USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County, from the close of the revolutionary war to July, 1880 > Part 22
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In the latter part of March Tiffin, Thomas and Robert Worthing- ton, with their wives and children, and their negroes, left Berkeley county, Virginia, for their new homes. The ladies and children were in carriages, the gentlemen on horses; the male negroes were on foot, and their women and children on horseback. These, with pack-horses laden with household goods, even mirrors and domestic fowls in cages, made a long train, exciting great local interest on their departure, and attracting unusual attention in all the settlements and hamlets in the
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wilderness through which they moved. In about two weeks they reached Pittsburgh, without any accident by the way. There they embarked in "broad horns" on a full river, and floated peacefully and swiftly on its broad bosom, swaying from shore, amidst all the strange- ness, and granduer and deep silence of the wilderness. They landed at the mouth of the Scioto, where Portsmouth now stands, and thence took their slow and tedious march through the unbroken and thick forest of the valley of the Scioto, guided only by the blazed path of earlier pioneers.
On the 27th day of April, 1798, they at last reached their destina- tion, having been more than thirty days on the way. The whole community came out to welcome them, and to assist in the unloading of their train and the care of their wonderful stores. Such a cavalcade had never before been seen ; so much refinement, intelligence and abundant possessions of useful and ornamental household goods had never before been found on the frontier. Worthington and Tiffin were both elected to the territorial legislature that met in Cincinnati in 1799.
The country was a vast forest, roamed over by savages and wild beasts. The settlements were few but rapidly increasing. 1
"Upon the banks of the Scioto there was a small hamlet of log houses, beautifully situated, which was called Chillicothe," says another writer.
Edward Tiffin would have made an accession of value to any settle- ment in the west. Here he selected his residence. He was a man of well cultivated mind, gentlemanly manners, a friendly spirit, and his conduct was guided, not only by high morality, but by true christian principles. He immediately identified himself with his new home and its enterprising people. He rapidly acquired a reputation, not only as a physician, but also for his virtues as a man.
An old friend says of him that "In his medical career he answered day and night, to the utmost of his ability, all professional calls, often enduring severe suffering from the inclemency of the weather, in long and fatiguing rides over wretched roads or by blazed paths, crossing swollen streams at dangerous fords, and with the full knowledge, often, that the patient was too poor to make him any remuneration."
As a surgeon and physician he stood in the front rank of the men of his time, and several instances are remembered that show how ready he was to employ the highest resources of the profession under sudden emergencies. On one occasion, while distant from home, a terrible accident made it necessary that an amputation of the leg should be
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made. The Doctor was without instruments, yet he quickly contrived all that was necessary, performed the operation and saved the man's life.
Thus he was busily engaged until the fall of 1799. But it is very evident that his active mind was taking a wide range in public affairs ; for the people, recognizing in him abilities other than professional, called upon him to serve them as a representative in the territorial legislature, which started him on his career in the political world.
That body met in Cincinnati on the 18th day of September, 1799, when that great city was but a collection of log cabins and a few small frame houses, "basking in the sun," under the protection of the guns of Fort Washington.
Judge Burnet, in his letters to the Ohio Historical Society, says of the Ross county delegation, that "They were not excelled in talent and energy by any other in the territory. She selected her strongest men ; Worthington, Tiffin, Findley and Langham were qualified to exert an influence in any deliberate body, and they did not fail to employ it. They were natives of Virginia, except Tiffin, who was born in England and, it was said, came to this country as surgeon's mate in the army of Burgoyne." This latter statement, though generally believed, is not true, however. Tiffin was but eleven years old when Burgoyne sur- rendered.
The best proof of Dr. Tiffin's appreciation, is shown in the fact that he was unanimously elected speaker of that important and august body, and retained that position to the end of the territorial govern- ment.
He frequently took part in the debates, and more especially encoun- tered Judge Sibley, of Detroit, whom Judge Burnet describes as a well educated and able lawyer, and possessed of large powers of mind. Tiffin was an impassioned debater, while Sibley was very cool and deliberate in his arguments. Many years afterwards Mr. Sibley visited Gov. Tiffin, and Mr. Samuel Williams, who was often present while they talked over the exciting scenes of their legislative career, says that Dr. Tiffin remarked at one time, "In our debates, Mr. Sibley, I wished a thousand times that I could have the same calm, philosophic and imperturbable spirit which you possessed; I saw and felt the advantage it gave you in debate." "And I," laughingly replied the Judge, "well remember, Doctor, how often I wished that I could infuse into my remarks the same ardor of feeling which you displayed in your speeches."
