of the news of the surrender of Detroit, reached Cincinnati on the morning of the twenty-seventh of that month. On the thirtieth he left Cincinnati, and the next day overtook the army he was to command, on its way to Dayton. After leaving Dayton, he was overtaken by an express, informing him of his appointment by the Government as commander-in-chief of the armies of the Indiana and Illinois territories. The army reached Piqua, September 3d. From this place Harrison sent a body of troops to aid in the defence of Fort Wayne, threatened by the enemy. On the sixth he ordered all the troops forward, and while on the march, on September 17th, he was informed of his appointment as commander of the entire northwestern troops. He found the army poorly clothed for a winter cam. paign, now approaching, and at once issued a stirring address to the people, asking for food and comfortable clothing. The address was not in vain. After his ap- pointment, General Harrison pushed on to Auglaize, where, leaving the army under command of General Winchester, he returned to the interior of the State, and establishing his headquarters at Franklinton, began active measures for the campaign.

Early in March, 1812, Colonel John Miller raised, under orders, a regiment of infantry in Ohio, and in July assembled his enlisted men at Chillicothe, where, placing them -only one hundred and forty in number-under command of Captain Angus Lewis, he sent them on to the frontier. They erected a block-house at Piqua, and then went on to Defiance, to the main body of the army.

In July, 1812, General Edward W. Tupper, of Gallia county, raised one thousand men for six months' duty. Under orders from General Winchester, they marched through Chillicothe and Urbana, on to the Maumee, where, near the lower end of the rapids, they made an ineffectual attempt to drive off the enemy. Failing in this, the enemy attacked Tupper and his troops, who, though worn down with the march and not a little dis- organized through the jealousies of the officers, with- stood the attack, and repulsed the British and their red allies, who returned to Detroit, and the Americans to Fort McArthur.

In the fall of 1812, General Harrison ordered a de- tachment of six hundred men, mostly mounted, to de- stroy the Indian towns on the Missisineway river, one of the head waters of the Wabash. The winter set in early and with unusual severity. At the same time this expe- dition was carried on, Bonaparte was retreating from Mos- cow. The expedition accomplished its design, though the troops suffered greatly from the cold, no less than

two hundred of the men being more or less frost-bitten.

General Harrison determined at once to retake Mich- igan and establish a line of defence along the southern shores of the lakes. Winchester was sent to occupy Forts Wayne and Defiance; Perkins' brigade to Lower Sandusky, to fortify an old stockade, and some Pennsyl- vania troops and artillery sent there at the same time. As soon as General Harrison heard the results of the Missisineway expedition, he went to Chillicothe to con- sult with Governor Meigs about further movements, and the best methods to keep the way between the Upper Miami and the Maumee continually open. He also sent General Winchester word to move forward to the rapids of the Maumee and prepare for winter quarters. This Winchester did by the middle of January, 1813, estab- lishing himself on the northern bank of the river, just above Wayne's old battle-ground. He was well fixed here, and was enabled to give his troops good bread, made from corn gathered in Indian cornfields in this vicinity.

While here, the inhabitants of Frenchtown, on . the Raisin river, about twenty miles from Detroit, sent Win- chester word claiming protection from the threatened British and Indian invasion, avowing themselves in sym- pathy with the Americans. A council of war decided in favor of their request, and Colonel Lewis, with five hundred and fifty men, sent to their relief. Soon after, Colonel Allen was sent with more troops, and the enemy easily driven away from about Frenchtown. Word was sent to General Winchester, who determined to march with all the men he could spare, to aid in holding the post gained. He left, the nineteenth of January, with two hundred and fifty men, and arrived on the evening of the twentieth. Failing to take the necessary precau- tion, from some unexplained reason, the enemy came up in the night, established his batteries, and, the next day, surprised and defeated the American army, with a terri- ble loss. General Winchester was made a prisoner, and, finally, those who were intrenched in the town surren- dered, under promise of General Proctor, the British commander, of protection from the Indians. This prom- ise was grossly violated the next day. The savages were allowed to enter the town and enact a massacre as cruel and bloody as any in the annals of the war, to the ever- lasting ignominy of the British general and his troops.

