USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > The Book of Marietta : being a condensed, accurate and reliable record of the important events in the history of the city of Marietta, in the State of Ohio, from the time of its earliest settlement on April 7th, 1788, to the present > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12
104
* THE GREAT ORDINANCE OF 1787
(The confederate congress, July 13, 1787.)
An ordinance for the government of the terri- tory of the United States northwest of the River Ohio.
Sec. 1. Be it ordained, by the United States in congress assembled, that the said territory, for the purpose of temporary government, be one district, subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future circumstances may, in the opinion of con- giess, make it expedient.
Sec. 2. Be it ordained by the authority afore- said, that the estates both of resident and non-resi- dent proprietors in the said territory, dying intes tate, shall descend to, and be distributed among, their children and the descendants of a deceased child in equal parts, the descendants of a deceased child or grandchild to take the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among them; and where there shall be no children or descendants, then in equal parts to the next of kin, in equal degree; and among collaterals, the children of a deceased broth. er or sister of the intestate shall have, in equal parts among them, their deceased parents' share; and there shall, in no case, be a distinction between kindred of the whole and half blood; saving in all cases to the widow of the intestate, her third part of the real estate for life, and one third part of the personal estate; and this law relative to descents and dower, shall remain in full force until altered by the legislature of the district. And until the governor and judges shall adopt laws as herein after mention. ed, estates in the said territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed and sealed by him or her in whom the estate may be, (being of full age) and attested by three witnesses; and real estates may be conveyed by lease and re-lease, or bargain and sale, signed, sealed, and delivered by the person, being of full age, in whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution therof duly proved, and be recorded within one year after proper magis. tiates, conuts and registers, shall be appointed for that purpose; and personal property may be trans- fonted by delivery, saving, however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskaskias, St. Vincents and the neighboring vil. lages, who have heretofore professed themselves cit. izens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force among them, relative to the descent and con voyance of property.
Sec. 3. Be it ordained by the authority afore. said, that there shall be appointed, from time , to
105
time, by congress, a governor, whose commission shall continue in force for the term of three years, unless sooner revoked by congress; he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in one thousand acres of land, while in the exercise of his office.
Sec. 4. There shall be appointed from time to time, by congress, a secretary, whose commis- sion shall continue in force for four years, unless sooner, revoked; he shall reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in five hundred acres of land, while in the exercise of his office. It shall be his duty to keep and preserve the aets and laws passed by the legislature, and the public records of the district, and the proceedings of the governor in his executive department, and transmit authentic copies of such acts and proceedings every six months to the secretary of congress. There shall also be appointed a court, to consist of three judges, any two of whom to form a court, who shall have a common-law jurisdiction and reside in the district, and have each therein a freehold estate, in five hun- dred acres of land while in the exercise of their of- fices; and their commissions shall continue in force during good behavior.
Sec. 5. The governor and judges, or a majority of them shall adopt and publish in the district such laws of the original states, criminal and civil, as may be necessary, and best suited to the circum. stances of the district, and report them to con- gress, from time to time, which laws shall be in foice in the district until the organization of the general assembly therein, unless disapproved of by congress ; but afterwards the legislature shall have the authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
Sec. 6. The governor, for the time being shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same below the rank of general officers; all general officers shall be ap pointed by congress.
Sec. 7. Previous to the organization of the gen- eral assembly, the governor shall appoint such mag. istrates and other civil officers in cach county or township as he shall find necessary for the preserva- tion of peace and good order in the same. After the general assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers, shall be regulated and defined by the said assem. bly ; but all magistrates and other rivil officers, not herein otherwise directed, shall, during the contin- uance of this temporary government, be appointed by the governor.
Sec. 8. For the prevention of crimes and in- julies the laws to be adopted or made shall have force in all parts of the district, and for the execu- tion of process, criminal and civil, the governor shall
106
make proper divisions thereof, and he shall proceed, from time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district, in which the In- dian titles have been extinguished, into counties and townships subject, however, to such alterations as may thereafter be made by the legislature.
