History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 97

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

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Most of these, as it appeared by their statements, had been tampered with by the English, especially by Mc- Kee, Girty and Brant, even after the preliminaries of January 24th, and while Mr. Jay was perfecting his treaty. They had, however, all determined to make peace with the "Thirteen Fires," and although some difficulty as to the ownership of the lands to be ceded, at one time seemed likely to arise, the good sense of Wayne and the leading chiefs prevented it, and, on the thirtieth of July, the treaty was agreed to which should bury the hatchet forever. Between that day and the third of August, it was engrossed, and, having been signed by the various nations upon the day last named, it was finally acted upon the seventh, and the presents from the United States distributed. The basis of this treaty was the pre- vious one made at Fort Harmar. The boundaries made

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at that time were re-affirmed; the whites were secured on the lands now occupied by them or secured by former treaties ; and among all the assembled nations, presents, in value not less than one thousand pounds, were dis- tributed to each through its representatives, many thou- sands in all. The Indians were allowed to remove and punish intruders on their lands, and were permitted to hunt on the ceded lands.

"This great and abiding peace document was signed by the various tribes, and dated August 3, 1795. It was laid before the Senate December 9th, and ratified the twenty-second. So closed the old Indian wars in the west."*

CHAPTER VIII.

JAY'S TREATY-STATE RIGHTS AND LAND CLAIMS, ETC.

WHILE these six years of Indian war were in progress, Kentucky was admitted as a State, and Pinkney's treaty with Spain was completed. This last occurrence was of vital importance to the west, as it secured the free navi- gation of the Mississippi, charging only a fair price for the storage of goods at Spanish ports. This, though not all that the Americans wished, was a great gain in their favor, and did much to stop the agitations regarding a separation on the part of Kentucky. It also quieted af- fairs further south than Kentucky, in the Georgia and South Carolina territory, and put an end to French and Spanish intrigue for the western territory. The trea- ty was signed November 24, 1794. Another treaty was concluded by Mr. John Jay between the two govern- ments, Lord Greenville representing the English, and Mr. Jay, the Americans. The negotiations lasted from April to November 19, 1795, when, on that day, the trea- ty was signed and duly recognized. It decided effectu- ally all the questions at issue, and was the signal for the removal of the British troops from the northwestern out- posts. This was effected as soon as the proper transfers could be made. The second article of the treaty pro- vided that :

"His majesty will withdraw all his troops and garrisons from all posts and places within the boundary assigned by the treaty of peace to the United States. This evacuation shall take place on or before the first day of June 1796, and all the proper measures taken, in the interval, by concert, between the government of the United States and his maj- esty's governor general in America, for settling the previous arrange- mepts which may be necessary respecting the delivery of the said posts; the United States, in the meantime, at their discretion, extending their settlements to any part within the said boundary line, except within the precincts or jurisdiction of any of the said posts.

"All settlers and all traders within the precincts or jurisdiction of the said posts shall continue to enjoy, unmolested, all their property of every kind, and shall be protected therein. They shall be at full liberty to remain there or to remove with all, or any part, of their effects, or retain the property thereof at their discretion; such of them as shall continue to reside within the said boundary lines, shall not be com- pelled to become citizens of the United States, or take any oath of al-

legiance to the government thereof; but they shall be at full liberty so to do, if they think proper; they shall make or declare their election one year after the evacuation aforesaid. And all persons who shall con- tinue therein after the expiration of the said year, without having de- clared their intention of remaining subjects to his Britannic majesty, shall be considered as having elected to become citizens of the United States."

