USA > Ohio > History of the state of Ohio > Part 34
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In the year 1620, on the 3d of November, King James gave a charter to the second colony of Virginia. After citing the grants made to the first colony of Virginia, and stating an application from the second colony for a further enlargement of privileges, he proceeded to declare, "that the tract of land, in America, between the fortieth and forty-eighth de- grees of north latitude, from sea to sea, should be called New England ; and for the planting and governing the same, he incorporated a council at Plymouth, in the county of Devon, and granted to them and their successors all that part of America lying and being in breadth, from forty degrees of northerly latitude from the equinoctial line, to forty-eight degrees of the said northerly latitude inclusively, and in length of and within all the said breadth aforesaid, throughout all the main lands from sea to sea, together with all the firm lands, &c., upon the main, and within the said islands and seas adjoining. Provided, the said islands, or any of the premises before mentioned, and intended by said charter to be granted, be not actually possessed or inhabited by any Christian prince or state, nor be within the bounds, limits or
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territories of the southern colony, granted to be planted in the south part." King James, by said charter, commanded and authorized said council at Plymouth, or their successors, or the major part of them, to distribute and assign such por- tions of land to adventurers, &c., as they shall think proper.
In 1628, 4th March, the council of Plymouth, pursuant to the authority vested in them by their charter, granted to Sir Henry Roswell, Sir John Young, Thomas Southcoat, John Humphrey, John Endicott and Simon Whetcomb, their heirs and associates, a tract of land called Massachusetts ; and King Charles I., on the 4th of March, 1629, confirmed the sale and granted them a charter. After reciting the de- scription of the grant to the council of Plymouth, and their grant to Sir Henry Roswell and others, he grants and con- firms to them "all that part of New England in America, which lies and extends between a great river there commonly called Morromack River, alias, Merrimack River, and a certain other river there called Charles River, being in the bottom of a certain bay, there called Massachusetts, alias, Matta- chusetts, alias, Massactusetts Bay ; and also all and singular those lands and hereditaments whatsoever, lying within the space of three English miles, on the south part of the said river, called Charles River, or of any or every part thereof ; and also all and singular, the lands and hereditaments what- soever, lying and being within the space of three English miles to the southward of the southernmost parts of the said bay, called Massachusetts, alias, Mattachusetts, alias, Mas- sactusetts Bay ; and also all those lands and hereditaments whatsoever, which lie and be within the space of three Eng- lish miles to the northward of the said river, called Morro- mack, alias, Merrimack ; or to the northward of any and every part thereof; and all lands and hereditaments whatso-
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ever, lying within the limits aforesaid, north and south, in latitude and in breadth, and in length and longitude of and within all the breadth aforesaid, throughout the main lands there from the Atlantic and Western sea and ocean on the east part to the South Sea on the west part, with a proviso not to extend to lands possessed by a Christian prince, or within the limits of the southern colony.
In the year 1631, on the 19th of March, the Earl of War- wick (to whom the territory had been granted the year before by the council of Plymouth) granted to Lord Say and Seal, Lord Brooke, Lord Rich, Charles Fiennes, Sir Richard Sal- tonstall, Sir Nathaniel Rich, Richard Kingsly, John Pym, John Humphrey, John Hampden and Herbert Pelham, " all that part of New England in America which lies and extends itself from a river there called Narragansett River, the space of forty leagues, upon a straight line near the sea shore, towards the southwest, west and by south or west as the coast lieth towards Virginia, accounting three English miles to the league, and also all and singular the lands and hereditaments whatsoever, lying and being within the lands aforesaid, north and south, in latitude and in breadth, and in length and lon- gitude of, and within all the breadth aforesaid, throughout the main lands there from the Western ocean to the South sea, &c., and also all the islands lying in America aforesaid, in said seas, or either of them, on the western or eastern coasts." In 1644, the patentees, in consequence of the new state of things in England, relinquished their plan of removal and sold their grant to the people of Connecticut. On the 23d of April, 1662, King Charles II. granted a charter in which he constituted and declared John Winthrop and others, his associates, "a body corporate and politic, by the name of the governor and company of the English colony of Connec- 20*
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ticut, in New England, in America, with privileges and powers of government, and granted and confirmed to the said governor and company and their successors, all that part of his dominions in New England, in America, bounded on the east by Narraganset River, commonly called Narragansat Bay, where the said river falls into the sea ; and on the north by the line of Massachusetts plantation, and on the south by the sea, and in longitude as the line of Massachusetts colony, running from east to west, that is to say, from the said Nar- raganset Bay on the east, to the South sea on the west, with the islands thereto adjoining." On the 23d of April, 1664, King Charles addressed a letter to the governor and company of Connecticut, in which, among other things, he speaks of having renewed their charter.