Those of the American army that escaped, arrived at the rapids on the evening of the twenty-second of Jan- uary, and soon the sorrowful news spread throughout the army and Nation. General Harrison set about retriev- ing the disaster at once. Delay could do no good. A fort was built at the rapids, named Fort Meigs, and troops from the south and west hurriedly advanced to the scene of action. The investment and capture of Detroit was abandoned, that winter, owing to the defeat at Frenchtown, and expiration of the terms of service of many of the troops. Others took their places, all parts of Ohio and bordering states sending men.

The erection of Fort Meigs was an obstacle in the path of the British they determined to remove, and, on Feb- ruary, 28, 1813, a large band of British and Indians,

Digitized by Google

HISTORY OF OHIO.

under command of General Proctor, and Tecum- seh, Walk-in-the-water, and other Indian chiefs, appeared on the Maumee in boats, and prepared for the at- tack. Without entering into details regarding the in- vestment of the fort, it is only necessary to add, that after a prolonged siege, lasting to the early part of May, the British were obliged to abandon the fort, having been severely defeated, and sailed for the Canadian shores.

Next followed the attacks on Fort Stephenson, at Lower Sandusky, and other predatory excursions, by the British. All of these failed of their design; the defence of Major Croghan and his men constituting one of the most brilliant actions of the war. For the gallant de- fence of Fort Stephenson by Major Croghan, then a young man, the army merited the highest honors. The ladies of Chillicothe voted the heroic major a fine sword, while the whole land rejoiced at the exploits of him and his band.

The decisive efforts of the army, the great numbers of men offered-many of whom General Harrison was obliged to send home, much to their disgust-Perry's victory on Lake Erie, September 10, 1813-all presaged the triumph of the American army, soon to ensue. As soon as the battle on the lake was over, the British at Malden burned their stores and fled, while the Ameri- cans, under their gallant commander, followed them in Perry's vessel to the Canada shore, overtaking them on the River Thames, October 5. In the battle that en- sued, Tecumseh was slain, and the British army routed.

The war was now practically closed in the west. Ohio troops had done nobly in defending their northern front- ier, and in regaining the northwestern country. General Harrison was soon after elected to Congress by the Cin- cinnati district, and General Duncan McArthur was ap- pointed a brigadier general in the regular army, and as- signed to the command in his place. General McArthur made an expedition into Upper Canada in the spring of 1814, destroying considerable property, and driving the British farther into their own dominions. Peace was de- clared early in 1815, and that spring, the troops were mustered out of service at Chillicothe, and peace .with England reigned supreme.

The results of the war in Ohio were, for awhile, simi- lar to the Indian war of 1795. It brought many people into the State, and opened new portions, before unknown. Many of the soldiers immediately invested their money in lands, and became citizens. The war drove many people from the Atlantic coast west, and as a result much money, for awhile, circulated. Labor and provisions rose, which enabled both workmen and tradesmen to enter tracts of land, and aided emigration. At the conclusion of Wayne's war in 1795, probably not more than five thousand people dwelt in the limits of the State; at the close of the war of 1812, that number was largely in- creased, even with the odds of war against them. After the last war, the emigration was constant and gradual, building up the State in a manner that betokened a health- ful life.

As soon as the effects of the war had worn off, a period

of depression set in, as a result of too free speculation indulged in at its close. Gradually a stagnation of busi- ness ensued, and many who found themselves unable to meet contracts made in "flush" times, found no alterna- tive but to fail. To relieve the pressure in all parts of the west, Congress, about 1815, reduced the price of public lands from two dollars to one dollar and twenty- five cents per acre. This measure worked no little hard- ship on those who owned large tracts of land, for portions of which they had not fully paid, and as a conse- quence, these lands, as well as all others of this class, reverted to the government. The general market was in New Orleans, whither goods were transported in flat- boats built especially for this purpose. This commerce, though small and poorly repaid, was the main avenue of trade, and did much for the slow prosperity prevalent. The few banks in the State found their bills at a discount abroad, and gradually becoming drained of their specie, either closed business or failed, the major part of them adopting the latter course.