The Indian war had settled all fears from that source; the treaty with Great Britain had established the boun- daries between the two countries and secured peace, and the treaty with Spain had secured the privilege of navi- gating the Mississippi, by paying only a nominal sum. It had also bound the people of the west together, and ended the old separation question. There was no dan- ger from that now. Another difficulty arose, however, relating to the home rule, and the organization of the home government. There were two parties in the coun- try, known as Federalist and Anti-Federalist. One fav- ored a central government, whose authority should be supreme; the other, only a compact, leaving the States supreme. The worthlessness of the old colonial system became, daily, more apparent. While it existed no one felt safe. There was no prospect of paying the debt, and hence, no credit. When Mr. Hamilton, Sec- retary of the treasury, offered his financial plan to the country, favoring centralization, it met, in many places, violent opposition. Washington was strong enough to carry it out, and gave evidence that he would do so. When, therefore, the excise law passed, and taxes on whiskey were collected, an open revolt occurred in Penn- sylvania, known as the "whiskey insurrection." It was put down finally, by military power, and the malcontents made to understand that the United States was a govern- ment, not a compact liable to rupture at any time, and by any of its members. It taught the entire nation a lesson. Centralization meant preservation. Should a "compact" form of government prevail, then anarchy and ruin, and ultimate subjection to some foreign power, met their view. That they had just fought to dispel, and must it all go for naught? The people saw the rulers were right, and, gradually, over the west, spread a spirit antagonistic to State supremacy. It did not revive till Jackson's time, when he, with an iron hand and iron will, crushed out the evil doctrine of State supremacy. It re- vived again in the late war, again to be crushed. It is to be hoped that ever thus will be its fate. "The Union is inseparable," said the government, and the people echoed the words.

During the war, and while all these events had been transpiring, settlements had been taking place upon the Ohio, which, in their influence upon the northwest, and especially upon the State, as soon as it was created, were deeply felt. The Virginia and the Connecticut Reserves were at this time peopled, and, also, that part of the Miami valley about Dayton, which city dates its origin from that period.

As early as 1787, the reserved lands of the Old Dominion, north of the Ohio, were examined, and, in August of that year, entries were made. As no good title could be obtained from Congress at this time, the settlement practically ceased until 1790, when the prohi-

*** Annals of the West."

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bition to enter them was withdrawn. As soon as that was done, surveying began again. Nathaniel Massie was among the foremost men in the survey of this tract, and locating the lands, laid off a town about twelve miles above Maysville. The place was called Manchester, and yet exists. From this point, Massie continued through all the Indian war, despite the danger, to survey the surrounding country, and prepare it for settlers.

Connecticut had, as has been stated, ceded her lands, save a tract extending one hundred and twenty miles beyond the western boundary of Pennsylvania. Of this Connecticut Reserve, so far as the Indian title was ex- tinguished, a survey was ordered in October, 1786, and an office opened for its disposal. Part was soon sold, and, in 1792, half a million of acres were given to those citizens of Connecticut who had lost property by the acts of the British troops during the Revolutionary war at New London, New Haven and elsewhere. These lands thereby became known as "Fire Lands," and the "Suffer- ers' Lands," and were located in the western part of the Reserve. In May, 1795, the Connecticut legislature authorized a committee to dispose of the remainder of the Reserve. Before autumn the committee sold it to a company known as the Connecticut Land company, for one million two hundred thousand dollars, and about the fifth of September quit-claimed the land to the com- pany. The same day the company received it, it deeded the tract, consisting of about three million acres to John Morgan, John Caldwell, and Jonathan Brace, in trust. Upon these quit-claim titles of the land all deeds in the Reserve are based. Surveys were commenced in 1796, and, by the close of the next year, all the land east of the Cuyahoga was divided into townships five miles square. The agent of the Connecticut Land company was General Moses Cleaveland, and in his honor the leading city of the Reserve was named.

Dayton resulted from the treaty made by Wayne. It came out of the boundary ascribed to Symmes, and for a while all such lands were not recognized as sold by Congress, owing to the failure of Symmes and his asso- ciates in paying for them. Thereby there existed, for a time, considerable uneasiness regarding the title to these lands. In 1799, Congress was induced to issue patents to the actual settlers, and thus secure them in their pre- emption.

Seventeen days after Wayne's treaty, St. Clair, Wilkin- son, Jonathan Dayton and Israel Ludlow contracted with Symmes for the seventh and eighth ranges, between Mad river and the Little Miami. Three settlements were to be made: One at the mouth of Mad river, one on the Little Miami, in the seventh range, and another on Mad river. On the twenty-first of September, 1795, Daniel C. Cooper started to survey and mark out a road in the purchase, and John Dunlap to run its boundaries, which was completed before October 4th. On November 4th, Mr. Ludlow laid off the town of Dayton, which, like land in the Connecticut Reserve, was sold by lottery.