Sec. 9. So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants, of full age, in the district, upon giving proof thereof to the governor, they shall receive authority, with time and place, to elect rep- resentatives from their counties or townships, to rep- resent them in the general assembly: Provided that for every five hundred free male inhabitants, there shall be one representative, and so on, progressively. with the number of fice male inhabitants, shall the right of representation increase, until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five; after which the number and proportion of representatives shall be regulated by the legislature: Provided that no person be eligible or qualified to act as a repre- sentative unless he shall have been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and be a resident in the district or unless he shall have resided in the dis- triet. for three years, and in either case shall like- wise hold in his own right, in fee simple, two hun- dred acres of land within the same; Provided, also, that a freehold in fifty acres of land in the district. having been a citizen of one of the states, and being resident in the district, or the like freehold and two years residence in the district, shall be necessary 10 qualify a man as our elector of a representative.
Sec. 10. The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of two years, and, in case of the death of a representative, or removal from office, the governor shall issue a writ to the county or township for which he was a member to elect anott er in his stead, to serve for the residue of the term.
Sec. 11. The General Assembly, or Legislature, shall consist of the governor, legislative council, an'l a house of representatives. The legislative coun- cil shall consist of five members to continue in of fice five years, unless sooner removed by Congres.i. any three of whom to be a quorum; and the mem- bers of the council shall be nominated and appointed in the following manner, to wit: As soon as repre- sentatives shall be elected, the governar shall ap point a time and place for them to meet together, and. when met. they shall nominate ten persons, resident in the district, and each possessed of a free- hold in five hundred aeres of land, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Congress shall ap point and commission to serve as aforesaid; and whenever a vacancy shall happen in the council, by death or removal from office, the house of repre. sentatives shall nominate two persons, qualified as
107
1
aforesaid, for each vacancy, and return their names to Congress; one of whom Congress shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term; and every five years, four months at least before the ex- piration of the time of service of the members cf council, the said house shall nominate ten persons, qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to Congress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission
to serve as members of the council five
year's, unless sooner re- moved.
And the governor, legislative council and house of representatives, shall have authority to make laws, in all cases, for the good government of the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles in this ordinance established and declared. And all bills, having passed by a majority in the house, and by a majority in the council, shall be referred to the governor for his assent; but no bills or leg. islative act whatever, shall be of any force without his assent. The governor shall have power to convene prorogue, and dissolve the General Assem bly, when in his opinion it shall be expedient.
Sec. 12. The governor, judges, legislative coun- cil, secretary, and such other officers as Congress shall appoint in the district, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity, and of office; the governor be- fore the president of Congress, and all other of- ficers before the governor. As soon as the leg- islature shall be formed in the district, the council and house assembled in one room, shall have author- ity by joint ballot, :o elect a delegate to Congress, who shall have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating, but not of voting during this tempor. ary government.
Sec. 13. And for extending the fundamental prin ciples of civil and religious liberty, which form the basis whereon these republics, their laws, and cou- stitutions are ciected; to fix and establish those prin- ciples as the basis of all laws, constitutions, and gov- einments, which for ever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory; to provide, also, for the estab- lishment of States, and permanent government there. in, and for their admission to a share in the federal councils on an equal footing with the original States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general interest.
Sec. 11. It is hereby ordained and declared, by the authority aforesaid, that the following articles shall be considered as articles of compact, between the original States and the people and States in the said territory, and for ever remain unalterable, un- less by common consent, to wit:
ARTICLE I.
No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account
108
of his mode of worship, or religious sentiments, in the said territory.
ARTICLE II.
The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas cor- pus, and of the trial by jury; of a proportionate rep- resentation of the people in the legislature, and of ju. dicial proceedings according to the course of the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offences, where the proof shall be evi- dont, or the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishments shall be inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty or. property, but by the judgment of his preis, or the law of the land, and should the public exigencies make it necessary, for the common pres ovation, to take any persons property, or to demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made for the same .-- And, in the just preservation of rights and propuity, it is understood and de clared, that no law ought ever to be made or have force in the said territory, that shall, in any man. nej whatever, interfere with or affect private con- traets or engagements, bona fide, and without fraud previously formed.
ARTICLE III.
Religion, morality, and knowledge. being neces- sary to good government, and the happiness of man- kind, schools ard the means of education shall for- ever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them with- out their consent; and in their proprity, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or disturbed, nn- less in just and lawful wars authorized by Con gress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall, from time to time, be made, for preventing wrongs being done to thein, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
ARTICLE IV.