In the autumn of 1802, at the election of delegates to a convention to
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form a constitution for the new state to be called Ohio, Tiffin, Worth- ington and Massie were elected from Ross county.
The convention met in Chillicothe in November following, and Edward Tiffin was chosen president. Here his intelligence, fairness and readiness in decision, united to most courteous manners, elevated him so much in the estimation of that body of able men, that he was brought forward, at the conclusion of the business before the conven- tion, as the candidate for governor. He was elected in January, 1803, without opposition, receiving 4565 votes. In October, 1805, he was re-elected unanimously, receiving 4783 votes. He declined to be a candidate for a third term.
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His state papers are brief, but clear in their suggestions for the enactment of all those measures that would open roads, develop agri- cultural and mineral resources, advance education, protect the frontier and favor immigration. The highest proof of his qualifications and executive abilities, are his repeated unanimous elections.
The most notable feature of his gubernatorial career was the arrest of the Burr-Blennerhasset expedition. In the latter part of 1806, Aaron Burr collected numerous boats and quantities of stores in the neighborhood of Blennerhasset Island, below. Marietta. Governor Tiffin, learning that the expedition was ready to sail, dispatched a courier to the commandant at Marietta, and directed him to occupy a position below the island, where with a field battery they could com- mand the channel. Burr, seeing that his plans were discovered and knowing the impossibility of running the blockade, abandoned the expedition and fled. .
The press of the eastern states lauded Gov. Tiffin for his prompt and successful destruction of the nefarious scheme, and President Jef- ferson, in his letter to the Ohio legislature, February 2, 1807, commends the Governor for his promptness and energy in destroying the expe- dition. [SEE APPENDIX.]
At the expiration of his term of office, in 1807, Governor Tiffin was elected United States Senator and took his seat in December, his cre- dentials being presented by John Adams.
The annals of Congress show that he was constantly in his place, and a member of important committees; indeed, by a special vote of the Senate he was added to the committee on fortifications and public defences. The war feeling was rising every day, stimulated by the aggressions of England, whose men-of-war lay in Hampton Roads, and in fact patrolled the lower Chesapeake, searching our merchantmen for their seamen.
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His career as governor of Ohio was characterized by wise states- manship and great efforts in developing the vast resources of the young state. So were his efforts in the Senate of the United States marked by his tireless energy and wonderful perseverance. In this enlarged ' sphere of power he did very much to promote the interests of Ohio. Public lands were surveyed, new measures for the transportation of the mails were organized, and the navigation of the Ohio river was much improved.
The death of his wife, in 1808, so overwhelmed Gov. Tiffin that he determined to abandon public life, and therefore, at the close of the session in March, 1809, he resigned.
On his return to Ohio he settled on his farm and devoted himself to agriculture. But he was not allowed by his fellow citizens to give up his public career entirely, for at the fall election he was elected to the legislature; he was unanimously chosen speaker of the House, and so he continued to act for several sessions following. A former citizen of Chillicothe writes of him, that he gave great satisfaction as speaker, by his perfect familiarity with its duties, and the promptness and correct- ness of his decisions.
In the meanwhile Gov. Tiffin had resumed his practice and married *again; his second wife being Miss Mary Porter, from Delaware, whose family had recently settled in Ross county. She-was a lady of rare personal beauty, quiet manners and exemplary piety.
During the first term of Mr. Madison's administration, Congress passed the act creating the office of Commissioner of the General Land Office, and Mr. Madison selected Gov. Tiffin to take charge of this important department. The appointment was wholly unsolicited and unexpected by him or any of his friends. The first intimation of his appointment was the receipt by mail of his commission, with a friendly letter from the President, and letters from Mr. Worthington and several old colleagues, urging him to accept the position. The gratifying manner in which it was tendered determined him to do so, and in a few days he started on horseback for Washington, a journey that then required two weeks.