On the 12th of March, 1664, Charles II. granted to James, Duke of York, the region extending from the western bank of the Connecticut to the eastern shore of the Delaware, together with Long Island and Hudson River. This grant was inconsistent with the western limits of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and soon after, commissioners on the part of the crown met those appointed by the General Assembly of Connecticut for the settlement of this conflict of bounda- ries. On the 30th of November, 1664, the royal commis- sioners ordered " that the creek or river which is called Monoromock, which is reputed to be about twelve miles to the east of Westchester, and a line to be drawn from the east point or side where the fresh water falls into the salt, at high water mark, north-northwest to the line of Massachusetts, be the western bound of said colony of Connecticut, and all plantations lying westward of that creek and line so drawn shall be under his Royal Highness' government; and all plantations lying eastward of that creek and line to be under
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the government of Connecticut." To this the commissioners of Connecticut subscribed in the following manner : "We, the underwritten, on behalf of the colony of Connecticut, have assented unto the determination of His Majesty's com- missioners in relation to the bounds and limits of his Royal Highness the Duke's patent and the patent of Connecti- cut." A re-settlement of this line was finally effected in 1730, when Borain River, the present line, was established.
On the 4th of March, 1681, Charles II. granted to William Penn, the first proprietary and governor of Pennsylvania, " all that tract or part of land in America, with the islands therein contained, as the same is bounded on the east by Delaware River, from twelve miles distance northward of Newcastle town, unto the three and fortieth degree of north- ern latitude, if said river doth extend so far northward ; but if the said river shall not extend so far northward, then by the said river so far as it doth extend, and from the head of the said river the eastern bounds are to be determined by a meridian line to be drawn from the head of said river unto the said forty-third degree ; the said land to extend westward five degrees in longitude to be computed from the said eastern bounds ; and the said lands to be bounded on the north by the beginning of the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude ; and on the south by a circle drawn at twelve miles distance from Newcastle, northward and westward, unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern latitude, and then by a straight line, westward, to the limits of longitude above mentioned."
In 1754, some settlements were made from Connecticut, on lands on the Susquehannah, about Wyoming, within the chartered limits of Pennsylvania, and also within the char- tered limits claimed by Connecticut. Pennsylvania resisted
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these occupants as intruders ; and the organization by Con- necticut, of a county of Westmoreland, in the valley of Wy- oming, led to many scenes of civil strife. The controversy was finally determined in 1782, by the intervention of Con- gress. The articles of confederation of 1779, provided for the settlement of territorial disputes between the States by a federal court, to be composed of judges selected by the par- ties litigant and commissioned by Congress. Such a tribunal of five judges, having been in session six weeks at Trenton, unanimously determined that the State of Connecticut had no right to the lands included in the charter of Pennsylvania. 4&Congress confirmed this decision and Connecticut submitted.
In 1774, the Parliament of Great Britain passed an act by which the whole country north of the forty-fifth parallel of latitude, and northwest of the west boundary of Pennsyl- vania and the Ohio River, was annexed and made parcel of the province of Quebec, as created and established by the royal proclamation of October 7, 1763, with a proviso, how- ever, that the act should not affect the boundaries of other colonies.