The said tenitory, and the States which may be .
forned therein, shall forever remain a part of this confederacy of the United States of America, sub. ject to the Articles of Confederation, and to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made; and to all the acts and ordinances of the United States, in Congress assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settleis in the said territory shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts, contracted or to be contracted, and a proportional part of the expenses of goverment to be apportion- ed on them by Congress, according to the same con mon inle and measure by which apportionments thereof shall be made on the other States; and the
109
taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legis- latures of the district or districts, or new States, as in the original States, within the time agreed upon by the United States, in Congress assembled. The legislatures of those districts, or new States. shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil by the United States, in Congress assem- bled, nor with any regulations Congress may find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona-fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States; and in nd case shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places between the same, shall be common high. ways, and forever free, as well to the inhabitants of the said territory as to the citizens of the United States, and those of any other states that may be admitted into the Confederacy, without any tax, im- post, or dnty therefor.
ARTICLE V.
There shall be formed in the said territory not less than three nor more than five States; and che boundaries of the States, as soon as Virginia shail alter her act of cession and consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to-wit: The western State, in the said territory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Wa- bash Rivers; a direct line drawn from the Wabash and Post Vincents, due north, to the territorial line between the United States and Canada; and by the said tenitorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Mississippi. The middle State shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from Post Vin cents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due noith from the mouth of the Great Miami to the said territorial line and by the said territorial line. The eastern State
shall be bounded by the last mentioned direct
line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said terri- torial line: Provided, however, and it is further un- derstood and declared, that the boundaries of these thnee States shall be subject so far to be altered, . that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have authority to form one or two states in that part of the said territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn through the south. erly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan; and whenev- er any of the said States shall have sixty thousand free inhabitants therein, such State shall be admit- ted, by its delegates, into the Congress of th. C.it d States, on an equal footing with the original States, in all respects whatever; and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and State government : Provided, The constitution and government, so to
110
be formed, shall be republican, and in conformity to the principles contained in these articles, and, so far as it can be consistant with the general interest of the confederacy, such admission shall be allowed at an earlier period, and when there may be a less number of free inhabitants in the State than sixty thousand.
ARTICLE VI.
There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory. otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, wherof the party shall have been duly convicted: Provided, always, That any paso" poraring into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original States, such fugitive may be lawfully re- claimed, and conveyed to the person claiming his or her sabor or serve as aforesa:d.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the resolution of the 23d of April, 1781, relative to the subject of this y dinare, b:, and the san. are hereby repealed, and declared null and void.
Done by the United States in Congress assem. bled, the 13th day of July, in the year of our Lor! 1787, and of their sovereignty and independence the twelfth. CHARLES THOMPSON, Sec'y.
THE MARIETTA BAND AND ORCHESTRA.
The Marietta Band and Orchestra is one of the organizations of the city in which the citizens take an honest pride, and from which they derive much pleasure. This is thoroughly demonstrated by the crowds that fill City Park on band concert nights during the summer months. This organization was founded in 1884 by Prof. Louis Miller. Professor Miller was a thorough master of music and it is due largely to his efforts that the band eventually became what it is today-one of the finest musical organiza. tions in the state. Prof. Miller was succeeded as
Adnector by Professor Williams, and was in turn succeeded by J. C. Arnold, a man of marked musical ability. It was under Prof. Arnold's leadership that the band went to Zanesville on the occasion of the state meeting of the Commercial Travelers, in May of 1897, causing the Zanesville Times to re- maik: "It is not pleasant to have to say it but its the truth nevertheless that Marietta lays us out on band music." It was also while returning from this trip that the train on which the band traveled homeward was wrecked at Fearing Trestle seriously injuring several members. Following Professor Ar. nold as director came Prof. Franz Schmiedeke, unde: whose leadership the organization continued to win new laurels. The Marietta Band and Orchestra is now under the directorship of Prof. Carl Becker. Ms. Peter Schlicher is the manager of the band and or chestra and has filled that office since it's organiza- tion.
111
MARIETTA AS A MANUFACTURING POINT
Marietta offers to the manufacturer many and va- ried advantages possessed by but few cities in the state. It is located in the heart of a very pro- ductive natural gas territory, which fact together with that of the cheapness of coal at this point, disposes of the question of cheap fuel. As a ship- ping point, it need only be necessary to point to the mnap to show the stranger our splendid advan tages in that line. Here, at our doors flows one of the greatest highways of commerce in the world -the great Ohio river. Here, too is the Musking- um niver, navigable for a distance of nearly 75 miles and connecting by canal water ways with the great lakes. We have also excellent Railway freight ser- vice, making Cincinnati and Columbus in 18 hours; New York in 42 hours; Cleveland 48 hours; Dayton 18 18 hours; Pittsburg 12 hours; Youngstown
hours; St. Louis and Chicago, three days.
