USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II > Part 14
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84
HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
the Miami Purchase, of which Cincinnati is now the chief city. The appointment of Symmes to this high office gave much offence in some quarters, as it was supposed to add to his oppor- tunities of making a great fortune in the new country. It is well known that Governor St. Clair's appointment to the Northwest Territory was promoted by his friends, in the hope that he would use his position to relieve himself of pecuniary embarrassments. There is no evi- dence, however, that either he or Judge Symmes prostituted the privileges of their places to such ends.
All these appointments being made under the articles of confederation, they expired upon the adoption and operation of the Federal constitu- tion. St. Clair and Sargent were reappointed to their respective places by President Washington, and confirmed by the Senate on the 20th of Sep- tember, 1789. On the same day Parsons and Symmes were reappointed judges, with William Barton as their associate. Meanwhile, on the 9th of July, 1788, the Governor arrived at Mari- etta, and proceeded to organize the Territory. He and the judges, of whom Varnum and Par- sons were present, constituted, under the ordi- nance, the Territorial Legislature. Their first law was proclaimed July 25th, and on the 27th Governor St. Clair issued a proclamation estab- lishing the county of Washington, to cover all the territory to which the Indian title had been extinguished between Lake Erie, the Ohio and Scioto rivers, and the Pennsylvania line, being a large part of the present State of Ohio. Mari- etta, the capital of the Territory, was made the seat of justice for Washington county. The next civil division proclaimed was Hamilton county, proclaimed January 4, 1790, with Cin- cinnati (now for the first time so-called, the pre- vious name having been Losantiville) for its county-seat. It was an immense tract, of which but a small remnant is now left, territorially re- garded, in the county of that name at the south- western corner of Ohio. It was named, of course, from Colonel Alexander Hamilton, the first Sec- retary of the Treasury.
A few years afterwards, two new counties were created in the Northwest Territory - Wayne county, now, as reduced, in Michigan; and Knox, which is still, as greatly reduced, in Indi- ana, but then included everything west of Ham-
ilton county, on a line drawn from Fort Recov- ery, nearly on the present Ohio boundary, to the mouth of the Kentucky river. It, of course, included the present teritory of Clarke and Floyd counties. Vincennes was the county seat.
THE CLARKE GRANT.
This was a reservation made in the deed of cession by Virginia of her lands in the North- west Territory, to the United States, of a tract not exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand acres, to be apportioned to General George Rog- ers Clarke and the officers and soldiers of his regi- ment who were at the reduction of "Kerskaskias and St. Vincent's" (Kaskaskia and Vincennes) in 1778. The grant was made by the Legisla- ture of that State January 2, 1781. A sword had previously, in September, 1779, been voted by Virginia to General Clarke. In the same act (of 1781) reservation for grants to her soldiers in the Continental line was made of the military district in Ohio, between the Scioto and the Little Miami.
The grant was to be laid off on the northwest side of the Ohio river, in such place as the ma- jority of the officers entitled to the land-bounty should choose. They selected the tract adjacent to the rapids, upon which almost the whole of Clarke county, and parts of the counties of Floyd and another, are now laid off ; and the reserva- tion was accordingly made. Many interesting particulars concerning it will be noticed subse- quently in this volume, in the history of the townships of Clarke county.
THE CONGRESS LANDS.
After the second treaty of Fort Stanwix, Oc- tober 22, 1784, and the treaty of Fort McIntosh, January 21, 1785, had confirmed to the United States the Indian titles to the Western lands, Congress provided, by ordinance, for their survey and sub-division. This was the third ordinance of the kind reported to Congress, and bears date May 20, 1785, by which time Virginia, New York, and Massachusetts had ceded their several claims to the territory northwest of the river Ohio to the United States. Under this act, whose principles of survey are still substantially "in vogue, the territory purchased of the Indians was to be divided into townships, six miles square, by north and south lines crossed at right angles by others. (It is an interesting fact that
1
OLD HOMESTEAD
ANCHORAGE PLACE. RESIDENCE OF THE LATE C.