A gigantic scheme to purchase eighteen or twenty million acres in Michigan, and then procure a good title from the government-who alone had such a right to

deed land-by giving members of Congress an inter- est in the investment, appeared shortly after Wayne's treaty. When some of the members were approached, however, the real spirit of the scheme appeared, and, instead of gaining ground, led to the exposure resulting in the reprimanding severely of Robert Randall, the principal mover in the whole plan, and in its speedy dis- appearance.

Another enterprise, equally gigantic, also appeared. It was, however, legitimate, and hence successful. On the twentieth of February, 1795, the North American Land company was formed in Philadelphia, under the management of such patriots as Robert Morris, John Nicholson, and James Greenleaf. This company pur- chased large tracts in the west, which it disposed of to actual settlers, and thereby aided greatly in populating that part of the country.

Before the close of 1795, the governor of the territory and his judges published sixty-four statutes. Thirty-four of these were adopted at Cincinnati during June, July, and August, of that year. They were known as the Maxwell code, from the name of the publisher, but were passed by Governor St. Clair and Judges Symmes and Turner. Among them was that which provided that the common law of England, and all its statutes, made pre- vious to the fourth year of James the First, should be in full force within the territory. "Of the system as a whole," says Mr. Case, "with its many imperfections, it may be doubted that any colony, at so early a period after its first establishment, ever had one so good and applicable to all."

The Union had now safely passed through its most critical period after the close of the war of independence. The danger of an irruption from its own members; of a war or alliance of its western portion with France and Spain, and many other perplexing questions, were now effectually settled, and the population of the territory began rapidly to increase. Before the close of the year 1796 the Northwest contained over five thousand inhabi- tants, the requisite number to entitle it to one represen- tative in the national Congress.

Western Pennsylvania also, despite the various con- flicting claims regarding the land titles in that part of the State, began rapidly to fill with emigrants. The "Tri- angle" and the "Struck District" were surveyed and put upon the market under the act of 1792. Treaties and purchases from the various Indian tribes, obtained con- trol of the remainder of the lands in that part of the State, and, by 1796, the State owned all the land within its boundaries. Towns were laid off, land put upon the market, so that by the year 1800 the western part of the Keystone State was divided into eight counties, viz: Beaver, Butler, Mercer, Crawford, Erie, Warren, Venan- go, and Armstrong.

The ordinance relative to the survey and disposal of lands in the Northwest Territory has already been given. It was adhered to, save in minor cases, where necessity required a slight change. The reservations were recog- nized by Congress, and the titles to them all confirmed to the grantees. Thus, Clarke and his men, the Con-

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necticut Reserve, the Refugee lands, the French inhab- itants, and all others holding patents to land from colonial or foreign governments, were all confirmed in their rights and protected in their titles.

Before - the close of 1796, the upper northwestern posts were all vacated by the British, under the terms of Mr. Jay's treaty. Wayne at once transferred his head- quarters to Detroit, where a county was named for him, including the northwestern part of Ohio, the northeast of Indiana, and the whole of Michigan.

The occupation of the territory by the Americans gave additional impulse to emigration, and a better feel- ing of security to emigrants, who followed closely upon the path of the army. Nathaniel Massie, who has al- ready been noticed as the founder of Manchester, laid out the town of Chillicothe, on the Scioto, in 1796. Before the close of the year, it contained several stores, shops, a tavern, and was well populated. With the in- crease of settlement and the security guaranteed by the treaty of Greenville, the arts of civilized life began to appear, and their influence upon pioneers, especially those born on the frontier, began to manifest itself. Bet- ter dwellings, schools, churches, dress and manners prevailed. Life began to assume a reality, and lost much of that recklessness engendered by the habits of a fron- tier life.

Cleveland, Cincinnati, the Miami, the Muskingum and the Scioto valleys were filling with people. Cincin- nati had more than one hundred log cabins, twelve or fifteen frame houses and a population of more than six hundred persons. In 1796, the first house of worship for the Presbyterians in that city was built.