There
are three railroads entering the city. Nine passen- gor trains anive and nine depart every week day and six each way on Sundays. On every week day there are eight regular freight trains arrive and eight depart, not counting the many extras which come and go for through car load business. There are also important additional railroad facilities plan- ned that will mean much for the city. Just over the big bridge across the Ohio is Williamstown and here we are in touch with one of the great divisions of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
The water supply is as abundant as the water in the Ohio river, while it is made as pure and clear as a modern and scientifically perfect filtration plant can make it.
While Marietta already has many large and flour- ishing industries, there are still many accessible sites which are admirably located for manufacturing purposes all within easy reach of the railroads and the rivers, affording unexcelled shipping advantages
MARIETTA BOARD OF TRADE.
The Marietta Board of Trade was organized May 12th, 1887, its object being: "To collect . and record such local and general industrial information relating to manufactures and commerce as will tend to pro- mote the manufacturing, commercial and financial welfare of the cities of Marietta and Harmar, and es- pecially to protect, foster and develop the manufa ... twing and other industrial interests of said cities. ' The original organization was composed of lead .. ing business men of the city; representative. citizens" whose. individual successes in life qualified them to perform the work for which the association was or ..
ganized. The first officers elected were: J. HI. Graf .. ton, president; Col. T. W. Moore, E. M. Booth, D). B. Torpy, W. F. Robertson, S. M. McMillin, S. B. Kirby, W. H. Styer Col. R. L. Nye, vice-presidents. The first secretary was Mr. B. F. Strecker.
The good that has resulted from the efforts and the influence of this body has been of inestimable value to Marietta. Since its organization its officers have never flagged in their duties, often sacrificing valuable time from their own private affairs for the general welfare. And in the present officials there is manifest the same energy, the same self-sacci- fice and the same progressive spirit that has accom- plished so much in the past. The present mem- bership of the board is over three hundred and it is only necessary to attend one of the annual banqueis of the association on February 22nd, to understand from. whence comes much of the inspiration and en. thusiasm, which characterizes the work of the ac- tive officers. Every inquiry from outside interests is carefully investigated; any information regarding the city that may be requested by a prospective in- dustry is cheerfully furnished, while nothing pos. sible is left undone that will encourage and aid home institutions. The present officials are:
Howard W. Stanley President
R. M. Noll Secretary
C. A. Ward Treasurer
Executive Committee -- Howard W. Stanley, R. M. Noll, C. A. Ward, A. H. Snyder, B. F. Strecker, W. J. Cram, J. S. Simpson.
MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION.
The Merchants Association of Marietta, Ohio, was organized on December 13, 1901, with Chas. H. Turner, president; Charles F. Henry, secretary and J. W. Dysle treasurer. The objects of this asso- ciation are to secure benefits to be derived through concerted action upon matters pertaining to the mu- tua! advantage of its members, to advance mer- cantile interests and to promote the general welfare
of Marietta. It is to the efforts of the Merchanis Association that fixed and regular closing hours have been established giving to clerks and employers alike their evenings. It was also the means of abolishing trading stamps and minimizing bad accounts. To be brief the Association has accomplished all it start- ed out to do and much more. Its "Merchants Day," of March 10th, 1906, which brought to this city thousands of shoppers from all over the sur- rounding county districts and neighboring towns marked the largest business in the history of the merchants of Marietta. The splendid "Merchants and Manufacturers" building at the fair grounds erected this year is a nonument to the zeal, the ener- gy and the tireless effort of the officers and members
113
112
1
of this association. The present officers are V. B.
Hovey, president; Charles F. Henry, Secretary ;
Frank F. Gaitree, Treasurer. Meets first Thursday night of each month.
BOATING ON THE RIVERS.
Every stranger that visits Marietta at once be- comes enthusiastic over the beauty of the city and its two rivers. During the summer months these .xiv- eis possess attractions for many who love nature and delight in out of door recreations. The world may afford many attractive resorts where scenic beauty is one of the chief charms, but there are few streams where the sound of dipping oars or the noise of the motor boat is heard, more beautiful than the Muskingum river, to which some tourist not many years ago gave the name, "The Hudson River of the West." Within the past two or three years the love of boating has taken a strong hold on the people of the city. I'mticularly since the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.