REAR VIEW OF RESIDENCE
W. GOSLEE, ANCHORAGE, JEFFERSON COUNTY, KY.
85
HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
the first ordinance reported, May 28, 1784, pro- posed townships of ten miles square; the second, brought in April 26, 1785, would have made them seven miles square). The first north and south line was to begin on the Ohio, at a point due north of the western termination of the southern boundary of Pennsylvania, and the first east and west line at the same point, and extend throughout the territory. The ranges of town- ships thus formed were to be numbered from the Pennsylvania line westward; the townships them- selves from the Ohio northward. Each town- ship was to be sub-divided into thirty six parts or sections, each, of course, one mile square. When seven ranges of townships. had been thus surveyed, the Geographer of the United States was to make a return of them to the board of treasury, who were to take therefrom one-seventh part, by lot, for the use of the late Continental army, and so of every seven ranges as surveyed and returned. The remaining six-sevenths were to be drawn for by the several States, in the pro- portion of the last requisition made upon them, and they were to make public sale thereof in the following manner:
Range first, township first, was to be sold en- tire, township second in sections, and so on al- ternately; while in range second, township first was to be sold in sections, and township second entire, retaining throughout, both as to the ranges and townships, the principle of alternation. The price was to be at least one dollar per acre in specie, "loan office certificates reduced to specie value," or "certificates of liquidated debts of the United States." Five sections in each township were to be reserved, four for the United States and one section for schools. All sales thus made by the States were to be returned to the board of treasury-a council of three, who had jurisdic- tion over the public lands, which was subse- quently, under the Constitution, vested in the Sec- retary of the Treasury, and finally in the General Land Office.
This ordinance also supplied the method of dividing among the Continental soldiers the lands set apart to them, reserved three townships for Canadian refugees, secured to the Moravian In- dians their rights, and excluded from sale the territory between the Little Miami and the Scioto, in accordance with the provisions made by Virginia in her deed of cession in favor of
her own troops. Many points in this law were afterwards changed, but its great features re- mained .*
Six land districts were established, with an office for registry and sale in each. The Jeffer- sonville district had jurisdiction of all the public lands east of the second principal meridian and south of the line dividing the townships num- bered nine and ten north. The land office was of course at Jeffersonville.
CHAPTER III. ORGANIZATION OF FLOYD COUNTY.
When Floyd county was created in 1819 Corydon was the capital of the State, and the Legislature was in session there. New Albany was growing so rapidly, its people, and especially its proprietor were so ambitious for its success and prosperity, and its prospects were so flatter- ing that a determined effort was made to estab- lish a new county that the young, ambitious town might be made a county seat. Clarke and Harrison counties then occupied the territory now belonging to Floyd, and both were large counties. The line between them followed the top of the Silver hills. In the winter of 1818-19 the citizens of the town sent some of their most influential men to Corydon to lobby for the es- tablishment of a new county ; among them was Nathaniel Scribner, who lost his life, dying on his way home as elsewhere mentioned. They were successful, however, in persuading the Legislature that a new county was needed, and early in the winter commissioners were appointed by Jonathan Jennings, then Governor of the State, to designate the bounds of the new county. This duty was performed, the boundaries of the county designated, the county divided into three townships, and their report submitted February 8, 1819.
COUNTY SEAT.
New Albany having thus secured a new county, the next movement was to secure the county seat. Its rival for this honor was the village of Greenville, then the equal in size and population of New Albany. Strong induce-
"Annals of the West, edition of 1847, 269-70.
86
HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
ments were held out by both villages, and for some time the chances were pretty evenly bal- anced, the scales tipping a little toward Greenville as being the more centrally located of the two. New Albany labored under the disadvantage of be- ing located at the extreme edge of the county, and Greenville was also open somewhat to the same objection, though better located in this respect than New Albany. The arguments which de- termined the location of the county seat finally at New Albany were its situation on the river, the great outlet for trade and commerce, and at the foot of the falls, its prospects for becoming a city, and last but not least, the power of the al- mighty dollar in the affairs of men. The pro- prietors of New Albany were not rich, but they were comparatively so, and were enabled to bring a greater weight of money, brains, and in- fluence to bear upon the subject than the Green- ville parties. If they could not give money they could give property, and it was through such in- fluences as these that finally detremined the lo- cation of the county seat at New Albany.
The following from the earliest records of the county commissioners will throw some light on this subject :
At a special meeting of the board of commissioners for the county of Floyd, and State of Indiana, convened at the house of Seth Woodruff, Esq., in New Albany, on the 4th day of March, 1819.
Present-Clement Nance, Jr., Jacob Piersol.