Thus it is obvious that, before the American Revolution, the claims of any of the colonies to extend their limits to the " South Sea," were of little importance or value-entirely disregarded by the crown, and constantly yielded by the colonies. It remains to be seen, that a sentiment of hostility to Great Britain tended to revive these claims until they became a serious obstacle to the harmony of Congress and the national defence.
The first demonstration proceeded from Virginia. In 1776 that colony adopted a State Constitution, in which the following provision occurred : "The territories contained within the charters, erecting the colonies of Maryland, Penn-
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sylvania, North and South Carolina, are hereby ceded, re- leased, and forever confirmed to the people of these colonies respectively, with all the rights of property, jurisdiction and government, and all other rights whatsoever, which might, at any time heretofore, have been claimed by Virginia, except the free navigation and use of the rivers Potomaque and Pokomoke, with the property of the Virginia shores and strands, bordering on either of the said rivers, and all im- provements which have been, or shall be made thereon. The western and northern extent of Virginia shall, in all other respects, stand as fixed by the charters of King James I., in the year one thousand six hundred and nine, and by the public treaty of peace, between the courts of Britain and France, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty- three : unless, by act of this Legislature, one or more govern- ments be established westward of the Allegheny Mountains. And no purchases of lands shall be made of the Indian na- tives, but on behalf of the public, by authority of the General Assembly." North Carolina inserted a similar assertion of western boundary in her Constitution. Massachusetts, Con- necticut and New York did not refer to the subject in that connection.
Maryland led the resistance to these pretensions. When the Articles of Confederation were under consideration, her delegates contended, unsuccessfully, that Congress should have the power to limit and ascertain the boundaries of those colonies which claimed to the South Sea, and to dispose of all lands beyond such boundaries for the benefit of the Union. In June, 1778, it appeared that Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware were the only colonies that had declined to ratify the Articles, and the instructions to their delegates concurred on the subject of the public lands. Maryland now proposed
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an amendment, vesting Congress with power "to appoint commissioners, who should be fully authorized and empow- ered to ascertain and restrict the boundaries of such of the confederated States which claim to extend to the river Mis- sissippi or South Sea." It was negatived by the following vote : Aye, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Del- aware, Maryland ; No, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia-New York divided, and North Carolina absent. The whole subject was postponed, and the compact only contained a provision for the arbitration, under the direction of Congress, of disputes and differences between the States concerning boundary. ju- risdiction or other causes-with the condition carefully added, that "no State [should] be deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States."
Virginia, in 1779, opened an office for the sale of unap- propriated lands. Congress earnestly recommended the re- consideration of the act, and directed Col. Brodhead, who was then stationed with a detachment of continental troops at Fort Pitt, to prevent any occupation of the west bank of the Ohio by settlers. In the execution of these orders, that officer, in October, 1779, being informed that certain inhab- itants of Virginia had crossed the Ohio and made improve- ments on the Indian lands, from the river Muskingum to Fort McIntosh, ordered them to be apprehended as trespassers, and destroyed their huts. Information of this was immedi- ately given to the Governor of Virginia, but Congress re- solved, April 18th, 1780, that Colonel Brodhead should be supported in any act or order which the nature of his service had made, or should make necessary.
The example of Virginia was contagious, and other States revived their dormant claims to the valley of the Mississippi.
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Some of them did so, it must be admitted, with better reason than the former State could adduce. "The charter of Vir- ginia had been vacated by a judicial proceeding; the com- pany to which it was granted had been dissolved ; the grant itself had been resumed by the crown, and large tracts of the country included by its original limits, had been patented to various individuals and associations, without remonstrance on the part of Virginia." ] We have already described the charters of Massachusetts : the Carolinas had received simi- lar grants ; under the proclamation of 1763, annexing to Georgia the country west of the Altamaha and north of Flor- ida, that State also claimed to extend to the Mississippi : and so did New York, under color of certain alleged acknowledg- ments of her jurisdiction over the Six Nations, whom it had long been colonial usage to regard as the conquerors of the whole western territory on both shores of Lakes Ontario and Huron, and both banks of the Ohio, as far south as the Cumberland Mountains.