The land affairs of the nation were in much confusion; the books, documents, maps, etc., were scattered in various bureans of the State War and Treasury departments, and it required a great amount of per- plexing labor to organize, methodically, the new department. But by the next meeting of congress all was arranged, and Commissioner Tiffin made the first comprehensive and statistical report to congress on the public lands-their quantity, location, and probable future value
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to the government. His labors, in part, are exhibited in the state papers. When the British army approached Washington, in 1814, and orders were given to hurry off the public papers, Mr. Tiffin was the only one who, by prompt action, carried all his department to a place of safety. The other departments lost many valuable papers in the conflagration ordered by the British general.
Nothing could wean Governor Tiffin from his Ohio home, and Mr. Madison gratified the wish of his heart by ordering an exchange of office with Josiah Meigs, who was then surveyor-general of the west, with his office in Cincinnati. Mr. Meigs was appointed commissioner of the general land office, and Gov. Tiffin was made surveyor-general, with the privilege of locating the office in Chillicothe. There he located, and continued at the head of this office of surveyor- general, during the remainder of the term of Mr. Madison, and through the succeeding administrations of Mr. Monroe and Mr. J. Q. Adams, and into that of General Jackson, up to within a few weeks of his death, when General Jackson appointed General Lytle, of Cincinnati, to supercede him. He received his successor on his death-bed, transferred to him his office, and died a few days thereafter.
There were several thousand dollars in his hands belonging to the United States, which were promptly handed over; and so were his. books and papers, in the best of condition. This office had control over the vast realm known as the northwest, and the beautiful arrangement of the surveys of the public lands is greatly due to the sagacity and order that marked Gov. Tiffin's life.
Gov. Tiffin was reared in the pale of the Church of England, and after his removal to this country, he continued his relations to the same organization, which still existed almost as the state church of Virginia -for the American hierarchy had not yet been established. But the Tory character of many ministers during the revolution, and the almost abandoned state of so many churches, before the establishment of the Protestant Episcopal church, had so alienated the people from its communion, that a greater opportunity was offered for the propagation of the Methodist doctrines and usages. The unusual zeal and fervid manner of the new preachers, excited universal attention, and great relig- ious excitement and inquiry prevailed. The great Missionary Bishop, Francis Asbury, traveled far and wide in the states and territories, to the remotest settlements, preaching with great eloquence and power- organizing societies and consecrating ministers.
Dr. Tiffin and his wife united with the society that was organized at Charlestown, Virginia, in 1790. There the Doctor was consecrated by
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Asbury as a lay preacher, and during all his subsequent political life, he continued, to some extent, to exercise the functions of that office. Upon his removal to Ohio, he regularly performed ministerial duties in the new settlements. He did this intelligently, and without ostenta- tion, and his catholic sentiments won for him the respect of all parties. Whenever the Episcopal church in Chillicothe was without a rector, he was called to read the service and a sermon from some established collection.
In the infancy of society, men of ability have often been called upon to perform very varied functions in civil and moral affairs. The states- man, the warrior, the philosopher, have all acted the part of priests to the edification of communities and states. In the wild state of the frontier at the beginning of this century, the preservation of the religious sentiments of the people was as much the duty of the leading men of the day, as any other work they could perform, whilst laying the foundations of the state, and this man, so distinguished in position and place in those times, was not ashamed to celebrate high religions services.
The last years of the Governor's life were but little diversified by incidents. He withdrew from the regular practice of medicine upon his appointment as commissioner in 1812; but after his return to Chillicothe, in 1814, he dispensed advice and medicine from his resi- dence, gratuitously to the poor, and to many of his former patients, who still insisted upon consulting him. But his own health began to give way about 1820, and he suffered from a most distressing complaint.
On Sabbath evening, August 9, 1829, in his old home in Chillicothe, he died. His faithful old friend, Williams, says that: "He had long been sensible of his approaching end, and contemplated the solemn event, not only with calm complacency, but with a joyful anticipation of heavenly rest. He retained his full reason to the last, and gently sank away."
In stature, Doctor Tiffin was about five feet six inches high. His head was large; his face, English in type, was full and florid, with regular, prominent features. His countenance was expressive, especially when in animated conversation. He was particularly remarkable for the activity and quickness of his movements, and the prompt manner in which he discharged his duties. Dr. Monnet used to say that what Dr. Tiffin could not do quickly, he could not do at all. Nothing was put off for to-morrow that could be done to-day.