Ordered by said commissioners that the following bond re- port be entered, to wit:
Know all men by these presents that we, John Eastburn, Seth Woodruff, Joel Scribner, James Scribner, and Smith & Paxson, and all of the county of Floyd and State of In- diana, are held and firmly bound unto Charles Paxson, Cle- ment Nance, Jr., and Jacob Piersol, county commissioners for the county of Floyd, and their successors in office in the sum of $25,000, good and lawful money of the United States. To which payment well and truly to be made to the commissioners aforesaid we bind ourselves and each of us by himself, our heirs, executors, and administrators jointly and severally firmly by these presents, sealed with our seals, and dated this, the 4th day of March, A. D., 1819.
Now the condition of the above obligation is such that if the above bound, John Eastburn, Seth Woodruff, Charles Woodruff, Joel Scribner, James Scribner, and the firm of Smith & Paxson, shall, within four months from the date thereof, pay to the commissioners of said county the sum of $2,250; and in eight months from this date a like sum of $2,250; and in twelve months from this date a like sum of $2,250; and in sixteen months from this date a like sum of $2,250; and deed or caused to be deeded in fee simple to said county four lots in the town of New Albany, lying at corners of Lower and Upper Spring streets, or where they unite in State street, each lot being one hundred feet square, two of which are lo be disposed of for the benefit of said
county, and the other two to be retained and known as the public ground for said county for the purpose of erecting a court-house and other public buildings thereon for said county -then the above obligation to be void, else remain in full force and virtue.
The above document was signed by all parties concerned, and the record continues :
We, the undersigned commissioners, being appointed by the Legislature of Indiana to fix the permanent seat of jus- tice for the county of Floyd, do, in consideration of the aforesaid sum of $9,000 secured to said county and four lots within New Albany, by John Eastburn, Seth Woodruff, Charles Woodruff, Joel Scribner, James Scribner, and Smith & Paxson, as set out in their aforesaid bond or obligation, establish the seat of justice for said county of Floyd on the public ground in said town of New Albany.
Given under our hands and seals at New Albany, this, the 4th day of March, 1819.
JOHN CAWTER, WILLIAM HOGGATT, HENRY RISTINE.
The above named commissioners were allowed three dollars per day each, and were engaged from six to nine days in fixing the county seat.
This arrangement seemed to be final as to the location of the county seat, but later, in 1823, as will be seen further on in this chapter, the matter was reopened, the above contract not having been fulfilled. Commissioners-were appointed by the State to relocate the county seat, but the matter was finally adjusted by the citizens.
During the first years of its existence the county had little government except that given it by the county commissioners, and little use for county records except to keep the pro- ceedings of the commissioners and an oc- casional case in Judge Floyd's court. The com- missioners were Jacob Piersol, Clement Nance, Jr., and Charles Paxson. Their meetings were frequent; there was much to do to get the machinery of the new county in motion and working smoothly ; the larger part of their time was taken up for several years in the establish- ment of new roads and the appointment of super- visors and other necessary officers. Their powers and duties were much more extended than at present.
THE FIRST COURT-HOUSE.
The first meetings of the commissioners were held in Judge Seth Woodruff's tavern, located on Main street between Upper Third and Fourth. This was the largest frame building in town at the time, became the county court-house and was headquarters for all county business. Wood- ruff himself was the principal man in the new
87
HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
county. He was a large framed, large brained, rough, uncultivated, but withal a kind-hearted man-a Jerseyman-who came west with a family and plenty of surplus energy, physical strength, and go-aheaditiveness, and while he lived made his presence felt in the community. He was no negative quantity, but a man of force and fine presence-a Baptist preacher, a tavern keeper, a plasterer and bricklayer by trade, an associate judge, a justice of the peace, and in fact almost everything required by a new county and a new town. He was a man of strong con- victions and whatever he believed he believed with all his might, and could not understand for the life of him why other people should differ from hini. He was sure he was right, and those who differed with him must of necessity be wrong, and therefore subjects for his aggressive and powerfully placed argu- ments. Whatever he did he did with all his might, and so enveloped his subject and work that he must necessarily control it or ruin it. His decisions in court were positive, and the other judges must coincide with him or there was trouble ; his religion he believed to be the only true religion, and those who did not accept it were heretics and on the broad road to death and ruin. He believed himself capable of run- ning the new county and town and conducting all their affairs; and throwing open his house to the public, the commissioners, the courts, and all the county officials, he thus succeeded in inject- ing his opinions and not a little of his surplus human nature into all the county and town affairs. His house was two stories in height, and so arranged up stairs with folding doors that two or three large rooms could be thrown into one, which became the first court room in New Albany and also a place of meeting for the Bap- tists. Woodruff was the second bricklayer in town, a man named Smith being the first, and much of their work is yet standing; Smith was probably the best workman; Woodruff used to say that he would take down and rebuild one of Smith's chimneys for the extra brick he could get out of it ; but it is said that Woodruff's chim- neys would smoke sometimes.