The Articles of Confederation, dated, in the preamble, November 15, 1777, were signed by the representatives of ten colonies, on the 9th of July, 1778. New Jersey deferred her signature to the 25th of November, 1778, and Delaware ratified the Articles on the 22d of February, 1779. Mary- land, however, still persisted in a refusal. In December, 1778, the Legislature of Maryland made a communication to their delegates in Congress, in which they insisted, " that a country unsettled at the commencement of the war, claimed by the British crown, and ceded to it by the treaty of Paris, if wrested from the common encmy by the blood and treasure of the thirteen States, should be considered as a common property, subject to be parceled out by Congress into free,
1) Historical Sketch of Ohio, by S. P. Chase. Statutes, vol. i., p. 13.
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convenient and independent governments, in such manner and at such times as the wisdom of that assembly shall here- after direct. Thus convinced," they proceed to say, "we should betray the trust reposed in us by our constituents, were we to authorize you to ratify on their behalf the con- federation, unless it be further explained. We have coolly and dispassionately considered the subject ; we have weighed probable inconveniences and hardships against the sacrifice of just and essential rights : and do instruct you not to agree to the confederation, unless an article or articles be added thereto in conformity with our declaration. Should we suc- ceed in obtaining such article or articles, then you are hereby fully empowered to accede to the confederation."
The above are but the closing paragraphs of an able docu- ment, to which the State of New York was the first to re- spond by a contribution of individual interest to the general welfare. In February, 1780, the legislature of that State passed an act " to facilitate the completion of the Articles of Confederation and perpetual union among the United States of America ;" whereas, nothing under Divine Providence, can more effectually contribute to the tranquillity and safety of the United States of America, than a federal alliance, on such liberal principles as will give satisfaction to its respective members ; and, whereas, the Articles of Confederation and perpetual union recommended by the honorable the Congress of the United States of America have not proved acceptable to all the States, it having been conceived that a portion of the waste and uncultivated territory, within the limits or claims of certain States, ought to be appropriated as a com- mon fund for the expenses of the war: and the people of the State of New York, being on all occasions disposed to mani- fest their regard for their sister States, and their earnest
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desire to promote the general interest and security ; and more especially to accelerate the federal alliance, by remov- ing, so far as it depends upon them, the before mentioned impediment to its final conclusion," &c. By this act the del- egates of the People of New York in Congress, were em- powered "to limit and restrict the western boundaries of that State, by such line or lines, and in such manner and form, as they shall judge to be expedient, either with respect to the jurisdiction as well as the preemption of soil, or reserv- ing the jurisdiction in part, or in the whole, over the lands which may be ceded or relinquished, with respect only to the right and preemption of the soil." This act, also, declared that the territory thus ceded, " should be and enure for the use and benefit of such of the United States, as should be- come members of the federal alliance of the said States, and for no other use or purpose whatever."
A remonstrance of Virginia in behalf of her title, and the act of New York just cited, were referred to a committee of Congress, who declined to examine into the merits or policy of the instructions by Maryland and the remonstrance of Virginia, but reported a resolution, which Congress adopted, September 6th, 1780, earnestly recommending to those States who had claims to the western country, to pass such laws and give their delegates in Congress such powers, as would effectually remove the only obstacle to a final ratification of the Articles of Confederation; and that the legislature of Maryland be earnestly requested to authorize their delegates in Congress to subscribe the said articles.