The steamboat began to be an important factor in the river navigation of the west about this period. The first boat to descend the Ohio was the Orleans, built at Pitts- burgh in 1812, and in December of that year, while the fortunes of war hung over the land, she made her first trip from the Iron City to New Orleans, being just twelve days on the way. The second, built by Samuel Smith, was called the Comet, and made a trip as far south as Louisville, in the summer of 1813. The third, the Vesuvius, was built by Fulton, and went to New Orleans in 1814. The fourth, built by Daniel French at Browns- ville, Pennsylvania, made two trips to Louisville in the summer of 1814. The next vessel, the Atna, was built by Fulton & Company in 1815. So fast did the business increase, that, four years after, more than forty steamers floated over the western waters. Improvements in ma- chinery kept pace with the building, until, in 1838, a competent writer stated there were no less than four hundred steamers in the west. Since then, the erection of railways has greatly retarded ship-building, and it is altogether probable the number has increased but little.

The question of canals began to agitate the western country during the decade after the war. They had been, and were being constructed in older countries, and pres- aged good and prosperous times. If only the waters of the lakes and the Ohio river could be united by a canal running through the midst of the State, thought the peo- ple, prosperous cities and towns would arise on its banks, and commerce flow through the land. One of the firm- est friends of such improvements was De Witt Clinton, who had been the chief man in forwarding the "Clinton canal," in New York. He was among the first to ad- vocate the feasibility of a canal connecting Lake Erie and the Ohio river, and, by the success of the New York canals, did much to bring it about. Popular writers of the day all urged the scheme, so that when the assembly met, early in December, 1821, the resolution, offered by Micajah T. Williams, of Cincinnati, for the appointment of a committee of five members to take into consideration so much of the governor's message as

Digitized by Google

HISTORY OF OHIO.

related to canals, and see if some feasible plan could not be arranged whereby a beginning could be made, was quickly adopted.

The report of the committee, advising a survey and examination of routes, met with the approval of the as- sembly, and commissioners were appointed who were to employ an engineer, examine the country and report on the practicability of a canal between the lakes and the rivers. The commissioners employed James Geddes, of Onondaga county, New York, as an engineer. He ar- rived in Columbus in June, 1822, and, before eight months, the corps of engineers, under his direction, had examined one route. During the next two summers, the examinations continued. A number of routes were ex- amined and surveyed, and one, from Cleveland on the lake, to Portsmouth on the Ohio, was recommended. Another canal, from Cincinnati to Dayton, on the Miami, was determined on, and preparations to commence work made. A board of canal fund commissioners was created, money was borrowed, and the morning of July 4, 1825, the first shovelful of earth was dug near New- ark, with imposing ceremonies, in the presence of De Witt Clinton, governor of New York, and a mighty con- course of people assembled to witness the auspicious event.

Governor Clinton was escorted all over the State to aid in developing the energy everywhere apparent. The events were important ones in the history of the State, and, though they led to the creation of a vast debt, yet, in the end, the canals were a benefit.

The main canal-the Ohio and Erie canal-was not completed till 1832. The Maumee canal, from Day- ton to Cincinnati, was finished in 1834. They cost the State about six millions. Each of the main canals had branches leading to important towns, where their con- struction could be made without too much expense. The Miami and Maumee canal, from Cincinnati northward along the Miami river to Piqua, thence to the Maumee and on to the lake, was the largest canal made, and, for many years, was one of the most important in the State. It joined the Wabash canal on the eastern boundary of Indiana, and thereby saved the construction of many miles by joining this great canal from Toledo to Evans- ville.

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.

History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 105

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 559

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 559