Woodruff's tavern was used for a court-house until the erection of the first court-house in 1823, with the exception of a short time when the court occupied the basement of the Presby-
terian church. Most of the old tavern stand was taken down about 1832 and a brick building put up in its place, but it was known generally as Woodruff's tavern until 1850, though its proper name was the New Albany Hotel. After 1850 it was known as the DePauw House. It is yet standing, a large, square, dirty, dilapidated look- ing brick building, and has been empty and deserted for some years.
THE SECOND COURT-HOUSE.
Early in 1820 the people of the county deter- mined to have a court-house. The Scribners had placed at the disposal of the town and county, for public purposes, four large lots or squares at the intersection of State and Spring streets, and upon one of these the new court-house was to be built in accordance with the afore-mentioned agree- ment between the county commissioners and Messrs John Eastburn, Seth Woodruff, Joel Scribner, James Scribner, and Smith & Paxson, who had entered into bonds of $25,000 to see that the work was done. Accordingly, on the 15th of February, 1820, the following entries ap- pear on the commissioners' records:
Ordered, that the treasurer pay William Norman ten dol- lars for drawing a plan of the Court House.
Ordered, that the building of the Court House and Gaol be sold at public sale to the lowest bidder on the 3d Monday in March next on the public square. Plans of the building can be seen at the store of Messrs. Paxson & Eastburn.
The commissioners ordered the above notice to be published three weeks in the Indianian, published at Jeffersonville, and at the same time in the Indiana Gazette, published at Corydon, and one notice to be posted on Seth Woodruff's door. The manner of publication of this notice is pretty good evidence that Patrick's paper, the first one published in New Albany, was not issued at that early date in 1820. It was, however, started some time in that year, as it was there in the fall.
The sub-contractors for the work were Charles Paxson, Charles Woodruff, Christopher Arm- strong, and Seth Woodruff. The sale did not take place on the third Monday in March, as or- dered, but on the 20th of April, and the job was bid off by Charles Paxson and others, as above named, for $7,860. According to the contract, they were to "well and truly build a good and sufficient Court House and Gaol in New Albany," according to the plan exhibited on the day of sale, This they failed to do. They had not
88
HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
figured closely enough, and had taken a larger contract than they were able to complete. They went forward with the work, but when they saw that the money would give out long before the work was done they threw up the job, and it went back into the hands of the original bondsmen. Thus the years 1820 and 1821 went by and the county had no court-house; the consequence was the courts complained, and the people com- plained, which resulted in the reappointment of commissioners by the State to re-locate the county-seat of Floyd county. This brought the people of the town to terms, as it was probably intended to do, and the commissioners imme- diately entered suit against the original contrac- tors for $9,000, for the purpose of completing the court-house. William P. and Joel D. Thomasson were attorneys for the commis- sioners.
The commissioners to relocate the county-seat, appointed by the Legislature April, 1823, were Allen D. Thom, Armstrong Brandon, Hugh Mc- Pheters, John Carr, and Edward Moore. The people had held public meetings and made ex- traordinary efforts to raise money for the purpose of holding the county-seat ; and Greenville began again to hope there was a prospect after all, through the negligence of the New Albanians, of securing the seat of justice. But when the com- missioners made their appearance at New Al- bany the people were ready with a large subscrip- tion (large for those days) to back up their orig- inal contractors, and go on with the completion of the county buildings. The amount sub- scribed by the citizens was $2,456.50, and the lot or public square deeded by the corporation to the county for this purpose was valued at $800, making the total subscription $3,256.50, which sum, it was thought, would be ample for the completion of the buildings. A new bond was given, on which the sureties were James Scribner, Ashel Clapp, David M. Hale, Abner Scribner, Garret McCann, Joel Scribner, Thomas Sinex, S. C. Miller, I. Starkey, Wicome Halle, Harvey Scribner, Elias Ayers, Joseph Cannon, Mason C. Fitch, R. S. Strickland, and Caleb Newman. These were among the best and wealthiest citizens of the town, and personally pledged themselves for the payment of the sub- scriptions. Thus the commissioners were satis- fied, and New Albany retained the county-seat.