Before the close of the same year, Manchester con- tained over thirty families; emigrants from Virginia were going up all the valleys from the Ohio; and Ebe- nezer Zane had opened a bridle-path from the Ohio river, at Wheeling, across the country, by Chillicothe, to Limestone, Kentucky. The next year the United States mail, for the first time, traversed this route to the west. Zane was given a section of land for his path. The population of the territory, estimated at from five to eight thousand, was chiefly distributed in lower valleys, bordering on the Ohio river. The French still occupied the Illinois country, and were the principal inhabitants about Detroit.

South of the Ohio river, Kentucky was progressing favorably, while the "Southwestern territory," ceded to the United States by North Carolina in 1790, had so rapidly populated that, in 1793, a territorial form of government was allowed. The ordinance of 1787, save the clause prohibiting slavery, was adopted, and the ter- ritory named Tennessee. On June sixth, 1796, the territory contained more than seventy-five thousand in- habitants, and was admitted into the Union as a State. Four years after, the census showed a population of one hundred and five thousand six hundred and two souls, including thirteen thousand five hundred and eighty-four slaves and persons of color. The same year Tennessee became a State, Samuel Jackson and Jonathan Sharp- less erected the Redstone paper mill, four miles east of

Brownsville, it being the first manufactory of the kind west of the Alleghanies.

In the month of December, 1796, General Wayne, who had done so much for the development of the west, while on his way from Detroit to Philadelphia, was at- tacked with sickness and died in a cabin near Erie, in the north part of Pennsylvania. He was nearly fifty-one years old, and was one of the bravest officers in the Rev- olutionary war, and one of America's truest patriots. In 1809, his remains were removed from Erie, by his son, Colonel Isaac Wayne, to the Radnor churchyard, near the place of his birth, and an elegant monument erected over his remains by the Pennsylvania society.

After the death of Wayne, General Wilkinson was ap- pointed to the command of the western army. While he was in command, Carondelet, the Spanish governor of West Florida and Louisiana, made one more effort to separate the Union, and set up either an independent government in the west, or, what was more in accord with his wishes, effect a union with the Spanish nation. In June, 1797, he sent Power again into the northwest and into Kentucky, to sound the existing feeling. Now, however, they were not easily won over. The home gov- ernment was a certainty, the breaches had been healed, and Power was compelled to abandon the mission, not, however, until he had received a severe reprimand from many who saw through his plan, and openly exposed it. His mission closed the efforts of the Spanish authorities to attempt the dismemberment of the Union, and showed them the coming downfall of their power in America. They were obliged to surrender the posts claimed by the United States under the treaty of 1785, and not many years after, sold their American possessions to the United States, rather than see a rival European power attain control over them.

On the seventh of April, 1798, Congress passed an act, appointing Winthrop Sargent, secretary of the North- west Territory, governor of the Territory of the Missis- sipi, formed the same day. In 1801, the boundary between America and the Spanish possessions was defi- nitely fixed. The Spanish retired from the disputed territory, and henceforward their attempts to dissolve the American Union ceased. The seat of the Mississippi Territory was fixed at Loftus Heights, six miles north of the thirty-first degree of latitude.

The appointment of Sargent to the charge of the Southwest Territory, led to the choice of William Henry Harrison, who had been aid-de-camp to General Wayne in 1794, and whose character stood very high among the people of the west, to the secretaryship of the Northwest, which place he held until appointed to represent that ter- ritory in Congress.

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CHAPTER IX.

FIRST TERRITORIAL REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS- FORMATION OF STATES-EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

THE ordinance of 1787 provided that as soon as there were five thousand persons in the territory, it was entitled to a representative assembly. On October 29, 1798, Gover- nor St. Clair gave notice by proclamation, that the re- quired population existed, and directed that an election be held on the third Monday in December to choose rep- resentatives. These representatives were required, when assembled to nominate ten persons, whose names were sent to the President of the United States, who selected five, and with the advice and consent of the Senate, ap- pointed them for the legislative council. In this mode the northwest passed into the second grade of a terri- torial government.