As a public officer, his accounts were always kept ready for settle- ment. Every dollar that came to his hands was promptly accounted
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for. His integrity was never questioned. While he managed his own affairs with prudence, he did not accumulate great wealth, as he might have done, but yet he never suffered any worldly embarrassment. He lived well, and in harmony with his position in society, but always within his income. He was hospitable, and in the days of his health, many of the most distinguished personages of the country enjoyed the hospitality of his board. His beautiful home was embellished by his refined taste. His earnest piety was an important element in promoting the best interest of his adopted town and country.
Gov. Tiffin left his widow and children in independent circumstances. Mrs. Tiffin died in 1827. They left five children, already mentioned.
Politically, Governor Tiffin was of the Jeffersonian school-the old Republican party; but for many years preceding his death, was not conspicuous as a politician. He was an intimate friend of Mr. Madison, and named one of his daughters after him.
Devoting all his time and his talents to the interest of the state, he very much neglected his own private affairs. But for this, he would unquestionably have accumulated a large fortune. His patriotism, however, was of a kind with that of the great men and statesmen of his day. "Everything for country-nothing for self." What a change has come over the minds of the leading men of these degenerate days! A reverse element seems to have set in upon the ebb and flow of American politics. "Everything for self, nothing for the country," seems to be the watchword of the hour. The men who pledged their. lives, their property, and their sacred honors for country and freedom. are dead, but their sons and grand-children are here, and have not these inherited a part of the unselfish love of country that made their fathers great in the eyes of the world?
Col. Allen Latham, of Ross county, an intimate friend of Gov. Tiffin, furnished Dr. Comegys with the following iteufs about the Governor, which the Doctor was so kind as to place at my disposal:
NINE MILE FARM, May 23, 1869. DEAR SIR :-
At our last meeting yon expressed a desire that I would write out my tes- timony in regard to that good old gentleman, your wife's father.
This I have done with pleasure, but very hastily, having very few papers to refer to and never seen any biographical notice of him.
His life is so completely identified with the early history of our state, that by proper industry a very interesting book might be written of him. The old journals and newspapers of that date are very hard to obtain. and I know of no perfect set at Columbus or elsewhere.
I have. perhaps, as many as any other individual, but they are in a great confusion.
Yours, Truly.
DR. C. G. COMEGYS. Cincinnati. O. ALLEN LATHAM.
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BIOGRAPHY OF GOVERNOR TIFFIN.
Doctor Edward Tiffin was Speaker of the House of Representatives of the first territorial Legislature northwest of the Ohio river, in the year 1801 and 1802. Robert Oliver was President of the Council, and General Arthur St. Clair was Governor of the Territory. Charles Willing Bird was Secretary of State.
He was president of the state convention that formed the constitution of the state of Ohio, which was adopted at Chillicothe Nov. 29, 1802. Thomas Scott was secretary of the convention.
He was elected the first Governor of Ohio, after the adoption of the con- stitution, and sworn in on the 3d day of March, 1803, and continued Gover- nor until he was made Senator.
He was Senator from Ohio, in the Senate of the United States, from 1807 to 1809.
Hle was Speaker of the House of Representatives of Ohio in 1809-10, and in 1810-11. Thomas A. Hind and Ralph Osborn were Clerks.
He was appointed Commissioner of the General Land Office of the United States about 1812.
He was appointed Surveyor General of the United States public lands northwest of the Ohio river, when he returned to Chillicothe and held that office until 1829, in which year the office was removed to Cincinnati and General William Lytle was appointed by General Jackson, the Doctor being a friend of Mr. Adams.
Samuel Williams, Esq., a native of Pennsylvania, was the Doctor's chief clerk, and continned in that position to Robert C. Lytle and to Gen. Ezekiel S. Haynes, who are now all dead. Mr. Williams was an able clerk and an accomplished gentleman.
Joseph Tiffin, the Doctor's brother, Peter Patterson, Esq., Eleazer P. Ken- drick, Esq., and W. Reynolds, the Doctor's son-in-law, were also clerks in the Doctor's office.