The following list of names of the subscribers to the fund for building the first court-house is given as much for the names of the old citizens of New Albany, and a desire for their preservation, as to show the manner in which such things were done in the early days of the county's history:
AMOUNT
NAMES.
SUBSCRIBED.
Harvey Scribner.
$ 10.00
Henry Rinecking.
10. 00
P. F. Tuley.
10.00
Joel Scribner, 6 16-100 acres land.
180.00
Mary L. Miller
3.00
Lathrop Elderkin
10.00
Joseph Canno
20.00
R. S. Strickland, work or materials
10.00
R. W. Nelson
10.00
Elias Avers, in brick or other material 60.00
Mason C. Fitch.
20.00
Henry Weber
1.00
John Huston.
1.00
James Lyons, in work or material.
10.00
Willis N. Brown.
1.00
John Spalding. 15.00
5.00
James Howard, one month carpenter work 20.00
Joseph Cannon. 10.00
Walter W. Winchester
10.00
Phebe Scribner and Phebe Strong, real estate. 45.00
John Hancock. 2.00
John Goshart. 10.00
Thomas H. Letcher, in brick laying.
25,00
Isaac Brooks 5.00
Thomas Wright, in labor
1.00
John Doyle. 5.00
50.00
Jacob Marcell ..
5.00
Edward Brown, in hauling.
15.00
Henry Selp, carpenter work 6.00
H. Bogert. 20.00
10.00
Jacob Oatman 1.00
William Baird. 5.00
Samuel Wilson 25.00
Joshua Wilson 30.00
Daniel Doup 15.00
Caleb C. Dayton, in shoemaking.
10.00
Hiram L. Miller, one week carpenter work.
9.00
William B. Crawford
25.00
Alpheus B. Rowley
.50
Joshua Wilson, to be paid at the completion of building. 70.00
Joel Leek.
2.00
Jacob Bence
10.00
George Clark 5.00
Thomas Hancock 2.00
James Hancock. 1.00
Jacob Marcell, smith work 10.00
H. Clapp, lot 31, Lower First street
45.00
H. Clapp, in labor or materials. 35.00
H. Clapp, in labor.
5.00
James B. Moore 8.00
Jesse Hickman 6.00
John Shirley. 6.00
.
.
Francis N. Moore.
David M. Hale, in cash or material.
Asa Smith, mason work
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
Philip Beamgard 3.00
Joseph Day. 15.00
George McCulloch. 6.00
John Harkin. 6.00
Samuel Jackson 3.00
Henry Turner, in labor 3.00
John Rose. 12.00
Warren Bucklin. 10.00
Samuel Marsh.
10.00
Daniel Seabrook.
10.00
H. Bogert.
Joel Scribner, lot 27, Lower First street
60.00
David M. Hale, labor. 10.00
James Besse.
15,00
Samuel C. Miller. 20.00
Abraham Brown. 15.00
Isaac Sproatt.
15.00
William Drysdale, 20.00
Wicome Hale ..
10.00
Joel D. Thompson
10.00
Abner Scribner, lot 2, Upper Elm, and lot 5, Lower Elm 132.00
Abner Scribner, lots 30 and 37, Upper Elm 75.00 Abner Scribner, lot 15, Lower Spring. 75.00
Francis Vary, in lime or hauling 4.00
Levi Vary, labor. 1.00
Joseph Brindley, mason work.
10.00
Garret McCan, smith work 10.00
Caleb Newman
10.00
Seth Woodruff, bell and cupola. 100.00
Seth Woodruff, lot 37, Lower High (Main) street 100.00
James Scribner, lot 30, Lower Market 75.00
James Scribner, one-fourth section land. 80.00
Obadiah Childs, carpenter work. 8.00
Darius Genung .. 25.00
Daniel Lane, hauling 5.00
John Nicholson, mason work. 10.00
John Connor, to be paid when building completed. . 20.00 John A. Bright. 25.00
James W. Breden. 5.00
George Starkey 5.00
Benjamin Shreve. 10.00
Margaret Shelby, to be paid in corn or other produce
at the market price, delivered in New Albany . ... 50.00
Richard Comly, carpenter work 50.00
Caleb C. Dayton, shoemaking. 10.00 Zephaniah Smith. 5.00
Charles Russell, work or material 6.00
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