The representatives, elected under the proclamation of St. Clair, met in Cincinnati, January 22, 1799, and under the provisions of the ordinance of 1787, nomi- · nated ten persons, whose names were sent to the Presi- dent. On the second of March he selected from the list of candidates the names of Jacob Burnett, James Findlay, Henry Vanderburgh, Robert Oliver and David Vance. The next day the Senate confirmed their nomi- nation, and the first legislative council of the Northwest Territory was a reality.

The territorial legislature met again at Cincinnati, September 16, but, for want of a quorum, was not organ- ized until the twenty-fourth of that month. The house of representatives consisted of nineteen members, of whom seven were from Hamilton county, four from Ross-erected by St. Clair in 1798; three from Wayne -erected in 1796; two from Adams-erected in 1797 ; one from Jefferson, erected in 1797; one from Washing- ton-erected in 1788; and one from Knox-Indiana Territory. None seem to have been present from St. Clair county (Illinois Territory).

After the organization of the legislature, Governor St. Clair addressed the two houses in the representatives' chamber, recommending such measures as, in his judg- ment, were suited to the condition of the country and would advance the safety and prosperity of the people.

The legislature continued in safety till the nineteenth of December, when having finished their business, they were prorogued by the governor, by their own request, till the first Monday in November, 1800. This being the first session, there was, of necessity, a great deal of business to do. The transition from a colonial to a semi-independent form of government, called for a gen- eral revision as well as a considerable enlargement of the statute book. Some of the adopted laws were repealed, many others altered and amended, and a long list of new ones added to the code. New offices were to be created and filled, the duties attached to them prescribed, and a plan of ways and means devised to meet the increased expenditures, occasioned by the change which had now occurred.

As Mr. Burnett was the only lawyer in the legislature, much of the revision, and putting the laws into proper

legal form, devolved upon him. He seems to have been well fitted for the place, and to have performed the laborious task in an excellent manner.

The whole number of acts passed and approved by the governor, was thirty-seven. The most important re- lated to the militia, the administration of justice, and to taxation. During the session, a bill authorizing a lottery was passed by the council, but rejected by the legislature, thus interdicting this demoralizing feature of the disposal of lands or for other purposes. The example has always been followed by subsequent legislatures, thus honorably characterizing the assembly of Ohio, in this respect, an example Kentucky and several other States might well emulate.

Before the assembly adjourned, they issued a congratu- latory address to the people, enjoining them to "Inculcate the principles of humanity, benevolence, honesty and punctuality in dealing, sincerity and charity, and all the social affections." At the same time, they issued an ad- dress to the President, expressing entire confidence in the wisdom and purity of his government, and their warm attachment to the American constitution. The vote on this address proved, however, that the differences of opinion agitating the eastern States had penetrated the west. Eleven representatives voted for it, and five against it.

One of the important duties that devolved on this legislature, was the election of a delegate to Congress. As soon as the governor's proclamation made its appear- ance, the election of a person to fill that position excited general attention. Before the meeting of the legislature public opinion had settled down on William Henry Har- rison, and Arthur St. Clair, jr., who eventually were the only candidates. On the third of October, the two houses met, and proceeded to a choice. Eleven votes were cast for Harrison, and ten for St. Clair. The legis- lature prescribed the form of a certificate of the election, which was given to Harrison, who at once resigned his office as secretary of the territory, proceeded to Phila- delphia, and took his seat, Congress being then in session. "Though he represented the territory but one year," says Judge Burnett, in his notes, "he obtained some im- portant advantages for his constituents. He introduced a resolution to sub-divide the surveys of the public lands, and to offer them for sale in smaller tracts; he succeeded in getting that measure through both houses, in opposi- tion to the interest of speculators, who were, and who wished to be, the retailers of the land to the poorer classes of the community. His proposition became a law, and was hailed as the most beneficent act that Con- gress had ever done for the' territory. It put in the power of every industrious man, however poor, to be- come a freeholder, and to lay a foundation for the future support and comfort of his family. At the same session, he obtained a liberal extension of time for the pre-emp- tioners in the northern part of the Miami purchase, which enabled them to secure their farms, and eventually to become independent, and even wealthy."

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History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 97

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

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