Mr. Kendrick is still living in Chillicothe, aged seventy-eight years on the 17th day of September last.
The Doctor was of medium height, say five feet eight or nine inches, rather portly, full faced. light hair, florid complexion and mild expression of con- tenance. His gestures were graceful, and he had a very musical voice.
The then young ladies and gentlemen on Sundays went to hear him read his selected Sermons and the Episcopal service at the Masonic hall, after he had become quite infirm, and all regarded him as one of the best of men. He was one of the most accomplished gentlemen I had ever seen.
Notwithstanding his great suffering from a local complaint, which finally caused his death, he was very attentive to his publie duties ; and when most of our public men and early settlers were ruined by the revulsions conse- quent npon the war with England, he had the sagacity to convert his bank stock into real estate, although then at the highest prices, and thus saved an independence to bis surviving family-a wife, a son and several daughters. If he had an enemy, I never knew him. He was a man of great learning, and an honor to his profession.
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CHAPTER XIV.
SPENCER vs. HEDGES-THE BRUSH-DAM CASE-THE FIRST JURY TRIAL- BROUSE-THE SUGAR CAMP-INDIAN WAY OF COOKING COON - FOREST CULTURE-SCARCITY OF MONEY-WORK ON THE CANAL-JIGGERS AND CHICHA-THE MIAMI, DAYTON AND MICHIGAN, AND WABASH AND ERIE CANALS-CANAL TAX OF SENECA COUNTY.
S PENCER'S brush-dam, across the river, mentioned heretofore, is deserving of notice here for several reasons, viz: It was the first dam ever erected by man across this river, and of course was very crude. The water raised by it ran the first saw-mill on this river; it was located within the limits and near the center of the present city of Tiffin. It caused numerous contentions between Mr. Hedges and Mr. Spencer, the two rival proprietors of the two adjoining towns, that resulted in several knock-downs; its destruction became the cause of action in the first law-suit and the occasion for the first jury trial in the court of common pleas of this county, and finally it brought about the purchase of Fort Ball by Mr. Hedges, and the union of the two . towns, forming the present young city of Tiffin. "Great oaks from little acorns grow."
Since the adoption of the present constitution of Ohio, and the consequent new code of practice, nearly thirty years ago, the young lawyers, as a general thing, have paid but little attention to the old common law pleadings and practice in vogue in former times, and old lawyers are gradually forgetting "the old way." The present age is the age of the "almighty dollar," and of "the reason why;" and the bar now seems to care as little about the former differences between debt, assumpsit, detinue, case, trespass, trespass on the case, trover, replevin, ejectment, etc., as does Young America generally about the times gone by. Extracts from the pleadings in this "brush dam case" are here added to refresh the memory of the reader concerning the mode of procedure at that time in like cases.
Jesse Spencer, the plaintiff, filed his præcipe for a summons to be issued against Josiah Hedges on the 22d day of September A. D. 1824.
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The summons was served by A. Ingraham, sheriff, on the same day, by reading. Rudolphus Dickinson, the first lawyer that settled in this county, and who had located in Fort Ball, was the attorney for Mr. Spencer. and for want of any other lawyer here, Mr. Hedges was defended by Messrs. Parish, Parker and Coffinberry. Upon this sum- mons there was a declaration filed by the plaintiff. The caption was , in the usual form, and after stating that the said Hedges had been duly summoned to answer unto the said Jesse Spencer, in a plea of trespass, went on to charge as follows:
That the said Hedges. on the 1st day of May. A. D. 1823, and at divers other days and times between that day and before the commencement of this action, with force and arms, etc., broke and entered a certain close of the said Jesse Spencer, situate, lying and being in the township of Seneca. in the county of Seneca. aforesaid, and then and there pulled down, prose- cuted and destroyed a great part, to-wit: forty perches of a certain mill-dam of the said Jesse Spencer, of great value, to-wit: of the value of two hundred dollars; and, also, then and there, tore down and dug up great quantities, to-wit: one thousand wagon loads of stone, from off the said close and dam of the said Jesse Spencer, to-wit: to the further value of three hundred dollars, and then and there took and carried away, and converted the same to his, the said Josiah Hedges', own nse.
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