A resolution of still more importance, since the terms of it subsequently became conditions of the cessions by the States, was adopted in Congress on the 10th of October, to wit: " Resolved, That the unappropriated lands that may be 21
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ceded or relinquished to the United States, by any particular State, pursuant to the recommendation of Congress of the 6th day of September last, shall be disposed of for the com- mon benefit of the United States, and be settled and formed into distinct Republican States, which shall become members of the federal union, and have the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and independence as the other States : that each State which shall be so formed shall contain a suitable extent of territory, not less than one hundred, nor more than one hundred and fifty miles square, or as near thereto as circum- stances will admit; that the necessary and reasonable ex- penses which any particular State shall have incurred since the commencement of the present war, in subduing any British posts or in maintaining forts or garrisons within and for the defence, or in acquiring any part of the territory that may be ceded or relinquished to the United States, shall be reimbursed : that the said lands shall be granted or settled at such times, and under such regulations as shall hereafter be agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled, or any nine or more of them."
The immediate results were a cession by Connecticut in October, 1780, and by Virginia in January, 1781. Neither of these cessions were accepted by Congress, but Maryland was encouraged by their terms, and stimulated by her own patriotism to accede to the articles of the confederation, which thus became, on the 1st of March, 1781, the law of the whole union. On the same day, James Duane, William Floyd and Alexander M'Dougall, the delegates of New York, executed a deed of cession, by which the western bounds of that state were limited by "a line from the north- east corner of the State of Pennsylvania, along the north bounds thereof, to its northwest corner, continued due west
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until it shall be intersected by a meridian line, to be drawn from the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, through a point twenty miles due west from the most westerly bent or incli- nation of the river or strait of Niagara; thence by the said meridian line to the forty-fifth degree of north latitude, thence by the said forty-fifth degree of north latitude." The delegates reserved a right of retraction, unless the same guaranty was given to New York as to any other State making cessions.
The New York delegates alluded, in the qualification of their cession last mentioned, to a proposition of Virginia, which retarded the consummation of her cession for several years, and was finally relinquished by that State: namely, that Congress should guaranty to Virginia all the territory southeast of the Ohio and included between the boundaries of Pennsylvania, Maryland and North Carolina to the Atlantic.
Connecticut offered at this time, to cede all her claim to the soil of the territory west of Pennsylvania, excepting the tract south of Lake Erie and immediately adjoining Penn- sylvania, since known as the Connecticut Reserve, but Con- gress was then averse to making so material a concession. On the other hand, Connecticut never receded from her demand. Even after the Council of Trenton, on the 30th of December, 1782, had excluded the Connecticut claim from the chartered limits of Pennsylvania, the former state reasserted her title to the lands beyond the western boun- dary of Pennsylvania. At a General Assembly, held at New Haven on the second Thursday of October, 1783, the following act was passed, viz:
" Whereas this State has the undoubted and exclusive right of jurisdiction and preëmption to all the lands lying west of the western limits of the State of Pennsylvania, and
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east of the River Mississippi, and extending throughout from the latitude forty-one degrees, to latitude forty-two degrees and two minutes north, by virtue of the charter granted by King Charles the Second to the late colony, now State of Connecticut, bearing date the 23d day of April, A. D. 1662, which claim and title to make known, for the infor- mation of all, to the end that they may conform themselves thereto,
" Resolved, That his excellency the Governor, be desired to issue his proclamation, declaring and asserting the right of this State to all the lands within the limits aforesaid; and strictly forbidding all persons to enter or settle thereon, without special license and authority first obtained by the General Assembly of this State."
Pursuant to this resolution, Governor Trumbull issued a proclamation, bearing date the 15th of November, 1783, making known the determination of the State to maintain their claim to said territory, and forbidding all persons to enter thereon, or settle within the limits of the same.
It is interesting to observe the importance which Congress attributed to the claim of New York, after the cession of March, 1781. A committee, to whom the whole subject of the public lands had been referred, reported on the 3d of November in the same year, that "it clearly appeared to them, that the crown of England had always considered and treated the country of the Six Nations, and their tributaries, inhabiting as far as the 45th degree of north latitude, as ap- pendant to the government of New York; that the neighbor- ing colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, had also, from time to time, by their public acts, recognized and admitted the said Six Nations, and their tributaries, to be appendant to the government of
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